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Gallagher Premiership: Gloucester triumph in derby, Leicester Tigers and Saracens seal crucial bonus-point wins

GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Jake Polledri of Gloucester Rugby makes a break during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Gloucester Rugby and Bath Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Gloucester, England. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Image: Jake Polledri was in fine form as Gloucester defeated Bath in their derby clash

Gloucester emerged victorious against Bath in Saturday's derby clash at Kingsholm in the Gallagher Premiership.

Elsewhere, Leicester Tigers overcame Bristol Bears in a result which has implications at both ends of the table, while Saracens stormed to victory at home to Worcester Warriors to claw back more of the points they were deducted.

Here, we round up all of the key points from Saturday's three games...

Leicester Tigers 31-18 Bristol Bears

LEICESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Sam Harrison of Leicester Tigers is applauded off the pitch after his last match for Leicester Tigers during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Leicester Tigers and Bristol Bears at on January 04, 2020 in Leicester, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Image: Sam Harrison brought the curtain down on his Leicester career with a win against Bristol

Jonny May ran in two tries as Leicester Tigers clinched a vital bonus-point win at home to high-flying Bristol Bears in Saturday's 1pm Premiership kick-off.

Winger May scored once in each half, while fellow England internationals Ellis Genge and George Ford also crossed for single tries at Welford Road.

Leicester looked to be cruising as they led 21-6 at half-time but quickfire scores from flanker Dan Thomas and centre Piers O'Connor soon after the restart brought Bristol back into it.

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However, May's second try with six minutes remaining settled the match to help 11th-placed Leicester close the gap between them and the sides above them.

The result also ensured a winning send-off for scrum-half Sam Harrison, who was playing his final game for Leicester before moving to Australia to pursue opportunities outside of professional rugby.

Gloucester 29-15 Bath

Gloucester moved back into third in the table and secured the West Country bragging rights as they overcame Bath 29-15 in a bonus-point win at Kingsholm.

GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Jason Woodward of Gloucester Rugby is tackled by Semesa Rokoduguni of Bath Rugby during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Gloucester Rugby and Bath Rugby at Kingsholm Stadium on January 04, 2020 in Gloucester, England. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)
Image: Jason Woodward was among the try-scorers in Gloucester's win over Bath

Sale Sharks' victory over Harlequins on Friday evening bumped the Cherry and Whites down one place, but that proved only temporary as they overcame their local rivals with a strong second-half showing.

Full-back Jason Woodward - making his first appearance since mid-November - flanker Freddie Clarke, No. 8 Ruan Ackermann and replacement lock Gerbrandt Grobler all crossed for tires, with Billy Twelvetrees kicking two conversions and a penalty, and Danny Cipriani one conversion.

Bath relied on Welsh fly-half Rhys Priestland kicking all of their points from five penalties, but they lost a three-point advantage when Gloucester hit them with two converted scores in rapid succession midway through the second half.

It was Gloucester's biggest win over Bath for nine years and ensured their impressive record of suffering just one home defeat in the Premiership since December 2018 continued.

Saracens 62-5 Worcester Warriors

Saracens' bid to claw back their points deduction and retain their Premiership status remains very much alive as they ran in 10 tries in a convincing win over Worcester Warriors.

Rotimi Segun made the most of being a late call-up in place of the injured Sean Maitland by crossing twice, while Ben Earl, Brad Barritt, Mako Vunipola, Richard Barrington, Maro Itoje, Duncan Taylor, Jackson Wray and Elliot Daly added one apiece.

BARNET, ENGLAND - JANUARY 04: Duncan Taylor of Saracens celebrates with team mates Rotimi Segun (l) and Ben Spencer (c) as Jono Lance of Worcester Warriors looks on during the Gallagher Premiership Rugby match between Saracens and Worcester Warriors at Allianz Park on January 4, 2020 in Barnet, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images)
Image: Duncan Taylor, Rotimi Segun and Ben Spencer celebrate a try in Saracens' win over Worcester

Vunipola's try on the half-hour mark secured the bonus point but then received an injury to his shoulder when illegally cleared out at a ruck and was substituted at half-time.

The resounding victory restored Saracens to winning ways having fallen 14-7 to Premiership leaders Exeter Chiefs six days prior and came in the week club owner Nigel Wray stepped down as chairman in the wake of the salary cap scandal.

However, a match spanning 126 minutes was overshadowed by a potentially serious injury to Worcester's replacement lock Michael Fatialofa, who had been on the pitch just over a minute when he was hurt taking the ball into contact.

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