SATURDAY PREMIERSHIP WRAP: Bath head coach Johan van Graan praised Thomas du Toit’s continuous impact after Bath thrashed Sale by 40-13 to go top of the Premiership table.

Du Toit crossed the whitewash along with teammates Will Muir, Miles Reid, Ted Hill, Tom Carr-Smith and Francois van Wyk.

Van Graan’s side has now won five of their six Premiership clashes following a heartbreaking defeat to Northampton Saints in last season’s Final.

The head coach was full of praise for his fellow South African when asked about Du Toit’s following the rout of Sale Sharks.

“I have the utmost respect for him,” Van Graan said

He added: “Where else in the world can you find a loosehead and tighthead combined into one?

“How good are his hands, putting Will Muir through the gap for his try?

“The doc also put stitches in him at half-time, and he comes out and performs again for the next 30 minutes.”

Bath pips Leicester by a solitary point on the Premiership table as the competition enters a month-long break for the November internationals.

In the other match, Leicester Tigers managed to contain a late charge by Saracens to emerge as three point winners by 32-29 which marked their first win at the London based side’s home ground in six years.

Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard slotted a penalty attempt to stretch Leicester’s lead to 15 points – making it a three-score match for Saracens to take the lead.

Saracens managed to reduce the deficit with tries by Juan Martin Gonzalez and James Hadfield, but the Tigers managed to close the match out and seal a three-point victory.

Both teams were without their England internationals as they’re currently in camp for their clash against New Zealand next weekend.

Former Wallabies and Los Pumas head coach Micheal Cheika was recruited by Leicester Tigers during the pre-season after the Tigers’ disappointing eighth place finish last season.

The Tigers are currently second in the Premiership standings, but the seasoned coach said: “You don’t get a trophy for second. You don’t get trophies six weeks in and second in the table.”

In the clash between Gloucester and Newcastle Falcons, the home side overpowered the struggling Falcons by 36-7 in a clash featuring five players selected by Wales head coach Warren Gatland for the November internationals.

Gloucester has become known as the ‘fifth Welsh region’ after Gatland included scrumhalf Tomos Williams, flyhalf Gareth Anscombe, centre Max Llewellyn, fullback Josh Hathaway and Lock Freddie Thomas in his squad.

“I hope they’ll feel Gatland’s intensity for a couple of games and then come back and bring a few bits with them,” said Gloucester coach George Skivington after the Cherry and Whites went fifth in the table.

All the Saturday scores and scorers follow below …

Gloucester 36-7 Newcastle Falcons

The scorers

For Gloucester
Tries: Clement, Williams, Blake, Singleton, Wade, Hathaway
Cons: Anscombe 3

For Newcastle Falcons
Try: Blamire
Con: Connon

Yellow card: Gareth Anscombe (Gloucester – Minute 60)

Teams:

Gloucester: 15 Josh Hathaway, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Charlie Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Zach Mercer, 7 Lewis Ludlow (captain), 6 Jack Clement, 5 Freddie Thomas, 4 Arthur Clarke, 3 Afolabi Fasogbon, 2 Jack Singleton, 1 Val Rapava-Ruskin.
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Harry Taylor, 21 Caolan Englefield, 22 Louis Hillman-Cooper, 23 Ioan Jones

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Alex Hearle, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Connor Doherty, 12 Sammy Arnold, 11 Ben Stevenson, 10 Ethan Grayson, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (captain), 7 Tom Gordon, 6 Philip van der Walt, 5 Josh Hawkins, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Richard Palframan, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Fletcher, 17 Luan de Bruin, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Sebastian de Chaves, 20 Freddie Lockwood, 21 Joe Davis, 22 Brett Connon, 23 Cameron Hutchison.

Bath 40-13 Sale Sharks

The scorers:

For Bath
Tries: Muir, Reid, Du Toit, Hill, Carr-Smith, Van Wyk
Cons: Russel 5

For Sale Sharks
Try: Addison
Con: Du Preez
Pens: Du Preez 2

Red cards: Will Butt (Bath – Minute 60), Nye Thomas (Sale Sharks – Minute 61)

Teams:

Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Louis Hennessey, 12 Will Butt, 11 Will Muir, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Miles Reid (captain), 7 Guy Pepper, 6 Ted Hill, 5 Ross Molony, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Ben Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Vilikesa Sela, 19 Josh Bayliss, 20 Ethan Staddon, 21 Tom Carr-Smith, 22 Orlando Bailey, 23 Jaco Coetzee.

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Will Addison, 13 Luke James, 12 Sam Bedlow, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Robert du Preez (captain), 9 Gus Warr, 8 Dan du Preez, 7 Sam Dugdale, 6 Ernst van Rhyn, 5 Hyron Andrews, 4 Ben Bamber, 3 James Harper, 2 Tadgh McElroy, 1 Si McIntyre.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Tumy Onasanya, 18 Asher Opoku-Fordjour, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Josh Beaumont, 21 Nye Thomas, 22 Tom Curtis, 23 Jean-Luc du Preez.

Saracens 29-32 Leicester Tigers

The scorers:

For Saracens
Tries: Tompkins, Gonzalez, Swiel, Hadfield
Cons: Swiel 3
Pen: Swiel

For Leicester Tigers
Tries: Hassel-Collins, Perese, Montoya, Penalty try (does not require conversion)
Cons: Pollard 2
Pens: Pollard 2

Yellow card: Alec Clarey (Saracens – Minute 41)

Teams:

Saracens: 15 Tom Parton, 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rotimi Segun, 10 Alex Goode, 9 Ivan van Zyl (captain), 8 Tom Willis, 7 Toby Knight, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Hugh Tizard, 4 Theo McFarland, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Kapeli Pifeleti, 1 Eroni Mawi.
Replacements: 16 James Hadfield, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Alec Clarey, 19 Harry Wilson, 20 Nathan Michelow, 21 Gareth Simpson, 22 Josh Hallett, 23 Tim Swiel.

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Izaia Perese, 12 Joseph Woodward, 11 Ollie Hassell-Collins, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Tom Whiteley, 8 Olly Cracknell, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Tom Manz, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Joe Heyns, 2 Julian Montoya (captain), 1 Nicky Smith.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 James Cronin, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Côme Joussain, 20 Matt Rogerson, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Jamie Shillcock, 23 Will Wand.