Worcester 23
Harlequins 30

Harlequins confirmed their position as the Premiership's top try scorers last night but they again showed a capacity for easing up before clinging on for a 30-23 victory at Worcester.

Of most concern, however, was the foot injury to England wing Dave Strettle, who has twice broken his toes and will undergo a scan today to determine the extent of this latest blow.

"He has had a lot of bad luck in that area," said Quins director of rugby Dean Richards.

Having seen his side beaten in their two previous matches after letting leads disappear, Richards asked him men to grind out a win if they got into a similar position.

But that message seemed to fall on deaf ears. Quins love to run the ball and collected four tries in the first 35 minutes, two of them scored by man-of-the-match Ugo Monye.

Quins, who have now amassed 17 tries, led 27-13 at half time but that only served to highlight why opponents never give up against them.

Worcester won the second half 10-3, Quins No8 Tom Guest was yellow carded and Monye's excellence in defence was just as important as his attacking flair on the wing.

"Not many teams are going to leave Worcester with a bonus-point win," said a relieved Richards. "We know we can play good rugby. It's just a case of getting the players to produce that for the full 80 minutes."

Chris Malone kicked 10 points for Quins but he also missed crucial efforts that could have relieved the late pressure.