Aviva Premiership
Exeter Chiefs 26-17 Bath
Leicester Tigers 47-20 London Irish
Wasps 42-10 Harlequins
Super League
Huddersfield 16-38 Widnes Vikings
Sunday, 28 February 2016
Saturday, 27 February 2016
Sat 27th Feb: Six Nations, Premiership & Super League
Six Nations
Italy 20-36 Scotland SIN BIN Nel 75.29, SIN BIN Russell 61.01 - SCO
Scotland ended their run of nine straight Six Nations defeats with a hard-fought victory over Italy in Rome.
Early tries from flankers John Barclay and John Hardie, both converted by Greig Laidlaw, who added a penalty, opened up a 17-3 lead after 26 minutes.
Leonardo Ghiraldini's try on the half-hour roused the hosts, and Marco Fuser's second score gave them hope.
But four more penalties from Laidlaw, who scored 21 points, kept the Scots in front before Tommy Seymour's late try.
England 21-10 Ireland SIN BIN Hartley 44:06, SIN BIN Care 70.59 - ENG
England recorded a third consecutive win under new coach Eddie Jones by beating Ireland 21-10 at Twickenham.
The hosts returned to the top of the Six Nations table despite falling behind to a converted Conor Murray try while James Haskell was in the sin-bin early in the second half.
An Owen Farrell penalty - one of three - and Anthony Watson's try put England ahead before Mike Brown crossed.
Farrell converted to open an 11-point lead which Ireland could not overhaul.
Aviva Premiership
Sale Sharks 36-36 Saracens
Northampton 38-18 Worcester
Gloucester 32-6 Newcastle Falcons
Super League
Catalans Dragons 32-28 Leeds Rhinos
Defending champions Leeds suffered a third Super League defeat and remain bottom of the table after Catalans hold on for their first win of 2016.
Dave Taylor gave Dragons the lead only for Kallum Watkins to respond.
Richie Myler's score helped edge Catalans 12-8 ahead at the break, before quick tries from Krisnan Inu and Tony Gigot put the hosts in control.
While Liam Sutcliffe, Ryan Hall, Ash Handley and Watkins went in for Leeds, Taylor's second score ensured victory.
Italy 20-36 Scotland SIN BIN Nel 75.29, SIN BIN Russell 61.01 - SCO
Scotland ended their run of nine straight Six Nations defeats with a hard-fought victory over Italy in Rome.
Early tries from flankers John Barclay and John Hardie, both converted by Greig Laidlaw, who added a penalty, opened up a 17-3 lead after 26 minutes.
Leonardo Ghiraldini's try on the half-hour roused the hosts, and Marco Fuser's second score gave them hope.
But four more penalties from Laidlaw, who scored 21 points, kept the Scots in front before Tommy Seymour's late try.
England 21-10 Ireland SIN BIN Hartley 44:06, SIN BIN Care 70.59 - ENG
England recorded a third consecutive win under new coach Eddie Jones by beating Ireland 21-10 at Twickenham.
The hosts returned to the top of the Six Nations table despite falling behind to a converted Conor Murray try while James Haskell was in the sin-bin early in the second half.
An Owen Farrell penalty - one of three - and Anthony Watson's try put England ahead before Mike Brown crossed.
Farrell converted to open an 11-point lead which Ireland could not overhaul.
Aviva Premiership
Sale Sharks 36-36 Saracens
Northampton 38-18 Worcester
Gloucester 32-6 Newcastle Falcons
Super League
Catalans Dragons 32-28 Leeds Rhinos
Defending champions Leeds suffered a third Super League defeat and remain bottom of the table after Catalans hold on for their first win of 2016.
Dave Taylor gave Dragons the lead only for Kallum Watkins to respond.
Richie Myler's score helped edge Catalans 12-8 ahead at the break, before quick tries from Krisnan Inu and Tony Gigot put the hosts in control.
While Liam Sutcliffe, Ryan Hall, Ash Handley and Watkins went in for Leeds, Taylor's second score ensured victory.
Friday, 26 February 2016
Six Nations & Super League Friday 26th February 2016
Six Nations
Wales 19-10 France
Super League
Hull KR 22-31 St Helens
Wales 19-10 France
Super League
Hull KR 22-31 St Helens
Warrington Wolves 34-16 Wakefield
Thursday, 25 February 2016
Super League Thursday 25th February 2016
Super League
Hull FC 24-31 Castleford
Denny Solomona scored a hat-trick of tries as Castleford came out on top in a thrilling game at Hull FC.
Debutant Jy Hitchcox scored two tries and Solomona crossed for his first.
Jordan Thompson had earlier scored Hull's first try, while Stephen Michaels and Jamie Shaul tied it at 18-18 before Solomona put Cas ahead again.
Shaul gave the hosts the lead for the first time but Luke Gale's penalty and drop goal, along with Solomona's hat-trick try, won it for Castleford.
Victory for Castleford moves them to second and a point behind new leaders Wigan.
The visitors went ahead after only 90 seconds with Hitchcox going over following good work from Lee Jewitt and Ben Crooks on the right-hand side.
Luke Gale added the extras and did the same minutes later after he started the move which ended with Luke Dorn releasing Solomona to run free on the left.
Thompson burst through the middle of the Castleford defence to close the gap and Marc Sneyd's added the conversation.
Dorn's cross-field kick saw Crooks palm the ball to Hitchcox to run in for his second try and Gale's successful conversion saw Cas take a healthy advantage.
But two quick tries for the hosts changed everything as first Michaels crossed in the corner, while Danny Washbrook drew two tacklers to release Shaul and Sneyd's two conversations ensured the game was level at the break.
Jake Webster's great offload saw Solomona squeeze over for his second try as Castleford started the second half strong.
But Hull went ahead for the first time when Sneyd's conversion gave them a two-point lead after Shaul dived under the posts after a brilliant run.
Gale kicked a penalty and drop goal in quick succession to edge the visitors a point ahead, before Solomona intercepted Carlos Tuimavave's pass to complete his treble.
Wigan Warriors 20-16 Salford Red Devils.
Oliver Gildart grabbed two tries as Wigan scored late to beat Salford, who staged a spirited second-half comeback.
Gildart's two first-half tries helped the hosts lead 10-2 at half-time.
Anthony Gelling went over for Wigan's third try, but successive scores from Salford's Junior Sa'u and Josh Griffin reduced the deficit to six points.
The visitors then drew level thanks to Ben Murdoch-Masila's try, before Dom Manfredi won it for Wigan with four minutes remaining.
Gareth O'Brien's penalty had put Salford ahead after only four minutes, but the lead was short-lived as Gildart darted through the Red Devils' defence to score on the left wing.
A fantastic team try extended Wigan's lead as Lewis Tierney and Gelling made ground down the right, before Taulima Tautai and Matty Smith combined to set up Gildart for his second try.
Wigan's eight-point half-time lead was added to when Tierney sent Gelling free to score through the middle of the Salford defence.
Two tries in 11 minutes brought the visitors within six points as Sa'u latched onto Michael Dobson's kick and Griffin dived in at the right-hand corner.
Murdoch-Masila went over from close range to level the scores, but Wigan won it when Gelling's run to the corner was finished off by Manfredi.
Hull FC 24-31 Castleford
Denny Solomona scored a hat-trick of tries as Castleford came out on top in a thrilling game at Hull FC.
Debutant Jy Hitchcox scored two tries and Solomona crossed for his first.
Jordan Thompson had earlier scored Hull's first try, while Stephen Michaels and Jamie Shaul tied it at 18-18 before Solomona put Cas ahead again.
Shaul gave the hosts the lead for the first time but Luke Gale's penalty and drop goal, along with Solomona's hat-trick try, won it for Castleford.
Victory for Castleford moves them to second and a point behind new leaders Wigan.
The visitors went ahead after only 90 seconds with Hitchcox going over following good work from Lee Jewitt and Ben Crooks on the right-hand side.
Luke Gale added the extras and did the same minutes later after he started the move which ended with Luke Dorn releasing Solomona to run free on the left.
Thompson burst through the middle of the Castleford defence to close the gap and Marc Sneyd's added the conversation.
Dorn's cross-field kick saw Crooks palm the ball to Hitchcox to run in for his second try and Gale's successful conversion saw Cas take a healthy advantage.
But two quick tries for the hosts changed everything as first Michaels crossed in the corner, while Danny Washbrook drew two tacklers to release Shaul and Sneyd's two conversations ensured the game was level at the break.
Jake Webster's great offload saw Solomona squeeze over for his second try as Castleford started the second half strong.
But Hull went ahead for the first time when Sneyd's conversion gave them a two-point lead after Shaul dived under the posts after a brilliant run.
Gale kicked a penalty and drop goal in quick succession to edge the visitors a point ahead, before Solomona intercepted Carlos Tuimavave's pass to complete his treble.
Wigan Warriors 20-16 Salford Red Devils.
Oliver Gildart grabbed two tries as Wigan scored late to beat Salford, who staged a spirited second-half comeback.
Gildart's two first-half tries helped the hosts lead 10-2 at half-time.
Anthony Gelling went over for Wigan's third try, but successive scores from Salford's Junior Sa'u and Josh Griffin reduced the deficit to six points.
The visitors then drew level thanks to Ben Murdoch-Masila's try, before Dom Manfredi won it for Wigan with four minutes remaining.
Gareth O'Brien's penalty had put Salford ahead after only four minutes, but the lead was short-lived as Gildart darted through the Red Devils' defence to score on the left wing.
A fantastic team try extended Wigan's lead as Lewis Tierney and Gelling made ground down the right, before Taulima Tautai and Matty Smith combined to set up Gildart for his second try.
Wigan's eight-point half-time lead was added to when Tierney sent Gelling free to score through the middle of the Salford defence.
Two tries in 11 minutes brought the visitors within six points as Sa'u latched onto Michael Dobson's kick and Griffin dived in at the right-hand corner.
Murdoch-Masila went over from close range to level the scores, but Wigan won it when Gelling's run to the corner was finished off by Manfredi.
Sunday, 21 February 2016
Aviva Premiership & Super League Sunday 21st February 2016
Aviva Premiership
London Irish 15-22 Exeter Chiefs
Newcastle Falcons 26-25 Northampton Saints
Super League
Hull KR 12-14 Wakefield
Salford 28-20 Widnes Vikings
London Irish 15-22 Exeter Chiefs
Newcastle Falcons 26-25 Northampton Saints
Super League
Hull KR 12-14 Wakefield
Salford 28-20 Widnes Vikings
Saturday, 20 February 2016
Aviva Premiership Saturday 20th February 2016
Saracens 25-12 Gloucester
Worcester 31-23 Sale Sharks
Bath 18-24 Wasps
Worcester 31-23 Sale Sharks
Bath 18-24 Wasps
Friday, 19 February 2016
Aviva Premiership Friday 19th February 2016
Aviva Premiership
Harlequins 25-19 Leicester Tigers
Harlequins ended a run of three consecutive Premiership defeats as they edged out Leicester.
Marland Yarde pounced on a late mistake from returning Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi to run in the decisive try in the closing six minutes at The Stoop.
Leicester led midway through the second half of a scrappy game when replacement hooker Harry Thacker crossed.
But Harlequins fly-half Ben Botica kicked 20 points as they withstood a late rally from the visitors.
Harlequins climbed above Leicester into third in the table, although the Tigers claimed a losing bonus-point as Freddie Burns kicked a penalty.
Chasing the late converted try which would have given them victory, a Leicester knock-on at the break down after 20 phases in the hosts' 22 signalled full-time on a night of numerous handling errors.
England head coach Eddie Jones was among the sell-out crowd, but the spectators were denied open, attacking rugby in the first half by the wet and windy conditions.
Oli Bryant and Botica traded three penalties each, while Leicester winger Telusa Veainu spurned the best chance of the first half when he spilled the ball in sight of the line under pressure from Ross Chisholm.
The second half marked an improvement in quality and Leicester sneaked into a 16-15 lead on the hour when Thacker picked up Tuilagi's offload for the opening try.
But after Botica re-established the lead from the tee, Yarde took advantage of a succession of Leicester errors and Botica's chip ahead to run in unopposed from 30 metres.
Harlequins 25-19 Leicester Tigers
Harlequins ended a run of three consecutive Premiership defeats as they edged out Leicester.
Marland Yarde pounced on a late mistake from returning Leicester centre Manu Tuilagi to run in the decisive try in the closing six minutes at The Stoop.
Leicester led midway through the second half of a scrappy game when replacement hooker Harry Thacker crossed.
But Harlequins fly-half Ben Botica kicked 20 points as they withstood a late rally from the visitors.
Harlequins climbed above Leicester into third in the table, although the Tigers claimed a losing bonus-point as Freddie Burns kicked a penalty.
Chasing the late converted try which would have given them victory, a Leicester knock-on at the break down after 20 phases in the hosts' 22 signalled full-time on a night of numerous handling errors.
England head coach Eddie Jones was among the sell-out crowd, but the spectators were denied open, attacking rugby in the first half by the wet and windy conditions.
Oli Bryant and Botica traded three penalties each, while Leicester winger Telusa Veainu spurned the best chance of the first half when he spilled the ball in sight of the line under pressure from Ross Chisholm.
The second half marked an improvement in quality and Leicester sneaked into a 16-15 lead on the hour when Thacker picked up Tuilagi's offload for the opening try.
But after Botica re-established the lead from the tee, Yarde took advantage of a succession of Leicester errors and Botica's chip ahead to run in unopposed from 30 metres.
Sunday, 14 February 2016
Sun 14th Feb: Aviva Premiership, Six Nations & Super League
Aviva Premiership
Saracens 23-64 Wasps
Wasps ran in eight tries to stun Saracens and secure a bonus-point win over the Premiership leaders.
An unbelievable first eight minutes at Allianz Park saw Wasps' Charles Piutau, Thomas Young and Dan Robson all cross.
Brad Barritt was driven over for Sarries before Nathan Hughes' double gave Wasps a 31-16 half-time lead.
Jimmy Gopperth, Piutau and Robson added another three tries for Wasps as Sarries conceded the most points at home in their history.
The 64 points by Wasps was also the most they had ever scored away from home in the top flight as they moved up to fourth in the Premiership.
Saracens had won nine successive games against Wasps, but the chance of a 10th was made almost impossible after the scintillating start from the visitors.
Piutau, playing alongside his brother Siale for the first time, dived over in the left corner, with Young then touching down following a fantastic burst from Josh Bassett and scrum-half Robson was given too much space to make it 19-0.
After Barritt reduced the arrears from the bottom of a driving maul, Hughes crashed over to secure the bonus point inside the opening half hour and then added another score shortly after.
There was no let-up in the relentless scoring after the break as the impressive Gopperth wriggled through before All Black Piutau added a seventh try for Wasps.
Gopperth, who scored 23 points in total, sent a penalty over from 50 metres to take Wasps past the 50-point mark in front of a silent home crowd.
Jim Hamilton bundled over for Saracens before Robson raced clear to complete one of the most remarkable victories in recent memory.
Six Nations
Italy 9-40 England
Eddie Jones's unbeaten start to his England coaching career continued with ab win over Italy in Rome that started slowly but ended at pace.
A disjointed first half was enlivened by George Ford's try off turnover possession, although Carlo Canna's boot kept the Azzuri within a score.
But two quick tries from Jonathan Joseph, his fifth and sixth in his past seven Six Nations matches, calmed English anxieties.
And the Bath centre completed his hat-trick with a powerful run into the left-hand corner before Owen Farrell ran onto Jamie George's pass for England's fifth try.
Having beaten the two traditionally weakest nations, England now face the sterner test of Wales in a fortnight before Ireland come calling two weeks further on.
But with their next two matches at home they have the opportunity to build on these early if predictable successes.
Ford and Farrell establish lead
After an early exchange of penalties in a messy opening period, England opened a lead when Mike Brown won a turnover in the Italy 22, Billy Vunipola's smart inside pass finding Ben Youngs down the left and Farrell spotting Ford free on the wing for the fly-half to slide over for his first international try away from home.
Farrell had been off for a head injury assessment, forcing a comprehensive if brief reshuffle of the back line, but it was Italian injuries that really began to count - Marco Fuser, Alessandro Zanni and Gonzalo Garcia all being replaced in the first half-hour.
Canna's third penalty narrowed the visitors' lead to just two points at half-time, not quite the "good hiding" that coach Jones had asked for in the build-up.
Joseph takes charge
England were looking to put the Italian back three under pressure with high kicks but just as last weekend at Murrayfield, silly mistakes and infringements slowed their momentum.
There was limited sign of the fluency Jones had hoped for, and had Canna not hooked a kickable penalty England would have trailed after 50 minutes.
Instead Italy gifted them a second try, Leonardo Sarto's looping, obvious pass on his own 22 picked off by the predatory Joseph for his sixth try in 18 caps.
With Danny Care on for Youngs, Joe Marler for Mako Vunipola and the highly-rated Maro Itoje on for his debut at blind-side flanker, at last the points and panache followed.
Care's cute grubber off a 10-man rolling maul was gathered by Joseph for his second, and with 20-year-old Paul Hill a second debutant off the bench England's forward power enabled them to take a tighter grip.
Joseph fought through three tackles to score in the left-hand corner off more turnover ball and Care fed George who popped a pass out of contact to Farrell as a tiring Italy fell away.
Man of match: Jonathan Joseph
It might be just two matches since an England player last grabbed a Test hat-trick - both Nick Easter and Jack Nowell scored three against Uruguay - but Joseph confirmed his value to England with three contrasting yet equally impressive scores.
Super League
Warrington 38-8 Hull KR
Tom Lineham scored a hat-trick to help Warrington maintain their perfect Super League record by beating Hull KR.
Ben Currie touched down Kurt Gidley's chip to put the Wire ahead, before Joe Westerman powered over a second try.
Lineham crossed to make it 16-0, despite having Gidley sin-binned, with Iain Thornley then going over to reduce the deficit for the visitors.
Two further tries from Lineham and one from Daryl Clark sealed the points, despite Kieran Dixon's consolation try.
Warrington ought to have had the game won before half-time, with Westerman and Daryl Clark both held up over the line as the hosts applied constant pressure to the visitors' line.
Kevin Penny also looked to have gone over, but the try was ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
The hosts finally made possession and territory count in the second half, with the result capped off by Clark's tackle-breaking individual run and score late on.
Thornley and Dixon's scores were the only highlights for Rovers, who also lost forward James Donaldson to a serious-looking arm injury midway through the second half.
Widnes 56-12 Leeds
Defending Super League champions Leeds Rhinos suffered a 10-try demolition at Widnes and face an injury crisis before next week's World Club Challenge clash against North Queensland Cowboys.
Leeds lost Tom Briscoe, Carl Ablett and Ashton Golding to injuries as Widnes led 28-6 at the break.
Corey Thompson scored one of five first-half ties and completed his hat-trick after the break.
Victory sees Widnes move top of the Super League table.
Leeds have lost their first two league matches as they prepare to host Australian National Rugby League's North Queensland in the world's premier club showcase event at Headingley next week.
Leeds' opening day loss to Warrington last week saw Danny McGuire go off hurt and subsequently ruled out for up to two months with a knee injury.
Widnes, who secured their Super League status via the Qualifiers last season, made a tremendous start - Kevin Brown orchestrating the opening try with their first foray forward before Charly Runciman dished the ball out superbly to send Stefan Marsh over in the corner.
While Marsh failed to control the ball with a second try begging soon after, Brown put Setaimata Sa through to for his third try in two games before Thompson darted over to put Widnes 16-0 up inside 14 minutes.
More crafty play from Brown sent Lloyd White over to finish a move that he began and Runciman grabbed Vikings' fifth try before Callum Watkins responded for Leeds with the final play of the half.
Watkins' try and Rob Burrow's late touchdown were the only blemishes on a fierce Widnes defensive display against a Leeds outfit that dominated the Northern Hemisphere competition last season with the games' most prolific attack.
Thompson completed his treble with tries either side of Joe Mellor's effort to put the result beyond Leeds' reach, with Connor Farrell and Marsh then running in Widnes' ninth and 10th scores to complete the stunning upset.
Castleford 40-6 Wakefield
Castleford Tigers ran in seven unanswered tries against Wakefield to record their first Super League win of the season.
Stuart Howarth opened the scoring for Wakefield before Denny Solomona, Ben Roberts and Luke Dorn tries put the hosts 18-6 up at the break.
Oliver Holmes went over with Tigers' first attack of the second half.
Further Solomona, Holmes and an Adam Milner try completed the resounding win for the hosts.
The Tigers shared the spoils with Hull KR in their season opener last week, but there was no sign that Wakefield would be given the chance to fight their way back into the contest as Rovers were.
Howarth gave the Wildcats the ideal start with the games' first points, but that was the first and last time they led as Solomina's try was converted by Luke Cale to lock scores up after six minutes.
Roberts then went in to edge the hosts ahead, with Dorn then dummying brilliantly to cross for Castleford's third try.
Holmes quickly added to the advantage after the break, with Milner touching down before Solomona completed his brace.
Junior Moors fended off a series of tacklers and dished the ball off for Holmes to complet the win and consign Wakefield to a second defeat this season.
Saracens 23-64 Wasps
Wasps ran in eight tries to stun Saracens and secure a bonus-point win over the Premiership leaders.
An unbelievable first eight minutes at Allianz Park saw Wasps' Charles Piutau, Thomas Young and Dan Robson all cross.
Brad Barritt was driven over for Sarries before Nathan Hughes' double gave Wasps a 31-16 half-time lead.
Jimmy Gopperth, Piutau and Robson added another three tries for Wasps as Sarries conceded the most points at home in their history.
The 64 points by Wasps was also the most they had ever scored away from home in the top flight as they moved up to fourth in the Premiership.
Saracens had won nine successive games against Wasps, but the chance of a 10th was made almost impossible after the scintillating start from the visitors.
Piutau, playing alongside his brother Siale for the first time, dived over in the left corner, with Young then touching down following a fantastic burst from Josh Bassett and scrum-half Robson was given too much space to make it 19-0.
After Barritt reduced the arrears from the bottom of a driving maul, Hughes crashed over to secure the bonus point inside the opening half hour and then added another score shortly after.
There was no let-up in the relentless scoring after the break as the impressive Gopperth wriggled through before All Black Piutau added a seventh try for Wasps.
Gopperth, who scored 23 points in total, sent a penalty over from 50 metres to take Wasps past the 50-point mark in front of a silent home crowd.
Jim Hamilton bundled over for Saracens before Robson raced clear to complete one of the most remarkable victories in recent memory.
Six Nations
Italy 9-40 England
Eddie Jones's unbeaten start to his England coaching career continued with ab win over Italy in Rome that started slowly but ended at pace.
A disjointed first half was enlivened by George Ford's try off turnover possession, although Carlo Canna's boot kept the Azzuri within a score.
But two quick tries from Jonathan Joseph, his fifth and sixth in his past seven Six Nations matches, calmed English anxieties.
And the Bath centre completed his hat-trick with a powerful run into the left-hand corner before Owen Farrell ran onto Jamie George's pass for England's fifth try.
Having beaten the two traditionally weakest nations, England now face the sterner test of Wales in a fortnight before Ireland come calling two weeks further on.
But with their next two matches at home they have the opportunity to build on these early if predictable successes.
Ford and Farrell establish lead
After an early exchange of penalties in a messy opening period, England opened a lead when Mike Brown won a turnover in the Italy 22, Billy Vunipola's smart inside pass finding Ben Youngs down the left and Farrell spotting Ford free on the wing for the fly-half to slide over for his first international try away from home.
Farrell had been off for a head injury assessment, forcing a comprehensive if brief reshuffle of the back line, but it was Italian injuries that really began to count - Marco Fuser, Alessandro Zanni and Gonzalo Garcia all being replaced in the first half-hour.
Canna's third penalty narrowed the visitors' lead to just two points at half-time, not quite the "good hiding" that coach Jones had asked for in the build-up.
Joseph takes charge
England were looking to put the Italian back three under pressure with high kicks but just as last weekend at Murrayfield, silly mistakes and infringements slowed their momentum.
There was limited sign of the fluency Jones had hoped for, and had Canna not hooked a kickable penalty England would have trailed after 50 minutes.
Instead Italy gifted them a second try, Leonardo Sarto's looping, obvious pass on his own 22 picked off by the predatory Joseph for his sixth try in 18 caps.
With Danny Care on for Youngs, Joe Marler for Mako Vunipola and the highly-rated Maro Itoje on for his debut at blind-side flanker, at last the points and panache followed.
Care's cute grubber off a 10-man rolling maul was gathered by Joseph for his second, and with 20-year-old Paul Hill a second debutant off the bench England's forward power enabled them to take a tighter grip.
Joseph fought through three tackles to score in the left-hand corner off more turnover ball and Care fed George who popped a pass out of contact to Farrell as a tiring Italy fell away.
Man of match: Jonathan Joseph
It might be just two matches since an England player last grabbed a Test hat-trick - both Nick Easter and Jack Nowell scored three against Uruguay - but Joseph confirmed his value to England with three contrasting yet equally impressive scores.
Super League
Warrington 38-8 Hull KR
Tom Lineham scored a hat-trick to help Warrington maintain their perfect Super League record by beating Hull KR.
Ben Currie touched down Kurt Gidley's chip to put the Wire ahead, before Joe Westerman powered over a second try.
Lineham crossed to make it 16-0, despite having Gidley sin-binned, with Iain Thornley then going over to reduce the deficit for the visitors.
Two further tries from Lineham and one from Daryl Clark sealed the points, despite Kieran Dixon's consolation try.
Warrington ought to have had the game won before half-time, with Westerman and Daryl Clark both held up over the line as the hosts applied constant pressure to the visitors' line.
Kevin Penny also looked to have gone over, but the try was ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
The hosts finally made possession and territory count in the second half, with the result capped off by Clark's tackle-breaking individual run and score late on.
Thornley and Dixon's scores were the only highlights for Rovers, who also lost forward James Donaldson to a serious-looking arm injury midway through the second half.
Widnes 56-12 Leeds
Defending Super League champions Leeds Rhinos suffered a 10-try demolition at Widnes and face an injury crisis before next week's World Club Challenge clash against North Queensland Cowboys.
Leeds lost Tom Briscoe, Carl Ablett and Ashton Golding to injuries as Widnes led 28-6 at the break.
Corey Thompson scored one of five first-half ties and completed his hat-trick after the break.
Victory sees Widnes move top of the Super League table.
Leeds have lost their first two league matches as they prepare to host Australian National Rugby League's North Queensland in the world's premier club showcase event at Headingley next week.
Leeds' opening day loss to Warrington last week saw Danny McGuire go off hurt and subsequently ruled out for up to two months with a knee injury.
Widnes, who secured their Super League status via the Qualifiers last season, made a tremendous start - Kevin Brown orchestrating the opening try with their first foray forward before Charly Runciman dished the ball out superbly to send Stefan Marsh over in the corner.
While Marsh failed to control the ball with a second try begging soon after, Brown put Setaimata Sa through to for his third try in two games before Thompson darted over to put Widnes 16-0 up inside 14 minutes.
More crafty play from Brown sent Lloyd White over to finish a move that he began and Runciman grabbed Vikings' fifth try before Callum Watkins responded for Leeds with the final play of the half.
Watkins' try and Rob Burrow's late touchdown were the only blemishes on a fierce Widnes defensive display against a Leeds outfit that dominated the Northern Hemisphere competition last season with the games' most prolific attack.
Thompson completed his treble with tries either side of Joe Mellor's effort to put the result beyond Leeds' reach, with Connor Farrell and Marsh then running in Widnes' ninth and 10th scores to complete the stunning upset.
Castleford 40-6 Wakefield
Castleford Tigers ran in seven unanswered tries against Wakefield to record their first Super League win of the season.
Stuart Howarth opened the scoring for Wakefield before Denny Solomona, Ben Roberts and Luke Dorn tries put the hosts 18-6 up at the break.
Oliver Holmes went over with Tigers' first attack of the second half.
Further Solomona, Holmes and an Adam Milner try completed the resounding win for the hosts.
The Tigers shared the spoils with Hull KR in their season opener last week, but there was no sign that Wakefield would be given the chance to fight their way back into the contest as Rovers were.
Howarth gave the Wildcats the ideal start with the games' first points, but that was the first and last time they led as Solomina's try was converted by Luke Cale to lock scores up after six minutes.
Roberts then went in to edge the hosts ahead, with Dorn then dummying brilliantly to cross for Castleford's third try.
Holmes quickly added to the advantage after the break, with Milner touching down before Solomona completed his brace.
Junior Moors fended off a series of tacklers and dished the ball off for Holmes to complet the win and consign Wakefield to a second defeat this season.
Saturday, 13 February 2016
Sat 13th Feb: Aviva Premiership, Six Nations & Super League
Six Nations
France 10-9 Ireland
Maxime Medard's late try snatched victory for France over a battered and bruised Ireland in an attritional Six Nations contest in a wet Paris.
Ireland posed all the attacking threat in the first half but poor handling meant they had to settle for a 9-3 lead courtesy of three Johnny Sexton kicks.
By that stage, Sean O'Brien and Dave Kearney were already off injured.
Medard's 70th-minute score followed sustained pressure with Jules Plisson's conversion putting the French ahead.
Sexton was forced off moments before the match-winning try as replacement scrum-half Jean-Marc Doussain sniped off the back of an scrum near the Irish posts to set up Medard to score, as the full-back brushed off Robbie Henshaw.
Ireland's defeat means that their hopes of an historic third successive Six Nations title now look remote while the French will hope to chase a possible Grand Slam after their second straight win.
France front-row changes key
France replacement prop Rabah Slimani celebrates after France's narrow win over Ireland
Prop Rabah Slimani's introduction helped turn the game in France's favour
The introduction of props Rabah Slimani and Eddy Ben Arous five minutes into the second half was central to France's second-half comeback.
Slimani and Ben Arous had been dropped after being accused of lacklustre displays in the 23-21 win over Italy last weekend but both proved their worth in Saturday's win.
Ireland were already starting to run out of bodies at that stage after the enforced retirements of key man O'Brien and Dave Kearney in the first period.
After posing little threat in the opening period, the French broke into the Irish half in the 50th minutes as Camille Chat intercepted a Rob Kearney off-load on the edge of the home team's 22 and set up Virimi Vakatawa to finally show his pace.
The remainder of the contest was played almost entirely deep in Irish territory and a series of scrum infringements by the visitors eventually yielded Medard's decisive score.
Ireland went into the contest under-strength in the prop department with regular starters Mike Ross and Cian Healy not judged fit enough to be considered and Marty Moore ruled out of the entire Six Nations by injury.
Ireland waste first-half chances
The Irish will look back up a series of handling errors as they threatened the France line in the first half, with Henshaw failing to host a Sexton reverse pass and CJ Stander also frustratingly knocking on.
Sexton picked himself up off the floor after a late hit by Yoann Maestri to kick Ireland ahead in the 15th minute but their dominance should have yielded more than the fly-half's three successful penalties.
O'Brien's departure with a suspended knee problem in the 19th minute was a big blow after he had made a number of early carries while wing Kearney was forced off by an apparent shoulder injury nine minutes later.
France forward power wears down battered Irish
The attrition continued for the Irish in the second period as lock Mike McCarthy was forced off following a clash of heads after having suffered a blood injury in the first period.
Medard's try came as the Irish appeared in danger of conceding a penalty try as their scrum creaked.
The chance of an immediate Irish response came and went as replacement fly-half Ian Madigan kicked the restart out on the full and the visitors didn't threaten in the remaining nine minutes of action.
Wales 27-23 Scotland
Wales cut loose in the final 20 minutes to register a ninth consecutive win over Scotland.
But Warren Gatland's team had an uncomfortable hour before tries from Jamie Roberts and George North lifted the siege.
Scotland led 13-10 after Tommy Seymour's try cancelled out Gareth Davies's early touchdown.
Duncan Taylor's late try was little more than a consolation for the Scots, who have not won in Cardiff since 2002.
Dan Biggar kicked 12 points for Wales and Scotland aptain Greig Laidlaw was also perfect from the tee.
A tough examination
After the stolid fare on offer in Paris where France beat Ireland, this game served up an antidote with Scotland asking tough questions of the home team.
But for all their endeavour, Scotland were unable to make their territory and dominance pay and once Tom James' 80-yard break broke the shackles Wales killed the game off in a clinical seven-minute spell.
A Scottish fight-back
Wales started furiously and were ahead in the seventh minute when Biggar's chip was knocked back by Roberts, and Davies snapped up the bouncing ball to sprint-in for his sixth try in 11 Tests.
Replays suggested the scrum-half might have been offside, but far from being overwhelmed the Scots hit back in style.
Their number nine Laidlaw sniped and Finn Russell's chip was allowed to bounce before Seymour pounced to score.
The Glasgow wing was also a key figure as the Scots won the aerial battle in the face of Wales' muscle.
And their half-time lead could have been greater if John Barclay, breaking from deep in his own half, had spotted the supporting Stuart Hogg on his inside instead of kicking ahead and into touch.
Runaway break relieves the pressure
Biggar and Laidlaw exchanged penalties after the break, before an 80-yard James break eased he pressure, and could have brought more had it not been for Taylor's superb covering tackle.
But the incident swung the momentum in Wales' favour and after a series of attacking scrums it was Roberts who blasted his way over from short range just after the hour.
Within minutes North cut an angle to race in from 40 yards past some tired looking defenders.
For the second week in succession Scotland saw their opponents bring considerable experience off the bench.
Wales looked comfortable in the dying stages until Taylor's 79th-minute try meant they had to survive a re-start with a four point lead.
Man of the Match
Jamie Roberts. Many in Wales thought the Wales centre should have taken the award in Dublin, and there were strong Scottish contenders in the shape of Seymour and Laidlaw.
What happens next?
It is the return of Friday night rugby for Wales when France come to the Principality Stadium on 26 February with Gatland's team looking for a fifth consecutive win against Les Bleus.
For Scotland, Sergio Parisse and Italy away in Rome on Saturday, 27 February sees them looking to avenge last season's 22-19 defeat in Edinburgh.
Aviva Premiership
Worcester 14-16 Bath
Tom Homer's goal-kicking and a much-improved second half earned Bath a narrow win against Worcester, ending their six-game losing streak.
Jonathan Evans' try and a Homer penalty after the break turned around a 14-6 half-time deficit.
Worcester, whose own winless run stretches back to November, led for much of the game but were undone by a pointless second-half.
Cooper Vuna and Donncha O'Callaghan scored the Warriors' two tries.
The win lifts Bath six points clear of Newcastle and eight clear of the second-bottom Warriors in the Premiership table.
Worcester's first-half dominance at the breakdown and the set-piece set their platform for the first-half lead, as did Tom Heathcote's control from stand-off.
Smart play put Vuna in on the left, after a line-break by Wynand Olivier, and the same player was involved down the same short-side for O'Callaghan's score.
Bath's improved second-half display was in part down to cutting out errors, they were more clinical at the ruck and their kicking game began to cause Worcester problems.
Evans' try came from Semesa Rokoduguni's kick chase, while Homer's composure from the tee, in contrast to Worcester's kickers, helped nudge the scoreboard in their direction.
A tight defensive effort late on was also pivotal as the Warriors tried to fightback, but a solid line tidied up the danger with the clock well into the red at the end.
Northampton 35-7 London Irish
Northampton Saints continued their push for the Premiership play-offs with a five-try win over bottom-of-the-table London Irish at Franklin's Gardens.
Scores from James Craig and Alex Waller bookended a penalty try to deliver a comfortable 21-0 half-time lead.
After the break Saints upped the tempo, with Lee Dickson setting up Jamie Elliott and scoring one of his own.
David Paice scored a late consolation try from close range, but Saints secured their second win in a row.
Northampton, who beat fellow play-off hopefuls Harlequins last weekend, have now moved up to fifth in the table, just three points behind third-placed Leicester.
London Irish, who are now two points adrift of Worcester in 11th and four points off Newcastle in 10th, opened promisingly but Halani Aulika's yellow card put them on the back foot.
Saints' pack seized their early opportunity and tries were the result. Craig finished a textbook driving maul, their power then delivered a penalty try and prop Waller strolled in out wide.
London Irish had little discernible opening-half possession but after the break enjoyed a few promising early attacks. However, handling errors thwarted their progress and they could not get off the mark.
By contrast, the home side were much more clinical. First, Dickson's chip through set up their bonus-point score, with the TMO deciding that Elliott had gained enough downward pressure on the ball. Then, three minutes later, Dickson finished a slick team score.
As the clock ran down the game broke up and Saints' discipline waned. JJ Hanrahan and Jamie Gibson were both given yellow cards and London Irish used the numerical advantage to gain a consolation try, as Paice drove over from close range.
Gloucester 28-6 Harlequins
Gloucester eased past Harlequins to record successive Premiership wins for the first time this season.
The hosts led 23-6 at the break, James Hook scoring the game's first try and converting Ben Morgan's effort as he contributed 18 first-half points.
Nick Evans slotted Quins' only points before the break, but failed to emerge after the interval because of injury.
Steve McColl slid over late on as Gloucester extended their winning run to four games in all competitions.
Defeat for a weakened Quins side, with Mike Brown and Chris Robshaw among five England internationals lining up against Italy in the Six Nations on Sunday, saw the Londoners miss the chance to go third in the table.
Gloucester, who only have Scotland's Greig Laidlaw in Six Nations action this weekend, move up to seventh in the Premiership standings, with Wasps capable of swapping from eighth back up to fifth on Sunday if they overcome league leaders Saracens.
The Cherry and Whites made a scintillating start, with Charlie Sharples collecting Evans' kick-off before racing clear and sending a dangerous grubber kick through for Marland Yarde to defuse.
It eventually led to Hook going over inside three minutes, with the fly-half converting his own score.
Hook and Evans traded penalties but, as Quins' looked to compose themselves after Gloucester's fast start, Ross Chisholm was sin-binned on 16 minutes.
Some slick play from Willi Heinz, Matt Kvesic and Sharples, following a period of unrelenting pressure by the hosts, saw Morgan go over before the break.
While both sides threatened after the interval, it was not until four minutes from time that McColl slid in for the final score, finishing off a fine team effort that started with a Harlequins turnover following some fierce defending from the hosts.
Sale 23-17 Exeter
Sale Sharks recorded their sixth win in a row to beat Premiership high-flyers Exeter Chiefs at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Johnny Leota, Nev Edwards and Mike Haley all ran in tries during a stunning opening 40 minutes for the hosts, who led 17-0 at half-time.
Converted scores from Jack Yeandle and Dave Lewis after the break threatened an unlikely Chiefs comeback.
But Danny Cipriani landed two penalties to secure victory and preserve Sale's unbeaten home record in 2015-16.
Steve Diamond's Sharks, who are already into April's European Challenge Cup quarter-finals, have now moved up into the Premiership's top six thanks to their recent good form in both competitions.
But Exeter, who won eight of their opening nine league matches, have now lost back-to-back Premiership games for the first time in more than 12 months.
After an even opening 15 minutes which saw both sides have players yellow-carded - Ross Harrison for Sale and James Short for Exeter - Leota, Edwards and Haley all crossed in the space of 23 minutes to put the home side in complete control.
Their lead would have been greater had Cipriani not failed from the tee four times during the half, but his penalty with nine minutes to go allowed the hosts to see the game out.
France 10-9 Ireland
Maxime Medard's late try snatched victory for France over a battered and bruised Ireland in an attritional Six Nations contest in a wet Paris.
Ireland posed all the attacking threat in the first half but poor handling meant they had to settle for a 9-3 lead courtesy of three Johnny Sexton kicks.
By that stage, Sean O'Brien and Dave Kearney were already off injured.
Medard's 70th-minute score followed sustained pressure with Jules Plisson's conversion putting the French ahead.
Sexton was forced off moments before the match-winning try as replacement scrum-half Jean-Marc Doussain sniped off the back of an scrum near the Irish posts to set up Medard to score, as the full-back brushed off Robbie Henshaw.
Ireland's defeat means that their hopes of an historic third successive Six Nations title now look remote while the French will hope to chase a possible Grand Slam after their second straight win.
France front-row changes key
France replacement prop Rabah Slimani celebrates after France's narrow win over Ireland
Prop Rabah Slimani's introduction helped turn the game in France's favour
The introduction of props Rabah Slimani and Eddy Ben Arous five minutes into the second half was central to France's second-half comeback.
Slimani and Ben Arous had been dropped after being accused of lacklustre displays in the 23-21 win over Italy last weekend but both proved their worth in Saturday's win.
Ireland were already starting to run out of bodies at that stage after the enforced retirements of key man O'Brien and Dave Kearney in the first period.
After posing little threat in the opening period, the French broke into the Irish half in the 50th minutes as Camille Chat intercepted a Rob Kearney off-load on the edge of the home team's 22 and set up Virimi Vakatawa to finally show his pace.
The remainder of the contest was played almost entirely deep in Irish territory and a series of scrum infringements by the visitors eventually yielded Medard's decisive score.
Ireland went into the contest under-strength in the prop department with regular starters Mike Ross and Cian Healy not judged fit enough to be considered and Marty Moore ruled out of the entire Six Nations by injury.
Ireland waste first-half chances
The Irish will look back up a series of handling errors as they threatened the France line in the first half, with Henshaw failing to host a Sexton reverse pass and CJ Stander also frustratingly knocking on.
Sexton picked himself up off the floor after a late hit by Yoann Maestri to kick Ireland ahead in the 15th minute but their dominance should have yielded more than the fly-half's three successful penalties.
O'Brien's departure with a suspended knee problem in the 19th minute was a big blow after he had made a number of early carries while wing Kearney was forced off by an apparent shoulder injury nine minutes later.
France forward power wears down battered Irish
The attrition continued for the Irish in the second period as lock Mike McCarthy was forced off following a clash of heads after having suffered a blood injury in the first period.
Medard's try came as the Irish appeared in danger of conceding a penalty try as their scrum creaked.
The chance of an immediate Irish response came and went as replacement fly-half Ian Madigan kicked the restart out on the full and the visitors didn't threaten in the remaining nine minutes of action.
Wales 27-23 Scotland
Wales cut loose in the final 20 minutes to register a ninth consecutive win over Scotland.
But Warren Gatland's team had an uncomfortable hour before tries from Jamie Roberts and George North lifted the siege.
Scotland led 13-10 after Tommy Seymour's try cancelled out Gareth Davies's early touchdown.
Duncan Taylor's late try was little more than a consolation for the Scots, who have not won in Cardiff since 2002.
Dan Biggar kicked 12 points for Wales and Scotland aptain Greig Laidlaw was also perfect from the tee.
A tough examination
After the stolid fare on offer in Paris where France beat Ireland, this game served up an antidote with Scotland asking tough questions of the home team.
But for all their endeavour, Scotland were unable to make their territory and dominance pay and once Tom James' 80-yard break broke the shackles Wales killed the game off in a clinical seven-minute spell.
A Scottish fight-back
Wales started furiously and were ahead in the seventh minute when Biggar's chip was knocked back by Roberts, and Davies snapped up the bouncing ball to sprint-in for his sixth try in 11 Tests.
Replays suggested the scrum-half might have been offside, but far from being overwhelmed the Scots hit back in style.
Their number nine Laidlaw sniped and Finn Russell's chip was allowed to bounce before Seymour pounced to score.
The Glasgow wing was also a key figure as the Scots won the aerial battle in the face of Wales' muscle.
And their half-time lead could have been greater if John Barclay, breaking from deep in his own half, had spotted the supporting Stuart Hogg on his inside instead of kicking ahead and into touch.
Runaway break relieves the pressure
Biggar and Laidlaw exchanged penalties after the break, before an 80-yard James break eased he pressure, and could have brought more had it not been for Taylor's superb covering tackle.
But the incident swung the momentum in Wales' favour and after a series of attacking scrums it was Roberts who blasted his way over from short range just after the hour.
Within minutes North cut an angle to race in from 40 yards past some tired looking defenders.
For the second week in succession Scotland saw their opponents bring considerable experience off the bench.
Wales looked comfortable in the dying stages until Taylor's 79th-minute try meant they had to survive a re-start with a four point lead.
Man of the Match
Jamie Roberts. Many in Wales thought the Wales centre should have taken the award in Dublin, and there were strong Scottish contenders in the shape of Seymour and Laidlaw.
What happens next?
It is the return of Friday night rugby for Wales when France come to the Principality Stadium on 26 February with Gatland's team looking for a fifth consecutive win against Les Bleus.
For Scotland, Sergio Parisse and Italy away in Rome on Saturday, 27 February sees them looking to avenge last season's 22-19 defeat in Edinburgh.
Aviva Premiership
Worcester 14-16 Bath
Tom Homer's goal-kicking and a much-improved second half earned Bath a narrow win against Worcester, ending their six-game losing streak.
Jonathan Evans' try and a Homer penalty after the break turned around a 14-6 half-time deficit.
Worcester, whose own winless run stretches back to November, led for much of the game but were undone by a pointless second-half.
Cooper Vuna and Donncha O'Callaghan scored the Warriors' two tries.
The win lifts Bath six points clear of Newcastle and eight clear of the second-bottom Warriors in the Premiership table.
Worcester's first-half dominance at the breakdown and the set-piece set their platform for the first-half lead, as did Tom Heathcote's control from stand-off.
Smart play put Vuna in on the left, after a line-break by Wynand Olivier, and the same player was involved down the same short-side for O'Callaghan's score.
Bath's improved second-half display was in part down to cutting out errors, they were more clinical at the ruck and their kicking game began to cause Worcester problems.
Evans' try came from Semesa Rokoduguni's kick chase, while Homer's composure from the tee, in contrast to Worcester's kickers, helped nudge the scoreboard in their direction.
A tight defensive effort late on was also pivotal as the Warriors tried to fightback, but a solid line tidied up the danger with the clock well into the red at the end.
Northampton 35-7 London Irish
Northampton Saints continued their push for the Premiership play-offs with a five-try win over bottom-of-the-table London Irish at Franklin's Gardens.
Scores from James Craig and Alex Waller bookended a penalty try to deliver a comfortable 21-0 half-time lead.
After the break Saints upped the tempo, with Lee Dickson setting up Jamie Elliott and scoring one of his own.
David Paice scored a late consolation try from close range, but Saints secured their second win in a row.
Northampton, who beat fellow play-off hopefuls Harlequins last weekend, have now moved up to fifth in the table, just three points behind third-placed Leicester.
London Irish, who are now two points adrift of Worcester in 11th and four points off Newcastle in 10th, opened promisingly but Halani Aulika's yellow card put them on the back foot.
Saints' pack seized their early opportunity and tries were the result. Craig finished a textbook driving maul, their power then delivered a penalty try and prop Waller strolled in out wide.
London Irish had little discernible opening-half possession but after the break enjoyed a few promising early attacks. However, handling errors thwarted their progress and they could not get off the mark.
By contrast, the home side were much more clinical. First, Dickson's chip through set up their bonus-point score, with the TMO deciding that Elliott had gained enough downward pressure on the ball. Then, three minutes later, Dickson finished a slick team score.
As the clock ran down the game broke up and Saints' discipline waned. JJ Hanrahan and Jamie Gibson were both given yellow cards and London Irish used the numerical advantage to gain a consolation try, as Paice drove over from close range.
Gloucester 28-6 Harlequins
Gloucester eased past Harlequins to record successive Premiership wins for the first time this season.
The hosts led 23-6 at the break, James Hook scoring the game's first try and converting Ben Morgan's effort as he contributed 18 first-half points.
Nick Evans slotted Quins' only points before the break, but failed to emerge after the interval because of injury.
Steve McColl slid over late on as Gloucester extended their winning run to four games in all competitions.
Defeat for a weakened Quins side, with Mike Brown and Chris Robshaw among five England internationals lining up against Italy in the Six Nations on Sunday, saw the Londoners miss the chance to go third in the table.
Gloucester, who only have Scotland's Greig Laidlaw in Six Nations action this weekend, move up to seventh in the Premiership standings, with Wasps capable of swapping from eighth back up to fifth on Sunday if they overcome league leaders Saracens.
The Cherry and Whites made a scintillating start, with Charlie Sharples collecting Evans' kick-off before racing clear and sending a dangerous grubber kick through for Marland Yarde to defuse.
It eventually led to Hook going over inside three minutes, with the fly-half converting his own score.
Hook and Evans traded penalties but, as Quins' looked to compose themselves after Gloucester's fast start, Ross Chisholm was sin-binned on 16 minutes.
Some slick play from Willi Heinz, Matt Kvesic and Sharples, following a period of unrelenting pressure by the hosts, saw Morgan go over before the break.
While both sides threatened after the interval, it was not until four minutes from time that McColl slid in for the final score, finishing off a fine team effort that started with a Harlequins turnover following some fierce defending from the hosts.
Sale 23-17 Exeter
Sale Sharks recorded their sixth win in a row to beat Premiership high-flyers Exeter Chiefs at the AJ Bell Stadium.
Johnny Leota, Nev Edwards and Mike Haley all ran in tries during a stunning opening 40 minutes for the hosts, who led 17-0 at half-time.
Converted scores from Jack Yeandle and Dave Lewis after the break threatened an unlikely Chiefs comeback.
But Danny Cipriani landed two penalties to secure victory and preserve Sale's unbeaten home record in 2015-16.
Steve Diamond's Sharks, who are already into April's European Challenge Cup quarter-finals, have now moved up into the Premiership's top six thanks to their recent good form in both competitions.
But Exeter, who won eight of their opening nine league matches, have now lost back-to-back Premiership games for the first time in more than 12 months.
After an even opening 15 minutes which saw both sides have players yellow-carded - Ross Harrison for Sale and James Short for Exeter - Leota, Edwards and Haley all crossed in the space of 23 minutes to put the home side in complete control.
Their lead would have been greater had Cipriani not failed from the tee four times during the half, but his penalty with nine minutes to go allowed the hosts to see the game out.
Friday, 12 February 2016
Aviva Premiership & Super League Friday 12th February 2016
Aviva Premiership
Newcastle Falcons 26-14 Leicester Tigers
Newcastle Falcons moved off the bottom of the Premiership table with a fine victory over a below-par Leicester Tigers at Kingston Park.
Simon Hammersley waltzed through the Tigers defence for the opening try before Adam Powell added a second to give Falcons a 20-9 half-time lead.
Laurence Pearce crossed to reduce the deficit but the Falcons' defence held firm to see out the final 15 minutes.
Newcastle have now won five straight games at home in all competitions.
Tigers, who only managed a single penalty in last weekend's 10-3 home defeat by Sale, again looked short of ideas as they failed to break into the opposition's 22 in the first half.
Newcastle on the other hand seemed full of confidence on home turf following back-to-back Premiership wins at Kingston Park and made their pressure count with two superbly crafted tries before the break.
Full-back Hammersley ghosted through a gap following a fine overlap before Powell went over after a drive from the line-out.
It took until after the hour mark for Leicester to finally string together any meaningful phases as substitute back-row Pearce dived over to make it 23-14.
The visitors continued to push forward but had left it too late to complete a comeback as Newcastle earned their third Premiership victory of the season.
Falcons move above London Irish and Worcester into 10th, while Leicester are third but could be overtaken by fourth-placed Harlequins who travel to Gloucester on Saturday.
Super League
Huddersfield 13-18 Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors continued their 100% winning start as Josh Charnley's late try gave them victory over a dogged Huddersfield Giants side.
Jermaine McGillvary's try gave the hosts a first-half lead, but after the break Wigan's Liam Farrell went over.
Warriors went ahead for the first time when Dom Manfredi crossed, but were pegged back by Jamie Foster's try.
Jamie Ellis kicked a goal and a drop goal but Charnley's converted try turned the game on its head at the end.
Grinding out wins
Despite several key personnel missing from last week's defeat by St Helens, including captain Danny Brough and prop Eorl Crabtree, the Giants turned in a positive display in their second defeat of the campaign.
McGillvary scored on his 150th Giants appearance, assisted by the impressive Ellis who led his side in the absence of Brough, while Foster's debut was also marked by a score.
However Wigan's ability to grind out a result, with their own injury concerns, was shown by a second-half response even when the game looked lost following Ellis' late drop-goal.
Charnley's defensive work was backed up by the crucial try to send the Warriors into next week's World Club Series against Brisbane Broncos in good spirits.
Newcastle Falcons 26-14 Leicester Tigers
Newcastle Falcons moved off the bottom of the Premiership table with a fine victory over a below-par Leicester Tigers at Kingston Park.
Simon Hammersley waltzed through the Tigers defence for the opening try before Adam Powell added a second to give Falcons a 20-9 half-time lead.
Laurence Pearce crossed to reduce the deficit but the Falcons' defence held firm to see out the final 15 minutes.
Newcastle have now won five straight games at home in all competitions.
Tigers, who only managed a single penalty in last weekend's 10-3 home defeat by Sale, again looked short of ideas as they failed to break into the opposition's 22 in the first half.
Newcastle on the other hand seemed full of confidence on home turf following back-to-back Premiership wins at Kingston Park and made their pressure count with two superbly crafted tries before the break.
Full-back Hammersley ghosted through a gap following a fine overlap before Powell went over after a drive from the line-out.
It took until after the hour mark for Leicester to finally string together any meaningful phases as substitute back-row Pearce dived over to make it 23-14.
The visitors continued to push forward but had left it too late to complete a comeback as Newcastle earned their third Premiership victory of the season.
Falcons move above London Irish and Worcester into 10th, while Leicester are third but could be overtaken by fourth-placed Harlequins who travel to Gloucester on Saturday.
Super League
Huddersfield 13-18 Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors continued their 100% winning start as Josh Charnley's late try gave them victory over a dogged Huddersfield Giants side.
Jermaine McGillvary's try gave the hosts a first-half lead, but after the break Wigan's Liam Farrell went over.
Warriors went ahead for the first time when Dom Manfredi crossed, but were pegged back by Jamie Foster's try.
Jamie Ellis kicked a goal and a drop goal but Charnley's converted try turned the game on its head at the end.
Grinding out wins
Despite several key personnel missing from last week's defeat by St Helens, including captain Danny Brough and prop Eorl Crabtree, the Giants turned in a positive display in their second defeat of the campaign.
McGillvary scored on his 150th Giants appearance, assisted by the impressive Ellis who led his side in the absence of Brough, while Foster's debut was also marked by a score.
However Wigan's ability to grind out a result, with their own injury concerns, was shown by a second-half response even when the game looked lost following Ellis' late drop-goal.
Charnley's defensive work was backed up by the crucial try to send the Warriors into next week's World Club Series against Brisbane Broncos in good spirits.
Thursday, 11 February 2016
Super League Thursday 11th February 2016
Salford 44-10 St Helens
Salford Red Devils have picked up their first victory of the new Super League season courtesy of a 44-10 drubbing of 2014 champions St Helens this evening.
The hosts got off to a flying start at the AJ Bell Stadium, racing into a 12-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes courtesy of tries from Greg Johnson and Craig Kopczak.
The Saints were all at sea in the early exchanges, and saw their tryline breached for a third time just 12 minutes in when Robert Lui went over for Salford, who propped up the Super League table after the first round of fixtures.
St Helens finally got on the board when Alex Walmsley touched down moments after coming onto the field, but the game was already threatening to escape them and Michael Dobson nudged the hosts further ahead with a penalty midway through the first half.
The visitors' night went from bad to worse when Luke Walsh was sent to the sin bin on the half-hour mark, and Salford took advantage with another try before the break as Niall Evalds went over for his first of the game.
The Red Devils showed no sign of letting up in the second half either as Adam Walne scored within two minutes of the restart before Josh Griffin extended the lead to 34 points with less than an hour played.
Adam Swift did at least take the Saints into double figures with a try a little under 20 minutes from time, but fittingly it was Salford who got the last laugh as Evalds doubled his personal tally for the night to cap off the rout.
Salford Red Devils have picked up their first victory of the new Super League season courtesy of a 44-10 drubbing of 2014 champions St Helens this evening.
The hosts got off to a flying start at the AJ Bell Stadium, racing into a 12-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes courtesy of tries from Greg Johnson and Craig Kopczak.
The Saints were all at sea in the early exchanges, and saw their tryline breached for a third time just 12 minutes in when Robert Lui went over for Salford, who propped up the Super League table after the first round of fixtures.
St Helens finally got on the board when Alex Walmsley touched down moments after coming onto the field, but the game was already threatening to escape them and Michael Dobson nudged the hosts further ahead with a penalty midway through the first half.
The visitors' night went from bad to worse when Luke Walsh was sent to the sin bin on the half-hour mark, and Salford took advantage with another try before the break as Niall Evalds went over for his first of the game.
The Red Devils showed no sign of letting up in the second half either as Adam Walne scored within two minutes of the restart before Josh Griffin extended the lead to 34 points with less than an hour played.
Adam Swift did at least take the Saints into double figures with a try a little under 20 minutes from time, but fittingly it was Salford who got the last laugh as Evalds doubled his personal tally for the night to cap off the rout.
Sunday, 7 February 2016
Aviva Premiership, RBS 6 Nations & Super League Sunday 7th Feb 2016
Six Nations
Ireland 16-16 Wales
Aviva Premiership
Exeter Chiefs 11-14 Saracens
Super League
Hull KR 16-16 Castleford
Ireland 16-16 Wales
Ireland let a 13-point lead slip as Wales fought back for a draw in a compelling Six Nations match in Dublin.
The home team led 13-0 after 28 minutes thanks to Conor Murray's try and eight points from the boot of Johnny Sexton.
But Wales hit back with Taulupe Faletau's try converted by replacement fly-half Rhys Priestland, whose 72nd-minute penalty edged Wales 16-13 ahead.
Sexton's third penalty squared things and Priestland's late drop-goal attempt was off target in a breathless finale.
Extraordinary finale
With the clock in the red and fans' nerves shredded, both teams strove for the decisive score rather than settle for the draw.
But the defences held out and when referee Jerome Garces finally called a halt, there was a collective exhaling of breath around the ground.
It means Wales have not won back-to-back games in Ireland since 2000, while the Irish dream of a third consecutive title has not been fatally damaged.
But Grand Slams and Triple Crowns will have to wait for another season.
Justin Tipuric, Devin Toner, George North and Taulupe Faletau try to catch their breath
The final whistle saw both sides utterly exhausted after a frantic last few minutes
Ireland start well but Wales hit back
With Ireland having lost Sean O'Brien and Rob Kearney in the week, Wales had to draft Liam Williams in at full-back after Gareth Anscombe's late withdrawal.
And within 20 minutes replacement fly-half Priestland was on after Dan Biggar limped off with a foot injury.
The Irish dominated the first half hour, with Wales unable to maintain possession and struggling to keep debutant CJ Stander and Tommy O'Donnell in check.
Scrum-half Murray was the beneficiary as he dummied over from close range to help establish a 13-0 lead.
But Priestland's boot, and Faletau's opportunism after the ball squirted out of an advancing scrum, somehow saw Wales back within three points at the break, and the boots of the fly-halves ensured the game ended level after a nerve-shredding second half.
Wales' dominance at the scrum was the cornerstone of their fightback, but Ireland looked more creative behind and with Stander and Sean O'Brien outstanding in the back row, met Wales' predominantly physical challenge head-on.
Jamie Roberts ran straight for Wales and tackled hard and often, while Simon Zebo and Sexton cut lines for Ireland, with one second half break by the fly-half the outstanding moment of the match.
What's next?
Wales face Scotland at home on Saturday, 13 February - a side smarting from their latest Calcutta Cup defeat and who have not won in Cardiff since 2002.
On the same day Ireland will take on the misfiring French at Stade de France, having beaten them as recently as last October when they won a World Cup pool match 24-9 in Cardiff.
Aviva Premiership
Exeter Chiefs 11-14 Saracens
Saracens scored 14 straight points at second-placed Exeter to extend their lead at the top of the Premiership.
Two Gareth Steenson penalties for Chiefs was added to when wing James Short intercepted Charlie Hodgson's pass to run 95 metres to score.
But Samuela Vunisa crashed over from a driving maul to keep Sarries in touch at 11-5 at the break.
In tricky, windy conditions at Sandy Park, Hodgson added three second-half penalties to secure the four points.
It means Saracens go five points clear of Exeter at the top of the league and have now lost just once in their last 20 games in all competitions.
Rob Baxter's side, who did the double over Saracens last season, were ahead by 11 points after 29 minutes in front of a sold-out crowd, as they controlled the opening exchanges with the wind behind them.
However Vunisa, in for England number eight Billy Vunipola, touched down his fourth try in four games and the Premiership's all-time leading scorer Hodgson knocked over all three of his second-half penalties to take the win.
London Irish 20-13 Worcester Warriors
London Irish beat fellow strugglers Worcester at home to move off the bottom of the Premiership table.
Ciaran Hearn's kick and take over the top of the Warriors' defence helped the hosts into a 10-3 half-time lead.
Bryce Heem reduced the deficit by scoring just after returning from the sin-bin, shortly after Topsy Ojo had a try ruled out in his 250th Irish game.
Exiles back Andrew Fenby and Warriors prop Val Rapava-Ruskin exchanged tries before Shane Geraghty's late penalty.
The victory is only Irish's third league win of the season, and lifts them above Newcastle, with whom they are level on points, while Worcester's losing bonus-point leaves them a point above in 10th.
The Madejski Stadium is somewhere Worcester often struggle - their only win coming in September 2005 - and Dean Ryan's side have now lost 12 successive games in all competitions.
They started badly as, after Halani Aulika had a try ruled out, Canada international Hearn crossed the line for his second Irish try, before Geraghty and Ryan Mills both slotted penalties.
Ojo thought he was celebrating his milestone Exiles appearance when the ball was played to him out wide and he raced in, but the Television Match Official ruled it out for a block in the build-up.
Fenby and Rapava-Ruskin exchanged tries which saw the Warriors get within four points, but Geraghty's kick from about 25 metres on 71 minutes saw the Exiles see out the match.
Super League
Hull KR 16-16 Castleford
Two tries from Josh Mantellato helped Hull KR rescue a draw with Castleford in their opening Super League game.
Denny Solomona crossed to put Tigers ahead, but James Donaldson went over to level the scores before half-time.
Jake Webster drove over for Castleford after a scrum deep in Rovers territory, before Josh Mantellato touched down to reduce the deficit to two points.
Webster scored again to extend the lead to six, but Mantellato's second try and successful conversion secured a point.
In wet and windy conditions, the visitors looked to have the game won until Mantellato's last-minute effort.
The Italy winger went over just inside the touchline, before he struck a difficult kick through the uprights to level the scores.
Rovers, who secured their Super League status by topping the Qualifiers table in 2015, matched the visitors throughout the game, but fell behind three times after they failed to deal with attacks down the left wing.
Tigers could have sealed the win when Solomona was held up by Ben Cockayne moments before Mantellato went over, but Daryl Powell's side were forced to settle for the draw.
Wakefield 16-24 Widnes Vikings
Widnes started their Super League season with a comfortable four-try win at Wakefield.
The Wildcats, who finished bottom of the table last year, opened the scoring when Stu Howarth dummied and crossed.
Vikings forward Setaimata Sa, on his debut, crossed twice along with Rhys Hanbury to give them a 18-4 lead at the half-time.
Reece Lyne and Mikey Sio gave the hosts hope but Lloyd White's score secured two points for Denis Betts' side.
On a windy afternoon which saw steady rain fall throughout the game, Widnes secured their fourth win in a row against the Yorkshire side.
Brian Smith, who has made 12 new additions to his squad since last season, takes his team to Castleford next week, while the Vikings welcome defending champions Leeds.
Saturday, 6 February 2016
Aviva Premiership & RBS 6 Nations Sat 6th Feb 2016
Six Nations
France 23-21 Italy
France edged to an unconvincing win over Italy to make a successful start to their Six Nations campaign.
In a tight first half Virimi Vakatawa and Damien Chouly crossed for France, but a Carlo Canna drop-goal and Sergio Parisse's try kept Italy in touch.
Canna finished off a burst by Parisse to put the visitors in the ascendancy.
France retook the initiative with Hugo Bonneval's score, but they still needed a late penalty from Jules Plisson to hand a win to new coach Guy Noves.
This was first sporting event held at the Stade de France since the attacks on Paris in November last year.
Former Toulouse boss Noves, 62, had promised to build a more entertaining French side from the one that went out in the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup and finished a disappointing fourth in the 2015 Six Nations.
There was certainly a sense of adventure about Noves's side, personified by powerful sevens international Vakatawa who showed guile and fleet of foot on the wing to score the opening try.
Gael Fickou's quick-tap penalty opened the door for Chouly to cross for their second and Jonathan Danty drew in defenders expertly to release Bonneval for the third, but there remained a fragility to the home side.
Parisse so nearly the match winner
Sergio Parisse made the furthest metres, most carries and most turnovers for Italy
Italy, inspired by their captain Parisse, almost took full advantage with a structured, organised performance, in which they won seven turnovers to France's three.
Parisse, who plays his club rugby in Paris with Stade Francais, has for so long been Italy's talisman and the number eight stepped even closer to legendary status for his country with this all-action performance.
The 32-year-old touched down from a catch and drive in the first half and came agonisingly close to finishing off a barnstorming burst after the break, before Canna applied the finishing touch regardless.
In fact, he almost snatched it at the death with an audacious drop-goal attempt that drifted wide, but in the end it was Plisson's monster penalty from near the halfway line that ended up being the difference maker.
Scotland 9-15 England
France 23-21 Italy
France edged to an unconvincing win over Italy to make a successful start to their Six Nations campaign.
In a tight first half Virimi Vakatawa and Damien Chouly crossed for France, but a Carlo Canna drop-goal and Sergio Parisse's try kept Italy in touch.
Canna finished off a burst by Parisse to put the visitors in the ascendancy.
France retook the initiative with Hugo Bonneval's score, but they still needed a late penalty from Jules Plisson to hand a win to new coach Guy Noves.
This was first sporting event held at the Stade de France since the attacks on Paris in November last year.
Former Toulouse boss Noves, 62, had promised to build a more entertaining French side from the one that went out in the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup and finished a disappointing fourth in the 2015 Six Nations.
There was certainly a sense of adventure about Noves's side, personified by powerful sevens international Vakatawa who showed guile and fleet of foot on the wing to score the opening try.
Gael Fickou's quick-tap penalty opened the door for Chouly to cross for their second and Jonathan Danty drew in defenders expertly to release Bonneval for the third, but there remained a fragility to the home side.
Parisse so nearly the match winner
Sergio Parisse made the furthest metres, most carries and most turnovers for Italy
Italy, inspired by their captain Parisse, almost took full advantage with a structured, organised performance, in which they won seven turnovers to France's three.
Parisse, who plays his club rugby in Paris with Stade Francais, has for so long been Italy's talisman and the number eight stepped even closer to legendary status for his country with this all-action performance.
The 32-year-old touched down from a catch and drive in the first half and came agonisingly close to finishing off a barnstorming burst after the break, before Canna applied the finishing touch regardless.
In fact, he almost snatched it at the death with an audacious drop-goal attempt that drifted wide, but in the end it was Plisson's monster penalty from near the halfway line that ended up being the difference maker.
Scotland 9-15 England
Scotland's wait to regain the Calcutta Cup goes on after England opened the Eddie Jones era with victory at Murrayfield.
Four months on from a disastrous World Cup campaign on home soil, England established an early lead through George Kruis' converted try, but were then pegged back by the boot of Greig Laidlaw to make it 7-6 at half-time.
But after the hosts failed to capitalise on several promising openings, English strength off the bench saw them establish a grip on what had been a messy affair.
Jack Nowell finished off a well-worked try and Owen Farrell landed his second penalty, and with their forwards in the ascendancy England closed the game out in increasing comfort.
Scotland were left disappointed once again after just eight wins in nine Six Nations campaigns.
But a third successive win at Murrayfield for the men in white means Jones - who has had just seven training sessions with his new charges and had picked a team for a rumble rather than a revolution - has time to stamp his own mark on England.
Kruis missile dents Scotland's hopes
England dominated the early territory and had their first try of the Jones era when Kruis rumbled through weak Scottish arms to crash over from four metres out.
Laidlaw landed a fine penalty and as both sides attacked from deep and wide the match quickly became frantic and error-ridden.
England were shipping penalties at a rate - eight in the first period alone - and with George Ford struggling at fly-half it was Scotland who increasingly took control.
Laidlaw missed from out wide but made it 7-6 from 20m out after England were burgled at the breakdown, and had Russell not rushed a straightforward drop-goal attempt the home side would have led at the break.
English replacements the difference
Scotland came again, setting up a series of drives deep in English territory only for errors to leave them pointless.
Jones threw on Courtney Lawes for Joe Launchbury and Mako Vunipola for Joe Marler and as England's ball-carriers made dents, quick ball came and the points with it.
George Ford went right, prop Vunipola hit Farrell with a cute inside pass and Nowell scampered into the corner for 6-12.
Farrell kicked a penalty to the corner and England drove the line-out, hammering away at the line until Russell intercepted and almost sent Stuart Hogg away.
Farrell then stroked over a penalty from distance, only for Scotland to haul themselves to within a converted try through Laidlaw's third penalty.
But England's power off the bench snuffed out any sparks, and they will head to Rome next week with some confidence restored.
Man of the match
England's go-to man so often, Vunipola consistently made the sort of hard yards that gave England the critical momentum.
Aviva Premiership
Harlequins 23-27 Saints
Wasps 9-8 Newcastle Falcons
Leicester Tigers 3-10 Sale Sharks
Four months on from a disastrous World Cup campaign on home soil, England established an early lead through George Kruis' converted try, but were then pegged back by the boot of Greig Laidlaw to make it 7-6 at half-time.
But after the hosts failed to capitalise on several promising openings, English strength off the bench saw them establish a grip on what had been a messy affair.
Jack Nowell finished off a well-worked try and Owen Farrell landed his second penalty, and with their forwards in the ascendancy England closed the game out in increasing comfort.
Scotland were left disappointed once again after just eight wins in nine Six Nations campaigns.
But a third successive win at Murrayfield for the men in white means Jones - who has had just seven training sessions with his new charges and had picked a team for a rumble rather than a revolution - has time to stamp his own mark on England.
Kruis missile dents Scotland's hopes
England dominated the early territory and had their first try of the Jones era when Kruis rumbled through weak Scottish arms to crash over from four metres out.
Laidlaw landed a fine penalty and as both sides attacked from deep and wide the match quickly became frantic and error-ridden.
England were shipping penalties at a rate - eight in the first period alone - and with George Ford struggling at fly-half it was Scotland who increasingly took control.
Laidlaw missed from out wide but made it 7-6 from 20m out after England were burgled at the breakdown, and had Russell not rushed a straightforward drop-goal attempt the home side would have led at the break.
English replacements the difference
Scotland came again, setting up a series of drives deep in English territory only for errors to leave them pointless.
Jones threw on Courtney Lawes for Joe Launchbury and Mako Vunipola for Joe Marler and as England's ball-carriers made dents, quick ball came and the points with it.
George Ford went right, prop Vunipola hit Farrell with a cute inside pass and Nowell scampered into the corner for 6-12.
Farrell kicked a penalty to the corner and England drove the line-out, hammering away at the line until Russell intercepted and almost sent Stuart Hogg away.
Farrell then stroked over a penalty from distance, only for Scotland to haul themselves to within a converted try through Laidlaw's third penalty.
But England's power off the bench snuffed out any sparks, and they will head to Rome next week with some confidence restored.
Man of the match
England's go-to man so often, Vunipola consistently made the sort of hard yards that gave England the critical momentum.
Aviva Premiership
Harlequins 23-27 Saints
Wasps 9-8 Newcastle Falcons
Leicester Tigers 3-10 Sale Sharks
Friday, 5 February 2016
Aviva Premiership & Super League Friday 5th Feb 2016
Aviva Premiership
St Helens 30-16 Huddersfield
St Helens began the Super League season with a five-try home win over Huddersfield Giants at Langtree Park.
Centre Mark Percival crossed twice for the 2014 champions, who were beaten in the semi-finals of both Super League and the Challenge Cup last season.
Atelea Vea, Jordan Turner and Luke Thompson also went over for the hosts, with former Hull FC player Turner scoring the 100th try of his career.
Huddersfield replied through Aaron Murphy, Ukuma Ta'ai and Jake Connor.
In tricky wet conditions, Saints avoided a repeat of the 40-4 humbling by the Giants on the opening day of the 2013 season.
But their win was tempered by the loss of influential hooker James Roby to a shoulder injury midway through the second half.
Huddersfield also lost key players to injury, with captain Danny Brough and full-back Scott Grix both failing to complete the match.
Giants coach Paul Anderson had been unable to select Joe Wardle, Craig Huby, Kyle Wood and Luke Robinson because of injuries.
Wigan 12-6 Catalans
Michael Mcllorum scored two tries as Wigan began the Super League season with victory over Catalans Dragons.
Mcllorum went over twice in as many minutes as last year's beaten Grand Finalists took a 10-point half-time lead in an error-strewn first half.
Justin Horo's try early in the second period brought the visitors back into the game, before Matty Smith's penalty gave Wigan a six-point lead.
The hosts could have won by more but had two tries ruled out.
They took the lead when Krisnan Inu gave the ball away and Mcllorum pounced to sneak over, before hooker Mcllorum combined with George Williams to dive over for his second try, helping Wigan into a 10-0 lead at half-time.
Catalans made a perfect start to the second half as Richie Myler's kick through was grabbed by Horo to score and Pat Richards, facing his former club on his 200th Super League appearance, added the extras.
Smith's penalty put Wigan six points ahead, while Dan Sarginson had a try ruled out by the video referee for a knock-on.
Catalans, who have only won twice at Wigan in Super League history, could have gone further behind late on but Liam Farrell's try was ruled out for a push by Josh Charnley.
Bath 11-15 Gloucester
James Hook kicked all 15 points as Gloucester came from behind to beat Bath and inflict a sixth successive loss on their West Country rivals.
Bath, who reached last season's Premiership final but now sit ninth after 10 matches, led 8-0 after Dominic Day's try and Tom Homer's penalty.
Homer landed another kick after two Hook penalties to keep them 11-6 ahead.
But, in the wind and rain, three more kicks from Hook secured Gloucester's first win at The Rec since 2012.
Victory for the Cherry and Whites, which lifted them to fifth in the table, also ended Bath's run of five straight wins in the West Country derby, the most consecutive successes either side have ever managed over the other.
Mike Ford's team spent the first 13 minutes camped inside Gloucester's half and led 8-0 after Day eventually forced his way over behind a driving maul, but threw away a significant lead for the second week running, having squandered a 13-0 advantage to lose to Saracens last Saturday.
The Blue, Black and Whites have now won just two of their last 11 games in all competitions and have already clocked up seven Premiership losses this season - more than they suffered in the entire campaign in 2014-15.
They are now 14 points off the top four and, with six points also separating them and sixth-placed Wasps, may even face a tough task re-qualifying for the European Champions Cup.
But Gloucester, whose spirited second-half display was rewarded by Wales fly-half Hook's accuracy from the tee, continue their revival under director of rugby David Humphreys and have opened up a seven-point advantage over their local rivals in the table.
James Hook kicked all 15 points as Gloucester came from behind to beat Bath and inflict a sixth successive loss on their West Country rivals.
Bath, who reached last season's Premiership final but now sit ninth after 10 matches, led 8-0 after Dominic Day's try and Tom Homer's penalty.
Homer landed another kick after two Hook penalties to keep them 11-6 ahead.
But, in the wind and rain, three more kicks from Hook secured Gloucester's first win at The Rec since 2012.
Victory for the Cherry and Whites, which lifted them to fifth in the table, also ended Bath's run of five straight wins in the West Country derby, the most consecutive successes either side have ever managed over the other.
Mike Ford's team spent the first 13 minutes camped inside Gloucester's half and led 8-0 after Day eventually forced his way over behind a driving maul, but threw away a significant lead for the second week running, having squandered a 13-0 advantage to lose to Saracens last Saturday.
The Blue, Black and Whites have now won just two of their last 11 games in all competitions and have already clocked up seven Premiership losses this season - more than they suffered in the entire campaign in 2014-15.
They are now 14 points off the top four and, with six points also separating them and sixth-placed Wasps, may even face a tough task re-qualifying for the European Champions Cup.
But Gloucester, whose spirited second-half display was rewarded by Wales fly-half Hook's accuracy from the tee, continue their revival under director of rugby David Humphreys and have opened up a seven-point advantage over their local rivals in the table.
Super League
Hull 42-20 Salford
Eight different players scored tries for Hull FC in their convincing Super League victory over Salford.
Leon Pryce, Mahe Fonua, Jordan Thompson, Fetuli Talanoa, Carlos Tuimavave and Josh Bowden helped the home side a 26-6 half-time lead.
Josh Griffin scored Salford's only first-half try but they improved after the break, with Junior Sa'u scoring twice and Niall Evalds also going over.
Jack Logan and Jamie Shaul got on the scoresheet for the hosts.
St Helens 30-16 Huddersfield
St Helens began the Super League season with a five-try home win over Huddersfield Giants at Langtree Park.
Centre Mark Percival crossed twice for the 2014 champions, who were beaten in the semi-finals of both Super League and the Challenge Cup last season.
Atelea Vea, Jordan Turner and Luke Thompson also went over for the hosts, with former Hull FC player Turner scoring the 100th try of his career.
Huddersfield replied through Aaron Murphy, Ukuma Ta'ai and Jake Connor.
In tricky wet conditions, Saints avoided a repeat of the 40-4 humbling by the Giants on the opening day of the 2013 season.
But their win was tempered by the loss of influential hooker James Roby to a shoulder injury midway through the second half.
Huddersfield also lost key players to injury, with captain Danny Brough and full-back Scott Grix both failing to complete the match.
Giants coach Paul Anderson had been unable to select Joe Wardle, Craig Huby, Kyle Wood and Luke Robinson because of injuries.
Wigan 12-6 Catalans
Michael Mcllorum scored two tries as Wigan began the Super League season with victory over Catalans Dragons.
Mcllorum went over twice in as many minutes as last year's beaten Grand Finalists took a 10-point half-time lead in an error-strewn first half.
Justin Horo's try early in the second period brought the visitors back into the game, before Matty Smith's penalty gave Wigan a six-point lead.
The hosts could have won by more but had two tries ruled out.
They took the lead when Krisnan Inu gave the ball away and Mcllorum pounced to sneak over, before hooker Mcllorum combined with George Williams to dive over for his second try, helping Wigan into a 10-0 lead at half-time.
Catalans made a perfect start to the second half as Richie Myler's kick through was grabbed by Horo to score and Pat Richards, facing his former club on his 200th Super League appearance, added the extras.
Smith's penalty put Wigan six points ahead, while Dan Sarginson had a try ruled out by the video referee for a knock-on.
Catalans, who have only won twice at Wigan in Super League history, could have gone further behind late on but Liam Farrell's try was ruled out for a push by Josh Charnley.
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