Late drama as Exiles sink Saints

Irish, who had lost all of their previous six games, earned a penalty try from referee Ian Tempest with two minutes to go, and Shane Geraghty's successful conversion secured a 25-23 victory.

Northampton had looked set to claim the spoils after Kahn Fotuali'i put last season's table-toppers ahead for the first time in the match.

But after Jamie Gibson was sin-binned with four minutes to go, they cracked under Irish pressure.

It sparked much merriment at the Madejski as Irish celebrated a shock success that gets them up and running this season.

They had surged into a 15-3 lead, with Luke Narraway and Sean Maitland scoring, but Northampton responded through Ken Pisi and George North before Fotuali'i put them in front.

Irish were to have the final say though, meaning Northampton have now won just three of their opening seven league games.

Saints had missed an early chance to go in front as Stephen Myler uncharacteristically missed a penalty that was earned with a huge shove at the scrum.

Irish were soon winning a penalty of their own at the other end, confidently kicking for touch after a big forward surge.

And from the resulting lineout drive, Irish again had Northampton's number as Narraway bulldozed over for the game's first try.

Chris Noakes missed the conversion, but the home side had the lead they wanted and they also had the belief they needed.

They continued to put the pressure on Northampton, with the away side's defence having to hold firm against another wave of Irish pressure.

Hold firm they did, relieving the pressure with another scrum penalty, and they then mounted an attack, which ended with Myler notching three points.

But Irish responded quickly through a Noakes penalty and after scrumhalf Brendan McKibbin missed an ambitious one from halfway, Irish scored their second try.

A flying move ended with North outnumbered out wide and Maitland made Saints pay as he dived over in the corner.

Noakes added the conversion to give Irish a shock 15-3 lead, but Saints pegged them back before the break as Ken Pisi scored.

Myler missed the conversion to leave the deficit at seven points, and Northampton narrowed that early in the second half.

Fotuali'i's fine kick ahead found North, who gathered to score his first try of the season.

Myler missed the conversion from out wide and Noakes soon stretched Irish's lead to five points with an impressive penalty effort at the other end.

Northampton quickly responded through a Myler penalty and they were soon ahead as Tom Collins' burst set up Fotuali'i for a try.

Myler added the extras and Northampton held a five-point lead.

Irish were then forced to play 10 of the final 15 minutes with a man less as Aseli Tikoirotuma was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on Ben Foden.

But Northampton couldn't capitalise and after Tikoirotuma returned, former Irish flank Gibson was sin-binned, giving Irish the edge.

And they made it count as the referee awarded a penalty try to give Geraghty the conversion to win it.

And win it he did, as Irish claimed a stunning win.

The scorers:

For London Irish:

Tries: Narraway, Maitland, Penalty try

Cons: Noakes, Geraghty

Pens: Noakes 2

For Northampton Saints:

Tries: K Pisi, North, Fotuali'i

Con: Myler

Pens: Myler 2

London Irish: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Johnny Williams,  11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Luke Narraway, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 Matt Symons (captain), 3 Ben Franks, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 Tom Smallbone, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Joe Trayfoot, 20 Jebb Sinclair, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Fergus Mulchrone.

Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 4 Michael Paterson, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Dylan Hartley (captain), 1 Ethan Waller.

Replacements: 16 Mikey Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Sam Dickinson, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 JJ Harrahan, 23 Tom Collins.

Referee: Ian Tempest

Assistant Referees: Ashley Rowden, Gareth Copsey

TMO: David Sainsbury

Exeter Chiefs 33-17 Sale Sharks

James Short's late bonus-point try settled a helter-skelter game in favour of Exeter Chiefs, who remain on course in the Premiership after winning their sixth league game of the season.

Chiefs crossed through Thomas Waldrom and Will Chudley in the first half but Danny Cipriani's eagle-eyed kicking, allied to Will Addison's score, meant the teams went in at half-time on ten points apiece.

Josh Beaumont then nudged the visitors ahead early in the second half, but back came Chiefs via the impressive Chudley and Steenson, who was not at his most accurate from the tee, nevertheless came through with an important penalty.

Then Short, denied by the TMO before the break, gave Exeter breathing room – Steenson's conversion took the game out of a score's reach and Tom Johnson added gloss to the win.

Exeter suffered a chastening defeat at Clermont last week but controlled much of the opening exchanges in the face of stout Sale defending.

Sam Tuitupou's turnover broke up a patch of promising display, and down the other end Cipriani landed the first blow from the tee to put the visitors ahead.

But a burst from Jack Nowell had Sale pinned back again, and in the 15th minute, Sharks' resistance was broken as a series of pick and goes resulted in – who else – Waldrom.

Steenson, bringing up his century of Premiership appearances, saw his conversion lost to the wind but Chiefs would be back for more soon after.

Following good work from Don Armand at the line-out, scrumhalf Chudley squeezed through a gap and dotted down. This time Steenson's conversion was on target but the elements brought the ball up short.

Sale, twice victors over Castres during the European break, roared back before long though as smart work from the lineout opened up space for Addison – Cipriani converted his score and suddenly it was 10-10 with 25 minutes gone. 

Both sides went hell for leather to round out the first half but there was to be no further score, with Short adjudged to have been stopped in the corner, upon referral to the TMO, following another Chudley surge.

Sale made the most of that reprieve after the break as Cipriani, who would go on to add the extras, prised open Exeter and Beaumont steamed through the middle to touch down.

But if there was one man intent on turning the tide Chiefs' way it was Chudley, who again was too quick of both foot and mind for Sale in grabbing his second try of the day.

Steenson was off-target with the extras but realigned his kicking radar by scoring his penalty soon after, and Exeter found themselves a point ahead heading into the last quarter.

And the Sandy Park faithful could breathe a sigh of relief when Short picked up a loose ball and dashed over the line – which also brought up the try-bonus point.

Steenson converted and the result was put beyond doubt when replacement Johnson followed Short over the line soon after. Will Hooley added a further three points with the last action of the game.

The scorers:

For Exeter Chiefs:

Tries: Waldrom, Chudley 2, Short, Johnson

Con: Steenson

Pens: Steenson, Hooley

For Sale Sharks:

Tries: Addison, Beaumont

Cons: Cipriani 2

Pen: Cipriani

Teams:

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain),1 Ben Moon.

Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Moray Low, 19 Ollie Atkins, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Michele Campanaro.

Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Will Addison, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Jonathan Mills, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.

Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Jennings.

Referee: Dean Richards

Assistant referees: Luke Pearce, Andrew Pearce

TMO: Geoff Warren

Leicester Tigers 22-10 Newcastle Falcons

Leicester Tigers were denied a try-bonus point but battled to a 22-10 victory over Newcastle Falcons to continue their fine Premiership run this season.

Newcastle made the better start and led 10-0 early on thanks to a try from Nili Latu, but they could not build on that platform and eventually came away with nothing.

Despite blowing a couple of great chances, Leicester did draw level by half-time, taking advantage of Falcons losing two men to the bin to cross through Telusa Veainu.

With the sides level at 10-10 at the break, Tigers flew out of the blocks in the second half, with a try from Peter Betham, before Laurence Pearce sealed the win late on.

The early pressure came from the away side though, as the Tigers found themselves down to 14 men as early as the fifth minute, with Fraser Balmain adjudged to have committed a tip tackle. The Falcons opted for the penalty with Craig Willis slotting over to give Newcastle a 3-0 lead.

The Falcons took full advantage of the extra man as pressure in the Tigers 22 led to a lineout, with Latu on the end of a catch and drive for the line with Willis adding the conversion for a 10-point lead.

The home side responded, going through a number of phrases, though ultimately had to settle for a Freddie Burns penalty to cut the deficit to 10-3.

Leicester were beginning to find their feet as Newcastle lost their discipline with Belisario Agulla sent to the sin-bin for a needless tip tackle and Mark Wilson joining him moments later for failing to release.

This time Leicester took full advantage of the extra men as Veainu went over in the corner after finding space out wide with Burns adding the conversion from a tough angle to level the scores.

The Tigers thought they had added another try just minutes later as Mathew Tait crossed the line, but the try was called back after he was spotted knocking on.

Nevertheless, the momentum in the game had turned despite the scores remaining level at 10-10 going into the break.

That was evident barely two minutes into the second half as Betham broke a tackle to go over in the corner with Burns once again adding the conversion to put the Tigers into the lead for the first time. 

Leicester threw everything they had at Newcastle in an effort to pick up a bonus point, but had to wait until the 73rd minute for a third try. 

After a barrage of lineouts, Laurence Pearce burst over to score, though Burns missed the conversion and despite having some chances, Leicester couldn't find a way through in the closing minutes.

The scorers:

For Leicester Tigers: 

Tries: Betham, Pearce, Veainu

Cons: Burns 2

Pen: Burns

For Newcastle Falcons: 

Try: Latu

Con: Willis

Pen: Willis

Teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Telusa Veainu , 13 Peter Betham , 12 Matt Smith, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Jono Kitto, 8 Laurence Pearce, 7 Lachlan McCaffrey, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Ed Slater (captain), 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Tommy Bell, 23 Seremaia Bai. 

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Belisario Agulla, 12 Chris Harris, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Craig Willis, 9 Michael Young, 8 Nili Latu, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Ally Hogg, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Mark Wilson, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Taione Vea, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Todd Clever, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Tom Catterick, 23 Juan Pablo Socino. 

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth

Assistant Referees: Darren Gamage, Kelvin Stewart

TMO: Rowan Kitt