WORCESTER Warriors' second-half comeback came up short as 14-man Wasps sealed an absorbing win at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday.

Warriors came from 16-6 down shortly after half-time to lead 19-16 with 56 minutes on the clock but despite having flanker Ben Morris sent off for a high tackle with 20 minutes to play, Wasps' replacement hooker Tommy Taylor's try on 66 minutes proved decisive.

Worcester have never won at the Ricoh and despite a losing bonus-point, it is yet another Premiership defeat.

The home side had dominated the first half in both territory and possession terms as the the hosts looked to pin the Warriors back into their own 22 at every opportunity.

Billy Searle did kick an early penalty after just three minutes from about 40 metres and that was about as close as the away side got to the Wasps' 22.

Warriors were dealt an early blow as Richard Palframan left the field injured, leaving new loan signing Scott Andrews to play 77 minutes on his debut.

Brad Shields scored after seven minutes from close range but after that, the hosts could only add a couple of Jacob Umaga penalties to their score as they struggled to turn their dominance into a substantial lead on the scoreboard.

Worcester defended heroically at times and on numerous occasions kept the hosts out on their own line. At half-time it was 13-3 to the hosts.

The second-half was all change, particularly for the initial 16 minutes as Warriors turned the game on it's head with 13 unanswered points to take a 19-16 lead.

First, Billy Searle kicked a penalty on 44 minutes before Umaga replied shortly after to make it 16-6.

Warriors then sprung into action and Francois Venter made a brilliant break through the midfield before a pass to Sam Lewis put the Welshman over the line.

Searle converted before he launched a big penalty with 55 minutes on the clock to level the scores.

The tide had turned now and Searle continued his perfect day from the tee with another three-pointer to take the lead with just over 20 minutes to play.

The momentum swung even further in the away side's favour as the game entered the final quarter when Wasps' Ben Morris was red carded for a shoulder to the head of Ollie Lawrence.

Worcester couldn't capitalise, however, and actually regained the lead after Tommy Taylor's try with 14 minutes left.

It was 14 against 14 for the remainder of the game as Warriors' Sam Lewis was sent to the bin for persistent infringement as Wasps pummelled the Worcester line for what seemed like an eternity.

They thought they had the game clinching try when Thomas Young was shoved over but the TMO ruled it out, giving Warriors a chance.

They managed to work their way up the pitch and a couple of penalties saw them get to the Wasps 22 but a final penalty sealed the deal.

Full-time: Wasps 23 Warriors 19.