Premiership: Worcester Warriors 13-29 Northampton Saints - Visitors earn bonus-point win

Saints centre Rory Hutchinson scored the opening try on his 26th birthday to set his side on the way to a comfortable win

Northampton maintained their push for a top four Premiership finish as they eased to victory at Worcester.

Tries from Rory Hutchinson, Sam Matavesi and Alex Mitchell gave Saints a commanding 19-3 lead at half-time.

Warriors threatened a second-half comeback with two tries in five minutes from the returning Rory Sutherland and Ashley Beck on his 50th appearance.

But James Fish's bonus point try, 10 minutes from time, ensured the visitors left with maximum points.

Victory over Worcester, in Steve Diamond's first game in charge, temporarily lifted Saints above Gloucester, but the Cherry and Whites reclaimed fourth place with victory at Newcastle in a game delayed by Storm Malik.

After a scrappy opening, Northampton centre Hutchinson took advantage when a maul broke down to cut back into space and beat two players to open the scoring after 22 minutes, before Dan Biggar added the extras.

Fin Smith got Worcester on the scoreboard with a penalty three minutes later but then the hosts lost winger Perry Humphreys to a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on as Saints attacked.

Northampton had their second try when a Warriors offside allowed Wales captain Biggar to send the ball into the corner and Matavesi finished off a driving maul from the lineout to make it 12-3 after 29 minutes.

It got worse for Worcester two minutes before the break when Mitchell dummied to pass before skipping away from just inside halfway to score as Biggar converted to put the visitors firmly in charge.

Biggar's 46th-minute penalty stretched the lead before Warriors eventually crossed the whitewash on the hour when Sutherland crashed over from short-range to make it 22-10.

Worcester reduced the gap further when Wales international Beck burst through a gap with 16 minutes left to take his side within nine points.

But the hosts, who suffered a record home loss to Northampton last season, have not beaten Saints since November 2017 and any thoughts of a dramatic comeback win were extinguished when Fish powered over from a maul and Biggar converted again.

Worcester boss Steve Diamond:

"We were competitive, but the scoreline doesn't suggest that. Our defensive frailties were evident in the first half, but it is work in progress. We will be putting some graft into those areas.

"Half-time was reasonably calm. And we were in the game in the second half. We missed a couple of opportunities.

"We have got great players and we have got a good coaching team. It just needs a little direction and little bit more tuning in on the basics. We will be OK.

"We couldn't get the result that certainly I was looking for, but there are a lot of positives to take out of it."

Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd told BBC Radio Northampton:

"Job done. It's five points so I'm really pleased with the performance in the first half, not so in the second half, so a bit of a game of two halves.

"We absorbed a lot of pressure in our back three, efended really well and created quite a lot of opportunities in a strong wind and we scored a couple of good tries, then Mitchell ghosted through a hole to make it three before half time.

"I said to the boys at half-time, that was a very well-managed, clinical performance, let's see if we can replicate it and we couldn't.

"We knew if we were disciplined and controlled in the middle of the field, for them to get from back to front would be difficult but we gave them too many chances to do that."

Worcester: Searle; Humphreys, Venter, Beck, van der Merwe; Smith, Simpson; Sutherland, Annett, Judge, Batley, Kitchener, Hatherell, T Hill (capt), Kvesic.

Replacements: Cutting, E Waller, Tyack, Clegg, Vailanu, Chudley, Williams, Hearle.

Sin-bin: Humphreys (28)

Northampton: Tuala; Sleightholme, Dingwall (capt), Hutchinson, Collins; Biggar, Mitchell; A Waller, Matavesi, P Hill, Ribbans, Ratuniyarawa, Wood, Harrison, Augustus.

Replacements: Fish, Iyogun, Carey, Nansen, Coles, James, Grayson, Proctor.

Referee: Ian Tempest (RFU).

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