Sam Tuitupou celebrated his league debut with a stunning second half try as he dived over to spark wild scenes from the travelling army of Worcester fans.

But there was late drama as Tag raced over – despite protest for blocking from Warriors – to snatch the win and leave Warriors to settle for a losing bonus point.

Warriors lost Greg Rawlinson who was ruled out with an ankle injury prior to kick off so his place was taken by lock Will Bowley.
New Zealand duo Rico Gear and Sam Tuitupou were both handed league debuts but neither could get near the ball as Irish turned the screw in the opening minutes as Warriors gave away two quick penalties.

Flanker Steffon Armitage was just held up as he looked to squirm in the corner, after forward pressure, but it was only a temporary let off as prop Richard Skuse then burrowed over from close range. Full back Delon Armitage added the conversion for an early 7-0 lead.

Worcester responded with some ball giving the backs chance to impress. Irish were caught offside and Shane Drahm slotted a penalty.
Irish were using the high ball into the fog with good impact as centre Gonzalo Tiesi put Chris Pennell under pressure and he knocked on the high ball. Armitage then took another high kick but Shane Geraghty’s kick to Topsy Ojo on the right wing was just cleaned up by Marcel Garvey.

The Worcester forwards were having an impact in the gloom as they powered forward towards the Irish line and enjoyed some success in the scrum. The visitors kicked for the corner but the ball was stripped by Sailosi Tagicakibau who threatened to run clear before being pushed into touch.

The fog was causing havoc for  both sides with Gear getting his hands on the ball and chipping forward only for the home side to clear the danger through the boot of Geraghty.

Warriors were now enjoying the lion share of possession and territory at the midway stage of the first half. But when the forwards worked a platform to use runners the ball was spilled forward by first receiver Drahm.

The ball was soon back in Worcester hands as the forwards shunted at the breakdown. Kiwi centre Tuitupou showed his class with a break in midfield as he spun off first tackler and, with the ball recycled quickly, Talei was inches from diving over before the ball was turned over.
Ball skills were letting Warriors down in crucial moments and a knock on saw possession switch to Irish who entered the Worcester half with real menace for the first time since the opening try in the early stages.

Warriors were penalised for not rolling away and up stepped Armitage looking to push the home side further ahead only for the full back to horribly push his kick right of the posts.

However, Worcester made a mess of mopping up the restart after Craig Gillies had won the ball but when Tiesi looked to dance through a gap he knocked on.

Then No.8 Kai Horstmann knocked on after a strong scrum and almost immediately Warriors were hit for hands in the ruck to hand Armitage a chance to make up for his earlier shocker that he duly took.

It went from bad to worse for Warriors as hooker Aleki Lutui was sent to the sin bin from the restart for taking out his man in the air.

The home side immediately stepped up the pressure to make the extra man count but it was Warriors who finished the half the better. An intelligent pass through the legs by Horstmann released Garvey who raced forward. He chipped over Armitage and looked set to win the race to the loose ball only to be tripped by the full back who was sent to the sin bin to even up the numbers.

Fly half Drahm coolly stepped up with final kick of the half to cut the lead to 10-6 at the break to the Exiles.

Warriors started the second half with plenty of intent with another break from Talei putting them on the front foot before Lutui returned to the action.

Five minutes after the restart Tuiutpou made a staggering impact with a stunning try. He attacked the pass from Drahm and cut a brilliant line to slice Irish open and he sped home from 35 metres to dive over. Drahm added the extras for a three point lead to the delight of the travelling army.

Warriors were now alive as Garvey looked to break clear after the ball was lost in the tackle. Delon Armitage returned to the action after his spell in the sin bin and had an immediate impact with a penalty just before the hour.

It was proving more and more difficult to make out both sets of teams in the descending fog and any high balls or long kicks lost in the thick mist.

Armitage edged the home side back in front with 17 minutes to go after Warriors were hit in the scrum for not binding. Drahm had the chance to level the scores up two minutes later but pushed his kick wide right but within a minute was given another chance after Irish were caught offside and this time he made no mistake.

Irish upped the heat in the dying ten minutes with Garvey winning the race for the corner after the Exiles kicked ahead to try and release Ojo as the tension grew on both sides.

But with three minutes to go Warriors had their hearts broken as Tagicakibau burst down the line and rode several tacklers before racing in the corner to score. Armitage added the extras for a 23-16 lead and deny Warriors.

Timeline:
4m Skuse t D Armitage c 7-0
8m Drahm p 7-3
33m D Armitage p 10-3
40m Drahm p 10-6
45m Tuitupou t Drahm c 10-13
54m Armitage p 13-13
63m Armitage p 16-13
68m Drahm p 16-16
77m Tagicakibau t D Armitage c 23-16

Warriors: 01 Matt Mullan, 02 Aleki Lutui, 03 Tevita Taumoepeau, 04 Will Bowley, 05 Craig Gillies, 06 Netani Talei (Hickey 73), 07 Pat Sanderson, 08 Kai Horstmann, 09 Matt Powell, 10 Shane Drahm, 11 Marcel Garvey, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 14 Rico Gear, 15 Chris Pennell (Delport 65)

Replacements: 16 Darren Morris, 17 Chris Fortey, 18 Phil Murphy, 19 Drew Hickey, 20 Jonny Arr, 21 Loki Crichton, 22 Thinus Delport