It may be two and a half years since their desperately sad demise but the impact of the Worcester Warriors on this Six Nations is clear. Hope is growing that rugby may return to Sixways in the not-too-distant future, with an encouraging update provided by the relaunched club on Friday, but the lost and listless supporters shorn of their club so suddenly can at least take some degree of solace in seeing several past Worcester favourites shining on the biggest stage.
The Severn splits the cathedral city and on either side of the river, the Warriors spirit is strong. In the England camp, Fin Smith increasingly looks like the fly-half of the present and future, although his reunion with former club colleague Ollie Lawrence has been cut short by the centre’s serious achilles injury which has ended his season. Across the border, Matt Sherratt is reaching the end of an interim stint that has breathed new life back into his adopted nation, the Cardiff coach set to return to club duties having counted two stops at Sixways as vital steps in his unlikely journey from schoolteacher to international interim boss.
