Tom Willis scores two tries as Saracens beat Bristol to boost No.8 England's debut bid in the Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1; Welshman Max Llewellyn also scored twice in Gloucester's win over Sale and Leicester beat struggling Exeter
Last updated: 04/01/25 20:23
Tom Willis scored twice in Saracens' win over Bristol to further boost his claims for an England Test debut
Tom Willis scored two tries as Saracens saw off second-placed Bristol Bears in a 35-26 victory in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday.
Saracens bounced back from their record Premiership defeat in Bath a week earlier by ending the Bears' 10-game winning streak away from home – with Willis at the helm of their bonus-point win.
The man of the match demonstrated his prowess with both tries, with his second – scored on the stroke of half-time – when he evaded three attackers in a devastating run down the right wing.
It was a performance that will add to the hype for England's No. 8 debut in the Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1, with the 25-year-old possessing the ball that was currently missing from the back row in Scott Borthwick's side.
There were also tries from Fergus Burke, who crossed twice, and Lucio Cinti to give Jamie George the win he was looking for in his 300th appearance for the club.
The Bears, who were thrashed 38-0 by Sale a week ago, fought back in the end of the match, but on this occasion they left themselves too much work to do.
After early tries from Willis and Burke, Harry Randall hit one back for Bristol from close range just when it looked like his side were running out of ideas.
Saracens suffered another setback when Maro Itoje was booked for the eighth time in 21 games and sent to the basket. The Bears continued to press, only to concede back-to-back penalties to let the six-time Premiership champions go.
Elliot Daly was successful from the tee from 50 meters to push Saracens 10 points clear with a header – the only score while Itoje was in the basket – before the home side went ahead with Willis' second and Cinti's try to secure the bonus point.
Kalaveti Ravouvou crossed in the 61st minute to give Bristol hope and the fightback continued when Harry Thacker completed the rout on the line but Burke put the result beyond doubt before Jake Heenan struck later.
Gloucester 36-20 Sale Sharks
Wales international Max Llewellyn scored two tries as Gloucester emphatically ended Sale Sharks' recent comeback.
Llewellyn scored in each half as Gloucester secured a maximum of five points to stay in the play-offs.
Sale's hopes of securing a fourth straight Premiership win were dashed by Gloucester's outstanding first-half display which led to tries for Llewellyn, full-back Santi Carreras and wing Josh Hathaway.
Sale trailed 22-3 after 26 minutes and it proved too much for them to come back despite tries from captain Ben Curry, hook Luke Cowan-Dickie and wing Tom Roebuck, with center Rob du Preez also kicking a penalty and conversion.
Llewellyn's score in the 60th minute and Tomos Williams' late touchdown eventually got Gloucester home, Carreras finishing the performance by kicking a penalty and four conversions for 16 points.
Sale suffered a late blow when scrum-half Raffi Quirke was withdrawn as an injury precaution.
Leicester Tigers 28-15 Exeter Chiefs
Leicester held on for a much-needed but unconvincing victory over struggling Exeter in a tough contest.
The Tigers were the better side in the first half, but the visitors dominated the second period until Will Rigg was sin-binned and they can count themselves unlucky not to come away with at least a point.
Olly Cracknell, Cameron Henderson, Ollie Hassell-Collins and Ben Youngs scored Leicester's tries, with Handre Pollard converting all four.
For Exeter, two pieces of magic from Henry Slade set up a run of tries for Tom Wyatt, with Josh Hodge converting one. Slade also added a penalty.
Exeter took an early lead through a Slade penalty in the fourth minute, but from the first spell of pressure, Leicester hit back with a try from Cracknell as the No 8 proved unstoppable from five metres.
After 31 minutes, Leicester extended their lead after a half-break by Pollard gave Henderson the chance to crash under the post. Pollard converted but missed from a long-range penalty as his side held a deserved 14-3 lead at the break.
Two minutes after the restart Exeter scored a great try with Slade's cross which Wyatt collected on the wing to race in, while shortly after Stu Townsend and Slade combined neatly to give Wyatt another walk-on score.
With 15 minutes remaining, Exeter lost substitute Rigg to the sin bin for bringing Freddie Steward into the air and the Tigers immediately capitalized on a Hassell-Collins try, with Youngs scoring late on to secure a barely deserved bonus point.
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