The defining moment of the game came on 56 minutes when Grove and Matavesi combined in midfield to send Taulava clear and he bulldozed the last man to score to a thundering ovation.

The result, played in difficult conditions in front of the biggest crowd of the season at Sixways, means Warriors finish 2012 unbeaten at home since the opening day and looking up the league table with confidence.

Former Warrior Adam Balding was straight into the action from the kick-off and Welsh won an early penalty as Worcester strayed offside.

The visitors looked to use forward dominance in the opening minute as they drove a lineout and won a second penalty for dragging down the maul that Gordon Ross nudged over for the lead.

Taulava crashed into contact and this time it was outstretched arm of referee Andrew Small that went in Worcester's favour and Goode did he rest to level up the scores.

The home forwards looked to take ball on with Matt Kvesic rattling into more contact before a penalty at the scrum gave Ross the chance to send Welsh back ahead but he made a terrible connection and the ball fell short.

The game descended into aerial ping pong as both teams looked to trade kicks for territory until Chris Pennell was harshly adjudged to have knocked on. The call though only seemed to fire up Warriors as several big hits drove Welsh back before they were pinned for holding on.

Nikki Walker took ball on with Matavesi on his shoulder before Goode intelligently kicked in behind and Ross looked to panic under pressure as he threw a pass to no-one as Kvesic closed in.

The forwards drove up close to the line from the lineout win and Walker came in field and was close to being driven over, but was held up by desperate Welsh defence on the whitewash.

The five-metre scrum saw Worcester pick and go around the fringes through Taulava, Neil Best and Chris Jones before winning another scrum put in. A penalty at the second scrum saw Goode point to the posts and put the home side ahead.

The wet surface and greasy ball were making handling difficult for both sides as Ross and Goode traded kicks before Matavesi looked to sprint clear only to be called back for a knock on in the build-up.

Goode's kick into space was taken at full pace by Matavesi who rolled the tackle but could not find Grove on his shoulder in support as Warriors looked to break the tight shackles of the opening half hour.

David Lemi injected some pace as he tore past the horribly static Dan Caprice, but the support runners failed to get to the ball quickly enough and the penalty went against Warriors.

Worcester lost back row Taulava to the sin bin just before the interval as a driving maul was pulled down and Ross slotted the resulting penalty to draw the two sides level at 6-6.

Referee Small was beginning to infuriate the home crowd with some of his calls as he penalised Hodgson for a knock on when he appeared to be taken out off the ball in the build-up.

Welsh continued to look to their forward power for the advantage as they won a penalty at the set piece with Worcester a man down until the break, but Goode produced a great clearing kick after Pennell showed strength to pick up Arscott's grubber kick through.

Goode produced a belting kick into the corner to put Welsh under huge pressure five metres out. The heat was too much for Neil Briggs as he threw a bent lineout to hand the ball to Warriors.

The lineout was won and the home pack powered the ball over, but again the ball adjudged to have been held up by referee Small as the half-time whistle blew.

An early penalty for side entry gave Ross the chance to kick for position at the start of the second half. A lucky bounce, as Nick Scott and Pennell contested a high ball, then saw Welsh hack ahead and win a scrum five metres out as Walker looked to mop up the danger.

A good scrum by the Warriors, though, turned the scrum possession over to a big ovation from the crowd. And a penalty from the next put in saw Worcester kick the ball clear to avert the danger.

Ross made another wretched connection on a penalty attempt as his kick dropped wide left.

Taulava got Sixways alive as he broke down the middle and Matavesi looked to use Lemi wide, but handling was proving difficult again as the ball was spilled forward in contact.

Matavesi threw a delightful dummy to send Lemi into space and Worcester came alive. Grove broke down the middle and offloaded to Taulava who bulldozed over to a massive cheer. Goode added the extras for a 13-6 lead.

Back came Welsh from the restart as ball was turned over and they raced down the right wing to win a penalty. The visiting pack picked and went for several minutes before they got over anxious and gave away the penalty at the breakdown.

Jonny Arr was introduced a he immediately looked to inject more pace to the game as he broke down the blindside and threatened to release Lemi on his shoulder but instead opted to take the ball into contact as the fog started to roll in.

A tense final ten minutes at Sixways saw Welsh continue to look for a way through by using their forwards before ball was turned over and the alert Lemi broke the line and kicked ahead only to lose the race for the ball.

A loose box kick from Arr gave Welsh a chance to attack again with just over five minutes left on the clock. A penalty for side entry then saw Ross point to the posts but again make a real mess of his kick as it drifted wide right.

Timeline:

03m Ross p 0-3

05m Goode p 3-3

22m Goode p 6-3

33m Ross p 6-6

56m Taulava t Goode c 13-6

Warriors: 01 Ceri Jones, 02 Ed Shervington (Lutui 57), 03 Euan Murray (Andress 71), 04 James Percival, 05 Chris Jones (Schofield 57), 06 Neil Best (Betty 67), 07 Matt Kvesic, 08 Semisi Taulava, 09 Paul Hodgson (Arr 61), 10 Andy Goode, 11 David Lemi, 12 Josh Matavesi (Clarke 71), 13 Alex Grove, 14 Nikki Walker, 15 Chris Pennell

Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 George Porter, 18 John Andress, 19 Dean Schofield, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Danny Gray, 23 Jon Clarke