Alistair Hargreaves scored as Saracens claimed a hard-fought 28-21 victory over Gloucester in the English Premiership.

Gloucester came into the match in good form after wins over London Welsh and the Leicester Tigers, but were undone by an assured performance from last season's beaten finalists. Having tasted defeat for the first time this season against Bath in their last outing, Saracens would've been pleased with their performance, despite falling just short of a bonus point.

One negative for Saracens was the loss of Schalk Brits after only seven minutes, as he was forced off with a rib injury.

In other results, the Leicester Tigers ended a run of three successive defeats with a win over Harlequins, the Northampton Saints maintained the pace at the top of the table with a comprehensive 43-10 win over Sale Sharks, Exeter climbed to third in the table after a 44-24 victory over London Irish, Wasps ground out a victory at home against Bath and London Welsh remained winless after six matches after they went down to fellow strugglers Newcastle.

Round 6 results:

Leicester Tigers 22 Harlequins 16
Northampton Saints 43 Sale Sharks 10
Saracens 28 Gloucester 21
Exeter Chiefs 44 London Irish 24
London Welsh 3 Newcastle Falcons 23
Wasps 29 Bath 22

Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images