Mike Ruddock was not a happy man after watching his side concede a late penalty to hand Bristol a 20-20 draw at Sixways.
Visitors far happier with share of the points
Worcester director of rugby Mike Ruddock was not a happy man after watching his side concede a late penalty to hand Bristol a 20-20 draw at Sixways.
Chris Latham's late try looked to have secured the victory for the hosts against the Premiership's bottom side, but Bristol levelled with a late penalty.
"I've told the players this - it was a fantastic try by Latham, enough for us to win and close out the game," said Ruddock.
"When Latham's crucial kick went into touch we should have had people up to mark it but they took it quickly, went away and got that vital penalty."
He added: "We did enough to win the game but we let them back in. I thought we were the better side, we had the better of the second half and should have got the result.
"It was a massive game for Bristol, it was a cup final for them and they battled and battled and scrapped for their lives."
Asked about the poor first quarter, Ruddock said: "It was a good battle. Everyone was a bit nervous at first, it was played like chess and everyone played a big kicking game frightened to make a mistake.
"Dale Rasmussen's sin-binning (after 20 minutes) was vital for us as up until then we were in no danger."
Determination
Bristol boss Richard Hill was a far happier coach after seeing his team earn a late draw.
"I was very pleased, we had the will and determination to tackle which we have been lacking this season," he said.
"We had tremendous physicality to our defence. Our players didn't give in even when they had their tails up late on and even though our confidence must have been fragile we battled to the end and Ed Barnes kept his nerve to land a great kick, but we've only had about 60% success with our kicks.
"Our try was a textbook score, we have practised that many times on the training ground and it's paid off.
"Lee Robinson's sin-binning was crucial for us for with Dan Ward-Smith on the wing the penalty try was almost inevitable. Still it's two points for us and we are now only one point behind Newcastle and ultimately I thought a draw was a fair enough result."
