WORCESTER Warriors skipper Huw Taylor admitted fine margins had cost his side as they failed to progress to the Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens Series finals.

Warriors topped Group D after four of six matches at Kingston Park but, with all three teams still mathematically able to progress, they were dumped out with a 31-0 loss to Sale Sharks.

Playing back-to-back matches did not help Worcester’s cause as Paolo Odogwu ran in a hat-trick for Sale.

But there were some positives to take away after Wales under 20 international Josh Adams ran in a treble of his own in a 24-21 victory over group winners Newcastle Falcons.

It was the first time hosts Newcastle had ever lost in the group stages of the competition but after a tight 26-24 reverse to Leicester Tigers in their first clash, where Tiff Eden missed a last-gasp conversion to tie the scores, Worcester would not progress.

“We played really well against Newcastle to get the win but I think that playing back-to-back at the end against Sale killed us,” said England under 20 international Taylor.

“The missed conversion (against Leicester) would have made a massive difference. If we had managed to get that draw, you never know we may have got through to the next stage.

“You just never know but I think we’re pretty happy with how we played, especially in that second game.

“There’s loads of bits to take out of it which are positive and some of the young boys coming through made a big impact and hopefully put their hand up for later on in the season.

“Beating Newcastle was massive. We talked about working hard for each other after that first game, just leaving nothing on the pitch, and we really put that in.”

Adams notched up five tries on the day, also scoring twice against Leicester, and with many of Premiership Rugby’s stars making their club bows on the Singha sevens stage, Taylor believes they may have unearthed a diamond.

The Welsh winger joined Warriors from Scarlets last summer but, despite spending much of last season at National One side Cinderford, Taylor insists the Worcester coaches will now start to take notice.

He added: “Josh is a great boy. He hasn’t really had a massive opportunity yet at Worcester but I think this is his year.

“I’ve seen him come on a lot since he came to Worcester and, compared to when he played here last season, he’s running in tries from everywhere.

“I live with him and hope he can go all the way. Hopefully he gets his opportunity in European competition and in the LV= Cup and then maybe put his hand up for later in the season.

“Most of us are just trying to push for the LV= Cup and European side and maybe if we are playing well in that then push our name onto the bench in Premiership rugby.”

Eight teams will play for the first silverware of the season in the Singha Premiership Rugby Sevens Series finals from 2pm at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, on Sunday, August 7.

For tickets, visit https://www.eticketing.co.uk/wasps/details/event.aspx?itemref=1771&utm_source=Press+List&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Tom+Collins.