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Saints hand Quins rare home defeat

In a frantic first half, visitors Saints took the lead three times, centre Luther Burrell setting up a try for Christian Day and scoring another. Those two tries and the boot of Stephen Myler gave Northampton a 17-14 lead at half-time, the hosts getting on the scoreboard through tries for George Merrick and Ross Chisholm, with flyhalf Nick Evans kicking both conversions.

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In a tighter second half, Evans added two penalties to JJ Hanrahan's one before the Kiwi's replacement, Ben Botica, looked to have won the hosts the game with a 72nd-minute three-pointer. But Botica failed to find touch with time up and when Saints got the ball into Foden's hands, he won them the game as Quins suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time this campaign.

*Elsewhere, Andy Goode was left to regret a hat-trick of first half misses from the tee as Newcastle Falcons were narrowly beaten by his former club Wasps. Goode and Jimmy Gopperth traded one penalty apiece in the first half, though the Newcastle flyhalf had missed his first two kicks at goal.

Nili Latu crossed over after the break to put the Falcons ahead but Goode's missed conversion left the hosts just five points adrift. Wasps were left frustrated on more than one occasion in their search for a try, with two chalked off by the officials, but fought their way back into the lead courtesy of a pair of Gopperth penalties.

*Josh Beaumont crashed over in the second half to settle a tight affair as Sale Sharks beat Leicester Tigers at Welford Road for the first time in eight years. In truth Sale could have won by a bigger margin if not for Danny Cipriani's miscues from the tee, missing five from six penalties amid blustery conditions.

A penalty apiece from Cipriani and Freddie Burns were the only scores until the 61st minute, as Sale finally turned the screw through captain Beaumont.

Cipriani – who was his usual effervescent self in open play – converted and despite a barrage of late Leicester pressure, the hosts' 100 per cent record at home in Aviva Premiership Rugby this season came to an end.

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All Saturday's scores and scorers!

Harlequins 23-27 Northampton Saints

Myler capitalised on Northampton's quick start and put the visitors ahead inside five minutes with an easily converted penalty. But Harlequins put seven points on the board with their first real attack of the game moments later, as some good hands presented Merrick with a simple opportunity to cross the line and Evans added the extras.

Myler was gifted the opportunity to add another three for Saints after Quins were penalised for holding on but his effort hit the post in blustery conditions. However, an excellent burst from Burrell saw him tear through Quins' defensive unit and unselfishly offload the ball to Day, who ran home unopposed before Myler made no mistake with the conversion.

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Chisholm handed the lead back to Quins in the 23rd minute as he received the ball 10 yards from the line and charged over to claim his third try of the season, Evans once again converted with ease.

But the first half action didn't stop there and on the half hour mark Burrell put Saints ahead for the third time in the game after being set up by centre partner Harry Mallinder, Myler successfully kicking his second conversion.

And the half ended on an even more sour note for the hosts as Tito Tebaldi was sent to the sin bin on the stroke of half-time for a deliberate knock on, with Saints leading 17-14.

Harlequins made light work of being a man down, however, as Evans scored his first penalty of the game three minutes into the second half to level proceedings. And the Quins No.10 continued his excellent kicking form, to give the hosts the lead with a penalty from straight in front of the posts after Northampton were penalised for a deliberate knock on.

The home side dominated the first 15 minutes of the second half and were yards away from extending their lead on several occasions, but resilient defending from Saints kept the gap to three points. Northampton flankTom Wood was sent to the sin bin with 14 minutes to play for bringing down the Quins maul with them inches away from crossing the line.

But the Saints appeared to be spurred on by the loss of Wood and drew level with a Hanrahan penalty. The hosts immediately regained their lead through a Botica penalty after Northampton were penalised for holding on.

But with the 80 minutes up, Saints had one chance left to win the game and some patient build up allowed Foden space. He faked to pass before bursting through the Quins' last line of defence to win the game, with Hanrahan adding the extras.

Scorers:

For Harlequins:

Tries: Merrick, Chisholm

Cons: Evans 2

Pens: Evans 2, Botica

For Northampton Saints:

Tries: Day, Burrell, Foden

Cons: Myler 2, Hanrahan

Pens: Myler, Hanrahan

Yellow cards: Tito Tebaldi (Harlequins, 39), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints, 65)

Teams:

Harlequins: 15 Ross Chisholm, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Harry Sloan, 11 Charlie Walker, 10 Nick Evans (captain), 9  Tito Tebaldi, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Luke Wallace, 6 Mat Luamanu, 5 James Horwill, 4 George Merrick, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Rob Buchanan, 1 Mark Lambert.

Replacements: 16 Joe Gray, 17 Owen Evans, 18 Will Collier, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Dave Ward, 21 Calum Waters, 22 Ben Botica, 23 Tim Swiel.

Northampton Saints: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Harry Mallinder, 11 Jamie Elliott, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Sam Dickinson, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Christian Day, 4 James Craig, 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Mikey Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.

Replacements: 16 Reece Marshall, 17 Ethan Waller, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Tom Kessell, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 James Wilson.

Referee: Gregory Garner

Wasps 9-8 Newcastle Falcons

Wasps were dealt an early blow when James Gaskell was forced off the pitch injured after just three minutes and they received a let-off soon after, when Goode sent a penalty wide of the left post. The veteran flyhalf had the chance to make amends on the quarter-hour mark after Wasps were caught offside but once again, he missed the target.

The Falcons continued to enjoy their fair share of possession and territory but their hosts almost grabbed the game's opening try when a Thomas Young break brought them into the Newcastle 22. The move was halted but referee Craig Maxwell-Keys awarded Wasps a penalty for offside in front of the posts and Gopperth made it 3-0.

Goode successfully navigated the knifing winds to level things up from the tee just three minutes later and that is the way it stayed until half-time. That was despite the efforts of Christian Wade, who threatened with a chip-and-chase shortly after the half hour, while a potentially try-saving turnover on the stroke of half-time denied Newcastle and allowed Gopperth to boot clear.

Wade thought he had the opening try shortly after the break, winning a foot race after the ball was hacked forward but the TMO ruled the wing had been offside. Newcastle immediately flew up the other end and Latu found himself at the back of a powerful lineout drive to touch down, though the conversion missed its target.

The Falcons were soon down to 14, Giovanbattista Venditti sent to the sin bin, and Gopperth slotted the resulting penalty to reduce the deficit to two points.

The hosts sought to capitalise on their numerical advantage, introducing George Smith and Ashley Johnson from the bench. Johnson immediately made a powerful break and the ball found its way to James Cannon to score but it was chalked off for a knock-on in the build-up.

Wasps continued to search for their first try of the afternoon and with seven minutes Gopperth settled for a penalty, only for his effort to fall short of the posts. But he made amends five minutes from time, when the Falcons were penalised once more, to hand Wasps victory by the narrowest possible margin.

Scorers:

For Wasps:

Pens: Gopperth 3

For Newcastle Falcons:

Try: Latu

Pen: Goode

Yellow card: Giovanbattista Venditti (Newcastle Falcons, 52)

Teams:

Wasps: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 James Downey, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth (captain), 9 Dan Robson, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Alex Rieder, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Edd Shervington, 1 Simon McIntyre.

Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Phil Swainston, 19 James Cannon, 20 George Smith, 21 Jamie Stevenson, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Siale Piutau.

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Adam Powell, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Michael Young, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Will Welch (captain), 5 Sean Robinson, 4 Mark Wilson, 3 Taione Vea, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Rob Vickers.

Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Alex Rogers, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Mouritz Botha, 20 Richard Mayhew, Sonatane Takulua, 22 Craig Willis, 23 Marcus Watson.

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys

Leicester Tigers 3-10 Sale Sharks

It was the visitors who started with their tails up, ramping up the pressure early on and forcing Tigers into an infringement in the ruck. Cipriani's penalty attempt slid wide of the posts but back came Sale, and a superb tackle from Sam Harrison stopped a rampaging Sam James in his tracks.

When Tigers went off their feet in the 11th minute, Cipriani put Sharks on the board but for however well the England flyhalf was playing, his kicking continued to go awry.

He missed two further attempts from the tee in the 23rd and 25th minutes as Tigers continued to come off second best in the breakdown. Tigers finally started to gather some momentum on the half-hour and Cipriani's failed interception saw Burns level the scores.

That seemed to give Leicester the spur they needed, though it was not turning out to be a day for the kickers as Burns could not capitalise on a Sharks indiscretion. Cipriani had one final shot at goal before the half was out but from just over halfway, his kick went astray and both teams went in finely poised at 3-3.

Burns got another crack early on shortly after the resumption when Sale were pinged at their own driving maul but the width of the post thwarted him. With neither team making sufficient inroads with ball in hand there was no other choice but to kick when the opportunity presented itself, though things were still not going Cipriani's way.

His next miss arrived on the 55th minute but at the next opportunity, Cipriani sent a great kick to the corner to bring up a five-metre lineout for Sharks. Sale's surge from the driving maul was unstoppable and No.8 Beaumont was the one to emerge from the pile of bodies.

Cipriani kicked through the conversion to send Sale seven points clear heading into the final quarter, though things weren't over yet. Mathew Tait came to life with a superb break and though Matt Smith could not quite gather in the final pass, the pair continued to look lively.

Indeed Leicester were not about to lie down and the forwards burrowed their way into Sale's 22 and proceeded to pin them back. However, brave Sale defence and clearance kicks from Peter Stringer and Cipriani alleviated the pressure and handed the visitors a famous win.

Scorers:

For Leicester Tigers:

Pen: Burns

For Sale Sharks:

Try: Beaumont

Con: Cipriani

Pen: Cipriani

 

Teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Matt Smith, 11 Gonzalo Camacho, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Jordan Crane, 7 Lachlan McCaffrey, 6 Mike Fitzgerald, 5 Graham Kitchener, 4 Dom Barrow, 3 Fraser Balmain, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Logovi’i Mulipola.

Replacements: 16 Harry Thacker, 17 Riccardo Brugnara, 18 Greg Bateman, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Tom Croft, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 Christian Loamanu, 23 Jack Roberts.

Sale Sharks: 15 Mike Haley, 14 Will Addison, 13 Sam James, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Nev Edwards, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Josh Beaumont (captain), 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Cameron Neild, 5 Andrei Ostrikov, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Vadim Cobilas, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Ross Harrison.

Replacements: 16 Neil Briggs, 17 Eifion Lewis-Roberts, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Jonathan Mills, 20 David Seymour, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Joe Ford, 23 Tom Arscott

Referee: Tim Wigglesworth

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