London Irish 23 Worcester Warriors 16

ALL Blacks centre Sam Tuitupou marked his Guinness Premiership debut with a top quality try but it was not enough to give Worcester Warriors their first league victory of the season.

Irish snatched victory with three minutes to go when winger Sailosi Tagicakibau scored a breakaway try in the left-hand corner, converted by full-back Delon Armitage.

The losing bonus point which Worcester secured at the fogshrouded Madejski Stadium, by keeping the margin of victory to seven points, leaves them bottom of the table but puts them level on points with Leeds Carnegie.

Prop forward Richard Skuse scored the other Irish try with Armitage landing three penalties and two conversions for a personal contribution of 13 points.

The other Worcester points came from the boot of fly-half Shane Drahm, who converted Tuitupou's try and also landed three penalties.

All eyes were on Worcester's big name signing Rico Gear but the New Zealand winger had little chance to show his attacking attributes and it was his fellow Kiwi Tuitupou who looked like sealing the honours until Irish snatched victory at the death.

Taking an inside pass from Drahm, Tuitupou, capped nine times by New Zealand, left the Irish defence standing as he burst through the middle for his 46th-minute try.

That put the Warriors 13-10 ahead and raised hopes that they would finally break their Premiership duck at the eighth attempt.

Armitage edged Irish back in front with penalties in the 53rd and 63rd minutes only for Drahm to level the scores at 16-16 two minutes later.

In the first half Irish got off to a flying start, going 7-0 ahead after only four minutes.

Flanker Steffon Armitage was held up just short in the third minute. A minute later, England scrum-half Peter Richards was stopped a metre short of the line but, from the resulting drive, Skuse forced his way over.