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.