Premiership: Worcester Warriors 23-23 Gloucester

Henry Purdy's converted try late on for Gloucester levelled the match at 23-23

Worcester held on with 14 men to claim a draw in a desperately tense M5 derby at home to Gloucester at Sixways.

Leading 15-9, the hosts had to play the final 28 minutes a man short following Alafoti Faosiliva's elbow on former Warriors man Mariano Galarza.

Warriors briefly stretched their lead with a third try of the match, when replacement Perry Humphreys went over.

But late tries from Matt Scott and Henry Purdy, converted by Greig Laidlaw, got the visitors on terms.

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Despite Gloucester being first on the scoreboard with the first of two Laidlaw first-half penalties, Warriors led 15-6 at the break.

After Charlie Sharples had been denied in the right corner by Wynand Olivier's tackle, rugby league convert Ben Te'o went over in the left corner at the other end for his first try for Warriors, Ryan Lamb failing with the conversion.

When winger Cooper Vuna scored in the right corner, Lamb this time did add the extras before slotting a penalty for a nine-point interval lead.

Laidlaw's third penalty got Gloucester back to within a converted score before the Faosiliva incident, only for Humphreys to make light of the man disadvantage to score in the left corner.

After Scott's converted try, Tom Heathcote's penalty gave Worcester a seven-point cushion but Purdy went at the left corner nine minutes from time.

Laidlaw converted but, despite being camped on the Worcester 22, the Cherry and Whites could not find another way through.

On a night when a new artificial pitch was unveiled at Sixways, a share of the spoils for the visitors from such a cracking game partially made up for letting a 24-point lead slip in their opening match against Leicester seven days earlier.

Cooper Vuna's converted try put Worcester in the driving seat, but they could not repel Gloucester's late onslaught

Worcester head coach Carl Hogg: "I am disappointed with the outcome. I think the red card changed the outcome of the game.

"I was very proud of the endeavour and effort of the players, but it makes it difficult when you are down to 14.

"I need to review it [the red card incident]. I didn't get a real proper look at it, but obviously it has altered the outcome of the game."

Gloucester director of rugby David Humphreys: "We are obviously disappointed, given the context of the game, to only come away with two points.

"At the same time, at 20-9 down after the way we lost last week, it would have been easy for the players to feel a bit sorry for themselves.

"But we showed some real composure and played some very good rugby, and we gave ourselves a couple of opportunities in the last four or five minutes that we should have taken to win the game."

Worcester: Willison; Hammond, Olivier, Te'o, Vuna; Lamb, Arr; Rapava Ruskin, Annett, Johnston, O'Callaghan, Barry, Fa'osiliva, Mama, Dowson.

Replacements: Bregvadze, Leleimalefaga, Daniels, Scotland-Williamson, Kirwan, Baldwin, Heathcote, Humphreys.

Gloucester: Marshall; Sharples, Scott, Twelvetrees, Purdy; Burns, Laidlaw; Y Thomas, Hibbard, Afoa, Savage, Galarza, Moriarty, Kvesic, Morgan.

Replacements: Dawidiuk, Orr, Doran-Jones, Latta, Rowan, Heinz, Hook, Atkinson.

Referee: Luke Pearce