Gallagher Premiership: Late Gloucester try dents Leicester Tigers' play-off hopes, Bristol Bears rout Northampton Saints

Stephen Varney’s converted try in the 78th minute secured Gloucester a dramatic 27-25 victory over Leicester Tigers in a Gallagher Premiership Rugby classic.

Leicester had recovered form 17-3 down to take the lead with less than 10 minutes remaining before the scrum-half delivered a first win for the Cherry and Whites at Welford Road since 2007.

The result means Gloucester have now beaten Leicester twice in seven days following their Premiership Rugby Cup triumph and dealt the Tigers a body blow in the race for the play-offs.

Dan McKellar’s side was able to salvage two bonus points but the defeat could prove crucial in their battle for a top-four finish with only five games remaining.

“I think we were down as underdogs,” Gloucester head coach George Skivington told TNT Sports. “We talked after last week in the build-up to this game that we back our game and we believe it's good enough to compete with anyone.

“It’s a very tough place to come. I think it's a long time since Gloucester last won here so I'm very, very pleased. We're stuck to the plan and got the result.”

The venue might have been different but just one week on from the Premiership Rugby Cup final, the game followed an eerily similar pattern.

Leicester took a three-point lead through Jamie Shillcock’s penalty before Gloucester scored 17 points in eight minutes to seize the initiative in the first half.

Player of the Match Zach Mercer rode the challenge of Dan Kelly to touch down in the 29th minute after some quick Gloucester passing before Santi Carreras added the extras and put a penalty through the posts to make it 10-3.

Chris Harris then heaped more misery on the Tigers when he coasted over the line unopposed but the hosts crucially hit back either side of half-time.

Tommy Reffell, straight into the starting XV after featuring in every one of Wales’ Six Nations defeats, powered over from close range before Solomone Kata scored in similar fashion less than three minutes into the second half.

Another Carreras penalty temporarily halted the momentum, but Leicester’s forward dominance was hard to resist.

Jasper Wiese got on the scoresheet in the 56th minute after a line-out drive obliterated Gloucester’s defence, with only a third consecutive missed conversion by Shillcock denying Leicester the lead.

But they wouldn’t be behind for much longer. Making his first appearance of the season, England’s Jack van Poortvliet was the architect as his slick pass set Shillcock through for the bonus-point try that put Leicester 25-20 ahead with less than 10 minutes left.

There was to be one final twist in the tale, though. Moments after being held up on the line, a superb Seb Blake offload in the tackle fell perfectly into the arms of Varney, who turned on the afterburners to beat three Leicester defenders and seal a momentous victory.

In the evening’s other game, Bristol Bears kept their top-four hopes well and truly alive with a thumping 52-21 win over leaders Northampton Saints.

The Saints came into the fixture on a 10-match winning streak in all competitions but saw that halted in spectacular fashion as the Bears ran in seven tries.

Joe Batley opened the scoring for the hosts at Ashton Gate before Harry Randall’s stunner in the 19th minute, coupled with the efficiency from the tee of AJ MacGinty, made it 14-0 after 20 minutes.

Ollie Sleightholme scored either side of half-time to give the Saints hope of a remarkable comeback, but Bristol proved far too good in the end.

Second-half tries from Kyle Sinckler, James Dun, Max Malins, Fred Davies and Gabriel Ibitoye capped off an incredible performance that moved the Bears up to sixth in the table and means there is just two points now separating second and eighth.

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