Hodgson put his body on the line in dramatic fashion as he shunted Will Addison into touch with time up as Sharks hunted a try that could have snatched a draw from an encounter that was always in the balance.

Sale, without a win all season, had taken an early lead through England wing Mark Cueto before David Lemi scored a quite sensational solo effort before the break as the home crowd hailed the Samoan speedster.

Back came Sale as a try from Nick MacLeod drew them level before Andy Goode linked up with half back partner Hodgson to touch down in the corner.

The Sharks, though, were not done and in a dramatic ending they camped on the Worcester line with time up before Hodgson's brave intervention.

The result, if not the performance, would have been a huge relief for Head coach Richard Hill after last gasp despair against Bath and Gloucester already this season.

But he will know his Warriors will need to produce a much better display next week against Exeter Chiefs to keep the winning habit going.

Worcester kicked off in ice cold conditions and won a penalty after 15 seconds as Sale infringed at the breakdown. Goode lined up the difficult kick and slotted from the touchline to a big ovation.

Sale countered and won a penalty of their own for not rolling away that Danny Cipriani opted to kick to the corner instead of going for the posts. Sam Tuitupou then broke a tackle and the Sharks spun the wall wide for England international Cueto to touch down for a 5-3 lead.

The visitors looked to run from deep from the restart, but a poor pass from former Warriors man Tuitupou found the floor, put his team in trouble and they knocked on. Lemi looked to spark something off the back of a scrum before another penalty saw Goode retake the lead.

A half break from Goode raised temperatures before Nick MacLeod ran back a clearing kick and Worcester were guilty at the breakdown as referee Greg Garner stepped in. Another penalty, as the home side came in at the side, allowed Cipriani to open his account.

Strong work on the floor saw Sale penalised for holding on and Goode crunched a kick long. However, the lineout was lost and a scrappy period of play saw MacLeod win the territorial battle.

Individual errors were undermining Worcester in the opening quarter as lineout ball was secured but then lost. Sale's big crash ball runners were scattering bodies before the backs looked to link up but MacLeod collected a forward pass.

The home lineout miscued twice to give Sale field position and Chris Pennell had to be alert to touch down after Sharks kicked in behind into space.

Both teams were trading possession through errors as referee Garner took centre stage for several minutes. Centre pairing Matavesi and Grove crunched holes before the Fiji international midfielder just lost the race to collect Goode's wide kick.

On the other flank Lemi got to Matavesi's grubber kick in behind and hacked ahead only for the ball to roll into touch with the East Stand crowd claiming a deflection on the way.

The Samoa captain was not to be denied seconds later, though, as he collected Pennell's pass and simple tore away from men before racing past a hopeless exposed MacLeod to score a thunderous try. Goode added the extras for a 13-8 lead as Sixways rocked to a spectacular score.

Sale had lost their composure as Cipriani kicked direct into touch and then they needlessly took Gillies out in the air during a lineout.

A massive driving maul forced Sale right back as the home forwards really fronted up and won a penalty after a series of thumping pick and goes. A quick tap penalty saw Warriors nearly drive over before Goode took the play back and slotted three points for a 16-8 lead.

Sale started the second half in need of a platform to build upon, but Worcester stood strong in the opening minutes to resist any immediate response. However, over eager play at the breakdown saw Warriors pinned and Cipriani needed no second invite to strike.

Semisi Taulava continued to run back any high kick with interest while James Percival pumped his legs to make yards before Sharks held the ball up to win the scrum put in.

Worcester looked to work their way out of their own 22 through the forwards with phase after phase of forward power before the ball was lost in contact just as the home side looked to make halfway.

Sale were dominating territory in the opening 15 minutes of the half as the game was being played totally in the home half. The visiting forwards drove up close to the line before Cipriani and Tuitupou were just stopped short.

Hill introduced Dean Schofield just before the hour and Worcester continued to hold firm before the arm of referee Garner pointed in the favour of the home side to a huge ovation.

A long stray lineout was picked off by Sale and hacked into space with Pennell forced to hurtle back as Sharks threatened.

Then, from absolutely nowhere, ball was turned over as Warriors looked to drive and Tommy Taylor almost made the line before it was spun to MacLeod to score and draw the sides level.

Pack pair Chris Jones and Ed Shervington were introduced to try and fire up the home set piece.

Goode kicked for the corner after Worcester's driving maul was pulled down as it gathered power and pace. The decision was justified as the drive went close before Kvesic and Hodgson combined to send Goode over in the corner. The fly half then added a brilliant touchline conversion for a 23-16 lead.

Kvesic and Betty produced sensational runs down the middle to break tackles before Goode looked to send Lemi into space again. Play went back for a penalty and Goode lined up the kick only to hit the left hand post.

Sale looked to mount an immediate comeback and enjoyed more phase play before James Gaskell burst away only to be pulled back for a forward pass in the build-up.

The visitors were now slicking the ball around to hunt an opening with Johnny Leota to the fore as he blasted into contact.

Sale were throwing everything at Warriors in the closing stages and kept the ball alive and slung it from side to side to look for the way through with less than two minutes left.

One last role of the dice saw Sale with a scrum five metres out and then twice win a penalty for not rolling away with time up.

The Sharks dug deep to rattle up close and then flung the ball wide with Addison looking to set to make the corner before Hodgson's quite brilliant tackle ended the game.

Timeline:

02m Goode p 3-0

06m Cueto t 3-5

10m Goode p 6-5

15m Cipriani p 6-8

33m Lemi t Goode c 13-8

38m Goode p 16-8

45m Cipriani p 16-11

59m MacLeod t 16-16

66m Goode t Goode c 23-16

Warriors: 01 Matt Mullan, 02 Aleki Lutui (Shervington 61), 03 John Andress (Currie 72), 04 James Percival, 05 Craig Gillies (Schofield 55), 06 Sam Betty, 07 Matt Kvesic, 08 Semisi Taulava (Ch Jones 61), 09 Paul Hodgson, 10 Andy Goode, 11 David Lemi (Fatiaki 78), 12 Josh Matavesi (Carlisle 66), 13 Alex Grove, 14 Errie Claassens, 15 Chris Pennell

Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 James Currie, 19 Dean Schofield, 20 Chris Jones, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Ravai Fatiaki