Johann van Graan's Bath move to top of Prem

PREMIERSHIP WRAP: Johann van Graan will be one happy man after his side Bath moved to the top of the PREM table following a dominant 38-17 win over West Country rivals Gloucester at the Recreation Ground.

Bath outscored Gloucester five tries to three, with Finn Russell playing a key role in the game.

The fly-half added 13 points to the team’s tally with the boot – five conversions and a penalty – while he also set up Tom De Glanville’s early try.

Meanwhile, former Stormers player Ben Loader was one of the scorers for Gloucester.

Anthony Belleau scored two tries off the bench as Northampton defeated Leicester 32-26 in a pulsating East Midlands derby in the PREM.

On an afternoon when Northampton welcomed back four British & Irish Lions into their matchday squad, it was the France international in their ranks who settled a contest in which the lead changed hands nine times.

Saints outscored the Tigers by five tries to two, only for their indiscipline to keep their old rivals in touch, but they withstood some late pressure to secure their second straight win.

Leicester were forced into a late change at tighthead as Will Hurd came in for Joe Heyes, with Sweden international Ale Loman stepping up to the bench.

After a penalty from Leicester flyhalf Bill Searle opened the scoring, referee Luke Pearce was forced off with injury in the eighth minute, with assistant Alex Thomas taking his place.

Saints then scored the game’s first try after 12 minutes when an awkward bounce deceived Adam Radwan, allowing Alex Mitchell to collect his own kick ahead before passing inside to send Fin Smith under the posts.

The Tigers hit back seven minutes later following a strong break by Emeka Ilione as Jack van Poortvliet passed to Freddie Steward who sliced through a big gap for a score Searle converted.

In a nip-and-tuck first half Northampton edged in front again when Fraser Dingwall’s long pass found Tom Litchfield, who timed his ball outside to allow Edoardo Todaro to finish in the corner.

Searle’s second penalty looked set to give Leicester a half-time lead but Saints led once more off the final play when Todaro’s pass sent Tom Pearson away to score for a 17-13 advantage at the break.

The lead changed hands yet again following a succession of penalties conceded by the hosts as Tigers lock Harry Wells was able to bundle his way over six minutes into the second half.

But it did not take long for the next twist to arrive as Belleau – not long on for the injured Tommy Freeman – had a try in the left-hand corner from Mitchell’s pass confirmed by the TMO.

Still neither side could pull away as a third penalty from Searle nudged Leicester 23-22 ahead before Saints had a Dingwall ‘try’ ruled out for a knock-on by Litchfield in the build-up.

They were not to be denied for long, though, as Belleau collected his own chip ahead down the right to score his second – and Northampton’s fifth – try, converted by Smith.

He and Leicester debutant James O’Connor then exchanged penalties as the match remained in the balance right to the end, but it was Saints who held on for bragging rights.

Northampton 32-26 Leicester Tigers

The scorers:

For Northampton Saints
Tries: Smith, Todaro, Pearson, Belleau 2
Cons: Smith 2
Pens: Smith

For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Steward, Wells
Cons: Searle 2
Pens: Searle 3, O’Connor

Teams:

Northampton Saints: 15 George Hendy, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Fraser Dingwall, 11 Edoardo Todaro, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Callum Chick (c), 7 Tom Pearson, 6 Alex Coles, 5 JJ van der Mescht, 4 Tom Lockett, 3 Trevor Davison, 2 Robbie Smith, 1 Emmanuel Iyogun
Replacements: 16 Craig Wright, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Luke Green, 19 Josh Kemeny, 20 Henry Pollock, 21 Archie McParland, 22 Anthony Belleau, 23 Tom Litchfield

Leicester Tigers: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Will Wand, 12 Solomone Kata, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Emeka Ilione, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Ollie Chessum (c), 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyes, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Joaquín Moro, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Tom Whiteley, 22 James O’Connor, 23 Orlando Bailey

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant Referees: Alex Thomas and John Meredith
TMO: Peter Allan

Bristol Bears 18-14 Exeter Chiefs

The scorers:

For Bristol:
Tries: Mata, Oghre
Cons: Worsley
Pens: Jordan, Worsley

For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Slade, Hammersley
Cons: Slade 2

Teams:

Bristol Bears: 15 Benjamin Elizalde, 14 Josh Carrington, 13 Jack Bates, 12 Benhard Janse van Rensburg, 11 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 10 Tom Jordan, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Fitz Harding (c), 6 Santiago Grondona, 5 Joe Batley, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 George Kloska, 2 Gabriel Oghre, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 James Dun, 20 Joe Owen, 21 Oscar Lennon, 22 Sam Worsley, 23 Max Pepper

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Dan John, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ben Hammersley, 11 Paul Brown-Bampoe, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ross Vintcent, 7 Greg Fisilau, 6 Ethan Roots, 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Dafydd Jenkins (c), 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Jack Yeandle, 1 Will Goodrick-Clarke
Replacements: 16 Julian Heaven, 17 Ethan Burger, 18 Bachuki Tchumbadze, 19 Rusi Tuima, 20 Lewis Pearson, 21 Kane James, 22 Charlie Chapman, 23 Nick Lilley

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe
Assistant Referees: Matthew Carley and Simon Harding
TMO: David Rose

Bath 38-17 Gloucester

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: De Glanville, Dunn, Lawrence, Richards 2
Cons: Russell 5
Pen: Russell

For Gloucester:
Tries: Joseph, Thorley, Loader
Con: Byrne

Teams: 
Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Henry Arundell, 10 Finn Russell (c), 9 Tom Carr-Smith, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Guy Pepper, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Ewan Richards, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano
Replacements: 16 Kepu Tuipulotu, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Miles Reid, 20 Alfie Barbeary, 21 Neil le Roux, 22 Santi Carreras, 23 Chris Harris

Gloucester: 15 Charlie Atkinson, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Tomos Williams (c), 8 Josh Basham, 7 James Venter, 6 Freddie Thomas, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Cam Jordan, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Seb Blake, 1 Ciaran Knight
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Archie McArthur, 18 Afolabi Fasogbon, 19 Hugh Bokenham, 20 Jack Mann, 21 Harry Taylor, 22 Caolan Englefield, 23 Josiah Edwards-Giraud

Referee: Karl Dickson
Assistant Referees: Hamish Grant & Calum Howard
TMO: Dan Jones