Premiership: Exeter Chiefs 9-21 Leicester Tigers
Premiership champions Leicester moved level on points with second-placed Northampton after grinding out a 21-9 victory at Exeter.
Ben Youngs and Niki Goneva both touched down for the visitors in a one-sided first half at Sandy Park.
Captain Toby Flood kicked a conversion and three penalties for the Tigers.
Exeter fought back from a 15-0 deficit at half-time but three Gareth Steenson penalties were all the home team had to show for their efforts.
Leicester climb above Bath into third position in the table and trail unbeaten leaders Saracens by four points, while Exeter's inconsistent start to the campaign continues.
Richard Cockerill's men, who had lost their only previous Premiership outing away from home this season at Bath two weeks earlier, dominated the first 40 minutes with an effective display against a Chiefs side that struggled to show any form until after the interval.
Tigers have the edge
Exeter and Leicester have played each other seven times in the Premiership since the Chiefs were promoted to the top flight in 2010.
Rob Baxter's side did the double over the Tigers in the 2011-12 season, but Leicester have won the other five meetings.
The Tigers had already wasted two scoring opportunities - full-back Niall Morris failing to ground Flood's chipped kick and then Flood missing a routine penalty - before the visitors finally registered their first points of the game on 11 minutes.
England and Lions hooker Tom Youngs twisted away from the back of a maul and fed younger brother Ben, who exploited a gap on the blind side to cross.
Flood was again wayward from the conversion but found his range to add a penalty soon afterwards.
The visitors were made to wait until a minute before the interval to add their second try, which came courtesy of Fiji international Goneva.
Switched from the wing to the centre due to the absence of injured Manu Tuilagi, Goneva intercepted a misplaced pass on half-way and cruised clear of the home defence for his third try of the season.
Given their 15-point league at half-time, many would have expected Leicester to close out an easy victory but Exeter were much improved after the break and forced two early penalties, both kicked by fly-half Steenson.
The second took him beyond 500 Premiership points, and the gap between the sides was closed to six when Leicester were penalised at the scrum and Steenson slotted over the resulting penalty from close range, although Flood responded almost immediately with a three-pointer of his own.
Despite the odd moment of alarm, Leicester held firm to clinch a third win in four Premiership matches, with captain Flood's fourth successful kick adding some gloss to the final scoreline.
SUNDAY'S LINE-UPS
Exeter Chiefs: Dollman; Whitten, Shoemark, Hill, James; Steenson, Thomas; Sturgess, Yeandle, Tui; Mumm, Welch; Johnson, Scaysbrook, Ewers. Replacements: Whitehead, Moon, Rimmer, Hayes, White, Lewis, Slade, Jess. Leicester Tigers: Morris; Scully, Goneva, Allen, Thompstone; Flood, B. Youngs; Mulipola, T. Youngs, Cole; Deacon, Parling; Slater, Salvi, Crane. Replacements: Briggs, Stankovich, Balmain, Kitchener, Gibson, Harrison, Williams, Bowden. Referee: Tim Wigglesworth (RFU)
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Steve Hansen says bonus point crucial ahead of decider
New Zealand remain on course to win the Rugby Championship after a convincing 33-15 win over Argentina.
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
The Rugby Championship: South Africa beat Australia in Cape Town
Adriaan Strauss: early try for South Africa
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Premiership: Harlequins 12-22 Saracens
Premiership: Harlequins 12-22 Saracens
Saracens maintained the only 100% record in the Premiership this season by winning at the home of fellow title contenders Harlequins.
Chris Ashton crossed for the only try to keep Sarries top of the table.
Earlier, Nick Evans had kicked four first-half penalties to put the hosts 12-6 ahead at the interval.
But Owen Farrell produced a near-faultless display from the tee, contributing 17 points to earn a fourth victory in four games for the visitors.
In a meeting between two of the sides expected to be challenging for the Premiership crown in May, Saracens were rewarded for their second-half dominance, with their failure to collect a bonus point for the first time this season only a minor disappointment.
As for Conor O'Shea's men, who lie fifth in the standings, they have now lost both of their home fixtures at the Stoop so far this term.
Harlequins were six points up at the end of an attritional first period, all of the points coming from the respective boots of fly-halves Evans and Farrell.
Milestone for Sarries skipper 
Saracens captain Steve Borthwick played his 250th Premiership match on Saturday.
The former England skipper is only the second player to reach that milestone and is now just 11 games short of George Chuter's appearance record (261).
Kelly Brown, making his return from an ankle injury, came closest to a first-half try for Saracens.
The visitors worked a short line-out to send the Scotland captain clear, and only a sensational defensive effort from Tom Williams prevented back-row forward Brown from grounding the ball.
A mass brawl followed in the immediate aftermath, following which Quins flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu was sent to the sin bin for pulling the hair of Jacques Burger.
Earlier, visiting full-back Alex Goode saw yellow for a professional foul on his opposite number Ugo Monye.
Farrell began the second period by missing a routine penalty but he played a vital role in Saracens' try.
The England and Lions man burst through Tom Casson's limp tackle and passed inside to centre Chris Wyles, who fed winger Ashton to cruise in under the posts, before Farrell slotted over the conversion to put Mark McCall's men in front for the first time.
Soon afterwards, Joe Marler received a yellow card for pulling down a maul and Farrell added two more penalties while the Harlequins prop was off the field to extend the advantage to 19-12.
Buoyed by their improvement after the break, the visitors stretched the lead to 10 points with Farrell's fifth successful penalty, while Evans was unable to clinch a losing bonus point as he failed with a late three-point attempt of his own.
SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Lowe, Casson, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Buchanan, Collier; Easter, Robson; Fa'asavalu, Robshaw, Guest. Replacements: Ward, Lambert, Sinckler, Merrick, Wallace, Dickson, Botica, Hopper. Sin Bin: Fa'asavalu (36), Marler (55). Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Wyles, Taylor, Strettle; Farrell, Wigglesworth; M. Vunipola, Brits, Stevens; Borthwick, Kruis; Brown, Burger, B. Vunipola. Replacements: George, Auterac, Johnston, Hargreaves, Wray, de Kock, Tagicakibau, Wilson. Sin Bin: Goode (12). Referee: Martin Fox (RFU) Attendance: 12,220
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Premiership: Bath 33-18 London Irish
Premiership: Bath 33-18 London Irish
Bath made it three wins from their first four Premiership outings with a routine home win against London Irish.
The hosts claimed a bonus point within 34 minutes, with Jonathan Joseph, Guy Mercer (2), George Ford and Rob Webber all crossing in the first half.
But they were unable to add any further scores in the second period.
Shane Geraghty scored all 18 points for the visitors, including two tries, but the Exiles could not close the deficit enough to force a losing bonus point.
More to follow. SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Bath: Watson; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Eastmond, Banahan; Ford, Stringer; James, Webber, Wilson; Day, Attwood; Garvey, Mercer, Houston. Replacements: Batty, Perenise, Palma-Newport, Hooper, Faosiliva, Roberts, Devoto, Biggs. London Irish: Ojo; Yarde, Mulchrone, Sheridan, Lewington; Humphreys, O'Leary; Parr, Paice, Halavatau; Rouse, Sinclair; Danaher, Low, Treviranus. Replacements: Stevens, Yapp, Hagan, Gough, Evans, Cowan, Geraghty, Allinson. Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
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Friday, September 27, 2013
Premiership: Northampton 33-14 Sale
Premiership: Northampton 33-14 Sale
George North ran in his first try for Northampton as Saints beat Sale to draw level with Saracens at the top of the early season Premiership table.
The Lions winger ran in the second of the Saints' five tries, Luther Burrell, George Pisi, Lee Dickson and Phil Dowson also touching down.
Stephen Myler kicked four conversions for the hosts, who suffered the only yellow card of the game, Calum Clark.
Mark Cueto and Marc Jones scored two converted tries for the Sharks.
More to follow.
FRIDAY'S LINE-UPS
Northampton: Foden; Elliott, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, L Dickson; Corbisiero, Hartley, Mercey, Lawes, Day, Clark, Dowson, Dickinson. Replacements: Manoa for Day (50), Wilson for G Pisi (61), Fotuali'i for L Dickson (61), A Waller for Corbisiero (61), Denman for Mercey (61), Wood for Lawes (61), Haywood for Hartley (62),K Pisi for North (68). Sin Bin: Clark (36). Sale: Arscott; Miller, Cueto, Forsyth, Brady; Cipriani, Cliff; Lewis-Roberts, Taylor, Cobilas, Kulemin, Paterson, Braid, Seymour, Easter. Replacements: Harrison for Lewis-Roberts (50), Jones for Taylor (50), Thomas for Cobilas (50), J Mills for Kulemin (51), Mackenzie for Arscott (62), Ford for Cipriani (68), Fowles for Cliff (68), Ostrikov for Braid (69). Attendance: 12,782. Referee: David Rose (RFU).
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Premiership: Harlequins 12-22 Saracens
Premiership: Harlequins 12-22 Saracens
Saracens maintained the only 100% record in the Premiership this season by winning at the home of fellow title contenders Harlequins.
Chris Ashton crossed for the only try to keep Sarries top of the table.
Earlier, Nick Evans had kicked four first-half penalties to put the hosts 12-6 ahead at the interval.
But Owen Farrell produced a near-faultless display from the tee, contributing 17 points to earn a fourth victory in four games for the visitors.
In a meeting between two of the sides expected to be challenging for the Premiership crown in May, Saracens were rewarded for their second-half dominance, with their failure to collect a bonus point for the first time this season only a minor disappointment.
As for Conor O'Shea's men, who lie fifth in the standings, they have now lost both of their home fixtures at the Stoop so far this term.
Harlequins were six points up at the end of an attritional first period, all of the points coming from the respective boots of fly-halves Evans and Farrell.
Milestone for Sarries skipper Saracens captain Steve Borthwick played his 250th Premiership match on Saturday.
The former England skipper is only the second player to reach that milestone and is now just 11 games short of George Chuter's appearance record (261).
Kelly Brown, making his return from an ankle injury, came closest to a first-half try for Saracens.
The visitors worked a short line-out to send the Scotland captain clear, and only a sensational defensive effort from Tom Williams prevented back-row forward Brown from grounding the ball.
A mass brawl followed in the immediate aftermath, following which Quins flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu was sent to the sin bin for pulling the hair of Jacques Burger.
Earlier, visiting full-back Alex Goode saw yellow for a professional foul on his opposite number Ugo Monye.
Farrell began the second period by missing a routine penalty but he played a vital role in Saracens' try.
The England and Lions man burst through Tom Casson's limp tackle and passed inside to centre Chris Wyles, who fed winger Ashton to cruise in under the posts, before Farrell slotted over the conversion to put Mark McCall's men in front for the first time.
Soon afterwards, Joe Marler received a yellow card for pulling down a maul and Farrell added two more penalties while the Harlequins prop was off the field to extend the advantage to 19-12.
Buoyed by their improvement after the break, the visitors stretched the lead to 10 points with Farrell's fifth successful penalty, while Evans was unable to clinch a losing bonus point as he failed with a late three-point attempt of his own.
SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Lowe, Casson, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Buchanan, Collier; Easter, Robson; Fa'asavalu, Robshaw, Guest. Replacements: Ward, Lambert, Sinckler, Merrick, Wallace, Dickson, Botica, Hopper. Sin Bin: Fa'asavalu (36), Marler (55). Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Wyles, Taylor, Strettle; Farrell, Wigglesworth; M. Vunipola, Brits, Stevens; Borthwick, Kruis; Brown, Burger, B. Vunipola. Replacements: George, Auterac, Johnston, Hargreaves, Wray, de Kock, Tagicakibau, Wilson. Sin Bin: Goode (12). Referee: Martin Fox (RFU) Attendance: 12,220
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Premiership: Bath 33-18 London Irish
Premiership: Bath 33-18 London Irish
Bath made it three wins from their first four Premiership outings with a routine home win against London Irish.
The hosts claimed a bonus point within 34 minutes, with Jonathan Joseph, Guy Mercer (2), George Ford and Rob Webber all crossing in the first half.
But they were unable to add any further scores in the second period.
Shane Geraghty scored all 18 points for the visitors, including two tries, but the Exiles could not close the deficit enough to force a losing bonus point.
More to follow. SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Bath: Watson; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Eastmond, Banahan; Ford, Stringer; James, Webber, Wilson; Day, Attwood; Garvey, Mercer, Houston. Replacements: Batty, Perenise, Palma-Newport, Hooper, Faosiliva, Roberts, Devoto, Biggs. London Irish: Ojo; Yarde, Mulchrone, Sheridan, Lewington; Humphreys, O'Leary; Parr, Paice, Halavatau; Rouse, Sinclair; Danaher, Low, Treviranus. Replacements: Stevens, Yapp, Hagan, Gough, Evans, Cowan, Geraghty, Allinson. Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
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Friday, September 27, 2013
Premiership: Northampton 33-14 Sale
Premiership: Northampton 33-14 Sale
George North ran in his first try for Northampton as Saints beat Sale to draw level with Saracens at the top of the early season Premiership table.
The Lions winger ran in the second of the Saints' five tries, Luther Burrell, George Pisi, Lee Dickson and Phil Dowson also touching down.
Stephen Myler kicked four conversions for the hosts, who suffered the only yellow card of the game, Calum Clark.
Mark Cueto and Marc Jones scored two converted tries for the Sharks.
More to follow.
FRIDAY'S LINE-UPS
Northampton: Foden; Elliott, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, L Dickson; Corbisiero, Hartley, Mercey, Lawes, Day, Clark, Dowson, Dickinson. Replacements: Manoa for Day (50), Wilson for G Pisi (61), Fotuali'i for L Dickson (61), A Waller for Corbisiero (61), Denman for Mercey (61), Wood for Lawes (61), Haywood for Hartley (62),K Pisi for North (68). Sin Bin: Clark (36). Sale: Arscott; Miller, Cueto, Forsyth, Brady; Cipriani, Cliff; Lewis-Roberts, Taylor, Cobilas, Kulemin, Paterson, Braid, Seymour, Easter. Replacements: Harrison for Lewis-Roberts (50), Jones for Taylor (50), Thomas for Cobilas (50), J Mills for Kulemin (51), Mackenzie for Arscott (62), Ford for Cipriani (68), Fowles for Cliff (68), Ostrikov for Braid (69). Attendance: 12,782. Referee: David Rose (RFU).
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Premiership: Harlequins 12-22 Saracens
Premiership: Harlequins 12-22 Saracens
Saracens maintained the only 100% record in the Premiership this season by winning at the home of fellow title contenders Harlequins.
Chris Ashton crossed for the only try to keep Sarries top of the table.
Earlier, Nick Evans had kicked four first-half penalties to put the hosts 12-6 ahead at the interval.
But Owen Farrell produced a near-faultless display from the tee, contributing 17 points to earn a fourth victory in four games for the visitors.
In a meeting between two of the sides expected to be challenging for the Premiership crown in May, Saracens were rewarded for their second-half dominance, with their failure to collect a bonus point for the first time this season only a minor disappointment.
As for Conor O'Shea's men, who lie fifth in the standings, they have now lost both of their home fixtures at the Stoop so far this term.
Harlequins were six points up at the end of an attritional first period, all of the points coming from the respective boots of fly-halves Evans and Farrell.
Milestone for Sarries skipper Saracens captain Steve Borthwick played his 250th Premiership match on Saturday.
The former England skipper is only the second player to reach that milestone and is now just 11 games short of George Chuter's appearance record (261).
Kelly Brown, making his return from an ankle injury, came closest to a first-half try for Saracens.
The visitors worked a short line-out to send the Scotland captain clear, and only a sensational defensive effort from Tom Williams prevented back-row forward Brown from grounding the ball.
A mass brawl followed in the immediate aftermath, following which Quins flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu was sent to the sin bin for pulling the hair of Jacques Burger.
Earlier, visiting full-back Alex Goode saw yellow for a professional foul on his opposite number Ugo Monye.
Farrell began the second period by missing a routine penalty but he played a vital role in Saracens' try.
The England and Lions man burst through Tom Casson's limp tackle and passed inside to centre Chris Wyles, who fed winger Ashton to cruise in under the posts, before Farrell slotted over the conversion to put Mark McCall's men in front for the first time.
Soon afterwards, Joe Marler received a yellow card for pulling down a maul and Farrell added two more penalties while the Harlequins prop was off the field to extend the advantage to 19-12.
Buoyed by their improvement after the break, the visitors stretched the lead to 10 points with Farrell's fifth successful penalty, while Evans was unable to clinch a losing bonus point as he failed with a late three-point attempt of his own.
SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Lowe, Casson, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Buchanan, Collier; Easter, Robson; Fa'asavalu, Robshaw, Guest. Replacements: Ward, Lambert, Sinckler, Merrick, Wallace, Dickson, Botica, Hopper. Sin Bin: Fa'asavalu (36), Marler (55). Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Wyles, Taylor, Strettle; Farrell, Wigglesworth; M. Vunipola, Brits, Stevens; Borthwick, Kruis; Brown, Burger, B. Vunipola. Replacements: George, Auterac, Johnston, Hargreaves, Wray, de Kock, Tagicakibau, Wilson. Sin Bin: Goode (12). Referee: Martin Fox (RFU) Attendance: 12,220
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Saracens captain Steve Borthwick played his 250th Premiership match on Saturday.
The former England skipper is only the second player to reach that milestone and is now just 11 games short of George Chuter's appearance record (261).
Kelly Brown, making his return from an ankle injury, came closest to a first-half try for Saracens.
The visitors worked a short line-out to send the Scotland captain clear, and only a sensational defensive effort from Tom Williams prevented back-row forward Brown from grounding the ball.
A mass brawl followed in the immediate aftermath, following which Quins flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu was sent to the sin bin for pulling the hair of Jacques Burger.
Earlier, visiting full-back Alex Goode saw yellow for a professional foul on his opposite number Ugo Monye.
Farrell began the second period by missing a routine penalty but he played a vital role in Saracens' try.
The England and Lions man burst through Tom Casson's limp tackle and passed inside to centre Chris Wyles, who fed winger Ashton to cruise in under the posts, before Farrell slotted over the conversion to put Mark McCall's men in front for the first time.
Soon afterwards, Joe Marler received a yellow card for pulling down a maul and Farrell added two more penalties while the Harlequins prop was off the field to extend the advantage to 19-12.
Buoyed by their improvement after the break, the visitors stretched the lead to 10 points with Farrell's fifth successful penalty, while Evans was unable to clinch a losing bonus point as he failed with a late three-point attempt of his own.
SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Harlequins: Brown; Williams, Lowe, Casson, Monye; Evans, Care; Marler, Buchanan, Collier; Easter, Robson; Fa'asavalu, Robshaw, Guest. Replacements: Ward, Lambert, Sinckler, Merrick, Wallace, Dickson, Botica, Hopper. Sin Bin: Fa'asavalu (36), Marler (55). Saracens: Goode; Ashton, Wyles, Taylor, Strettle; Farrell, Wigglesworth; M. Vunipola, Brits, Stevens; Borthwick, Kruis; Brown, Burger, B. Vunipola. Replacements: George, Auterac, Johnston, Hargreaves, Wray, de Kock, Tagicakibau, Wilson. Sin Bin: Goode (12). Referee: Martin Fox (RFU) Attendance: 12,220
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Premiership: Bath 33-18 London Irish
Premiership: Bath 33-18 London Irish
Bath made it three wins from their first four Premiership outings with a routine home win against London Irish.
The hosts claimed a bonus point within 34 minutes, with Jonathan Joseph, Guy Mercer (2), George Ford and Rob Webber all crossing in the first half.
But they were unable to add any further scores in the second period.
Shane Geraghty scored all 18 points for the visitors, including two tries, but the Exiles could not close the deficit enough to force a losing bonus point.
More to follow. Bath: Watson; Rokoduguni, Joseph, Eastmond, Banahan; Ford, Stringer; James, Webber, Wilson; Day, Attwood; Garvey, Mercer, Houston. Replacements: Batty, Perenise, Palma-Newport, Hooper, Faosiliva, Roberts, Devoto, Biggs. London Irish: Ojo; Yarde, Mulchrone, Sheridan, Lewington; Humphreys, O'Leary; Parr, Paice, Halavatau; Rouse, Sinclair; Danaher, Low, Treviranus. Replacements: Stevens, Yapp, Hagan, Gough, Evans, Cowan, Geraghty, Allinson. Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)
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SATURDAY'S LINE-UPS
Friday, September 27, 2013
Premiership: Northampton 33-14 Sale
Premiership: Northampton 33-14 Sale
George North ran in his first try for Northampton as Saints beat Sale to draw level with Saracens at the top of the early season Premiership table.
The Lions winger ran in the second of the Saints' five tries, Luther Burrell, George Pisi, Lee Dickson and Phil Dowson also touching down.
Stephen Myler kicked four conversions for the hosts, who suffered the only yellow card of the game, Calum Clark.
Mark Cueto and Marc Jones scored two converted tries for the Sharks.
More to follow.
FRIDAY'S LINE-UPS
Northampton: Foden; Elliott, G Pisi, Burrell, North; Myler, L Dickson; Corbisiero, Hartley, Mercey, Lawes, Day, Clark, Dowson, Dickinson. Replacements: Manoa for Day (50), Wilson for G Pisi (61), Fotuali'i for L Dickson (61), A Waller for Corbisiero (61), Denman for Mercey (61), Wood for Lawes (61), Haywood for Hartley (62),K Pisi for North (68). Sin Bin: Clark (36). Sale: Arscott; Miller, Cueto, Forsyth, Brady; Cipriani, Cliff; Lewis-Roberts, Taylor, Cobilas, Kulemin, Paterson, Braid, Seymour, Easter. Replacements: Harrison for Lewis-Roberts (50), Jones for Taylor (50), Thomas for Cobilas (50), J Mills for Kulemin (51), Mackenzie for Arscott (62), Ford for Cipriani (68), Fowles for Cliff (68), Ostrikov for Braid (69). Attendance: 12,782. Referee: David Rose (RFU).
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