THERE was a feeling of déjà vu for Worcester Warriors as they went down 45-37 in another try-fest at Harlequins in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

Like the Aviva Premiership clash two weeks ago which Quins won 41-35, Warriors scored six tries at The Stoop.

Dean Hammond bagged a hat-trick while Max Stelling, Ben Howard and Darren Barry went over.

But Quins collected maximum points after scoring seven tries in a breath-taking encounter.

It was always going to be a tough afternoon for Warriors with the hosts fielding the likes of experienced internationals Jamie Roberts and Tim Visser.

The Sixways side also suffered a setback prior to kick-off with Christian Scotland-Williamson forced to pull out for personal reasons.

But the visitors got off to a superb start as they crossed the whitewash inside the first three minutes.

Hooker Kurt Haupt, who was making his debut for the club, produced a fine offload to Hammond.

The wing then spun away from a couple of tackles before touching down.

Sam Olver landed the conversion to put Worcester 7-0 in front.

And they threatened to increase their lead with Andrew Durutalo smashing his way forward and their backs looked lively with ball in hand.

But on 11 minutes the hosts got on the scoreboard as they recycled quickly at the breakdown and Visser eased over in the corner.

James Lang failed to add the extras.

After Durutalo made a powerful run from deep, Warriors secured a penalty which Olver fired home on 16 minutes.

Lang missed a three-pointer from distance but from the restart Howard spilled the ball and Quins took full advantage with Mat Luamanu proving unstoppable as he powered in. Lang converted.

But Howard quickly made amends as he superbly gathered a kick from Olver and passed inside to Stelling to score. Olver’s conversion attempt fell just short.

While Warriors were looking good in the loose, they struggled in the scrum and paid the price on the half-hour mark as Simon Kerrod saw yellow.

The visitors also lost Haupt for a head injury assessment before suffering a further blow when Harry Sloan forced his way over and Lang added the extras.

With two minutes to go before the break the Londoners grabbed their fourth try as James Chisholm managed to ground the ball following a series of pick and goes.

Lang dispatched the conversion to give Quins a 26-15 lead at half-time.

But four minutes after the break Warriors got back on the board as Howard burst through and found Hammond who finished it off.

Olver converted to close the gap to 26-22.

However, Quins came storming back as the ball went loose, Dino Lamb pounced and shrugged off a challenge from Olver to go over.

Lang sliced his kick wide but atoned for his error on 56 minutes with a scything run through the heart of Worcester’s defence to score and convert.

But Warriors refused to give in and responded almost immediately with Howard galloping down the left and diving over in the corner. Olver failed to convert.

The tries continued to come with Alofa Alofa squeezing over from close range which Lang converted before Darren Barry touched down for the away side’s fifth score. Olver missed the conversion.

After Charlie Piper saw yellow, Warriors grabbed a sixth with Hammond completing his hat-trick following a well-worked move.

But it proved to be in vein as Quins clinched victory.