Worcester Warriors Under 18s dominated Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park to record a 34-17 victory in the Premiership Rugby Under 18 Academy League on Saturday, to all but secure a place at Finals Day at Sixways on Thursday 16 February.
Warriors started on the front foot and never looked back, with Beck Cutting scoring two tries in the first quarter of the match.
Fraser McNee converted a penalty for Falcons but the away team scored again through James Scott to take a 14-point lead going into the second-half.
Straight after the restart Falcons were able to score and close the gap temporarily through Jake Rodgers, but Cutting was on hand again to score for his hat-trick.
Lewis Dorey converted and kicked a penalty to give Warriors some breathing space, and Alex Forrester put the game beyond doubt late on.
Seb Reece touched down scored for a consolation score for Newcastle but Warriors made it four wins out of six in their Northern Conference, and must wait on other results to find out whether they will be playing on home turf at Finals Day later this month.
The opening stages of the first-half saw both teams struggle to get a foothold and early penalties and knock-ons dominated the first few minutes.
But the first try of the game from Warriors ten minutes into the match allowed them to find some consistency and gain the important early momentum.
Ollie Lawrence was able to see a space in Falcons' defence and burst through, with the ball eventually finding its way to Cutting to bundle over from close range.
Just five minutes later Warriors found themselves 12 points ahead as Cutting bagged his second.
The Warriors hooker took an attacking lineout deep in Falcons' half and showed great determination to collect and drive over under pressure from attempted tackles.
George Wootten converted and put the away team in complete control but a penalty from McNee put Falcons on the scoreboard.
Warriors' resilience in defence was halting many potential attacks and domination from scrums and lineouts were ensuring that Falcons could not get any consistent possession.
There was still time before the break for another Warriors try that was just reward for their attacking intent.
Lawrence again was able to break through on halfway, this time offloading to Scott for an unchallenged run to the line.
A yellow card to centre Lawrence slightly blemished a great opening period and Warriors would miss the extra player at the start of the second-half, with Falcons responding straight after the restart.
A poor pass in midfield allowed fly-half Rodgers to collect and he had enough pace to score, and a McNee conversion gave Falcons some much needed hope.
Five minutes into the second-half Lawrence returned and Warriors were able to pick up from where they left off with Cutting completing his hat-trick.
A lineout on the 22 was collected and the resulting maul was unstoppable, allowing Cutting to dot down.
Replacement Dorey was on hand to convert and was able to land a penalty from close range a few minutes later for a 27-10 lead.
Even though Warriors only had five replacements, they maintained great energy and fluidity throughout and were in control of every department of the game.
That fluidity led Warriors to their fifth try of the match to ensure they left Newcastle with the win.
Christophe Fostier broke powerfully down the left and was able to chip a ball through the centre and despite Falcons’ best efforts, it found its way to Forrester who jogged in under the posts.
Dorey converted once again to give Warriors an uncatchable lead going into the final ten minutes.
Falcons bagged a late consolation through Reece but it was the perfect response from Warriors who now have to wait on Saturday’s results to know their Finals Day fate.
Warriors Academy Backs Development Coach Gordon Ross was delighted with the result and is looking ahead to a possible Finals Day at Sixways.
He said: "It was important to put in a performance. The lads worked hard in training during the week and really showed improvement on the pitch today.
"We’re hoping results go our way so that we make Finals Day, which will be the final game in the Academy for some of these boys."
Timeline
11m | Cutting try 0-5
15m | Cutting try 0-10
16m | Hawkes con 0-12
18m | McNee pen 3-12
33m | Scott try 3-17
36m | Rodgers try 8-17
37m | McNee con 10-17
42m | Cutting try 10-22
43m | Dorey con 10-24
48m | Dorey pen 10-27
60m | Forrester try 10-32
61m | Dorey con 10-34
63m | Reece try 15-34
64m | McNee con 17-34
Warriors | 15 George Hawkes, 14 Alex Bartley, 13 Dion King, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Christophe Fostier, 10 Alex Forrester, 9 George Wootten (Dorey 35); 1 Tom Furnival (Owen 35), 2 Beck Cutting (Harrison 50), 3 Nick Rigby, 4 Lawrence Weston, 5 James Scott, 6 Tom Fawcett, 7 Charlie Jeavons-Fellows (Thorneywork 31), 8 Ted Hill (Davies 47)
Replacements | 16 Cameron Harrison, 17 Kai Owen, 19 Owen Davies, 20 Oli Thorneywork, 22 Lewis Dorey