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Saracens moved top of the Premiership on Sunday after defeating Gloucester, while Worcester Warriors produced a shock win over Leicester Tigers.
Saracens 38-15 Gloucester
Allianz Park
Maro Itoje touched down twice as Saracens maintained their perfect start to the campaign following a comfortable triumph over Gloucester.
The Cherry and Whites have shown signs of improvements in the early stages of the campaign but they were easily beaten by the defending champions. It was effectively decided by the break with David Strettle and Itoje (twice) going over, while Billy Twelvetrees provided the away side’s sole response from the tee.
Mark McCall’s outfit were slightly less clinical after the interval but they managed two further tries via Sean Maitland and Alex Lozowski, although the away side had the final word through Mark Atkinson and Charlie Sharples.
Sarries, despite winning their previous three matches, had struggled to find top form, but they were excellent against the West Countrymen.
Against the wind, the visitors often struggled to get out of their own half in the first 40 minutes and Sarries pounced, scoring first through Owen Farrell’s penalty.
They then constructed a well-worked try as Sean Maitland broke through in the outside channel and passed to Strettle, who touched down unopposed.
Johan Ackermann’s men were failing to gain much traction with ball in hand, although Jason Woodward threatened a couple of times, and two Itoje tries took McCall’s charges clear at the interval.
Saracens continued their dominance in the second period but it took them 13 minutes to secure the bonus-point as Maitland scampered over.
Gloucester had little answer to the power and quality of the home team and Lozowski completed Sarries’ scoring when he latched onto Liam Williams’ run.
The Cherry and Whites kept on going, however, and were rewarded when Atkinson and Sharples crossed the whitewash late on.
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Strettle, Itoje 2, Maitland, Lozowski
Cons: Farrell 5
Pen: Farrell
For Gloucester:
Tries: Atkinson, Sharples
Con: Twelvetrees
Pen: Twelvetrees
Saracens: 15 Liam Williams, 14 David Strettle, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Mike Rhodes, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Will Skelton, 4 George Kruis, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Nick Isiewke, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Alex Goode
Gloucester: 15 Jason Woodward, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Matt Banahan, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Callum Braley, 8 Ruan Ackermann, 7 Lewis Ludlow, 6 Jake Polledri, 5 Gerbrandt Grobler, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 Fraser Balmain; 2 Franco Marais, 1 Josh Hohneck
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Alex Seville, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Freddie Clarke, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Mark Atkinson, 23 Tom Hudson
Referee: Christopher Ridley
Assistant referees: Paul Dix, Rob Warburton
TMO: Trevor Fisher
Leicester Tigers 37-44 Worcester Warriors
Welford Road
Worcester Warriors finally got their reward for three successive near misses after superbly overcoming Leicester Tigers.
The Warriors were narrowly defeated by Wasps, Sale and Newcastle, but they were on the right end of the scoreline this time around, securing the bonus-point by the interval through Jack Singleton, Chris Pennell and a Duncan Weir brace.
Ted Hill added a further try in the second period before Leicester launched a stunning comeback through Jonny May, David Denton, Sione Kalamafoni and George Ford, but Worcester launched one last attack and Hill scored in the corner to win a remarkable game.
Alan Solomons’ men were outstanding early on and went 14-0 ahead in the opening 10 minutes through a pair of Weir tries. Bryce Heem created the first, breaking through the middle and off-loading to the fly-half, before Sam Lewis and Pierce Phillips combined for the Scotland international to go over again.
Consecutive Ford penalties reduced the arrears but the visitors were in control and, after Weir had kicked a three-pointer, Singleton was on the end of another incisive attack to score.
Leicester were stunned and, although Guy Thompson’s try briefly stemmed the flow of Worcester points, Solomons’ charges were soon back in command and Pennell crossed the whitewash in the left-hand corner.
Weir added another couple of efforts off the tee to make it a 19-point buffer at the break before Hill extended their lead in the second period.
To the Tigers’ credit, they improved significantly and put the visitors under pressure. Quick-fire efforts from May and Denton gave them hope before they increased the intensity further.
Geordan Murphy’s charges appeared to have salvaged a draw when Kalamafoni and Ford went over, but Hill had one last sting in the tail as Worcester deservedly ended a winless run.
The scorers:
For Leicester:
Tries: Thompson, May, Denton, Kalamafoni, Ford
Cons: Ford 3
Pens: Ford 2
For Worcester:
Tries: Weir 2, Singleton, Pennell, Hill 2
Cons: Weir 3, Pennell
Pens: Weir 2
Leicester: 15 Jordan Olowofela, 14 Jonah Holmes, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 David Denton, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Mike Williams, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs (c), 1 Greg Bateman
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Stevens, 17 David Feao, 18 Gaston Cortes, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Sam Lewis, 21 Ben White, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Kyle Eastmond
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Ryan Mills, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 GJ van Velze (c), 7 Sam Lewis, 6 Marco Mama, 5 Pierce Phillips, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 Nick Schonert, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Callum Black
Replacements: 16 Joe Taufete’e, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Gareth Milasinovich, 19 Darren Barry, 20 Ted Hill, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Ashley Beck
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Greg Macdonald, Wayne Falla
TMO: John Byett