Determined Tigers march past Quins

Leicester made a devastating statement of intent ahead of the Premiership play-offs by coming from 13 points down to beat current leaders Harlequins 43-33.

The victory saw the Tigers leapfrog Saracens back into second place, with a win against Bath in two weeks’ time guaranteeing a home semifinal – although they might be without England flanker Tom Croft, who went off injured in the first half at the Twickenham Stoop.

* In other Saturday action Sale Sharks put one foot in next season’s Heineken Cup by posting their 10th Premiership victory of the season at Gloucester.

Both sides needed to win the crucial match at Kingsholm to stand any chance of finishing sixth in the Premiership table and, with it, land a lucrative Heineken Cup spot for next term.

* And London Irish ended a seven-match losing streak in Premiership against an out-of-sorts Worcester, Exiles fullback Tom Homer the hero with 15 points.

* Second half tries from Lee Mears, Stephen Donald and Nick Abendanon saw Bath fight back to secure a 17-12 victory at the Recreation Ground over London Wasps.

All Saturday’s results, reports and scorers!

Bath 17-12 Wasps:

Second half tries from Lee Mears, Stephen Donald and Nick Abendanon saw Bath fight back to secure a 17-12 victory at the Recreation Ground over London Wasps.

Bath came surging out of the blocks from the kick-off, an early penalty seeing Olly Barkley go for the corner, instead of taking the shot at goal, clearly signalling their intent. A series of strong pick and goes proved fruitless though, as Wasps forced the penalty and cleared their lines.

Neither side seemed to settle into their stride in the opening stages and it wasn’t until the 14th minute that the first points were on the board as Nicky Robinson slotted an easy penalty. 0-3.

When in possession, the home side worked hard to break through the tight Wasps defence, and after Donald had burst through the centre with 20 minutes gone, it looked as if Stuart Hooper had burrowed over for a try. Referee Dave Pearson referred the decision to the TMO, being trialled for this non-televised match, and the decision came back that Hooper had been held up.

Wasps took their opportunities well, as Robinson twice extended the lead before the first half was out with two further penalties.

Bath were desperate to get something from the first half, and it looked as if Michael Claassens had provided that just on the stroke of half-time. After the line-out, which went well all afternoon, had been secured, the ball popped to the South African and he charged through the middle of the pitch. Jack Wallace was the last man in defence for Wasps, and the fullback did just enough in the eyes of the TMO to roll the Bath scrum-half and prevent him from touching down. Half time score 0-9.

As the two sides took to the pitch for the second half, a big performance was needed by the home side, and they delivered.

Hooper, on his 100th appearance for the Club, stole a line-out deep in Wasps territory. The ball came down to Donald, who threw a long looping pass over to Matt Banahan charging through the middle. Banahan was caught, but quick ball from acting scrum-half Abendanon landed with Lee Mears who showed his pace to break through the Wasps defence and score. Barkley missed the conversion, but it wasn’t long before the Rec faithful were cheering for the second try of the afternoon.

Another successful line-out saw Claassens pick out Donald in the midfield and the flyhalf coasted through the trailing Wasps defence to score by the posts. Barkley was accurate with the boot, and added the two points, giving the home side a slender 12-9 lead with 55 minutes gone.

With ten minutes to go, Dominic Waldouck was shown a yellow card after repeated infringements from the visitors tested the referee’s patience, and Barkley lined up the penalty only to see it come crashing back off the post to him.

Two minutes later though the home side made good use of the man advantage as they spread the ball wide following another good line-out and driving maul. Matt Carraro found Abendanon on the wing, and the fullback raced over the score the third try. 17-9.

Nick Robinson clawed back a vital three points for Wasps from another penalty, before, with just a couple of minutes left on the clock, it looked as if Sam Vesty had secured a vital bonus point for Bath. The replacement flyhalf raced away and looked to have got the ball down, but a tackle from Tom Varndell caused Pearson to once more consult the TMO. After taking his time with the decision, he initially awarded the try, and the bonus point, only to overrule himself moments later and rule No Try.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Mears, Donald, Abendanon
Con: Barkley

For Wasps:
Pens: Robinson 4

Yellow card: Dominic Waldouck (Wasps, 68)

Teams:

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 Josh Ovens, 5 Ben Skirving, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 David Flatman, 18 Duncan Bell, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Sam Vesty, 23 Kyle Eastmond.

Wasps: 15 Jack Wallace, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Dominic Waldouck, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Sam Jones, 5 Richard Birkett (captain), 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Zac Taulafo, 18 Simon McIntyre, 19 Ross Filipo, 20 Tinus Du Plessis, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Chris Mayor, 23 Lee Robinson.

Referee: David Pearson
Assistant referees: Gareth Copsey, Paul Burton
TMO: Ed Morrison

Gloucester 19-24 Sale Sharks:

Sale Sharks put one foot in next season’s Heineken Cup by posting their tenth Premiership victory of the season at Gloucester.

Both sides needed to win the crucial match at Kingsholm to stand any chance of finishing sixth in the Premiership table and, with it, land a lucrative Heineken Cup spot for next term.

But two tries from Sale fullback Rob Miller – along with 14 points from the boot of flyhalf Nick Macleod – was enough for them to see off Gloucester, whose points came through a try from wing Charlie Sharples and four penalties and a conversion from number 10 Freddie Burns.

As if the European qualification was not enough of an incentive for both teams, the match took on extra significance after Gloucester head coach Bryan Redpath surprisingly resigned in midweek.

He is rumoured to be heading to Sale but Kingsholm director Ryan Walkinshaw has threatened a “no holds barred legal attack” if he discovers the Cheshire club “manufactured” a move for the former Scotland scrum-half.

And the tension of the match spilled over within minutes of kick-off as home wing James Simpson-Daniel was bumped into touch metres from the Sale line, prompting a mass brawl to break out on the touchline. That ended with Gloucester flanker Akapusi Qera and Miller getting 10 minutes in the sin-bin.

The lively start did not end there as both Burns and Macleod got their accounts off the mark with a penalty each, and both sides looked to run the ball across their backs. And, within the space of a minute, both teams scored converted tries.

Sale were first as centre Will Addison flipped a neat pass to fullback Miller to cut inside and go over near the posts. Straight from the restart, Sharks lock Andrei Ostrikov dropped the ball on his left and allowed Sharples to snaffle possession and race over.

It was turning into a real heavyweight, all-or-nothing clash between two sides desperate to play on Europe’s big stage next season – and neither would give an inch in the opening half. But Gloucester went into the interval with a six-point lead as Burns landed two more penalties in the closing minutes of the half.

The hosts looked to be in the driving seat when Burns popped over his third penalty in 14 minutes to put them nine points clear but a deft slight of hand from England wing Mark Cueto saw Miller dash through a midfield gap and race over for his second touchdown.

Suddenly the boot was on the other foot as Sale pressed further. Ex-England prop Andy Sheridan was a powerhouse in the loose and, when home prop Dan Murphy dropped a scrum, Macleod booted his second penalty to bring his side back to within a point.

Sale were certainly the better side as Gloucester found it difficult to get out of their own half at times, let alone score more points. And, when Macleod was handed the chance to boot for goal with the wind at his back from the halfway line, he made no mistake and put his side back in front at a crucial time.

Macleod dropped a goal from 15 metres with five minutes left, which left Gloucester needing a converted try to win. They had one last chance when a move in the Sale half came to lock Alex Brown but the former England second row dropped the pass and the Sharks celebrated their vital victory.

The scorers:

For Gloucester:
Try: Sharples
Con: Burns
Pens: Burns 4

For Sale:
Tries: Miller 2
Con: Macleod
Pens: Macleod 3
DG: Macleod

Yellow cards: Akapusi Qera (Gloucester, 3), Rob Miller (Sale, 3)

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Jonny May, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Tim Molenaar, 11 James Simpson-Daniel, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Alasdair Strokosch, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Peter Buxton (capt), 5 Alex Brown, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Will James, 20 Matt Cox, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ryan Mills, 23 Tom Voyce.

Sale Sharks: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Will Addison, 12 Sam Tuitupou (captain), 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Nick Macleod, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Andy Powell, 7 David Seymour, 6 Mark Easter, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Andrei Ostrikov, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Lee Imiolek, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Tom Holmes, 20 Tommy Taylor, 21 Scott Mathie, 22 Andrew Higgins, 23 Charlie Amesbury.

Referee: David Rose
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Andrew Pearce

Worcester 16-25 London Irish:

London Irish ended a seven-match losing streak in Premiership against an out-of-sorts Worcester, Exiles fullback Tom Homer the hero with 15 points.

There was to be no fairytale farewell at Sixways for departing favourites Marcel Garvey, Miles Benjamin, Kai Horstmann and Dale Rasmussen as Worcester produced one of their worst performances of the season, as if they were already content with having secured their Premiership status for next season.

It was not until the final quarter that they showed any real fight, with late tries from Garvey and Benjamin giving some solace to their supporters. For most of the match Irish were comfortably the better, with impressive performances from Bryn Evans and Ofisa Treviranus.

Irish started strongly and took a fourth-minute lead when Homer kicked a 30-metre penalty after Worcester were offside in midfield. The fullback added another, this time from 40m, but Andy Goode responded with a simple penalty for the Warriors.

Irish continued to have much the better of the opening quarter and when Goode carelessly knocked on an up-and-under from Delon Armitage, it gave the visitors the platform from which they scored their first try. The visitors battered the tryline and eventually a clever pass from Steve Shingler sent Joe Ansbro over for the score which Homer converted to give his side a 10-point lead.

Worcester were dealt a further blow when young flanker Jake Abbott was forced to leave the field with a leg injury, but the Warriors were boosted when Goode was successful with his second penalty.

After 35 minutes Irish deservedly scored their second try, when a clever kick through from Jonathan Joseph gave Homer sufficient time to pick up and score the try. He was unable to convert it, but it still left Irish with a healthy 18-6 half-time advantage.

Worcester’s performance in the first half was lethargic, prompting coach Richard Hill to make three substitutions at half-time with Goode and Jonny Arr being replaced at half-back by Danny Gray and Shaun Perry. Bruce Douglas was introduced at prop.

These changes had no immediate effect as Irish continued to be the dominant side and it took an excellent cover tackle from Perry to foil Sailosi Tagicakibau as the wing raced for the corner.

Homer had a chance to extend the visitors’ lead when a 50-metre penalty rebounded back off the post and with Irish remaining in charge Hill threw on three more substitutes for the final quarter.

It got worse for the Warriors when Rasmussen was injured following a thunderous collision with Ansbro. The centre received oxygen before being helped from the field and with Worcester having used all their back substitutes, replacement flanker Matt Kvesic was forced to play on the wing.

Despite these misfortunes, Worcester clawed their way into the game when Benjamin forced his way over for a try but Gray failed to convert. However, that revival was short-lived as back came Irish, with Armitage receiving an inside pass and racing away to score the decisive try which Homer converted before Garvey said farewell to Sixways with a consolation score.

The scorers:

For Worcester:
Tries: Benjamin, Garvey
Pens: Goode 2

For London Irish:
Tries: Ansbro, Homer, Armitage
Cons: Homer 2
Pens: Homer 2

Teams:

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

London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Delon Armitage, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Joe Ansbro, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Darren Allinson, 8 Ofisa Treviranus 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 David Sisi, 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Bryn Evans (captain), 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 David Paice, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Mark George, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Alex Gray, 21 Topsy Ojo, 22 Adrian Jarvis, 23 Ross Samson

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth
Assistant referees: Alan Hughes, Don Helme
TMO: David Matthews

Harlequins 33-43 Leicester Tigers:

Leicester made a devastating statement of intent ahead of the Premiership play-offs by coming from 13 points down to beat current leaders Harlequins 43-33.

The victory sees the Tigers leapfrog Saracens back into second place, with a win against Bath in two weeks’ time guaranteeing a home semi-final although they might be without England flanker Tom Croft, who went off injured in the first half at the Twickenham Stoop.

In an action-packed first half, Leicester drew first blood through Thomas Waldrom’s try, only for Harlequins to race into a 23-10 advantage courtesy of two tries from Ugo Monye and Nick Easter. But Leicester ensured the game remained in the balance at half-time as Steve Mafi went over to ensure they were only three points behind.

While George Lowe’s try restored Quins’ advantage, Leicester went through the gears in the second half as a try from Alesana Tuilagi and Waldrom’s second brought up the bonus point before Toby Flood, who finished with 23 points, rounded off the win with a late penalty.

Leicester’s intentions were clear from the off as Flood turned down a shot at goal and kicked to the corner, with number eight Waldrom finishing off a catch-and-drive under a heap of Quins players, with Flood adding the extras.

The home team hit back immediately through a Nick Evans penalty and the New Zealander added a further penalty after one from Flood.

The England hopeful then had a big hand in the next try, but it was not the one he wanted, as Monye came off his wing to pick off Flood’s pass before sprinting in from 60 metres. Evans’ conversion put Quins 13-10 up and they were soon a man to the good as well after Manu Tuilagi was yellow-carded for pulling a home attacker and Evans added further punishment with the boot.

With momentum firmly behind the home team, number eight Easter added their third try when he went blind from a five-metre scrum to crash over with Evans’ conversion taking the hosts 13 points ahead. Croft injured himself in his attempt to halt Easter and was treated on the pitch for six minutes before being carried off.

Evans and Flood traded another penalty apiece before Leicester rallied on the stroke of half-time, first when Mafi – Croft’s replacement – spotted a gap at a ruck and raced through. Flood converted and added a penalty in the final play of the half to leave the game tantalisingly poised at 26-23 to the home side.

The home team’s advantage soon evaporated with Flood kicking Leicester level after the Tigers scrum earned a penalty.

But in a topsy-turvy game, Quins immediately hit back when they won a scrum against the head and centre Lowe latched onto Evans’ perfectly-weighted grubber-kick and Evans converted.

There was no let-up in the action, with Quins being tested to the limit before drawing level in the 63rd minute.

Centre Anthony Allen laid the platform with a scything break before the ball was shifted to the left where Alesana Tuilagi who was not going to be stopped from close range. Flood added the extras to make it 33-apiece, and Waldrom’s converted try after 70 minutes put the east midlands side in the driving seat and earned the bonus point. It was the outstanding Flood who rounded off the victory with a late penalty.

The scorers:

For Harlequins:
Tries: Monye, Easter, Lowe
Cons: Evans 3
Pens: Evans 4

For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Waldrom 2, Mafi, AT Tuilagi
Cons: Flood 4
Pens: Flood 5

Yellow card: Manusamoa Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers, 21)

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Ugo Monye, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Maurie Fa’asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Olly Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Aston Croall, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Ross Chisholm.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Geordan Murphy (capt), 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 George Skivington, 3 Dan Cole, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Logovi’i Mulipola, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Steve Mafi, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Scott Hamilton

Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Greg Garner, Roy Maybank
TMO: David Grashoff