The Boxing Day relegation bout between Bristol and Worcester at Ashton Gate may not deliver a knockout blow but the losers will have to disentangle themselves from the ropes as the Premiership reaches the halfway mark.
Bristol have yet to win a match in their first season back in the top flight after an eight-year absence and will enter the new year at the bottom of the table whatever the outcome but they go into encounter as the form team after collecting three bonus points from their past five matches to their opponents’ one.
Worcester have lost their five away league matches, all by double-figure margins, and their three away matches in cross-border competitions have also ended in defeat. They are six points ahead of Bristol whose next two matches are away to the teams immediately above Worcester going into the 11th round, Sale and Northampton.
Playing during the holiday period will provide a different kind of festive fare for the Bristol full-back Jason Woodward, who joined the club last month from the Hurricanes in New Zealand. “Playing on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day is unusual for me,” the 26-year-old said. “It is a time of year when I am used to being in holiday mode and enjoying hot weather but part of the draw coming here was trying something different.
“There has been a big circus about the Worcester game given where we are in the table but the best thing for us is to focus on the game. Getting caught up in the hype takes away from what we are trying to achieve. We are building each week, and our attack and defence are slowly getting better. That is what we have to concentrate on and not worry about anything else.”
Worcester will have the New Zealand-born Ben Te’o in their midfield for the first time since the end of October. He was involved in England’s autumn internationals and missed the European Challenge Cup matches against Newport Gwent Dragons to visit his father, who had been taken ill.
“I expect Ben will be hungry to play,” Sam Vesty said. “It is a big game and the media has made a big thing of it. It is one to look forward to and what we need to achieve is consistency.”
The Worcester coach added: “At the moment we are playing well one week but not the next and you cannot afford to do that. It is a painful lesson we have to take into the new year.”
