Gallagher Premiership: Northampton Saints crush Gloucester Rugby 90-0 in record score | Rugby Union News

Northampton broke numerous records as they hammered Gloucester 90-0 in the Gallagher Premiership.

Saints scored 14 tries at Franklin’s Gardens as they extended their lead at the top of the league with a demolition job of Gloucester to inflict their worst away defeat in the league.

Northampton also set a new record for most points in a home game and the biggest margin of victory for a home team in a league game, whose mark is surpassed in Premiership history only by the win with 106-12 that Richmond compiled against Bedford in 1999.

Winger Ollie Sleightholme scored a hat-trick as Saints played in 14 tries in total against a Cherry and Whites side, showing 12 changes in their European Challenge Cup semi-final win over Benetton last week.

Their lack of cohesion was mercilessly exploited by the hosts.

An early indication that this game was shaping up came when George Hendy flew through a wide gap in the Gloucester defense and timed his ball wide to send George Furbank clear with 48 seconds played.

It wasn’t long before the Saints were finished again as Fraser Dingwall powered his way through after being found in plenty of space by Alex Mitchell.

The one-way traffic continued and the hosts scored their third try in the 21st minute when Fin Smith’s superb floated pass down the left, following a quick penalty, gave Sleightholme a comfortable finish.

Northampton looked to have got the bonus point when Angus Scott-Young headed over after Mitchell’s pass went to ground, but the TMO found the Aussie had tapped before picking the ball up.

But they weren’t to be denied for long as hooker Curtis Langdon headed over from a few yards after a spot-kick spilled by Gloucester’s creaking scrum.

Langdon then scored his second as he again proved unstoppable close to the line before Dingwall and Furbank combined to send Mitchell under the posts, Smith’s fifth conversion making it 40-0 at half-time.

Northampton’s first score of the second half was a popular one with the home supporters as Alex Waller, who is retiring at the end of the season, came on.

Sam Matavesi was brought on for Langdon and the Fijian international’s first act was to get the ball off the back of a driving maul, which brought up an early half-century for the Saints.

Another substitute got on the scoresheet as Emmanuel Iyogun crossed from Tommy Freeman’s offload, with Gloucester’s Jake Morris sent off for a deliberate turnover in the build-up.

Sleightholme then sprinted down the right to score his second, before Alex Moon went close to ensure it would be a record-breaking day for the hosts.

And they weren’t done yet, Sleightholme completed his hat trick in the 65th minute before another breakaway and a driving tackle respectively set up Tom James and Matvesi to complete the scoring.

Itoje plays for Saracens on Bristol

Saracens clinched an end-of-season play-off with a 41-20 bonus-point win over Bristol in a convincing contest at Ashton Gate, with the result confirmed later in the day after a defeat for Harlequins.

The visitors overcame a 10-0 deficit and overcame yellow cards for Maro Itoje and Ben Earl to run out convincing winners and put Bristol’s chances of progressing beyond the regular season in serious jeopardy.

Itoje scored two of their tries, while Romiti Segun and Juan-Martin Gonzalez were also on the try-scoring sheet, with man-of-the-match Elliot Daly converting two and kicking four penalties. Owen Farrell added a penalty and a conversion.

Joe Batley and Harry Thacker scored Bristol’s tries, with AJ MacGinty kicking two penalties and a conversion. James Williams also added a conversion.

Bristol started strongly to take the lead in the fifth minute. Saracens were awarded two penalties in quick succession to give the home side an attacking platform from where Harry Randall darted for the line with Batley on hand to lift and score.

MacGinty converted and added a penalty after Earl was penalized for a deliberate tackle, but Saracens soon responded with a penalty from Farrell as Bristol’s Siva Naulago was booked for another deliberate tackle.

It was debatable whether a penalty try should have been awarded, but referee Karl Dickson and his supporting officials thought otherwise.

Despite Naulago’s absence, the Bears were next on the scoreboard with a second straight penalty from MacGinty.

Naulago was still in the sin bin when Saracens reduced the arrears. Bristol’s Ellis Genge dropped the ball into the 22 and was made to pay for his error when Itoje and Gonzalez combined perfectly to set up a try for the former.

Farrell converted before Daly added a penalty to bring the scores level after 27 minutes.

Four minutes later, Saracens took the lead for the first time. A superb touch-finder from Farrell earned his side a position in the opposition’s 22, with Itoje taking advantage to force over from close range for his second try.

Daly converted and then kicked a penalty to give the visitors a 23-13 advantage at the interval.

The Bears badly needed the first score of the second half and started it in impressive style to pin the Londoners in their own 22 for a sustained spell of pressure.

The home side turned down three kickable penalties in favor of more attacking options, but Saracens somehow kept their line intact and broke away to get the next score through a third penalty from Daly.

Bristol’s woes continued when MacGinty left the field to fail a HIA, but they received a huge boost when both Itoje and Earl were blocked in quick succession. Itoje went for a high shot on Steven Luatua and Earl for deliberate offside.

The Bears brought on Thacker and the hooker’s first task was to complete a driving line-out, but their opponents responded remarkably with a penalty from Daly despite only playing with 13.

Itoje wasn’t back with Theo McFarland bringing his side up to 14 and in time to see Segun finish off an excellent hold on the ball.

Earl returned to see Saracens seal victory with the best try of the afternoon as Daly and Lucio Cinti broke through the Bristol defense before Gonzalez received the scoring pass.

Exeter dent Harlequins play-off hopes with impressive win

England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored two tries as Exeter kept their play-off hopes alive with a superb 58-26 win over Champions Cup semi-finalists Harlequins.

It was a big blow to Quins’ four ambitions, but a last-minute try from Louis Lynagh earned them a four-try bonus point that could prove crucial next Saturday at 5pm.

Exeter were 21-14 up after 36 minutes but hit back in spectacular fashion with. 44 unanswered points – before Lynagh’s late try – to move Harlequins into fifth in the table. Chiefs now travel to Leicester on the final day of the season, two points behind fourth-placed Sale, with Quins at home to Bristol on the same day.

Quins made a torrid start, scoring a try after just 100 seconds with a fantastic show-and-go and sidestepped England fly-half Marcus Smith, who slotted it through the Exeter defense and near the posts, converting.

The Chiefs responded superbly to that early disadvantage, but it took them until midway through the first half to turn their pressure into points thanks to some good defending from Quins.

Exeter finally got on the scoreboard when they worked the ball down the left, where Smith’s international team-mate Henry Slade headed in the corner before adding the extra.

After missing a couple of chances close to the try line, Quins finally found an opportunity for Jarrod Evans to set up fullback Tyrone Green for his second touchdown of the game, again converted by Smith.

Smith then went from hero to villain as he finished off another sizzling run with a wild one-handed pass that was picked off the deck by Feyi-Waboso who slotted past the posts, allowing Slade the simple task to transform to equalize everything. until 14-14.

Harlequins hit back almost immediately when number eight Alex Dombrandt broke off the back of a driving maul to clear the poor play of Exeter scrum-half Tom Cairns.

However, the pendulum swung in the home side’s favor with the last play of a breathless first half when an excellent handling move saw young fullback Dan John score his second try in a fortnight to leave it 21-21 at the break.

The Chiefs came out of the blocks early in the second half and fly half Harvey Skinner put them in front for the first time with the bonus point try in the corner.

The hosts lost South African winger Jacques Vermeulen to a yellow card for killing the ball on a Quins break, but instead of the visitors taking advantage of the extra man, it was Exeter who extended their lead to 13 points with two penalties from Slade and added another after Exeter returned to full complement.

With Quins showing signs of fatigue after their short return from their European semi-final defeat to Toulouse, Feyi-Waboso added his second try of the game, quickly followed by a second from Skinner and a seventh for the team from skipper Dafydd Jenkins with Slade went nine of nine with the boot for a career-high 21 points.

How to book Fury vs Usyk on Sky Sports Box Office

It is one of the biggest sporting events in a generation. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk clash for the undisputed world heavyweight championship on Saturday 18 May, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book the fight now.