It was entirely fitting that Pat Sanderson should score the winning try for Worcester, against his former club no less, with six minutes remaining. For the Warriors' captain, who drove over from close range after a line-out, was the outstanding player in a distinctly mediocre match.
The two sides shared six tries, but it was a staccato affair that featured little fluent rugby and plenty of errors. Still, that will not bother Worcester, who started as clear second favourites, but played to their strengths. In other words, they stuck the ball up their jumpers for long periods and suffocated the life out of Harlequins. It was not pretty, but good for them and good for director of rugby Mike Ruddock, whose side recorded their first victory in any competition this season.
Defeat brought an angry response from the Quins' director of rugby, Dean Richards, who felt his side did not approach the game in the right manner. 'I don't think some of them have understood that every game is as important as the next,' he said. 'The best players in the world treat every game the same and that is what we have got to be striving for.
'I also felt they underestimated Worcester who have played some fantastic rugby this season and not got the rewards they deserved.'
After a cagey opening 10 minutes, Netani Talei, the Worcester No 8 who was making his debut for the club following his exploits with Fiji in the World Cup, burst through an attempted tackle by Ceri Jones and crossed unopposed towards the right corner.
James Brown was unable to add the conversion, whereupon Quins, thanks to no small part to the contribution of Chris Hala'ufia, their No 8, rapidly awoke from their slumber. The no-nonsense Tongan made a rampaging midfield break from the base of the scrum before feeding Will Skinner, who in turn gave Ugo Monye a 35-metre canter to the line with a beautifully delayed pass.
But Hala'ufia, who is no stranger to the odd bout of controversy, quickly blotted his copy-book. After Chris Malone had extended the lead to 10-5 with a well struck penalty goal, the South Seas Islander was sent to the cooler for 10 minutes after a clothes-line tackle on Mark Tucker, the Worcester centre. Brown banged over the resultant penalty to reduce the deficit to 10-8.
It got a whole lot worse for the home side when, with Hala'ufia still in the bin, the Warriors drove over Aleki Lutui, their hooker, from 15 metres out to go into a 15-10 lead. Quins, now with a full complement, responded gamely once again and were rewarded when Danny Care broke on the short side following a catch-and-drive routine before giving Monye the scoring pass, though a Loki Crichton penalty edged the visitors into an 18-17 interval lead.
That was how the score remained until just before the hour, when Marcel Garvey, the Worcester wing, compounded a missed tackle by handling so conspicuously at the breakdown that he was given a 10-minute compulsory break from the fray. From the ensuing line-out, Quins drove infield towards the posts before some crisp handling - and in particular a smart pass from Hal Luscombe - put Mike Brown in for an unconverted try in the right corner.
Monye came within a fingertip of claiming his hat-trick when he just failed to gather a cross-field kick from Malone and it was to prove a vital escape for the Warriors. With Sanderson and his fellow Worcester forwards continuing to ruck and maul to good effect, Quins found possession to be an increasingly elusive commodity as the visiting side deservedly held on by the odd point in 45.
The Stoop 8,829
HARLEQUINS M Brown; Strettle (Keogh 38), Luscombe, Barry, Monye; Malone (capt), Care; Jones, Brooker, Ross (Brooks 75), Spanghero (Kohn 75) Evans, Robshaw, Skinner, Hala'ufia (Guest 75)
Tries Monye 2, M Brown Cons Malone 2
Pen Malone WORCESTER Crichton; Delport (Benjamin 71), Rasmussen, Tucker (Pennell 60), Garvey; J Brown, Powell; Morris (Windo 69), Lutui (Fortey 61), Taumoepeau, Murphy (Bowley 59), Gillies, Wood, Sanderson (capt), Talei
Tries Talei, Lutui, Sanderson Con Crichton
Pens J Brown, Crichton
Referee C White
