THE away-day hoodoo continues to cast a spell over Worcester Warriors as a wretched second-half display led to a 35-16 defeat at Northampton Saints.

Warriors were well placed at half-time to gain a rare win on the road in the Gallagher Premiership as they went 9-6 ahead thanks to three Duncan Weir penalties.

But Worcester were swept away in the rain by Northampton who cut loose with five tries – three coming in a devastating six-minute spell.

A converted try through Francois Venter added some respectability to the scoreline, but this was a comprehensive loss for Worcester.

Geoff Berkeley picks out five talking points from Saturday’s defeat at Franklin’s Gardens.

IT ALL STARTED SO WELL.

Playing away from home and in atrocious weather Worcester arguably could not have played the conditions any better in the first half.

Facing heavy rain and strong winds Warriors just focused on winning the territorial battle. And they did so as clever kicking by Francois Hougaard and Weir kept Saints pinned back.

Weir also showed great composure to land three penalties and Chris Pennell even had a crack from halfway only to miss the target.

There were mistakes as Ethan Waller saw yellow for a deliberate knock on and Weir was unable to converted two more three-pointers either side of half-time.

Perhaps Worcester could have shown a bit more ambition by setting up attacking lineouts rather than going for goal.

But Warriors were in a decent position at the break.

HOUGAARD’S INJURY AND THE GAME-CHANGING TRY.

Saints hardly troubled Warriors until Hougaard left the field clutching his left shoulder on 46 minutes.

It may have been coincidental but considering the scrum-half's influential role in the team it must have had a physiological impact on both sides.

READ MORE | INJURY CONCERNS OVER WARRIORS STAR AFTER SAINTS LOSS

Moments after coming for Hougaard Jono Kitto then played a part in Northampton’s opening try.

Kitto was faced with a foot race with George Furbank as the ball bounced over the try-line after James Grayson’s grubber kick.

On first viewing it looked like Furbank had beaten Kitto to the ball. But replays showed Kitto had managed to thwart the full-back.

No try? Sadly not for Worcester as further video evidence revealed that Kitto had clawed the ball in play and Tom Collins applied the finishing touch in the in-goal area.

Had Kitto tapped the ball out he would have risked a penalty try, denying Furbank a certain score.

He tried to dot it down which would have led to a 22-metre drop-out but was unable to keep hold of the ball.

AND THEN IT ALL FELL APART.

From 20-9 to 35-9 in the space of six minutes and it could have been more had Grayson added the extras.

Although tries from Collins and Taqele Naiyaravoro had given Saints an 11-point cushion Worcester were still in the match. But they then capitulated.

READ MORE: FANS REACT TO DEFEAT AT NORTHAMPTON

Furbank exploited space out wide to score in the corner before Warriors inexplicably conceded from the restart as Jono Lance’s kick was gobbled up by Lewis Bean.

No one appeared to challenge the lock in the air and then space opened up in front of him.

Bean, who was on trial at Warriors last season, then galloped into the visitors’ half before feeding Ollie Sleightholme who sprinted down the touchline to score.

Worcester conceded penalties, made mistakes and gave away another soft try on 76 minutes when Furbank darted through another gaping hole.

It was a horror spell and no doubt left Warriors’ defence coach Omar Mouneimne fuming.

NANAI’S DEFENSIVE WOES

On the evidence of Saturday’s match Melani Nanai needs to tighten up defensively as three of Saints’ five tries came down his channel.

The wing can be excused for the first with Pennell’s miss tackle on Collins leaving Nanai facing a two-on-one.

But he should have done better to stop Sleightholme from breaking free and then was caught out of position by Furlong who sprinted in for the quick-fire third.

READ MORE | DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR PLAYER RATINGS?

Considering he is playing in a new league and in a different position having starred at full-back in the Super Rugby Nanai will take time to adapt to the defensive system.

But he will need to sharpen up quickly before Sunday’s home clash with heavyweights Exeter Chiefs (3pm).

Nanai was also part of a back three that failed to fire at Saints but from an attacking sense he offers plenty of threat.

NEW SEASON, SAME OLD PROBLEMS ON THE ROAD

Worcester had the worst away record last term with just 11 points from 11 games and having finished only two bonus-point wins away from the top six it’s clear where Alan Solomons’ side need to improve.

They did well for 46 minutes at Northampton and probably should have been further ahead.

READ MORE | WHAT SOLOMONS HAD TO SAY AFTER DEFEAT

But as soon as they dropped off Saints took full advantage to make it 10 straight home wins over Warriors whose last victory at Franklin’s Gardens came 12 years ago.

Worcester will now return to Sixways where they have enjoyed a lot more success.