Worcester Warriors gave it their all but were ultimately bested by the reigning Premiership champions on Friday night, losing 21-29 to Harlequins at Sixways.

The pivotal moment came midway through the second half when Sione Vailanu saw his would-be second try of the night disallowed.

Referee Christophe Ridley gave the on-field decision as a try but TMO Rowan Kitt had other ideas, deeming the Tongan number eight to have grounded the ball before the line and then knocked it on.

Had it counted, the score would have been levelled at 19-a-piece but with the try taken away, so were Worcester’s hopes of victory.

Worcester News: Worcester Warriors Niall Annett is tackled by Harlequins Andre Esterhuizen (PA)Worcester Warriors Niall Annett is tackled by Harlequins Andre Esterhuizen (PA)

The match started brightly for Warriors, Noah Heward marking his return with a try after 18 minutes, Fin Smith converting.

Heward had been out for almost four months with a broken ankle.

However, it took Harlequins just six minutes to equalise, Tyrone Green capitalising on a slip from Heward to score.

Will Edwards converted the try before Quins took the lead through Danny Care.

But Warriors claimed the final points of the half, making the most of a penalty advantage as they patiently built up pressure before unleashing Vailanu for his second try in as many matches.

Quins took the lead once more after the break, Archie White crossing the line from close range.

With Care sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, Vailanu’s claim for a second try proved the deciding factor.

Harlequins then had their own try disallowed when replays showed Matas Jurevicius was held up over the line.

But the visitors were nonetheless able to pull away from Steve Diamond’s men when Tommy Allan slotted a penalty to put Warriors out of bonus point contention.

Harlequins secured the try bonus point when Tom Lawday came crashing over the line with four minutes to go.

But it wasn’t the last action of the match, Seb Atkinson topping off an excellent first Premiership start with a try a minute from time.

Billy Searle took the conversion as quick as he could but there wasn’t enough time for Warriors to mount another attack to claim any points.

Warriors | 15 Noah Heward (Searle 60), 14 Perry Humphreys, 13 Oli Morris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Alex Hearle, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Gareth Simpson, 1 Murray McCallum (Waller 53), 2 Niall Annett (Miller 63), 3 Christian Judge (Tyack 63), 4 Matt Garvey (A Kitchener 53), 5 Graham Kitchener (Clegg 53), 6 Joe Batley, 7 Ted Hill (C), 8 Sione Vailanu.

Replacements | 16 Isaac Miller, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Jay Tyack, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Justin Clegg, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Tom Howe.