Worcester lavished many hundreds of thousands of pounds in the expectation that Rico Gear and Sam Tuitupou would make a big impact. They used their Premiership debuts to do exactly that.

Unfortunately for Gear, however, his was far less constructive that his compatriots'.

While Tuitupou scored his team's only try, a devastating burst through the middle from first phase that oozed All Black class, Gear played his part in the score that cost the visitors a point.

With a tight and rather disappointing match tied 16-16 and only three minutes remaining, Irish's Sailosi Tagicakibau took a pass from Delon Armitage, handed off the former New Zealand threequarter and raced over from 25 metres.

It was a mistake that will embarrass a player of Gear's quality and he will be anxious to make up for it when Harlequins visit Sixways next weekend.

That we are unable to talk about a more positive contribution is down to the testing conditions.

An increasingly thick fog hung over the Madjeski Stadium which made the ball and playing surface greasy.

But Worcester's failure to master them and subdue their opponents meant Gear barely touched the ball.

Only once was he called on in the first half and in the second he cut a lonely figure on the right touchline. It was not an afternoon for mercurial wingers.

Gear's director of rugby, Mike Ruddock, expressed sympathy with his star pupil, however.

"I believe there was some blocking on our defence for the last try," he said.

"It was difficult for the outside backs. It was going to come down to taking one or two chances and there were not that many on offer for either side.

"There was not a lot of quick ball. Both sides were very competitive in the contact areas and that made it difficult.

"Overall it was an excellent effort by our players and if we can do that every week we will win more than we lose. We were away from home against a European Cup team and we were very, very competitive."

Nevertheless where Gear struggled, Tuitupou prospered.

He was in a position where he could influence proceedings on a more regular basis and, while his fabled defensive skills were not especially spectacular, his offensive abilities were obvious.

Worcester were 10-6 down early in the second period when they took ball off the top of a lineout on the London ten-metre line and Tuitupou scythed through from Shane Drahm's pop-pass.

With Delon Armitage in the bin for impeding Marcel Garvey just before the break, there was no full back to beat and Tuitupou seared away unhindered. It was the one bright spot of an otherwise drab encounter.

The first half was traditional Worcester stodge. They conceded two penalties within the opening minute and, having kicked off to their hosts, were soon on their own line defending a lineout.

Steffon Armitage looked to have rolled over in the right corner only for a five-metre scrum to be awarded instead. The reprieve was short-lived.

Peter Richards sniped from the base but was hauled down short. From the resulting ruck Richard Skuse picked up and drove over.

Delon Armitage converted and with four minutes on the clock Worcester were seven points down and Gear and Tuitupou had neither touched the ball nor made a tackle.

That was the last time the Exiles got anywhere near for the next half-hour, though.

Warriors' scrum exerted considerable pressure although the flow of catch-and-drive opportunities that had begun to emanate were not maximised. One close to the line was taken at the back but lost in contact, another was snaffled by Nick Kennedy.

Thankfully Ruddock's men had Drahm's boot to maintain their interest. His ninth-minute penalty cut the deficit to four but it was cancelled out just before half time when Kai Horstmann knocked on in his own 22 and gifted Armitage with three points.

Tuitupou showed one flash of brilliance in between, when he reversed the direction of attack, spun out of a tackle and carried two defenders ten metres only for Irish to stop Netani Talei a yard short. Irish had been warned.

Just before the interval Aleki Lutui and Armitage were sin-binned within three minutes of each other and that gave Tuitupou the space to burst clear in the 45th minute.

Drahm converted and although he added a third penalty Armitage kept the hosts in touch until late on when Gear made his costly slip.