Warriors make it six wins in a row

Worcester Warriors continued their fine run of form with a sixth consecutive victory, overcoming Richmond 31–19 at Sixways to claim another five-point win.

Three first-half tries laid the foundations before second-half scores from Jasper Spandler and James Short sealed the bonus-point victory.

It was Richmond who struck first, however, as captain Luc Jones sniped through a gap in the Warriors' defence to open the scoring.

The hosts eventually found their rhythm with scrum-half Will Lane spotting a gap in the Richmond defence before the ball was moved quickly wide for Will Reed to finish well out wide, with Tiff Eden converting.

The hosts soon added a second when flanker Tim Anstee powered through contact and showed impressive pace to cross for his fifth try of the season.

Worcester then struck again just before half-time, capitalising on sustained pressure as Roma Zheng finished well in the corner following successive tap penalties.

The bonus point was secured early in the second half when hooker Jasper Spandler ran in after taking a neat pass from Matt Kvesic.

Richmond hit back with a well-worked try from Lewis Dennett, but the Warriors maintained control.

James Short extended Worcester’s lead in impressive fashion, collecting a loose Richmond exit and sprinting clear down the wing to score the hosts’ fifth try.

Although Richmond grabbed a late score through a James Langston intercept, Worcester’s defence stood firm in the closing stages.

A crucial turnover from Thabo Ndimande in the final minutes ensured the Warriors saw out the contest and secured all five points in front of the Sixways faithful.

Warriors 31

T – Will Reed 24’, Tim Anstee 30’, Roma Zheng 34’, Jasper Spandler 43’, James Short 69’

C – Tiff Eden 24’, 30’, 34’

Richmond 19

T – Luc Jones, Lewis Dennett, James Langston 76’

C – Callum Grieve 47’, 76'

Warriors Team

15 Will Reed, 14 Roma Zheng (Jake Garside 57’), 13 Tom Hendrickson, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (Tom Seabrook 40’), 11 James Short, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Will Lane; 1 Finn Haynes (Livai Natave 52’), 2 Jasper Spandler (Austin Wallis 52’), 3 Fraser Balmain (Cam Miell 52’), 4 Obinna Nkwocha, 5 James Tyas (Hallam Chapman 61’), 6 Tim Anstee (Will Biggs 69’), 7 Thabo Ndimande, 8 Matt Kvesic © (Khalik Kareem 46’)

Richmond Team

15 Callum Grieve, 14 Sam Dardis (Archie Brosch 40’), 13 Ronnie Du Randt, 12 Tololima Savaiinaea (James Langston 61’), 11 Chidera Obonna, 10 Lewis Dennett, 9 Luc Jones © (Freddie Charles 67’); 1 Chris Freeman (Seb Brownhill 49’), 2 Harry Hocking (Will Goffey 49’), 3 Luke Spring (Jimmy Litchfield 49’), 4 Jake Monson, 5 Luke Frost (Miles Wakeling 12’ (Donnacha Byrne 57’), 6 Ethan Benson, 7 Xavier Hastings, 8 Sam Pim

Title Image provided by Harry Monahan

Match Sponsor Player of the Match Tim Anstee, as chosen by Assure Technical

Match Ball Sponsor Player of the Match James Short, as chosen by Verlingue

Thanks as always to Everton's Wine Merchants and Champagne Pommery for providing the champagne.