Gallagher Premiership: Exeter Chiefs come back to beat Bath; Gloucester dealt play-offs blow with defeat to Wasps

Gallagher Premiership weekend schedule - Friday: Sale Sharks 12-18 Saracens; Saturday: Exeter Chiefs 42-22 Bath, Gloucester 21-27 Wasps, Northampton Saints 39-22 Bristol Bears, Worcester Warriors 10-45 Newcastle Falcons; Sunday: London Irish vs Harlequins (3pm)

Image: Stuart Hogg played a key role as Exeter came from 22-7 behind to beat Bath on Saturday

A round-up of Saturday's Premiership action as Exeter come back to beat Bath, Gloucester suffer a playoff blow with loss to Wasps, Northampton remain in the playoff hunt with win and Newcastle thrash Worcester...

Exeter Chiefs 42-22 Bath

A Stuart Hogg-inspired Exeter Chiefs kept their Premiership play-off hopes alive with a thrilling 42-22 victory over bottom side Bath at Sandy Park.

The Chiefs trailed 22-7 two minutes before the interval to a Bath side looking anything but a basement club, and hopes of making a seventh successive Premiership final appeared to be slipping away.

However, Exeter showed the character and determination that has been such a bedrock of their success to score 35 points without reply.

The crowd were treated to a pulsating, ding-dong opening 40 minutes, in which the two sides shared six tries to leave the score 22-17 to the visitors. Bath still held the lead until 16 minutes to go, before three late Chiefs efforts clinched victory.

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Gloucester 21-27 Wasps

Gloucester were dealt a hammer blow in their quest to secure a Premiership play-off spot as unfancied Wasps came away with an unlikely 27-21 victory.

Their forwards dominated the contest but Gloucester lacked flair and Wasps took advantage to take their limited chances, outscoring their opponents by three tries to two.

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Jacob Umaga, Gabriel Oghre and Charlie Atkinson scored their tries with Jimmy Gopperth converting all three and adding a penalty. Replacement Dan Robson also fired over a superb drop goal.

Kyle Moyle scored a try for Gloucester and there was also a penalty try award, with Adam Hastings kicking three penalties.

Northampton 39-22 Bristol Bears

Tom Collins scored two tries as Northampton won their third Gallagher Premiership match in a row by defeating Bristol 39-22 in what was a typically entertaining clash between the sides.

The result kept Saints' play-off hopes very much alive as they remain four points behind fourth-placed Exeter in the table.

The action was pretty unrelenting at Franklin's Gardens, as two teams who like to throw the ball about went toe-to-toe, and it was the hosts who ultimately had the greater firepower, scoring five tries to the Bears' four.

Worcester Warriors 10-45 Newcastle Falcons

Newcastle secured their first Premiership victory for five months and their biggest in the league against Worcester as they ran out 45-10 victors at Sixways.

The visitors scored six tries in a one-sided display to end a run of 11 league matches without a win and climb up to 11th in the table, two points above the Warriors.

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