Quins stay top in Twickers derby
Premiership leaders Harlequins cemented their place at the top of the table when they held on to defeat London rivals Saracens in front of a world record club crowd of 83,761 fans at Wembley on Saturday.
Quins stretched their lead at the top to six points over the second-placed Saracens, who are also the defending champions.
Meanwhile Exeter Chiefs continued to push hard for a semifinal spot as they secured an 18-11 victory over London Irish.
The Devon side outscored the Exiles two tries to one, with all the visitors points coming from fullback Tom Homer.
The Chiefs are now fifth on the standings, just three points behind Northampton Saints - who produced an excellent display by to set up a comfortable 26-6 victory over Bath.
Saints exerted huge pressure on Bath right from the start.
All the Saturday drama!
Exeter Chiefs 18-11 London Irish:
Exeter Chiefs continued to push hard for a semifinal spot as they secured an 18-11 Premiership victory over London Irish.
The Devon side outscored the Exiles two tries to one with all the visitors points coming from full-back Tom Homer as the visitors slipped to their sixth Premiership defeat in a row.
Exeter named an unchanged side from the one that beat Gloucester 28-27 last time out and were led onto the Sandy Park pitch by No.8 Richard Baxter, who was making his 400th league and cup appearance for the club.
London Irish made two changes from the side that lost 41-32 at Leicester Tigers last Sunday with former England Saxon Adrian Jarvis starting at flyhalf while Romanian international Paulica Ion was at tighthead prop.
The Chiefs applied the early pressure and flyhalf Ignacio Mieres put the first points on the board with a 40-metre penalty. London Irish levelled through a Homer penalty and after Mieres had missed one kick at goal, the flyhalf succeeded with his next attempt to make it 6-3.
Baxter then made an excellent break down the left touchline before he was halted by flanker Matt Garvey, but the ball was worked across field and outside centre Bryan Rennie just failed to squeeze in at the left corner. Referee Dave Pearson had already blown his whistle for a penalty on the opposite side of the pitch, but Mieres saw his attempt hit the far upright.
The Chiefs maintained the pressure with Rennie putting a neat grubber kick through forcing Homer to take the awkward bounce into touch five metres from his own line with half-time approaching. Replacement hooker Neil Clark found Baxter to set up the drive to the line and Hanks went over for his first try of the season from close range. Mieres added the conversion to give the Chiefs a 13-3 lead at the break.
Mieres, now kicking into the wind, missed an early opportunity to stretch the Chiefs lead with a 25-metre attempt, but it was the visitors who got the first points of the half. A neat chip through from Jarvis and another awkward bounce caught two Chiefs defenders napping and allowed Homer to touchdown in the corner, although he was unable to add the touchline conversion.
Homer then reduced the arrears to two points with his second penalty but was just wide with his next attempt midway through the half.
That was just the jolt that Exeter needed and right wing Gonzalo Camacho crossed for his first try for the Chiefs having been initially tackled just short of the line. Mieres missed the conversion and a 45-metre penalty before he was replaced by Gareth Steenson for the final 10 minutes.
With less than four minutes remaining the Exiles won a penalty 15 metres from the Chiefs line in front of the posts and they kicked to touch to set up a drive for a tense finish, but the Chiefs stood firm.
The scorers:
Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Hanks, Camacho
Con: Mieres
Pens: Mieres 2
London Irish
Try: Homer
Pens: Homer 2
Teams:
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Bryan Rennie, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Ignacio Mieres, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (captain), 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Chris Whitehead, 1 Hoani Tui.
Replacements: 16 Neil Clark, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Chris Budgen, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Ben White, 21 Kevin Barrett, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Sireli Naqelevuki.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Joe Ansbro, 12 Steven Shingler, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Adrian Jarvis, 9 Darren Allinson, 8 Jamie Gibson, 7 Matt Garvey, 6 Declan Danaher, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 Nick Kennedy (captain), 3 Faan Rautenbach, 2 David Paice, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 Paulica Ion, 19 Bob Casey, 20 Alex Gray, 21 Ofisa Treviranus, 22 Delon Armitage, 23 Paul Hodgson.
Referee: David Pearson
Assistant referees: Paul Burton, Ashley Rowden
Saracens 19-24 Harlequins:
George Lowe scored one try and saved two others as Harlequins produced an heroic defensive performance to beat Saracens 24-19 in front of a world record crowd and extend their lead at the top of the Premiership table.
Lowe is on Stuart Lancaster's list of potential England stars of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and the 22-year-old Harlequins centre proved why on the biggest stage club rugby has ever seen, with a crowd at Wembley of 83,761.
After Jordan Turner-Hall's try had put Harlequins ahead, Lowe produced a top class finish to score his side's second of the afternoon and Danny Care added their third after the break.
Saracens then threw the kitchen sink at Harlequins but Lowe kept the Premiership Rugby champions out with brilliant try-saving tackles on Michael Tagicakibau and Chris Wyles in the space of three minutes.
Harlequins were under siege and had three men sin-binned - Joe Marler, Care and Nick Easter - as they weathered wave after wave of Saracens attacks.
Richard Wigglesworth finally stole over when Marler and Care were both off the field and Owen Farrell added the conversion to his four first-half penalties.
That was enough to secure Saracens the losing bonus point and move them back up to second place - but Harlequins held out for the victory to open a six-point lead at the top.
This attendance beat the previous world record club attendance of 82,208, which was set in the 2009 Heineken Cup quarter-final between Leinster and Munster at Croke Park.
A total of 165,781 fans have watched the two Premiership Rugby matches between these London rivals this season, with Harlequins' 'home' game attracting 82,000 to Twickenham.
McFly provided the pre-match entertainment but it was Harlequins who caught the eye immediately after kick-off, with Turner-Hall scoring the opening try after just four minutes.
Nick Evans' clever flick to Tom Williams on the left touchline stretched the Saracens defence and Turner-Hall claimed the inside ball to crash over the line.
Williams' offload looked suspiciously forward but referee Gregg Garner confirmed the try and Evans, who has been in disappointing form with the boot in recent weeks, landed the conversion.
Harlequins were playing more rugby but they were also being penalised heavily by referee Garner, allowing Farrell to land three kicks to nudge Saracens ahead.
Things could have been worse for Harlequins had it not been for another sensational try-saving tackle, this time from the lock George Robson on Saracens wing James Short.
Saracens' lead was only temporary. Lowe cut between David Strettle and Ernst Joubert and then wrestled his way through Alex Goode's tackle to score Harlequins' second try.
Farrell and Evans each missed a shot at goal before the England flyhalf brought Saracens back to within two points with his fourth penalty.
Harlequins were forced to make a change at the interval with flyhalf Rory Clegg replacing Evans. The newcomer managed one penalty from three attempts.
Then Care struck. Brown made the half break and off-loaded to Tom Guest, who charged into the 22, drew Alex Goode and sent the exiled England scrum-half over for the try.
Saracens then laid siege on the Harlequins line, forcing the Premiership Rugby leaders into lung-bursting defence for almost all of the final 20 minutes.
Goode's elusive break launched Saracens into the Quins half and Jackson Wray took the ball on to build the pressure but the final pass just escaped Strettle down the left.
Saracens secured the line-out and drove for the line, building the pressure on Harlequins until Marler was penalised and sent to the sin-bin.
Lowe was Harlequins' defensive hero, making those two try-saving tackles to keep Saracens out. The first was on Tagicakibau, when he combined with Williams to drive the Saracens wing into touch after Strettle and Hodgson had combined in midfield.
Still Saracens pounded away and still Harlequins resisted, with Lowe tackling Wyles into touch after Farrell and Strettle had created the overlap.
Harlequins were reduced to 13 men when Care was sent to the sin-bin for running a cynical off-side line and finally Saracens managed to breach the defence.
Saracens opted for the scrum and replacement Richard Wigglesworth stole over the line to tee up a grandstand finish.
Marler returned and was almost immediately replaced in the sin-bin by Easter, who was penalised for pulling a line-out down, but Harlequins survived to claim a significant victory.
The scorers:
Saracens:
Try: Wrigglesworth
Con: Farrell
Pens: Farrell 4
Harlequins:
Tries: Turner-Hall, Lowe, Care
Cons: Clegg, Evans 2
Pen: Clegg
Yellow cards: Joe Marler (Harlequins, 62), Danny Care (Harlequins, 70), Nick Easter (Harlequins, 79)
Teams:
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Chris Wyles, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 James Short, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Neil de Kock, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Justin Melck, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Matt Stevens.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Petrus du Plessis, 19 George Kruis, 20 Jackson Wray, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Adam Powell, 23 Michael Tagicakibau.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Ollie Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements: 16 Aston Croall, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Ross Chisholm.
Referee: Greg Garner
Assistant referees: Stuart Terheege, Robin Goodliffe
TMO: David Grashoff
Bath 6-26 Northampton: Saints
The Saints maintained their Premiership play-off spot with a first win in Bath since 2004.
.Exeter had put the pressure on by beating London Irish to move into the play-off positions by the time play got underway at the Rec.
But if the Saints were feeling the heat they weren't showing it, putting on a superbly professional performance to control play from the off. In the first 20 minutes they denied Bath either possession or position, working their way into a 10-point lead that was rarely threatened.
Prompted by outstanding performances from half-backs Lee Dickson and Ryan Lamb the visitors mixed and matched their attacking play from the first whistle. The forwards pounded away at the fringes, the backs spreading play with pace and ambition.
Nevertheless it was at the set-piece where Saints got the upper hand immediately. The scrum has won the headlines this season but it was the line-out which put Bath on the back foot early on, James Craig stealing two balls against the throw to spoil home possession and get his team going forward.
With 12 minutes on the clock the scrum took over. A Lamb grubber forced Nick Abendanon to concede a five-metre scrum. The first two ended in penalties, and sensing blood Dickson opted for the same again both times.
The next two were re-set, but at the fifth time of asking Saints got the nudge on once and for all, referee Martin Fox's patience ran out and the penalty try was the result. Lamb's conversion was infinitely easier than it would otherwise have been - from in front of the sticks instead of wide on the right - and the visitors had a well deserved lead.
Having gone in front through the pack Saints then gave the backs a chance. This looked promising, too, Craig's line-out steal winning a penalty and giving Lee Dickson the opportunity to keep the tempo up.
Ben Foden put Chris Ashton away down the right wing and George Pisi popped up a couple of times on the left. But while Bath's defence held firm and won a penalty, their line-out was proving their Achilles' heel, Saints again winning the ball back, this time on their own 22.
Even when Bath managed to win their own ball they could not make the most of it, fumbling the ball in the maul. Indeed this even came close to giving Saints the impetus for a second try. Man of the match Foden recovered his own up and under superbly and Diggin was put in the clear down the left, but when the winger backed himself rather than use the supporting Downey on the inside he was caught. Christian Day was on his shoulder but by then the blue and black shirts were back to cover and the lock was forced into touch.
The visitors nevertheless earned themselves a penalty for their efforts, from which Lamb extended the lead. But inevitably the hitherto one-way traffic was going to abate, and thanks to a pair of Stephen Donald penalties just past the half-hour they found themselves very much back in the match.
But with Lamb landing a smart drop-goal when his team got back to Bath's 22 for the first time in 15 minutes, and then a penalty on the stroke of half-time, it was the visitors who ended the half positively with a 10-point lead.
Bath had showed in the second quarter that they can never be counted out at home, and when Donald failed to reward a Ryan Caldwell break by missing his next shot at goal Saints had received a let off.
Less than 60 seconds later however a Matt Banahan break put Saints massively under pressure. Banahan kicked ahead, Matt Carraro and Tom Biggs gave chase and Ashton put the ball over the dead ball line.
Still the hosts had the five-metre scrum, but with Carraro fumbling a Donald pass under pressure Saints had escaped once more. It got even better when the pack backed themselves at the scrum, winning a penalty and clearing their lines.
But when Mark Sorenson saw yellow for not rolling away the Rec's volume rose noticeably, and while some outstanding defence - including a try saver from Foden on Abendanon - kept the hosts out they were still in a perfect position to pile on the pressure with a five-metre scrum.
However their mistakes again proved their undoing, a Donald fumble adding to two missed penalties to let the visitors off the hook. Even the seven-man Saints scrum had too much power and nous for their opponents, turning on the power to win a penalty.
Having done the hard work Saints then won the 10-minute sin bin period 3-0 thanks to Lamb's third penalty, and things got even better just past the hour. First Guy Mercer saw yellow for not rolling away, then Andy Long found himself at the bottom of a driving maul to score against his former club.
Stephen Myler kept up the fly halves' superb day off the tee by adding the extras and with a quarter of an hour to play Saints found themselves with a 20-point lead.
Bath were now resorting to Sevens-style rugby to try and get back in the game, and while they steadily made metres upfield they found the swarming visitors' defence too tough to break down and eventually turned the ball over with a loose Banahan pass into touch.
It summed Bath's afternoon up, and Saints ground down the clock to record a victory which keeps the push for the play-offs on course.
The scorers:
Bath:
Pens: Donald 2
Northampton:
Tries: Penalty try, Long
Cons: Lamb, Myler
Pens: Lamb 3
DG: Lamb
Yellow cards: Mark Sorenson (Northampton Saints, 47), Guy Mercer (Bath, 60)
Teams:
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Matt Banahan, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Matt Carraro, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Michael Claassens (captain), 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Ryan Caldwell, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 David Wilson, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Duncan Bell, 19 Josh Ovens, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Sam Vesty, 23 Jack Cuthbert.
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 George Pisi, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 James Craig, 5 Christian Day, 4 Mark Sorenson, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Andy Long, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran-Jones, 19 Teimana Harrison, 20 James Ingle, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Tom May.
Referee: Martin Fox
Assistant referees: Peter Huckle, Andrew Pearce
TMO: Geoffrey Warren