WING Charlie Fellows raced over for an early try as battling Worcester Warriors slipped to a 34-17 defeat against a strong Sale Jets side in the 'A' League at Sixways.

Fellows dived over after less than two minutes and two kicks from the returning Joe Carlisle put a Warriors team, made up almost completely of academy products, into an early 10-0 lead.

But Sale, who included a number of senior stars on the mend after injury, slowly came back into the team and used the sin-binning of Earl Collins just before the break to build up a commanding lead.

Worcester continued to press for a way back into the game and James Collins was rewarded for his impressive show with a power-packed try midway through the second-half.

The home side played some scorching attacking rugby from the kick-off and struck after less than two minutes after sustained pressure saw Fellows go over in the corner with Carlisle adding the difficult extras for a dream start for the home side.

Warriors continued to produce a vibrant brand of running and inventive rugby in the opening exchanges and slammed the door shut on any Jets forays into home territory.

Dynamic back-row Collins showed good strength and pace to break the game line and push Worcester forward before Carlisle extended the lead with a penalty in front of the posts after 10 minutes.

Some big tackles were firing in from Warriors as Sale finally made yards into the home half until a penalty went against the hosts at the breakdown and the away side got off the mark with a neatly-taken penalty.

Worcester came back immediately with a kick to the corner, after Sale piled in over the top of the tackle. Warriors now turned the screw with a succession of penalties going to the home side, but when the forwards looked to rumble over the Sale pack responded to win back crucial ball.

The home forwards were busy to pick up a number of turnovers before neat hands from the visitors saw them slice through a congested midfield until a pass inside went to ground.

James Collins produced more good work on the deck, but a quick break from Sale saw an overlap wasted as Earl Collins landed a good strong hit on his opposite number as the Jets looked to unload in the final tackle.

Sale pressure was now mounting and they broke through when visiting full-back Ed Styles dived over after neat feet in the build-up from the centres to cut the lead to two points.

Sale struck again just before the interval when a power packed run in midfield was driven over with visiting prop Lee Imiolek give the converted score for a 15-10 half-time lead.

Warriors looked to rally just before the break, with replacement Sam Miller making space and Carlisle chipping over the top, but a quick break from Sale saw Collins sin-binned for an off the ball block.

Sale took advantage of the extra man with two tries after the break, but Warriors refused to drop heads and Ollie Frost made a neat break before James Collins and Jack Gilding took the ball on with menace.

Raw pace from Earl Collins set up another attack before Andy Short crashed through a tackle and just came up short of the line. Mike Penn then cut a neat line with Jake Abbot next to barge past retreating men.

The effort was finally rewarded when James Collins peeled off the back of the scrum and showed his power to bulldoze over for a converted try before a late Sale reply.