Chiefs cruise past Sale up the table

Exeter kept pressing for a place in next season’s Heineken Cup, as they completed a league double over Sale Sharks to move up to fifth place on the Premiership standings.

In other Saturday matches Michael Claassens and Tom Biggs each scored a brace of tries as Bath continued their quest for a top-six place in the table, while Wasps ended their nine-match Premiership losing streak to ease their relegation fears.

All Saturday’s scores and scorers!

Bath 36-17 Worcester Warriors

Michael Claassens and Tom Biggs each scored a brace of tries as Bath continued their quest for a top-six place in the Premiership table with a bonus-point victory over Worcester, with Matt Banahan grabbing the fifth try.

Bath celebrated their sixth win out of seven in all competitions and are mounting their customary late charge for Heineken Cup qualification.

And they still have another route to Europe’s premier tournament through the LV= Cup, meeting Leicester at the Rec next Friday.

Worcester battled gamely but lost the match in a 12-minute spell in the first half when they conceded three tries.

Bath made two changes to their starting line-up from last weekend’s win at Exeter, both in the front row. Charlie Beech came in at loosehead for Nathan Catt and 37-year-old Duncan Bell replaced Anthony Perenise on the other side. Wing Tom Arscott returned for Worcester but former Bath legend Richard Hill was forced to name a side without lock James Percival (virus), Errie Claassens (knee), Marcel Garvey (concussion) and Joe Carlisle (hip).

Worcester were soon on the defensive but an over-ambitious pass by skipper Francois Louw was intercepted just short of the line. Instead it was the visitors who scored first as lively flanker Jake Abbot won a turnover and quick hands allowed Chris Pennell to release Arscott for the try.

Andy Goode added the conversion but Bath recovered their composure and set up a good attacking position through Heathcote’s boot. Pennell could only clear to touch and the home side’s line-out provided more quality ball for a sustained attack before Biggs squeezed in at the left corner. Heathcote’s impressive conversion levelled the scores after 18 minutes.

Six minutes later they followed up with a second try as Claassens tapped a free-kick from which Banahan eventually crashed over at the posts courtesy of a neatly disguised pass from Louw. Heathcote added the conversion.

Nothing was going right for Worcester and a hack through by Banahan rebounded off the corner flag, forcing Pennell to kick it dead for a five-metre scrum.

Another multi-phase, close-range assault ended with Claassens forcing his way over on the half-hour, with Heathcote kicking his third conversion in 12 minutes to give Bath a 21-7 lead. Goode replied a couple of minutes later with a penalty and Bath had to be content with a 21-10 lead at the break.

The second half did not spark into life until Bath used a scrum in midfield to launch an attack which ended with Banahan crashing over for what seemed to be a try, but referee Greg Garner was knocked out of the way too, leaving Bath with a five-metre scrum.

However, it only delayed the inevitable as Claassens scrambled over for his second try and Heathcote converted.

Worcester sent on six replacements inside the next nine minutes and the fresh blood gave them the impetus to mount their first serious attack of the half.

Bath mounted a fierce rearguard action for 10 minutes but eventually number eight Blair Cowan found Miles Benjamin running a sublime angle and the right wing went under the posts unopposed. Danny Gray kicked the conversion and Worcester were only 11 points adrift and sniffing a losing bonus point.

However, Heathcote kicked a 40-metre penalty two minutes from time and Biggs stretched his legs to sprint away to the corner for an unconverted try on the final whistle.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Biggs 2, Banahan, Claassens 2
Cons: Heathcote 4
Pen: Heathcote

For Worcester:
Tries: Arscott, Benjamin
Cons: Goode, Gray
Pen: Goode

Teams:

Bath: 15 Sam Vesty, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Francois Louw (captain), 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Duncan Bell, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Charlie Beech.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 David Flatman, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Guy Mercer, 20 Carl Fearns, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Olly Woodburn, 23 Jack Cuthbert.

Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Dale Rasmussen, 11 Miles Benjamin, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Shaun Perry (captain), 8 Blair Cowan, 7 Jake Abbott, 6 Sam Betty, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 Chris Jones, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 2 Ed Shervington, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Aleki Lutui, 17 George Porter, 18 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 19 Ben Gulliver, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Danny Gray, 23 Ravai Fatiaki.

Referee: Greg Garner  
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Rhys Davies 

Exeter Chiefs 37-12 Sale Sharks

Exeter kept pressing for a place in next season’s Heineken Cup as they completed a league double over Sale Sharks to move up to fifth place.

The Chiefs made two changes from the side that lost 12-9 at home to Bath, with James Hanks back in the second row in place of Peter Short while Bryan Rennie replaced Nic Sestaret in the centre. Scotland flanker Richie Vernon returned to Sale’s pack with James Gaskell switched to the second row in place of the injured Andrei Ostrikov.

The home side got the first points on the board after seven minutes as centre Jason Shoemark gave the final pass for full-back Phil Dollman to squeeze in at the corner. Fly-half Ignacio Mieres was unable to add the touchline conversion but did add a penalty shortly after from close range.

Mieres kicked another penalty 12 minutes before half-time before the Chiefs then claimed their second try of the game. After being held up over the line, number eight Richard Baxter picked up at the base of the scrum at the second attempt and found a gap to get over the line with Mieres adding the extras.

The Chiefs started the second half the stronger but were unable to turn the possession into points, but after a quick tap penalty they worked the ball wide through hooker Chris Whitehead before wing Matt Jess exchanged passes with Dollman.

Jess then found Sestaret, on as a replacement for Shoemark just before the interval, who went over for the third try, but the conversion from Mieres hit the far upright.

The Sharks pressed the Chiefs line where Baxter was shown a yellow card for a professional foul, but the seven-man pack forced Sale to concede a penalty and allow the home side to clear their lines.

Exeter claimed their second try-scoring bonus point of the season when Jess broke down the right before finding Dollman, but with wing Gonzalo Camacho outside the ball went back inside for Jess to touchdown. The conversion attempt from Mieres hit the inside of the far upright before going over to give the Chiefs a 30-0 lead with 24 minutes left.

Exeter, now back to full strength, were then penalised close to their own line and after the kick to the corner replacement hooker Joe Ward was held up over the line. But the visitors maintained the pressure which resulted in replacement centre Luther Burrell getting the touchdown.

Exeter were forced to play the final 10 minutes a man down when replacement prop Ben White was sent to the sin-bin, and the visitors took advantage of the extra man.

The Chiefs held the ball at the back of a ruck over their own line and referee Dean Richards deemed the ball was out, allowing replacement prop Tony Buckley to claim the touchdown which Nick Macleod converted.

However, there was still time for the Chiefs to push for a fifth try with a series of scrums under the posts leading to a penalty try which replacement Gareth Steenson converted.

The scorers:

For Exeter:
Tries: Dollman, Baxter, Sestaret, Jess, Penalty try
Cons: Mieres 2, Steenson
Pens: Mieres 2

For Sale:
Tries: Burrell, Buckley
Con: Macleod

Yellow cards: Richard Baxter (Exeter, 48), Ben White (Exeter, 25)

Teams:

Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Bryan Rennie, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Ignacio Mieres, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (captain), 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Chris Whitehead, 1 Hoani Tui.
Replacements: 16 Neil Clark, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Chris Budgen, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Ben White, 21 Kevin Barrett, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Nic Sestaret.

Sale: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou (captain), 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Nick Macleod, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Andy Powell, 7 David Seymour, 6 Richie Vernon, 5 James Gaskell, 4 Kearnan Myall, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Tony Buckley, 19 Wame Lewaravu, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Cillian Willis, 22 Luther Burrell, 23 Joaquin Tuculet.

Referee: Dean Richards  
Assistant referees: Alan Biggs, Paul Burton

London Wasps 18-13 London Irish

Wasps ended their nine-match Premiership losing streak to ease their relegation fears – but victory came at a cost with the loss of scrum-half Joe Simpson. Simpson, one of the 18 players released from England’s Six Nations training squad, dislocated his left shoulder in the first half. But Wasps overcame the setback to move eight points clear of bottom club Newcastle Falcons with a victory which could rescue their season.

Flyhalf Nicky Robinson kicked all their points with six penalties from seven attempts. Irish replied with the only try of the match from Fijian winger Sailosi Tagicakibau, with flyhalf Steve Shingler landing the conversion and two penalties.

Simpson’s 27th-minute injury appears a bigger blow for Wasps than England with the London club still battling for Premiership survival.

The injury to Simpson, who was replaced by Nic Berry, was the latest for Wasps, who have lost an entire side to injury this season. Former England stars Joe Worsley and Steve Thompson, along with Dan Ward-Smith, have been forced into retirement, while they lost England centre Riki Flutey for the rest of the season two weeks ago, followed by lock Marco Wentzel last week.

Robinson missed a 10th-minute penalty but made amends to kick his side ahead with a second chance three minutes later. Shingler equalised with a penalty but Robinson kicked Wasps back in front after the Exiles were penalised at the breakdown.

Another Shingler penalty in the 29th minute drew Irish level for the second time, but the fly-half failed to put the visitors ahead when he missed a simple penalty late in the first half.

Wasps had their share of attacking opportunities in the first half but squandered the best two. After dragging Delon Armitage into touch, they wasted an attacking line-out when hooker Rob Webber, released by England along with Simpson, misdirected his throw into the line.

Then, with their forwards forcing the visitors to defend desperately in front of their own posts, they were penalised at an attacking ruck.

Wasps appeared to have suffered another injury blow just before half-time when centre Dominic Waldouck limped off with a leg injury, but he reappeared for the second half with his left knee strapped. Wasps maintained the pressure and, when Irish were caught offside, Robinson landed his third penalty from 40 metres to put the home side ahead for the third time.

The half-time introduction of the more experienced Ben Broster for Simon McIntyre at tighthead strengthened the Wasps scrum and a huge push forced Irish to concede a 59th-minute penalty which Robinson kicked to extend their lead to six points.

But the good work was undone when a defensive lapse allowed Exiles winger Tagicakibau to score his side’s 66th-minute try. Following a line-out, centre Jonathan Joseph released the Samoan who evaded Tom Prydie and full-back Hugh Southwell to cross in the corner. Shingler landed the difficult conversion but determined Wasps retaliated.

A downfield kick from Robinson bounced well for teenage centre Elliot Daly, who kicked as he was tackled and Jack Wallace and Waldouck set off in pursuit, but Irish replacement Darren Allinson scooped the ball behind his own line.

The now dominant Wasps pack won a penalty at the resulting scrum, allowing Robinson to kick them back in front after 72 minutes, and he hit the target again when his forwards were awarded another at the next scrum three minutes later.
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The scorers:

For Wasps:
Pens: Robinson 6

For London Irish:
Try: Tagicakibau
Con: Shingler
Pens: Shingler 2

Teams:

London Wasps: 15 Hugo Southwell (captain), 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Dom Waldouck, 11 Jack Wallace, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Sam Jones, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Joe Launchbury, 5 Richard Birkett, 4 James Cannon, 3 Simon McIntyre, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Zak Taulafo, 18 Ben Broster, 19 Ed O’Donoghue, 20 Tinus Du Plessis, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Ryan Davis, 23 Paul Emerick.

London Irish: 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Daniel Bowden, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Adrian Jarvis, 9 Ross Samson , 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Declan Danaher, 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Nick Kennedy (captain), 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 James Buckland, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Clarke Dermody, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 Kieran Roche, 20 David Sisi, 21 Tom Homer, 22 Jonathan Spratt, 23 Darren Allinson.

Referee: Martin Fox  
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Gareth Copsey