WARRIORS.

7 Pennell – kept a cool head when under pressure and his blistering break teed up Beck for his try but was penalised for obstruction resulting in Mills’ late score being chalked off.

7 Humphreys – demonstrated his finishing skills by popping up in midfield and scorching through a gap for his fourth try in five Premiership matches.

6 Venter – often broke the gain-line when he smashed forward, but his loose pass was intercepted by de Klerk for his breakaway score and was forced off at half-time through injury.

7 Beck – another impressive showing from the centre who made 54 metres from just seven carries and was on hand to score Warriors’ second try.

6 Nanai – stepped side to side but struggled to find a way through Sale’s defence even when they were a man down and was tackled high by Hammersley.

7 Weir – lost his cool when de Klerk went over in the corner and made the odd sloppy mistake but you can’t knock his commitment nor his accuracy from the tee.

8 Hougaard – produced a try-saving tackle to stop Ashton from going over in the corner and put Warriors on the front foot whenever he got hold of the ball.

6 Waller – held up his end of the scrum which struggled at times but conceded a couple of turnovers and was not as effective in the loose as he has proven to be.

7 Annett – handed the captaincy, the hooker had the bit between his teeth as he drove forward countless times and was involved in some nice moves off the back of lineouts.

6 Schonert – was embroiled in a fascinating early tussle with Morozov at scrum-time, outmuscling his rival on a couple of occasions but was also penalised twice.

7 Bresler – stole a Sale lineout as he was dominant in the air and never stopped plugging away, producing some powerful carries and big tackles.

6 Kitchener – ran the lineout superbly and managed to carry on after du Preez’s shoulder barge but his replacement Fatialofa made a bigger impact in the loose.

8 Hill – made 16 carries which was more than anyone else on the pitch as he rocked Sale’s defenders back on several occasions and got a lineout steal.

8 LEWIS – gave absolutely everything as he held firm in defence, securing a turnover when Sale were camped in Warriors’ half and made a strong contribution in attack. My man of the match.

7 du Preez – his deft pass created the opening for Pennell to burst through and set up Beck as the number eight showed his attacking skills are as strong as his defensive efforts.

Replacements: Mills 8 (Venter 41), Palframan 5 (Schonert 51), Fatialofa 7 (Kitchener 55), van Velze 7 (du Preez 65), Black 6 (Waller 65), Moulds 7 (Annett 65), Heaney (Hougaard 70), Lance (Weir 73).

Referee: L Pearce.

Attendance: 8,409.

Sharks: Hammersley; Solomona (Yarde 69), van Rensburg, R. du Preez (James 59), Ashton, MacGinty, De Klerk (Papier 69); Morozov (Harrison 41), van der Merwe (Webber 52), Oosthuizen (John 52), Evans (PostelWaite 59), J.L. du Preez, T. Curry, B. Curry, Ross.

Not used: Phillips.

RUN OF PLAY.

0-5: de Klerk try, 14mins.

YELLOW: Hammersley (Sale), 19mins.

3-5: Weir penalty, 23mins.

3-10: Ashton try, 37mins.

RED: JL du Preez (Sale), 39mins.

6-10: Weir penalty, 40mins.

Half-time: Worcester Warriors 6-10 Sale Sharks.

11-10 : Humphreys try, 53mins.

13-10: Weir conv, 54mins.

18-10: Beck try, 57mins.

20-10: Weir conv, 58mins.

20-13: MacGinty penalty, 69mins.

Full-time: Worcester Warriors 20-13 Sale Sharks.