STAND-IN skipper Phil Dowson said Worcester Warriors “showed a distinct lack of energy and desperation” in their 34- 13 Aviva Premiership defeat at Leicester Tigers.

The vastly-experienced former England international refused to blame individuals but said Warriors “kicked poorly” and “chased poorly” at Welford Road.

Warriors trailed 20-0 at the interval in Saturday’s clash but closed the gap to 27-13 before another error put paid to their hopes of clawing back a losing bonus point.

Prop Val Rapava Ruskin (ankle), back row Carl Kirwan (dislocated finger) and utility back Perry Humphreys (knee) all added to Worcester’s casualty list during the defeat.

Second-bottom Warriors return to league action at Harlequins on October 29 (3pm).

Dowson and some of the other senior Worcester players will now take a break from action with Warriors travelling to Moscow to face Russian outfit Enisei-STM in the European Challenge Cup on Saturday.

Dowson said: “We showed a distinct lack of energy and desperation in the first half at Leicester.

“We kicked poorly and chased poorly against a dangerous back three who put us under pressure.

“We didn’t manage to clear our lines very effectively and when the pressure came on we found ourselves 20-0 down.

“I think you have to start with the basics and the energy has to be right.

“It was frustrating because we showed a little bit of what we were capable of in the second half but it was too little too late.

We need to start games, especially away from home and against good sides, much better than that.”

He added: “We dropped off a few tackles but we put ourselves under pressure because it’s hard to defend for long periods against good sides.”

Dowson believes Warriors’ “mental” side let them down after showing plenty of “heart and character” in their 11-9 win against Newcastle Falcons.

“I think a lot of it was mental and that always carries over to the physical side of things,” he said. “Against Newcastle we dug in and showed a lot of heart and character and a little bit of that was missing.”

However, the skipper refused to point the finger at individuals.

“Everyone makes mistakes and sometimes they cost you and sometimes they don’t.

“We have to look at ourselves before we start looking elsewhere.”