It had been a long time coming for Bristol Bears but they finally ended their Gallagher Premiership Rugby hoodoo against bitter rivals Gloucester.
The two West Country teams met with Bristol looking to win for the first time since a 21-13 win in 2008 and got off to a flying start as Dan Thomas’ crossed the line after just 82 seconds. Jason Woodward responded for Gloucester as the evenly matched contest entered the half-time break with Bristol leading 11-7.
Gloucester led after the break thanks to a try a piece from Tom Marshall and Ollie Thornley but Bristol snatched the win 28-24 thanks to a penalty try and a late penalty from Ian Madigan.
Elsewhere, Exeter Chiefs stayed top of the Gallagher Premiership thanks to a 20-14 victory over Sale Sharks.
Exeter raced out to a 15-0 lead at half-time but were pegged back in the second half thanks to tries from Sam James and Will Cliff. It wasn’t enough for Sale though as Exeter held on.
Saracens kept pace with the top side in the league thanks to a 36-17 thrashing of Northampton. Saracens bagged six tries on the day, including a brace from Sean Maitland, leaving the side three points behind leaders Exeter.
At the foot of the table, Newcastle grabbed a much needed win thanks to a first-half tries from Toby Flood and Zach Kilbridge.
In a bottom of the table clash, the early scores proved the difference as the Falcons ran out 17-6 winners over fellow strugglers Worcester. Newcastle remain five points adrift from Worcester at the foot of the table but the win does give the Falcons a glimmer of hope as they look to avoid relegation.
An unbelievable individual performance from Joe Ford saw Leicester snatch victory from Wasps. Ford was responsible for all 19 of his sides’ points as he converted his own try and kicked four penalties to steer the Tigers home 19-14.
In the final game of the weekend, Harlequins squeaked past Bath in an entertaining encounter. Quins nabbed their fifth win in a row in the closely contested game that saw the lead change hands three times before settling in Quins favour, 31-29.