Aviva Premiership: Wasps remain unbeaten, Saracens end six-month streak, Sale rescue draw and Newcastle win
Northampton 15-20 Wasps
Wasps maintained their unbeaten start to the Aviva Premiership season with a hard-fought 20-15 victory against a sloppy Northampton outfit at Franklin's Gardens.
Wasps centre Jimmy Gopperth crossed for a first-half try and added 10 points from the boot while winger Josh Bassett touched down for a late score to seal the win.
George North's early try set the perfect tone but it would take the Saints another 75 minutes to score again as their accuracy in attack failed them on countless occasions throughout the contest.
With Saracens suffering defeat against Harlequins, Wasps temporarily move up to first in the league standings with unbeaten Bath in action against Leicester on Sunday.
Harlequins 17-10 Saracens
Saracens slumped to their first defeat in six months after Harlequins stunned the double winners 17-10 in a victory they will hope can ignite their Aviva Premiership campaign.
Leicester were the last side to inflict a loss on the domestic and European champions, triumphing 21-13 at Welford Road on March 20, but Quins' success at Twickenham Stoop was against a side armed with their England internationals.
Two defeats and a narrow win over Bristol had given John Kingston's reign as director of rugby a disappointing start, but a victory founded on an unyielding defence and tries born out of both opportunism and skill has propelled them up the table.
Tim Visser and Charlie Walker crossed in the first half, which they finished 17-0 ahead, before Saracens launched a fightback that gained momentum with Richard Wigglesworth's try before ultimately falling short.
Worcester 34-34 Sale Sharks
Sale came back from trailing 31-17 to gain a late draw against Worcester in a nine-try thriller at Sixways.
Worcester trailed 17-5 before scoring 26 unanswered points to lead 31-17 and then they carelessly threw away that healthy advantage.
Worcester scored five tries - Jamie Shillcock (2), Perry Humphreys, Wynand Olivier and Jonny Arr - with Ryan Lamb converting three and kicking a penalty.
Will Addison scored two for Sale, Neil Briggs and Halani Aulika one each with the better goal-kicking of AJ MacGinty crucial in securing the draw. The outside half did not miss and succeeded with four conversions and two penalties.
Gloucester 13-18 Newcastle
Newcastle Falcons secured a second Aviva Premiership win of the season as they surprised Gloucester with an 18-13 win at Kingsholm.
The scores were level at the break with Gloucester back-row Ross Moriarty getting their only try of the match, which fly-half Billy Burns converted. Burns also added a penalty and Scottish international Greig Laidlaw kicked a second-half penalty.
Newcastle withstood persistent pressure and scored a first-half try from centre Dominic Waldouck that was converted by fly-half Mike Delany. Delany added two penalties, while Alex Tait scored the all-important second Falcons try in the second-half.