Snubbed England wing sends Bath top of the table while Exeter floor Leicester

England winger Joe Cokanasiga scored twice as Bath sealed the top spot on the Premiership table before Christmas, defeating Harlequins 25-17.

Cokanasiga scored in both halves with further scores from lock Elliott Stooke and flanker Miles Reid sealing the bonus point for Bath as Finn Russell added five points from the tee.

Marcus Smith opened the scoring for Harlequins, scoring a magnificent solo try with hooker Jack Walker also crossing the whitewash. Flanker James Chisholm’s late try gave Quins the opportunity to grab a losing bonus point, but Smith failed to convert from the tee.

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The victory for Johann van Graan’s men means that they top the Premiership table at Christmas.

Bath took the lead within two minutes. Will Muir leapt high to tap back Ben Spencer’s lofted kick, and Russell somehow found space on the right to release Ollie Lawrence.

Cokanasiga was on his shoulder to steam through Tyrone Green’s attempted tackle, but Russell’s conversion attempt was wide.

There was hardly time for the sell-out crowd to savour that score before Smith danced through the home defence to score at the other end, although he hooked his kick against a post.

The swirling wind and rain made handling difficult, and Bath looked particularly vulnerable in defence. Quins, enjoying a territorial advantage, looked smarter on both sides of the ball throughout the first quarter.

However, their indiscipline cost them prime attacking positions, and a fumble by Alex Dombrandt brought a prolonged assault on the Bath line to a halt.

The home side suddenly burst into life on the half-hour as Will Muir galloped away from his 22, eventually finding Spencer in support.

The scrum-half had to catch the offload behind his back, but the ball came back at a ruck under the posts, and Max Ojomoh scored on the left – or so it seemed.

Instead, referee Luke Pearce brought play back, yellow-carded Danny Care for falling on the tackled player, and Russell put his side ahead 8-3 with a penalty.

There was still time before the break for Reid to save Bath at the other end with a turnover penalty.

Bath struck quickly after the restart with a catch-and-drive try by Stooke and followed up in the 48th minute with another spectacular effort by Cokanasiga, steamrollering over Smith’s attempted tackle. Russell’s conversion, the first of the game, took Bath 20-5 ahead.

Yet the visitors were not about to lie down, and Smith’s penalty to the corner led to a catch-and-drive for Walker on his 50th appearance since joining from Bath.

Smith converted but Bath were gaining the upper hand and Russell’s inch-perfect tactical kicking set up a line-out in the corner. This time it was Reid who profited, leaving the home side with an 11-point lead and just six minutes to defend it.

Unfortunately for Quins, Chisholm’s last-minute score came too late.

They might have claimed a losing bonus point, but Smith again hooked his conversion against a post.

Record Sandy Park crowd see Exeter beat Leicester

Exeter maintained their superb home form as they defeated Leicester 29-10 in front of a record crowd at Sandy Park.

An attendance of exactly 15,000 witnessed the Chiefs end their 2023 home campaign in style with a bonus-point win as they stretched their unbeaten Sandy Park run in all competitions to 23 matches, spanning a period of 61 weeks.

It took the Tigers a long time to find their way into the game, despite many of their internationals returning to duty.

They trailed 24-0 early in the second half, and when they finally did fight back, they had left themselves too big a mountain to climb.

Chiefs centre Henry Slade had another an excellent game, once more staking his claim for an England recall for the upcoming Six Nations.

Exeter got off to a dream start with a close-range try after only seven minutes from South African flanker Jacques Vermeulen following a period of intense pressure on the Tigers line, with Slade converting.

Four minutes later, they were awarded a penalty try when George Martin was adjudged to have tackled Rory O’Loughlin early to prevent him taking a try-scoring pass from Tom Wyatt, and the lead was suddenly 14-0.

The advantage could have been increased even further if Lewis Pearson had not opted to go for glory himself, with two players outside him.

That passage of play saw Chiefs prop Scott Sio and Tigers scrum-half Ben Youngs limp off, soon to be joined by Leicester winger Josh Bassett.
Even referee Tom Foley needed some first-half treatment after getting smacked in the ribs when he inadvertently got in the way of a Leicester attacker.

Chiefs had a try by Jack Yeandle ruled out for a double movement in the 35th minute, but they rammed home their first-half superiority a minute before the break when Slade latched on to a very loose pass from World Cup winner Handre Pollard, who had a first half to forget, and raced 40 metres to score under the posts, leaving the simplest of conversions for a 21-0 interval lead.

Slade put the Chiefs four scores clear 11 minutes into the second half with a penalty as the Tigers collapsed a scrum.

Leicester finally got their first points on the board in the 56th minute when England winger Anthony Watson finished off in the right-hand corner after they had camped on the home line following an initial break by Jasper Wiese. Pollard badly pulled the conversion attempt.
More sustained try-line pressure created a walk-in score for full-back Freddie Steward after former Chiefs centre Solomone Kata’s long pass as the Tigers continued their fightback.

However, the conversion was again crucially missed, this time by Jamie Shillcock, leaving them still 14 points adrift.

Exeter were not satisfied with just the win, though, and replacement lock Rusi Tuima forced his way over with the clock in the red to claim the bonus point and provide the perfect finish for the home supporters.

Adam Hastings misses late penalty as Gloucester defeated

Adam Hastings missed a 45-metre angled penalty with the last kick of the match as Gloucester suffered a 31-29 Gallagher Premiership defeat to Northampton before a crowd of over 15,000 at Kingsholm.

Hastings’ failure took Gloucester’s losing run in the league to seven games, but it was rough justice on them, for they had dominated a one-sided second half.

When the hosts trailed 24-7 after 35 minutes, another loss looked a near certainty, but a yellow card for Saints centre Rory Hutchinson saw an instant change in momentum as Gloucester scored 22 unanswered points.
Freddie Clarke, Chris Harris, Matias Alemanno and Santiago Carreras scored their tries, with Adam Hastings adding three conversions and a penalty.

Curtis Langdon scored two tries for Northampton, with Alex Mitchell, Alex Coles and Tom Litchfield also on the try-scoring sheet as Fin Smith added three conversions.

Northampton’s early pressure was rewarded with a fourth-minute try from Mitchell. Saints turned down a kickable penalty in favour of more attacking options and it proved the correct call when the scrum-half’s outstretched hand proved just enough to secure the touchdown.
Saints continued their explosive start to score a second try within three minutes when Coles crashed over as Gloucester struggled to cope with their opponents’ power.

Aided by a number of penalty awards in their favour, the home side gained a foothold in the match but thrice in quick succession, their famed driving line-out was thwarted by solid defence from Saints.
The visitors soon illustrated how to capitalise from a close-range line-out. Skilful interplay from centres Hutchinson and Fraser Dingwall took them into the home 22 to establish a position from where Langdon powered over.

Gloucester desperately needed a response and they got one when they changed their tactics from a line-out. This time they ignored their customary drive to spin the ball wide and confuse the Northampton defence for Clarke to take advantage and score.

The hosts controlled the second quarter but their opponents broke out to score their bonus-point try. Excellent handling helped George Furbank and Tommy Freeman to make ground down the left and when the ball was recycled, Langdon powered past two defenders to score his second try.
As half-time approached, Hutchinson was sin-binned for a high tackle on Ollie Thorley for Gloucester to capitalise immediately with a try from Harris to leave them trailing 24-14 at the interval.

With Hutchinson still absent, Gloucester bombarded the visitors’ line and were able to reduce the arrears when Alemanno forced his way over.
Hutchinson returned but he could not shift the momentum back his side’s way as Gloucester took the lead for the first time when Carreras finished a flowing move for the bonus-point try.

Hastings converted and added a penalty to leave the hosts with a five-point lead going into the final quarter.

Out of the blue, Northampton regained the lead when they broke out of defence for Mitchell to send Litchfield racing into the corner, with Smith knocking over the match-winning conversion from the touchline.

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