Irish wins derby, Sarries sink Sale
Curtis Rona scored a pair of tries as London Irish secured a 29-15 derby win at Harlequins, while Premiership high-flyer Sale Sharks was brought down to earth by beleaguered Saracens.
Irish stunned title contender Northampton Saints last time out and followed that up with a convincing bonus-point victory at The Stoop on Sunday (AEDT).
Rona laid on the opening try for Matt Rogerson in treacherous conditions and the all-action wing grabbed his first of the afternoon after brilliant work from Ben Meehan.
A Marcus Smith penalty was Quins' only score of the first half and they were 17-3 down at the break after Stephen Myler was on the target from the tee at the other end, having converted both tries.
Alex Dombrandt powered his way over to reduce the deficit, but Rona dotted down again and Ollie Hoskins bagged the bonus point after Cadan Murley helped himself to Quins' second try in west London.
Sale missed the chance to move ahead of Northampton into second spot, going down 36-22 to champion Saracens at Allianz Park after beating leader Exeter Chiefs in its previous match.
Rhys Carre, Rotimi Segun, Nick Isiekwe and Richard Barrington touched down for Saracens, while fit-again full-back Alex Goode shone in his first Premiership match of the season.
Wasps was beaten 18-9 by fellow struggler Leicester Tigers at the end of a week that saw director of rugby Dai Young step back from first-team duties, while Bath edged out Worcester Warriors 22-21.