Worcester Warriors winger Dean Hammond would love to see his side set themselves up for a positive end to the season with victory at Sale Sharks on Friday night.
The second-bottom Warriors could leapfrog Sale into tenth in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table with a win at the AJ Bell Stadium (kick-off 7.45pm) but 24-year-old Hammond believes that he and his teammates must be ready to build on the high points of their last outing.
A fortnight ago Worcester provided a sting in the tail at leaders Wasps, as they scored two late tries through Biyi Alo and Jackson Willison to salvage two bonus points at the Ricoh Arena.
🎪Don’t miss Warriors’ next home game as we battle Bath Rugby in the Big Easter Bash! 🥚🤹♀️🏉
👉 https://t.co/CWgD9NAyQI pic.twitter.com/HgnMRpNIGL
— Worcester Warriors🏉 (@WorcsWarriors) April 2, 2017
That provided Hammond’s team – who were beaten 40-33 – with their first away points of the season, and with just four games of the current campaign remaining, the South African is keen to see the Warriors set about constructing a fine end to 2016-17 with a result at Sale.
“We want to try and go out there and make amends for the last game,” said Hammond.
“Wasps are a good team, so to get some points there was good, but we’ve got to build on the positives from that match.
“We obviously keep an eye on what’s going on with other results and we want to make sure that we have a good end to the season for the club and the fans.
“Preparation has been going well.
🎥 Gary Gold talks about mentality, Ryan Bower and the @premrugby table after a positive week of training at Sixways… pic.twitter.com/psgHJqjQ1m
— Worcester Warriors🏉 (@WorcsWarriors) March 31, 2017
“Training has been good and it’s nice to get in some good sessions with a bit of sunshine there, which always makes it quite nice.
“We want to get a result against Sale. We’ll analyse what they’re going to bring but I think we know that they’re going to be physical and they’re going to test us.
“We try to approach every game in the same way and that’s what we’ll be doing for this one.”
Against Wasps late last month, Hammond was able to savour a personal achievement by marking his 50th appearance for the Warriors.
5⃣0⃣ Congratulations to @DeanHammond13 on making his 50th Warriors appearance in yesterday’s game! pic.twitter.com/WW43awrw1P
— Worcester Warriors🏉 (@WorcsWarriors) March 27, 2017
Having arrived at Sixways back in 2013, the former South Africa Under-20 international, who has crossed the whitewash eight times in his most productive try-scoring season to date, also extended his contract in January.
Hammond said: “It was the media team that let me know that I was getting close and of course, that sort of thing is in the programme as well.
“It’s nice to reach a milestone.
“To be a part of this team is quite a privilege and it’s been a great experience for me.”
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