Northampton Saints survive Newcastle Red Bulls scare as Gloucester shock Harlequins
Archie McParland (right) and Ben Redshaw (left) were on the scoresheet for their sides in their respective wins
Northampton Saints survived a scare by bottom-side Newcastle Red Bulls to claim a 28-27 win at Franklin’s Gardens, while Gloucester recovered from a 14-7 deficit at half-time to beat Harlequins at the Stoop.
The respective victories for Northampton and Gloucester see them climb up the PREM table with one game left of round 11, with the Saints back top of the table and the Cherry and Whites now in eighth-place.
Northampton Saints survive late Newcastle Red Bulls scare
With a host of their England players rested following their return from the Six Nations, Northampton still had just enough to beat Newcastle Red Bulls in an entertaining fixture in the East Midlands.
The Saints took the lead after just one minute through scrum-half Archie McParland, but Newcastle quickly hit back with a quick-fire double as Ollie Leatherbarrow and Harrison Obatoyinbo crossed to give the visitors an early lead.
It didn’t last long, though, as Ollie Sleightholme notched his side’s second try of the afternoon within minutes of his introduction to the pitch, with Anthony Belleau adding the conversion to make it 14-12, which is how it remained at the half-time break.
Keen to get some breathing room on their opponents, Northampton added a third after 55 minutes as the returning Curtis Langdon – making his first PREM appearance of the season after a torrid injury spell this season – dotted down.
But Newcastle wouldn’t go down without a fight, and cut into the hosts’ lead with a flurry of 10 points courtesy of a Brett Connon penalty and conversion as well as a Simón Benítez Cruz try. Northampton eventually grabbed an all-important bonus point try through Tom Litchfield with just four minutes on the clock, a score which eventually killed the game off despite the Red Bulls adding a late try of their own through Tom Christie.
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However, it was Northampton who came out the victors, claiming a vital 28-27 win to continue their hunt for the PREM title.
Gloucester stun Harlequins
Both sides would have eyed this fixture as a chance to restart their respective league campaigns after a torrid first-half of the season, but it was Gloucester who came out with that pivotal win after mounting a strong comeback to stun Harlequins.
PREM Rugby round 11: Predictions, teams, kick-off times, how to watch and referee appointments
The Cherry and Whites got off to a strong start, with Jack Clement going over after just five minutes, but Quins hit back through Ben Waghorn and Marcus Smith to take a 14-7 lead into the sheds.
Gloucester again began the second-half the better of the two sides, with Ben Redshaw adding his name to the scoresheet, but Quins again responded well through Jack Kenningham.
That would be the hosts’ final points of the afternoon, however, as Charlie Atkinson and Arthur Clark crossed late on to ensure the visitors took the spoils come the full-time whistle.