Saints bag another bonus-point win against Worcester Warriors

It was far from a flawless display and it was less comfortable than the win at Newcastle Falcons earlier in the month, but Chris Boyd's men got the job done.

James Fish scored 10 minutes from time to secure the bonus point and bring an end to a second-half Warriors fightback.

The home side had pulled back from 22-3 down to 22-13, but Fish went over from a lineout drive to make sure of a key win in the race for a Premiership play-off place.

Rory Hutchinson, Sam Matavesi and Alex Mitchell had all scored in the first period to put Saints in control against a team they have now beaten on each of the past nine occasions.

It had been a scrappy start at Sixways and Saints had to do some defending early on, with Ahsee Tuala doing really well to read a Worcester attack to intercept and help his side escape.

The Warriors were clearly fired up though, and Saints were struggling to get into their stride in breezy but sunny conditions.

The away side were having real trouble securing their own lineouts, costing them a foothold in the game and also causing them problems inside their 22.

The match was predominantly being played in Saints territory as the Warriors continued to probe for openings.

But Saints landed a sucker punch after kicking to the corner, with Hutchinson's fine footwork unlocking the Sixways door as the Scotland centre scored.

Dan Biggar added the conversion to the birthday boy's try and Saints led 7-0 with 22 minutes played.

Worcester reduced the deficit with a Fin Smith penalty that was won at the scrum.

Saints were soon back on the attack and there was a very deliberate knock-on from Worcester wing Perry Humphreys, earning him a yellow card.

Saints felt they could have had a penalty try with men outside, but instead they were forced to go to the corner to see if they could break through.

Worcester lost fly-half Smith and lock Andrew Kitchener to injury in a quickfire double blow, and Saints immediately took advantage, scoring from a big maul through Matavesi.

Biggar was unable to pocket the extra two points as the strong wind forced his conversion wide of the posts.

But Biggar was on target a minute before the break after Mitchell had done superbly to spot a gap and speed through it for Saints' third score of the afternoon.

Saints kept their foot on the gas early in the second half, allowing Biggar to stretch the lead to 19 points with a successful penalty.

The Warriors continued to battle and it looked like they would score when Duhan van der Merwe went haring away, but some brilliant scramble defence from Saints put him in touch.

But after Worcester won a series of scrum penalties, Rory Sutherland finally went over to breathe new life into the home bid.

The conversion was missed but Worcester were on the charge, and Ollie Sleightholme had to use his immense speed to get back and stop Ted Hill scoring.

Replacement hooker Fish then failed to find the target with his first lineout and Worcester pounced, but they were held up under the posts.

It didn't take long for Worcester to score again though as Ashley Beck ran a lovely line and went flying through a gap to dive over for the hosts.

Billy Searle missed the conversion from the left but Saints were suddenly shipping an abundance of penalties, putting their lead in real peril.

But after Biggar booted a penalty to the corner, with the help of a Worcester hand, Saints turned on the power to send Fish over for the bonus-point try.

Biggar added the gloss with a tidy conversion and Saints had deflated the home fans.

Worcester continued to push, forcing more penalties from Saints, but the men in white held out and celebrated another hugely welcome league win.

Worcester Warriors: Searle; Humphreys, Venter, Beck, van der Merwe; Smith (Williams 28), Simpson (Chudley 55); Sutherland (Waller 61), Annett (Cutting 71), Judge (Tyack 51); Batley, Kitchener (Clegg 28); Hatherell, Hill (c), Kvesic (Vailanu 51).

Saints: Tuala (Proctor 55); Sleightholme, Dingwall (c), Hutchinson, Collins; Biggar (Grayson 71), Mitchell (James 71); Waller (Iyogun 56), Matavesi (Fish 62), Hill; Ribbans, Ratuniyarawa (Coles 61); Wood, Harrison, Augustus (Nansen 69).

Referee: Ian Tempest