Sale Sharks interim boss Paul Deacon led his side to back-to-back Premiership wins as they beat out-of-form Worcester Warriors.

Duncan Weir's pair of penalties either side of the break kept Worcester to within seven points of the hosts.

Late on, Jono Ross ran in for the hosts before Worcester were awarded a late penalty try in the final stages.

The win moves Sale up two places in the Premiership table to third while Worcester climb above London Irish into 10th thanks to a losing bonus point.

The hosts came into the match without Dan du Preez, who was banned for three weeks following their ill-tempered win against Gloucester on Saturday.

Worcester saw their last game against Harlequins postponed after Quins recorded positive Covid-19 cases.

The visitors were lifted off the bottom of the Premiership table thanks to the four points they earned from the cancellation of the Quins game.

The result means Worcester are without a win in six games in all competitions, with their most recent victory coming in their narrow 11-10 win against London Irish in November.

Sale Sharks: S James; Roebuck, R du Preez, S Hill, Yarde; MacGinty, De Klerk; Rodd, Van der Merwe, Oosthuizen, Wiese, JP du Preez, Ross (capt), T Curry, Beaumont.

Replacements: Langdon, Morozov, Cooper-Woolley, Phillips, Dugdale, Cliff, L James, McGuigan.

Worcester Warriors: Pennell; Humphries, O Morris, Beck, David; Weir, Hougaard; Waller, Annett, Schonert, Bresler, Clegg, Hill (capt), Kvesic, Mama.

Replacements: Miller, Thmas, Palframan, Merrick, Du Preez, Lewis, Simpson, Shillcock.

Rugby Weekly Union podcast - listen and subscribe here