The opening hour of the game was a closely contested kicking battle between fly halves Andy Goode and Stephen Myler as the teams went blow for blow before a decisive final quarter from the visitors.

Saints had impressed with a strong driving game all afternoon and they took the points on offer with two forward based plays as back row Samu Manoa was shunted over with 12 minutes left.

And Warriors were left without even a losing bonus point for consolation when a penalty try was awarded to Northampton by referee Greg Garner four minutes from time.

Sixways was basked in sunshine for the kick-off and Worcester were immediately on the attack as Josh Drauniniu flicked out of a tackle and Matt Kvesic crashed into contact.

Drauniniu almost gave Worcester a dream start as a loose pass along the turf was picked up by the winger and he stepped into space but was dragged up short of the whitewash as the crowd found its voice.

A penalty at the breakdown gave Goode an early shot at goal and the fly half hit his strike low and true for the lead.

Errie Claassens was solid under a high bomb kick from Ben Foden before quick hands allowed Lemi to make a break down the left wing, but he was left isolated and Saints turned over possession.

Another penalty gave Goode a huge effort from inside his own half and the fly half drilled a brilliant kick home.

Euan Murray was next to carry with power against his old club before Claassens found a gap and raced into the Northampton half.

Northampton had been quiet for the opening ten minutes, but suddenly came alive with a run down the middle that saw them rattle up close through Soane Tonga'uiha and Tom May. However, excellent work from Neil Best on the floor won a penalty for holding on.

Worcester's front row won a penalty on Northampton ball at the scrum to ironic cheers, but Saints soon had a shot at goal for accidental offside and Stephen Myler put the visitors on the scoreboard.

Myler repeated the feat four minutes later as the momentum started to swing to the Saints.

Worcester looked to force mistake as Lee Dickson saw his poor clearing kick charged down by Goode and as the penalty was won the home fly half again made no mistake with his third kick of the afternoon.

But from the restart Warriors were guilty of a needless mistake themselves as they entered the ruck from the side as Best looked to protect the ball and Myler again drew the sides level.

Worcester looked to use the width of the pitch before Grove grubber kicked in behind and forced Foden to react quickly to clear the danger as Warriors stormed after the ball.

A massive hit from Kvesic on Dickson disrupted Saints and Clarke and Drauniniu then combined in midfield to force a position down field before Northampton strayed offside and Goode nudged Warriors ahead once more just after the half hour mark.

Worcester were suddenly on the front foot and when Saints cynically stopped quick ball they lost captain and hooker Dylan Hartley to the sin bin for ten minutes. However, Goode missed the first kick of the afternoon as his effort slid wide right of the posts.

Clarke broke through the middle of a ruck as Worcester threatened a first try, but the centre failed to find hands as he flicked over his shoulder and Warriors were then penalised for pulling back a Northampton player in the build-up.

Myler missed a relatively simple kick to ironic cheers after the home side had been left disgruntled by a decision from the officials to a driving maul up field. And the fly half then saw another effort pull up short as Worcester took a 12-9 lead to the break.

Worcester were given an early scare in the second half as Lemi fell awkwardly taking a high ball under pressure and gingerly got to his feet after a lengthy stoppage.

The kicking contest between Goode and Myler continued as the Northampton man overcame two misses before the half-time whistle to return to his best and bring the two teams back on equal parity.

The always willing Claassens took another steepling high kick and then broke a tackle before racing down the middle only to fail to find any support runners with Goode eager for a pass.

Worcester produced some staggering handling to cut deep into the Northampton half,w ith Clarke elusive with ball in hand, before Sixways was left disgruntled with Grove left on the floor in discomfort as he chased a kick ahead from Goode.

Northampton were using their driving game to good effect and it was from one such move that they forced a penalty for not rolling away and Myler gave the Saints the lead for the first time in the game.

Drauniniu looked to make things happen as he skipped past his opposite number but just failed to keep his kick ahead into space on the field.

Goode was left crumpled on the floor after he was left hit by lock Courtney Lawes and the England man was latest man to be yellow carded by referee Greg Garner, with the home fly half climbing to his feet to level the scores.

Clarke was proving a constant thorn in the side of his old club as he glided down the wing but knocked on as he looked to offload the ball to support runners.

A penalty at scrum time saw Myler hit the post with a kick, but the play went for Northampton as Goode sliced his clearing kick after Jonny Arr gathered at the second attempt.

Best was the next player to be yellow carded as he came in at the side and Northampton looked to make momentum count as they kicked for the corner and drove over with Manoa credited with the try.

Worcester needed a response quickly and Sam Betty and Kvesic gave them go forward with big carries before a Goode penalty cut the lead back to two points with ten minutes left.

Goode produced a superb kick to touch as Saints looked to strike again and put Warriors under huge pressure as they ran the ball from deep.

Warriors were struggling to contain the visiting driving game and another massive driving maul saw Saints rumble up close before referee Garner awarded a penalty try to Saints to hand the away team the win.

Timeline:

04m Goode p 3-0

07m Goode p 6-0

17m Myler p 6-3

21m Myler p 6-6

24m Goode p 9-6

26m Myler p 9-9

31m Goode p 12-9

43m Myler p 12-12

54m Myler p 12-15

58m Goode p 15-15

67m Manoa t 15-20

70m Goode p 18-20

76m Penalty t Myler c 18-27

Warriors: 01 Matt Mullan, 02 Aleki Lutui (Shervington 50), 03 Euan Murray, 04 James Percival, 05 Dean Schofield, 06 Neil Best, 07 Sam Betty, 08 Matt Kvesic, 09 Jonny Arr, 10 Andy Goode, 11 David Lemi, 12 Jon Clarke, 13 Alex Grove, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 15 Errie Claassens

Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 John Andress, 19 Craig Gillies, 20 Jake Abbott, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Danny Gray, 23 Josh Matavesi