London Irish 14-45 Bath
Bath have trounced London Irish, who played the majority of the match with 14 men, 45-14 at the Madejski Stadium this afternoon. London Irish had Brendan McKibbin sent off with an hour of the game remaining in a feisty contest that also saw two yellow cards. Rhys Priestland got the first points of the game with a Bath penalty after five minutes, before Leroy Houston rumbled over from a lineout to score the game's first try.
Priestland grabbed the conversion from out wide to take an early 10 point lead, but Bath found themselves down to 14 men after Alafoti Fa'osiliva was sin binned for a high tackle. The ill discipline continued and Irish scrum half McKibbin received a red card after he was deemed to have stamped on Henry Thomas.
Ollie Devoto took advantage of the broken field to smash through midfield and score for Bath, as replacement scrum half Scott Steele finally sniped to get Irish a score with 13 minutes of the half remaining. Shane Geraghty added the conversion, before finding himself on the end of a late tackle by Devoto which earned the centre a yellow card. Fa'osiliva and Kyle Eastmond both added tries after the break, with Tom Homer converting both, before Irish hit back through Fergus Mulchrone's try.
Priestland then grabbed a try for himself following good hands from a lineout, before Nikola Matawalu scored a sixth on the stroke of full-time after collecting a Semesa Rokoduguni kick. The win sees Bath move up to fifth in the Aviva Premiership, with London Irish sitting just above the relegation zone in 11th.
Worcester Warriors 28-20 Newcastle Falcons
A first half flourish from Worcester Warriors has helped them beat Newcastle Falcons 28-20 in this vital relegation match. Alex Grove scored twice along with tries from Chris Pennell and Bryce Heem to gift newly-promoted Warriors a bonus point. Pennell scored just six minutes into the match to give Warriors the lead following good work from Heem.
Tom Heathcote added the conversion before Micky Young equaled the score for Falcons after patient forward work. Mike Delaney got the extra two, but Heem, on debut, hit back almost immediately after a chip through from Heathcote fooled the Newcastle defence and the winger snuck in for the score.
Heathcote nailed the difficult conversion before putting Grove through a gap in midfield, allowing the centre to race away and score, before Delaney grabbed another penalty for Newcastle. Grove got his second just before half-time, but Tom Catterick was in the right place to finish off a Newcastle try to end the half on top. Catterick then kicked a penalty in the second half, which proved to be the only points in the second 40.
Newcastle shored up their defence and a mixture of substitutions and weather slowed the game down to ensure that Worcester left with a vital win. Newcastle are now bottom of the Aviva Premiership, level on 0 points with London Irish, while Worcester move up to sixth.
Northampton 6-12 Saracens
Saracens beat Northampton Saints 12-6 this afternoon in a match that saw no tries between two of England's best sides. Stephen Myler hit a penalty for Saints after just three minutes, but this proved to be the only score for the next half an hour as the two teams settled into a physical arm wrestle. Owen Farrell then hit a couple of penalties of his own within the last five minutes of the half as Saracens ended the first 40 on top.
Farrell kicked another penalty just after the restart before a Schalk Brits break got Saracens in a good position, but they were unable to capitalise. Northampton then nearly scored but were deemed to have held on to the ball just before the try line, before Farrell added his fourth penalty 10 minutes from time to secure the win. JJ Hanrahan kicked another penalty for Saints on the stroke of full-time to make sure his side left with a bonus point. League leaders Saracens have now won all four of their matches this season, while Northampton sit in ninth with just one win.
Exeter Chiefs 19-6 Leicester Tigers
The Exeter Chiefs beat the Leicester Tigers 19-6 to record their first win against them since 2012.
Exeter went ahead after the rolling maul led to fly-half Gareth Steenson finding himself in space to drive home across the line before brushing himself off to add the conversion to the score. Adam Thompstone thought he had brought Leicester back into the game late in the first half with a strong try but Exeter's James Shaw prevented it with his leg dislodging the ball before it was grounded and the score was ruled out for a knock-on.
Steenson then added three points to the scoreline after the Chiefs were awarded a penalty after a knock-on but Leicester pulled back to within a try as Owen Williams split the uprights moments later.
However, Exeter increased their lead back to 10 points as Steenson hit another penalty as time expired in the first half. The Chiefs continued to hold out well in the second half, limiting Leicester to few opportunities and keeping them at bay despite the away side's territory advantage. Williams brought Leicester to within seven points again as he converted his second penalty of the game before England international Henry Slade missed his kick for Exeter but Steenson converted again with five minutes left to restore the 10 point lead.
Exeter thought they had extended their lead late on with a walk-on try by Jack Nowell but the play was pulled back for a pull-back on Riccardo Brugnara, who was yellow carded for kicking out in reaction and Steenson put up another three points from the resulting penalty. The win moves Exeter into second in the Aviva Premiership as the Tigers drop to fourth.
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