Saracens too strong for Tigers

The win moved Saracens six points clear of second-placed Exeter Chiefs, while the Tigers stay in third – 11 points adrift of the log leaders.

At Kingsholm a dominant second-half display from Gloucester ensured London Irish couldn't take a second Premiership scalp in as many weekends as the home side ran out 27-14 winners.

Newcastle Falcons bagged their first Premiership victory of the season when they beat Bath 19-14. The win lifted the Falcons off the foot of the table.

In the day's final game Sale Sharks beat Wasps 15-9 thanks to Danny Cipriani's eagle-eyed kicking. The win means they ended their four-game winless streak in the Premiership with a dogged victory over Wasps.

We look at Saturday's matches!

Saracens 26-6 Leicester Tigers

It was the first time in Premiership history a side had notched a penalty try treble, with Jamie George grabbing the other score from close range as Sarries secured the bonus point and extended their unbeaten run this season.

Leicester, who started the game third in the table and on a three-game winning streak, were seriously undermined by injuries to England stars Tom Croft and skipper Ed Slater in the first half and had no answer to Sarries' power after the break.

Leicester started brightly with the benefit of the wind, getting behind Sarries with a series of grubber kicks, with both teams battling ferociously at the breakdown with the ball going to ground repeatedly as the sides found their feet.

The away side won a penalty in front of the posts giving Freddie Burns the chance to settle any early nerves, which he took with aplomb to make it 3-0 from 30 metres out.

However, if Saracens were rattled they didn't show it, and from the restart they got the driving maul working and began to push Leicester back.

The visitors were pinged for infringing at scrum-time as Sarries ground out the hard yards, pushing the Leicester pack back 25 metres until they had no option but to collapse the maul.

Referee Greg Garner ran under the posts to award the penalty try, Charlie Hodgson adding the extras as Sarries opened up a 7-3 lead after 11 minutes.

To make matters worse for Leicester Croft was forced from the field after appearing to receive a blow to the head and had to be replaced by Lachlan McCaffrey.

Leicester were initially unfazed and gradually worked their way up field, with Burns at the heart of most attacks. And it was the flyhalf who made a half-break, supported by Harry Thacker, which earned another Tigers penalty that Burns made short work of to reduce the deficit to a single point on 23 minutes.

The visitors then saw Slater limp off the field with an injury to join Croft on the bench, with Mike Fitzgerald coming on to replace his as the Tigers were forced to make another early use of their replacements.

As the first half drew to a close, Charlie Hodgson was given an opportunity to extend Sarries' lead off the tee after Leicester were penalised at the breakdown for going offside only for the experienced flyhalf to send the ball wide of the posts.

Then Telusa Veainu thought he won the ball at the ruck only to be whistled by referee Garner with this time Alex Goode stepping up for penalty duties, but like Hodgson he failed to punish Leicester from the edge of the 22 with the teams trooping off with only one point separating them.

Sarries were immediately on the attack at the start of the second period, moving the ball through the hands before Hodgson sent through a dangerous grubber kick that forced Veainu to take the ball into touch.

The home side won the lineout and threw men into the catch-and-drive, forcing their way over the line for replacement Jamie George to touch down, but Hodgson couldn't replicate his accuracy with the ball in hand and missed the posts with the conversion with the score saying 12-6.

Despite ringing the changes in the front row with Dan Cole coming on to make his 100th Premiership appearance for Leicester, the visitors seemingly had no answer to Sarries' power up front.

And with 13 minutes of the second half gone Sarries turned down another kick at the posts to line up for the scrum, forcing a desperate Tigers pack to pull down the maul with the referee pointing for the second penalty try of the afternoon.

Hodgson made short work of the conversion and Saracens led 19-6 with Leicester appearing to have run out of ideas of how to counteract the home side's main attacking platform.

With Owen Farrell on at flyhalf in place of the departed Hodgson, Saracens pushed for the bonus point try, botching one attacking line-out before Maro Itoje was held up short of the line.

With the pressure at boiling point Leicester, who rarely threatened the Saracens try line all afternoon, began to falter even further with Dan Cole sent to the sin bin as the visitors failed to cope with a Sarries side in full flow.

And a third penalty try completed an unwanted hat-trick for Leicester as the defence melted away once more, the referee going under the posts with Farrell converting to extend the lead to 26-6 with what proved to be the final score of the game. 

The scorers:

For Saracens:

Tries: Penalty try 3, George

Cons: Hodgson 2, Farrell

For Leicester Tigers:

Pens: Burns 2

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (captain), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Michael Rhodes, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Jim Hamilton, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Duncan Taylor.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Telusa Veainu, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Laurence Pearce, 7 Tom Croft, 6 Ed Slater (captain), 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Marcos Ayerza.

Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Logovi'i Mulipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Mike Fitzgerald, 20 Lachlan McCaffrey, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Adam Thompstone.

Referee: Gregory Garner

Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Peter Huckle

TMO: Graham Hughes

Sale Sharks 15-9 Wasps

In conditions hardly favourable to running rugby, this was a war of attrition that Danny Cipriani settled at the end by keeping his cool with a penalty and then a drop goal in the last five minutes.

Wasps, who have now suffered three consecutive defeats in the league following their fine run in Europe, took a 6-3 half-time lead in thanks to Jimmy Gopperth and an Elliot Daly drop goal.

Cipriani also notched a penalty before missing a drop goal in the first half, but atoned for his error by notching 12 further points after the break in an all-action display.

Sale kept the action firmly inside Wasps' 22 for the opening minutes of play, with the backs offloading fluidly and looking dangerous in open play.

And Cipriani kicked the first three points of the match with six minutes gone, after under-pressure Wasps were penalised for being offside.

Minutes later, Joe Simpson was forced to clear his side's lines as Mike Haley brought Sharks within metres of scoring once more but the opportunity was lost for the hosts after an attempted chip that dropped into touch.

The home crowd were on their feet again however as Tom Arscott, Will Addison and Haley linked up and tore down the pitch, a move halted only by Rob Miller's tackle on his opposite number.

Wasps finally made a move with 11 minutes left in the first half as Sharks old boy Miller made a break for the tryline, but Chris Cusiter made a try saving last-gasp tackle and the ball popped out of the fullback's hands before it could make contact.

Wasps' efforts were soon rewarded however, as Sharks were pinged for offside, and Gopperth kicked a neat three points for the visitors to bring the scores level.

Wasps had a final push as the clock went red and Daly took the opportunity of being in front of the posts to pop over drop goal.

Sale were the first off the mark in the second half, looking threatening in Wasps' half but the ball was spilled and the visitors quickly countered.

Sale drove Wasps off the ball with a scrum after 55 minutes and Cipriani took a simple three points to level the scores.

Cipriani was given the chance to put his side ahead with 15 minutes left to play, and kicked his third successful penalty of the match.

After a period of pressure from the visitors Wasps were finally rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts, cleanly converted into points by Gopperth.

Fresh legs from the Sharks bench in the form of Peter Stringer and Mark Jennings saw the home side appear to score a try, but an effort from the scrum half was controversially disallowed by the TMO.

Instead the Sharks were taken back for the penalty and Cipriani's fourth kick gave his side back the advantage with less than five minutes left on the clock.

And he fittingly had the last word in a man-of-the-match performance by sinking a drop goal.

The scorers:

For Sale Sharks:

Pens: Cipriani 5

For Wasps:

Pens: Gopperth 2

DG: Daly

Teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Will Addison, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont, 7 David Seymour, 6 Dan Braid (captain), 5 Jonathan Mills, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.

Replacements: 16 Cameron Neild, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Mark Jennings.

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ben Jacobs, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Sam Jones, 7 George Smith, 6 James Haskell (captain), 5 James Gaskell, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ashley Johnson, 1 Matt Mullan.

Replacements: 16 Edd Shervington, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau.

Referee: Luke Pearce

Assistant referees: Peter Allan, Greg Macdonald

TMO: Trevor Fisher

Gloucester 27-14 London Irish

The Exiles, who clinched a thrilling 25-23 victory over Northampton Saints last time out, opened up a 14-6 half-time lead at a sold-out Kingsholm, thanks to tries from Ciaran Hearn and Alex Lewington.

James Hook kicked the hosts into a narrow lead after the break as the Gloucester pack – inspired by Kiwi lock Jeremy Thrush – took command of the contest.

Matt Kvesic then scored off the back of a rolling maul to give Gloucester some breathing space and Billy Burns struck shortly after appearing off the bench to wrap things up.

Hook opened the scoring from the tee, after the Exiles struggled to cope with a powerful Gloucester rolling maul, but Irish were soon ahead.

Billy Meakes was the guilty party, brushed aside by opposite number Hearn, who then skipped past Billy Twelvetrees to dot down on eight minutes, Chris Noakes converting.

Hook brought the Cherry & Whites back to within one point of their visitors with his second penalty, this one from distance, five minutes later but once again they failed to kick on.

Hearn knocked on when well placed – much to the relief of the shed – but Irish struck again shortly after the half-hour mark, when a perfectly-placed cross-field kick from Noakes found Lewington.

The winger collected the ball safely and found his way over the whitewash for Noakes to add another conversion and open up a 14-6 lead, which they took into the break.

Hook struck early in the second half with his third penalty and Henry Purdy almost added Gloucester's first try, charging the ball down and hacking it through before losing his footing close to the line.

The pressure did not let up and referee Tom Foley called on the assistance of the TMO twice in quick succession, the second – after a pile of bodies crossed the line – causing plenty of deliberation.

The try was not awarded but Lewington did earn a stint in the sin bin for his efforts and Hook reduced the deficit further with yet another penalty.

Shortly before the hour mark the Cherry & Whites took the lead for the first time since Hearn's early score, Hook bisecting the posts for the fifth time.

Into the final 15 minutes, the flyhalf twice denied another pop at the posts – finding the corner instead – and the strategy paid off.

A fearsome line-out drive piled its way over the Irish line and Kvesic was on hand to touch down, before Hook's extras opened up an eight-point gap.

They quickly followed that up with a second try, sharp handling from Billy Twelvetrees sending Burns away to score. Hook sent the resulting kick wide but it mattered little, with Irish's late hunt for a losing bonus point falling flat.

The scorers:

For Gloucester:

Tries: Kvesic, Burns

Con: Hook

Pens: Hook 5

For London Irish:

Tries: Hearn, Lewington

Cons: Noakes 2

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Bill Meakes, 12 Billy Twelvetrees (captain), 11 Henry Purdy, 10 James Hook, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Ross Moriarty, 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 Ben Morgan, 20 Jacob Rowan, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Mark Atkinson.

London Irish: 15 Sean Maitland, 14 Alex Lewington, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Aseli Tikoirotuma, 10 Chris Noakes, 9 Brendan McKibbin, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Luke Narraway, 5 Will Lloyd, 4 Matt Symons (captain), 3 Ben Franks, 2 David Paice, 1 Tom Court.

Replacements: 16 Gerard Ellis, 17 Tom Smallbone, 18 Halani Aulika, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Joe Trayfoot, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Topsy Ojo.

Referee: Thomas Foley

Assistant Referees: Kelvin Stewart, Jonathan Healy

TMO: David Sainsbury

Newcastle Falcons 19-14 Bath

The Falcons – who had not beaten Bath Rugby at Kingston Park since 2003 – scored their only try through Rob Vickers in the first half and led 13-8 at half-time in miserable conditions. 

Mike Ford's Bath side – runners up last year – had taken the lead early on through Guy Mercer's try and despite falling behind re-established the lead in the second half thanks to the boot of Rhys Priestland. 

But the 20-year-old Willis- wayward from the tee for much of the match – held his nerve late on to give director of rugby Dean Richards something to smile about and secure a famous win.

The Falcons – with the wind at their backs in the first half – made the first inroads but Willis missed with a tough early penalty chance.

And the visitors punished them straight away – a driving maul catching the Falcons forwards cold and captain for the day Mercer emerged from the pile of bodies as the Bath try scorer.

The wind was playing havoc with goalkicking, Priestland missing with the extras while Willis slotted one penalty but missed another to make it 5-3 to the away team after quarter of an hour.

But it was the hosts who were beginning to dominate and in the 20th minute they got their reward as Vickers burrowed over from close range.

Willis was on target with the extras but Priestland replied with a penalty to trim the lead to 10-8 and the Falcons looked like they were wasting a dominant opening period.

The young Falcons No.10 – in only his second ever start – missed his third kick of the half soon after and the home side were then denied a try by the TMO – Bath adjudged to have held the ball up over the line.

The good news for the Falcons was that referee Matthew Carley was playing advantage and Willis rediscovered his range to slot his second penalty while Bath's persistent infringements saw Henry Thomas sent to the bin.

Mike Ford's side held out with their numerical disadvantage until the break as the two sides turned around with the Falcons disappointed to be only 13-8 ahead.

And their lead was soon trimmed after the break as 14-man Bath earned a penalty when the otherwise impressive Nili Latu infringed at the breakdown and Priestland slotted.

Restored to their full complement and with the weather now in their favour – Bath began to dominate proceedings with their front row turning the screw.

A scrum earned another penalty soon after that Priestland hooked wide but the Welshman made amends on the hour mark to put Bath back in front at 14-13.

Former Falcon Davey Wilson came on for Bath and their scrum continued to advance but with George Ford now on for Priestland they could not create another kickable chance.

And up the other end a fantastic counter attack down the left from Marcus Watson put the Falcons in range – the winger held up over the line after a clever kick had caused carnage.

But the Falcons built the phases from the subsequent five-metre scrum and finally won a penalty when Leroy Houston went offside and from right in front Willis could not miss to put the Falcons back in front with only ten minutes remaining.

And while Bath dominated both possession and territory in the final stages they lacked penetration and the Falcons held firm – Willis slotting another penalty with the final kick of the game to claim what could prove to be a vital victory as they leapfrog London Irish in the standings. 

The scorers:

For Newcastle Falcons:

Try: Vickers

Con: Willis

Pens: Willis 4

For Bath:

Try: Garvey

Pens: Priestland 3

Teams:

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Marcus Watson, 10 Craig Willis, 9 Michael Young, 8 Nili Latu, 7 Will Welch (captain), 6 Ally Hogg, 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Mark Wilson, 3 Jon Welsh, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Todd Clever, 21 Sonatane Takulua, 22 Tom Catterick, 23 Belisario Agulla.

Bath: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Niko Matawalu, 8 David Denton, 7 Guy Mercer (captain), 6 Leroy Houston, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Matt Garvey, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Ross Batty, 1 Nick Auterac.

Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 David Wilson, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Jonathan Evans, 22 George Ford, 23 Anthony Watson.

Referee: Matthew Carley

Assistant referees: Wayne Falla, John Meredith

TMO: Sean Davey

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