Quins hold on to send Bath packing
Harlequins booked a Premiership semifinal spot at the expense of Bath who they beat 19-16 at the Stoop in the final round of action.
Chris Robshaw's team will face table-topping Saracens in their semifinal, whilst the other will be an East Midlands derby between Northampton Saints and Leicester Tigers at Franklin's Gardens.
The Tigers ended the league phase of the season on a high with a 31-27 victory at Welford Road over a Saracens side that already had top spot wrapped up.
Northampton also finished strong with a resounding 74-13 victory over London Wasps whilst there were also victories for Exeter Chiefs over Newcastle Falcons and London Irish over Sale Sharks.
Worcester Warriors managed to beat Gloucester by one point, but their second victory of the season was not enough to avoid relegation.
We take a closer look at all of Saturday's action:
Leicester Tigers 31-27 Saracens
Leicester Tigers were given a real work out ahead of the play-offs as they wrapped up the regular Premiership season with a bonus-point victory over table-toppers Saracens.
Sarries came to Welford Road knowing that they were already guaranteed a first-place finish in the standings and director of rugby Mark McCall had rung the changes as a result with an almost entirely new first XV.
Richard Cockerill shuffled his pack as well, particularly in the forwards, and his side tuned up for a semifinal trip to Franklin's Gardens next Friday with a heard-earned victory against a Sarries side that were always going to be up against it when Justin Melck was red carded just after the interval.
Ben Spencer's try had put the visitors in front at Welford Road with an early score but moments before half-time the Tigers pack rumbled towards the tryline and earned a penalty score.
After the break Melck was given his marching orders as Manu Tuilagi, Blaine Scully and Graham Kitchener all went over for the home side.
But Sarries did not buckle and had a penalty try and a Jack Wilson score of their own to keep it close before Spencer bagged a second in the final minutes to make it a nervy finish.
The game started slowly after Boris Stankovich went off with an injury in the first minute but not long after play was resumed Saracens opened the scoring after scrumhalf Spencer dummied through the Tigers line to dot down, Hodgson missing with the conversion.
Despite the visitors piling the early pressure on, it didn't take long for Tigers to make their mark on the game when Owen Williams converted a fifth-minute penalty to take the score to 3-5, although Hodgson's penalty only minutes later increased Saracens' lead to 3-8 in what was a hectic opening ten minutes.
Both teams found themselves locked in a fierce battle in the middle of the field as Tigers proved to be a constant threat going forward, although time and again they found themselves unable to break down what was an incredibly resilient Saracens defence.
The score remained static at 3-8 up until the final minute of the first half when Tigers drove a hard fought scrum over the line for to earn a penalty try, giving them a narrow 10-8 lead going into the break after Toby Flood comfortably converted.
The second half proved to be a far cry from the first as the strong defensive show put on by Saracens seemed to have disappeared as Leicester hit them hard, scoring two tries scored in the opening eight minutes.
Saracen's winger Michael Tagicakibau found himself sin binned for a tackle on Marcos Ayerza which Tiger's did well to capitalize on as Tuilagi scored a try to extend the hosts lead, shortly after flanker Melck saw red to pile the woes on Saracens who found themselves 17-8 down.
Three minutes later Leicester's lead was further extended after Tuilagi showed sheer strength to smash through Saracens ranks, linking up beautifully with Niall Morris and Scully who then crossed the line, Flood converting the try to make it 24-8 only a mere eight minutes into a second half already filled with drama.
Saracens hit back well once Tagicakibau found his way back onto the pitch, as they responded with a penalty try that was driven well over the line.
Almost immediately after, Tigers scored their fourth to earn a bonus-point when Dan Bowden did well to find a gap in the Saracens defence to allow Kitchener to score the try from close range, Flood's conversion gave Tigers a 31-15 lead.
Saracens hit back late on to keep Tigers – for whom Tom Croft made a late cameo return from injury – on their toes when Wilson and Spencer both scored tries in the latter stages but the hosts held on.
The scorers:
For Leicester Tigers:
Tries: Penalty Try, Tuilagi, Scully, KItchener
Cons: Flood 3
Pen: Williams
For Saracens:
Tries: Spencer 2, Penalty Try, Wilson
Cons: Spencer 2
Pen: Hodgson
Leicester Tigers: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 Owen Williams, 9 David Mele, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Pablo Matera, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Louis Deacon (captain), 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 Rob Hawkins, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Graham Kitchener, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Dan Bowden, 23 Adam Thompstone.
Saracens: 15 Ben Ransom, 14 Michael Tagicakibau, 13 Tim Streather, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Jack Wilson, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Nick Fenton-Wells, 7 Justin Melck, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 Eoin Sheriff, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Jamie George (captain), 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Scott Spurling, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 James Johnston, 19 Tom Jubb, 20 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Nils Mordt, 23 Nick Tompkins
Referee: Greg Garner
Worcester Warriors 28-27 Gloucester
Worcester Warriors ended their Premiership season on a high after claiming just their second win of the season with a 28-27 victory in a back-and-forth match with Gloucester.
Gloucester had threatened to run away with the win in the first 20 minutes as they racked up a 17-3 lead.
But the impressive Warriors flyhalf Ryan Lamb, born in Gloucester, racked up 18 points in total – keeping his cool late on with two penalties to seal their first home Premiership victory of the season.
Jonny May's spectacular opening try got the match off to a blistering start as the England man gave Stuart Lancaster something to think about ahead of the summer tour to New Zealand.
May showed incredible pace and accelerated away from the helpless Worcester players, blasting past Lamb on his way to scoring what might be the try of the season.
Freddie Burns missed the resultant conversion but he made amends three minutes later as he rifled a pass out to Shane Monahan as contact came in and the Irishman made it 10-0.
Burns was faced with a second difficult conversion from wide and across the wind and he was once again unable to add to Gloucester's early lead.
A Lamb penalty got Worcester on the board but Sione Kalamafoni added another try and Burns made his first conversion as Gloucester threatened to break away.
However, Semisi Taulava put an end to Gloucester's momentum as Worcester hit-back with a textbook try.
While Lamb missed the conversion, he picked up the ball in the dying embers of the half and bundled to the line.
And an easy conversion for Lamb meant that Gloucester's 14-point lead had been cut to two at the break.
Warriors came out of the blocks fastest after the break and had a sharpness about their play that culminated in Josh Drauniniu putting Worcester ahead after 52 minutes.
Lamb's conversion made it 22-17 but Gloucester refused to lie down and Jonny May picked up his second try of the day to tie the scores after 61 minutes.
And, while it might not have been as spectacular as his first, May picked his running line and crashed his way through.
Burns added another two points in his final match for Gloucester with a fantastic conversion across the wind from the touchline.
But Lamb gave Worcester a 25-24 lead with a 67th-minute penalty but Freddie Burns restored Gloucester's advantage with a penalty of his own six minutes later.
However, the match continued to sway back-and-forth and former Gloucester man Lamb put the home side back in the lead with three minutes remaining.
A penalty with just over a minute remaining gave Burns the opportunity to end his Gloucester career on a high.
However, he was unable to convert and the Worcester fans rose to their feet as they sensed a rare victory.
Gloucester desperately tried to salvage the match but it was to no avail as the home crowd counted down the clock to toast a rare victory.
The scorers:
For Worcester Warriors:
Tries: Taulava, Lamb, Drauniniu
Cons: Lamb 2
Pens: Lamb 3
For Gloucester:
Tries: May 2, Monahan, Kalamafoni
Cons: Burns 2
Pens: F Burns
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Josh Drauniniu, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Andy Symons, 11 David Lemi, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Jonathan Thomas (captain), 7 Sam Betty, 6 Mike Williams, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 James Percival, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Ofa Fainga'anuku.
Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Paul Andrew, 18 Rob O'Donnell, 19 Semisi Taulava, 20 Richard de Carpentier, 21 Paul Hodgson, 22 Ignacio Mieres, 23 Ravai Fatiaki.
Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Shane Monahan, 13 Jonny May, 12 Henry Trinder, 11 Steph Reynolds, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Jimmy Cowan (captain), 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 James Hudson, 4 Elliott Stooke, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Dan George, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Tom Young, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Andrew Bulumakau.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Andy Watson and Ross Campbell
TMO: Robin Goodliffe
Northampton Saints 74-13 London Wasps
Northampton Saints set up a home Premiership play-off semi-final against Leicester Tigers after overcoming a sticky start to shoot down London Wasps 74-13 at Franklin's Gardens.
The Saints were 13-0 down inside the first 15 minutes after tries from Charlie Davies and Tom Varndell saw Dai Young's men fly in front.
But that only served to stun Northampton into action as scores from George North, Phil Dowson, Stephen Myler and Luther Burrell secured the try bonus point before the break.
That point secured the home semifinal for Saints, who could use the second half to continue boosting confidence ahead of the East Midlands shoot-out on Friday.
And that they did, adding a further seven tries through Ben Foden, Dickson (2), North, Ken Pisi, Tom Stephenson and Dowson.
It was all a far cry from the first 15 minutes, when Wasps had begun in cool and collected fashion, flying into the lead.
Dickson's attempted clearance was charged down by Davies, who grabbed the bouncing ball and dotted down in the corner.
Joe Carlisle's conversion was wide, but the visitors were unsettling their hosts early on, bossing the early territory.
And they soon extended their advantage as Carlisle lashed a penalty through the posts, with the home fans left shifting uncomfortably in their seats.
They were soon growing even more anxious as Foden's kick ahead was blocked and Varndell was presented with the chance to score, which he took.
Carlisle's conversion hit the left upright, but Wasps held a 13-0 lead with the Northampton fans desperately trying to rally their troops.
The players responded as North danced through three flailing defenders to find his way over the line, with Myler adding the extras.
The forwards then did their job, with an unstoppable lineout drive seeing Dowson touch down.
Myler missed the conversion but he soon added a try of his own to his team's tally as a brilliant burst from Foden released the fly-half for his first score of the season.
The conversion sent Northampton into a 19-13 lead and Wasps were cracking under the strain, having looked so confident early on.
Myler added another penalty to his team's tally after the home pack did the business at the scrum, before Wasps lost No.8 Nathan Hughes to the sin bin.
Northampton were determined to profit and after Foden's try was chalked off, Burrell latched on to a Mike Haywood pass to secure the try bonus point.
That secured the home semifinal for Northampton, who could head into the second half in a comfortable position that looked unlikely early on.
And things were to get even better for the home side after the break as, after the pack used a scrum to surge towards the line, Dickson picked up from the base to score.
Myler added the extras and Northampton were revelling in the occasion, with another boost coming in the shape of a first Saints appearance since October for Alex Corbisiero.
The England prop was immediately into the action helping to win a scrum against the head, with Dickson using the ball earned to hand Foden a try.
James Wilson added the extras, following the decision to replace Myler ahead of the semifinal, and Northampton were eyeing the 50-point mark.
They were soon there as Dickson was helped over the line before North grabbed his second and Pisi cashed in to etch his name on the ever-growing scoresheet, which boasted nine Northampton tries.
And it was to be 11 before the end as Stephenson latched on to a grubber kick and Dowson scored his second of the day to give Saints their record Premiership win and Wasps their worst ever league defeat.
The scorers:
For Northampton Saints:
Tries: North 2, Dowson 2, Myler, Burrell, Dickson 2, Foden, K.Pisi, Stephenson
Cons: Myler 3, Wilson 5
Pen: Myler
For London Wasps:
Tries: Davies, Varndell
Pen: Carlisle
Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 James Wilson, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 George North, 10 Stephen Myler 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Phil Dowson (captain), 6 Calum Clark, 5 Christian Day, 4 James Craig, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Koree Britton, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Tom Mercey, 19 Samu Manoa, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Kahn Fotuali'i, 22 George Pisi, 23 Tom Stephenson.
London Wasps: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 James Short, 13 Chris Bell (captain), 12 Charlie Hayter, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 Ed Jackson, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 James Cannon, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Simon McIntyre.
Replacements: 16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Ricky Reeves, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Ashley Johnson, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Andy Goode, 23 Elliot Daly.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Harlequins 19-16 Bath
Nick Evans kicked Harlequins into the Premiership semifinals at the expense of opponents Bath as the Londoners clinched a nail-biting 19-16 victory at the Stoop.
Mike Brown and George Ford scored a try apiece for their sides but Evans edged out the England flyhalf from the tee, guiding Quins to a fifth straight Premiership win and into fourth place, courtesy of having won one more match than Bath this season.
For the second match in a row, Ford scored all of Bath's points and his 68th-minute penalty brought his side within three points of the play-offs but Quins defended resolutely to book a semifinal away to Saracens next weekend.
Blustery conditions ensured for some fraught opening exchanges as neither side could string together any meaningful possession.
Harlequins were doing their utmost to impose their high tempo game however and it was the hosts who drew first blood.
Just a few metres short of the Bath tryline, Danny Care spun a superb long pass out to Brown who raced over in the left-hand corner on 16 minutes.
Kiwi flyhalf Evans landed an expert conversion for a 7-0 lead but just six minutes later, Bath had levelled things up.
No.8 Leroy Houston picked up the ball under pressure at the back of a scrum and made important yards before offloading to Carl Fearns.
He took up the mantle and recycled to Peter Stringer, who fed Ford and he did the rest, dancing through the Quins defence, evading tackle after tackle before going over under the posts in a move very similar to that from which he scored against Northampton Saints last weekend.
Ford slotted the easy conversion but Quins almost responded immediately and again Care was the catalyst.
Picking up from the base of a ruck, he darted towards the line and slung a pass to the supporting Nick Easter only for referee Wayne Barnes, with the help of the TMO, to rule that Care's pass went forward.
On 32 minutes, Evans had the chance to restore Harlequins' lead with a penalty but he pushed it wide, although three minutes later he was given another opportunity and this time he made no mistake to send the hosts in at the break 10-7 to the good.
Soon after half-time, Nick Abendanon made a piercing break towards the tryline, capitalising on a slip from Joe Marler, and while he could add the five points, referee Barnes awarded Bath a penalty and Ford levelled things up from the tee.
On 44 minutes, Bath found themselves down to 14 men however when Matt Banahan was sent to the sin bin for being offside and on 51 minutes, Quins were back ahead.
Brown chased his own chip and with penalty advantage, Quins almost forced their way over, only for play to be brought back and Evans to add three from the tee.
On 56 minutes, Evans stretched the lead to six after prop Kyle Sinckler forced Stringer into touch and when Anthony Watson prevented a quick line-out, the penalty was awarded.
With just under 15 minutes remaining, Ford trimmed the gap to three but almost immediately, Evans responded in kind to keep his side six points to the good.
But from the restart, Bath replacement Semesa Rokoduguni won a penalty for the visitors and once more Ford brought his side to within three points on 70 minutes.
Bath could not create the chance they needed and after the clock had wound down, Ford attempted a speculative long distance drop goal which never threatened the posts, ensuring Quins kept their season alive.
The scorers:
For Harlequins:
Try: Brown
Con: Evans
Pens: Evans 4
For Bath:
Try: Ford
Con: Ford
Pens: Ford 3
Harlequins:15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 Tim Molenaar, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Nick Kennedy, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Sam Smith.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 George Ford, 9 Micky Young, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Guy Mercer, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Alafoti Fa'osiliva, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Gavin Henson, 23 Semesa Rokoduguni.
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant Referees: Paul Dix, Nigel Carrick
TMO: David Grashoff
Newcastle Falcons 13-23 Exeter Chiefs
Luke Cowan-Dickie's first ever Premiership try sent Exeter Chiefs on their way to a 23-13 victory over Newcastle Falcons to sign off from their season in style.
Two early Joel Hodgson penalties had the hosts in front only for Cowan-Dickie and Ben White to touch down before half-time to turn the game on its head.
Henry Slade sent over his second penalty after the break and Fetu'u Vainikolo went over late on to secure the victory, despite a late Mark Wilson try in reply from the Falcons.
Chiefs' victory, coupled with Gloucester's defeat to Worcester Warriors, means Exeter finish the campaign eighth, while Newcastle ended the season with a 16th straight Premiership defeat.
Newcastle started the game on the front foot and after just four minutes the hosts found themselves ahead as Hodgson bisected the posts after the Chiefs were pinged for not rolling away.
And just three minutes later the young flyhalf doubled Falcons lead as once again Exeter were penalised for the same offence.
However after ten minutes the visitors were back in the game as hooker Cowan-Dickie – in front of the watching England head coach Stuart Lancaster – grabbed the first try of the game, the front rower on the tail of a maul to go over in the left corner.
Slade was unable to add the tricky conversion however as his kick sailed to the right of the uprights.
The score however buoyed the Chiefs and on 19 minutes Dave Lewis looked like he was going to grab the second score of the game only for Hodgson to sprint 70m back to put in the try-saving tackle.
But Exeter did go in front for the first time just before the half hour mark, Slade firing a penalty as the Falcons were penalised for not rolling away.
Suddenly finding themselves trailing woke the home side up but good breaks from Gonzalo Tiesi and Sinoti Sinoti couldn't come to anything with knock-ons proving their undoing.
And just before half-time Exeter showed their hosts just how to be clinical as White went over to move ahead of Dean Mumm as the Chiefs' top Premiership try scorer this season with his sixth. Slade added the extras and Exeter went into half-time 15-6 ahead.
Captain Mumm thought he had gone level with White again when he went over shortly after the restart, however his effort was chalked off for crossing.
The game turned into a scrappy affair from here on out neither side looking like adding to the scoreboard until Slade fired over another penalty on 57 minutes.
Gareth Steenson had a chance to get himself on to the scoresheet with just three minutes remaining; however he sent his penalty wide.
Exeter did extend their lead just before the final whistle though, Vainikolo benefitting from great work from Haydn Thomas to touch down – Steenson again wayward from the tee.
But the last laugh went to the hosts as Wilson was sent over by a neat pass from Phil Godman, the latter bringing the curtain down by kicking the conversion.
The scorers:
For Newcastle Falcons:
Try: Wilson
Con: Godman
Pen: Hodgson 2
For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Cowan-Dickie, White, Vainikolo
Con: Slade
Pens: Slade 2
The teams:
Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Tait, 14 Noah Cato, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 James Fitzpatrick, 11 Sinoti Sinoti, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Mark Wilson, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Richard Mayhew, 5 Dom Barrow, 4 Ian Nagle, 3 Oliver Tomaszczyk, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Gary Strain.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Kieran Brookes, 18 Scott Wilson, 19 Scott MacLeod, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Warren Fury, 22 Phil Godman, 23 Lee Smith.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Ben White, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Dean Mumm (captain), 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Carl Rimmer, 18 Alex Brown, 19 James Phillips, 20 Tom Johnson, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Tom James.
Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys
Assistant referees: Steve Lee and John Meredith
TMO: Trevor Fisher
London Irish 22-20 Sale Sharks
London Irish ended their Premiership campaign on a bright note as they halted their unwanted recent league run of seven losses in eight games thanks to two tries by Andy Fenby.
England wing Marland Yarde also signed off his London Irish career with a score, while Australian James O'Connor kept the scoreboard ticking over for the home side with boot.
The Madejski Stadium fixture had a real end-of-season feel about proceedings, with neither side playing for promotion, relegation or European spots but the message was obviously not fed through to the players as they produced a titanic tussle in Reading.
With England international Danny Cipriani missing for Sale Sharks; Joe Ford was handed the No.10 jersey and with just three minutes on the clock the youngster missed a drop goal.
Sale didn't have long to wait to score the opening points of the afternoon though as Mark Easter touched down following a Sharks' line-out – Ford again added the extras.
On eight minutes London Irish were level as Fenby scored for the hosts following an offload by mercurial wing O'Connor – the Australian also added the extras.
O'Connor missed the opportunity to add three further points with a penalty as he missed his kick at goal after 17 minutes.
The visitors capitalised on that miss with their second try of the game. A turnover in midfield gave scrumhalf Will Cliff space to break, passing to Johnny Leota before Tom Arscott finished. A second successful conversion for Ford restored the Sharks seven point lead.
Sale's 23-year-old flyhalf continued to have a good day with the boot, successfully knocking over a 25m penalty after 31 minutes to make the score 7-17.
O'Connor's successful penalty in the dying moments just before half-time gave some relief to Irish who struggled to break down a tough Sale defence.
Just six minutes into the second-half Sale further extended their lead as Ford kicked a penalty to hand the Sharks, who had won just one of their previous four Premiership games prior to kick-off, a daunting ten-point lead.
England wing Yarde, playing his final game for London Irish before his summer switch to neighbours Harlequins, signed off from the Madejski Stadium in style as he touched down on 50 minutes to reduce the deficit – O'Connor added the extras to bring the Exiles back within three points.
Having looked dead and buried at the start of the second-half; the Irish comeback looked well and truly complete as Fenby scored his second try of the game on 62 minutes, aided by Yarde, to give the Exiles a 22-20 lead – unfortunately O'Connor failed to add the extras.
Nick MacLeod had the opportunity to put Sale back in front on 66 minutes but he missed his kick at goal in ever worsening conditions, while on 74 minutes and 80 O'Connor missed his efforts.
The scorers:
For London Irish:
Tries: Fenby 2, Yarde
Cons: O'Connor 2
Pen: O'Connor
For Sale Sharks:
Tries: Easter, Arscott
Cons: Ford 2
Pens: Ford 2
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Andrew Fenby, 10 Shane Geraghty (captain), 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Ofisa Treviranus 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Nic Rouse, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 Mike Mayhew, 1 Matt Parr.
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens 17 Tom Smallbone, 18 Jamie Hagan, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Gerard Ellis, 21 Alex Lewington, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Ed Hoadley
Sale Sharks: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Jonny Leota, 12 Sammy Tuitupou, 11 Charlie Ingall, 10 Joe Ford, 9 Will Cliff, 8 James Gaskell 7 David Seymour, 6 Mark Easter, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Andrei Ostrikov, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Eifion Lewis Roberts, 18 Vadim Cobilas, 19 Kirill Kulemin, 20 Viliami Fahiki, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Mark Jennings,
Referee: Greg Macdonald
