Ryan – I’m excited about 2016

Director of Rugby Dean Ryan insists he is excited about what’s in store for Warriors in 2016.

The year 2015 has been a good one for his side, who won the B&I Cup, gained promotion from the Greene King IPA Championship and have gone on to beat Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons already in this season’s Aviva Premiership.

And following yesterday’s impressive showing against Bath Rugby, where Warriors earned a bonus point, Ryan knows his side have come a long way over the past 18 months. 

He said: “I like the way we’re heading. I like the way we’re playing. 

“A point at The Rec at the end of the year will probably look a lot bigger than it does now. 

“I’m pleased with what we got out of the game and I’m very excited about what we can get out of 2016.”

Warriors pushed Bath all the way and led last season’s Aviva Premiership finalists 11-10 just before the break – but the hosts went on to win 21-14. 

A spell of pressure at the end almost saw Warriors get more from the game but they settled for the losing bonus point by kicking a penalty to touch.

And Ryan explained the decision.

He stated: “There wasn’t any time on the clock. We could have gone quickly and played around with it by halfway but at the risk of losing a bonus point so we have to keep things in perspective. 

“If it was 20 seconds earlier we’d have gone for the corner but we’ll take the point. It’s a big point and we’ll see how important it is come the end of the season.

“Not many sides come away from The Rec with anything in the bank so I’m very proud of the guys.”

Tevita Cavubati was a standout performer for Warriors in the match and Ryan paid tribute to the big Fijian’s display.

He continued: “We were forced to make a lot of changes in the lineout throughout the game and I’m really pleased with ‘Big T’ holding it all together and you could see his impact around the field.”

Warriors take on Harlequins next Sunday 3 January (kick-off 3pm) and after pushing two of the country’s best sides in recent weeks, Ryan will be looking for his side to kick off 2016 in style. 

He added: “We’ve played Leicester and Bath in the last two and we’ve rattled both of them but we’re frustrated that we haven’t come out with more points.

“We're competing week after week and we’ll be back out there next Sunday to give it another shot trying to beat another of the league’s top sides.” 


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