Boss Richard Hill has called on his Worcester Warriors to respond in the right manner when they face Newcastle Falcons – and believes the break from league action is coming at the right time for his squad.
A gruelling run of four away games out of six in the Aviva Premiership away from Sixways came to an end with defeat at The Rec against in-form Bath Rugby.
Worcester now have just under three weeks before Falcons visit Sixways (Friday, March 23) and Hill plans to use that time wisely to get the right reaction.
And the Sixways boss believes his team must now capitalise with three of the next four games back on home soil as they aim to finish the season strongly.
“We need a break,” said Hill. “We have had a tough and intense period since Christmas and got the rewards from it. But I think after this sixth match, the fourth away from home, the tank is a little bit drained.
“They need to recharge the batteries and I’m sure we will bounce back after a disappointing game like that.
“A lot of effort will now go into the Newcastle game at home to make sure we get a much better performance.
“Our next four matches see us at home on three occasions. That will energise use and start to pick up some points.”
Hill also paid tribute to back row Jake Abbott who again tackled himself to a standstill at Bath and earned praise from pundit and fans for his performance in defeat.
“I thought Jake was brilliant. He is absolutely exhausted but he is like that after every game, he puts everything into it,” added Hill.
“I wouldn’t fault anybody’s effort, the mind was willing and people drove themselves on to do as well as they could do. But there was a lack of energy and if you’re not quite right, because you are a bit tired mentally and physically, then you lack accuracy.
“We were a bit slow in the lineout, slow to fold. We knew Bath would hit the middle and fold hard and they were quicker into position than we were. That’s all about energy and we just lacked a bit.”
“They need to recharge the batteries and I’m sure we will bounce back after a disappointing game like that…"