Jones bemoans Exiles’ missed opportunities

Worcester 13 London Welsh 6

The London Welsh director of rugby, Lyn Jones, accepted his side should have won a poor game against Worcester last night.

Fly-half Gordon Ross missed three penalties as the Exiles fell to defeat. “I’m very disappointed not to have won, we had lots of territory but we didn’t take our chances” Jones said.

The turning point of the game came midway through the second half when a stunning 80-yard move resulted in the winning try for Semisi Taulava.

“We kept Worcester in the right areas and our performance was strong but they scored a very good try to win it. On an evening like this points are at a premium,” Jones added.

Worcester’s director of rugby Richard Hill conceded his side were not at their best. “We were a bit nervous and we did not plan to kick as much as we did, we are better than that. They kicked better than us and one piece of quality broke the deadlock,” said Hill.

Hill also paid tribute to London Welsh’s efforts. “They played with passion and their big pack was impressive. It was a potential banana skin for us as they targeted this game by resting their players for it. Our players dug in and showed enough spirit to win it,” said Hill.

Exeter, meanwhile, take an unbeaten seven-game run into today’s West Country derby at Gloucester knowing that a repeat of last season’s dramatic victory could take them into the Premiership title play-off places.

The Chiefs are sixth in the table, one place below Gloucester, but are only five points behind leaders Harlequins. “We’ve faced some big challenges already this season and thrived on them,” said the Exeter coach, Rob Baxter.

The former England fly-half Danny Cipriani is not in Sale’s squad to face Wasps tomorrow.