Director of Rugby Alan Solomons spoke to the media today ahead of Saturday’s opening Gallagher Premiership match of the season against London Irish.
Here’s what Alan had to say:
On the death of Cecil Duckworth
- It’s very, very sad. Cecil was a wonderful man and he’s left a terrific legacy here at Sixways.
- I was in touch with him on a regular basis and his concern was always about the club and the future of the club.
- He is going to be missed by everyone here but also in the city and the county because he made he made such a difference to people’s lives.
On the pre-season friendly at Northampton
- It was an opportunity for us to give the whole squad some valuable game time and it was certainly very competitive.
- Having played a match against strong opposition should stand us in good stead.
- We scored some good tries and overall our defence was good so we were happy with the way the game went.
- Our new signings Marc Thomas and George Merrick also got some decent game time as did four of our new Academy intake – Finn Smith, Seb Atkinson, Harry Spencer and Jack Forsythe which was great to see.
On Ollie Lawrence and Duncan Weir playing international rugby at the weekend
- It was fantastic to see Ollie make his first start for England.
- As a homegrown Worcester player we are very proud of him. I have had texts from him and, understandably, he’s on top of the world at the moment.
- Duncan had a good game for Scotland in Italy. He didn’t miss a kick and Stuart Hogg said some kind words about him.
- Duncy is a good man and very experienced player and we are delighted to see him starting for his country again.
What do you expect from London Irish?
- They have a very experienced side and some strong, physical players so they are going to be tough.
Is playing at home an advantage?
- We are on a familiar pitch and in familiar surroundings but with no crowds allowed in at the moment it does make an enormous difference to having your supporters there.
Injuries
- Sam Lewis suffered a dead leg at Northampton
- Lewis Holsey is going to be out for a while with a dislocated shoulder
- Matt Moulds is still being troubled by his foot injury. He’s been back to the specialist and is going to leave it for three weeks to see how it goes.
- Conor Carey is back in full training
- Graham Kitchener is still not ready to play because of the stress fracture in one of his feet.
- Matti Williams took a bang to the head at Northampton and is going through the concussion protocols.
- Matt Cox has a high ankle injury and is going to see a specialist.
- Will Butler is back in training and should be available for selection next week.
- Ashley Beck will return to training on Thursday and should be available for selection for Saturday.
- Tom Howe is back in full training
- Perry Humphreys is not quite ready for selection
- GJ van Velze is unlikely to be fit before the New Year
Might you get some of your international players back?
- That is England’s call. Richard Hill, England’s team manager, communicates well.
- They have said that guys who don’t make the 25 will be released back to their clubs but that is England’s decision to make.