AN injury-time try from Tony Windo denied Saracens a second successive bonus point victory at Worcester Warriors on Saturday.

The Men in Black were just minutes away from a stunning away win at fortress Sixways when Windo, the loose head prop, was driven over from one of a succession of rolling mauls. Shane Drahm made no mistake with the simple conversion to hand the home side victory by the narrowest of margins.

Defeat was rough on Saracens as they had played more the more attractive rugby, scoring four superb tries through Dan Scarbrough (2), Richard Haughton and Thomas Castaignede but they lacked the composure and the nous that saw them win umpteen close games last season.

Sarries were rocked pre-match by injury to Cobus Visagie, their front-row titan, and his absence proved crucial as they came off second best in the forward battle, but they weathered an early assault from the home side and opened the scoring when Scarbrough collected a cross-field kick from Glen Jackson to dive over.

A ferocious match erupted just after the first quarter when Kris Chesney, Alan Dickens and Worcester's Andre Van Nierkerk were sin-binned for their part in a brawl that was sparked by Chesney needlessly shoving Nicolas Le Roux head first in the perimeter fence.

Worcester took advantage of the numerical advantage to open their account, although they received a helping hand from referee Dave Pearson who was quick to award a penalty try after a scrum on the Sarries goalline had been collapsed at the first attempt.

Sarries though, produced the perfect riposte, catching Worcester cold with a superb counter-attack. Jackson sent Ben Broster charging through the heart of the Worcester defence and then Vyvyan and Castaignede combined to send Haughton over in the right-hander corner.

Jackson kicked the conversion - one of only two successful attempts at goal from the fly-half - while Drahm landed a penalty after two early misses to leave Sarries two points in front at the break.

The visitors extended their lead with their first attack of the second half when Castaignede cut sliced through the covering Worcester defence after a measured move that featured a masterclass in the art of ball retention.

Worcester hit back six minutes later with a try from Drew Hickey but their advantage at the set-piece looked to have been nullified when the match was reduced to uncontested scrums when Kevin Yates joined the injured Broster on the sidelines.

Director of rugby Steve Diamond threw on Taine Randell and Ben Russell, taking the number of back-row forwards in the line-up to seven, and their extra mobility around the park contributed towards Sarries' fourth try, scored by Scarbrough but created by a magnificent pass from the outstanding Castaignede.

However, the lack of recognised lifters at the line-out and power in the mauls started to take its toll and Worcester, inspired by their monster pack, pushed relentlessly in search of the match-winning score that finally arrived with just minutes remaining.