Premiership: Gloucester 35-30 Northampton

Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit scored with his first touch as Gloucester fought back to beat Saints

Alex Craig's late try gave Gloucester a thrilling comeback win over Northampton in a pulsating match at Kingsholm.

Tries from Matt Proctor and Fraser Dingwall helped Saints into a 20-14 half-time lead, with Harry Elrington and Tim Seabrook replying.

Tom Collins' length-of-the-pitch try increased the lead, but Louis Rees-Zammit and a penalty try gave the hosts a two-point lead.

Dan Biggar's penalty nudged Saints back in front before Craig drove over.

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Both teams were looking to rediscover some Premiership form, and it was Gloucester who recovered from back-to-back defeats, while it was a familiar story for Saints who succumbed to a third successive loss by five points or less, and a fourth straight league defeat in all.

Saints gifted the hosts an early lead when an overthrown lineout on their own line fell to Elrington to score, but the visitors then took control with 20 unanswered points, half of them from the boot of Wales fly-half Biggar, on his return from Six Nations duty.

Proctor stretched over after the Northampton forwards battered the home try line before Dingwall crashed over after a series of quick phases and strong carries.

Yet Seabrook's instant response, racing over after spotting a gap and dummying the last man, teed up a tantalising second half.

It was the visitors who showed first with a stunning score. Choosing to run from deep, Courtnall Skosan, Rory Hutchinson and Biggar were all involved before Collins finished off as Saints took a 27-14 lead into the final quarter.

Yet the game turned on its head as Gloucester pulled out two scores in three minutes.

Rees-Zammit crossed with his first touch moments after coming on as a second-half replacement before the visitors conceded a penalty try for collapsing the maul, resulting in a yellow card for prop Emmanuel Iyogun.

Biggar's superb kick into the breeze gave Northampton a two-point lead with 10 minutes to play, but the advantage was short-lived as Gloucester won a penalty and drove Craig over from a five-metre lineout for the winning score.

The victory lifts Gloucester up to fifth and within a point of fourth-placed London Irish, with a game in hand, while their losing bonus point moves Northampton up a place to eighth.

Gloucester head coach George Skivington told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

"I thought the half-backs managed the game really well today. There were a few switch-off moments and Saints pulled some real class out of nowhere. It was fast and furious, but it's just nice to get the win.

"We were 13 points down and felt like we were stuttering a little bit, but the boys just stayed on task and eventually ground it out so that's very pleasing.

"I'm not too worried where we sit in the table, I just want us to get better and better. And games like today where we're not quite in our rhythm, if we can grind those out then we're in a much better spot than we were last year."

Northampton Saints head coach Chris Boyd told BBC Radio Northampton:

"The only consolation is, if there can be a consolation, is that we're actually playing reasonably well for longish periods of time, but again the same as last week - big moments, small margins.

"We lost concentration at a lineout that cost us seven points early in the game and then just before half-time, with a decent lead, we let through a soft try.

"We came back and took control for a long period of time and then a couple of decisions at the back end cost us territory and then let their drive come into the game and they're the best in the competition at it.

"We knew if they got into that space it was going to be hard to defend, and it was, especially with a man down, so we paid the price in the end."

Gloucester: Moyle; Carreras, Seabrook, Twelvetrees, Thorley; Hastings, Meehan; Elrington, Socino, Balmain, Clarke, Alemanno, Reid, Clement, Ackermann (capt).

Replacements: Walker, Rapava-Ruskin, Ford-Robinson, Davidson, Craig, Chapman, Barton, Rees-Zammit.

Northampton: Hutchinson; Skosan, Proctor, Dingwall (capt), Collins; Bigger, Mitchell; Iyogun, Matavesi, Painter, Ribbans, Ratuniyarawa, Coles, Wilkins, Augustus.

Replacements: Haywood, Auterac, Carey, Nansen, Tonks, James, Grayson, Francis.

Sin-bin: Iyogun (67)

Sin-bin: Emmanuel Iyogun (67).

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