Ruddock knows his side's chances of making the last eight are slim

Warriors' director of rugby Mike Ruddock admitted Ospreys' greater experience was the deciding factor as Worcester lost their EDF Cup tie.

The 37-22 defeat at the Liberty Stadium means it will be difficult for Warriors to qualify for the knock-out stages.

Speaking to BBC Hereford and Worcester Ruddock said: "We were second best all the way.

"Their bench was far superior with Ryan Jones, Alun-Wyn Jones and Adam Jones all experienced international players."

"The Ospreys had a little bit too much for us in the last 20 minutes, but we can only get stronger by giving the youngsters a bit of experience.

Ruddock was left reflecting on an incident before the break which he felt had a bearing on the result when Warriors' full back Chris Latham, thinking half time was imminent, tapped and then kicked a penalty to touch. Ospreys then scored from the resulting set-piece.

"The try before half time was a key moment. We had defended well in our 22 and it was a penalty for us but we had a rush of blood, tried to tap the penalty, and the Ospreys scored from the line out.

"At the end we were pressing and trying for a bonus point but we gave away too many penalties and ran out of numbers as they scored their fourth try.

"Some of our youngsters, who did well overall, suddenly found moments in the game where they were struggling to keep up with the pace of it for the full 80 minutes."

Warriors can still qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition but need other results to go their way.

They have to win their final pool game against Harlequins next Sunday with a bonus point and hope London Irish beat the Ospreys without getting a bonus point.

There will be full commentary on next Sunday's game on BBC Hereford and Worcester.