Warriors’ staff got their hands dirty today to get Sixways clean in time for the return of spectators at Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership match against Bath Rugby.
Around 50 members of staff, including owners Colin Goldring and Jason Whittingham, Managing Director Peter Kelly and coaches Jonathan Thomas and Mark Irish donned rubber gloves and picked up cloths and scrubbing brushes to give the stadium a deep clean.
Under normal circumstances a team of professional cleaners get the stadium spick and span for a new season but, with only nine days between confirmation that 2,000 spectators will be allowed back and Saturday’s match, Warriors staff volunteered to help out.
The Bath match will be the first time in 275 days that spectators have been allowed to attend a Warriors match and the crowd will return with strict COVID protocols in place to protect them and staff.
All spectators will be seated in the 6,000 capacity East Stand which is where today’s cleaning operation was focused.
First team props Ethan Waller and Conor Carey played their part by refuelling the volunteers with freshly cooked pizzas from Waller’s Slice Slice Baby van.
“We’ve had a deep clean today which has been really good,” said Forwards Coach and former Club Captain Thomas.
“One of our values is putting the team first and there’s nothing better than showing that through actions rather than words.
“We’ve had lots of staff here, players, community staff, Academy players uniting the club and coming out to support he club and give the ground not just a clean but a COVID clean before this weekend.”
Warriors have played five matches behind closed doors at Sixways since rugby resumed in August after the first national lockdown in March and Saturday’s match will be the first time that spectators have been admitted since Thomas re-joined the club from Bristol Bears in the summer.
“We have been starved of supporters for so long. Maybe you take things for granted in life until you miss them and then you realise,” he said.
“This weekend is going to be massive for the players. It’s only 2,000 spectators but it is better than nothing and we are just hugely excited to have some noise and animation back in the club.
“The advantage of home support has gone up to now. Essentially it has been like playing in a neutral venue. So having our home support cheering us, especially in those critical moments in games where you need the fans to get you across the line sometimes is going to be huge for us, especially for the players.”
With demand for Saturday’s match exceeding supply, Warriors have held a ballot of Season Ticket Holders to decide the allocation of tickets.
🏠 @JonThom82 looks forward to the return of fans and talks about today's team effort to prepare Sixways for Saturday ✨ pic.twitter.com/0Ex5SCqrYp
— Worcester Warriors (@WorcsWarriors) December 2, 2020