Worcester (10) 43 |
Tries: Hatherell, Simpson, Shillcock 3, Batley Cons: Smith 5 Pens: Smith |
Bath (19) 27 |
Tries: Muir 2, Stuart, Dunn Cons: Bailey 2 Pens: Bailey |
Worcester picked up their first win in five games to end the season on a high and condemn Bath to finishing bottom of the Premiership with a 43-27 victory.
The hosts went ahead through Kyle Hatherell but Will Muir’s double and Will Stuart saw Bath lead at the break.
Gareth Simpson reduced the deficit for Warriors before Tom Dunn put Bath 27-17 ahead after 50 minutes.
But Worcester dominated from then on as Jamie Shillcock scored a second-half hat-trick and Joe Batley crossed too.
Worcester started the day at the foot of the table but the bonus-point win saw them leapfrog their opponents and Newcastle into 11th, with Bath ending the season at the bottom of the pile.
Both sides had only pride to play for, with relegation having been suspended for both this season and the previous campaign, although it is set to be reintroduced next term.
The hosts were straight on to the front foot and went ahead after four minutes when Hatherell powered over from close range following a spell of pressure, with Fin Smith adding the extras.
But Bath responded well and Muir collected Orlando Bailey’s cross-field kick to score shortly before Warriors skipper Ted Hill was sin-binned after his side conceded a string of penalties.
Muir grabbed his second after 24 minutes thanks to a combination of good footwork and flimsy defence while tight-head prop Stuart broke the line to run in from 20 metres to give Bath a nine-point lead at the break.
The pace and power of Warriors wing Duhan van der Merwe got the hosts back within two points as his break paved the way for Simpson’s try four minutes into the second period, with Smith adding the conversion.
But the hosts gave away a penalty from the restart, allowing Bailey to increase the gap before hooker Dunn squeezed over from a line-out maul to register Bath’s bonus-point try and give them a 10-point advantage with half an hour remaining.
Worcester hit back with two quickfire tries from Shillcock to open up a narrow lead and their task was made easier when Bath’s Charlie Ewels was yellow-carded on the hour mark for a high shot on Hatherell.
Batley gathered to score after charging down Ben Spencer’s attempted clearance and there was still time for Shillcock to cross for his hat-trick with three minutes remaining as Worcester ended another disappointing league campaign with a flourish.
Worcester: Shillcock; Humphreys, Venter, Beck, Van der Merwe; Smith, Simpson; Sutherland, Annett, Judge, Batley, Kitchener, Hatherell, Lewis, Hill (capt).
Replacements: Miller, Waller, McCallum, Kitchener, Dodd, Chudley, Heward, Hearle.
Sin-bin: Hill (20).
Bath: De Glanville; Cokanasiga, Joseph, Ojomoh, Muir; Bailey, Spencer; Obano, Dunn, Stuart, Richards, Ewels (capt), Coetzee, Underhill, Faletau.
Replacements: Du Toit, Morozov, Fia, Williams, Reid, Green, Cipriani, Hamer-Webb.
Sin-bin: Ewels (58).