Pennell returned after breaking his leg in a pre-season match

Chris Pennell marked his return to the Worcester Warriors captaincy by scoring a try in their 28-12 British and Irish Cup win over Cornish Pirates.

Warriors scored all three tries in the first half with the first coming from Andy Goode on 10 minutes.

Marcel Garvey added the second, before Pennell crossed for a third to help give Warriors a 25-6 interval lead.

Pirates' only points came from the boot of Rob Cook, while Goode (2) and Pennell kicked penalties for Warriors.

Goode opened the scoring with an early penalty, before converting his own try to give the home side a 10-0 advantage.

Pirates then reduced the deficit courtesy of a Cook penalty, before Garvey won a foot race with two covering visiting players to cross for Worcester's second try to extend the lead to 15-3.

Pennell, who has missed much of the season due to a serious leg injury, added the third try with Goode converting and Pennell and Cook then exchanged penalties before the break to leave the Warriors firmly in control.

Heavy rain played a part in disrupting the flow of the second half in which the only additional points came from the boot.

Cook did his best to put Cornish Pirates back in the game by landing two penalties but Goode had the final word as he took his personal tally to 15 points when he kicked the final three points of the day.

Worcester will have home advantage for their British and Irish Cup quarter-final tie and will host Moseley on Saturday, 5 March (1500 GMT).

Worcester head coach Richard Hill told BBC Hereford and Worcester:
"That's cup rugby and it's all about getting through to the next round, 25 points in the first half and three tries to nil.

"After that you just have to get through the next 40 [minutes] by closing the game down and not getting any injuries for the next round.

"It was a job very well done and keeping a clean sheet with no tries against us was a big step forward for us."

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