Aviva Premiership Week 10 wrap

The last week before European competition kicks in again saw some big results.

Here is a wrap of the week 10 action in the Aviva Premiership:

Sale 3-21 Exeter
Exeter climbed into the top four after beating Sale.

The damage was all done in the first half where for the second time in two weeks the Sale forwards earnt a penalty try which was added to by James Short and Will Chudley.

A powerful rolling maul was illegally stopped by Sale, which saw Josh Beaumont yellow carded for the collapse, to give the visitors an eighth-minute lead.

AJ MacGinty then replied with Sale’s only points for the evening in the 12th minute, before Exeter turned their domination into more points, with tries in the 20th and 35th minutes.

Gareth Steenson’s third conversion proved to be the final points of the evening as Sale was markedly improved in the second half.

Bath 14-11 Saracens
It was a huge win for the men from the Rec.

In another game that saw second half points become scarce, both teams crossed the whitewash once, with Sean Maitland replying to Max Clark’s score for the hosts.

Both tries were unconverted but Tom Homer was successful with two penalties to one from Alex Lozowski as Bath went in at the break 11-8 to the good.

Seven minutes into the second half, the Saracens’ fly-half drew his team level with a drop goal. However, four minutes later Homer reclaimed the lead for Bath with his third and final penalty of the day.

With less than 30 seconds to go, Saracens earnt a penalty 50 metres out, but Lozowski’s kick went wide and condemned the champions to only their second defeat of the season, as Bath moved into second place.

Gloucester 26-18 Bristol
A second half blitz saw Gloucester claim the spoils in this West Country derby.

Two Jason Woodward penalties gave Bristol a 6-0 lead at half time but ten minutes into the second half they trailed 14-6 as Matt Scott and Willi Heinz scored with James Hook converting both.

After their lacklustre first half, the Cherry and Whites continued to go through the gears with a driving maul being hauled down yards from the line. The referee had no alternative other than to award the penalty try which again, Hook converted.

Henry Purdy scored the bonus point try with just over ten minutes to go, but once again Bristol refused to lie down.

Two tries in a minute gave the scoreline a bit more respectability with Luke Arscott’s try following on immediately after Jack Wallace had scored.

It is all well fighting but Bristol needs points and fast.

Leicester 19-11 Northampton
Leicester returned to the top four at Exeter’s expense thanks to a 19-11 win at home against Northampton.

In a performance that reminded the faithful of yesteryear, the Tigers’ forwards dominated the Saints up front.

Adam Thompstone scored Leicester’s only try in the 13th minute, getting on the receiving end of a well-worked try and pass from Freddie Burns, who also added 11 points from the tee.

Mikey Hayward replied for Northampton just after Thompstone had been yellow carded for tackling George North in the air.
Stephen Myler couldn’t add the conversion but he did add two penalties in a fiercely contested match.

A 13-11 half time scoreline conveyed how tight a game this was. Only two penalties from Burns and a last minute effort from Owen Williams added to the scoreline in the second half.

Newcastle 38-32 Harlequins
Newcastle got its first bonus point for tries scored this season, also recording their first back-to-back victories since February.

The Falcons scored six tries in total but it wasn’t until late Marcus Watson and Evan Olmstead tries that they could relax.

Michael Young scored the first try of the afternoon, cancelling out Tim Swiel’s early penalty in the 13th minute but ‘Quins retook the lead when hooker Rob Buchanan was put in by Tim Visser.

The ding dong scoring continued as Argentinian centre Juan Pablo Socino scored the first of his brace. Mark Wilson then scored his side’s third try, before Socino got the all important bonus point try.

Karl Dickson dived over to give Quins some hope in the 53rd minute before spotting a gap to give the home crowd some nerves. However, Olmstead and Watson intervened.

Tim Visser did score an 80th minute try to give Quins two valuable points to take back to London in the game of the weekend.

Worcester 12-26 Wasps
Wasps survived an injury nightmare to condemn Worcester to their seventh successive defeat.

With Danny Cipriani a late omission, along with Jimmy Gopperth and Kyle Eastmond, Rob Miller stepped into the ten Jersey and he claimed 16 points with two conversions and four penalties.

Jamie Shillock converted four penalties of his own as the Warriors once again failed to show the composure needed to win at the elite level.

Brendan Macken intercepted a Shillock pass to score in just 51 seconds – the fastest try in the league this season.

Shillock’s kicking ensured that any infringement from the away side was punished. But Miller also had a big day as the Wasps led 19-12 at the break.

Five minutes into the second half and the game was all but over, as scrum half Dan Robson found his way through some weak defence to give Wasps some breathing space.

Although the Warriors’ defence creaked at times, they looked like a team devoid of confidence as they rushed passes and made wrong choices.

The win lifts Wasps back into second, a point behind Saracens after their defeat at the Rec.