By Strinesian Saleanian
September 20 2004

With Sale on one of their best-ever starts to a season, can they extend their winning run to four games against the new kids on the block? Can Worcester spoil the party? Strinesian Saleanian thinks on, and confesses his secret shame...

I have to declare a conflict of interests, of sorts. I was born and bred in Worcester. When I was 18, I played for the Worcester 2nd XV - this was 'a few' years BC of course (Before Cecil) - so Wuss have a place in my heart...as my second favourite team!

Since those days, the club has changed. Mr Duckworth has spent his millions and turned the Sixways outfit into a professional organisation. Wuss have maintained their 'club' atmosphere (minis on Sunday mornings, etc) but have also applied themselves to the professional game. We all know that last season they stormed ND1 with 26 wins out of 26. Despite off-field political wranglings, mostly emanating from Mike Yarlett and Rotherham, Mr D. allowed coaches John Brain and Andy Keast to start strengthening the squad immediately, which is something Rotherham did not do the previous year until it was 'too late'.

Not for the first time, Worcester have imported nearly a complete first XV. They have, however, learned from previous mistakes in two key areas: Firstly, they have not had a mass clear-out but have retained the majority of the team which won promotion; and secondly, they have bought a mix of experience, potential and current fringe international players rather than 'has-beens' looking for an easy pay cheque in their farewell season. As a result, they have built a squad which should compete in the ZP rather than simply propping it up.

So who should we be looking out for? In the backs they have a bit of class - captain Ben Hinshelwood is now established in the Scotland team (I presume Tam will have given PSA the 'lowdown') and is surrounded by internationally experienced players such as Thomas Lombard, Ben Gollings, Samoan Dale Rasmussen and the fit-again Thinus Delport, who made his debut against Bath last Saturday. Also look out for Gary Trueman in the centre, he was possibly their biggest threat against Newcastle in the opening match. England under-21 captain and Scrum half, Clive Stuart-Smith, is an inspired buy from Leeds, and then there are the other players who got Wuss to the Premiership in the first place - O'Leary, Brown, Cole, Roke and either the Australian 'Godfather of Soul', James Brown or the excellent Cook Islander Tommy Hayes at 10. A pre-season blow was the loss of youngster John Hylton, who showed in the Middlesex 7s that he has pace to burn (Stuart Barnes described him as the find of the tournament, and we all know he's never wrong!), unfortunately ruled out for 6 months with a ruptured cruciate ligament.

Up front I'm delighted that club stalwart, Neil Lyman (the Wuss 'clubman' equivalent of our own Jos, and also in his testimonial year) is there for the first year of the premiership adventure, although a hand injury means he will almost certainly miss the game at EP. The front row should be boosted by the experienced Steven Sparks (ex London Sale and Castres) and former Springbok hooker, Andre van Niekurk, who will be pushing Ben Daly for a starting place. Their other key front row signing was prop Chris Horsman (a sure-fire Welsh international of the future), but another injury means he will be missing for a few weeks yet and so is being 'covered' by the loan of Colin Noon from Rotherham. Front row personnel is completed with one of last season's retained Warrior veterans, Tony Windo, and hooker-come-prop Lee Fortey. Whilst this sounds like an embarrassment of riches, the lack of a really combative front row (especially at tight head) is in fact Worcester's biggest selection concern at present - Director of Rugby, John Brain (who knows a thing or two about the 'dark arts'!) is calling it a 'crisis'.

One of the most impressive closed-season signings was the former Wallabies lock Tom Bowman. It was all the more surprising, therefore, when Wuss announced his contract had been terminated as he had 'failed to prove his fitness'. This left a huge hole for the Warriors which they have plugged by signing up former Harlequin Tim Collier from London Welsh, a big man who many say is not yet proven in the Premiership, but was in outstanding form in the away game at Wasps a fortnight ago when he was the pick of the Worcester pack. Collier will presumably partner the impressive Craig Gillies (another class player - MoM v Newcastle in the opening game) or Phil Murphy, another England under-21 player signed from Leeds. Lack of real strength in depth in the front five could prove to be Worcester's biggest problem as the season goes on, but the one area where they do have cover is in the back row. The class act of ND1, another Antipodean Drew Hickey, has been joined by various new signings, including two former Natal Sharks (via Rotherham), Leon Greef and Brad McLeod-Henderson, another Samoan, Siaosi Vaili, (a very 'ample citizen' who got a brace against the Jets at HR earlier this month) and of course 'our own' Pat Sanderson ('nuff said!). Fit again Mark Gabey will also be pushing for at least a spot on the bench.

But enough of the personnel, what of the team? Overall, despite injury problems outlined above, the pack can be described in two words: 'big' and 'strong' - they have caused real problems for Saracens (Sale didn't exactly come off best in that particular contest) and Bath, complete with Borthwick and Grewcock in the engine room. Their lineout, when firing, is particularly potent. It is true to say that their backs haven't yet set the Zippie on fire, but the potential is certainly there.

Results are certainly improving, match by match. An opening weekend, somewhat nervous, loss to Newcastle (30-9) was followed by a much better week 2 outing at London Sale, where a first bonus point was earned in their 16-10 defeat. Then, last weekend, that all-too-often elusive first victory was only just missed when Bath recorded their own first win this season, 26-22. It has often been said that the best 'banker' result in a season will be the home fixture against whichever team has just been promoted - it would be unwise, nay foolish, to approach Friday's match so. Worcester are picking up bonus points and are close to turning someone over - with the greatest of respect to our friends across the Pennines, they are no Rotherham.

Stack this against the Sale start to the season - 3 wins out of 3, against teams widely tipped to be in the play-off shake-up. A squad full of confidence and, occasionally at least, in the sort of form to slay all before them (hopefully thgis can last longer than the first ten minutes on Friday). Their fitness and mindset in defence has been "awesome" (to quote Messrs Carling, Morris, et al). Indeed, as I have written elsewhere, we are hanging on to and winning games which would have been lost last season. PSA rotation policy means he has selected 26 different players in the three league games so far, played 24 of them (of which 23 have started at least one match), and not a single one has not looked the part. Such strength in depth may well prove to be the deciding factor...as long as over-confidence or complacency do not strike - somehow, I don't see the likes of PSA and KJ allowing such thoughts off the pitch, nor such seasoned Warriors (no reverse-pun intended) as Redpath, Anglesea, Todd, Baxendell or Robinson allowing it on the pitch!

One last thing, look out for the Mascot on Friday evening - Patrick Foster, a try-scoring member of the SSSC touch rugby team, is also known as Strinesian Saleanian Junior!