Worcester head coach Clive Griffiths admits his first season in the Premiership was a struggle but feels his Warriors ended the campaign in championship form…
No doubt yourself and Mike (Ruddock) knew the season just gone was going to be tough – but maybe not quite that tough...
I think that’s right. We both thought that having coached international rugby for a number of years we’d go into the Premiership with ease but it wasn’t like that. We’re better for the experience and for all the bad luck we’ve had this year. The intensity of the competition did take us by surprise, week in week out you had to be really 100% focussed, as you saw at Leeds and a few other places where we fell way below the standard expected.
And you set about at the start of the season trying to play a more adventurous brand of rugby…
We had a full pre-season to try and break the mould but there is nothing like games, is there? Even in the warm-up games we saw that maybe things weren’t quite going according to plan, but to a man everybody stuck at it.
A lot of close games didn’t go your way…
We had no luck through bad decisions or not getting the bounce of the ball early in the season, we had seven losing bonus points and two draws – those were nine games where we were only separated by a score or were level with the opposition.
Did the defeat up at Newcastle best sum up your frustration?
I think that and London Irish where we conceded a score in the last minute in very controversial fashion were two of the biggest body blows we had to take. At Newcastle we lost by four penalties and a drop goal to two tries from ourselves, with three disallowed. Newcastle also had a 10:2 penalty count in their favour. We thought it was never going to come. I’ve got to say the players have to take great credit for hanging in there and not showing any sign of panic. We asked them whether they wanted to carry on with the style of play and to a man they said ‘yes’.
Where would you say the turning point was?
At the end of February we went to Sale and got a tremendous result, and the acid test was to repeat it at Leicester, which we did do. To go to Sale and stop them scoring a try and to score the try of the season ourselves gave us great hope and confidence to take into the months ahead.
Your three Kiwis came into the side with a lot of expectation riding on their shoulders; did you always know it would take time for them to bed in?
Sam Tuitupou had just undergone surgery; Rico Gear came with a few bumps and bruises and Greg was undercooked in terms of conditioning, I think they were all taken by some of the ferocity of the competition and they had to adapt as well. Everyone took longer to adapt than anticipated but once they did it was ‘whoosh’ for the last 11 games of the season.
Your back three won plenty of plaudits in that period…
It was a fantastic effort by all three of them and we looked very dangerous on the counter attack when the opposition kicked to us. I think the amazing statistic from the turnaround was that in last year’s campaign Worcester Rugby Club scored 32 tries, 22 in the forwards and 10 in the backs; this season we have scored 48 tries, 34 in the backs and 14 in the forwards. Therein lies the change in emphasis and the improvement in back play as well, which I’m obviously delighted with being a backs coach.
Miles Benjamin has been a revelation; you must be really pleased by his first season?
I watched him the other night on Sky and he was like a different person. When I first came across him it was difficult to get more than two words out of him, but there he was on Sky talking as if he’d been in the first team all season. Given a little bit of ownership and the courage to speak he has gone on to take his opportunity and made the position his own, as well as contributing to the team’s structures and play with his verbal input.
Knitting it all together was Pat Sanderson, was it a bit of a no-brainer that he was reappointed as captain?
At the moment, I’d say so. There are some good leaders there but I think at this moment in time Pat is at the top of his game and is a mature guy that has seen it all with England as well. He has his heart and soul in the club.
The aims for next season?
The aim has got to be to get a good start and not be another bloody dogfight. Having said that it’ll be tough because we’re likely to start with a couple of away games because of the redevelopment of the ground. I don’t care what anyone says it is a massive difference to play at home.
Especially when the fans are as vocal as yours...
They are outstanding. I was really taken aback by it when we played in the European Challenge Cup Final. They were unbelievable. They have stuck with us through thick and thin and it is just a shame we couldn’t do it for them. The way they got behind the team was outstanding, it reminded me of going back to my St Helens and Warrington days when we had a similar sort of passion, and also at the Dragons when we went to Lansdowne Road to play Leinster in the first season of regional rugby; some fantastic support travelled across to see us there. That sort of passionate support does give you a lift.
Final thoughts on the final?
It’s a case of what if, really. I tell players not to be left wondering: ‘if you don’t have a go, you won’t ever know’ type of thing. I felt they were left wondering because they were let down by things beyond their control. There is a thin dividing line between winning and losing and I think everyone was in agreement that we were harshly done by and could have won it if there had been a level playing field.
Any rest for the wicked this summer?
I’m on a working holiday – at the Student Rugby League World Cup Down Under.