Exeter Chiefs secured their place in the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-finals, while Newcastle Falcons gave themselves an excellent chance of qualifying.
Exeter Chiefs 43-20 Saracens
Sandy Park
Exeter Chiefs snatched first place in Pool 2 of the Anglo-Welsh Cup following a dominant 43-20 triumph over Saracens.
After Harlequins’ heavy defeat to Northampton Saints last night, the West Countrymen had an opportunity to go above the Londoners and they did so with aplomb.
The hosts moved 19-0 up via Tom O’Flaherty, Ollie Devoto and Moray Lowe tries before Sarries hit back via Tom Whiteley and Rotimi Segun efforts.
Jack Maunder and Max Malins then traded tries before the Chiefs went onto control the second period and record a comfortable victory.
Devoto and O’Flaherty both touched down for their second scores as Exeter effectively secured the win. Although Tom Lindsay went over for a late consolation, the home side had the final word through Paul Davis.
The scorers:
For Exeter:
Tries: O’Flaherty 2, Devoto 2, Low, Maunder, Davis
Cons: Simmonds 4
For Saracens:
Tries: Whiteley, Segun, Malins, Lindsay
Exeter: 15 Phil Dollman, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Tom Hendrickson, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Jack Maunder, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Kai Horstmann (c), 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 4 Ollie Atkins, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Jack Innard, 1 Moray Low
Replacements: 16 Paul Davis, 17 James Kenny, 18 Jack Owlett, 19 Sean Lonsdale, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Stu Townsend, 22 Sam Morley, 23 Harry Strong
Saracens: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Oli Morris, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Dominic Morris, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Max Malins, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Jack Nay, 7 Sean Reffell, 6 Daniel Temm, 5 Mark Flanagan, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Kieran Longbottom (c), 2 Tadgh McElroy, 1 Hayden Thompson-Stringer
Replacements: 16 Tom Lindsay, 17 Richard Barrington, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Danny Cutmore, 20 Jarrard Hayler, 21 Nic Stirzaker, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Reuben Bird-Tulloch
Referee: Elgan Williams (Wales)
Assistant referees: Fergus Kirby (England), Clare Daniels (England)
Newcastle Falcons 31-19 Gloucester
Kingston Park
Newcastle Falcons have given themselves an excellent opportunity of reaching the Anglo-Welsh Cup semi-finals after defeating Gloucester 31-19.
The Cherry and Whites, who had already seen their last four chances ended by Bath’s win on Friday night, began brightly and went 7-0 ahead via Ben Vellacott.
Kyle Cooper then equalised for the Falcons, however, and scored a second close range effort as the Tynesiders moved 14-7 clear.
Cooper continued to be a thorn for the visitors and his burst set up Mark Wilson before Gloucester reduced the arrears at the break when Gareth Evans crossed the whitewash.
It was tight at the interval but Newcastle pulled away in the second period and secured the win when Alex Tait’s try and Joel Hodgson’s penalty secured the win, despite Matt Scott's try.
The scorers:
For Newcastle:
Tries: Cooper 2, Wilson, Tait
Cons: Flood, Hodgson 3
Pen: Hodgson
Yellow Card: Matavesi
For Gloucester:
Tries: Vellacott, Evans, Scott
Cons: Williams 2
Newcastle: 15 Simon Hammersley, 14 Alex Tait, 13 Tom Penny, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Michael Young, 8 Ally Hogg, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Mark Wilson (c), 5 Andrew Davidson, 4 Glen Young, 3 Scott Wilson, 2 Kyle Cooper, 1 Sami Mavinga
Replacements: 16 Ben Sowrey, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Trevor Davison, 19 Ryan Burrows, 20 Callum Chick, 21 Joel Hodgson, 22 Zach Kibirige, 23 Sonatane Takulua
Gloucester: 15 Tom Hudson, 14 David Halaifonua, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Mark Atkinson, 11 Henry Purdy, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Ben Vellacott, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Will Safe, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Jeremy Thrush (c), 4 Charlie Beckett, 3 Gareth Denman, 2 Motu Matu'u, 1 Cameron Orr
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paddy McAllister, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Aaron Hinkley, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Elliott Creed, 23 Tom Seabrook
Referee: Matthew O'Grady (England)
Assistant referees: Tim Wigglesworth (England), Robert Warburton (England)
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