Ampthill suffered their first Champ Rugby home loss of 2026, losing 14-41 to a high-flying Worcester Warriors side on the Olney Field on Saturday afternoon.
Despite the Mob causing the Warriors some problems in the opening stages, Worcester weathered the storm and scored the opening try in the 7th minute. After a line break from Tim Anstee, the Australian back-rower found Will Lane on his inside, who sprinted away to score in the corner.
Worcester hammered home their advantage early on in the contest, scoring two more quickfire tries to lead 15-0 after 15 minutes. James Short pounced on the loose ball following a kick through from centre partner Tom Hendrickson to score on the right hand side in the 10th minute, and just five minutes later a dominant rolling maul was finished off by Thabo Ndimande.
The visitors continued to control the match despite Ampthill’s best efforts, and secured the try bonus point just before half time. Another rolling maul in the 37th minute led to James Tyas peeling off and dotting down unopposed, and following Will Reed’s first conversion of the day, Worcester took a 22-0 lead into the break.
The Warriors further extended their lead just eight minutes into the second half, scoring their fifth try of the afternoon to 29-0. After an Ampthill error near their own try line, Worcester pounced on the ball and it was eventually spread to Josh Bassett on the left-hand side, who strolled it in with ease.
Ampthill began to put some significant pressure on the Worcester defence, and scored their first try of the match in the 54th minute. After the Warriors managed to stop the Ampthill rolling maul from pushing their way across the try line from close range, the ball was spread to Ollie Mullarkey, who dotted down under the sticks.
After almost 20 minutes without any points, Worcester scored two tries in a three minute period to extend their lead to 41-7 after 74 minutes. Hallam Chapman forced his way over from close range in the 71st minute after the Warriors tapped and went inside the Ampthill 22, and not long after an outstanding offload out the back from Juan González sent replacement Jake Garside away.
Ampthill had the final say in the match, scoring their second try of the match with the last play of the contest. After Ampthill elected to go for a deep lineout on the Worcester 22, Totoa Auvaa was allowed to jump, collect the ball, and then sprint to the try line unopposed to close out the match, following Joe Heslop’s conversion.
Speaking after his side’s first home defeat of 2026, Ampthill head coach Dave Ward said, “Obviously we lost convincingly in the end and credit to Worcester, they took their opportunities certainly first half with their four tries, but we had our opportunities too and it’s becoming a bit of a recurring theme for us every week not to take them. I’m disappointed because I felt we were in it for long periods”.
Ampthill Points Scorers
Tries: Mullarkey 54, Auvaa 80
Conversions: Grimoldby 55, Heslop 80
Attendance: 975