Tigers book semifinal spot
The tackle area was a huge battle in the opening moments, with Worcester contesting every breakdown on Tigers ball.
And that tactic was rewarded with the game's first penalty that Ryan Mills knocked over from halfway to give the visitors a ninth-minute lead.
Tigers, who were made to fight for every inch by the Warriors, scored four tries, with Vereniki Goneva putting their first five-pointer on the scoreboard with an interception on halfway.
There seemed little danger when Chris Pennell picked up possession just inside his own half but he failed to spot Goneva lurking with intent and the wing picked off the pass for a free run to the line, with Williams adding the extras to put Leicester 7-3 ahead.
Worcester made an instant response to regain the lead when Francois Hougaard pounced on a loose ball in midfield and found Heem on the right flank to scorch a line to the corner.
Tom Heathcote converted to give Worcester a 10-7 lead.
Despite the flurry of scores, the game was stop-start, not helped by running repairs for a number of the Worcester pack.
But when Tigers were able to find their flow they crossed for a second try.
Tigers tested the Worcester defence around the fringes before Fonua forced his way over from seven metres to score by the posts and Williams landed the conversion to put Tigers 14-10 ahead.
Worcester continued to pose a threat through their scrumhalf, Hougaard, taking the ball right to the line and looking to pop passes for his runners.
One such move put Mills through a gap on the Leicester 22 but was pulled back for a forward pass.
But when Worcester returned to the Tigers 22 after three minutes they crossed for their second try.
The Tigers defence was tested to the full by the Warriors, who drove around the fringes and with a penalty advantage, added width for Symons to beat last-man Goneva and score next to the posts.
Tigers responded with a sensational score for Veainu before halftime.
Williams's broke a tackle and offloaded to Goneva to open up the defence but there was still plenty to do for Veainu when he received possession 30m out.
He held off Symons, danced past Carl Kirwan and GJ Van Velze before racing past Pennell to dive in at the corner.
Williams landed the touchline conversion to give Tigers a 21-17 lead at half-time.
Warriors flew out of the traps at the start of the second period and threatened another try from the restart.
However, Sam Betty took his eye off the ball and knocked-on into the deadball area as Tigers flew up in defence.
Evans's first involvement was to burst onto Lachlan McCaffrey's pass and break 40m up to the Warriors 22.
Williams's angled kick was intended for Thompstone but the ball skidded off the surface and out for a lineout 10-m from the Worcester line.
But Cole was whistled by referee Garner for not rolling away after making a tackle but Heathcote struck the left-hand post with his kick as Tigers retained their four-point lead.
Tigers get the better of a spell of tactical kicking when Hougaard put one out on the full to give them a lineout on the Worcester 22.
Tigers almost took full advantage, playing patient, tight rugby before unleashing Veainu in the wide channel, but the fullback was unable to gather Betham's pass with Worcester stretched.
The new Tigers front three had Worcester under huge pressure at the scrum and won the penalty, which Williams put in the corner.
Kitchener secured the lineout and then, with Thompstone joining in, Evans controlled the ball at the back of the maul and finished for his try in Leicester colours.
It brought the try bonus point and converted by Williams gave Tigers a 28-17 lead.
Williams put Tigers two scores ahead with a penalty from the left following another dominant scrum.
Pennell made a sparkling break from his own 22 to Leicester's where Ryan Lamb, the former Leicester flyhalf now on as a replacement, tried to force an overlap but could only fizz his pass into touch.
Lamb looked certain to score a consolation for the Warriors but instead of running towards the corner took the contact from Williams.
Worcester retained possession but knocked-on 5m out under some huge Tigers tackles as Leicester prevented their visitors scoring a single point during the second period.
Scorers:
For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Goneva, Fonua, Veainu, Evans
Cons: Williams 4
Pens: Williams
For Worcester:
Tries: Heem, Symons
Cons: Heathcote 2
Pens: Mills
Teams:
Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Peter Betham, 12 Mathew Tait, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Lachlan McCaffrey, 6 Ed Slater (captain), 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Greg Bateman, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Will Evans, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Matt Smith.
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Andy Symons, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (captain), 7 Carl Kirwan, 6 Phil Dowson, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin
Replacements: 16 Jaba Bregvadze, 17 Na’ama Leleimalefaga, 18 James Johnston, 19 Donncha O’Callaghan, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Luke Baldwin,22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Dean Hammond.
Referee: Gregory Garner
Assistant referees: Jonathan Healy, Kevin Stewart
TMO: David Rose
NORTHAMPTON 15 - BATH 14
Northampton Saints mounted a superb second-half comeback to beat Bath at Franklin's Gardens, Stephen Myler landing the decisive conversion with just eight minutes remaining.
Mike Ford's side looked set to claim their first win at Northampton since 2000, as two Jeff Williams scores inside the opening 20 minutes put them 14-0 up at the break.
But Saints fought back with man-of-the-match Teimana Harrison scoring the first try before Mike Haywood popped up with just eight minutes remaining to register a vital five points.
Myler - who had landed a penalty inbetween the tries - kept his nerve with the conversion that put his team ahead for the first time.
The result sees Northampton move up to fifth in the Aviva Premiership standings, leapfrogging Sale Sharks and enhancing their chances of securing a top-six finish.
Saints had been hit with an injury blow before kick-off as Ben Foden was ruled out.
And the man who came in for him, Harry Mallinder, was to endure a moment of bad fortune early on as his slip handed Williams the chance to score for Bath.
Rhys Priestland added the extras and Bath thought they had scored again soon after as Anthony Watson danced through the floundering home defence, but referee Wayne Barnes ruled it out for a forward pass from Jonathan Joseph in the build-up.
Northampton had ridden their luck, but they were to fall on the wrong side of fortune soon after as Williams scored again.
Luther Burrell lost the ball while his side were on the attack, and after Joseph kicked forward, Williams did likewise, pouncing on his own punt to score.
Priestland made it 14-0 at the end of a bizarre opening 20 minutes, and Northampton were left shell-shocked.
Try at they might the home side couldn't break through until a minute before the break when George North put the ball down in the corner, but again the try
was ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass in the build-up from Mallinder to North.
Northampton had been unable to register a point in the first half and they were hampered by an injury to Kieran Brookes at the start of the second.
But Bath were soon down to 14 men as scrumhalf Chris Cook was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on, and Northampton were to respond through Harrison's try.
Myler missed the tricky touchline conversion in windy conditions, but he soon landed a penalty to cut the gap to six points.
Tom Wood looked to have got his team's second try but was held up at the last.
Nevertheless, Northampton kept coming and an unstoppable lineout drive saw Haywood grab the crucial try.
Myler then kept his cool to land the conversion and secure a vital victory that was greeted with a huge roar by the Franklin's Gardens crowd.
Scorers:
For Northampton:
Tries: Harrison, Haywood
Con: Myler
Pen: Myler
For Bath:
Tries: Williams 2
Cons: Priestland 2
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Campese Ma’Afu, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Harry Mallinder.
Bath: 15 Anthony Watson, 14 Jeff Williams, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Chris Cook, 8 David Denton, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Charlie Ewels, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Nick Auterac, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Leroy Houston, 21 Will Homer, 22 George Ford, 23 Max Clark.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Nigel Carrick
TMO: Sean Davey