DIRECTOR of rugby Gary Gold was “incredibly proud” of 14-man Worcester Warriors after they fought back to salvage two bonus points at high-flying Wasps.

Biyi Alo and Jackson Willison crashed over for late tries, both converted by Ryan Mills, as Warriors lost 40-33 in a thrilling Aviva Premiership clash at the Ricoh Arena.

Warriors picked up a point for bagging four tries and gained another in the last play when the converted try cut their margin of defeat to seven.

They were Warriors’ first away points in the Premiership this term.

For long periods in the second half Worcester did not look like a team with a one-man disadvantage.

Warriors’ chief admitted their game-plan “went out of the window” when Bryce Heem was red-carded early in the second half with the scores locked at 19-19.

Heem caught Wasps wing Willie Le Roux in the air and was dismissed by referee Luke Pearce.

“I am incredibly proud,” said Gold whose charges are now nine points clear of bottom-of-the-table Bristol who lost 32-14 at home to Gloucester.

“We came with the intention to win and that’s what our focus had been on.

“We knew we would have to put in an unbelievably strong performance and I am not sure I could have asked for anything more from the players.

“Our plans pretty much went out of the window when Bryce got the red card. It was unfortunate. It’s the way the game has gone.

“It was always going to be an uphill battle from there.

“We conceded some relatively quick tries to go 33-19 down but showed some unbelievable fight and great spirit to come back.

“There was a lot riding on it for us because every bonus point is critically important.

“I was really chuffed for the boys and the reserves who came on and made such a big difference and got us our second bonus point.”

Gold, a former South African assistant coach, felt the red card was the correct decision by referee Pearce.

But he said he didn’t know what Heem could have done differently in that situation.

“I am not sure what the guy on the ground (Heem) has to do differently but that’s certainly not Luke's (Pearce) fault,” said Gold.

“By the same token I thought the high tackle (by Alapati Leiua on Chris Pennell) was lucky not to get punished with a card.

“Luke had a good game. He’s a good referee and let the game go and it was fun to watch.”

Gold continued: “As he (Ryan Mills) kicked the ball I thought it was a great tactic.

“You have seen Dan Carter do it for the All Blacks so many times before.

"I know no one wants to get an injury but I don’t think we want to start excluding that element of the game because we are worried about a collision.

“It’s part of the make-up of the game but we need a bit of common sense.

“Willie chose to go up (to catch the ball) and Bryce stayed on the ground.

“If you have a look at the incident Wasps actually ran a blocker between Willie and Bryce.

“Bryce thought the other guy (the blocker) was going for the ball but Willie was the one who got into the air. I have no issues with the decision though.”