Five-try Exeter tear struggling Falcons apart to climb back to summit
Exeter Chiefs returned to the top of the Premiership with a comfortable 35-17 victory over Newcastle Falcons at Sandy Park.
Chiefs scored five tries through Santiago Cordero, Jack Yeandle, Olly Woodburn, Nic White and Greg Holmes, with Gareth Steenson converting all of them.
The Falcons remain rooted to the bottom of the table and looked a side short of confidence. At one stage, they looked set for a crushing defeat but some spirited defending kept the final score respectable and Zach Kibirige scored two tries and Sonatane Takulua one, with Toby Flood adding a conversion.
Exeter assistant coach Ali Hepher said: “It was tough old battle as there are a lot of wounded people on both sides. After last week’s defeat at Gloucester we wanted the guys to show more emotion, which they did. We applied ourselves correctly and communicated well. Our ball-carrying ability to make the hard yards proved the difference and we were the better side in the contact area.”
At Franklin’s Gardens, James Grayson converted with the final kick of the game as Northampton Saints beat Bath 27-26 in a stunning finish at Franklin’s Gardens.
David Ribbans powered over to give Grayson a simple effort, which he dispatched to earn the win and draw a roar from the home fans.
It was cruel for Bath, who thought they had won the game after tries by Ruaridh McConnochie and Zach Mercer, allied to 16 points from the boot of Rhys Priestland.
But Saints showed spirit and Ribbans’ score proved key, adding to earlier efforts from Rory Hutchinson and Alex Mitchell. It was a seventh successive win in all competitions for the Saints, who moved into the top six.
Mike Brown scored a recordequalling 89th try for Harlequins as they secured a bonus-point 36-26 victory over Bristol Bears to move back into third in the table.
Faf de Klerk inspired Sale to a 24-18 victory at Wasps as his side bounced back from their 67-17 mauling at Northampton.
The South African scrum-half was instrumental in all three of his side’s tries and kicked seven points at the Ricoh Arena.