That's it from us for today.

I hope you enjoyed following our live text coverage and commentary from BBC local radio of today's Premiership action as the tries flew in up and down the country.

There's one more match to bring you before we usher in 2018.

Exeter host Leicester tomorrow afternoon, with the Chiefs aiming to extend their lead at the top of the table.

Remember to join us for that one but, until then, goodbye.

Harlequins ran in seven tries to demolish hapless Northampton at Twickenham.

The majority of the 77,825 crowd will have gone home happy as Danny Care and Tim Visser scored braces in a dominant display as Quins inflicted a seventh consecutive defeat on Saints.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall told BBC Radio London:

"Of course we’re pleased to get five points but we set ourselves pretty high standards and our first half performance was nowhere near the standard we want.

"There were times in the second half when we played some really good rugby.

"There was a 25-30 minute period where we played at a very high level, but at the minute we’re doing that every so often and we need to be more consistent in games.

"This afternoon and all season we’ve shown what we’re capable of, but we’re not going there often enough and we have got to do that."

Saracens moved back into second place in the Premiership table after scoring six tries to beat Worcester at Allianz Park.

The in-form visitors secured a try-scoring bonus point and remain ten points clear of bottom of the table London Irish.

Gloucester head coach Johan Ackermann told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

"Grateful that we got over the winning line

"The less said, the better because again our error rate and the number of basic mistakes we made was just too high.

"Some guys really stepped up and made the vital turnovers when needed.

"Billy Twelvetrees kicked his penalties, our scrum gained penalties so there were positives but we need to calm down a bit because we’re making some out of character errors.

"It’s good to end 2017 on a win. We’re happy where we are [in the table] but we’re not happy with our game. There’s a lot of room for improvement."

Tries from David Halaifonua and Ben Vellacott - and the boot of Billy Twelvetrees - saw Gloucester get a narrow victory over Sale at Kingsholm.

They remain fourth in the table and protected their unbeaten home record after a spirited showing from Sale.

London Irish director of rugby Nick Kennedy told BBC Radio Berkshire:

“We were much improved from last week. I’m pleased with the way the boys came out and went into the second half.

“What let us down were crucial errors at crucial times. A missed tackle on Vereniki Goneva, a missed tackle on Sonatane Takulua, a missed tackle on Kyle Cooper and they end up making big line breaks and scoring off them.

“It’s still that 80 minutes of concentration and making sure we make all our tackles and not letting soft line breaks come through us.

“We were in the game in the last minutes, but we need to get our detail right and look after the ball."

Time to recap the afternoon's Premiership action.

Newcastle Falcons completed a perfect December by consigning bottom side London Irish to an 11th straight league defeat.

Two tries from Alex Tait and Vereniki Goneva's touchdown were enough for victory, as Greig Tonks kicked all of the Exiles' points.

Ward is not wrong about Saints.

That is a seventh successive defeat for Northampton in the Premiership.

Things could be getting better for interim head coach Alan Dickens though, with Alan Gaffney set to join the coaching staff on New Year's Day.

Harlequins, meanwhile, move up to seventh in the table and within two points of fifth place.

Image source, Getty Images

JP Doyle blows the whistle to draw an end to the afternoon,

A deserved victory for Harlequins, who made a blistering start and effectively had the game sewn up at half-time.

Northampton came back into the match in the second half and got three tries of their own, but never looked like they would mount an unlikely comeback.

Stephen Myler clears up towards halfway for Saints but we are in the final throes now as Saints look for a fourth try.

Nic Groom just got the absolute definition of a hospital pass.

The ball was popped off to the Saints scrum-half right on his own try-line, and Groom is absolutely smashed by Quins centre Jamie Roberts.

Quins are going through the phases inside the Northampton 22 in search of a final flourish to finish off this game.

But Mat Luamanu knocks forward after about 16 phases to give Northampton a five-metre scrum.

Former England captain Chris Robshaw comes off, to be replaced by Luke Wallace.

That is the flanker's first appearance of the season after a serious hip injury, and he gets a good reception from the Twickenham crowd.

JP Doyle penalises Quins for collapsing another scrum and Saints go to the corner again in search of another try.

Northampton look set to score their third try of the afternoon, but Ben Nutley drops the ball with the try line gaping.

Saints had moved the ball up the field and across from left to right, but were let down at the final moment.

It rather sums up their performance so far in this match - they have been well short of their best.

Saracens centre Nick Tompkins on BBC Radio London:

"It’s that second win and it’s the momentum that we needed and wanted to get. The coaches asked us for a response and the players here have delivered.

"To be honest, after the Clermont defeat here we had to have a look at ourselves and we had to bare our souls a little bit and have difficult conversations. We weren’t going to brush anything under the carpet.

"Everything is in our control and we can go in from here, great momentum to take into Wasps and then into the Champions Cup."