Quins end Saracens' unbeaten run

Despite the loss Saracens are still in first place on the Premiership standings, but are now just three points ahead of the second-placed Exeter Chiefs who beat Gloucester 19-10 thanks to two tries from Thomas Waldrom.

In Saturday's other game – flyhalf Freddie Burns held his nerve at the death, kicking Leicester Tigers to a narrow 30-27 victory over Northampton Saints in a thrilling East Midlands Premiership derby a Welford Road.

Harlequins 29-23 Saracens

Harlequins remarkably led 15-14 at the interval despite Saracens dominating the opening 20 minutes, twice fighting back with tries from Rob Buchanan and Jack Clifford cancelling out Neil de Kock and Billy Vunipola's efforts.

After Owen Farrell put the visitors ahead early in the second period with two penalties, he and Botica exchanged kicks from the tee until Rhys Gill saw red for a dangerous tackle on George Lowe.

And the Kiwi flyhalf held his nerve to send Quins clear as they made their extra man count, with James Horwill also crossing in the dying moments to clinch only a second victory in the last 15 matches against Mark McCall's side.

Saracens dominated the early stages and the hosts made life even more difficult for themselves within the first two minutes, with Horwill being sin-binned for a high tackle that saw George Kruis stretchered off.

Saracens made their extra man count and mounted the pressure inside Quins' 22, and the home side's poor scrummaging cost them dear when they conceded a ninth-minute try from de Kock – Farrell easily adding the extras.

Ross Chisholm tried to kick-start his side with an attack into the Saracens half that lead to great play from Buchanan and Marland Yarde before Saracens intercepted.

But Quins' efforts paid off after a superb line-out saw captain Danny Care break through the Saracens defence and expertly set up Buchanan for a try.

Nick Evans' conversion attempt went wide however so the opportunity to level the game went begging.

But it did not take long for Saracens to reply soon after, Vunipola with an excellent pick and go from the base of the scrum to go over for a try on his 50th appearance for the visitors.

Farrell's conversion was again good, but Evans soon responded with a penalty to bring the score back to 14-8.

And a brilliant phase of free-flowing rugby from the home side saw them take the lead at half-time after winger Yarde broke through defence, only to be denied inches from the tryline.

Evans continued the attack and played in Clifford to go over at the second attempt, with the flyhalf converting himself with the last kick of the half. 

Saracens once again started the second period the better side with two Farrell penalties giving the visitors the lead again.

Superb play from Mike Ellery led to Jamie George burrowing over only for the score to be cancelled out via the TMO for an earlier obstruction.

Despite replacement Botica's penalty conversion, Farrell replied again to maintain Saracens' lead of five points.

However, the momentum switched after Rhys Gill was dismissed for a dangerous tackle on George Lowe.

Harlequins took full advantage as Botica made no mistake with two penalties to take a slender lead again in the closing stages of the game.

And with 14-man Saracens pressing for a winning score late on, Clifford went on a superb run from one end to the pitch to another to win a penalty, and Horwill made sure of the victory for Quins with a try from the resulting line-out.

The scorers:

For Harlequins:

Tries: Buchanan, Clifford, Horwill

Con: Evans

Pens: Evans, Botica 3

For Saracens:

Tries: De Kock, B Vunipola

Cons: Farrell 2

Pens: Farrell 3

Red card: Rhys Gill (Saracens – foul play, dangerous tackle)

Yellow card: James Horwill (Harlequins, 2 – foul play, dangerous tackle)

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Ross Chisholm, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care (captain), 8 Jack Clifford, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 James Horwill, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler.

Replacements: 16 Dave Ward, 17 Seb Adeniran-Olule, 18 Will Collier, 19 George Merrick, 20 Nick Easter, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Harry Sloan.

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Mike Ellery, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 George Kruis, 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Jared Saunders, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Maro Itoje, 20 Jacques Burger, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Nick Tompkins.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys

Assistant Referees: Ashley Rowden, Simon McConnell

TMO: Keith Lewis

Leicester Tigers 30-27 Northampton Saints

The Tigers had led 21-0 at one stage in the first half with three converted tries, however a spirited Saints fight-back had the scores level at 27-27 with time almost up.

But a late penalty conceded by Courtney Lawes allowed replacement Freddy Burns to seal the win for the hosts from straight in front. 

The Tigers made a pre-match statement in naming Manu Tuilagi on their bench in place of Vereniki Goneva, while Dylan Hartley was replaced by Matt Williams in Saints' replacements.

Leicester also welcomed back England front-row duo Tom Youngs and Dan Cole, while Owen Williams started at flyhalf for the first time since December 12.

Leicester made an electric start count as Matt Smith profited from a smart turnover inside the Saints half, selling their defence with a cute dummy before crossing.

Williams made no mistake with the extras, while his opposite number JJ Hanrahan, who was preferred to Myler, somehow skewed a penalty wide from close range minutes later. 

The Tigers' early forward dominance was paying dividends as they earned a penalty from a well-executed driving maul.

Williams opted for the corner with Saints then helpless to prevent another score as a powerful catch and drive was finished off by Lachlan McCaffrey in the right-hand corner.

Another successful strike from Williams saw the lead stretched to 14-0 after 22 minutes and it got even better for Richard Cockerill's men when Williams himself grabbed the next score.

Some exceptional hands from Graham Kitchener in the build-up saw Leicester keep the ball alive and a few phases later, a trademark Ben Youngs break through a gaping hole in the centre of Saints' defence saw the scrumhalf find Williams, who converted his own try. 

Saints eventually got on the scoreboard just before the half-hour mark when McCaffrey was penalised for not rolling away and Hanrahan this time didn't miss from dead in front.

The influential Williams was then forced off after feeling the full force of a Lawes knee when attempting to tackle the England lock, Burns coming on in his place.

Northampton did shift some momentum back just before the break when, from an attacking line-out five metres from the line, flank Teimana Harrison touched down.

Hanrahan then converted from out on the left touchline to leave the Saints trailing 21-10 at the break.

Again it was the Tigers who were on the front foot from the restart, but they were undone when George North capitalised on a handling error from Tom Youngs to score under the posts.

Youngs couldn't hold on to a pass from brother Ben and Jamie Gibson jumped on the loose ball to find North, who ran the ball in unimpeded from his own 22 – Hanrahan adding the extras.

Paul Hill thought he had put Saints ahead for the first time in the game not long after when he touched down after a breakaway but the try was disallowed after a high tackle from Luther Burrell on Peter Betham in the build-up. 

Tuilagi was introduced on 52 minutes for try scorer Smith to an almighty roar, while Burns kicked two penalties in quick succession shortly after to give the Tigers some breathing space.

Saints came back at them though and after Cole was sent to the sin bin for a side entry the visitors kicked to the corner in search of another score.

And although Leicester's defence held firm on their own tryline on that occasion, Jim Mallinder's men did close the gap in their next attack when Gibson, against his former side, somehow emerged from a maul with the ball and was able to touch down, Myler converting for 27-24.

A 75th-minute penalty from Myler then drew Saints level and although a Burns drop goal flew wide, he didn't pass up the opportunity to win the game with the last kick. 

The scorers:

For Leicester Tigers:

Tries: Smith, McCaffrey, Williams

Cons: Williams 3

Pens: Burns 3

For Northampton Saints:

Tries: Harrison, North, Gibson

Cons: Hanrahan 2, Myler

Pens: Hanrahan, Myler

Teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Matt Smith, 11 Adam Thompstone, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Lachlan McCaffrey, 7 Brendon O’Connor, 6 Mike Fitzgerald, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Sebastian de Chaves, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (captain), 1 Marcos Ayerza.

Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Logovi’i Mulipola, 18 Fraser Balmain, 19 Laurence Pearce, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Manu Tuilagi.

Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 George North, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Tom Collins, 10 JJ Hanrahan, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Paul Hill, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.

Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Christian Day, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Tom Kessell, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Harry Mallinder.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

Assistant Referees: Tim Wigglesworth, Peter Allan

TMO: Sean Davey

Exeter Chiefs 19-10 Gloucester

Thomas Waldrom scored a quickfire double in the first half to help Exeter motor out of sight, and the No.8's tryline exploits are another timely reminder to England boss Eddie Jones with the Six Nations looming.

As for Exeter, since losing 25-26 to the Cherry and Whites on January 3 last year – Chiefs 100th game in the Premiership – the Devon side have won 14 matches in all competitions at Sandy Park.

And Rob Baxter's men were never going to let that record slip after recording their seventh win from their opening nine Premiership games.

For Gloucester, who went into the game five games unbeaten in all competitions, it is now just one away win from their last ten league fixtures.

But the visitors only had themselves to blame for an error-strewn first half which the Chiefs took full advantage of.

Gloucester's decision to play into the wind in the first period came back to haunt them as Chiefs flew out of the traps and their early pressure was rewarded with the first try after six minutes.

James Hook's clearance was charged down by Julian Salvi and Waldrom had the easy task of dribbling the ball forward and touching down with no Gloucester player in sight.

Gareth Steenson added the extras and it wasn't long before Chiefs struck again.

After winning a line-out, the home side mounted a 13-man maul which was too powerful for Gloucester to repel and Waldrom bulldozed over for his second try in the space of four minutes.

Steenson tried to use the wind to convert, but the ball whistled inches past the sticks.

It was all too easy for title-chasing Chiefs and they ruthlessly punished yet another Gloucester mistake on 25 minutes.

Rob Cook allowed Steenson's dinked kick to slip from his grasp midway in his own 22 and Olly Woodburn pounced to pile on the visitors' misery.

Steenson slotted the conversion as Chiefs opened up a seemingly irresistible 19-0 cushion at the interval.

Gloucester finally got their act together after the interval and a penalty from Greig Laidlaw handed them their first points.

But their comeback hopes stalled when an ambitious Hook penalty from a metre inside his own half sailed wide of the posts.

The second half quickly descended into a scrappy affair with a series of scrums affecting the flow of the match.

Gloucester grabbed a consolation try on 72 minutes as Cook shifted the ball out to Charlie Sharples wide on the right and he scampered over.

Billy Burns knocked over the conversion to reduce the deficit to nine points. 

But there was to be no grandstand finish as the Chiefs saw the game out.

The scorers:

For Exeter Chiefs:

Tries: Waldrom 2, Woodburn

Cons: Steenson 2

For Gloucester:

Try: Sharples

Con: Burns

Pen: Laidlaw

Teams:

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Jack Nowell, 12 Ian Whitten, 11 James Short, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Don Armand, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Ollie Atkins, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Jack Yeandle (captain), 1 Alec Hepburn.

Replacements: 16 Elvis Taione, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Moray Low, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Kai Horstmann, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Will Hooley, 23 Michele Campagnaro.

Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Bill Meakes, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 James Hook, 9 Greig Laidlaw (captain), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Tom Savage, 3 Nicky Thomas, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Nick Wood.

Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Paddy McAllister, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Mark Atkinson.

Referee: Ian Tempest

Assistant Referees: Peter Huckle, Ross Campbell

TMO: Stuart Terheeg

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