Ruddock's team are four points above bottom club Leeds

Worcester Warriors director of rugby Mike Ruddock said individual errors were to blame for his side's 14-3 defeat at wet and windy Newcastle.

He told BBC Hereford and Worcester: "We talked about our error count at half time and at the end, and that cost us.

"So did our lack of ability to hold the field positions. Willie [Walker] missed a couple of kicks into the corner which is uncharacteristic for him.

"Those little errors across the board put paid to our chances of winning."

Worcester lost full-back Chris Latham before the game because of illness, meaning Calum MacRae was handed his first Premiership start for the Warriors in his place.

But Ruddock admitted that Latham's absence did not have too much effect on the team.

"We did miss his left-foot kicking but I thought Calum MacRae played well, secured the high ball and looked very competent," said Ruddock.

"Neither side got the chance to get the full-backs into the line because it was very stop-start."

The Warriors' scrum came under pressure in the first half and they gave away several penalties.

But Ruddock said he felt they did well later in the game.

"I think the Newcastle scrum is very strong but Callum Black stuck in there well. It was big learning curve for him," added Ruddock.

"I thought towards the end we started to push them around, but the Newcastle try in the first half made all the difference."

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