We round up Sunday's action in the Gallagher Premiership, which saw Harlequins edge out Gloucester, Leicester Tigers continue their unbeaten run and Saracens emerge victorious…
Gloucester 17-20 Harlequins
Champions Harlequins reeled off a fifth successive Premiership victory over Gloucester after they fought back to win at Kingsholm.
Quins trailed by 10 points midway through the second quarter, but they drew level by half-time before taking charge during the second period.
Centre Luke Northmore and scrum-half Danny Care scored tries - Care's 65th-minute effort put Quins ahead for the first time - while fly-half Marcus Smith kicked two penalties and two conversions.
Gloucester, chasing a fourth Premiership win on the bounce that would have underlined their play-off credentials, posted a first-half try through number eight Ruan Ackermann, with Adam Hastings adding a conversion and penalty.
But they could not get going in the second half, even though substitute hooker Santiago Socino's late score that Lloyd Evans converted secured a losing bonus point.
Leicester Tigers 31-0 Newcastle Falcons
Leicester maintained their impressive run with a convincing win over Newcastle on a rain-sodden pitch before a crowd of over 22,000 at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Newcastle barely threatened and folded tamely to give Tigers an 11th consecutive victory in the Premiership and so extend their overall winning sequence to 16 matches.
A dominant pack and accurate kicking from half-backs George Ford and Ben Youngs were the major factors in Leicester's victory as Falcons were prevented from gaining any foothold into the game.
Dan Kelly, Matt Scott, George Martin and Harry Potter scored tries for Leicester, with Ford kicking three conversions and a penalty. Freddie Burns added a conversion.
It made it an otherwise forgettable day for Newcastle's full-back Mike Brown, who made his 250th Premiership appearance, becoming only the sixth player in the league's history to reach that milestone.
Northampton Saints 6-30 Saracens
Alex Lozowski inspired Saracens to a victory which cemented second place in the Premiership as Northampton failed to capitalise on a dominant first half.
Lozowski crossed in the 45th minute to land a decisive blow at Franklin's Gardens and the former England centre also landed three penalties and three conversions, but until he scored, Saints had pounded away at a resilient defence without reflecting their control on the scoreboard.
An interval scoreline of 6-6, with Dan Biggar kicking two penalties for the hosts, was a poor return for all the time spent camped in the opposition 22 and sure enough, it proved their undoing when Saracens found a new gear in the third quarter.
Late tries by Tom Woolstencroft and Maro Itoje distorted the result but Saints had appeared to run out of steam, their all-action style draining them of energy.
And there was more good news for the five-time champions as England hooker Jamie George made a successful comeback from a knee injury ahead of schedule as Eddie Jones plans for the Six Nations opener against Scotland on February 5.