Leicester win again while London Irish stun Exeter

Leicester Tigers maintained their perfect start to the season after they secured their sixth successive Premiership win following a 19-11 victory over Sale Sharks.

It was a scrappy game but one which the Midlanders controlled in the second period. Two George Ford penalties to Kieran Wilkinson’s one gave the Tigers a 6-3 advantage in the first half before Hanro Liebenberg scored the crucial try after the break.

Wilkinson did respond with a three-pointer but another couple of successful Ford efforts off the tee continued Leicester’s fine start to the campaign, despite Curtis Langdon’s late response for Sale.

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The win tees them up nicely for next Saturday’s eagerly-awaited east midlands derby against Northampton, yet Sale could only reflect on key moments in the contest when their discipline waned and Ford punished them.

Steve Borthwick made three changes to the side that crushed Worcester last weekend, with lock Calum Green, scrum-half Ben Youngs and centre Dan Kelly all handed starts.

Sale, meanwhile, welcomed back lock Lood de Jager for his first Sharks appearance since March, with scrum-half Gus Warr also featuring and wing Marland Yarde taking over from Denny Solomona.

The Sharks made a promising start, shading early territory, although Wilkinson missed an early penalty.

And the game’s intensity was underlined through a flare-up around the dead-ball line that involved England colleagues Ellis Genge and Tom Curry, before referee Karl Dickson quickly restored order.

Sale looked to get their former Leicester star Manu Tuilagi into the action, but he spilled possession after being worked into space just inside Sharks’ 22.

And that summed up an opening quarter high on endeavour, yet one that lacked a composed finishing touch as the teams continued slugging it out.

It took 31 minutes for the opening points to arrive, and they came via the ever-reliable Ford, whose 40-metre penalty edged Leicester ahead.

Wilkinson put Sale level three minutes before the break when he kicked a penalty from in front of Leicester’s posts, yet Ford ensured that Tigers shaded a tense opening half by booting another long-range penalty that made it 6-3 at the interval.

With defences dominating, attacking opportunities were at a premium until the game burst into life 10 minutes after the break.

And it was England scrum-half Youngs who proved the catalyst, attacking space brilliantly and drawing in Sale defenders before delivering a scoring pass to Liebenberg.

The South African still had a lot to do, yet he displayed superb pace and power before touching down wide out, and Ford converted for a 10-point advantage.

Wilkinson and Ford then exchanged penalties in quick succession, with Leicester taking a healthy lead into the final quarter.

The Tigers had an upper hand on the back of Ford’s pinpoint kicking, and Sale could not establish anywhere near a sufficient attacking foothold to threaten their opponents.

It was an impressive illustration of how to close out a game, and Sale could have few complaints after becoming Tigers’ latest victims during a season that is already showing strong signs of Leicester being a major force this term.

And the afternoon’s work was inevitably completed by an unflappable Ford, who finished with 14 points from a fourth successful penalty that left Sale to head for home without even a losing bonus-point.

London Irish shock Exeter at Sandy Park

London Irish registered their first victory of the season as Exeter’s recent Premiership resurgence stalled at Sandy Park.

The Exiles never trailed in a tense match they clinched 33-21 and they showed tenacity as well as ingenuity to humble the title contenders, ultimately securing their first win since March with something to spare.

Tries from Agustin Creevy and Curtis Rona gave them a dream start but they were forced to weather the storm as Exeter fought back and once that was subdued, they pulled clear when Benhard van Rensburg, Ben Loader and Ollie Hassell-Collins touched down.

Despite having to wait until round six to triumph, Irish were already positioned on the coattails of mid-table after registering two draws and accumulating four bonus-points.

While their season has lift-off, the Chiefs will be asking why they lacked edge and were surprisingly brittle, playing only in bursts.

London Irish WIN! ☘️

The Exiles claim their first #GallagherPrem victory since 27th March!

Five tries at Sandy Park as they down Exeter Chiefs! 👏 pic.twitter.com/3umpr2Gni8

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 23, 2021

Gloucester overcome Newcastle

Lloyd Evans kicked 19 points as Gloucester extended their unbeaten run in the Premiership to four games with a 29-20 win against Newcastle Falcons.

Evans, called up to replace Scotland international Adam Hastings, responded with an exemplary display of goal-kicking with no misses from seven attempts.

The outside-half succeeded with five penalties and converted both of his side’s tries, scored by Val Rapava-Ruskin and Jonny May.

Ben Stevenson and Cameron Nordli-Kelemeti scored Newcastle’s tries, with Joel Hodgson adding two penalties and two conversions.

Late tries help Harlequins see off Bath

Bath produced a much better display this week but it wasn’t enough as defending champions Harlequins secured their fourth win in five games.

The West Countrymen went into the break 17-12 ahead thanks to tries from Sam Underhill and Will Stuart, but they failed to score a point in the second period.

Following Andre Esterhuizen’s brace in the first half, Marcus Smith took Quins back into the lead after 48 minutes before a pair of tries from Joe Marchant completed a 31-17 victory late on.