Tom Willis scored two tries as Saracens beat Bristol to bolster claims for an England debut in the top eight in their Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1. Wales' Max Llewellyn also scored twice as Gloucester beat Sale, with Leicester beating struggling Exeter.
Last updated: 04/01/25 at 8:23 pm
Tom Willis scored twice in Saracens' win over Bristol to bolster his claims on his England Test debut
Tom Willis kicked in for two tries as Saracens beat second-placed Bristol Bears in a 35-26 win in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday.
Saracens bounced back from their record Premiership defeat to Bath a week ago by ending the Bears' 10-game winning streak on the road – with Willis at the forefront of their bonus-point victory.
The Man of the Match showed his intensity during both efforts, as his second goal – scored on the stroke of half-time – saw him evade three attackers in a devastating run down the right wing.
It was a performance that would add to the hype for an England debut at number eight in their Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1, with the 25-year-old on the ball carrying the influence currently missing from Scott's back row. Borthwick.
There were also attempts for Fergus Burke, who crossed twice, and Lucio Cinti to give Jimmy George the win he was seeking in his 300th appearance for the club.
The Bears, who suffered a 38-0 defeat at Sale a week ago, fought back in the final minutes of the game, but on this occasion, they left themselves too much to do.
After early attempts from Willis and Burke, Harry Randall hit back for Bristol from close range just as his side appeared to be running out of ideas.
Saracens suffered another setback when Maro Itoje was shown a yellow card and sent to the bin for the eighth time in 21 matches. The Bears continued to press, only to concede successive penalties to let the six-time Premiership champions off the hook.
Elliot Daly powered home from 50 meters to head Saracens 10 points clear – the only score while Itoje was in the sin basket – before the hosts scored further with Willis' second score and Sainty's attempt to secure the bonus point.
Calafetti Rafovo crossed in the 61st minute to give Bristol hope and the fight continued when Harry Thacker fouled out the line-up, but Burke put the result beyond doubt before Jake Heenan scored a late goal.
Gloucester 36-20 Sharks sale
Wales international Max Llewellyn scored two tries as Gloucester definitively ended the Sale Sharks' recent resurgence.
Llewellyn scored in each half, with Gloucester taking the maximum five points to remain in play-off contention.
Sale's hopes of a fourth successive Premier League win were stymied by a brilliant first-half display from Gloucester which resulted in tries for Llewellyn, full-back Santi Carreras and winger Josh Hathaway.
Sale trailed 22-3 after 26 minutes, and it was very difficult for them to compensate despite attempts by captain Ben Curry, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and winger Tom Roebuck, and Rob du Preez also scored and executed a penalty kick.
Llewellyn's 60th-minute score and a late Tomos Williams drop eventually saw Gloucester home, with Carreras completing a masterful performance by scoring a penalty and four conversions for 16 points.
Sale suffered a late blow when scrum-half Ravi Quirke was withdrawn as an injury precaution.
Leicester Tigers 28-15 Exeter Chiefs
Leicester battled back to a much-needed but unconvincing win over struggling Exeter in a tight game.
The Tigers were the better team in the first half, but the visitors dominated the second half until Will Rigg was left out and they can consider themselves unfortunate not to come away with at least a point.
Ollie 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 created two tries for Tom White, with Josh Hodge converting one. Slade also added a penalty kick.
Exeter took an early lead from a fourth-minute penalty from Slade, but from the first period of pressure, Leicester hit back with a try from Cracknell when the No. 8 proved unstoppable from five metres.
After 31 minutes, Leicester extended their lead when a short break from Pollard gave Henderson the chance to crash under the posts. Pollard scored a goal, but missed a long-range penalty kick, giving his team a 14-3 lead at the end of the first half.
Two minutes into the second half, Exeter scored an excellent try through Slade's cross-kick which White collected for the winger to race over, while shortly after Stu Townsend and Slade combined accurately to provide White with another score.
With 15 minutes remaining, Exeter lost substitute Rigg to the sin basket to put Freddie Steward out in the air and the Tigers immediately capitalized with a Hassell-Collins try, while Youngs scored late on to secure a barely deserved bonus point.
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