Two hat-tricks in Exiles match

 

Marland Yarde and replacement Shane Monahan both grabbed hat-tricks, as Gloucester edged a 38-30 thriller over London Irish at Kingsholm.

 

London Wasps came back from a 17-0 deficit to claim victory in a topsy-turvy, eleven try thriller with Newcastle Falcons at Adams Park.

 

Jackson Wray ran in a hat-trick in a 44-20 victory as Saracens sealed top spot in the Premiership in record-breaking fashion and condemned Worcester Warriors to a bottom of the table finish.

 

Departing club captain Toby Flood scored the try that sealed Leicester Tigers' Premiership play-off place with a 42-22 bonus-point victory over Sale Sharks.

 

 

 

The Cherry & Whites' last Premiership home game of the season was a worthy send-off as Sione Kalamafoni and Charlie Sharples crossed in the first ten minutes.

 

Billy Twelvetrees took a blow to his ankle early in the the first half but Monahan came on for Gloucester to dot down twice before the break, while Yarde also bagged two scores.

 

Yarde was the first to complete his treble – as Gerard Ellis also got on the scoresheet for Irish – but Monahan touched down his third of the game with five minutes to go.

 

Freddie Burns then scored two late penalties to ensure a scintillating victory for Gloucester.

 

Cherry & Whites captain Tom Savage was named in the squad for the first time since November after recovering from injury, while retiring lock Will James returned to the starting lineup for his Kingsholm farewell.

 

And his send-off started in fitting fashion as Twelvetrees broke from his own 22, before Elliot Stooke whistled out a pin-point pass to Kalamafoni.

 

Kalamafoni then cantered home to dot down inside two minutes as Twelvetrees added the conversion – yet Irish responded with typical pace.

 

Only a last-ditch tackle from Jimmy Cowan stopped Andy Fenby from surging over the whitewash as Irish pressed, before losing all their momentum by conceding a penalty.

 

Gloucester then won the first battle at the scrum, as Burns went on to reel off a sumptuous cross-field kick for Sharples to chase.

 

Exiles fullback Tom Homer got caught out as the ball dropped in behind and Sharples raced away to bag the hosts' second try in ten minutes.

 

However, the play ended on a sour note as Twelvetrees limped off with what appeared to be an ankle injury to be replaced by Monahan.

 

But the back was caught flat-footed as Yarde cut inside – after bursting from near the halfway line – to haul the Exiles right back into the game.

 

Ian Humphreys' missed conversion rounded off a madcap opening 15 minutes, and soon after the Cherry & Whites were hit with further injury trouble as try-scorer Sharples left the field for Bill Meakes.

 

Then Kalamafoni punched through midfield after a line-out to spark another Gloucester attack and, after patient build-up, Monahan touched down in the corner.

 

Another series of promising attacks were thwarted by both sides until Yarde once more danced through the Gloucester line to reduce the arrears to seven, as Humphreys slotted the extras.

 

But the home side started the second half just as breathlessly as the first, Monahan again with a brilliant finish to evade Yarde's clutches after Mike Tindall's initial break.

 

Burns missed his second conversion of the match before Irish once again came charging back, this time Ellis applying the final touch to Tomas O'Leary's surge.

 

Humphreys' conversion bounced off the post and out but Burns was finding his length, knocking over the game's first penalty on 51 minutes to extend Gloucester's lead to eight.

 

James then jogged off the Kingsholm turf for the last time to a standing ovation to be replaced by another huge cheer for the returning Savage.

 

As the game grew on Yarde's star certainly wasn't diminishing and the England wing bagged his hattrick on the hour mark after a sharp offload from Humphreys.

 

Flyhalf Humphreys converted and went on to despatch a three-pointer as Irish took the lead for the first time for the match.

 

With just eight minutes to go Burns powered over a long-range penalty to retake the advantage by one point, before Monahan opened up breathing space by racing away into the corner for his treble.

 

Burns then added the extras and collected another three points with the final kick of the game, to finally down Irish after replacement Myles Dorrian's penalty moments earlier.

 

 

Tries: Kalamafoni, Sharples, Monahan 3

Cons: Twelvetrees, Burns

Pens: Burns 3

 

Tries: Yarde 3, Ellis

Cons: Humphreys

Pen: Dorrian

 

Yellow card: Jimmy Cowan (Gloucester, 36)

 

 

Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 Jonny May, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Will James, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Yann Thomas.

Replacements: 16 Dan George, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Tom Young, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Billy Meakes, 23 Shane Monahan.

 

London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Eamonn Sheridan, 11 Andrew Fenby, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Tomás O'Leary (captain), 8 Chris Hala'ufia, 7 Jebb Sinclair, 6 Kieran Low, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Leo Halavatau; 2 Jimmy Stevens, 1 Matt Parr.

Replacements: 16 Mike Mayhew, 17 Tom Smallbone, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Bryn Evans, 20 Gerard Ellis, 21 Alex Lewington, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Darren Allinson.

 

Referee: Steve Lee

Assistant referees: Ashley Rowden, Robin Goodliffe

TMO: Rowan Kitt.

 

 

The Falcons twice led and battled to the end to secure the two bonus points that secured an 11th place finish in this season's Premiership.

 

But they had no answer to the Wasps power game, the home side running in six tries on their way to a victory that went a long way to securing a European play-off spot.

 

Newcastle made the perfect start as Sinoti Sinoti claimed the ball from the kick-off, ran infield beating two tacklers and recycling the ball.

 

James Fitzpatrick took it up and offloaded to Gonzalo Tiesi who sent Mike Blair clear to score to the right of the posts with the Wasps defence in disarray. Joel Hodgson added the extras to make it 7-0 to the visitors inside the opening minute.

 

And the flyhalf extended the Newcastle lead on eight minutes when he popped over a confident penalty from the right of the posts, rewarding the visitors for their positive start.

 

The home side looked stunned and failed to recover before the Falcons scored a second try of the season contender.

 

An Andrea Masi kick failed to go where the Italian international intended, bouncing infield where Dom Barrow pounced before offloading to the onrushing Alex Tait.

 

Tait burst upfield before setting up Hodgson to dive over the line, converting his own score to give the Falcons a 17-0 advantage.

 

Andy Goode turned down a couple of long-range penalties as Wasps looked to build pressure at the lineout but desperate defence from Newcastle kept out the home side's early forays.

 

But with the powerful Ashley Johnson to the fore, Wasps ground their way forward and Newcastle were unable to withstand the pressure with Nathan Hughes bundled over the line from the base of the ruck.

 

Goode missed a relatively simple conversion from just outside the Newcastle 22 and it was 17-5 to the visitors with a quarter of the game gone.

 

Newcastle failed to learn the lesson of the first try and another series of penalties saw Goode kicking to the corner from where Wasps launched a wave of attacks.

 

This time it was Johnson who burrowed his way over the line, Goode this time adding the conversion to reduce the gap between the sides to five points.

 

With half an hour gone Newcastle were hanging on as Carlo Festuccia sent Joe Simpson away, with Fitzpatrick sent for a ten-minute spell on the sidelines for persistent infringement at the ruck.

 

Goode made short work of the resulting penalty and Wasps could have taken the lead when Tom Varndell chipped over the defence, running on to his own kick only to knock the ball on with the try line looming.

 

However, a minute or two later they did go ahead for the first time as Newcastle defended on their own line and it was Hughes who picked up the loose ball to touch down for his second score of the afternoon. Goode slotted the conversion and Wasps led 22-17 with four minutes left to the interval.

 

Newcastle weren't able to hold out to the break as Wasps broke out of their own 22 down the left flank with Elliot Daly chipping over Sinoti and collecting the ball before playing in Simpson to score.

 

Goode bisected the posts with the conversion to send Wasps in at half-time 29-17 ahead and with the four-try bonus point in the bag.

 

The second half couldn't match the first for its blisteringly quick finish as Wasps lost Hughes to injury.

 

Hodgson sent an early penalty crashing against the post as Falcons wasted a chance to get the first points of the half on the board.

 

Without Hughes Wasps looked half the side and 12 minutes into the second period Falcons took advantage of unexpected uncertainty in the home defence with Noah Cato crashing over in the corner after quick hands from the backs.

 

The impressive Hodgson added the extras from the touchline to bring Newcastle within five points of the lead.

 

And a well-worked try brought Newcastle level, Sinoti getting the Falcons on the front foot with Cato hitting the line at pace to barrel over the line on the hour mark.

 

A fantastic Hodgson kick inched over the bar to put the Falcons back into the lead, and secure a try bonus point for the visitors.

 

Immediately Wasps hit back, Goode putting a lovely cross-field kick in behind the Falcons defence for Will Helu to run onto, picking up the ball from around his ankles to score.

 

Goode was wayward with the conversion and with 13 minutes to go Wasps led 34-31.

 

As Newcastle tired the penalties started to flow for Wasps once more and Goode knocked over another to increase the home side's lead to six points heading into the final ten minutes.

 

And gaps in the middle of the Newcastle defence were exposed when Charlie Hayter spotted a gap and dashed through it, the centre stepping up to add the conversion.

 

But with Hayter and James Haskell in the sin bin George McGuigan grabbed Newcastle's fifth try, Hodgson's conversion securing a second bonus point for the visitors.

 

 

Tries: Hughes 2, Johnson, Simpson, Helu, Hayter

Cons: Goode 3, Hayter

Pens: Goode 2 

 

Tries: Blair, Hodgson, Cato 2 , McGuigan

Cons: Hodgson 5 

Pens: Hodgson 

 

 

Yellow cards: James Fitzpatrick (Newcastle Falcons, 31), Charlie Hayter (London Wasps, 80), James Haskell (London Wasps, 80)

 

 

Wasps: 15 Andrea Masi, 14 Will Helu, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Charlie Hayter, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 James Haskell, 6 Ashley Johnson, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Phil Swainston, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Matt Mullan.

Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Taione Vea, 19 James Cannon, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Tommy Bell.

 

Newcastle: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 James Fitzpatrick, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Richard Mayhew, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Scott MacLeod, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Scott Wilson, 18 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 19 Harry Spencer, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Lee Smith.

 

Referee: Dean Richards

Assistant referees: Nigel Carrick, Andrew Pearce

 

 

David Strettle and Chris Ashton both crossed for early scores at Allianz Park but the Warriors fought back and Chris Pennell's score had them back in the match at 15-10.

 

But Wray went over for his first just before the interval and added two more after the break while the in-form Ashton also added a second in what turned into something of a procession for the London club.

 

Semisi Taulava crossed late on for a second Worcester try while Will Fraser's injury and yellow cards for Strettle and Neil de Kock meant Sarries finished with 12 men on the pitch.

 

That allowed Pennell to bag a second in the dying moments but it was too little too late as Dean Ryan's side now have an insurmountable ten-point gap to make up to second-from-bottom Newcastle Falcons.

 

The hosts got the perfect start when Strettle crossed in the fourth minute for his 11th Premiership try of the season after a strong run from Mako Vunipola had taken them deep into Worcester territory.

 

Vunipola then left the field with an injury to be replaced by Rhys Gill and a Ryan Lamb penalty got Worcester a foothold in the game in the eighth minute.

 

But Alex Goode's superb offload gave Ashton a second Sarries try not long after and despite the fullback failing with the touch line conversion, he kicked Saracens into a 15-3 lead with a penalty.

 

A series of Saracens infringements at a 5 metre scrum saw replacement Gill sin binned as Worcester began to fight back.

 

And it fell to full-back Pennell, shortlisted for Premiership Rugby Player of the Season, to find a hole in the Saracens defence for Worcester's first try, Lamb successfully adding the extras.

 

Saracens struck back on the stroke of half-time however with their third try as Wray blazed over and Goode's conversion put the league leaders back in control at 22-10. 

 

Goode extended Saracens' lead with another penalty after the interval before Ashton secured the Saracens bonus point.

 

The England wing stepped the scrambling Pennell to cross in the corner and extend the lead to 30-10.

 

Wray got his second of the day on 62 minutes after a number of quick Saracens phases, Goode successfully added the conversion.

 

With Saracens now well on top, Lamb saw yellow for a deliberate knock on as Worcester struggled to get out their own 22.

 

From the resulting penalty, Wray sealed his hat trick, picking up from the back of a scrum to charge over, Goode's conversion took his personal points tally to 14.

 

In a manic last ten minutes, Worcester managed consolation scores through Taulava and Pennell as Fraser limped off and Strettle and Neil De Kock both received yellow cards leaving Saracens to finish the game with just 12 men.

 

 

Tries: Strettle, Ashton 2, Wray 3

Cons: Goode 4

Pen: Goode

 

Tries: Pennell 2, Taulava

Con: Lamb

Pen: Lamb

 

Yellow cards: Rhys Gill (Saracens, 32), Ryan Lamb (Worcester Warriors, 63), David Strettle (Saracens, 75), Neil de Kock (Saracens, 77)

 

 

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Dave Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Alistair Hargreaves (captain), 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 James Johnston, 19 Eoin Sheriff, 20 Kelly Brown, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Duncan Taylor, 23 Chris Wyles.

 

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Andy Symons, 11 David Lemi, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Jonathan Thomas (captain), 7 Sam Betty, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 James Percival, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Ofa Fainga'anuku.

Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Paul Andrew, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Semisi Taulava, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Max Stelling, 23 Ravai Fatiaki.

 

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth

Assistant referees: Kelvin Stewart, Roy Maybank

TMO: David Grashoff

 

 

Toby Flood departs Welford Road after six years at the club this summer and has been on the periphery as the announcement of his departure has coincided with the emergence of young Welsh flyhalf Owen Williams.

 

But, replacing centre Anthony Allen on 29 minutes, Flood helped himself to a double while scores from Niki Goneva, Niall Morris and a penalty try saw the Tigers build an unassailable lead despite a late flurry from the Sharks.

 

Indeed, Michael Paterson, Henry Thomas and Johnny Leota all went over in the last 20 minutes but it couldn't stop Leicester taking their place in the play-offs for the tenth successive season.

 

Sale, who came into the match with slim hopes of reaching the top four if they could down the Tigers, put pressure on Leicester's try-line virtually from the kickoff, but then conceded a penalty just inside their own half. However, Owen Williams' 45-metre attempt drifted wide of the right-hand post.

 

Sale then thought they had the opening try as Charlie Ingall intercepted the ball and ran through, only for referee JP Doyle to pull play back for a knock-on in the tackle.

 

From the resulting scrum it was Leicester who claimed the first try. Their forwards made good ground, Williams chipped forward and Goneva touched down for his 12th Premiership try of the season. 

 

Williams added the extras from in front of the posts.

 

Danny Cipriani put Sale on the scoreboard with a penalty, and Leicester then missed three opportunities to extend their lead, Williams off target with two further penalty attempts and Allen having a try ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.

 

The game became increasingly stop-start as half-time approached, both sides making a high number of handling errors.

 

That pattern was finally broken by Leicester, with a fine passing move leading to Flood, on for the injured Allen, keeping his composure to score in the corner.

 

Williams added the conversion and Leicester went into half-time 14-3 to the good.

 

Leicester made the faster start to the second half, and Irish winger Morris scored their third try of the match after a good run and off-load from Williams, who again added the conversion.

 

That was the signal for Sale to bring on four of their replacements, but the forward momentum remained with the visitors, and the bonus-point try came just ten minutes later.

 

From a line-out in the Sale 22 they worked their way infield and Flood found a gap in the hosts' defence to score his second of the game.

 

Tigers could smell blood now, and their dominant scrum pushed Sale back towards their own posts, referee Doyle awarding the penalty try.

 

The game was effectively over as a contest, but Sale got their first try of the afternoon with 15 minutes remaining, the in-form Paterson finding space on the left-hand side and running through to touch down in the corner.

 

As a result, the home crowd refound their voice, and suddenly Leicester were coming under increasing pressure.

 

Thomas scored a try in his final home game for Sale after good work by the forward pack, before Samoan centre Leota weaved through to score a superb individual effort.

 

But the Tigers had the final say, Mele darting over from the back of the scrum, soon after Sale fullback Tom Arscott was sent to the sin bin, Williams again converting.

 

 

Tries: Paterson, Thomas, Leota

Cons: Ford 2

Pen: Cipriani

 

Tries: Goneva, Flood 2, Morris, Penalty Try, Mele

Cons: Williams 5

 

Yellow card: Tom Arscott (Sale Sharks, 76)

 

 

Sale Sharks: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Charlie Ingall, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Vilaimi Fahiki, 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 James Gaskell, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Andrei Ostrikov, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Eifion Lewis Roberts.

Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Kirill Kulemin, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Jennings

 

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Ed Slater (captain), 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Marcos Ayerza. 

Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Louis Deacon, 20 Thomas Waldrom, 21 David Mele, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Blaine Scully.

 

Referee: JP Doyle

Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Ross Campbell

TMO: Trevor Fisher