LV= Cup wrap: Stringer strikes for Bath

Two tries on debut: Peter Stringer

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Peter Stringer scored two tries on debut for Bath to help his side to a 16-6 win over Exeter while Tigers thumped Wasps in the LV= Cup on Saturday.

Harlequins maintained their perfect record in tournament with a battling success over winless London Welsh.

Danny Cipriani scored 21 points as relegation-threatened Sale put their dismal Premiership form behind them with an easy win victory over a severely understrength Scarlets side.

In the late game, the Ospreys' defeat to the Dragons at a sodden Rodney Parade left their hopes of progressing to the play-offs hanging by a thread.

Results:
Bath 16-6 Exeter
Harlequins 23-6 London Welsh
Leicester Tigers 34-8 London Wasps
Northampton Saints 26-7 Gloucester
Sale Sharks 36-17 Scarlets
Dragons 18-14 Ospreys

Bath 16-6 Exeter
Recreation Ground

35-year-old new Bath signing Peter Stringer came off the bench to score two tries in the space of five minutes to hand the host victory.

Exeter dominated much of the first half but the scores were locked at 6-6 at the break after Stringer's double strike just before the hour mark changes the complexion of the game.

The result is Exeter's first defeat in this season's LV= Cup and they still have not beaten their west country rivals in a competitive match since 1978.

The scorers:

For Bath:
Tries: Stringer 2
Pens: Heathcote 2
Drops:
Yellow cards:

For Exeter:
Pens: Slade 2

Bath: 15 Jack Cuthbert, 14 Richard Lane, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Ben Williams, 11 Olly Woodburn, 10 Tom Heathcote, 9 Mark McMillan, 8 Ben Skirving, 7 Mat Gilbert, 6 Nick Koster, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (capt), 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Charlie Beech.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Kane Palma-Newport, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Will Skuse, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Sam Vesty, 23 Semesa Rokoduguni.

Exeter: 15 Jack Nowell, 14 Watisoni Votu, 13 Nic Sestaret, 12 Sam Hill, 11 Josh Tatupu, 10 Henry Slade, 9 Will Chudley, 8 Kai Horstmann (capt), 7 Ben White, 6 Joel Conlon, 5 Damian Welch, 4 Will Carrick-Smith, 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Carl Rimmer.
Replacements: 16 Jack Yeandle, 17 Chris Budgen, 18 Alex Brown, 19 Justin Blanchet, 20 Sam Simmonds, 21 Junior Poluleuligaga, 22 Myles Dorrian, 23 Mark Foster.

Harlequins 23-6 London Welsh
Twickenham Stoop

Harlequins went to the top of Pool One but it didn't come easily in a scrappy match full of positive intentions but short on execution.

The home side dominated the set scrum but in the loose the visitors were the masters and their hard-working pack were very unlucky to come away with no reward.

Prop Mark Lambert's try helped Quins to a 10-6 lead at half time. Ben Botica added the conversion and two penalties after the break to give Quins breathing room before hooker Dave Ward a simple try from a fluffed Welsh line-out sealed victory.

The scorers:

For Harlequins:
Tries: Lambert, Ward
Cons: Botica 2
Pens: Botica 3

For London Welsh:
Pens: Davies 2

Harlequins: 15 Ollie Lindsay-Hague, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Tom Casson, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Ben Botica, 9 Karl Dickson, 8 Tom Guest, 7 Luke Wallace (c), 6 Joe Trayfoot, 5 Charlie Matthews, 4 Sam Twomey, 3 Will Collier, 2 Dave Ward, 1 Mark Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Harry Allen, 17 Darryl Marfo, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Jack Clifford, 20 Harry Sloan, 21 Jordan Burns, 22 Louis Grimoldby, 23 Ross Chisholm.

London Welsh: 15 Tom Voyce, 14 Nick Scott, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Seb Jewell, 11 Phil Mackenzie, 10 Gordon Ross, 9 Alex Davies, 8 Adam Balding, 7 Michael Hills, 6 Ed Jackson, 5 Kirill Kulemin, 4 Adam Brown, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Dan George, 1 Tom Bristow.
Replacements: 16 Gareth Evans, 17 Billy Moss, 18 James Tideswell, 19 Martin Purdy, 20 Daniel Browne, 21 Luc Jones, 22 Joe Ajuwa, 23 Tom Arscott.

Leicester Tigers 34-8 London Wasps
Welford Road

Holders Leicester kept their LV= Cup title defence hopes alive with a five-try victory on home soil. Tigers must now win against Scarlets next week if they hope to reach the semi-finals.

England flanker Tom Croft was making only his second start since returning from a shoulder operation but he lasted only 11 minutes before going off injured.

Tigers led 15-0 at half time thanks to tries from Logovi'i Mulipola and Michael Noone.

Mathew Tait scored on the hour mark to put the result beyond doubt before Vereniki Goneva crossed twice to rub salt into Wasps wounds.

The scorers:

For Leicester:
Tries: Mulipola, Noone, Goneva 2
Cons: Bowden, Cornwell 2
Pens: Bowden

For Wasps:
Try: Southwell
Pen: T. Bell
Yellow card: Du Plessis

Leicester: 15 Mathew Tait, 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Andy Forsyth, 12 Matt Cornwell, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Dan Bowden, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Brett Deacon (capt), 7 Richard Thorpe, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Price, 4 Rob Andrew, 3 Logovi'i Mulipola, 2 Rob Hawkins, 1 Boris Stankovich.
Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Jonny Harris, 17 Fraser Balmain, 19 Harry Wells, 20 Michael Noone, 21 Micky Young, 22 Andy Symons, 23 Adam Thompstone.

Wasps: 15 Jack Wallace, 14 Tom Howe, 13 Chris Mayor, 12 Charlie Hayter, 11 Jonah Holmes, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Stuart Commins, 8 Sam Jones (capt), 7 Matt Everard, 6 Tinus Du Plessis, 5 Will Rowlands, 4 James Cannon, 3 Will Taylor, 2 Nathan Morris, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Dave Hughes, 20 James Harris, 21 Will Robinson, 22 Chris Bell, 23 Hugo Southwell.

Northampton Saints 26-7 Gloucester
Franklin's Gardens

Northampton crossed the try-line at Franklin's Gardens for the first time since November 24 as they won big to maintain top spot in Pool Four.

Luther Burrell and Alex Waller touched down in either half to end that try-drought in a comprehensive win.

Saints, who led 13-7 at the interval, can now secure a place in the semi-finals with victory in their final pool game at Exeter.

The scorers:

For Northampton:
Tries: Burrell, A. Waller
Cons: Lamb, Myler
Pens: Lamb 2, Myler 2

For Gloucester:
Try: Mills
Con: Mills

Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 James Wilson, 13 George Pisi, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Tom May, 10 Ryan Lamb, 9 Martin Roberts, 8 Rhys Oakley, 7 Phil Dowson, (capt), 6 Samu Monoa, 5 Christian Day, 4 Mark Sorenson, 3 Tom Mercey, 2 Mike Haywood, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Soane Tonga'uiha, 18 Ethan Waller, 19 James Craig, 20 Ben Nutley, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Stephen Myler, 23 Tom Collins.

Gloucester: 15 Martyn Thomas, 14 Steph Reynolds, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Tim Molenaar, 11 Shane Monahan, 10 Ryan Mills, 9 Dave Lewis; 8 Gareth Evans, 7 Andy Hazell,6 Peter Buxton (capt), 5 Elliott Stooke; 4 Lua Lokotui,3 Dario Chistolini; 2 Koree Britton, 1 Yann Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Tommaso d'Apice, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Tom Heard, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 Mike Tindall, 23 Rob Cook.

Sale Sharks 36-17 Scarlets
Salford City Stadium

Danny Cipriani scored a second-half try and kicked 16 points as Sale kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.

Tries from Richie Vernon, Charlie Amesbury late in the first half gave Sale a 21-14 lead ta the break.

Cipriani's try on the hour mark secured the win before replacement Charlie Ingall put the cing on the cake in the dying minutes.

The scorers:

For Sale:
Tries: Vernon, Amesbury, Cipriani, Ingall
Cons: Cipriani 2
Pens: Cipriani 4

For Scarlets :
Tries: Fenby, G Davies
Cons: Williams 2
Pen: Williams
Yellow cards: P. Jones, Ball

Sale: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Rob Miller, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Charlie Amesbury, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Richie Vernon, 7 David Seymour (capt), 6 Dan Braid, 5 Tom Holmes, 4 Kearnan Myall, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Fraser Mckenzie, 20 James Doyle, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Jordan Davies, 23 Charlie Ingall.

Scarlets: 15 Gareth Owen, 14 Kristian Phillips, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Adam Warren, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Kieran Murphy, 7 Duane Eager, 6 Lewis Rawlins, 5 Johan Snyman, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Emyr Phillips, 1 Rhodri Jones.
Replacements: 16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Peter Edwards, 19 Richard Kelly, 20 Tomas Vallejos, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Nick Reynolds, 23 Dale Ford

Dragons 18-14 Ospreys
Rodney Parade

The Ospreys' poor season just got worse and after this result even victory over Harlequins next Sunday might not be enough to quilify for the semi-finals.

Heavy rain and the referee's constant whistle made for a dour encounter that was locked at 9-9 at the interval.

A try from Jonathan Thomas put Ospreys 14-12 ahead in the second half and from there the game suddenly sprang into life in a tense finish.

Two late Steffan Jones handed the hosts victory though as Ospreys were unable to make pressure in the dying minutes pay.

The scorers:
Pens: S. Jones 6
Yellow card: I. Jones

For Ospreys:
Try: J. Thomas
Pens: Morgan 3
Yellow cards: Webb, Allen

Dragons: 15 Hallam Amos, 14 Matthew Pewtner, 13 Adam Hughes, 12 Jack Dixon, 11 Mike Poole, 10 Steffan Jones, 9 Jonathan Evans; 8 Nathan Williams, 7 Sam Parry, 6 Dan Way, 5 Adam Jones, 4 Rob Sidoli, 3 Lewis Evans (c), 2 Nic Cudd, 1 Ieuan Jones.
Replacements: 16 Hugh Gustafson, 17 Aaron Coundley, 18 Tim Ryan, 19 Ian Nimmo, 20 Jevon Groves, 21 Rhys Downes, 22 Dan Evans, 21 Pat Leach.

Ospreys: 15 Jamie Murphy, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Ben John, 11 Dafydd Howells, 10 Matthew Morgan, 9 Rhys Webb (c), 8 Morgan Allen, 7 Arthur Ellis, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Rhodri Hughes, 4 Sam Williams, 3 Daniel Suter, 2 Matthew Dwyer, 1 Marc Thomas.
Replacements: 16 Dmitri Arhip, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Campbell Johnstone, 19 Dan Baker, 20 Rob Dudley-Jones, 21 Tom Habberfield, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Nathan Edwards.