A stalwart of the Worcester Warrior’s side for the past five years, scrum-half Matt Powell talks to www.rucked.com
How’s the Worcester camp after the win at Sale?
Very good, very positive after last week. We really needed it and to go up there and win when we’d be written off was particularly good.
And they were one of the form teams too…
Yes, and at the moment they’re not losing many people to the Six Nations. In fact, Andrew Sheridan played nearly the whole game and Richard Wigglesworth came on, so they were pretty much at full strength. And they’d just beaten Leicester too.
That second win was a long time coming…
I suppose so. I think during a lot of the games we’ve been only a few points adrift as most games have been pretty close – you can see that by the number of losing bonus points we’ve got. Against Sale, I think we defended really well, the weather wasn’t great but we showed a lot of spirit. We had guys coming from all angles and putting in huge hits on some of their big strong ball carriers – that was really inspiring and rubbed off on everyone. It was a great win but we need to back it up this weekend. We’ve done it before when we’ve had a really good win but didn’t back it up.
Leicester’s a toughie though?
They’re all pretty tough, but if ever there’s a good time to play Leicester then it’s this weekend when they’re missing a few players. The form hasn’t been that great but if you look at their side they’ve skill got some wonderful, skilful players and they’re very well-drilled.
You’ve had a hard season so far…
Definitely, there’s been occasions when we’ve played really well and the odd mistake has cost us dear, but I think that we’re developing as a side. There’s been a lot of changes though, we’ve had new guys come in and it disappointing that things haven’t happened a bit quicker for us, but we do feel we’ve got a lot more in us than that one performance. We didn’t really show a huge amount in attack and I think there’s a still more to come from us.
How have you found Ruddock?
Very good, I’ve been really impressed, he’s got a wealth of experience and the squad get on well with him. What’s also been good is that he’s been attracting really big names and big players – that’s what we need. We’ve got a strong nucleus to the squad but we to be serious about being in the top half rather than the bottom half as we have been, we need the top names.
There’s been a change of style too…
Yes, Mike’s got his own philosophy on the game and it’s very different to where we’ve been for the last couple of seasons. As a team and individuals we had to change our style.
Why do you think it’s taken so long?
Sometimes you kind of have to simplify things, you have to focus on the set-piece, a strong kicking game and defence – those are the three key things. Bristol pride themselves on that and that’s why they did so well last season. Once you’ve got that right, you can then go and play a game with more width. It probably has taken a bit longer than we thought, but a player has to get used to what the coach wants. The style Mike wants is very exciting so we want to get there as quickly as possible.
What is the style?
I think if you watch the way Wales played in the Grand Slam year and the World Cup just before that’s what Mike wants to bring to us.
Is it happening?
Even the forwards want to get their hands on the ball which is a bit worrying. In the last three years the forwards’ share of passing has been minimal but now we’re asking a lot more of them – and the backs too. Even for a scrum-half it takes time to adjust to playing with more width and a bit more tempo.
Had you had any dealings with Ruddock before?
I did go to couple of Wales A training sessions with him, but I know lot of guys who’ve played for him. He’s very ambitious as is Cecil [Duckworth] and, like the rest of us, doesn’t want us to be in the position we are in.
How have the fans dealt with the lack of success?
I imagine they’ve been unbelievably frustrated. What makes it worse is that we haven’t been dire from week one – that would’ve made it easier to accept. Instead we’ve been had moments when we’ve looked like a top three team – putting some good phases together. But then we turn the ball over and end up losing to a side that’s showed less ambition but has a kicker who’s knocked over 18 points worth of penalties. In Europe we’ve been doing well and playing exciting rugby, but then we come back to the Premiership and tried to play but lose.
So they’ve dealt with it well then?
Generally we’ve quite a good relationship with them, but whenever you lose you do get guys writing in on a website saying how poor you are. You learn to live with it though, it tends to be quite fickle anyway.
Do you think Worcester really can compete with the likes of Leicester and Gloucester?
I think so. But the owners and directors probably need a lot more investment because our wage is nowhere near the likes of Gloucester or Leicester. Gloucester have two international sides at their disposal. I think we’re better off looking long-term and developing our academy, we’ve got some fantastic guys coming through from that. If we do buy then we have to buy right – as we have done. All the guys that have come in have been very influential. Buying for the sake of buying isn’t the answer…
Presumably Rico Gear is one of the guys in question…
All around the world he’s so well respected. He’s an awesome player but unfortunately for us we’ve not managed to get enough ball to him to allow him to show his stuff. He’s hugely influential though, he’s actually quite a quiet chap, but when he does speak everyone does listen.
Are you happy with the way you’re playing?
I’ll never be happy, we’re losing far too many games and more often than not the half-backs are who it centres on, we’re directing the side. And, in terms of this season, it’s been quite frustrating. I kind of get frustrated that I’ve been a little bit inconsistent. It’s something I’m striving to get right though.
How’s the rivalry going with Ryan?
Yes it’s good, Ryan is a quality player. He was playing but then got injured and I took my chance. I guess I was fortunate in a way for him to get injured, but we get on very well, there’s good bit of banter and the rivalry keeps both of us on our toes.
What’s Cecil like?
He’s a top man, he’s massively respected throughout the squad, he’s at the club most days and mucks in everywhere. He’s very softly spoken and kind and he’s doing wonders for not only the rugby club but also the city and the county.
You had a brief stint with the Welsh squad a couple of years ago?
It was nice to go down there and experience it but there are quite a few quality scrum-halves in Wales at the moment. It would be lovely to play for my country, but for me to perform every week for my club is more important to me. It would be nice but I don’t aspire to do it every day of the week like I aspire to play well for my club.
So what’s the target for the rest of the season?
Well it looks like we won’t make the play-offs! But we’ll do the best we can, if we can win the next two games – against Leicester and Leeds – then I think we can try and chase down Bristol. We’ve also got a very important quarter-final against Montpellier and if we do well there we’re only three games away from a place in Europe next season.
So, with a few players leaving at the end of the season, who would you like to come in?
I suppose with Shane [Drahm] leaving, then a great fly-half would be nice. I don’t who’s on the market – Dan Carter and Stephen Larkham would be the ultimate but I can’t see that happening.
I think Carter is looking at his options…
Oh well, there we go then!