Warriors slipped to a disappointing defeat at the Madejski Stadium and next face local rivals Gloucester at Sixways Stadium on Sunday (kick-off 3pm).
Director of Rugby Ruddock has now ordered his players to rise to the task of facing league leaders Gloucester and warned them there is nowhere to hide as they look to rediscover form.
"The derby is coming at the right time," said Ruddock. "You could say the same about Wasps when the champions came to town, people like Danny Cipriani were playing and it certainly put it up to our guys. We rose to the challenge and performed.
"London Irish away was a difficult one, but we felt we could get something. Training had gone so well and we were very optimistic, particularly as they had endured some indifferent form.
"What disappoints you most is the fact that our performance at Irish did not reflect the work we had put in training, on the back of our training sessions we should not have performed like that.
"What we need now is a big challenge straight away - we can't run and hide from the challenges ahead of us. Gloucester and a local derby is the right game for us now."
Watch Warriors tackle Gloucester in a crunch local derby at the home of the Warriors! Call the Warriors Box Office on 01905 454183 or visit the online Box Office at www.warriors.co.uk
