Saints surprise Warriors

Ben Cohen was in supreme form as Northampton beat Worcester at Sixways.

Worcester 7-22 Northampton

Powergen Cup, Sixways, Saturday October 1, KO 2pm

Ben Cohen responded to being left out of the England squad in the best possible way, producing two tries in a fine 22-7 victory for Northampton over Worcester.

The Warriors were heavily fancied after getting off to a solid start to the season, but they did not account for a fired up Cohen at Sixways, as he and Sam Harding ensured a winning start to Saints' Powergen Cup campaign.

The home side were the heavier changed of the two teams, making seven alterations from their last outing, and their lack of continuity showed in a performance littered with unforced errors.

Northampton came out of the blocks quickest and it was no surprise when their heartbeat Carlos Spencer broke free to release Cohen to score after just eight minutes.

England hooker Steve Thompson found himself in the back row once again due to poor recent displays in the line-out from the Saints, but set pieces proved to be the foundation on which they built their victory at Sixways, with Cohen's second coming from a stolen Warriors throw.

The ball was quickly fed to the surging presence of Sean Lamont, who made good ground before allowing Bruce Reihana to link with the big England winger, who was impossible to stop from 20 yards out.

The home crowd fell silent as they chewed over a 12-point deficit at the interval, and things were about to get worse not long after the break.

Saints' Harding came on as a replacement and instantly made a name for himself, collecting from John Clarke to score after the flanker had made a scintillating break past the Worcester rearguard.

The game was as good as over on what was a miserable afternoon for Shane Drahm, playing against his former teammates, who did not receive a platform to play on from his disappointing forwards.

The final quarter finally saw the Warriors step up their performance level, and they found a consolation late on, with Sione Tuamoheloa capitalising on Saints' man disadvantage to bundle over.

However, the day belonged to Cohen, and he was unlucky not complete his hat-trick late on as Northampton cruised home.

Worcester: (0) 7
Tries: Taumoheloa
Cons: Drahm

Northampton (12) 22
Tries: Cohen 2, Harding
Cons: Reihana 2
Pens: Reihana