Gloucester beat Bath as 10-try Saracens return to winning ways

LONDON: Gloucester climbed to third in the English Premiership after claiming a bonus-point 29-15 victory over local rivals Bath on Saturday as Saracens smashed Worcester 62-5.

Bath´s recent Premiership resurgence came to a grinding halt as they were outscored 4-0 on tries.

Full-back Jason Woodward, flanker Freddie Clarke, number eight Ruan Ackermann and replacement lock Gerbrandt Grobler all scored, with Billy Twelvetrees kicking two conversions and Danny Cipriani one, while Twelvetrees added a late penalty.

Bath relied on five Rhys Priestland penalties for all their points but they lost a three-point advantage when Gloucester hit them with two converted touchdowns in rapid succession midway through the second-half.

Gloucester leapfrogged Sale, who beat Harlequins 48-10 on Friday, into third place and Bath could have few complaints after offering little attacking spark apart from an occasional burst by England centre Jonathan Joseph.

Saracens bounced back from their defeat at Exeter last week to claim a precious bonus-point victory in their pursuit of Premiership survival after dismantling Worcester.

Rooted to the foot of the table after being docked 35 points for breaching salary cap regulations, the champions ran in 10 tries against outclassed opponents at Allianz Park.

Rotimi Segun, a late replacement for the injured Sean Maitland, crossed in each half while Ben Earl, Brad Barritt, Mako Vunipola, Richard Barrington, Maro Itoje, Duncan Taylor, Jackson Wray and Elliot Daly also touched down.

Mako Vunipola´s try on the half-hour mark secured the bonus point but he received an injury to his shoulder when illegally cleared out at a ruck and was substituted at half-time.

The resounding victory restored Saracens to winning ways after they fell 14-7 to arch-rivals Exeter last Sunday and has come in the week that owner Nigel Wray stepped down as chairman following the salary cap scandal.

A match spanning 126 minutes was overshadowed by a potentially serious injury to Worcester´s replacement lock Michael Fatialofa, who had been on the pitch just over a minute when he was hurt taking the ball into contact.

Play was held up for several minutes as Fatialofa received medical attention before he was carried from the pitch on a stretcher with his neck in a brace.

Jonny May scored two tries as Leicester claimed only their second Premiership win of the season with a 31-18 victory over Bristol.

Winger May scored once in each half, while his fellow England internationals Ellis Genge and George Ford also touched down at Welford Road.