Ackermann scores in Gloucester comeback

PREMIERSHIP WRAP: Gloucester continued their impressive run, as they cemented their place in the top three.

Tom Seabrook’s try on his first Premiership start of the season capped off a brilliant derby day comeback for Gloucester.

* In other Saturday action Ian Madigan drilled a penalty with the last kick of the game as Bristol Bears claimed a dramatic last-gasp victory over defending champions Saracens.

* James Grayson held his nerve in south west London with a crucial last-minute conversion that gave Northampton Saints the narrowest of victories over fellow top-four chasers Harlequins.

* Josh Adams’ second-half hat-trick helped Worcester Warriors to one of their best wins of the season as they put Sale Sharks to the sword at Sixways.

All the Saturday matches!

Gloucester 27-23 Bath

Tom Seabrook’s try on his first Premiership start of the season capped off a brilliant derby day comeback for Gloucester.

Early scores from Ruaridh McConnochie and Tom Dunn rounded off a strong first 20 for visitors Bath as Freddie Burns ran the show from No.10.

But the last hour belonged to the home side, with Josh Hohneck crossing on half-time before Ruan Ackermann, Henry Purdy and Seabrook crossed in the second period.

The bonus-point win sees Gloucester consolidate third place, while the visitors will now face an uphill battle to secure a semi-final berth.

Picking up where they left off against Bristol Bears in ‘The Clash’ last week, Bath dominated the early stages of the game.

It took just three minutes for the breakthrough as Burns’ brilliant cross field kick found a rampaging McConnochie to finish in the corner.

Minutes later, some neat passing exchanges on the left flank allowed Dunn to power over – with some help from Sam Underhill.

A stunned Gloucester side grew into the game as half-time approached – but a resilient Bath side looked to have held firm.

But with the last play of the half, Hohneck crossed following a sumptuous no-look pass from Danny Cipriani.

Gloucester flew out of the blocks in the second half as Ackermann notched his sixth of the season before Purdy finished off a sweeping move on the left wing to reduce the deficit to a single point.

An innovative drop goal from the impeccable Burns extended the lead once again before Gloucester finally went ahead with a try from Seabrook and Twelvetrees secured the win with another three points from his boot.

The scorers:

For Gloucester:
Tries: Hohneck, Ackermann, Purdy, Seabrook
Cons: Twelvetrees 2
Pen: Twelvetrees

For Bath:
Tries: McConnochie, Dunn
Cons: Burns 2
Pens: Burns 2
DG: Burns

Yellow card: Beno Obano (Bath, 42)

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Matt Banahan, 14 Tom Seabrook, 13 Billy Twelvetrees, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Willi Heinz (captain), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Ed Slater, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck.
Replacements: 16 Mike Sherry, 17 Val Rapava Ruskin, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Lewis Ludlow, 21 Jake Polledri, 22 Callum Braley, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit.

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Kahn Fotuali’i, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Ellis, 5 Charlie Ewels (captain), 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Max Lahiff, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Miles Reid, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Max Clark.

Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales & Peter Allan.
TMO: Geoff Warren.

A stunning second-half comeback sees @gloucesterrugby inch closer to a semi-final place!

Commiserations to @bathrugby who had a wonderful first 20 minutes but couldn’t hold on#GLOvBAT #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/w48zGwvmAD

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) April 13, 2019

Harlequins 19-20 Northampton Saints

James Grayson held his nerve in south west London with a crucial last-minute conversion that gave Northampton Saints the narrowest of victories over fellow top-four chasers Harlequins.

Replacement Alex Mitchell’s fine finish set up a big kick for Grayson with less than a minute to go, and the substitute did the job to seal a vital four points for his side.

Harlequins had looked set to earn a 19-13 success when Marcus Smith’s two penalties put them ahead following Jack Clifford’s try, but they couldn’t hold out at the death.

Paul Gustard’s men have now been beaten in four successive league matches and lie just four points ahead of fifth-placed Northampton with three games to go.

Penalties from Smith and Dan Biggar were traded in the opening ten minutes but Saints went 10-3 up with some neat passing through the hands in the opposition 22, giving Ahsee Tuala plenty of time to touch down in the corner.

Smith reduced the deficit to 10-6 but Biggar cancelled that penalty out minutes later, with the hosts struggling to make an impact in Saints’ defence.

The visitors led 13-6 at the break but Harlequins were level eight minutes into the second half after wing Cadan Murley sped down the left before coming back inside to Clifford, with Smith adding the conversion.

The young fly-half made it 16-13 heading into the final and crucial quarter as things got nervy from both sides and the game stuttered due to injury breaks.

The London side edged the composure and won a penalty from a rolling maul, allowing Smith to strike his fourth penalty to open up a six-point gap with five left to play, before the combination of the two Northampton replacements stole the day for the away side.

The scorers:

For Harlequins:
Try: Clifford
Con: Smith
Pens: Smith 4

For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Tuala, Mitchell
Cons: Biggar, Grayson
Pens: Biggar 2

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Alofa Alofa, 12 Ben Tapuai, 11 Cadan Murley, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 8 Alex Dombrandt, 7 Chris Robshaw (co-captain), 6 Jack Clifford, 5 James Horwill (co-captain), 4 Matt Symons, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Max Crumpton, 1 Nick Auterac.
Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Lewis Boyce, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Ben Glynn, 20 Semi Kunatani, 21 Niall Saunders, 22 James Lang, 23 Francis Saili.

Northampton Saints : 15 George Furbank, 14 Ahsee Tuala, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison (captain), 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Reece Marshall, 1 Francois Van Wyk.
Replacements: 16 Samson Ma’asi, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Mitch Eadie, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 James Grayson, 23 Andrew Kellaway.

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Wayne Falla & Simon McConnell.
TMO: Keith Lewis.

What a finish in London 😱@Harlequins look to be closing out but on comes Alex Mitchell with a devastating last-minute try, converted with nerves of steel by @SaintsRugby‘s James Grayson 👏👏👏

The top-four battle twists again, who’s going to make it?#GallagherPrem #HARvNOR pic.twitter.com/Q5S5BM2Vg4

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) April 13, 2019

Worcester Warriors 39-17 Sale Sharks

Josh Adams’ second-half hat-trick helped Worcester Warriors to one of their best wins of the Premiership season as they put Sale Sharks to the sword at Sixways.

This was a victory that was as important as it was impressive, the Warriors claiming the four-try bonus point to put seven points between themselves and bottom side Newcastle Falcons in the league.

The Warriors had not beaten Sale since 2016 but the Sharks have been poor travellers in 2019 and the hosts hit the ground running at home as their survival instincts kicked in.

Sam Lewis picked a beautiful line from line-out ball off the top to burst over for the first try of the afternoon after only seven minutes.

The near-faultless Duncan Weir added the extras and then a penalty for an early 10-0 lead and it got better still.

Chris Pennell went over down the right, fed by a sumptuous Bryce Heem offload and Weir again converted and the Warriors were threatening to run away with it.

The second quarter belonged to the Sharks however, and they got the score their pressure deserved when Josh Beaumont slid over.

AJ MacGinty slotted the extras and then the two fly-halves traded penalties at the start of the second half to make it 20-10 to Worcester.

But from then, the Warriors hit the afterburners to burn off their rivals – and it was Adams who did the damage.

First he charged over, fed by Ben Te’o, after Lewis had picked another good line to make a half break and narrow the Sharks defence.

And then superb interplay between Francois Venter and skipper Marco Mama – on his 50th appearance for the Warriors – saw Ethan Waller feed Adams with a looping pass and the winger did the rest.

Heem saw yellow late on and the Sharks grabbed a consolation through Matt Postelthwaite after he charged down Weir’s clearance.

But Adams was not done there and rounded off the win at the death by diving on a cute grubber from Michael Heaney.

The scorers:

For Worcester Warriors:
Tries: Lewis, Pennell, Adams 3
Cons: Weir 4
Pens: Weir 2

For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Beaumont, Postlethwaite
Cons: MacGinty 2
Pen: MacGinty

Yellow card: Bryce Heem (Worcester Warriors, 67)

Teams:

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ben Te’o, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Cornell du Preez, 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama (captain), 5 Darren Barry, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Niall Annett, 1 Ethan Waller.
Replacements: 16 Jack Singleton, 17 Callum Black, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Andrew Kitchener, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Tom Howe.

Sale: 15 Luke James, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 Sam James, 12 Rohan Janse van Rensburg, 11 Arron Reed, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 James Phillips, 4 Josh Beaumont, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Matt Postlethwaite, 20 Sam Moore, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Cameron Redpath, 23 Paolo Odogwu.

Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace & Rob Warburton.
TMO: Graham Hughes.

👏👏 What a day for @WorcsWarriors!

A second-half 🎩-trick from @JoshAdams951 and they have claimed a crucial #GallagherPrem bonus-point win over @SaleSharksRugby pic.twitter.com/xKtuBzel7Z

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) April 13, 2019

Bristol Bears 23-21 Saracens

Ian Madigan drilled a penalty with the last kick of the game as Bristol Bears claimed a dramatic last-gasp victory over defending Premiership champions Saracens.

A late Ralph Adams-Hale score had looked like it would be enough to get Sarries over the line at Ashton Gate in a hard-fought encounter.

Bristol have not beaten Sarries since 2008 but this new incarnation of the Bears under Pat Lam are made of stern stuff and fought back one last time to claim a vital victory that keeps them clear of the foot of the table.

Sarries came into the clash looking to avoid fifth consecutive away league defeats in a row for the first time in a decade.

And Tom Whiteley marked his first league start for the club with a fine try, made by Max Malins with a searing break from a kick return.

Alex Goode slotted the extras, but Callum Sheedy replied with two penalties and it was only 7-6 to the visitors at the interval.

But in the second period, the Bears hit the front when skipper Steven Luatua went roaring over after Matt Protheroe’s initial break.

The conversion put them 13-7 in front but back came Sarries, Marcelo Bosch scoring his first try of this his last-ever season for Sarries at the back of a maul.

That try was scored with Harry Thacker in the bin as Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola led Sarries’ charge from the replacements bench.

Goode drilled the extras to put them back in front 14-13 but back came the Bears again despite still being down to 14 men.

John Afoa went charging through the middle and found Dan Thomas on his shoulder and the flanker went over under the posts. Sheedy could not miss the extras and this topsy turvy game was now 20-14 to the hosts.

Sarries rallied again however, and it was Adams-Hale charging onto a Ben Spencer pass to get over and seemingly win it for the champions.

But the stage was set for Madigan, on for Sheedy, to drill an 80th minute penalty after Sarries infringed at the breakdown and send Ashton Gate into delirium.

The scorers:

For Bristol Bears:
Tries: Luatua, Thomas
Cons: Sheedy 2
Pens: Sheedy 2, Madigan

For Saracens:
Tries: Whiteley, Bosch, Adams-Hale
Cons: Goode 3

Teams:

Bristol: 15 Mat Protheroe, 14 Tom Pincus, 13 Piers O’Conor, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy (co-captain), 9 Andy Uren, 8 Nick Haining, 7 Dan Thomas, 6 Steve Luatua (co-captain), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 John Afoa, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jake Woolmore.
Replacements: 16 Nick Fenton-Wells, 17 James Lay, 18 Lewis Thiede, 19 George Smith, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Tusi Pisi.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Max Malins, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Mike Rhodes, 6 Calum Clark, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Isiekwe, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Christopher Tolofua, 1 Richard Barrington.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Ralph Adams-Hale, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Maro Itoje,, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Billy Vunipola, 22 Ben Spencer, 23 Alex Lozowski.

Referee: Thomas Foley
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe & Paul Dix.
TMO: David Grashoff.

Source: @premrugby

WHAT. A. WIN! 🎉🎉

Cometh the hour, cometh @Ian_madigan with a last-minute penalty to down the champions!

Huge #GallagherPrem victory for @BristolBears #BRIvSAR pic.twitter.com/8D2UIGoLKh

— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) April 13, 2019