Worcester head coach Richard Hill paid tribute to Andy Goode after the Warriors overcame Aviva Premiership rivals Gloucester 21-15.
Half-time switch proves key as coach praises stand-off
Worcester head coach Richard Hill paid tribute to Andy Goode after the Warriors overcame Aviva Premiership rivals Gloucester 21-15 at Sixways.
Goode has had to cede the number 10 jersey to Joe Carlisle in recent weeks but when the former England player was brought off the bench in the second-half the response was immediate.
Goode crossed between the posts for the go-ahead score and his experience behind the scrum helped see his side home for their first back-to-back wins since April 2009.
"It was fantastic to see Andy come on and play as we know he can play," Hill said. "He grew in confidence after his try.
"Andy has not been happy, but his attitude has been superb. He doesn't want to be second choice. He has had to sit and watch Joe play well and has had to take his place on the bench.
"But he hasn't moaned. He has been very good in training and he went on today probably determined to prove a point, which is the best possible attitude to have.
"It was made for him, at 10-6 down, to go on and turn the game, and he did so with a fantastic try."
Targets
The win, coming a week after their 6-0 defeat of Wasps, means Warriors are now 13 points clear of bottom-side Newcastle with nine rounds remaining.
"We had set ourselves targets in blocks of seven league games," Hill added. "It was 10 points for the first seven and 11 for the next seven, so with one game left in that second block we have exceeded our target by four points.
"I would be mortified if we got relegated now. We felt this game was either going to turn us back to looking over our shoulder, or it was going to mean we could start looking up the table. It was a really pivotal win.
"Last week was our first league away win since April 2009, and now our first back-to-back league wins since then. The players feel good about themselves.
"What this means is that we can genuinely start looking up the table, as opposed to down it. It will give the players a massive boost when they look at the league table."
Momentum
Gloucester were left to reflect on a continuation of poor Premiership away form, having collected a solitary victory from their last 11 league trips.
"In general, I was pretty happy at 10-6 up at half-time, but we started the second half with a missed tackle which gave Worcester momentum," head coach Bryan Redpath said.
"I didn't feel we were under a huge amount of pressure from their attack, but our ball-retention wasn't great and that enabled them to create some pressure on us and they capitalised.
"Andy Goode's try was pretty simple - a missed tackle by Freddie (Burns). There was nothing else to it.
"A couple of mistakes cost us dearly today. You have bad days and good days, and today just wasn't good enough in certain parts."
Gloucester's England international full-back Olly Morgan was carried off nursing a knee injury, and Redpath added: "Olly doesn't look great at the moment.
"He is not too comfortable. We will get him scanned over the next couple of days."
