Northampton kept their hopes of reaching the Premiership Rugby Cup semi-finals alive with a convincing 39-19 victory in the East Midlands derby against Leicester. A young Saints side shone at Franklin's Gardens, extending Northampton's run to 16 consecutive home wins across all competitions.
Wingers Tom Rowe and Amena Caqusau, along with full-back James Martin, each scored two tries in a match where the Saints recorded seven tries in total. Northampton had already been without two injured scrum-halves, England international Alex Mitchell and Archie McParland, and lost a third, Jonny Weimann, in the 29th minute. Weimann, who was captain at the age of 20 that evening, limped off after being involved in the creation of Northampton's first two tries.
The Saints' first try came in the 11th minute via a long pass to Martin, followed by a second five minutes later through a cross-kick to Rowe. England scrum-half Sonny Goode, aged 18, demonstrated Northampton's depth at the position with an impressive performance from the bench. The Saints led 27-7 at half-time, with centre Toby Thame also scoring a try alongside Rowe and Caqusau. Caqusau secured a bonus point for the Saints with a well-finished try in the 36th minute, while Rowe's second try just before the end of the first half gave the hosts a 20-point lead.
Martin scored his second try via a cross-kick in the 46th minute, and Caqusau added his second following good preparation by Goode, while Leicester winger Adam Radwan was in the sin-bin. Leicester managed to score three tries, two through hooker Sam Moly and one through back-rower Osian Thomas. After three consecutive defeats in the Premiership Rugby Cup, last season's winners Leicester find themselves at the bottom of Group B.
In the other match, Sale Sharks climbed to the top of Group A with a tense 21-19 victory over Bristol Bears at the CorpAcq Stadium. Two tries from Arron Reed, who played at full-back, and one from Alex Wills were key for Sale. Bristol kept the game alive until the final moments with two tries from Max Pepper, while Samoan hooker Totoa Auvaa opened the scoring. Auvaa was given a second chance by rugby director Pat Lam after being released by Saracens due to off-field conduct. Sam Worsley had a chance to win it for the Bears four minutes from time but was short with a penalty kick from distance.
