We must improve for Exeter says Brain

The league leaders missed out on the vital bonus point on the same day that second-placed Rotherham smashed Manchester 55-10 and cut Worcester's lead at the top to three points with a game in hand.

And Brain was far from happy with his team who are now misfiring at the wrong time with their visit to the County Ground looming on Saturday.

"I don't think we can shy away from the fact that we've dropped a point," he said. "We've got a very big game at Exeter and if we play like we did against Rugby then we will struggle to win that game. We all know that and there is plenty to work on this week. Rugby were quite a limited side and our failure to score four tries against them is disappointing."

Winston Stanley, Duncan Roke and Joe Ross scored second half tries for Worcester but after missing out on any touchdowns in the first half, they were always running out of time to recover. Tony Yapp kicked three penalties and a conversion but, overall, it was a poor performance in a turgid affair.

"It was a very disappointing performance," added Brain. "We looked very flat in the first half. We struggled to get in the game and once again our lineout didn't function in the first half and I think towards the end of that period, frustration crept in.

"As we expect, we came back in the second half when we should be fitter and stronger. However, in the end we could not convert that into four tries."

Brain was particularly unhappy with Worcester's lineout work which prevented them from keeping possession in a fragmented game.

"In the early games until Rotherham last weekend, we were looking at 80/90 per cent success rate on our ball. The last two games it's been poor but we've lost balls with both hookers. It is something we must make sure is spot on for Exeter but it's not as if we don't do any work on it. We are not firing at the moment and we must improve."