This Saturday would have been Warriors’ final Gallagher Premiership match of the season, away to Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium.
For our final Throwback Thursday feature we go back to Friday March 9 2007 and a valuable win on the road for Warriors at Sale’s then-home, Edgeley Park in Stockport.
Sale Sharks 12-18 Worcester Warriors
Warriors inflicted a fifth straight defeat on reigning champions Sale Sharks thanks to first half tries from Shane Drahm and Tevita Taumoepeau.
Warriors, buoyed by their first home win of the season the previous week against Bath, made it two wins in a row to move level on points with Northampton Saints at the foot of the Guinness Premiership table and leave
Sharks’ chances of retaining their title in tatters.
Despite missing influential skipper Pat Sanderson with a broken hand, Warriors burst out of the blocks.
Full-back Drahm should have got the scoreboard ticking Worcester early on, when he missed a simple penalty goal in front of the sticks but he more than made amends a minute later.
Centre Dale Rasmussen, fresh from signing a new three-year contract, burst through the Sale defence and, following some slick handling from James Brown, Drahm eventually wriggled over the line.
Brown missed the conversion to extend the score, but the game was held up soon after for around 10 minutes as Sharks’ Mark Taylor was carried off on a stretcher with what looked to be a neck injury.
Daniel Larrechea, back from suspension for the reigning champions, then sent a 30-metre penalty sailing between the posts to peg Warriors back.
But the visitors stretched their lead after half an hour when Taumoepeau bundled over for his first score of the season.
Larrechea reduced Worcester’s lead to just three points at the break, kicking two more penalties.
The fly-half then missed a chance to put the Sharks back on level terms early in the second period, before Brown added another three points for Warriors.
Larrechea’s drop goal with the home side on top only added to the home supporters’ frustrations as Warriors resolutely defended their line.
Sale, who had not scored a try in their previous two matches, were in touching distance of breaking that duck midway through the second half.
But a superb last-ditch tackle from Rasmussen on debutant full-back Julien Laharrague, kept the Sharks at bay.
Warriors | 15 Shane Drahm, 14 Aisea Havili, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 12 Mark Tucker, 11 Thinus Delport, 10 James Brown, 9 Matt Powell, 1 Tony Windo, 2 Chris Fortey, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 4 Craig Gillies, 5 Phil Murphy, 6 Drew Hickey, 7 Tom Harding, 8 Kai Horstmann.
Replacements | 16 Darren Morris, 17 Aleki Lutui, 18 Richard Blaze, 19 Gavin Quinnell, 20 Nick Runciman, 21 Dom Feau’nati, 22 Lee Best.