Exeter, Newcastle, and Leicester Secure Cup Victories

Rus Tuima initiated a scoring spree for Exeter during the first half at Kingsholm. Exeter Chiefs and Newcastle Falcons overcame their league difficulties to maintain flawless Premiership Rugby Cup records on Friday, advancing closer to securing quarter-final berths. Despite being winless in six Premiership games, Exeter has continued to leverage this competition to improve their struggling performance. The match, whose result was seldom uncertain, concluded 31-7 for Exeter, marking Gloucester’s initial defeat in this tournament since December 2022. Newcastle secured a thrilling 28-27 victory over Sale Sharks, with Brett Connon converting Max Pepper’s try in the final moments to clinch the win by a single point. In the remaining fixture, Leicester Tigers achieved their first victory in three cup appearances, decisively defeating Championship team Nottingham 70-29 following a dominant second-half performance. Regardless of the disappointment from their winless Premiership season, Exeter celebrated a decisive triumph against Premiership Rugby Cup titleholders Gloucester. The visiting team controlled the game from beginning to end, with Rus Tuima commencing the scoring after five minutes by driving over from close range. Ben Hammersley then scored a second try, which Josh Hodge converted, establishing an early 14-0 advantage for the Chiefs against their surprised opponents. A powerful run by Will Rigg, an impressive 70-yard play from Hodge, and a try by Stu Townsend concluded a 31-0 first-half dominance, with Val Rapava Ruskin’s second-half score serving as a mere consolation for the home side. Leicester recovered strongly after an initial challenge from Championship team Nottingham, who had taken a 12-0 lead after 22 minutes thanks to two tries from Harry Clayton, suggesting a potential third loss for the Tigers after previous defeats to Northampton Saints and Coventry. However, Leicester responded by scoring four tries before halftime, establishing a 28-12 lead, with Matt Rogerson, Archie Vanes, Ollie Allan, and Solomone Kata each crossing the try line. During the second half, the Premiership team demonstrated both skill and decisive execution, adding six more tries. Izaia Perese, James Whitcombe, Jack Kinder, Ollie Hassell-Collins (twice), and Emeka Ilione all scored following the break. Izaia Perese contributed one of Leicester’s six second-half tries against Nottingham. At Kingston Park, Pepper and Connon collaborated in the closing stages to extend Newcastle’s perfect record to three wins from three matches, accumulating a maximum of 15 points, similar to Exeter. Tadgh McElroy initially scored to put Sale ahead, but a penalty from Connon and a close-range try by Jamie Blamire gave the Falcons an 8-5 lead. James Harper then scored from close range, followed by an exchange of tries between Tom Gordon for Newcastle and Tom Curtis for Sale. Following a score by Ben Stevenson for the home team, Rouban Birch appeared to secure the game with a try, making the score 27-18 at the 68-minute mark. However, a Falcons penalty narrowed the deficit to six points, and Pepper scored late, setting up Connon and leaving Sale surprised. Saturday All kick-off times GMTPool A: Caldy vs. Doncaster (14:00)Pool B: Coventry vs. Northampton Saints (15:00)Pool C: Ealing Trailfinders vs. London Scottish (15:00); Saracens vs. Harlequins (15:00)Pool D: Bedford Blues vs. Bath (15:00)Pool E: Hartpury RFC vs. Cornish Pirates (14:30) Sunday Pool D: Bristol vs. Ampthill (14:00)