Gloucester continue unbeaten start - PWR round-up

Alex Matthews scored Gloucester Hartpury's second try

Gloucester Hartpury's unbeaten start to their Premiership Women's Rugby campaign continued with victory over Sale Sharks, while Saracens kept up the pressure on the league leaders with an emphatic win over struggling Leicester Tigers.

Defending PWR champions Gloucester ran out 40-24 winners at Kingsholm, with Rachel Lund scoring a hat-trick in a six-try haul.

Gloucester's lead at the top of the table stayed at five points as second-placed Saracens maintained the heat with a 79-5 win over bottom side Leicester.

Elsewhere, Trailfinders claimed a 45-19 home victory over Bristol Bears, while on Sunday Harlequins lost their third game in a row, 26-19 away at Exeter Chiefs.

Pacesetters Gloucester Hartpury were forced to come from behind against Sale as Erica Jarrell-Searcy went over for a converted try inside seven minutes, but the leaders quickly levelled with Lund's first of the afternoon.

Tries from Alex Matthews and Sisilia Tuipolutu put the champions in front before a Nikita Prothero score narrowed the Sharks' deficit before half-time.

After the break, scores by Lund and Neve Jones established a 26-point lead for Gloucester Hartpury before Shona Campbell and Charlotte Fry salvaged a losing bonus point for Sale with consolation tries.

Meanwhile, there were nine different Saracens scorers at StoneX Stadium as the hosts made it three wins from three, while Leicester Tigers lost by more than 70 points for the second successive game.

While the Tigers finished pointless last time out against the Bears, it was 55-0 to Saracens before the visitors got off the mark through an unconverted try by Eneka Labeyrie, with slim hopes of chasing defeated by the yellow card then shown to Clodagh Dunne.

There was still time for Saracens to twist the knife as Olivia Apps touched down after an incredible 60-metre carry and Poppy Cleall completed a hat-trick.

Assisted by an early yellow card for Bears' Simi Pam, Trailfinders made a bright start against Bristol who clawed themselves level before a score by Alana Borland on the stroke of half-time sent the hosts in with a 24-14 lead and quashed the Bears' momentum.

Though Evie Gallagher's score reduced the deficit, Trailfinders dominated after the break to storm to a 45-19 bonus-point victory, moving them five points clear of the Bears in the PWR table.

Having lost their last two games, Harlequins' woes looked set to continue as Exeter Chiefs crossed three times without reply in the first half, setting a 19-0 target for the visitors to chase at Sandy Park.

With her first try for Harlequins, Liana Mikaele-Tu'u ignited a comeback after the break, with World Champion Ellie Kildunne also dotting down to shrink the hosts' lead to 19-12.

Exeter scrum-half Flo Robinson pushed her side further ahead with their fourth try before Harlequins hit back again through Sara Svoboda - but it wasn't enough for the London side, whose third successive defeat ended 26-19, while Exeter moved up to third with the bonus-point win.