Worcester 25-19 Bath: Report and reaction

Match stats: Worcester 25-19 Bath

Worcester tries: Adams (51), Olivier (59), Spencer (76)
Conversions: Mills (59,76)
Penalties: Mills (35,40) 

Bath tries: Banahan (38)
Conversions: Ford (38)
Penalties: Ford (23, 45, 68, 79) 

Match report

Bath's Aviva Premiership play-off hopes suffered a severe setback at Sixways as Worcester scored three second-half tries to leave them floundering.

Wing Josh Adams, substitute centre Wynand Olivier and former Bath lock Will Spencer struck in quick succession, underpinning Worcester's 25-19 victory that now leaves Bath chasing fourth-placed Leicester with just two regular season games remaining.

And Warriors' triumph also means bottom club Bristol effectively need a win against leaders Wasps on Sunday to avoid propping up the table and almost-certain relegation.

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Fly-half Ryan Mills added two penalties and two conversions, halting Bath's eight-match winning streak against Worcester, with the visitors managing a Matt Banahan try plus four George Ford penalties and a conversion.

But they have lost crucial ground in the play-off race, with Leicester now firm favourites to join already qualified Wasps, Exeter and Saracens in next month's semi-finals.

Tighthead prop Biyi Alo made his first Premiership start for Worcester, replacing an injured Nick Schonert as a solitary switch following last week's defeat against Sale Sharks, but Bath were unchanged following victory over Leicester at Twickenham seven days ago.

British and Irish Lions assistant coaches Rob Howley and Steve Borthwick, meanwhile, were among a capacity Sixways crowd, running a final check on possible New Zealand tour candidates ahead of next Wednesday's squad announcement in London.

One of those hopefuls - Bath's Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau - was heavily involved early on, yet Worcester went closest to opening the scoring when number eight Marco Mama dived over the line, but referee Luke Pearce rightly brought play back following an earlier forward pass.

Ford kicked Bath into a 24th-minute lead when Worcester were penalised for not rolling away at a ruck, yet Worcester continued to look dangerous in attack and wing Perry Humphreys went close to a try as Bath's defence once again found itself tested.

Mills hauled the Warriors level through a penalty four minutes before half-time, only for Bath to score from their first quality attack after securing lineout possession.

England centre Jonathan Joseph found Banahan in space and he then capitalised on poor defensive work by Warriors full-back Chris Pennell before claiming his fifth Premiership touchdown of an injury-plagued season.

Ford converted from the touchline, only for Worcester to have the final say of a disappointing half when Mills kicked a penalty from almost 10 metres inside his own half, cutting Bath's lead to 10-6.

Ford opened the second-half scoring with an angled penalty, but Worcester responded eight minutes later through a try that had their England centre Ben Te'o at its attacking hub.

Te'o, billed by some as an outside chance for Lions selection, made short work of an attempted Ford tackle and sprinted clear into space before finding his midfield partner Jackson Willison in support, and Willison sent an unmarked Adams sprinting over.

Mills, though, saw his earlier kicking accuracy desert him as he missed the conversion and then an easier penalty chance from 40 metres, which he hit so poorly that it barely reached the Bath posts.

But Worcester did not let up and they scored a second try nine minutes after their opener as half-backs Mills and Francois Hougaard combined to put Olivier over just five minutes after he appeared off the bench.

Mills kicked the conversion for a five-point lead and Bath were at sixes and sevens, struggling badly to reassert their authority of the game's second quarter when they built a solid advantage.

Ford's third successful penalty 10 minutes from time gave Bath renewed hope but it was snuffed out by Spencer's touchdown that Mills converted, before another Ford penalty secured a losing bonus point for the visitors.

Match reaction

Bath rugby director Todd Blackadder on his side's play-off push: "It is so disappointing. We are up and down, up and down. Probably when I look at the game, our (defensive) exits were really poor. We just gifted the ball back to Worcester, who played really well.

"And in the second half, unforced errors killed us. The effort was there from us, it was just individual execution - whether in attack or defence - that was lacking today. We had a couple of real opportunities to put the hammer down and show our ruthless edge, but we were unable to deliver.

"We needed to hold the ball more. We didn't need to be pretty, we just needed to be tough. I thought our ball carries were poor - we probably turned the ball over four or five times, which is just unacceptable.

"We have just got to look at ourselves. It is often the little basic things that let you down. We knew what was at stake today, which makes it even more disappointing, but we are not going to give up hope. There is still too much to play for, and a lot can happen."

Worcester rugby director Gary Gold, whose services Bath dispensed with in December 2013, on his side's victory: "I don't think it should be about me or whatever has happened. It is satisfying for me becasue this club asked me to come in during January and see what we could do to try to fix things, and I think we've made some progress, which is satisfying in itself.

"Bristol have got two home games out of three left, so under no circumstances am I going to sit here and say we are safe. They beat Bath at home and ran Exeter close at Sandy Park.

"If we are able to get through this fight, then I will definitely look to chat to the club to see what the plans are for next season. I am elated and very proud of the guys. They stuck in for the full 80 minutes against a quality Bath team.

"We wanted to score four tries. You won't defend your way out of relegation, you have to put tries on the board, and I think that might be 14 tries scored in the last four games. I don't think anyone had a poor game today. We asked a lot of questions with ball in hand."