Chiefs beat Wasps in thrilling fashion

PREMIERSHIP SATURDAY WRAP: Henry Slade and Sam Simmonds scored two tries apiece as Exeter Chiefs made it two wins from two in thrilling fashion with a 42-31 Premiership victory over Wasps.

In a very open game, the teams combined for three tries apiece in the first half, but it was Simmonds and Slade crossing early in the second half that swung the game the Devon side’s way.

Meanwhile, A clinical second-half display helped Saracens see off the spirited challenge of Premiership new boys Bristol Bears at Allianz Park.

The reigning champions made it two wins from two to start their title defence, despite trailing 13-18 at half-time in their opening home fixture.

In Saturday’s other matches, Geordan Murphy made a perfect start to his Leicester Tigers premiership with a high scoring victory over Newcastle Falcons thanks to a telling 29 points contribution from George Ford.

At the Recreation Ground, Matt Banahan had the final say in an exhilarating West Country derby that saw Bath and Gloucester draw 31-31.

Wasps 31-42 Exeter Chiefs

Wasps made the perfect start when Elliot Daly stepped inside Ollie Devoto and sprinted 30 metres over the line.

Billy Searle converted but Exeter responded immediately with a score from Santiago Cordero, who showed his finishing skills to shrug off two tackles.

One of those was Josh Bassett, who was next to cross from a clever kick over the top, with Searle this time converting from the touchline.

But Exeter were back on terms with still only 18 minutes gone, Sam Simmonds this time the man to get over after a dominant maul.

They hit the front for the first time on 25 minutes when Henry Slade had too much pace for Brad Shields and rounded him to score.

Searle cut the deficit back to four points with a penalty before Nathan Hughes got the home side’s third shortly before half-time as Wasps led 24-21.

Exeter flew out of the blocks in the second half however, with Simmonds getting his second try, again from a maul, before Slade picked off Searle and raced 60 metres to make it 35-24.

Wasps responded, with Dan Robson sniping over after a great drive by Tom Cruse. Lima Sopoaga, on for his debut, converted to cut Exeter’s advantage to four points.

There was still time for one more score, but it went Exeter’s way, as Don Armand forced his way over with the final play to deny Wasps a losing bonus point.

The scorers:

For Wasps:
Tries: Daly, Bassett, Hughes, Robson
Cons: Daly, Searle 3
Pen: Searle

For Exeter:
Tries: Cordero, S Simmonds 2, Slade 2, Armand
Cons: Steenson 6

Teams:

Wasps: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Joe Atkinson, 6 Brad Shields, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 Joe Launchbury (captain), 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ben Harris.
Replacements: 16 Tom Cruse, 17 Zurabi Zhvania, 18 Will Stuart, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Ashley Johnson, 21 Joe Simpson, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Rob Miller.

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Stuart Townsend, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Don Armand, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Ollie Atkins, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Sean Lonsdale, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 Alex Cuthbert.

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Simon McConnell
TMO: Trevor Fisher

Saracens 44-23 Bristol Bears

A competitive contest hinged on ten frantic minutes after the interval, in which Saracens scored three tries and Bristol’s George Smith was red-carded.

Replacement wing Liam Williams was the Bears’ chief tormentor, ending with a hat-trick inside 25 minutes.

It was an ideal start for the hosts as Matt Gallagher – who earned a place in the side after impressing in the Premiership Rugby Shield – dotted down on five minutes.

After a smooth line-out, Owen Farrell switched the point of attack and Alex Goode’s smart offload put the young wing in.

Bears flyhalf Callum Sheedy led the response, flighting a cross-field kick from a packed middle into space on the left for Alapati Leiua to level.

Sheedy struck a brace of penalties midway through the half and moments before its conclusion Leiua squeezed into the near corner for a second score.

Bristol’s disruptive play at the breakdown helped earn them a five-point lead at the break, with Saracens unable to establish full fluency.

But whatever director of rugby Mark McCall said in the dressing-room had an immediate effect as three tries arrived before the hour mark.

Alex Lewington’s strong start to life at Saracens continued as the ball went through hands and he sniped home out wide to level terms on 44 minutes.

Former Wallaby Smith was given his marching orders for a high tackle, leaving Bristol exposed to wave after wave of Saracens attacks.

Billy Vunipola marked his return from injury in style with a typically powerful finish, picking up from the back of the scrum and powering over to make it 25-18.

Fellow replacement Williams was another to make an immediate impact – scoring with his first touch in the 53rd minute and then again with a poacher’s finish in the 70th.

Pat Lam’s side refused to throw in the towel and Nick Haining’s improvised grubber kick helped him secure a third try of the day for his side.

But it would remain in a losing cause as Farrell’s cross-field punt was gathered by Williams and the Welshman gleefully touched down for his treble.

The scorers:

For Saracens:
Tries: Gallagher, Lewington, B Vunipola, Williams 3
Cons: Farrell 4
Pens: Farrell 2

For Bristol:
Tries: Leiua 2, Haining
Cons: Sheedy
Pens: Sheedy 2

Red Card: George Smith (Bristol Bears, 48 – foul play, dangerous tackle)

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Matt Gallagher, 13 Alex Lozowski, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Sione Vailanu, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 Nick Isiekwe, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Liam Williams.

Bristol: 15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Will Hurrell, 12 Siale Piutau, 11 Alapati Leiua, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Andy Uren, 8 Jack Lam, 7 George Smith, 6 Steve Luatua (captain), 5 Joe Latta, 4 Ed Holmes, 3 Lewis Thiede, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Jordan Lay.
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 John Afoa, 19 Joe Joyce, 20 Nick Haining, 21 Harry Randall, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Tom Pincus.

Referee: Andrew Jackson
Assistant referees: Matthew O’Grady, Robert Warburton
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Leicester Tigers 49-33 Newcastle Falcons

Following a busy week at Welford Road, interim head coach Geordan Murphy couldn’t have asked for a more positive beginning at Leicester with his side making their best start to a match since 2004.

England international Ford proved an integral figure for the Tigers, scoring the opening try of the match and the first of his 20 first-half points after just two minutes, before compatriot Jonny May ran in the second try of the match soon after.

With 13 minutes gone Adam Thompstone secured Leicester’s third try as Ford slotted his second conversion of the afternoon to take an imperious 22-0 lead.

When Sonatane Takulua broke back for Newcastle, it only roared the Tigers back into action with Ford scoring another penalty and Manu Tuilagi clinching his first try of the campaign on 22 minutes.

Former Tiger Vereniki Goneva took a bite out of his old teammates by crossing the whitewash twice before May capped off a remarkable first-half of action with his second try of the match to go in 40-19 at the break.

It was all change after the restart when Falcons’ Mark Wilson and Josh Matavesi dabbed down to put the pressure on, but two Ford penalties were enough to keep them at an arm’s length.

As the clock ticked down, Leicester’s pack stood strong to clinch their first win of the season and ensure that Newcastle’s winless away streak increased to six matches in all competitions.

The scorers:

For Leicester:
Tries: Ford, May 2, Thompstone, Tuilagi
Cons: Ford 3
Pens: Ford 6

For Newcastle:
Tries: Takulua, Goneva 2, Wilson, Mavinga
Cons: Flood 4

Yellow Card: Telusa Veainu (Leicester Tigers, 62)

Teams:

Leicester: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 David Denton, 5 Will Spencer, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Greg Bateman.
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 Campese Ma’afu, 18 David Feao, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Guy Thompson, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Tom Hardwick, 23 Jordan Olowofela.

Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Callum Chick, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Will Witty, 4 Calum Green, 3 Logovi’i Mulipola, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Sami Mavinga.
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Jack Payne, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Sam Stuart, 22 Joel Hodgson, 23 Alex Tait.

Referee: Matthew Carley
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Wayne Falla
TMO: Claire Hodnett

Bath 31-31 Gloucester

Gloucester were irrepressible in the first half as Ruan Ackermann grabbed a double and Callum Braley notched a third try, with Semesa Rokoduguni responding just before the break.

Tom Dunn helped himself to a double in the second half and Elliott Stooke looked to have won it, but Matt Banahan crossed with just two minutes left to play in a memorable, lung-busting derby.

Gloucester were on the front foot in the early stages and put their dominance on the board on 15 minutes as Ackermann surged over the line from short distance following a series of attacks.

The visitors continued to edge the arm wrestle and Ackermann got his second on 26 minutes when a lovely pass from Danny Cipriani but the back rower through a hole and he proved unstoppable from 30 metres out.

Bath attempted to quell the invaders but Gloucester got their third try before half-time as Braley sniped his way through a gap to touch down under the posts.

Rokoduguni grabbed a crucial try before the break and Dunn got a fortuitous second just after it, with an overthrown line-out giving him an unmissable opportunity.

Burns nailed the conversion and Dunn completed his double on 64 minutes with another try from short range.

Penalties were traded to make it 24-24 and Stooke powered over in the corner after a spell of pressure in an action that looked as though it had won the game for the home side.

But there was one more twist in the plot as Gloucester attacked, Cipriani passed out wide and Matt Banahan put the finishing touch on a pulsating derby.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Rokoduguni, Dunn 2, Stooke
Cons: Burns 2, Priestland 2
Pen: Priestland

For Gloucester:
Tries: Ackermann 2, Braley, Banahan
Cons: Twelvetrees 4
Pen: Twelvetrees

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Jackson Willison, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Max Green, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Zach Mercer, 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Jack Walker, 17 Jacques van Rooyen, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Elliott Stooke, 20 Tom Ellis, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Aled Brew.

Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Ruan Ackermann, 5 Mariano Galarza; 4 Ed Slater (captain), 3 Fraser Balmain; 2 James Hanson, 1 Val Rapava Ruskin.
Replacements: 16 Franco Marais, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Jake Polledri, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Tom Hudson.

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Roy Maybank
TMO: Geoff Warren

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