WARRIORS scrum-half Jonny Arr has paid tribute to former England number nine Shaun Perry, who has been forced into retirement through injury.

The 34-year-old ex-Bristol half-back, inset, who played 30 times for Worcester, has been advised to quit professional rugby by medical experts as he struggles to overcome a knee problem.

Perry won 14 caps for England and was widely-regarded as one of the top scrum-halves in the country — something that has not been lost on Arr.

The home-grown Sixways number nine said: “Shaun has been brilliant to me while he’s been here and he’s a great character to have around the club.

“He’s always been able to pick the boys up if we’ve lost and I’ve learnt a fair amount off him which I have used to make me a better player.”

Meanwhile, Arr will be looking to add to the 19 Aviva Premiership appearances he has made for Warriors so far this term when Worcester play their final game of the season at London Welsh tomorrow (2.30pm).

The Sixways academy graduate is likely to be handed the number nine jersey for the Kassam Stadium clash as interim coach Nigel Redman looks to continue a policy of picking the club’s talented youngsters.

He said: “It’s the last game and we’ll be looking to finish what has overall been a disappointing second half of the season on a high.

“Our away record is a bit of a monkey on our back and I’ve certainly thought about it this week. If we can go down there and get the away win, it will lead us well into next season.

“Every single time I play I want to give the best account of myself. It’s the last game of the season and the last time I’ll get to play with some of the lads but I’ll just go into it like any other match.”

London Welsh won four league games before Christmas, but were relegated last month after being leap-frogged by London Irish and Sale Sharks. But Arr believes it could have been a very different story for Lyn Jones’ men.

He added: “I’ve been massively impressed with London Welsh. They came up into the Premiership and everyone wrote them off but they surprised a lot of people by picking-up a few early wins.

“Obviously things off the pitch haven’t worked in their favour and it’s a shame because it could have been an exciting finish to the season for them.”