Northampton 24-14 Worcester: Saints recover from early setback
Last Updated: 26/02/17 11:51am
Northampton secured their fifth successive home victory as they recovered from an early setback to see off Worcester 24-14.
The Warriors, who had started the day second bottom in the Aviva Premiership, stunned the home fans with a sixth-minute score from full-back Josh Adams.
But the Saints bounced back, registering two first-half tries, from England flanker Teimana Harrison and hooker Mike Haywood.
Stephen Myler added seven points with the boot to make it 17-7 at the break, and Haywood scored another try before the end to make the points safe.
Fly-half Ryan Mills, who had added the conversion to Adams' early effort, missed two penalties that would have given the Warriors a fresh lease of life early in the second half.
And Northampton were happy to finish the game off through Haywood's score as they recovered from back-to-back league defeats to move into the top six.
Bryce Heem scored with the final play of the game for Worcester, but they were to walk away with no reward for their efforts.
The Warriors had enjoyed a dream start as, after smashing their opponents in the scrum, they strode through the middle of a wide open defence.
Wynand Olivier was the man who made the break and he timed the pass superbly to allow Adams to score in the corner.
Mills added a conversion from the touchline to stretch the early lead to seven points but Northampton quickly responded.
Harrison, who had been released by England earlier in the week, was the man with the try as he popped up at the back of a lineout and ploughed over the line.
Myler added the conversion to level it up at 7-7 and Northampton continued to boss possession, with their fly-half landing a penalty to put his team ahead for the first time.
The Saints were threatening to score another try before the break and after good work from Nic Groom and Ken Pisi, Alex Waller looked set to score but the ball fell to Haywood, who took the glory.
Myler converted to stretch his team's advantage to 10 points at half-time and Mills missed the chance to strike back early in the second half, fluffing a penalty attempt.
The Worcester fly-half missed again soon after, spurning an even simpler chance from in front of the posts.
Those misses took any life from the game and there was little action to speak of before Haywood went over to make the game safe for the Saints.
Worcester had the last word with a try from Heem, which Lamb converted.
