Praise for Warriors’ resilience

The Warriors director of rugby was pleased with the performance in a difficult match which set up a vital Sixways tussle with Group Five leaders Clermont Auvergne next month.

Brain said: "Our discipline was excellent in the face of a lot of aggravation and the players came together very well.

"Albi are a good club who aren't used to being beaten on their own patch and, although we were disappointed to get caught by a quick tap-penalty in the first-half and let in a try at the end, it was very pleasing to win there.

"We pressurised well in the scrums and turned-over a lot of their ball due to good defensive work.

"It was really hard to read their game due to the fog and we had to rely on kicking but it was a decent, professional performance.

"We expected them to come at us hard in the scrum early on but we dominated in the set-piece and once again our front row put in a decent performance.

"Although Tony Windo had some bad luck with injury and left the pitch early on, we've got some excellent players and I thought we controlled the scrums really well."

Brain said the victory had also boosted the squad as they prepare for a difficult Christmas and new year calendar with three Premiership matches within 11 days.

He added: "This victory now sets up a great chance for us against Clermont at home in January and the possibility of getting through to the knockout stages of this competition.

"That's a real achievement for Worcester compared to where we were a few seasons ago and we need to realise how far the club has moved on.

"The Clermont fixture will be a great match and one to look forward to but, most importantly, we can now go into Christmas boosted by four victories.

"We have a big few weeks ahead of us but we're in good shape and I'm confident we can do well."

Warriors host London Irish on Friday and Harlequins a week on Wednesday (both 8pm) before heading to Northampton on New Year's Day (3pm).