Brendan Gallagher: The Ultimate Warrior Chris Pennell stands tall in the battle for survival

There was a fascinating and rather poignant moment down at Sixways the other night as Worcester trooped off after losing to Leicester in the Premiership, a match they could and probably should have won after their best performance in a heart-breaking season thus far. Man of the Match Chris Pennell was pulled to one side and asked for his comments:  “I thought the boys from one to fourteen were excellent, if we can play like this we can still avoid relegation.”
From one to 14?  Excuse me. What about the colossus at full-back, the guy who is comfortably the Premiership player of the season despite playing for stragglers Worcester who have yet to record a league win?  What about the guy who should undoubtedly be in the England squad and who would be most critic's automatic replacement should the excellent Mike Brown suddenly encounter injury problems?  In short what about Chris Pennell?
The self-effacing Pennell has been the heart and soul of the Worcester team as they battle through the most painful of transitional seasons and will remain so for some time to come having recently signed a three-year contract extension in the full knowledge that relegation is more likely than not. He is the last person to spout statistics so I will do it for him.  This season thus far he has been ever present for Worcester and leads the Premiership in carries (157), metres made (959) and defenders beaten (35). On top of that he has been almost faultless under the high ball, a tower of strength in defence and has recently added kicking long range penalty goals to his armoury.
The Worcester full-back describes himself as a glass half-full person, responds well to adversity and clearly enjoys playing against the odds. Not that we should be surprised; it's in the genes. What were the odds when his father Graham Dilley strode to the wicket to join Ian Botham at Headingley in 1981?  500-1 against the win if I recall.  Dilley, a bowler first and foremost, proceeded to play the innings of his life in England's hour of need as he smashed the ball around the park for an invaluable 56. And we all know what happened next.
Pennell should clearly be in England's thoughts but it's not easy. In Stuart Lancaster's current 36-strong England squad there are, er precisely zero players from the bottom three clubs – Worcester, Newcastle and London Irish.

“It's a difficult one but I remain ambitious and at 26 should have the best years ahead of me,” says Pennell. “The stats tell their own story. England coaches are always going to favour the top teams and there is certainly a strong argument to support that. Having said that, I know from my own eyes that there is an awful lot of talent in the lower regions and everybody always makes the point that one of the great strengths of the league is that on any given day any of the 12 teams can beat each other. The logic of that is there must be quality throughout.
“The reality is that there is only so much rugby the England guys can watch and they have to prioritise big Heineken Cup Games and top of the table clashes, so if you are not in the Heineken and playing down at the bottom it difficult. I'm not at all discouraged though. Playing for England will always be the ultimate and it remains a driving force.  Pat Sanderson used to win England caps when he was with us and Matt Mullan made his England debut from Worcester. My intention is to keep improving; I am a great believer that if you prove yourself good enough, in the end the call will come.”
Pennell is nothing if not persistent. Ask any professional rugby player the two injuries they most fear and the majority will reply an ACL knee ligament rupture and a fractured ankle dislocation, the injury which normally results in those horror pictures with the players ankle pointing in the wrong direction. Pennell has suffered – and overcome – two ACL ruptures in his left knee and a fractured dislocation to both ankles. Only a glass half-full person would ever come back from that.
“I think my decent run of form now is probably down to finally putting together a run of games over the last two seasons,” says Pennell who had seemed set to be fast-tracked to higher honours when he starred for the England U19 side before injuries struck. “It's also down to the quality of coaches we now have in place – Dean Ryan, Carl Hogg, Shane Howarth and Simon Cross – they have really helped me and they have the quality and skillset to get this club back to where it wants to be.
“We still think we can catch Newcastle and avoid the drop but I had no hesitation recently in signing on here for another three years, relegation or no relegation. I have a great affinity with Worcester the club and Worcester the city and that is a massive part of the scenario for me, loyalty to your local community. The majority of my upbringing has been in and around Worcester and all my senior rugby has been here. If you have the opportunity of doing what you love to do for your local team, well that's important to me. I have seen so much time and money invested here, from Cecil Duckworth and others who have stayed loyal, that I want to be part of a successful Worcester when that happens, which it will one day.
“There are not many sides who would be in our position and still have the spirit and camaraderie we have and it's great credit to the lads and everybody at the club. Seasons like this have the potential to turn into a chore, a goundhog day, and that would make it difficult to come to work but in all honesty that has never been the case. We have been very honest – and that's one of the great qualities I like about Dean Ryan – and we know exactly where we are. We can see the future and to a man we are hungry for that future. We still can't wait for match day because soon it will start swinging our way a little bit and we will start to become a force.”