Rate it!

4 votes

Gavin Henson scored a superb individual try as holders Ospreys dispatched Worcester 37-22 at the Liberty Stadium in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

Henson, who was returning from a two-match ban imposed after he missed training, scythed through the visitors' defence just before half-time.

Nikki Walker, Shane Williams and Tommy Bowe also went over for the home side, with fly-half James Hook contributing 17 points with the boot.

Ospreys can now assure their progress with victory over London Irish next Sunday.

Saracens 33-19 Northampton

Gordon Ross kicked 23 points as Saracens beat Northampton 33-19 at Vicarage Road.

Sarries now need to win their closing Pool D match away at Bristol and hope Northampton beat frontrunners Scarlets to reach the semi-finals

Fly-half Ross bagged six penalties, a conversion and a drop-goal to lead the way for the home side, with Noah Cato and Moses Maulini going over for tries.

Northampton scored two tries of their own, through full-back Ben Foden and number eight Roger Wilson, with Stephen Myler weighing in with three penalties.

Cardiff Blues 23-9 Leicester Tigers

Cardiff Blues moved a step closer to the semi-finals of the Anglo-Welsh Cup with a solid 23-9 home win over Leicester Tigers.

The Blues dominated the early stages of the contest but could only manage two penalties courtesy of full-back Ben Blair.

Tigers fly-half Derrick Hougaard had missed a kickable penalty and a drop goal attempt before finally getting his side on the board with an injury-time penalty to leave the half-time score 6-3 in the Blues' favour.

But the hosts made their dominance tell early in the second half when Jamie Roberts set up fellow centre Jamie Robinson, who touched down in between the posts - giving Blair an easy conversion.

Hougaard added another penalty to ensure the Tigers stayed within touching distance before substitutes Julien Dupuy and Tom Varndell both came close, being held up just short of the line, leading to a third penalty from the former Springbok.

But Blair added a third penalty of his own before scrum-half Jason Spice crossed over in the final minute and Blair added the conversion to ensure the win.

While they can still qualify mathematically, Leicester are now unlikely to progress beyond the group stage of the tournament with the group set to be decided when top-of-the-table Cardiff host Bath next weekend.

Harlequins 17-32 London Irish

London Irish staged a late comeback at the Twickenham Stoop to beat Harlequins and keep their Anglo-Welsh Cup ambitions alive.

The Exiles conceded a try early in the second half, leaving them trailing 17-5, before scoring 27 unanswered points to snatch the victory.

Harlequins, who suffered a similar home defeat to London Irish in the Guinness Premiership when the visitors fought back from 20-3 down, took control of the match early on as George Robson and Charlie Amesbury both touched down.

London Irish replacement Richard Thorpe crossed late in the first half to leaving them trailing 12-5 but Quins re-established their 12-point lead immediately after the interval when Neil McMillan was pushed over the line from a line-out drive.

But Peter Hewat's 49th minute solo try sparked the Exiles into life with Adam Thompstone and James Bailey also touching down in a 10-minute period.

Hewat then rounded off the victory two minutes from time with his second try of the afternoon, snatching an interception to seal the four-try bonus point.

Gloucester 25-20 Newport-Gwent Dragons

Gloucester moved to within a draw of the semi-finals with a battling win over the Dragons at Kingsholm.

With Wasps having won away to Newcastle on Friday, both Gloucester and the Dragons needed a win to move to the top of the group.

Lesley Vainikolo got the hosts off to a good start touching down under the posts after a superb move from fly-half Willie Walker.

But the Dragons hit straight back with Rhodri Gomer-Davies stepping through Olly Barkley's tackle and setting up wing Richard Fussell, who ran home from 25 metres.

The visitors then extended their lead just before the interval with New Zealander Grant Webb showing his considerable strength to power of the line despite the attentions of three Gloucester defenders.

But hooker Scott Lawson created a moment of genius when he lobbed the ball to prop Carlos Nieto in a line-out, who promptly dived over in the corner to leave the score poised at 12-12 heading into half-time.

Fly-half Shaun Connor gave the Dragons a three-point lead early in the second half, thumping over a 38-metre penalty.

However, an injury to Adam Jones combined with the sin-binning of Adam Black for an offence at a ruck left Gloucester with the upper hand and the hosts took full advantage of it with Iain Balshaw breaking down the middle of the pitch before finding Olly Barkley, who in turn fed Vainikolo to touch down in the corner.

Balshaw grabbed a four-try bonus point for the Cherry and Whites when he crossed over but replacement flanker Apo Satala was sent to the sin-bin just two minutes after coming on, setting up a tense final 10 minutes.

Barkley sent a late penalty over though to secure the win two minutes from time although the Dragons snatched a deserved losing bonus point when Jason Tovey touched down in the corner in the final minute.

Pippa Davis & Will Tidey / Eurosport