LOCK Pierce Phillips hopes the ‘toy car’ fiasco will not be only thing he is remembered for at Worcester Warriors as he bids to make his mark in the Aviva Premiership.

The ex-Jersey reds skipper, who starts against Exeter Chiefs tonight (7.45pm), inadvertently caused a stir on social media following Warriors’ 24-10 loss to Wasps at Sixways last Sunday.

A video released on Twitter showed Phillips putting what some people claimed was a toy car underneath his straps before the game.

After several comments and even talk of an RFU enquiry, Phillips’ teammate Niall Annett ended the confusion when he posted a picture of what was in fact a piece of foam.

Phillips said he was baffled how he suddenly became at the centre of a social media storm and was keen to laugh it off.

“I tweeted saying it was fake news because as boring as it is it was just a piece of foam which had gathered old bits of white tape on it,” said the 24-year-old.

“It just goes to show how things can look different on a camera.

“After I stopped sulking about the result, a few of the guys came up to me laughing, saying 'What’s this about toy cars?' It obviously went straight over my head.

“I don’t know how that would ever be beneficial to anyone, but there you go.

“I think some people were trying to get some sort of RFU enquiry about it. I was just telling people to chill out.

“If the biggest impact I have had was some foam looking like a car then maybe I need to work a bit harder.”

Phillips has previously had spells at Darlington Mowden Park and in the Yorkshire Carnegie Academy before moving to the Channel Islands.

Last season he played a big part in Jersey’s highest ever finish in the Championship as he and tighthead prop Simon Kerrod caught the eye of Warriors.

But the 6ft 8in forward insisted he did not expect to be thrust straight into the Premiership having come on in Warriors’ 35-8 defeat at Newcastle and started against Wasps.

“Coming from the level I have come from you don’t really know how much game time you are going to get,” Phillips said.

“Being involved in the first two weeks has come a lot sooner than I expected.

“For me it is all about improving, trying to get up to speed and show I can play and have a vital role in the team.

“Being out there on the pitch is when you will learn the most so I am lucky to have this chance early on and hopefully I will make the most of it.”