Ryan urges players to put opposition to sword

Dean Ryan admits his players need to put opposition teams to the sword when they take the lead in matches.

Warriors raced to a 10-3 lead against London Irish at Sixways today but were beaten 20-18 by a resilient London Irish side.

And, according to the Director of Rugby, his players need to finish off games when they are in a winning position.

He said: “We played a structured gameplan around holding field position. We had it at 10-3. And if that’s Saracens or Leicester, that would be 25-3 within those first two field positions.

“We just can’t seem to make that next transition for ourselves. We’re not used to sitting in games and telling ourselves the time is right to start putting the pedal down and actually nailing the game.”

Warriors forced their way into the Irish 22 time and time again in the opening period but couldn’t add to their tally before the break.

And Ryan believes his side must address that if they are going to move forward this season.

“Those key moments are the difference between being a good side and a side that’s scrabbling around a bit.

“We’re not used to being in situations that we’re expecting ourselves to win. We’re not used to being in pressured situation saying the next two minutes is crucial to the outcome of the game.

“It’s very difficult to talk about performance when you lose, especially when you lose a game that you had significant control of.

“But I’ve worked with lots of sides over the last 20 years and I think this side has some really good rugby players and I think it has good understanding and structures around it.”


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