There were wins for Wasps and Exeter in the Premiership on Sunday as they beat London Irish and Saracens on the road respectively.
London Irish 13-17 Wasps
Wasps came from 10-0 down to edge London Irish in their Premiership match at the Madejski Stadium, thanks to three second-half tries.
Scores were hard to come by in the first period as only a Tommy Bell penalty meant it was London Irish who led 3-0 against their visitors.
After the break though the tries came, first for the Exiles as Alex Lewington's converted intercept try gave the hosts a healthy 10-0 lead.
However, Wasps then clicked into gear with three scores in 10 minutes – from Ashley Johnson, Josh Bassett and Nizaam Carr – turning the game on its head, with Gopperth's conversion of the latter putting Dai Young's men into a 17-13 lead. They were now pressing for a bonus point.
But the fourth try did not come and neither did a response from London Irish, with this win taking Wasps up to sixth place in the standings. London Irish meanwhile will rue this missed opportunity but at least take a losing bonus-point, meaning they are five points off Worcester.
The scorers:
For London Irish:
Try: Lewington
Con: Bell
Pens: Bell 2
Yellow Card: Franks
For Wasps:
Tries: Johnson, Bassett, Carr
Con: Gopperth
London Irish: 15 James Marshall, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Fergus Mulchrone, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Ben Meehan, 8 Blair Cowan, 7 Max Northcote-Green, 6 Mike Coman, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Franco van der Merwe, 3 Ollie Hoskins, 2 David Paice (c), 1 Ben Franks
Replacements: 16 Tom Woolstencroft, 17 Harry Elrington, 18 Petrus Du Plessis, 19 Sebastian De Chaves, 20 Conor Gilsenan, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Greig Tonks, 23 Tom Fowlie
Wasps: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Guy Thompson, 6 James Haskell, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 James Gaskell, 3 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 2 Ashley Johnson (c), 1 Simon McIntyre
Replacements: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Kearnan Myall, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Rob Miller
Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Hamish Smales, Nigel Carrick
TMO: Stuart Terheege
Saracens 18-20 Exeter
Exeter moved five points clear at the Premiership summit after they beat Saracens 20-18 at Allianz Park in the top-of-the-table showdown.
This was Saracens' second loss in a week following the defeat to Gloucester, as they let slip an 18-13 lead with seven minutes remaining.
The hosts led 15-3 by the 14th minute thanks to scores from Alex Goode and Schalk Brits, with scrum-half Ben Spencer kicking five points.
However, the second stanza belonged to the Chiefs as Ian Whitten's 55th minute score got their tails up before Moray Low went over in the 73rd. Fly-half Gareth Steenson gladly added the conversion and despite Saracens pressing late on, Exeter held on for a priceless away win.
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Goode, Brits
Con: Spencer
Pens: Spencer, Bosch
For Exeter:
Tries: Whitten, Low
Cons: Steenson 2
Pens: Steenson 2
Yellow Card: White
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Nathan Earle, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Brad Barritt (c), 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Max Malins, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Jackson Wray, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Calum Clark, 5 George Kruis, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Richard Barrington
Replacements: 16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Mark Flanagan, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Nick Tompkins, 23 Mike Ellery
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Ian Whitten, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Nic White, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Don Armand, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Mitch Lees, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Jack Yeandle (c), 1 Ben Moon
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Moray Low, 19 Toby Salmon, 20 Sam Skinner, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Joe Simmonds, 23 James Short
Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Roy Maybank
TMO: David Sainsbury
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