Worcester thump Harlequins 44-13 as London Irish face relegation

Worcester Warriors 44 - 13 Harlequins, Sixways

Worcester Warriors came up with a seven-try performance as they defeated Harlequins 44-13 to ensure that they remain in the top tier during their Aviva Premiership encounter at Sixways on Saturday.

The result has widened the gap between Worcester Warriors and London Irish by 14 points with the Exiles now facing relegation and will be replaced by Bristol in the next season of Premiership.

Dorian Jones and Marcus Smith exchanged penalties to start the proceedings before winger Bryce Heem crossed over for the home side in the 14th minute. The response from Harlequins came three minutes later with Charlie Walker scoring a try but a conversion from Smith was the difference between the two teams at the end of the first quarter.

Man of the match Jackson Willison restored the lead for the Warriors with his try in the 21st minute and their momentum was aided by a sin-bin to Danny Care in the 25th minute. The Warriors also made full use of the numerical advantage as Darren Barry and Ben Te'o scored back to back tries in the 26th and 33rd minutes respectively as they headed into the break with a 25-13 lead.

Francois Hougaard further extended Worcester's lead to 30-13 with a 45th minute touchdown and has the visitors failed to add any point in the second half, further tries from Jamie Shillcock (66') and Willison (79') sealed a 44-13 bonus point victory for the Sixways outfit.