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Maro Itoje made an eye-watering 26 tackles as Saracens beat Exeter at Sandy Park
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Jimmy Gopperth won Man of the Match as Wasps claimed just their third win at Welford Road in 20 matches
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Worcester prop Val Rapava Ruskin made four turnovers against Gloucester
Maro Itoje was the star of the show as European and Aviva Premiership Rugby double champions Saracens condemned Exeter Chiefs to their second heaviest top-flight home defeat.
The England second-row made an eye-watering 26 tackles as Saracens dominated Rob Baxter’s side for a 34-13 win, the last player to make more tackles in a single game was former club mate Jacques Burger, who made 34 in November 2013.
Try-machine No.8 Thomas Waldrom could not get over the line against Saracens, but he did manage a round-high 28 carries, ably assisted by Luke Cowan-Dickie’s 20, while Henry Slade made 14 and Ollie Devoto 16 as Exeter suffered their joint-second heaviest defeat since they arrived in Aviva Premiership Rugby.
Wasps meanwhile claimed their first win at Welford Road since 2008, completing back-to-back wins over Leicester Tigers for the first time since 2009.
Guy Thompson scored a try in a superb Wasps back-row performance, making 93 metres in attack and beating eight defenders – more than anyone else in Aviva Premiership Rugby last week.
Jimmy Gopperth won Man of the Match as Dai Young’s side claimed just their third win at Welford Road in 20 Aviva Premiership games.
Worcester prop Val Rapava Ruskin made four turnovers against David Humphreys’ side and now has more turnovers than anyone else in Aviva Premiership Rugby with six.
Andy Robinson watched on as Bristol Rugby were condemned to their second consecutive 22 point defeat to Northampton Saints, with George North getting on the scoresheet for his fifth away game in succession in a 32-10 triumph.
England prop Paul Hill won two turnovers for the visitors as they bounced back from last week’s defeat to Bath.
Tackles
Maro Itoje (Saracens) – 26
Brad Barritt (Saracens) – 21
Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Schalk Burger (Saracens) – 19
Carries
Thomas Waldrom (Exeter Chiefs) – 28
Cameron Neild (Sale Sharks) – 23
Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby) – 21
Metres Made
Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby) – 143
Mathew Tait (Leicester Tigers) – 132
Henry Purdy (Gloucester Rugby) – 116
Defenders beaten
Guy Thompson (Wasps) – 8
Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby) – 7
Paolo Odogwu (Sale Sharks) – 6
Offloads
Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath Rugby), Ollie Devoto (Exeter Chiefs), Zach Mercer (Bath Rugby), JP Pietersen (Leicester Tigers) – 4
Lineouts won
Bryn Evans (Sale Sharks) – 9
Lachlan McCaffrey (Leicester Tigers)
Dave Attwood (Bath Rugby) – 7
