Wins for Northampton, Gloucester and Wasps

Northampton Saints shocked local rivals Leicester Tigers in the East Midlands derby while there were also wins for Gloucester and Wasps.

Gloucester 37-9 Harlequins
Kingsholm

In a week when Harlequins announced director of rugby John Kingston was leaving, his side did little to suggest he should’ve stayed with Gloucester reaffirming their assault on the play-off positions they’ve occupied for most of the year but potentially look like missing out on.

Three tries in the final 10 minutes miraculously secured the bonus-point for the home side with Ruan Ackermann delivering the vital fourth score.

It took just six minutes for stand in scrum-half Callum Braley to cross the whitewash after a Billy Twelvetrees break sent him in; the outside centre then converting the early try. Marcus Smith and Twelvetrees kicked three penalties apiece before the first-half concluded to make it 16-9 as they headed into the sheds.

A cagey affair was effectively ended 10 minutes before the end when Jason Woodward scored in the corner. Mark Atkinson produced an excellent pass to his centre partner Henry Trinder before he sent Woodward over with Twelvetrees kicking the conversion from out wide.

Flanker Jake Polledri added further gloss to the scoreline three minutes later when Gloucester turned the ball over and cut through a disorganised defence. The Cherry & Whites had just over five minutes to score their fourth and with their final attempt set-up a rolling maul. South African replacement Ackermann emerging as the scorer, and hero, once the bodies rose.

The scorers:

For Gloucester:
Tries: Braley, Woodward, Polledri, Ackermann
Cons: Twelvetrees 4
Pens: Twelvetrees 3

For Quins:
Pens: Smith 3

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Trinder, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 John Afoa, 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu’u, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Ruan Ackermann, 22 Ben Vellacott, 23 Tom Hudson

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Alofa Alofa, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Mat Luamanu, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Jack Clifford, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Elia Elia, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Stan South, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 James Lang, 23 Gabriel Ibitoye

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jonathan Healy
Television match official: Graham Hughes

Leicester Tigers 21-27 Northampton Saints
Welford Road

Northampton’s 24-point deficit to Leicester in the Premiership table was certainly not evident as they bounced back emphatically from last week’s mauling against Saracens.

The sun shone, both literally and metaphorically, on Saints as they withstood pressure, yellow cards and countless close calls to leave victorious.

The game was paused for a prolonged period of time just 13 seconds in when Wallaby Rob Horne was treated for a serious injury and eventually carried off. His side though were first to trouble the score sheet when Ben Foden scurried over in the corner for the opening try. The departing Stephen Myler, playing in his final derby, notched the conversion and added a penalty to give Saints a 10-0 cushion.

Leicester wiped that lead out in the space of nine minutes courtesy of two tries; the first well worked, the second opportunistic. Ellis Genge – renowned for his scrum work and strength – broadcasted some handling dexterity to send Telusa Veainu diving over.

Veainu’s fellow southern hemisphere import Matt Toomua then put the home side into the lead when Cobus Reinach was charged down on his own 22 allowing the Wallaby to dot down. The TMO was called in to confirm no knock on had occurred and a contentious call went his way.

That lead lasted less than five minutes, however, when Northampton’s South African atoned for his error by diving over after Teimana Harrison sent him through a gap. Myler again slotting his effort to make it 17-12.

No doubt anticipating a Leicester onslaught Northampton instead scored their third of the day courtesy of Ahsee Tuala. Reinach again involved as he spotted a mismatch around the breakdown and cut through before passing to Tuala. The Samoan showing some excellent footwork to go inside then out to cross under the posts.

Sustained Tigers’ pressure ensued with the visitors perhaps fortunate to remain with their full complement after a succession of penalties. Northampton did briefly find some respite but Ford kicked two quick penalties to cut the gap to six points.

Northampton’s life became even tougher when replacement Alex Waller was sent to the sin bin; the numerical disadvantage didn’t stop their desire when they won a penalty at the scrum in front of the posts. Myler kicked the three to make it 27-18 with 10 minutes remaining.

Ford then responded with his third penalty before Leicester almost went the length of the field to wrestle the lead back only to see Toomua’s offload miss its intended target. The visitors again survived.

Replacement Jonah Holmes then thought he’d scored the winner when he went over after a first phase move but consultation with the TMO confirmed that George Worth had obstructed Piers Francis and the score was chalked off.

The scorers:

For Leicester:
Tries: Veainu, Toomua
Con: Ford
Pens: Ford 3

For Northampton:
Tries: Foden, Reinach, Tuala
Cons: Myler 3
Pens: Myler 2

Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Luke Hamilton, 6 Valentino Mapapalangi, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Greg Bateman, 18 Logovi’i Mulipola, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Will Evans, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 George Worth, 23 Jonah Holmes

Northampton: 15 Ahsee Tuala, 14 Ben Foden, 13 Rob Horne (c), 12 Piers Francis, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Mitch Eadie, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 James Craig, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Ehren Painter, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Tom Collins

Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Tom Foley, Paul Dix
Television match official: Sean Davey

Wasps 30-15 Worcester Warriors
Ricoh Arena

Having succumbed to a late late try by Marland Yarde and Sale last week, Wasps were keen to rubberstamp their top-four place and visiting Worcester were left to feel the sting.

Worcester’s win over Newcastle last weekend eased the pressure on their survival push with a win in Coventry looking unlikely and it proved exactly that. Less than 10 minutes on the clock before Christian Wade got his first of the afternoon.

Jimmy Gopperth missed the conversion but added a penalty shortly after; Dorian Jones replying for the visitors to make it 10-3. Wasps then struck twice in three minutes: first through captain Joe Launchbury who bundled over from close range and then courtesy of Wade who was sent clear by Willie Le Roux.

Gopperth added another penalty just before the interval to make it 23-3 at half-time. The bonus-point was on the cards of Dai Young’s men but it took its time in coming. Winger Josh Bassett, following on from his brace last week, scored an intercept try with Elliot Daly kicking the extra two.

Worcester did give their travelling fans something to shout about – albeit with little relevance. Two tries in the final three minutes reducing the gap. First Bryce Heem raced down the wing before the ball eventually found replacement Dean Hammond who scored. Welsh international Josh Adams then scoring as the clock hit 80 minutes.

The scorers:

For Wasps:
Tries: Wade 2, Launchbury, Bassett
Cons: Gopperth, Daly
Pens: Gopperth 2

For Worcester:
Tries: Hammond, Adams
Con: Shillcock
Pen: Jones

Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jimmy Gopperth, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Guy Thompson, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Jack Willis, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Matt Mullan
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 James Haskell, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Gaby Lovobalavu, 23 Josh Bassett

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Ben Te’o, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dorian Jones, 9 Michael Dowsett, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 David Denton, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Darren Barry, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ryan Bower
Replacements: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Marco Mama, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Dean Hammond

Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Wayne Falla
Television match official: Stuart Terheege