Wasps beat the Sale Sharks 39-12, while there were also English Premiership wins for Bath, Worcester, Exeter, London Irish and Leicester.

Wasps scored three unanswered first-half tries at the Ricoh Arena before adding two more after the break to seal the victory.

The hosts opened the scoring inside the first minute when No 8 Nathan Hughes broke through and sent centre Charles Piutau in for the try. Two more tries from fullback Rob Miller and hooker Ashley Johnson, and two conversions and penalties from flyhalf Jimmy Gopperth, gave the hosts a commanding 25-0 lead at the break.

Sale scored 12 points in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but converted tries from Gopperth and winger Christian Wade put the match out of reach for the visitors.

Elsewhere on Sunday, flyhalf Gareth Steenson kicked four second-half penalties to help the Exeter Chiefs to a 20-12 win over the Northampton Saints at Sandy Park; flyhalf Greg Tonks kicked a late conversion and penalty as London Irish edged Gloucester to win 23-18 at Madejski Stadium after the scores were level at half-time; and the Leicester Tigers scored two second-half tries as they beat Saracens 21-13 at Welford Road, with the London club dropping to second spot on the table.

On Saturday, the Worcester Warriors handed Harlequins a 21-15 defeat at the Twickenham Stoop, while on Friday, Bath recorded only their sixth win of the season as they edged the Newcastle Falcons 21-19 at the Recreation Ground.

Round 17 results:

Bath 21 Newcastle Falcons 19
Harlequins 15 Worcester Warriors 21
Exeter Chiefs 20 Northampton Saints 12
Wasps 39 Sale Sharks 12
London Irish 23 Gloucester 18
Leicester Tigers 21 Saracens 13

Photo: Tony Marshall/Getty Images