Warriors frustrate Exiles

Hala'ufia looks for a way through the Worcester defence

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London Irish once again failed to make home advantage count as Worcester recorded a third straight Guinness Premiership draw at the Madejski Stadium.

A low-quality affair was dominated by the boot, only Irish wing John Rudd registering an open-play try.

Worcester were once again indebted to fly-half Willie Walker who fired over 11 points, their remaining score coming courtesy of a penalty-try.

A fortnight after losing their unbeaten home record to Newcastle Falcons, the Exiles mounted the first threat to either line, however Peter Hewat failed to get on the end of a sweeping move.

Ryan Lamb missed a straight-forward penalty chance moments later and Worcester, down to 14-men at this point following the sin-binning of lock Greg Rawlinson, struck the first points of the afternoon through Walker.

Walker doubled the advantage early in the second quarter, Irish once again infringing at the breakdown to allow the Warriors number 10 the chance to bring up his personal century of Premiership points this season.

Superb

More indiscipline from Worcester saw flanker Tom Wood sent to the cooler after a blatant high tackle - Lamb making no mistake with the resulting penalty.

But his score was almost immediately cancelled out by a superb Walker effort from the touchline.

As a scrappy 40 minutes neared he interval, Irish ended a forgettable half with another Lamb penalty to trail 6-9.

Irish wing Rudd lit up the encounter six minutes after the restart, drifting through the Worcester defence before sliding under the posts.

Lamb converted but, rather than kick-starting the Irish effort, the visitors bounced back immediately, pinning the Exiles on their line and forcing a penalty try when referee Tim Wigglesworth spotted handling in a five-metre scrum.

It was Worcester's first try in almost five hours of Premiership rugby. Walker slotted the simple conversion to give his side a three-point lead.

But Lamb's third penalty levelled the scores just past the hour and that is how the contest ended despite sustained Irish pressure.