Director of Rugby John Brain praised Worcester’s exceptional defence after a rock solid display earned Warriors a second win in a week.
Worcester’s bid to climb off the foot of the Guinness Premiership gathered pace as they inflicted a fifth straight defeat in champions Sale Sharks.
Shane Drahm and Tevita Taumoepeau grabbed the only tries of the game but Warriors were forced to dig deep to withstand a late Shark attack as the hosts piled on the pressure.
And Brain was full of praise for the way his side held firm to record a deserved second successive victory.
“We caused them problems with the ball and I thought we defended in exceptional fashion. There were a lot of heroes out there for us and there needed to be, even though Sale are missing quite a few players they are still a quality team,” he said.
“They had lots of momentum and pressure in the final 20 minutes but, technically, our defence was something to be proud of. That was ultimately what won us the game.
“Phil Larder has come in and kept things simple, he has not really changed our defensive organisation very much but what he has done is work on the small details. The player’s defensive technique has improved and that is the reason why we didn’t take any tries against Sale and are now one of the best defensive teams in this league.
“Sale showed a lot of fluency and have a lot of players who can break the line and hurt you. But our defensive record in 2007 is very good and not to concede a try at Edgeley Park was a real achievement.”
Worcester were indebted to two late try-saving tackles from centre Dale Rasmussen in the week when he had signed a new three-year deal at Sixways. But Brain admitted his side was full of players that impressed.
“I have always felt Dale Rasmussen is one of the best defenders in his position in the Premiership and is our defensive captain, he was outstanding against Sale. But I also thought some of our forwards did very well, Craig Gillies had an outstanding game outside the set piece and our back row worked tirelessly, Drew Hickey in particular caught the eye.
“And in terms of attack we have come to a ground which is not easy to play at and have come away with two tries to nil, we are playing pretty well.”
Worcester flew out of the traps and scored the opening try through Drahm on four minutes – a lead they never surrendered.
And Brain revealed he had urged Warriors to make a statement of intent in the opening exchanges.
“We knew it was important to start well, we knew Sale would place a great deal of emphasis on the start and we wanted to make sure that by the end of the first 20 minutes we were winning,” he said.
“We got a good early try and built momentum from there. I thought we showed a lot of character, commitment and also we are playing some really good rugby going into the last four matches.
“If we just keep winning it piles pressure on Northampton,” he added. “We play Newcastle next week at home and that is another massive game for us, but we will just take it one weekend at a time.
“We played well, anyone can see that, so we have got every prospect of finishing this season strongly.”