Matt Smith's first try of the season gave Leicester Tigers a 16-12 win over Northampton Saints in the East Midlands derby at Welford Road. Tigers' replacement Vereniki Goneva made an instant impact as he set up Smith, who scored the only try of the game. Teenager George Ford kicked the other 11 points for the hosts but he also missed five further penalties.

All of Saints' points came from the boot of Ryan Lamb but it was not enough as Northampton fell to their third successive loss in all competitions.

Harlequins moved three points clear at the top of the Premiership with a 28-25 victory over Gloucester.

Mike Brown scored the first try as Harlequins made the better start, before three straight penalties from Freddie Burns put Gloucester ahead. Matt Hopper and Sam Smith scored tries just before the break as the hosts had a 22-12 half-time lead. Billy Twelvetrees went over in injury time and Burns took his tally to 20 points, but Quins hung on.

Gareth Steenson kicked sixteen points as Exeter Chiefs beat Worcester Warriors 33-9 to remain unbeaten at home in the Premiership this season. Gonzalo Camacho's try put Exeter ahead and Steenson kicked the conversion and four penalties as the hosts opened up a 19-point lead.

Andy Goode's penalty on the stroke of half-time closed the gap to 19-3. Goode added two more penalties after the break but Haydn Thomas and Chris Budgen then went over for Exeter.

Sunday's games were both of close interest to Sale Sharks' supporters. London Welsh beat Bath 16-9 at the Kassam, with Nick Scott scoring a last minute interception try from a loose pass by Luke Donald to win the game. Earlier, Charlie Hodgson had scored 21 points and collected a head wound for Saracens at home to the Wasps. The final score was 29-24. A late try under the posts gave the visitors a losing bonus point and denied Sarries the chance of taking over top spot before the break for LV= games over the next two weekends.

The lower end of the table reads:

8th: London Wasps, 19pts

9th: Worcester Warriors, 15pts

10th: London Welsh, 14 pts

11th: London Irish, 10pts

12th: Sale Sharks, 6 pts

Saracens are Sharks' next opponents at Salford City Stadium, on Friday 16th November (8.00pm). As our next home game falls on Children in Need day, we're giving away 1 free junior ticket with every full-priced adult ticket purchased.

For tickets, ring 08444 994 994 during office hours, or buy online.