Kicking king Shane Drahm produced a stunning inspiration display as he slotted 17 points to lead wonderful Warriors to a stunning victory over Sale Sharks at Edgeley Park.
Warriors produced a magnificent performance on the road with Drahm nailing every kick to finish with a 100 per cent record and help orchestrate a stunning show that claimed four crucial points.
Worcester deservedly took a slender lead into the interval courtesy of a superb try from back row Kai Horstmann after neat work from Marcel Garvey and Drahm.
In the second half Drahm kept his cool as Warriors produced a heroic display and held their nerve in a tense finale to shock the star-studded opposition and pull further away from the foot of the league table.
“Shane Drahm was fantastic for us – he deserves a lot of credit. He kicked everything that moved and kept us ahead – he was the difference,? said Director of Rugby Mike Ruddock.
“Our try was a real champion’s effort. It was well worked, well executed and in the end proved to be enough.
“Our discipline was much better and that ultimately gave us the result.?
Warriors were without Rico Gear, Loki Crichton and James Brown after they were ruled out injured and young fly half Joe Carlisle was also forced to pull out prior to kick off with illness.
The Edgeley Park ground was hit by a torrent of heavy and persistent rain just prior to kick-off and both teams emerged to atrocious conditions.
Sale were straight on the attack from the off with Sebastien Chabal thumping into tackles and Lee Thomas and Charlie Hodgson looking to make yards before the ball was knocked on in greasy conditions.
But from the scrum Worcester were penalised by referee Wayne Barnes and up stepped England star Hodgson to drill the penalty for an early lead.
Sharks were looking to click in the backs and again went right with real menace before Thomas knocked forward and the chance to extend the lead was gone.
Both teams traded possession with long kicks in the swirling wind as they looked for an attacking platform with Drahm showing neat feet to escape Rory Lamont as he looked to apply pressure.
Centre Sam Tuitupou made a break after a neat interchange with Aleki Lutui but when the ball was spilled it was hacked forward by Hodgson who looked to close down on the line before Delport made the yards back to collect and mop up. The South African looked to pass wide but referee Barnes got in the way with his deflection sending Sale clear before he correctly called them back.
But Worcester were now playing all the attacking rugby and an amazing break from Drahm from deep saw him make 50 yards down the middle of the pitch before his flick out wide to Miles Benjamin saw the winger dragged down. However, Matt Powell was alert enough to switch play immediately with a cross field kick to Marcel Garvey who flicked inside for Horstmann to collect and run in. Drahm then stepped up to drill a superb conversion to give Warriors the lead.
Scrum half Powell was pinning Sale back with some intelligent grubber kicks in the opening exchanges and Delport almost collected a high kick through when the bounce almost evaded full back Mark Cueto.
Warriors were more than matching their star-studded opposition as the rain continued to lash down with a colossal hit by Pat Sanderson forcing Chabal to lose the ball in contact.
A penalty for hands in the ruck gave Sale the chance to cut the lead and Hodgson again looked ice cool as he slotted the penalty kick.
Stolen lineout by Greg Rawlinson handed Warriors attacking platform from the restart and Drahm dropped into the pocked to aim a drop goal that whistled just left off a Sale hand. A scrum seconds later saw Drahm repeat the feat but this time his effort went straight through to extend the lead.
Sale hit back with real purpose and kept the ball alive for several minutes before Hodgson returned the favour by adding a drop goal to again cut the lead down.
The end to-end action continued from the restart as Warriors again powered forward with Rasmussen crunching through men before Sale were penalised for not rolling away. Drahm stepped up to make no mistake with his penalty attempt.
Worcester continued to win the territorial battle as the half drew to a close with more intelligent forward play combining with slick hands in the backs to make crucial yards to put the Sharks on the back foot. Warriors again controlled the tempo but Powell?s pass back to Drahm looking for another drop goal was too high and the chance was gone.
With seconds remaining in the half an electric break from Chris Bell saw the centre go clear before his pass failed to find Oriol Ripol. Sale kept the ball alive and burrowed up close and thought they had scored only for referee Barnes to rule it had been held up and whistle for the interval.
Warriors made a change at the break with Drew Hickey replacing Wood in the back row but it did not halt the visiting pressure as a penalty was awarded just after the break when Sale came in from the side at the breakdown. Drahm stepped up for the penalty and made no mistake to edge Warriors further ahead.
Sale?s slick handling of the first half had suddenly deserted them in the rain as they knocked on to relieve the pressure on the Warriors line until Drahm was guilty of spilling the ball as he looked to boot clear.
The home side sensed a great attacking platform in front of the posts and only ten yards out and when the pack shunted forward a penalty was awarded that Hodgson comfortably kicked over.
The penalty seemed to spur Sale on as they now camped in the Warriors half and applied real pressure with both teams struggling to hit men in the lineout in gusty conditions.
Sale introduced the heavy artillery with Dean Schofield and England hero Richard Wigglesworth coming off the bench before a sliced clearing kick from Drahm saw Warriors offside and Hodgson again made it a one-point game on the hour.
The game was set-up for a thrilling final 20 minutes as Worcester hunted an elusive win on their travels. Wing Garvey made a superb break up the wing before his progress as he chipped ahead was ended by a tackle from Wigglesworth that forced the back off injured after he clattered the advertising hoardings. Drahm made sure the penalty counted with another accurate kick.
The home side again roared back with a grubber to the corner just running into touch before Ripol could collect. Seconds later, from a lineout catch and drive, they looked wide but Hodgson juggled and knocked forward as the Worcester defence swarmed forward. Centre Bell then shipped the ball forward with the line closing in after a scrum against the head.
Sharks were now firmly camped in the Worcester half as Ruddock?s men struggled to clear and force them back in the closing ten minutes.
But when they did break they kept the ball tight with some fantastic forward play before Sale?s patience snapped and they played the ball on the floor to hand a penalty to Warriors. Drahm again made no mistake with a brilliant kick to edge his side seven points ahead.
Tension was running high and Sale fired back as they stole the ball and broke down the short side through Cueto and Hodgson before the ball was again lost forward after a saving tackle from Garvey.
Worcester forwards then kept the ball tight and, with Powell brilliantly keeping the ball in Worcester, ran down the clock before the ball was kicked out to complete a fantastic and fully deserved victory.
Timeline:
3m Hodgson p 3-0
11m Horstmann t Drahm c 3-7
23m Hodgson p 6-7
26m Drahm dg 6-10
30m Hodgson dg 9-10
33m Drahm p 9-13
43m Drahm p 9-16
48m Hodgson p 12-16
60m Hodgson p 15-16
63m Drahm p 15-19
75m Drahm p 15-22
Warriors: 01 Tony Windo, 02 Aleki Lutui (Mullan 77), 03 Tevita Taumoepeau, 04 Greg Rawlinson, 05 Craig Gillies, 06 Tom Wood (Hickey 40), 07 Pat Sanderson, 08 Kai Horstmann, 09 Matt Powell, 10 Shane Drahm, 11 Marcel Garvey (Pennell 63-72), 12 Sam Tuitupou, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 14 Miles Benjamin, 15 Thinus Delport
Replacements: 16 Shaun Ruwers, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Will Bowley, 19 Drew Hickey, 20 Ryan Powell, 21 Mark Tucker, 22 Chris Pennell