Harlequins maintained their perfect start to the Premiership season as tries from Chris Robshaw and Mike Brown helped them to a 26-13 win at Bath.

The league leaders, who now have a 100 percent record after eight games, made a slow start at The Rec but eventually assumed control of the contest as they gained the upper-hand at the scrum, line-out and breakdown.

Quins led 13-7 at half-time after a close-range effort from Robshaw while Brown's solo try six minutes from time killed the game off.

Nick Evans added 16 points with his boot, while the hosts scored a solitary try through Dave Attwood and Sam Vesty added the rest from the kicking tee.

Bath made the brighter start but it was Quins who took a 3-0 lead through Evans in the sixth minute, the New Zealander slotting over after Vesty had missed two early penalties.

George Lowe and Robshaw then produced a brilliant double tackle to deny wing Tom Biggs as he burst over the line after Olly Woodburn had forced a turnover. But Lowe was at fault seconds later as he was caught out of position, allowing Attwood to bundle his way over for a try converted by Vesty.

The lead lasted only five minutes, though, as Harlequins hit back with a try from skipper Robshaw, who showed good strength to muscle his way over the try-line after deciding against going for the posts from a penalty.

Evans added the extras before slotting his second penalty over shortly afterwards to give coach Conor O'Shea's side a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

After the frantic opening, the would be no more scoring before the end of the half, although the visitors went close after being gifted a five-metre scrum just before the interval.

Basic errors were blighting the hosts' play and their failure to control the ball resulted in a 47th-minute penalty which Evans converted from out on the right.

Vesty responded with a penalty of his own to cut Bath's deficit back to six points, but a scuffle between the two sets of forwards saw the home side penalised and allowed the reliable boot of Evans to strike again.

The former All Black then spurned a chance to add another three points to his tally, while Danny Care made his return from three months out with a toe injury to become his new partner in the halves.

With time against them, Bath set up a promising attacking position after captain Stuart Hooper took a great angle, and Care was fortunate not to be yellow-carded after deliberately killing the ball in the shadow of his own posts.

Vesty needed the help of an upright to knock over the simple resulting penalty but Quins were soon to put the result beyond all doubt.

Brown, also the match winner against Exeter last time out, burst through a gap at the base of a ruck before rounding Nick Abendanon for a converted try.

Bath 13-26 Harlequins

The scorers:

For Harlequins:
Tries: Robshaw, Brown
Cons: Evans 2
Pens: Evans 4

For Bath:
Try: Attwood
Con: Vesty
Pens: Vesty 2

The teams:

Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Matt Carraro, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Sam Vesty, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Ben Skirving, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (captain), 3 David Wilson, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Ryan Caldwell, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Chris Cook, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Jack Cuthbert.

Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Karl Dickson, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Olly Kohn, 3 James Jonston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Chris Brooker, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Kyle Sickler, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Danny Care, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Matt Hopper.

Referee: Dean Richards

Exeter Chiefs 19- 24 Gloucester

Gloucester claimed their first away win since February after running in three tries during a 24-19 victory over Exeter at Sandy Park.

Flyhalf Freddie Burns grabbed an early try and kicked nine more points, while Akapusi Qera and Olly Morgan also crossed the tryline for the visitors.

It was a disappointing performance from Exeter, who were made to pay for a lack of composure despite scoring tries through Hoani Tui and Matt Jess.

The hosts took the lead in the second minute as Gareth Steenson slotted over a 35-metre penalty, but Gloucester hit back quickly as Burns fended off a couple of defenders before touching down.

The flyhalf added the simple conversion, before the Chiefs squandered a chance to respond when Fijian centre Sireli Naqelevuki was held up over the line.

Exeter were in the ascendancy, however, with left wing Jess coming within five metres of the line before Tui powered over for the score after several further phases of play.

They were ongoing problems in the scrum and Steenson slotted a 40-metre kick between the uprights to give the Chiefs a four point advantage after Gloucester prop Rupert Harden was penalised.

But Exeter then gave away a soft try as Mike Tindall and Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu linked-up with flank Qera, who stepped out of a Gonzalo Camacho tackle to cross the line for Gloucester's second try, which was converted by Burns.

That gave Gloucester a 14-11 lead at half-time and they continued to dominate after the break, although they initially failed to capitalise as Burns missed a penalty.

However, the visitors kept the pressure on the Exeter line and fullback Morgan squeezed in the left corner with Burns adding the extras from out wide.

At the other end, Exeter were wasting their opportunities when they got inside the Gloucester 22, turning down two kickable penalties as the visitors mounted a stout defence.

Problems continued in the front rows in and Exeter were awarded a penalty which Argentina international Ignacio Mieres, who had replaced Steenson, made no mistake with.

With 12 minutes remaining, Exeter carelessly threw the ball around in their own 22 and Gloucester were awarded a penalty which Burns duly scored to make it 24-14.

Gloucester went in search of a bonus point but it was Chiefs replacement scrumhalf Kevin Barrett who broke through before playing in Jess to hand Exeter an extra point.

However, that failed to take the gloss off the victory for Gloucester, who were left to celebrate their first away win since they beat Northampton 18-16 last season.

The scorers:

For Exeter Chiefs:
Tries: Tui, Jess
Pens: Steenson 2, Mieres

For Gloucester:
Tries: Burns, Qera, Morgan
Cons: Burns 3
Pen: Burns

The teams:

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Pat Phibbs, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (captain), 3 Hoani Tui, 2 Neil Clark, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Simon Alcott, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Craig Mitchell, 19 Chris Bentley, 20 Ben White, 21 Kevin Barrett, 22 Ignacio Mieres, 23 Josh Tatupu.

Gloucester: 15 Olly Morgan, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 11 Tom Voyce, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Luke Narraway (captain), 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Will James, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Nick Wood.  
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Tom Savage, 20 Peter Buxton, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Tim Taylor, 23 Henry Trinder.

Referee: Andrew Small

Leicester Tigers 24-24 London Irish

London Irish produced a stunning fightback to grab a dramatic 24-24 draw against Leicester in their Premiership clash at Welford Road on Saturday.

From a seemingly hopeless position at 24-7 inside the final 20 minutes, the Exiles dug deep to claw back the deficit and continue the Tigers poor run of form at home.

Eager to add to their 34-13 away thumping of Sale Sharks last week, Leicester were quick out of the blocks, although Toby Flood missed a sitter of a penalty from 25 metres early on.

The England flyhalf made up for the miss with a simple penalty moments later but Irish hit back minutes later with the first try of the match.

Jebb Sinclair fed England centre Shontayne Hape, who beat the last defender to score after the Tigers had driven up the right to take them into the visitors' 22.

Fullback Tom Homer added the extras but Irish found themselves a man down on 20 minutes when captain Dan Bowden was sin-binned for holding on in a ruck.

The Tigers opted for the scrum and immediately put the Exiles pack under pressure, finally winning a penalty try when their set-piece collapsed.

Homer saw a long-range penalty from just inside his own half dip under the crossbar, but Flood made no mistake from in front on the stroke of half-time to take his side into the break with a six point lead.

Flood added another penalty two minutes after the restart and added three more on 56 minutes to take the score to 19-7 as the hosts began to ramp up the pressure.

Their efforts paid off five minutes later when flank Tom Croft went driving for the line and centre Horacio Agulla crossed for the try.

But Irish would not lay down and on 65 minutes replacement wing Adam Thompstone scampered over from 20 metres on the left.

Homer made it 24-14 with a magnificent touchline conversion and three minutes later closed the gap to seven points with a 30-metre penalty from in front of the posts.

With just four minutes to go Flood saw his clearance kick charged down and replacement Matt Garvey grabbed the high catch to crash over in the right corner.

Another superb touchline conversion from Homer put the sides on level pegging and as the clock ticked down Leicester pushed hard inside the Exiles' 22.

Flood had one last chance to win it after the clock turned 80 minutes, but his 25-metre drop goal attempt skewed wide of the uprights and the sides shared the spoils.

The scorers:

For Leicester Tigers:
Try: Penalty try, Agulla
Con: Flood 2
Pens: Flood 4

For London Irish:
Tries: Hape, Thompstone, Garvey
Cons: Homer 3
Pen: Homer

The teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Geordan Murphy (captain), 14 Scott Hamilton, 13 Horacio Agulla, 12 Matt Smith, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Dan Cole, 19 George Skivington, 20 Ed Slater, 21 James Grindal, 22 Jeremy Staunton, 23 Niall Morris.

London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14Topsy Ojo, 13 Steven Shingler, 12, Shontayne Hape, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Dan Bowden (captain), 9 Ross Samson, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Declan Danaher, 5 Bryn Evans, 4 James Sandford, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 David Paice, 1 Alex Corbisiero.     
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Max Lahiff, 18 Faan Rautenbach, 19 Matt Garvey 20 Richard Thorpe, 21 Adam Thompstone, 22 Adrian Jarvis, 23 Darren Allinson.

Referee: David Pearson