Chiefs open their account
The Chiefs never looked back from Gareth Steenson's early try as scores from Don Armand, Luke Cowan-Dickie, James Short and a Jack Nowell double crowned the bonus-point victory.
Flyhalf Steenson, who led the team out in his 150th game, couldn't get the hosts on the scoreboard in the first minute as his penalty was just wide.
And despite a powerful break from Thomas Waldrom on six minutes, the big No.8 wasn't able to hold onto the ball in the tackle and Irish were able to clear their lines after a steady scrum.
The Chiefs didn't have to wait long though for their next opportunity as a collapsed Irish scrum allowed them the chance to attack from the line-out.
And after some excellent work from the forwards it was man-of-the-moment Steenson who split the Irish defence to go over on 13 minutes, although he couldn't add the extras.
The visitors were on the board three minutes later as a scrum penalty against the Chiefs allowed Chris Noakes to reduce the deficit to 5-3.
A superb maul from a Chiefs line-out set up a break for Will Chudley but the scrumhalf spilled the ball allowing Irish to clear.
But the pressure told once more as successive waves of attack from the forwards saw Armand dot down; this time Steenson converting for a 12-3 lead.
A fantastic Nowell break from defence allowed Chiefs another chance to put their line-out into action and after Damien Welch claimed it successfully, there was only going to be one outcome.
The TMO was called into action as the maul went over the line but Cowan-Dickie was able to apply the finish, with Steenson again successful for 19-3.
Noakes was allowed another shot at the posts after Chiefs were penalised and slotted his second penalty of the game to take the teams into half-time trailing by 13 points.
Rob Baxter's men were fast out of the traps after the break and had their fourth try within two minutes of the restart as a superb attack, built on speed and excellent handling, saw Short dive over.
Another conversion from Steenson saw the lead move on to 26-6 but a series of penalties for Irish had the hosts under pressure for the next few minutes.
But when Irish elected to go for a cross-field kick in search of a score, Nowell had other ideas as he claimed the kick five metres from his own tryline and ran the length of the field to score.
The Exiles did finally get their set-piece going and from a five-metre line-out a maul enabled Blair Cowan to score; Noakes hitting the post with his conversion attempt.
Irish then did well to repel the Chiefs, who were held up on the line after a series of pick and go attempts, and despite gaining a five-metre scrum they couldn't extend their advantage.
With ten minutes remaining Tom Fowlie thought he had got another try for the visitors but the TMO ruled otherwise.
And it was Nowell who had the final say as an Irish chip kick in their own 22 went horribly wrong and allowed the wing to pick up and score his second of the game. Steenson converted to wrap up the 38-11 win.
The scorers:
For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries; Steenson, Armand, Cowan-Dickie, Short, Nowell 2
Cons: Steenson 4
For London Irish:
Try: Cowan
Pens: Noakes 2
Teams:
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Don Armand, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Moray Low, 19 Geoff Parling, 20 Julian Salvi, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Sam Hill, 23 Olly Woodburn.
London Irish: 15 Topsy Ojo, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Tom Fowlie, 12 Eoin Griffin, 11 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 8 Rob McCusker, 7 Luke Narraway, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Matt Symons, 4 George Skivington, 3 Halani 'Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Smallbone.
Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Tom Court, 18 Leo Halavatau, 19 Eoin Sheriff, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Sean Maitland.
Referee: Andrew Small
Assistant referees: Andrew Pearce,Wayne Falla
TMO: Geoff Warren
Northampton Saints 42-16 Newcastle Falcons
Doubles from Christian Day and Ben Foden helped Northampton Saints pick up their first win of the Premiership season as they produced a solid display to see of Newcastle Falcons at Stadium MK.
After their opening-round defeat to Worcester Warriors, Day got the Saints going in the first period before the Falcons edged their way back into the match with a series of penalties.
But a second-half yellow card for Todd Clever saw the floodgates open and Day added his second before Luther Burrell and Foden got in on the act.
The Saints were on the board after four minutes thanks to Day, who crashed over after a powerful maul with Stephen Myler on hand to make it 7-0.
Newcastle then enjoyed a brief foray into Saints territory but it was short-lived as the Falcons were penalised for not rolling away after ten minutes and Myler extended the lead.
And the flyhalf gave his side a 13-0 lead after just 12 minutes before the visitors finally got going with Mike Delany dispatching a simple kick from right in front.
Simon Hammersley started well for Newcastle and his work brought about another penalty for Delany as the Falcons moved within seven after 27 minutes.
The Saints had started in fine form but the Falcons stemmed the flow with time ticking down in the first half and looked to go in level with some sustained pressure in the Saints half.
With five minutes left before the interval Newcastle won another penalty in a strong position and Delany once again made no mistake as his side continued to claw back the deficit.
But the Saints recovered well and restored their seven-point advantage with a minute remaining as Myler turned over.
It was a sloppy start after the break for Newcastle as the Saints applied the pressure and a series of penalties saw Northampton with just one thing on their mind as they looked for their second try of the day.
Falcons were pushing their luck with referee Dean Richards and the Saints looked poised to strike with a line-out five metres from the line.
A yellow card finally came for Newcastle as American international Clever was sent to the bin.
That looked like it had opened the door for the Saints as they worked the ball to the right but a knock-on from Foden scuppered the opportunity.
But they didn't have to wait long for the score and, after 57 minutes, another maul got Day across for his second and 15 minutes of sustained pressure paid dividends as Myler easily converted.
And within minutes they had another after a flowing move saw the Saints come within inches of the line down the left and Burrell applied the finishing touches – Myler off target for the first time.
Clever's yellow looked like it would be the pivotal moment in the match and Falcons showed no signs of bouncing back as the Saints continued to press.
The bonus-point arrived on 67 minutes for the hosts with Foden making amends for his earlier knock-on to go across on the left and all-but secure victory for his side with Myler making no mistake from the tee.
There was still some fight in the Newcastle ranks and, with ten minutes remaining, they produced a brilliant try as Chris Harris broke away and fed Tom Penny who darted across to dot down.
But the visitors looked vulnerable and Foden had his second shortly after to add the icing on the cake.
The scorers:
For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Day 2, Burrell, Foden 2
Cons: Myler 4
Pens: Myler 3
For Newcastle Falcons:
Try: Penny
Con: Catterick
Pens: Delany 3
Teams:
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Jon Fisher, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Ahsee Tuala.
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Adam Powell, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Mike Delany, 9 Ruki Tipuna, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Todd Clever, 5 Josh Furno, 4 Calum Green, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Eric Fry, 18 Taione Vea, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Will Welch, 21 Ruaridh Dawson, 22 Tom Catterick, 23 Tom Penny.
Referee: Dean Richards
Assistant referees: Ashley Rowden, Andy Watson
TMO: Keith Lewis
Wasps 16-9 Bath
A second-half penalty try proved decisive as Wasps secured their first win of the Premiership season with a hard-fought 16-9 victory over Bath.
After a tryless first half that saw Wasps go into the break 6-3 to the good, the game hinged on a key moment before the hour mark.
Bath scrumhalf Nikola Matawalu pulled back Nathan Hughes as the No.8 chased a chargedown over the tryline and, after lengthy consulation with his TMO, referee Craig Maxwell-Keys awarded a penalty try and sent the Fijian to the sin bin.
With their scrumhalf in the sin bin, Bath could only watch on as Jimmy Gopperth added the conversion and a third penalty to effectively seal the victory.
Late on George Ford slotted two penalties to claim a losing bonus point for last year's runners-up but they could not get close enough to grab what would have been their fourth win in a row on their travels.
After defeat to Harlequins in their first game of the season, Wasps returned to the Ricoh Arena keen to kickstart their season.
Tom Homer missed an early long-range penalty for the visitors but in a rainy first half low on quality it was Wasps who came the closest to the game's first try.
Christian Wade hared clear down the right wing early on, chipped ahead and was only denied the game's first try by an unlucky bounce.
A few minutes later Joe Simpson went clear under the posts but was called back for an accidental offside.
Gopperth kicked two penalties to Ford's one heading to the interval – Elliot Daly also coming close to the first try when he broke the line but opted to chip when it probably would have been better to keep the ball in hand.
After the break Gopperth missed two penalties as Wasps appeared unable to make their dominance count.
Defences were on top and it was ironic that when the game's only try did arrive it was after a superb passage of Bath defence.
Stuck on their own tryline, Mike Ford's troops had showed real bravery and organisation to rebuff the Wasps advances but, having finally secured the turnover, Matawalu's clearing kick was charged down and the scrumhalf pulled back Hughes while he chased after the loose ball.
After a lengthy consulation with his TMO, referee Craig Maxwell-Keys awarded the penalty try and gave Matawalu a ten-minute spell in the bin, Gopperth adding the extras for a 13-3 lead.
In their re-shuffled backline, Ford moved to scrumhalf with replacement Rhys Priestland – on for Kyle Eastmond – at flyhalf but it was their forwards who struggled.
On the hour mark Gopperth then added a third penalty after the Wasps scrum turned the screw.
In the final quarter Ford slotted two penalties to bring Bath back within a score but Wasps held firm to claim a deserved victory.
The scorers:
For Wasps:
Try: Penalty try
Con: Gopperth
Pens: Gopperth 3
For Bath:
Pens: Ford 3
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Frank Halai, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 George Smith, 6 James Haskell, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Ollie Devoto, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 George Ford, 9 Nikola Matawalu, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 6 Matt Garvey, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Matt Banahan.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Roger Baileff, Peter Allan
TMO: David Grashoff
