Get Newsletter

Spencer urged to remain patient

Spencer scored one try and created another in the first half at Twickenham as the Premiership champions romped to a 48-18 victory.

ADVERTISEMENT

That cemented their position at the top of the table, and while McCall admits Spencer has had to bide his time, he hopes that patience will pay off for Saracens and potentially on the international stage in the same way as hooker George last season.

"Ben Spencer was wonderful, a great first half performance, created the first try and scored the second, kicked beautifully all the way through. He's had to be patient, hopefully he can follow in Jamie George's example, who was patient then went straight into the England setup.

"We're pleased where we are in the table at the moment, as you know there are nine Premiership matches during the Six Nations, and none of us can say for certain which of our players will be missing for those nine games. So in the meantime, it's important that we get as many points as we can.

"The first half was a bit unkind to them, we didn't have a lot of ball and didn't have much pressure on them during periods. What we've seen is a very well organised team who are energetic and fight hard for each other so it was no surprise at all what they did in the last 10 minutes," McCall said.

It was a tough afternoon for Worcester, who had their chances in the first half but were not clinical enough, unlike their opponents, and trailed 6-20 at the break. The champions added four more tries after the break but the Warriors at least finished on a high with late tries from Joe Rees and GJ van Velze.

Director of rugby Dean Ryan admitted the game was an eye-opener for promoted Worcester after a strong return to life in the top flight.

ADVERTISEMENT

"We always knew it was going to be a tough day. We needed a couple of things, for them not to be as clinical as they were in that first 30 minutes, and for us to get used to how much pressure gets put on the small elements of the game.

"We always knew coming into this competition that we'd get some pretty serious dents, so it was pretty unrealistic to think that we could jump across from the competition and then jump again to the top end of it.

"It was a sobering lesson but one we're prepared to take to get better. Before we'd experienced this, we were only talking about things, and today was a real insight by the players to just how much pressure gets put on the small parts of the game.

"We had enough opportunities in that first 20 to 30 minutes to get something but we came away with nothing, where as they make a break and it's seven points. It just shows how clinical they are," Ryan said.

ADVERTISEMENT

@premrugby

Join free

Chasing The Sun | Series 1 Episode 1

Fresh Starts | Episode 2 | Sam Whitelock

Royal Navy Men v Royal Air Force Men | Full Match Replay

Royal Navy Women v Royal Air Force Women | Full Match Replay

Abbie Ward: A Bump in the Road

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 9

James Cook | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

New Zealand victorious in TENSE final | Cathay/HSBC Sevens Day Three Men's Highlights

Write A Comment