WORCESTER WARRIORS
7 Pennell – made inroads into Sale’s half with several positive runs and was rewarded with a try in the second period but was penalised on a couple of occasions.
8 HEEM – made a telling contribution as he got Warriors back into the contest when he powered over before pulling off a try-saving tackle to deny James. My man of the match.
6 Venter – came agonisingly close to scoring at the end of the first half and was solid in defence but lacked spark in attack.
6 Mills – cannot question his effort but his poor opening kick set the tone as Worcester played out a woeful first-half and he gifted a try to Solomona with a loose pass.
7 Adams – making his 50th appearance for the club the wing has had better days in a Worcester shirt as he often ran into traffic but teed up Pennell with a superb offload.
6 Weir – his kicking out of hand lacked accuracy at times as Warriors found themselves camped inside their own half in the opening period.
6 Arr – does not have the same zip the injured Hougaard provides but his quick thinking almost brought him a try when he went to ground the ball at the base of the post. 7 Black – a steady display from the prop who fronted up in defence, scrummaged well and was involved in several pick and goes.
7 Annett – making his second successive start the Irishman justified his selection with a strong all-around showing as he ran and tackled hard.
6 Schonert – suffered a blow to the head that left him motionless on the ground but on his return to the field he missed three tackles on a disappointing afternoon.
6 Phillips – given the nod to start in the second row the forward tried to puncture holes in Sale’s defence but struggled to gain many metres for his side.
7 Barry – after impressing last week against Wasps with his defensive display the lock fronted up once again and disrupted Sale’s line-out too.
6 Mama – returning to the side the back rower got stuck in but did not have the same influence as his opposite number Ross.
7 Lewis – made more metres than the rest of Warriors’ forward pack as he showed good handling in attack and tackled well.
7 Van Velze – a mixed afternoon for the number eight who made a series of carries in the second half but also made the odd mistake.
Replacements: Taufete’e 5 (Annett 56), Bower 5 (Black 61), Kerrod 6 (Schonert 61), Kitchener 6 (Phillips 55), Fa’osiliva 6 (Mama 55), Heaney 6 (Arr 55), Beck (Venter 65). Not used: Lance.
Referee: JP Doyle.
Attendance: 7,145.
Sale: McGuigan; Solomona, S James, Jennings, Yarde; MacGinty, Cliff; Harrison, Webber (Nield 55), John (Jones 69), Evans, Phillips (Strauss 55), Ross, Curry, Beaumont.
Not used: Tarus, Nott, Warr, L James, Odogwu.
RUN OF PLAY.
3-0: MacGinty penalty, 7mins.
8-0: Beaumont try, 20mins.
11-0: MacGinty penalty, 30mins.
16-0: Solomona try, 34mins.
18-0: MacGinty conv, 35mins.
Half-time: Sale Sharks 18-0 Worcester Warriors.
18-5: Heem try, 46mins.
18-7: Weir conv, 47mins.
18-10: Weir penalty, 52mins.
21-10: MacGinty penalty, 55mins.
21-15: Pennell try, 61mins.
Full-time: Sale Sharks 21-15 Worcester Warriors.
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