England winger Jack Nowell marked his return to action from injury with a pair of tries as Exeter Chiefs confirmed their spot in the Premiership semi-finals.
Nowell came off the bench in England’s first three NatWest 6 Nations games in 2018 before rolling an ankle against Scotland leaving him with a spell on the sidelines.
But he returned with a bang as Exeter were 46-10 winners over Gloucester Rugby with Nowell grabbing a brace of scores from the bench.
Farrell pulls strings for Saracens
Elsewhere in the Premiership, England’s Owen Farrell kicked 18 points as Saracens eased to a 63-13 win over Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens.
The fly half also had a hand in the first of nine tries scored by Saracens with international team-mate Mako Vunipola sealing the bonus point.
Scotland winger Sean Maitland also went over in the comfortable success as did Wales international Liam Williams as Saracens stayed second in the Premiership table.
Welsh stars impress for Scarlets
In the Guinness PRO14, fly-half Rhys Patchell scored two tries as the Scarlets beat Glasgow Warriors 26-8 while Leigh Halfpenny kicked three penalties and a conversion.
Gareth Davies replicated his score against Scotland from the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations when he picked off an Ali Price pass for an intercept score.
Elsewhere, Ireland’s Niall Scannell was one of six try scorers for Munster as they came from behind to defeat the Southern Kings in the first game of their South Africa tour.
Grand Slam winner CJ Stander was also on the scoresheet as he dived over from close range though it was Ian Keatley who ran the show from fly-half.
Benetton’s good form continues
Italy’s Tommaso Allan continued his fine form with a try and three conversions as Benetton Rugby continued their fine season with a 29-27 win over the Dragons.
Young Federico Ruzza and former Italy scrum-half Tito Tebaldi also dotted down for Benetton as their bid for a Champions Cup spot continued.
Vakatawa in the tries for Racing
In France, Louis Picamoles was one of five try scorers as Montpellier consolidated their place at the summit of the Top 14 with a 40-24 win over La Rochelle.
Elsewhere, Virimi Vakatawa bagged a brace for second-placed Racing 92 as they beat Toulon 17-13 in a tight match at U Arena.
Vakatawa sprinted over for a fine individual effort in the first half with his second coming shortly after the break and despite Francois Trinh-Duc’s late penalty, Racing held on.
Finally, Baptiste Serin marked his 100th appearance for Bordeaux-Bègles by scoring all of his side’s points in a 19-18 success over Pau.
Serin converted his own try and struck four penalties as Bordeaux were 19-18 winners.
And Baptiste Couilloud scored a late try as Lyon beat Brive 27-25 with Lionel Beauxis kicking three conversions and two penalties in the dramatic win.
