Bok's boot not enough to beat Sarries
SATURDAY WRAP: Youngster Joel Kpoku scored a late winner to help Saracens beat Sale Sharks 31-25 at Allianz Park.
Springbok flyhalf Rob Du Preez scored 20 points with the boot for the visitors, but they lost out at the end.
* In other Premiership action on Saturday Bath ground out a win at The Rec against a plucky Worcester Warriors side – as the hosts grabbed their first win since September.
* A stunning individual display from Taqele Naiyaravoro helped Northampton Saints earn a deserved bonus point victory over Midlands rivals Wasps.
We look at all the Saturday Matches!
Bath Rugby v Worcester Warriors
(Recreation Ground, Kick-off: 12.45, 12.45 GMT)
Bath ground out a win at The Rec against a plucky Worcester Warriors side as the hosts grabbed their first Premiership win since September.
Freddie Burns was imperious with the boot throughout, kicking half of Bath’s total, but the hosts couldn’t quite force the try-scoring bonus-point as the Warriors made them settle for three.
The visitors were left to curse missed opportunities as they failed to make the most of key possession deep into Bath territory.
It was the visitors made the first mark on the scoreboard as Duncan Weir continued his impressive start to the season with the boot, kicking a straightforward penalty, but Bath responded immediately, levelling things up through Burns.
And from that moment it was the home side who were asking all the questions, coming close on several occasions before Semesa Rokoduguni crossed to put the finishing touches to hard ground made by the forwards with a quarter of the game gone.
But that seemed to awaken the Warriors, who showed characteristically strong running out wide with fast hands and quick offloads aplenty, feeding Ryan Mills to dot down and level things.
Burns struck a brace of penalties as Bath continued to dominate possession, but Worcester remained resolute in the tackle, staying well and truly in-touch at the break.
Bath pounced after the restart to stretch their lead, Matt Garvey charging down a Francois Hougaard kick from the back of a Warriors ruck on their own five-metre line, with Tom Ellis collecting the kick and sealing the score.
Duncan Weir brought Worcester back into contention with another penalty, but his side couldn’t make the most of good territory, with mistakes from the line-out proving costly as Bath held firm.
The hosts grabbed a third try with the clock running out as Elliott Stooke profited from a quick break, powering over from close range to give Bath hope of a bonus point, but it wasn’t to be for the hosts.
The scorers:
For Bath:
Tries: Rokoduguni, Ellis, Stooke
Cons: Burns 3
Pens: Burns 3
For Worcester:
Try: Mills
Con: Weir
Pens: Weir 2
Teams:
Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Tom Ellis, 6 Matt Garvey (captain), 5 Elliott Stooke, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Levi Douglas, 21 Kahn Fotuali’i, 22 Max Wright, 23 Ruaridh McConnochie
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Perry Humphreys, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (captain), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Matti Williams, 5 Darren Barry, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Pierce Phillips, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Wynand Olivier
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant Referees: Hamish Smales & Roy Maybank.
TMO: David Rose.
A BIG performance from @bathrugby as they made the perfect return to #GallagherPrem action 🙌
A win over @WorcsWarriors wasn’t made easy, but the hosts battled to a solid victory 👊
Read all about it 👉 https://t.co/Z67sfzYDQH … pic.twitter.com/gSi9yPt5jh
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) November 17, 2018
Northampton Saints v Wasps
(Franklin’s Gardens, Kick-off: 13.00, 13.00 GMT)
A stunning individual display from Taqele Naiyaravoro helped Northampton Saints earn a deserved bonus point victory over Midlands rivals Wasps.
The 26-year-old dazzled with a boisterous first-half performance before clinching the fourth try of the match after the break.
The result ensured Wasps fell to their third defeat of the league season and continued their worst run of form since 2013.
Northampton Saints flew out the blocks and took an early lead with a stunning team try that saw James Grayson effortlessly cross-kick to Andrew Kellaway to gather and cross the line in style.
Saints were handed a golden opportunity to capitalise when Thomas Young was yellow carded five minutes before the break.
Chris Boyd’s men took immediate advantage through Grayson’s second penalty, before Naiyaravoro spectacularly broke away to run almost the entirety of the field. The Australian passed to Fraser Dingwall and all he had to do was run under the posts for his first Saints try.
Lima Sopoaga reduced the deficit from the tee on the stroke of half-time to go in 16-3 at the break.
Following the restart Naiyaravoro had a try chalked off by referee Matthew O’Grady, but it mattered little as Piers Francis extended the lead only moments later to make their man advantage count.
When Young returned to the field he made instant amends for his earlier mistake by stretching for the whitewash to score Wasps first try.
Wallabies international Naiyaravoro’s persistence was finally rewarded as he notched up his third try of the season with a stunning catch from Grayson’s cross-kick to claim a try scoring bonus point.
The party continued when 18-year-old Ollie Sleightholme, son of Saints legend Jon, scored only moments after coming on for his Premiership debut.
Wasps’ Josh Bassett added a late consolation try on an otherwise bad day at the office for the Ricoh Arena side.
The scorers:
For Northampton Saints:
Tries: Kellaway, Dingwall, Francis, Naiyaravoro, Sleightholme
Cons: Francis
Pens: Grayson 2, Francis
For Wasps:
Tries: Young, Bassett
Cons: Sopoaga, Searle
Pens: Sopoaga
Teams:
Northampton: 15 George Furbank, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Taqele Naiyaravoro, 10 James Grayson, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Teimana Harrison, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Tom Wood, 5 Alex Moon, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Ben Franks, 2 James Fish, 1 Alex Waller (captain)
Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Will Davis, 18 Karl Garside, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Jamie Gibson, 21 Alex Mitchell, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Ollie Sleightholme
Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Marcus Watson, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Ashley Johnson (captain), 5 James Gaskell, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tom Cruse, 1 Ben Harris
Replacements: 16 Antonio Harris, 17 Tom West, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Craig Hampson, 22 Billy Searle, 23 Michael Le Bourgeois
Referee: Matthew O’Grady
Assistant Referees: Simon McConnell & Paul Dix.
TMO: Trevor Fisher.
It was a perfect win for @SaintsRugby as they claimed the spoils against Midlands rivals @WaspsRugby 🔥
It was an impressive display at Franklin’s Gardens by Chris Boyd men 🙌
Read the report 👉 https://t.co/Nh2zpNIWLt pic.twitter.com/TuEk5ttxdS
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) November 17, 2018
Saracens v Sale Sharks
(Allianz Park, Kick-off: 13.00, 13.00 GMT)
Youngster Joel Kpoku scored a late winner to help Saracens beat Sale Sharks 31-25 at Allianz Park.
The back row forward touched down at the death after the home side had let slip a first-half lead.
Rob Du Preez scored 20 points with the boot for the visitors, but they lost out at the end.
Springbok Du Preez nudged Sharks ahead with a penalty early on but it was Saracens who grabbed the first try.
Michael Rhodes burrowed over following a five-metre scrum, following a mistake by winger Byron McGuigan for the visitors, who was forced to concede the scrum after fumbling a high ball.
Spencer added the conversion to make it 7-3.
Minutes later Will Skelton hit Du Preez late, who kicked the resulting penalty to make it 7-6.
Mark McCall’s men continued to pile the pressure on the visitors despite being a man short.
The home pack held Sale firm with only seven men in the scrum, before an pinpoint back of the hand pass from outside centre Nick Tompkins released Alex Lewington to dive over in the corner.
Spencer added the extras to make it 14-6 just after the half hour.
Tompkins added a third try just minutes later.
He latched onto a kick through from returning winger Chris Wyles, who came out of retirement for Saracens to appear due to injuries for the Londoners.
Spencer’s conversion meant the home side added 14 points while down to 14 men.
Sale got a try back before half time as Faf de Klerk and du Preez combined to release McGuigan.
Du Preez took his tally to eight points with the conversion, making it 21-13 at the break.
Sharks continued their momentum in the second half, with De Flerk fizzing around the breakdown.
Despite heavy pressure in the first 10 minutes after half-time, a Du Preez penalty was all the visitors had to show for it as he kicked more points to make it 21-16.
The South African fly-half added another on the hour to bring the game within two points. He added two more penalties in the next 10 minutes as the visitors edged ahead.
The Springbok added another penalty as the visitors continued to turn the screw, with the score now 25-21.
Saracens roared back and retook the lead, with youngster Joel Kpoku scoring from a driven line-out which went through the phases.
Spencer added the extras before notching a late penalty at the end.
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Rhodes, Lewington, Tompkins, Kpoku
Cons: Spencer 4
Pen: Spencer
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: McGuigan
Cons: Du Preez
Pens: Du Preez 6
Yellow card: Will Skelton (Saracens, 24 )
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Wyles, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Max Malins, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Mike Rhodes, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dom Day, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Tom Woolstencroft, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Hisa Sasagi, 19 Joel Kpoku, 20 Calum Clark, 21 Ben Earl, 22 Tom Whiteley, 23 Marcelo Bosch
Sale Sharks: 15 Sam James, 14 Denny Solomona, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Rob du Preez, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 Ben Curry, 6 Jono Ross (captain), 5 James Phillips, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 WillGriff John, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Ross Harrison
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Joe Jones, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Cameron Neild, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Luke James, 23 Arron Reed
Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant Referees: Tim Wigglesworth & Philip Watters.
TMO: Keith Lewis.
Source: @premrugby
A late try from @joelkpoku helps @Saracens to a win against Sale @SaleSharksRugby 🏉
It was 31-25 to the champions at Allianz Park 👏#SARvSAL #GallagherPrem pic.twitter.com/vSWxptinFS
— Premiership Rugby (@premrugby) November 17, 2018
