Premiership: Worcester 32-35 Sale - Sharks come from behind as Warriors lose again

Victorious Sale had lost on their last three trips to Sixways

Sale moved to within 11 points of Premiership leaders Bristol as they held on to win a game of nine tries against bottom club Worcester.

Warriors scrum-half Francois Hougaard scored a hat-trick, to add to Jamie Shillcock's opener, but ended up a loser as Sale came back from 11-0 down.

Connor Doherty got one back before the break to turn the Sharks round at 11-7.

But Byron McGuigan, Arron Reed, Coenie Oosthuizen and JP du Preez crossed as Sale edged above Harlequins into third.

Since beating London Irish on the opening weekend, aside from their two Covid-related four-point 'wins' around the turn of the year, Worcester have now suffered 14 straight Premiership defeats.

Worcester led through a long-range penalty from Shillcock, who then scored a stunning try.

Teenage fly-half Fin Smith kicked from his own 22 to wing Alex Hearle, who threw a speculative pass, but Shillcock set off on a touchline sprint, chased his own kick and regathered to finish in the corner.

Although he missed the conversion, his second successful penalty opened up an 11-point lead until, on 32 minutes, AJ MacGinty's neat pass sent Doherty over for a converted try.

After Reed's yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, Worcester took four second-half minutes to make the most of the one-man advantage when Smith gathered a bouncing ball to send scrum-half Hougaard over for his first score.

But Sale quickly hit back when McGuigan went over in the corner and MacGinty added the second of his four conversions.

After a disallowed try for Worcester's England centre Ollie Lawrence, Sale finally went ahead for the first time on 67 minutes, the first in a late spree of five tries.

England flanker Tom Curry slipped in Reed, followed by one for Oosthuizen, with two at the other end for Hougaard either side of Du Preez's late score for Sale, converted by Kieran Wilkinson.

Worcester Warriors: Shillcock; Howe, Lawrence, Venter, Hearle; Smith, Hougaard; Waller, Annett, Schonert, Bresler, Kitchener, Hill, Lewis, Van Velze.

Replacements: Miller, Thomas, Palframan, Clegg, Dodd, Kvesic, Simpson, Doel.

Sale Sharks: Hammersley; McGuigan, S James, Doherty, Reed; MacGinty, Cliff; Rodd, Langdon, John, Wiese, JP du Preez, Neild, T Curry, D du Preez.

Replacements: Ashman, Morozov, Oosthuizen, Phillips, JL Du Preez, Quirke, Wilkinson, L James.

Sin-bin: Reed (40).

Referee: Christophe Ridley (RFU).

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