Fly half Andy Goode, returning to a former club, slotted a drop goal and penalty as Worcester produced an impressive opening 40 minutes full of heart and effort to take a slender three-point lead at the interval in the televised encounter.

The home side finally broke a resilient and hard-working Worcester defence in the second half as wide man Strettle cruised down the slightest of openings to score.

A further try from Barritt on the hour moved the hosts clear and despite a battling final ten minutes, as Richard Hill's men chased a losing bonus point, it was not to be as Warriors suffered defeat on the road.

An early penalty allowed Saracens to kick deep into Worcester territory and when referee pulled the Warriors up moments later for dragging down the rolling maul it was Charlie Hodgson who put the hosts ahead after three minutes.

Back row Matt Kvesic, in for the injured Neil Best, showed early strong running skills to roll out of a tackle, but it was the home side who controlled possession in the opening quarter as Hodgson kicked into space.

Goode cleared after big pressure on the Worcester scrum while Alex Grove tap tackled Alex Goode as he looked to break down the right wing after slick handling from Saracens down the line to work space.

Warriors were looking to force passes as they moved into midfield as Miles Benjamin and Grove looked to break into space and offload. Goode also opted for a quick tap penalty and was hauled up by Steve Borthwick before Errie Claasssens just failed to find Marcel Garvey on the right wing.

Tempers flared between front row duo Chris Fortey and Shalk Brits allowing Saracens to clear their lines before Claassens chased down a high up and under only for his team-mates to be called offside.

Worcester's defence was holding up under intense pressure as Saracens blasted wave after wave of attack against them until a high tackle by Fortey saw Hodgson point to the posts only to spare Warriors by striking the left upright.

Kvesic threatened a break away as he picked up but saw his pass back picked off by a Saracens hand before a sublime break from Claassens saw him break away from three tacklers. The ball was then fed to Goode in the pocket who slotted the drop goal.

Grove collected Goode's chip ahead as Worcester looked to break the home defensive line while Claassens again showed his rugby skills as he picked up Alex Goode's chip ahead and drilled a long kick down the line before racing up and collecting as Saracens stood still.

Worcester were frustrating the home side and Neil de Kock showed his disgust as he threw the ball to the turf after needlessly knocking on as he battled to release his backs from the breakdown.

A penalty at the scrum saw Goode point to the posts from inside his own half and only just fail by a matter of inches as the ball dropped under the bar.

Justin Melck coughed up ball after a thundering tackle from Chris Jones as Saracens looked to turn up the heat just before the break.

In the last minute of the half, Kai Horstmann picked up and drilled a kick in behind that forced Alex Goode to hurriedly hack into touch close to his line under pressure from Jonny Arr.

The ball was secured at the lineout and with the penalty won Goode saw his left foot drop goal drop wide. However, back came the play for an earlier penalty for dragging the maul down and Goode popped over the kick for a 6-3 lead to Worcester at the interval.

Worcester made a half time change as Ollie Frost replaced Arr and the young scrum half saw soon retreating to his own line as David Strettle came off his wing with impact. The penalty was awarded as Worcester illegally entered the ruck and Hodgson pulled the sides level.

Play was held up for over five minutes due an injury to Brits who looked out cold after flying into a tackle and was eventually stretchered off.

When play resumed, Worcester put together the best phase play of the game as they strung ball left and right with real menace before Good attempted another drop goal but saw his effort half charged down by Andy Saull and fall under the bar.

Benjamin showed neat slaloming skills to try and run from deep after a high kick from De Kock, but the England Saxons wing was then penalised for holding on under pressure at the breakdown. Hodgson, however, saw his kick drift a long way left of the posts.

Saracens broke in to score the first try of the afternoon on 52 minutes as they worked the ball wide left to replacement Owen Farrell. He flicked to Strettle who just managed to evade Garvey and race down the touch line to score in the corner for an 11-6 lead.

Home fly half Hodgson sliced through a gap in midfield to race up close to the line, but the retreating defence dislodged the ball from the former England man before Garvey looked to run it clear and Frost hurriedly hacked into touch.

The game was wrapped up by the hosts just after the hour when a period of forward pick and goes punched holes in the Worcester rearguard before Hodgson popped a pass up to centre Brad Barritt who bulldozed over bodies to get the ball grounded.

Hill rang the changes in the final quarter in a bid to get back into the game and replacement Joe Carlisle was immediately into the action as his penalty attempt just pulled up short and clipped the bar.

Worcester were visibly upping the tempo in the closing stages to try and scramble back and another penalty allowed Carlisle to kick into the far corner. The forwards took ball on via Percival but after ball was slowed down on the floor the penalty this time went against Horstmann for holding on.

Garvey was next to try and work room as he took the ball down the right wing and kicked ahead, only for the ball to take a horrid bounce and just avoid his desperate clutches.

Saracens mounted one final attack as Hodgson kicked them within five-metres of the line, but Worcester refused to back down and scrapped hard before the ball was knocked on within touching distance of the whitewash.

One final roll of the dice saw Worcester work space down the left before Benjamin broke clear and hand off one man before being hauled up short of the line as Warriors came close to taking a losing bonus point.

Timeline:

03m Hodgson p 3-0

22m Goode dg 3-3

40m Goode p 3-6

43m Hodgson p 6-6

52m Strettle t 11-6

61m Barritt t Hodgson c 18-6

Worcester Warriors: 01 Matt Mullan (Ceri Jones 62), 02 Chris Fortey (Sherington 62), 03 Bruce Douglas (Taumoepeau 53), 04 Chris Jones, 05 Craig Gillies (Percival 62), 06 Matt Kvesic (Betty 66), 07 Jake Abbott, 08 Kai Horstmann, 09 Jonny Arr (Frost 40), 10 Andy Goode (Carlisle 66), 11 Miles Benjamin, 12 Alex Crockett (Short 66), 13 Alex Grove, 14 Marcel Garvey, 15 Errie Claassens

Replacements: 16 Ceri Jones, 17 Ed Shervington, 18 Tevita Taumoepeau, 19 James Percival, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Ollie Frost, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Andy Short