As always thanks to our friends at Aviva.Round 13 also saw Northampton Saints hitting form as Harlequins came off second best at Franklins Gardens. Leicester Tigers are also starting to show better form as they overcame Wasps at Welford Road by 29 points to 11. In the other games, the scores were all tight as teams look to push for a top-four qualification place. Worcester Warriors claimed bragging rights over their local neighbours Gloucester, while London Irish edged out Sale Sharks in a tight game at Madejski and Newcastle Falcons narrowly succumbed to Exeter Chiefs at Kingston Park.
On Friday at Franklin’s Gardens Northampton Saints produced a disciplined and ruthless performance to defeat Aviva Premiership Rugby leaders Harlequins and record their seventh win of their last eight outings. Fly-half Ryan Lamb kicked 13 points and Ben Foden and Roger Wilson scored tries for the Saints, while Harlequins were left rueing the absence of their first choice fly-half Nick Evans. Final score: Northampton Saints 24, Harlequins 3.
On Saturday Leicester Tigers’ fly-half Billy Twelvetrees scored all his side’s points as they continued their winning run with a convincing win over London Wasps at Welford Road. Twelvetrees, playing in place of injured Toby Flood at fly-half, pounced for two tries, five penalties and two conversions in blustery conditions. Wasps replied with a try from Nic Berry converted by Elliot Daly. Final score: Leicester Tigers 29, London Wasps 11.
Over at Kingston Park, Exeter Chiefs took a major step towards Aviva Premiership Rugby safety with a hard-fought win at Newcastle Falcons, who themselves managed a losing bonus point. Haydn Thomas scored a try for the Chiefs with fly-half Ignacio Mieres kicking the conversion, two penalties and a drop goal. Newcastle’s scoring came from a try from Tim Swinson with a conversion and a penalty from the boot of Jimmy Gopperth. Final score: Newcastle Falcons 10, Exeter Chiefs 16.
It was derby day at a sold-out Sixways as Worcester Warriors faced Gloucester Rugby and took another giant stride away from the Aviva Premiership Rugby relegation zone. Worcester’s fly-half Andy Goode guided the hosts to victory in the second half after initially trailing 10-6 at half-time. Goode wiped out that deficit within six minutes of arriving off the bench when he converted his own try to follow a couple of earlier Joe Carlisle penalties. Goode then added a penalty of his own before ex-Gloucester wing Marcel Garvey sprinted 80 metres for a stunning touchdown. Final score: Worcester Warriors 21, Gloucester Rugby 15.
On Sunday London Irish made up for their hammering at Bath last week by recording a sixth Aviva Premiership Rugby victory of the season as they edged past Sale Sharks in a tense second half at the Madejski Stadium. The boot of fly-half Adrian Jarvis saw off the visitors after Irish head coach Toby Booth took off Aviva Premiership Rugby’s leading points scorer, Tom Homer, during the second half. Tries came from Bryn Evans and Topsy Ojo for Irish and from Rob Miller for Sale Sharks. Final score: London Irish 21, Sale Sharks 19.
The 2000th Premiership Rugby match took place at Vicarage Road on Sunday and saw Saracens move closer to Aviva Premiership Rugby leaders Harlequins with a win over Bath. Owen Farrell kicked 16 points but missed another 12 in a hard-fought victory that marked the 2000th game since Bath and Newcastle played the first match on August 23rd 1997. Tries came from All Black fly-half and World Cup winner Stephen Donald for Bath, who struck in the fifth minute, and from Steve Borthwick and Chris Wyles for Saracens. Final score: Saracens 26, Bath Rugby 19.
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