Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock vowed there would be no repeat when Warriors return to London Irish in the Guinness Premiership after heavy defeat in the EDF Energy Cup.
Warriors suffered a 48-27 defeat at the Madejski Stadium as the Exiles ran in seven tries in an open and free flowing clash.
Ruddock admitted he was heartened by the way his attacked as they ran in five tries courtesy of Miles Benjamin, Marcel Garvey, Kai Horstmann and a brace from Will Bowley.
But he admitted his ‘experimental side’ needed to sharpen up defensively and promised Worcester fans the game would be very different when the teams battle for league points on December 23.
“When we come back in the Guinness Premiership it won’t be anything like that,” said Ruddock.
“It will be full blooded, full on and I would expect defences to look to dominate more than on this occasion.
“The message we sent out before the game was to play rugby. We scored five tries which is the first time that has happened for this club for a while, to get a bonus point in attack was a positive.
“But the defence was poor and that is an area to focus on with the two games against Gran Parma coming up. To concede as many tries as we did was not good enough. It got very loose in the second half.”
Ruddock made nine changes from the side that lost to Sale Sharks in the Guinness Premiership with youngsters like Joe Carlisle, Matt Mullan, Miles Benjamin and James Collins handed a chance to shine.
And the Warriors chief was eager to praise the contribution of his young guns and attacking flair on show despite defeat.
“A lot of rugby was played by both teams, it was very positive. Both teams were determined to play and create chances,” he said.
“We picked an experimental team with a number of young players coming in but they did very well. We experimented and some of these players will come through, others will not.
“There were positives with the width we played with, the offloads and the young guys who put their hands up and that is exciting to see.
“Chris Pennell was outstanding and players like Carlisle, Mullan and Collins will benefit from the experience.
“If we can put players like Sam Tuitupou and Rico Gear outside them, bring in people like Pat Sanderson and Craig Gillies, I think we can really put it together.
Both teams traded blows in a thrill a minute encounter but Ruddock pinpointed the home try just before the break by Richard Thorpe as the turning point.
“The try before half time was a big blow for us. Irish were getting a lot of possession and territory but we had fought back into the game with a great try from Miles Benjamin,” he said.
“But after the try just before the break we were always playing catch up. They put daylight between us and made it difficult.”