Last gasp try secures victory at Caldy

A last-minute Jake Garside try secured a narrow victory for Worcester away at Caldy, the Warriors first away win of the season.

In a first-ever meeting against the side from the Wirral, the hosts took an early lead with Rhys Tudor strolling over after being put through a gap by fellow winger Will Robinson.

The Warriors responded quickly and were soon level after Will Biggs went over from a well-set driving maul – Tiff Eden added the extras.

Caldy fly-half Kieran Wilkinson put his side back ahead with a penalty, and soon after Worcester had a try ruled out for double movement, Caldy added a second try.

Full-back Charlie Hyde first made the tackle deep in Worcester territory before capitalising on a loose ball to run in for his side's second.

Before the break, the Warriors continued to push to claw back the score-line, with Garside almost grounding a grubber kick through, and in the last play of the half, a break from Owain Evans nearly sent Lane in for the score – but the pass couldn’t quite be held.

Having headed into the break 15-7 ahead, Kieran Wilkinson had a chance to extend the lead early in the second period, but his penalty hit the post.

Warriors rang the changes as they continued to push for a way back into the game with the arrival of Livai Natave, Austin Wallis, Thabo Ndimande, and Lloyd Williams adding fresh energy.

Caldy saw themselves down to fourteen when second-row Tom Sanders saw yellow for a cynical off-the-ball tackle, and despite Ashley Challenger being held up, Caldy’s defence held resolute for Sanders yellow card period.

But as the game edged into the final ten minutes, the Warriors were given a lifeline when Garside went over out wide after a looping miss-pass from Eden, following a dominant scrum that gave the visitors a strong platform throughout.

The hosts again found themselves with a player disadvantage with two minutes to go when Connor Wilkinson saw yellow for a high tackle, and Worcester took full advantage.

Patient build-up of forward play, including from replacement Finn Haynes on debut, put the Warriors just metres out from the Caldy line.

And despite the ball bobbling out from a ruck, it ended up in Will Reed’s hands, who delivered the try for Garside in the corner.

Jubilation in the celebrations both on and off the pitch as Worcester headed back down to Sixways with the win.

Caldy 15

T- Tudor 6’, Hyde 25’

C- K Wilkinson 6’

P- K Wilkinson 16’

YC- Sanders 59’, C Wilkinson 78’

Warriors 17

T- Biggs 12’, Garside 70’, 80’

C- Eden 12’

Caldy Team

15 Charlie Hyde (Mitchell 51’), 14 Rhys Tudor, 13 Connor Wilkinson, 12 Michael Barlow, 11 Will Robinson (Barker 68’), 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 Ollie Wynn (Akehurst 59’); 1 Monty Weatherby, 2 Ollie Hearn (Gallagher 51’), 3 Nathan Rushton (Sproston 40’ (Higginson 68’)), 4 Max Loboda (Gerrard 59’), 5 Tom Sanders, 6 Reuben Logan, 7 Dan Owen, 8 JJ Dickinson

Warriors Team

15 Louis Brown (Will Reed 65’), 14 Jake Garside, 13 Tom Seabrook, 12 Rory Taylor, 11 Will Trewin, 10 Tiff Eden, 9 Will Lane (Lloyd Williams 46’); 1 Billy Keast (Livai Natave 46’), 2 Will Biggs (Austin Wallis 46’), 3 Ashley Challenger (Finn Haynes 78’), 4 Hallam Chapman (Thabo Ndimande 46’), 5 Owain Evans, 6 Tim Anstee, 7 Matt Kvesic ©, 8 Khalik Kareem

Unused - 19 Huw Taylor, 23 Chris Preen