Leicester 44 - 34 Sale
Saracens 75-28 Newcastle
Bristol 36-14 Bath
Harlequins 38-19 Gloucester
Exeter 42-14 Northampton
Tigers put on late show to rescue crucial victory
This was a monumental game in the course of this season with both of these teams going into Friday night in playoff positions. There were international stars on show for both sides but the difference was ultimately made by Ilione who is a player for English rugby fans to keep an eye on. He scored twice to put his side ahead and then to deny Sale a losing bonus point right at the death.
The Sharks will look at this game as a missed opportunity having led by ten points at the break. This results also leaves them in a much more precarious position with points difference being the only thing to keep them in the playoff spots ahead of Saracens. This all means that next week's game against Bristol on Friday night is arguably the biggest game of their season so far.
Saracens surge past sorry Falcons
Having fallen victim to the Falcons at Kingston Park after rotating heavily, Saracens made sure to not make the same mistake twice. Several Lions were on show, including Maro Itoje, and they made their presence known. Newcastle were able to earn a four-try bonus-point but that will be of little comfort given the 75-point shellacking they were given. The Falcons remain lucky that relegation is not a realistic prospect and I'm sure are at the forefront of the group of teams trying to bring a total end to relegation in elite English rugby. There have been rumours of a Red Bull takeover but Steve Diamond seemed to dismiss those so the future of the Falcons remains firmly up in the air.
Bears stop the rot
Bristol's trip west to the Welsh capital turned out to be a rousing success. The Bears brought in a record crowd of 51,000 for the derby with Bath and put on a show. It was a tight game which was marred by indiscipline from the "home" team. There were four yellow cards given to Bears players and Ellis Genge was threatened with that sanction due to poor language around the referee. Bath selected a heavily rotated team with most of their key players resting. This meant that Bristol's mistakes were not ruthlessly punished in the way that they have been recently, allowing the Bears to gain a crucial victory.
The most interesting part of the game was the stark change in tactic from the Bears; they kicked more in the first-half alone than they usually do in full matches. This reduced self-inflicted errors in their own half which had lead to poor defeats. It remains to be seen if they will continue to stray from their DNA as they look to stabilise their form.
Gloucester stutter at crucial moment
Harlequins are out of the playoff race entirely which gave them the freedom to express themselves without the pressure that seemed to affect the westerners. Marcus Smith, buoyed by his inclusion in the Lions squad, looked back to his form from before his dodgy Six Nations which threw off his domestic performances as well. Gloucester, for their part, are still firmly in the mix but can't afford anymore slip-ups.
Youthful Saints put to the Sword by resilient Chiefs
Northampton seem to be resting some players in preparation for the Champions Cup final against Toulon. This gave Exeter the upper hand and the Chiefs walked it easily. This win was much-needed after a torrid couple of weeks at Sandy Park - on (and off) the field. This wont fix anything but a loss would have made everything so much worse. Exeter could really just do with the season ending now.
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