IN the aftermath of Worcester Warriors' second consecutive 12-12 draw, director of rugby Mike Ruddock felt his side could have shaded a victory.

Seven days after the Welshman saw his side share eight penalties with Bath at Sixways, the exact same scenario repeated itself when Saracens came to town.

However, the game against the un-beaten table-toppers, who dropped their first points of the season against Warriors, was a better spectacle than the dour Bath clash.

“We ended up 12-12 and I felt we could have got the spoils again,” said Ruddock. “Certainly at 9-3 at half-time I felt we were going to press on and win the game.

“If we had played as accurately in the second-half as we did in the first, that might have been the case. Unfortunate-ly we weren’t, particularly in the first 20 minutes of the second-half.

“We allowed Saracens to put us under pressure and they kicked into the corners and put us under pressure at the breakdown behind our forward pack.

“They got a few penalties to nudge ahead so it was a great effort to come back against Saracens, not many sides are doing that, and get a draw.

“It was a great kick from Willie Wal-ker, it was great temperament from him to nail it from out wide. It wasn’t an easy kick at all so full marks to him.

“We tried to play some rugby as well and probably in that 20-minute period in the second-half we over-played a little bit at times and put ourselves under pressure.

“But I don’t want to take all that away from my team either, we have got to be prepared to push the boundaries back at times and try and play as well.”

Ruddock also praised the behind-the-scenes work being done by his scrum coach, Tony Windo, after the Warriors pack put in a dominant showing — including two key takes against the head.

“It was fantastic to get one against the head. Tony Windo does a great job for us, he will be pleased with that,” added Ruddock. “We were very competitive and we’re tough to beat. We know we are going to give teams a hard game.

“If I am honest, as pleased as I am that we have picked up another two points, I’m disappointed we haven’t nailed this one because at 9-3 at half-time I thought we were on our way to a big win against the top team in England at the moment.

“But I suppose that is why they are top — they are hard to beat.”

He added: “The lack of tries is not worrying me and as long as we keep them out at the other end. We haven’t been conceding which is vital.

“The lack of tries is more of a worry for the law-makers and it is possibly something that needs to be looked at.

“It’s very difficult to play off slow ball, difficult to play when the first defender has got his hands in the ruck, difficult to get the ball wide.

“That has led to a reduction in tries all round, it is not just something I will be focusing on with my team. Everyone needs to be aware of it and hence the penalty goal is king at the moment.”