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I'm sure Richard Cockerill will be pretty chuffed with that ringing endorsement of his side's chances - but they could really do with finding a way to beat Gloucester this evening.

Heading into tonight's Premiership matches, just five points separated Saracens in third and Sale down in eighth.

Leicester are somewhere in the middle of that pack in sixth, one point above Sharks.

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It's level at Welford Road and it's also close at Franklin's Gardens, where Northampton Saints are just four points ahead of London Irish despite having the best of the first 40 minutes there.

Ken Pisi's try came 28 minutes in, converted by Stephen Myler, while Shane Geraghty responded with a penalty for the Exiles.

Northampton prop Salesi Ma'afu and London Irish front-rower Tom Court were shown yellow cards in the closing seconds of the half, so both sides will begin the second period with 14 men.

Well, as promised, the results are in and 64.2% of you think Leicester Tigers will indeed finish in the top four of the Premiership this season.

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What do we think after all of that? Which way is this finely poised contest heading? I, for one, haven't a clue.

But please do let us know what you think by using #bbcrugby on Twitter.

But no, the Cherry and Whites have turned the ball over and that'll be that for the first half. It's been a real battle in the wind and rain at Welford Road - but at the same time, make no mistake, both sides have had chances to touchdown and just not quite taken them.

It's Freddie Burns 9-9 James Hook at the break.

Leicester are seriously knocking on the door here, into their 13th phase. George Catchpole has just been brilliantly tackled by Billy Burns in amongst all the mayhem, but still Leicester press...

After conceding the opening try at Franklin's Gardens, London Irish have responded with a Shane Geraghty penalty following a Northampton infringement at the scrum.

Can Leicester snatch themselves a try right before half-time? A couple of infringements allows Freddie Burns to kick them up-field and, once again, Tigers are back inside the Gloucester 22.

And the tale of the tee continues, with Freddie Burns adding his and Leicester's third penalty of the night to equalise.

Tigers work the ball well and are homing in on the Gloucester line. And, in trying to slow them up, Bill Meakes concedes a penalty and Freddie Burns has a chance to level the scores up once more...

Now here come Tigers on the attack, into the Gloucester 22 for the first time. Just as they look to spread the play wide, Graham Kitchener over-runs the ball and spills it - but we'll come back for an earlier infringement, and Leicester head for the line.

Northampton finally break the London Irish resistance at Franklin's Gardens as Ken Pisi goes over for the first points of the night. Moments after Tom Stephenson misses an excellent chance to score a try, Saints are on the board as Pisi collects Stephen Myler's kick to touch down. Myler nails the conversion from the touchline to give the hosts a seven-point lead.

Just a quick heads up that our vote has now closed. We'll bring you the result at half-time.

What a chance for Gloucester on the counter-attack. Freddie Burns is caught trying to run the ball and, having turned it over, the visitors race forward with decent numbers. But no - a forward pass has cost them! You can't be wasting opportunities like that in these conditions.

Outstanding work from the Gloucester pack once again, and they'll have a penalty.

What do we reckon from here then, James Hook? Wowzers, he sure is going to make Leicester pay if they continue to give away penalties - his kick from an awkward angle is superb and the Cherry and Whites lead for the first time.

Good throw from Darren Dawidiuk, terrific take from Matt Kvesic, but the rolling maul is going nowhere quickly here. Ah, and with a sharp puff on his whistle, referee JP Doyle stops Gloucester in their tracks and it'll be a scrum.

Leicester, very much on the back-track, give away a penalty and Gloucester head for touch. Jordan Crane has picked up a really nasty looking cut to the face, by the way, and there's a bit of a delay before the line-out while he receives some treatment.

Gloucester win the ball from the line-out and work it back to James Hook. Now, that's a tidy looking up-and-under from the Cherry and Whites number 10, and Billy Meakes claims it well too. The visitors are on the attack.

There's going to be some muddy kits to wash after this one, that's for sure. Leicester have the ball around 10 metres from their own line under a bit of pressure, and so Freddie Burns is forced to kick for touch.

Almost halfway through the first half at Northampton, where the Saints are being frustrated by lowly London Irish. Far from being outclassed, the Exiles are posing some problems for the reigning champions. Irish's penalty count is rising, but Northampton have yet to make them pay and it remains scoreless.