Worcester made it a hat-trick of successive Premiership victories as they saw off a depleted Sale.

The Sharks, without 14 players due to internationals and injuries, were second best for most of the game at Sixways as Worcester continued their good run.

In front of a sell-out 8,477 crowd despite the freezing conditions the Warriors had the beating of Sale up front and they made it count with tries from Giscard Pieters, Siaosi Vaili and Thinus Delport.

James Brown added two penalties and a conversion for Worcester while Sale hit back with a Johnny Roddam try plus a penalty and conversion from Mike Hercus.

Worcester made a perfect start when Pieters crashed over with just two minutes on the clock; the home side had already shown their intent by nicking early line-out ball before phase after phase led to the South African winger barging through.

Craig Gillies was once again causing all sorts of problems for Sale's set-piece and, following another line-out win, Worcester were given the perfect opportunity to extend their lead when Sale infringed.

Brown's penalty attempt, though, sailed wide but the Sharks were hardly off the hook as the Warriors stormed forward.

Soon after, blood replacement Vaili made his presence felt as, after more pressure, the Samoan finished off another fine Worcester move.

This time Brown was on hand to extend the lead with the conversion as second-placed Sale looked destined for a hiding.

That it did not arrive was down to some intelligent defence and poor execution and which was evident when Worcester's Thomas Lombard went on a suicidal run before being penalised for holding on. Hercus duly slotted Sale's penalty and the Sharks could suddenly sense a foothold.

That was lost, however, seconds before the break as Springbok Delport went on a mazy run and danced in on the right for a 17-3 half-time lead.

Brown extended the advantage with a 52nd-minute penalty following Pierre Caillet's inability to roll away. Sale made a rash of replacements to try to kick-start their team but Worcester continued to dominate up front and, unsurprisingly, were first to the breakdown.

It also meant they were far too much for Sale in the scrum and once the visitors had been penalised, Brown added another penalty to put the Sixways side out of sight.

Sale hit back late on with a driven try from hooker Roddam, which Hercus converted, but it was too little too late for the Sharks.