Round up of the action from week 14 of the Aviva Premiership. The following post and photo supplied by our friends at Aviva Premiership. Aviva for all your insurance needs.
London Wasps finally broke their six-year losing streak at the Twickenham Stoop with a thrilling 17-16 victory over Harlequins as they closed the gap on the Aviva Premiership leaders.
Tries from Tom Varndell and Christian Wade had put Wasps in the driving seat but champions Harlequins roared back and Matt Hopper's try brought them into contention.
Fly-half Nick Evans had a chance to extend their unbeaten run to 11 games with a 78th minute penalty but the normally ice cool Kiwi failed from the tee to hand Wasps the points.
Wasps director of rugby Dai Young admitted the form of Varndell and Wade meant they both in the frame for an England call up.
"We're really pleased with what they do for us, they are a big threat for us and they have shown time and time again that if they are given space and given enough ball they are going to cause any team problems," he said.
"We're blessed in England that we have a lot of wingers and I wouldn't want to do Stuart's [Lancaster] job for him. It is hard enough selecting any team but they have certainly got to be keeping the pressure on.
"We have shown some good form at home but we have struggled away and they don't get much tougher than coming to the Stoop so this win should give us a lot of belief."
A try in each half for from Jonny May was enough to secure Gloucester Rugby a rare away win as they surprised Northampton Saints 27-11 at Franklin's Gardens.
Roob Cook added 17 points from the kicking tee as Gloucester took points off their rivals for a top four Aviva Premiership finish - earning their first away win in the league since September.
Gloucester director of rugby Nigel Davies insisted it was the Cherry & Whites improved discipline that had helped them secure victory.
"Discipline was always going to be huge for us. In the past three games we'd given away 18 penalties, which is not good enough, and if you come here and do that you're not going to get anything out of the game," said Davies.
"We were very disciplined and very accurate in the contact areas as well, which maintains your discipline and allows you to be effective in that area.
"And having Jonny May back makes the difference. He's the type of player who, in a tight arm wrestle of a game, can change how it looks and that's what he did."
Leicester boss Richard Cockerill played down the performance of England flanker Tom Croft after the Tigers mauled London Welsh to keep up their relentless surge towards the end-of-season play-offs.
Croft, who suffered a broken neck in an Aviva Premiership clash with Harlequins' last April after miss-timing a tackle on former England colleague Nick Easter, was making only his third start after returning to full fitness.
George Ford kicked 13 points for Leicester against London Welsh, with Adam Thompstone scoring a first-half try, with Niall Morris and Dan Bowden also touching down for the Tigers after the break, while Gordon Ross scored 12 points for the Exiles.
"Tom Croft is sharp, he's a quality player, we know his abilities in the loose but he's not played much in eight months but he'll get better," said Cockerill.
"He's got pace and at times we need that to get us out of some sticky moments but it's all positive for me but we do need to be patient."
Meanwhile, Bath Rugby boss Gary Gold believes his side are a match for anyone on their day after a free-flowing performance that saw them run in five tries against Worcester Warriors.
Gold's men have thrilled fans at the Rec in recent weeks with a brand of running rugby that has brought them five wins in a row in all competitions, including this 32-9 win over the Warriors.
The victory was Bath's fifth in a row, and they wasted no time in building on last weekend's 32-5 demolition of Gloucester Rugby in the LV=Cup.
"We achieved the win with a bit of style in the end, but I thought we made heavy weather of it in the first half, which was disappointing," said Gold.
London Irish caused the shock of the day as they defeated Saracens 29-16.
Scores from Shane Geraghty and Ofisa Treviranus, plus 19 points from the boot of Tom Homer, saw Irish make it back-to-back Aviva Premiership wins and inflict a first defeat in nine games on Sarries.
Victory leaves Smith's side five points clear of bottom-club Sale but the Exiles boss is in under no illusions as to how much hard graft awaits.
"I didn't watch last night's game as I couldn't - it would have given me too many butterflies. I checked the result but didn't refer to it once when speaking to the boys," he said.
"We are looking ahead and are aiming at 16 points from our last eight games with five of those at home. However we must not look too far ahead."
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