WORCESTER Warriors head coach Carl Hogg conceded his side could not play the way they wanted as they were knocked out of the European Challenge Cup by Brive on Saturday.

Due to a waterlogged pitch, a four-and-half-hour delay until kick-off and the game being moved to nearby Stade Alexandre Cueille in Tulle - a 40-minute bus ride away - meant it was able to go ahead.

But Brive won the contest 33-7 to progress to the quarter-finals and deny Hogg’s men a place in the knock-out stages for the first time since 2009.

“It was a tough day,” Hogg said.

“We pitched up at the Stade Amedee-Domenech and the field was clearly unplayable with standing water. Brive as the host side had to come up with an alternative venue.

“The conditions in Tulle provided difficult conditions to play any level of rugby.

“Ultimately it suited their style as they have a huge forward pack and they were able to squeeze us and hold high field position so overall it was a disappointing day.”

The far-from-ideal preparations for the game were no excuse for Hogg, who knows his side were overpowered up front by a monstrous Brive front five on the day.

“Obviously it was a disruptive day and I thought we did well to reset ourselves,” Hogg said.

“We had a good warm-up so it wasn’t an issue with energy or application, it was a case of playing on a ground that didn’t allow any free-flowing rugby at all and, in fact, there were times when it suited not having the ball in conditions that were very heavy under foot.

“There was no lack of endeavour and energy.

“We were asked to defend for long, long periods of time especially inside our 22 but the conditions dictated that it was always going to be an arm wrestle and when you’re against a massive front five of a Top 14 side, it’s difficult to play any rugby.”

Although the pitch was in a slightly better state in Tulle than in Brive, conditions were still treacherous for rugby with heavy rain causing both teams to try and adapt.

“It rained throughout the contest and it’s an environment which Brive function very well in,” Hogg continued.

“They squeezed us around scrum and drive and kicked well with ball out of hand. We never really got the game on our agenda.

“Had it have been a dry track and we’d have been able to get some tempo in the game then it may have been a different contest but it was about the base layer of the game and Brive outmuscled us.”