The European rugby season kicked off in Worcester with the pink of Stade Français handing a bit of a lesson in patience to the pride of the south-west Midlands. Fourteen points down in 11 minutes, the French side refused to be rattled and pegged away until pressure and five Felipe Contepomi penalties had redressed the balance.

Only then did they add ambition to the menu, Paul Sackey getting up off his knees to score in the corner. Argentina's World Cup captain missed the conversion but put the game beyond Worcester with his sixth penalty of the night.

Stade, 13 times French champions and twice runners-up in 11 seasons of Heineken rugby, are desperate to throw off the financial difficulties of the summer and get back to the top table, something they were denied in the Amlin final last year. They picked six internationals in the pack and a range of English, Argentinian, Australian and Samoan backs.

Faced with such a galaxy, Worcester would have wanted the conditions more taxing but their coach, Richard Hill, who beat Stade four years ago when he was with Bristol, promised to attack and that is what they did. The captain, Dale Rasmussen, and the Irish flanker Neil Best threw their weight about before the South African set up the first score on five minutes.

Rasmussen got over the gain line down the right and when the ball went left, Shaun Perry and Joe Carlisle moved it on for Best to put Chris Pennell through a huge hole in Stade's defence. Carlisle added the conversion and a minute later hit an upright with a penalty but even better was to come. Pennell snaffled a sweet interception five yards from his own line and chipped ahead for Marcel Garvey. The former Gloucester wing dribbled the ball to the line before pouncing. Again Carlisle converted and Worcester were 14 points up.

It was all too much for the game clock, which went blank around the time Rodrigo Roncero, another Gloucester old boy, was adjudged to have temporarily put Matt Mullan's lights out. Stan Wright might have joined Roncero in the sin-bin for a high tackle but it was Stade who scored the only points during the 10 minutes they were down to 14 men, with a Contepomi penalty. He added another smack on the interval and two more 10 minutes into the second half and, with the lead down to two points, the writing was on the Worcester wall, although Pennell did produce a final frisson with a dart down the right.

But as Hill said: "We didn't back up the way we played in that first 30 minutes. It was a great start but we fizzled out."

Worcester Pennell; Garvey, Grove, Rasmussen (capt, Goode 60), Arscott; Carlisle, Perry; Mullan (Porter 69), Lutui (Shevington 60), Tomaszczyk (Taumoepeau 54), Percival, Gillies (Balding 69), Best (Betty 60), Kvesic, Jones.

Tries Pennell, Garvey. Cons Carlisle 2.

Stade Français Williams; Sackey, Contepomi, Tiesi, Camara; Warwick, Fillol; Roncero, De Malmanche (Sempéré 57), Wright, Palmer (Mostert 70), Papé, Tomiki (Burban 39), Lyons, Parisse (capt).

Try Sackey. Pens Contepomi 6.

Referee D Phillips (Ireland). Attendance 8,121.