WORCESTER may have crashed to their 10th defeat of the season against Harlequins but their forwards still earned the respect of former England legend Dean Richards.

The 27-20 defeat at Sixways left Worcester nine points adrift at the bottom of the table and moved the visitors up to eighth place but Richards, the Quins director of rugby, had a compliment for his vanquished opponents.

Richards - one of the game's leading number eights in his heyday - admits he would have relished playing with the present Warriors pack.

"Worcester have a lot of quality in their pack and a strong scrummaging and mauling game," he said.

"I know I'd have liked to play behind them.

"But they have got to make the most out of what they get. They had the lion's share of possession but they didn't know how to use it."

Unfortunately for Worcester's pack, they had little opportunity to exert their dominance once the game went to uncontested scrums early in the second-half when Quins prop Mike Ross became the third front-rower to leave the field.

Richards admitted they were second best up front but believes the move to passive scrums also benefited Warriors.

It allowed them to bring on Gavin Quinnell and Phil Murphy who played a significant part in the hosts' try, which was scored from a line-out catch-and-drive.

"I thought Worcester had the dominance in the scrums but when we played them at the Stoop they tired very early," he said.

Richards' opposite number, John Brain, didn't use uncontested scrums as an excuse for the defeat but suggested the law should have been changed when the opportunity presented itself at the start of the season.

"We were completely dominant in that area," said Brain.

"They had injuries in their front row and the game went to uncontested scrums.

"These things happen sometimes.

"There was an attempt to modify the laws at the start of the season so that if a side went to uncontested scrums they would lose a player.

"I think that's what they do in France.

"I think that is a sensible modification but unfortunately it wasn't brought in this season."