Despite other results meaning Warriors will be playing Aviva Premiership rugby next season, Director of Rugby Dean Ryan admitted it was a difficult day for his side after they were beaten 50-12 by Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park.
Chiefs raced into a 17-0 lead midway through the first-half before Warriors brought themselves to within five at the break.
But a dominant second-half display saw the Chiefs run out comfortable winners and Ryan knows his side have some work to do to reach the level of their Premiership counterparts, who are chasing the title.
He said: “It shows we’re not at that level. We were running on empty against a side super-charged for its first European quarter-final next week so I’m not sure the result reflects us as a team.
“They did a lot of damage to us in the first 30 minutes even though the scoreboard didn’t reflect it. They played faster and were more physical than us and we were trying to hang on so you could tell the second half was going to be tough.
“With them playing into the wind and keeping the ball a bit more in the first-half, they were a bit more organised and in that period when we got a yellow card it was very difficult. Overall it was a difficult day for us.”
Warriors’ plight was made all the more difficult with a spate of injuries before and during the match, as well as three yellow cards.
And as the experienced boss knows, you can’t afford that against the best sides in the competition.
He explained: “We lost three or four guys before the game and then lost three or four in it and then had three yellow cards and you can’t do that down here.
“Everything they do is done faster and it’s more clinical and that’s what we saw today. They got on top of us and they’re very good at stressing you.”
Warriors host Wasps in a West Midlands derby at Sixways on Saturday 16 April and Ryan is hoping his side can recover and reproduce their recent form which saw them win five of the previous six before travelling to Sandy Park.
He added: “We’ve been running with a very narrow group for this ten-game period and this was a little bit too far for us today.
“Full credit to the squad for winning five of the last six in what’s probably the most difficult time for a club like us so we need the week’s rest.
“We don’t want the season to just drift away. We want to finish the way that we’ve been playing recently so we have to ensure we get people fit and get the best people on the field.”