Henley Hawks gave Worcester a mighty fright at Dry Leas on Sunday and but for a controversially disallowed late try would have condemned the runaway leaders to a rare defeat.

Worcester won 16-13 but were lucky, as the Hawks were denied a try from the last move of the game.

Left wing Tom Holloway was stopped on the line after a startling 50-metre burst, and his efforts to release the ball were denied by Worcester's full back Matthew Back. When it did come free, Henley prop Lee Hall put the ball over the line for a try, but referee David Grashoff decided that Holloway had held on to the ball and awarded a penalty against the Hawks.

The final result was rough justice for a Henley side who knocked the rhythm out of Worcester's play from the start. When they tried to move the ball through their backs, they were hammered down time and again.

Eventually, the visitors acknowledged that the only way they were going to get points on the board was through the boot of Tuipulotu and so they gave him an opportunity to equalise Nick Buoy's earlier penalty.

A stunning 50-metre try by centre Duncan Roke, who carved a hole through the Worcester defence, and Buoy's conversion made it 10-3, but Dan Zaltzman then drove over the line for Worcester's only try.

Tuipulotu converted from the touchline and gave the visitors a 13-10 half-time lead with his second penalty.

Buoy's second penalty levelled the scores, but the visitors restored their lead with yet another Tuipulotu penalty, which turned out to be the last score of the game.