WORCESTER Warriors came from 21-3 at half-time to earn themselves two points despite defeat against reigning Premiership champions Harlequins in an enthralling game at the Twickenham Stoop.

Tries from Louis Lynagh, Alex Dombrandt and Cadan Murley had put the hosts in control at the break but Warriors stormed back with scores from Ollie Lawrence, Willi Heinz and Will Chudley either side of Joe Marchant’s second-half try to make it 28-24 with 10 minutes on the clock.

Dino Lamb put the result to bed with time running out but Warriors would not be denied a pointless afternoon as substitute Marc Thomas scored from close range to secure his side two richly deserved points.

Worcester remain without an away win since the final away game of the 2019/20 campaign (London Irish last September) but the performance will have no doubt raised a few eyebrows around the league.

Warriors started brightly and Owen Williams knocked over an early penalty to give them the lead.

But Quins grew into it and just before the 20-minute mark, winger Louis Lynagh showed his strength to burst through a few tacklers to rumble over after a quick check with the TMO from referee Sara Cox.

The official became the first female to ever take charge of an English top-flight league fixture and was applauded by fans after the game as she walked down the tunnel.

Lynagh’s score seemed to give Quins and their raucous fans a lift before they extended their lead through Alex Dombrandt after a dominant scrum.

Noah Heward was sin-binned a few minutes later for an in the air tackle and the hosts took full advantage right on the half-time whistle when Cadan Murley sprinted over in the corner.

Tommaso Allan was perfect from the tee all afternoon and his third successive conversion meant the home side held a comfortable lead heading into the sheds.

Worcester raced out of the blocks in the early stages of the second-half and Lawrence picked himself a delightful line to squeeze through the Quins midfield and power over for their first try of the afternoon.

The excitement continued and despite a strong start, Warriors found themselves back under their posts not long after Lawrence’s score when Joe Marchant collected a wide pass from fly-half Allan out wide to stroll in for the bonus-point.

Warriors didn’t lose their heads like they might have done in previous seasons and were back in the game after Williams’ delightful dink over an onrushing Quins defence bounced up nicely for Heinz to dart over and score his second try in a Worcester shirt.

The drama did not end there and Chudley was soon over for the third Warriors try after some great counter-attacking play from full-back Jamie Shillcock down the left wing.

The champions looked rattled but the result was eventually set in stone when Lamb crossed after a succession of scrums in the Warriors 22.

The away side had shown great character to muscle their way back into the fixture and their reward was presented in the 80th minute as prop Thomas squirmed over the line to seal the two points.

Full-time: Harlequins 35 Worcester Warriors 29