EURO CHALLENGE CUP

News | Fixtures | Results | Tables

Ruddock remaining relaxed

Friday 23rd May 2008

Relaxed: Ruddock is looking forward to the final

It's not every day that a side finishing third from bottom in the Guinness Premiership finds themselves one game away from a place in the Heineken Cup, yet that is precisely the position Worcester find themselves in.

That one game just so happens to be the European Challenge Cup Final against Bath on Sunday, and victory for Worcester would represent a historic achievement - it will be the first time they have made it into Europe's premier club competition.

With preparations for the big game taken care of Planet Rugby caught up with Worcester's Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock, who was kind enough to put his lunch on hold for us as he relaxed on his day off.

With all the pressure and hype that goes with a final one might have expected Ruddock to be battling with the butterflies, far from it in fact. Rather the former Wales, and more recently Mumbles RFC, coach was in high spirits.

When asked of his thoughts for the weekend Ruddock had more than just rugby on his mind.

"I am off shopping on Saturday and dinner with a few friends on Saturday night, nothing too major as there's a game of rugby I want to watch on Sunday," joked Ruddock.

And here we were thinking Mumbles had finished their season already. Clearly Ruddock was relaxed ahead of the club's biggest game in its history, a trait he has looked to instil in his players as well.

"It's nice because we can go into this final quite relaxed," he said.

"The worry of relegation has gone now and we jumped above Newcastle in the league and are playing some good rugby.

"So we can go into this in a very relaxed but determined mindset with no real pressure on us.

"If we win it will be fantastic, it will be historical for the club and we would also then get the added bonus of going into the Heineken Cup next season.

"All week myself and Clive (Clive Griffiths, Ruddock's right hand man) have been encouraging the players to stay relaxed and not to let the occasion get to them. To that effect we have had some fun this week but are more than ready for it now.

"I won't lie, I am really excited about Sunday."

With nothing to lose Ruddock was quick to heap the pressure on Bath, a side who have failed in their last two Challenge Cup Finals.

"If we lose it won't be the end of the world, it will have been a new experience for us and something that will stand us in good stead for next season," a philosophical Ruddock said.

"For Bath though, being one of the form teams this year and having really played fantastically well all season, if they don't win this it will be seen as a season of disappointment.

"So really there is a lot of pressure on them to perform and get this result, which suits us just fine."

With Bath already assured of a place in next season's Heineken Cup, third place in the Guinness Premiership settled that, Worcester have the added incentive of the same reward themselves.

Although, keeping with the relaxed, no pressure atmosphere Ruddock has created this week, it was not the main focus of Sunday. Rather Ruddock and his charges are seeing it is an added bonus, first and foremost it is about winning the club's first major trophy.

"We have spoken about the Heineken Cup, as you might expect, but it's really just an added bonus," he stressed.

"If it happens it happens. The main thing is to focus on our game-plan and things that we can try and control really.

"We have no control over those 'what ifs', all we can control is the plan we want to try and implement going into the game.

"If all that goes to plan and we win then it will be a huge achievement to have made the Heineken Cup but, like I have been stressing to the guys all week, it really will just be a bonus."

A bonus indeed, especially given that Ruddock's side will go into Sunday's game as clear underdogs. That said Ruddock was anything but bothered by that tag, especially given their turbulent form in the Guinness Premiership.

"We are more than happy with the underdogs tag," he revealed.

"Bath ended up third in the Guinness Premiership and made it into the play-offs, where as we finished third up from the bottom.

"On league standings there is a real division between the two of us so we can't complain at being seen as the underdogs."

There are those who have been quietly surprised by Worcester's unbeaten run in Europe this season, and not without good reason. This is a side who until the last day of the season had spent the entire year in the bottom two of the Guinness Premiership, and only twice won two consecutive games.

Hardly the sort of form that one would expect of a side in a major European final, although Ruddock was happy to explain his side's contrasting form.

"The Guinness Premiership has been a much more taxing tournament week-in week-out, nearly every game is of Heineken Cup standard," Ruddock explained.

"We have also been building a side throughout the season with the likes of Greg Rawlinson, Rico Gear and Sammy Tuitupou coming in after we had started the season.

"So that has been a challenge for us, as well as blooding several young guys to get them exposed to the highest level.

"All that has meant when we have gone into European games with our best possible side looking to really play some good rugby.

"Not that we don't in the Premiership but we have been less experimental in Europe and with no disrespect we have put weaker sides like GRAN Parma and Bucuresti to the sword which was very pleasing."

With Ruddock eager to return to his lunch we wished him all the best for the weekend, and true to his mood he left us in high spirits.

"I think I will need more luck for the shopping trip with the missus on Saturday than for Sunday's game," quipped Ruddock.

Whatever the outcome of Sunday's clash there is no doubting that Ruddock has helped transform Worcester in little over a year in charge.

By Marcus Leach