Aviva Premiership review: Leicester Tigers survive Exeter Chiefs scare
The home dressing room at Welford Road is usually a relaxed place to be on match days, but this was far from the case on Saturday afternoon as Exeter Chiefs took a shock half-time lead against Leicester Tigers.
Richard Cockerill’s men were left stunned as the newly-promoted side led 20-10 at the interval, but in the style of true champions, the Tigers bounced back in the second half to win the match 37-27.
It was harsh on Exeter after they missed out on a deserved bonus-point. However, it was a performance which will provide huge encouragement for the Chiefs, and they will now be even more confident of making a big impact in this season’s Premiership.
Dan Hipkiss grabbed the crucial try with 11 minutes left on the clock to ensure Leicester would take their natural place inside the top four, while Exeter finished the weekend one place behind in fifth.
Meanwhile, it’s Bath who currently top the Aviva Premiership after an impressive 20-13 victory against London Irish. In a game dominated by the boot, Bath replaced their opponents in top spot thanks to a late try from Nick Abendanon. The Exiles were reduced to 14 men when George Stowers was sent off in the closing stages of the match. Olly Barkley grabbed 15 of Bath’s 20 points, and it was the centre who kicked the final points of the match with a late penalty.
Northampton Saints also made it two wins from two with a narrow 20-16 away victory over Harlequins. It proved a gritty battle at the Stoop, but thanks to two tries from Chris Ashton and Dylan Hartley, plus a further 10 points from Shane Geraghty, Jim Mallinder’s side done enough to seal the win.
Quins had their chances and pilled on the pressure towards the end of the match, but Northampton defended resolutely and deservedly took the share of the spoils.
Elsewhere, Saracens began their ascent back up the league table with an excellent 28-13 win over Sale Sharks. Schalk Brits, Deon Carstens and Dave Strettle crossed the line for the Sarries, while Richard Wigglesworth kicked the other 13 points.
It was a dramatically improved performance from last week’s defeat against London Irish at Twickenham, and a result which left Saracens’ director of rugby Brendan Venter content once more. As for Sale, they will be glad to get back on home soil for their next league fixture against Harlequins on Friday night.
One of the biggest surprises of the weekend involved Newcastle Falcons, who hosted London Wasps last Friday evening.
After being torn apart by Sale Sharks, Newcastle weren’t offered much hope against Wasps. But a virtuoso kicking display from fly-half Jimmy Gopperth – reinstated after being left out against Sale – earned the Falcons their first four points of the campaign.
Redford Pennycook and Tim Swinson grabbed Newcastle’s tries, in the club’s 29-17 win, leaving Wasps second to bottom in the league table with just two points from their opening two matches.
It’s Leeds Carnegie who find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table, though. A late penalty by Gloucester’s Nicky Robinson ensured the Cherry and Whites won by the narrowest of margins at Kingsholm.
Leeds had looked on course for a shock victory, but Robinson’s last-gasp kick meant out-of-sorts Gloucester snatched the points in a dramatic 22-21 victory.
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