Tom Willis scored two tries as Saracens beat Bristol to strengthen No.8 England’s debut bid in their Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1; Wales’ Max Llewellyn also scored twice in Gloucester’s win over Sale as Leicester beat struggling Exeter
Last update: 04/01/25 20:23
Tom Willis scored twice in Saracens’ win over Bristol to further boost his claim to a first England cap.
Tom Willis stepped up for two tries as Saracens beat second-placed Bristol Bears in a 35-26 victory in the Gallagher Premiership on Saturday.
Saracens bounced back from their record Premiership defeat at Bath a week earlier to end the Bears’ 10-game winning streak on the road – with Willis at the helm of their bonus-point victory.
The man of the match demonstrated his power during both tries, with the second goal – which came on the stroke of half-time – seeing him elude three attackers in a devastating run down the right wing.
It was a performance that will add to the buzz for England’s No.8 debut in their Six Nations opener against Ireland on February 1, with the 25-year-old possessing the ball-carrying power currently missing from Scott Borthwick’s side’s back row.
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 defeated by Sale 38-0 a week ago, fought back at the end of the game, but on this occasion they left too much work to do.
After early tries from Willis and Burke, Harry Randall hit back for Bristol from close range just as his side seemed to be running out of ideas.
Saracens suffered a further setback when Maro Itoje was booked and sent to the sin bin for the eighth time in 21 games. The Bears continued to press, only to concede back-to-back penalties to put the six-time Premiership champions out of the game.
Elliot Daly was successful from the first from 50 meters to put Saracens 10 points clear with a header – the only score while Itoje was in the sin bin – before the home side continued to clean up with Willis’ second and a Cinti try to secure the bonus point.
Kalaveti Ravouvou crossed in the 61st minute to give Bristol hope and the fightback resumed when Harry Thacker finished off a lineout but Burke put the result beyond doubt before Jake Heenan struck late on.
Gloucester 36-20 Sale Sharks
Wales international Max Llewellyn scored two tries as Gloucester emphatically ended Sale Sharks’ recent revival.
Llewellyn scored in each half as Gloucester secured the maximum five points to stay in contention for the play-offs.
Sale’s hopes of securing a fourth straight Premiership win were dashed by Gloucester’s outstanding first-half play which led to tries from Llewellyn, full-back Santi Carreras and winger Josh Hathaway.
Sale trailed 22-3 after 26 minutes and it proved too much for them to come back despite tries from skipper Ben Curry, hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and wing Tom Roebuck, with center Rob du Preez also kicking a penalty and converting.
Llewellyn’s 60th-minute strike and Tomos Williams’ late strike eventually got Gloucester home, Carreras completing a fine performance with a penalty and four conversions for 16 points.
Sale suffered a late blow when fly-half Raffi Quirke was withdrawn as a precaution due to injury.
Leicester Tigers 28-15 Exeter Chiefs
Leicester battled for a much-needed but unconvincing win 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 at fault and they can count themselves unlucky not to get 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 works 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 with a Slade penalty in the fourth minute, but Leicester hit back with a try from Cracknell as the number 8 proved unstoppable after running from five yards out.
After 31 minutes, Leicester extended their lead when Pollard’s half-break gave Henderson the opportunity to slot under the post. Pollard converted but missed a long-range penalty as his side took a deserved 14-3 lead at the break.
Two minutes from the restart, Exeter scored an excellent try with Slade’s cross-field kick collected by Wyatt on the wing for a run, while shortly after Stu Townsend and Slade combined neatly to give Wyatt another entry point.
With 15 minutes remaining, Exeter lost substitute Rigg for tripping up Freddie Steward and the Tigers took immediate advantage with a Hassell-Collins try, while Youngs scored late on to secure a barely deserved bonus point.
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