Worcester shock Exeter as Saracens close in

Worcester stunned Exeter, Saracens eased past Newcastle, Gloucester beat Leicester while Sale edged London Irish in the Premiership.

Exeter Chiefs 5-6 Worcester Warriors

A low-scoring game produced a shock result, as Worcester recorded their first ever Premiership victory over Exeter in a 6-5 win.

Looking to consolidate their spot at the helm of the Premiership, Exeter had the opportunity to stretch their five-point lead over the chasing pack. But they didn’t look like reigning champions elect in the opening exchanges, falling behind through a Chris Pennell penalty on 20 minutes. Warriors almost stretched that lead moments later, just failing to make the most of an error in the Chiefs backline.

Exeter flattered to deceive throughout the first half and didn’t really have any opportunities, with Worcester impressing right across the pitch. And they doubled their lead just before the break with a second Pennell penalty, taking in a 6-0 lead.

Worcester continued their impressive showing after the break and Pennell missed the chance to make it a nine-point lead, swiping a kick wide of the sticks. But Exeter eventually woke up and Mitch Lees was the first man over the line an hour in. Worcester couldn’t hold up the maul and Lees had ball in hand to cut the gap down to a single point, the conversion attempt bouncing back off a post.

Despite being just a point behind, Chiefs continued to struggle to have any meaningful attacks and Worcester defended resolutely when needed. And although going through the motions in the final exchanges, the hosts couldn’t break down Warriors, who left with a very impressive 6-5 victory.

The scorers:

For Exeter:
Try: Lees

For Worcester:
Pens: Pennell 2

Exeter: 15 Lachie Turner, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson (c), 9 Nic White, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Moray Low, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Matt Kvesic, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Ollie Devoto

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Dean Hammond, 10 Jamie Shillcock, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan (c), 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Ethan Waller
Replacements: 16 Kurt Haupt, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Anton Bresler, 20 Matti Williams, 21 Matt Cox, 22 Luke Baldwin, 23 Tom Howe

Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Philip Watters
TMO: David Rose

Gloucester 24-17 Leicester Tigers

Three tries saw Gloucester complete a 24-17 win over Leicester at Kingsholm.

Despite sitting six points behind their hosts, Leicester had hope coming into this one having won two earlier meetings this season back at Welford Road.

And it was Tigers who had the better half, clinching the first try 11 minutes in. The hosts looked to bare down on the line but an interception set Nick Malouf on his way downfield, and his 60 metre foray upfield provided the conversion from Joe Ford for a 7-0 lead.

Gloucester levelled on the half hour mark though when Henry Trinder stepped around a couple of challenges down the left-hand side to dive over. Billy Twelvetrees kicked the two against his former side, but Tigers bounced back almost immediately with their second try of the first 35. Ford got his first for the club when he had the final touch following work by Brendon O’Connor and Graham Kirchner. The two made the lead seven again, but Gloucester went into half-time level. Trinder cut Leicester's lead, before Twelvetrees levelled it up at 14-14.

The Gloucester 12 kicked his current employers into a three point lead 10 minutes after the restart, and Tigers were reduced to 14 moments later after a heavy challenge by Logovi’i Mulipola produced yellow.

And the hosts extended that advantage with a third try. Using the extra man, it was replacement Matt Scott who made the most of the pressure, Twelvetrees extending the lead to 10 points.

A late penalty from Matt Toomua ended proceedings at 24-17, Tigers grabbing a losing bonus point.

The scorers:

For Gloucester:
Tries: Trinder 2, Scott
Cons: Twelvetrees 3
Pen: Twelvetrees

For Leicester:
Tries: Malouf, Ford
Cons: Ford 2
Pen: Toomua
Yellow Card: Mulipola

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Tom Marshall, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Willi Heinz (c), 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Mariano Galarza; 4 Tom Savage, 3 John Afoa; 2 James Hanson, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Cameron Orr, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Matt Scott

Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Nick Malouf, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Joe Ford, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Fitzgerald, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Luke Hamilton, 21 Harry Simmons, 22 Gareth Owen, 23 Mathew Tait

Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Paul Dix
TMO: Claire Hodnett

Saracens 25-3 Newcastle Falcons

Saracens made the most of Exeter’s defeat with a routine 25-3 win over Newcastle at Allianz Park.

Four wins in a row had Falcons set up well for this, looking to make it five on the bounce for the first time in a decade.

Ben Spencer kicked the hosts into a three point lead just inside the 10 minute mark, but Joel Hodgson immediately replied with one of his own as both sides got on the scoresheet early on.

Spencer restored the three point gap from a tight angle in a fairly even opening 20. But before half-time, Saracens took hold of the game through Richard Barrington. He was the beneficiary of a well worked passing move, powering over from close and seeing Spencer convert for a 13-3 advantage.

Newcastle’s chance of five successive wins was slipping away, with a penalty try and a yellow card arriving in one go. The TMO had a look at a replay and awarded the five points, showing Sinoti Sinoti yellow and seeing Saracens go into the break 20-3 to the good.

There was little in the first 15 minutes of the second half, with a 17 point gap putting Saracens on the right path for a celebration – the hosts were celebrating five years at Allianz Park. Weather was playing its part as the rain continued to pour down, with quality in short supply as the surface slickened.

The hosts sealed the win with five left to play though with a third try. Max Malins made the most of a loose ball and kicked ahead before pouncing and sliding through, sealing the 25-3 win.

The scorers:

For Saracens:
Tries: Barrington, Penalty try, Malins
Con: Spencer
Pens: Spencer 2

For Newcastle:
Pen: Hodgson
Yellow Card: Sinoti

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Alex Lozowski, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Ben Earl, 20 Sione Vailanu, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 Max Malins, 23 Nathan Earle

Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Michael Young (c), 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Ryan Burrows, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Rob Vickers
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Sam Lockwood, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Evan Olmstead, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Maxime Mermoz, 23 Alex Tait

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Simon McConnell, Roy Maybank
TMO: Trevor Fisher

London Irish 9-13 Sale Sharks

A Josh Strauss try was enough for Sale to sneak away from the Madejski Stadium with a 13-9 win over London Irish.

Another side with four straight wins coming into this weekend was London Irish, who looked well placed to continue that run with the visit of Sale.

It only took three minutes for Faf de Klerk to kick Sharks into the lead, in what was an extremely close first 20. The visitors improved the longer the half went on though and after originally being held up a couple of metres from the line, another move produced a try on the half hour mark.

Strauss went in underneath the posts after a prolongued spell of pressure, with the Irish back line eventually punctured. The conversion from De Klerk made it a 10 point lead, though the hosts did get themselves on the board through a Tommy Bell penalty, Sale going into half-time 10-3 to the good.

The visitors thought they’d extended the lead through Josh Charnley, but TMO interference cut celebrations shut as he didn’t see a clear grounding. Bell kicked another penalty with 20 minutes remaining to cut the lead down to just four points, Irish keeping within touching distance. De Klerk kicked a penalty through for himself though to counter Bell’s effort as Irish continued to chase.

Charnley thought he’d gone over once again with time running out, but the TMO again left him feeling aggrieved when he spotted a foot out of touch. And Bell made sure it was a thrilling finale with a third penalty with six minutes to go, 13-9 the lead Sale had. But Sharks held on for a slender win to halt Irish’s promising run.

The scorers:

For London Irish:
Pens: Bell 3

For Sale:
Try: Strauss
Con: De Klerk
Pens: De Klerk 2
Yellow Card: Jones

London Irish: 15 James Marshall, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Theo Brophy Clews, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Max Northcote-Green, 6 Arno Botha, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe (c), 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 David Paice, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Aseli Tikoirotuma

Sale: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Paolo Odogwu, 13 Will Addison, 12 Luke James, 11 Josh Charnley; 10 Sam James, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (c), 5 Josh Beaumont, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 James Flynn, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 George Nott, 20 TJ Ioane, 21 Cameron Nield, 22 Will Cliff, 23 Mark Jennings

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Nigel Carrick
TMO: Keith Lewis