Unbeaten Quins march on
Harlequins flyhalf Nick Evans showed his opposite number Danny Cipriani exactly what it takes to win the Premiership with a perfect kicking display against Sale Sharks in a 37-14 win at the Stoop.
The unbeaten defending champions, Quins, cemented their spot at the top of the standings that have only one other team with a 100 percent record after three rounds – Northampton Saints.
With heavyweights Leicester Tigers and Saracens playing to a draw at the leaders managed to open a slight lead over their rivals – who are now in third and fourth place respectively.
Replacement Charlie Hodgson rescued a share of the points for Saracens as they fought back to claim a draw at Wembley – but it might have been so much more for the former England flyhalf.
And Gloucester flyhalf Freddie Burns came off the bench to slot a penalty with the last kick of the game that denied Worcester Warriors their first Premiership win of the season in a disjointed affair at Sixways.
In the other Saturday match Stephen Jones marked his London Wasps debut with an accomplished display as they picked up an emphatic first win of the season 43-14 at the expense of winless London Irish.
All the Saturday scorers and scorers!
Worcester Warriors 16-16 Gloucester
Gloucester flyhalf Freddie Burns came off the bench to slot a penalty with the last kick of the game that denied Worcester Warriors their first Premiership win of the season in a disjointed affair at Sixways.
Andy Goode looked to have won it for the home side when he kicked a penalty with only seconds remaining but an infringement in a scrum from the re-start deep into added time cost them dear.
This does mark the first positive result for the Warriors this season and ends a run of six defeats in a row stretching back to last season but that will be scant consolation for Richard Hill's men.
The Warriors had more than enough chances to win the game but only had a James Currie try to show from an attacking point of view while Henry Trinder scored Gloucester's sole try of the game.
It was the away side that struck first when Billy Twelvetrees, starting at flyhalf in place of Burns who injured his ankle last weekend against London Irish, landed a monster penalty from near the halfway line.
Worcester grew into proceedings thereafter and Goode had the home side back on level terms in the 13th minute after Gloucester went off their feet in the ruck.
And the former England flyhalf had the opportunity to double the lead as a few errors crept into both sides' games as the half wore on but he dragged his penalty from halfway narrowly wide.
And the Cherry and Whites went straight up the other end and Twelvetrees put them 6-3 ahead with another penalty as the Warriors crept offside desperately defending in their own 22.
By now the boots were dominating proceedings as Jonny May and Chris Pennell traded up and unders while Goode continued to misfire from the tee missing a couple of kickable penalties by his own high standards.
But it was certainly the Warriors in the ascendancy and on the half hour the first try of the game looked a certainty when Chris Jones broke clear from a line-out with only grass in front of him.
However May came flying across to make a last-ditch tackle inches short of the line and when Gloucester turned over the ball it looked like the chance was lost.
But two minutes later Worcester's try line jitters continued when Alex Grove burst down the middle but failed to reach the whitewash and a Henry Trinder interception moments later once again spared Gloucester's blushes.
That the Warriors had not scored a try in the first half owed as much to their poor execution as Gloucester's scramble defence and the scoreline at the interval could have been much worse.
After Goode found himself sin-binned for taking out Trinder off the ball scrum half Dan Robson looked certain to score in the corner but he passed instead of reaching for the line and the ball flew out of James Simpson-Daniel's reach meaning it remained 6-3 at the break.
Immediately after the interval with Goode still in the bin it was Joe Carlisle who took over the kicking duties and the centre, making his first start for the Warriors this season, slotted over to level the scores at 6-6.
On the hour mark Burns was introduced and despite Worcester doing most of the pressing it was the away side who struck first just after the hour mark with a quite fantastic long-range effort.
In the 64th minute Shane Monahan, in for the injured Charlie Sharples, burst clear down the right wing before feeding Trinder who still had a lot to do before diving over on the right, Burns adding the extras for a 13-6 lead.
But that finally sparked the Warriors to life and with ten minutes remaining they finally got the try they deserved when replacement James Currie barged over after a fantastic offload from James Percival.
A draw would have flattered Gloucester and when Goode slotted over the last-minute penalty after Jim Hamilton infringed at a line-out it looked like the Warriors had their long-awaited win.
But Burns, after 25 points last weekend against the Exiles, continued his rich vein of form as he held his nerve to deny Worcester at the death.
The scorers:
For Worcester Warriors:
Try: Currie
Con: Carlisle
Pens: Goode 2, Carlisle
For Gloucester:
Try: Trinder
Con: Lewis
Pens: Twelvetrees 2, Burns
Teams:
Worcester Warriors: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Joe Carlisle, 11 David Lemi, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Shaun Perry, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Sam Betty, 6 Chris Jones, 5 Dean Schofield (captain), 4 James Percival, 3 John Andress, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Hayes, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 James Currie, 19 Craig Gillies, 20 Semisi Taulava, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Josh Drauniniu.
Gloucester: 15 Jonny May, 14 Shane Monahan, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 James Simpson-Daniel, 10 Billy Twelvetrees, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Ben Morgan 7 Andy Hazell, 6 Tom Savage, 5 Jim Hamilton (captain), 4 Will James, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Darren Dawidiuk, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Sione Kalamafoni, 20 Akapusi Qera, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Rob Cook.
Referee: JP Doyle
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle Andrew Watson
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Harlequins 37-14 Sale Sharks
Harlequins flyhalf Nick Evans showed his opposite number Danny Cipriani exactly what it takes to win the Premiership with a perfect kicking display against Sale Sharks in a 37-14 win at the Stoop.
Evans was faultless from the tee as he slotted seven from seven goal kicks on his way to a 17-point haul while Cipriani only recorded a 50 per cent success rate when aiming for the posts.
New Zealander Evans also engineered a bonus-point-earning four tries for Ugo Monye, Jordan Turner-Hall, George Robson and Mike Brown.
Sale could only muster one from Scotland international No. 8 Richie Vernon as their poor start to the season continued, leaving them without a win so far.
Quins took control right from the off with Evans spreading play wide to find Tom Williams who forced his way to within five yards of the try line.
From the ruck fellow flyer Monye took a short ball off Danny Care and powered over for a score inside three minutes which Evans converted for a 7-0 lead.
Sale hit back with a Cipriani penalty from 35 metres after Quins infringed at the ruck but the England flyhalf's rhythm was firmly interrupted when Evans legally flattened him as tried to set up a backline move.
But the 24-year-old soon shook off the effects to create Sale first try, scored by Vernon.
Centre Sam Tuitupou made a break off his No. 10's pass and charged into Quins' 22.
From the ruck the ball was worked left and wing Mark Cueto put Vernon in at the corner. Even though Cipriani missed the conversion the Sharks were alive and in the lead 8-7.
The champions then turned to their dominant pack and from clean line-out ball won by No. 8. Nick Easter they had their lead back with a 34th-minute try.
From the line-out, Care fed Evans who glided through a gap in the Sale defence and found Turner-Hall outside him and the centre went in from 20 metres out. Evans converted and Harlequins were 14-8 up at the break.
He started the second half in the same vein with a calmly taken penalty when Sale were penalised at the line-out and slotted another ten minutes later when Harlequins' pack shunted Sale backwards underneath their own posts and referee Tim Wigglesworth had no sympathy for the visiting side's front row.
Cipriani and Evans then traded penalties after Sale's forwards enjoyed a rare period in the ascendancy only for replacement Quins flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu to immediately put the home side on the front foot with a typical burst out of a tackle.
Although Cipriani slotted another penalty, Quins replied with a try by lock Robson which was set up by a brilliant burst through the middle of the pitch by full-back Brown.
And it was the ever-present Brown who rounded things off with a try with the last play of the game, meaning Quins have taken the maximum amount of points possible in the new campaign.
The scorers:
For Harlequins:
Tries: Monye, Turner-Hall, Robson, Brown
Cons: Evans 4
Pens: Evans 3
For Sale:
Try: Vernon
Pens: Cipriani 3
Teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Tom Guest, 5 George Robson, 4 Charlie Matthews, 3 James Johnston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Will Collier, 19 Peter Browne, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Matt Hopper.
Sale Sharks: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Richie Vernon, 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 James Gaskell, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Joe Ward, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Fraser McKenzie, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Nick Macleod, 23 Mark Jennings.
Referee: Llyr Apgeraint-Roberts
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth Robin Goodliffe
London Wasps 43-14 London Irish
Stephen Jones marked his London Wasps debut with an accomplished display as they picked up an emphatic first win of the season 43-14 at the expense of winless London Irish.
The Exiles had conceded 40 points in each of their first two matches, and a second-half collapse meant the same thing happened again at Adams Park.
Wasps had been unfortunate to come into the game without a win and after a very close first half, they took control in the second thanks to Jones and two tries from Tom Varndell, as well as scores from Joe Simpson and Zak Taulafo.
Marland Yarde had crossed in the first half for Irish, while Steven Shingler also managed three penalties but they were well-beaten.
Even the temporary introduction of Shane Geraghty, who finally made his competitive return for Irish as a blood replacement in the first half, did not change things as they conceded four second-half tries.
Jones wasted no time in opening his Wasps account knocking over a penalty from in front of the posts on four minutes.
His opposite number, fellow Welshman Shingler, targeted the Wasps back three early with a series of dangerous kicks from within the Wasps half, however the Exiles struggled to develop any real continuity once they got field position.
But Irish grew into the game, and they could have taken the lead only for Ofisa Treviranus to knock on over the line on 13 minutes after a sweeping move which saw Tom Homer find space on the outside.
From the resulting scrum, a dominant Irish front-row – improved by the early addition of Kieran Low – earned a penalty, which Shingler converted to level the scores.
With Irish at their best when play broke down, Yarde produced a stunning solo effort seemingly from nothing on 27 minutes. The winger attacked the fringe of a ruck, stepping prop Tim Payne before putting the burners on to beat Wasps captain Hugo Southwell and go over untouched.
Wasps looked to have struck back minutes later from a beautifully executed backs move that put Varndell in the left corner, but it was waved off for a forward pass from Southwell.
Jones added two penalties to give his side the lead a minute before half-time with a penalty from just inside the Irish half, but Shingler wiped out that advantage with his long-range effort as Irish led 11-9 at the break
If the first half was tightly-contested, it was the home side who took the initiative early in the second.
With just seconds gone after the break Irish's discipline again cost them – Jones making them pay for committing another penalty inside their own 22.
Five minutes later Wasps extended that lead – moving the ball wide to Varndell who ran over the top of Homer to finish in the corner, after Christian Wade had found some running room outside Jonathan Joseph.
After the Wasps front row was judged to have stood up, Shingler added a penalty from 30-metres to keep his side in touch with 20 to play.
However from there the Exiles fell apart and Simpson's try – from the back of a ruck – all but ended the game as a contest.
Wasps had their tails up and added another through replacement prop Taulafo as their pack began to take control.
And just to cap it off Varndell found some space out wide on the left from a Simpson break to seal the bonus point for the home side – Jones adding the conversion to rub salt into the wound.
The scorers:
For London Wasps:
Tries: Varndell 2, Simpson, Taulafo
Cons: Jones 4
Pens: Jones 5
For London Irish:
Try: Yarde
Pens: Shingler 3
Teams:
London Wasps: 15 Hugo Southwell (captain), 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Christian Wade, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Jonathan Poff, 6 Joe Launchbury, 5 Marco Wentzel, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Fabio Staibano, 2 T Rhys Thomas, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Zak Taulafo, 19 James Haskell, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Nick Robinson, 23 Tommy Bell.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Jon Fisher, 7 Ofisa Treviranus, 6 Declan Danaher (captain), 5 Bryn Evans, 4 George Skivington, 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Halani Aulika, 18 John Ryan, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Alex Gray, 21 Anthony Watson, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Jack Moates.
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Stuart Terheege Kevin Stewart
Saracens 9-9 Leicester Tigers
Replacement Charlie Hodgson rescued a share of the points for Saracens as they fought back to claim a draw at Wembley – but it might have been so much more for the former England flyhalf.
Hodgson joined the Premiership fray early in the second half after Owen Farrell was withdrawn having missed four of his five kicks at goal.
Sarries were trailing 9-3 when Hodgson arrived after current Red Rose No.10 Toby Flood slotted three first-half penalties.
The former Sale man quickly restored parity with two penalties however the joy over those successful kicks was tempered by an off-target drop goal with just four minutes left on the clock that could have won it.
You would have thought Leicester were the side playing at home for the way they stormed out of the blocks, Flood registering points twice in the first six minutes with the boot as Saracens struggled to get out of their own half.
Tigers were dealt a blow when skipper Geordan Murphy was forced to withdraw after 15 minutes, but Farrell was unable to take advantage – firing wide with two kicks in quick succession.
Flood extended the lead to nine with another penalty on the half-hour mark after Mouritz Botha was offside.
While it was three out of three for Flood his opposite number Farrell missed at the other end from a tricky angle, but made slight amends immediately afterwards with a well-struck 35th-minute effort to open Sarries' account.
The hosts finished the half strongly, moving through the phases efficiently but were unable to make it count on the scoreboard – unable to break through Leicester's stubborn defence before Farrell fired another penalty wide on the stroke of half-time.
It was a scrappy start to the second half but Saracens pulled themselves level before the hour mark thanks to the boot of replacement Hodgson, firing through the posts in the 54th and 58th minutes after breakdown infringements from Steve Mafi and Julian Salvi.
It was a nervy end to the game with neither side taking the initiative, but both sides had one final chance to steal victory in the closing stages.
With four minutes remaining Hodgson fired wide from a drop goal under the posts after Leicester had defended valiantly on their try line, before Flood was off target with an attempt of his own and the points were shared.
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Pens: Farrell, Hodgson 2
For Leicester:
Pens: Flood 3
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 James Short, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Jackson Wray, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Mako Vunipola.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Rhys Gill, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 Alistair Hargreaves, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Chris Wyles.
Leicester Tigers: 15 Geordan Murphy (captain), 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Rob Andrew, 20 Jordan Crane, 21 Patrick Phibbs, 22 George Ford, 23 Matt Smith.
Referee: Martin Fox
Assistant referees: Nigel Carrick Paul Dix
TMO: Graham Hughes
