WARRIORS

7 Pennell –nipped through to score Warriors’ second try and ran well all game but spurned a great chance when knocking on after being put clean through.

7 Heem – ate up so much ground with destructive runs and superbly teed up Pennell for his score but was sin-binned for a tip-tackle late on.

9 Venter – a stunning showing from the centre who broke tackles with his direct running style and was involved in several of Warriors’ tries.

7 Te’o – switching to inside centre the England star was a handful for Sale’s defence to deal with but did not always make the right decision.

9 Adams – despite having heavy strapping on his right leg the wing was full of running and was in the right place to dot down for three tries on a memorable day.

8 Weir – cost his side a try when his kick was charged down but produced a series of superb touch-finders and missed just one of his seven shots at goal.

8 Hougaard – out shone his fellow Springbok number nine de Klerk with an accurate display as he box-kicked well and kept the attack flowing.

9 WALLER – assisted for two tries, including an excellent floated pass out wide to Adams and always looked to get his hands on the ball. Immense showing. My man of the match.

9 Annett – proved yet again why Solomons should keep him as he put in a phenomenal defensive effort, securing a couple of key turnovers and only had one miscued lineout throw.

8 Schonert - looked exhausted when he left the field after emptying his tank with a battling display in defence and scrummaged well too.

8 Bresler – showed no signs of the calf problem that troubled him in the week as he put his body on the line and clattered forward on several occasions.

8 Barry – one of his best showings in a while as he showed some great handling skills in the led up to Adams’ second score and managed the lineout brilliantly.

9 Mama – another outstanding display by the back rower who led by example as skipper with a whopping 18 carries and 14 tackles.

9 Lewis – picked a nice line to dart through and touch down for the opening score and was ever-present when Warriors were in possession.

9 du Preez – pressed his case for a regular slot at number eight with a powerful performance as he gave Warriors added grunt up front and put in big hits.

Replacements: Heaney 8 (Hougaard 63), Kitchener 8 (Bresler 63), Milasinovich 7 (Schonert 65), Singleton (Annett 67), Hill (du Preez 69) Black (Waller 73), Howe (Heem 78). Not used: Lance.

Attendance: 7,565.

Referee: I Tempest.

Sharks: L James; Solomona (Odogwu 66), S James, van Rensburg (Redpath 35), Reed; MacGinty, de Klerk (Cliff 60); Harrison (Morozov 58), Webber (Langdon 60), John (Jones 58), Beaumont, Phillips, Ross (Moore 54), Curry, Strauss (Moore 36-40, Postlethwaite 41).

RUN OF PLAY

5-0: Lewis try, 5mins.

7-0: Weir conv, 6mins.

10-0: Weir penalty, 10mins.

15-0: Pennell try, 17mins.

17-0: Weir conv, 18mins.

17-5: Beaumont try, 28mins.

17-7: MacGinty conv, 29mins.

Half-time: Worcester Warriors 17-7 Sale Sharks.

20-7: Weir penalty, 47mins.

20-10: MacGinty penalty, 51mins.

25-10: Adams try, 53mins.

27-10: Weir conv, 54mins.

32-10: Adams try, 62mins.

YELLOW: Heem (Warriors), 68mins.

32-15: Postlethwaite try, 72mins.

32-17: MacGinty conv, 73mins.

37-17: Adams try, 78mins.

39-17: Weir conv, 79mins.

Full-time: Worcester Warriors 39 Sale Sharks 17.