Aviva Premiership
After Dylan Hartley was shown a red card early in Northampton's match against Leicester in the Midlands derby it looked like the Saints were going to lose their lead at the top of the Premiership table. However, even down a man Northampton were able to stay even with the Tigers throughout much of the match and when Jamie Elliott scored with only four minutes left it was enough to earn a surprise win. Bath are the closest team in the table to Northampton only two point back. They beat rival Gloucester 39-16. Exeter and Saracens and third and fourth in the table respectively. Exeter lost to Sale 18-11 in a bit of a surprise while Saracens crushed London Welsh 78-7. In the other London derby (that's not so much London now) Wasps beat London Irish 48-16 in front of a record crowd. Lastly, Harlequins beat Newcastle 15-7.
Take the jump to read more.
Top 14
Things were straightforward over the weekend in the Top 14 with most of the favorites winning. Toulon beat Lyon 30-6 while Clermont beat Castres 19-10. The loss for Castres continues their spiral which sees them at the bottom of the table. Racing Metro are third in the standings and had no trouble beating Grenoble 43-30. Fellow Parisians Racing Metro are only two points back after they beat La Rochelle 27-8. Racing Metro are only behind leaders Toulon by five points. After Racing there is a bit of a drop in the table with Grenoble the next closes five points behind. Bayonne and Brive are in the middle of the table. Bayonne beat Bordeaux 15-12 while Brive beat Oyonnax 19-6.
Guinness Pro12
The Guinness Pro12 is tight with only nine points separating teams one through seven. The Ospreys sit in first place thanks to their 31-20 win over Ulster. Rhys Webb was the hero in the match after scoring two tries. Ulster currently sit in fifth place, just a point behind Leinster. They beat Irish rivals Connacht 21-11. Glasgow are second in the table after narrowly edging third place Munster 21-18. Scarlets are the other team in the top seven. They lost to Cardiff 21-9. In other scores, the Dragons beat Zebre 25-11 and Edinburgh blanked Benetton Treviso 48-0.
RFU Championship
The RFU Championship had three games over the weekend with the rest coming over Boxing Day or next Saturday. Of the games that were played, leaders Worcester beat London Scottish 34-17, Leeds beat Jersey 17-13, and Nottingham beat Doncaster 24-3.
Pro D2
Good news and bad news this week for table leaders Pau. The good news is they were granted approval for a new stadium. The bad news is they saw their lead at the top of the table shrink with a 40-27 loss to Carcassonne. They are now only six points ahead of surging Biarritz who beat Bourgoin 27-6. Other winners include Mont-de-Marsan 16-3 over Dax, Agen 34-29 over Massy, Albi 17-16 over Colomiers, Perpignan 38-12 over Narbonne, Tarbes 25-15 over Aurillac, and Montauban 26-15 over Beziers.
Top League
The Panasonic Wildknights maintained their lead in Group 1 with a 45-14 win over the NTT Shining Arcs who are on the bottom of the table and the only team without a win. Suntory beat the Canon Eagles 47-28 to go a point ahead in second over Toshiba Fuchu Brave Lupus who beat Toyota Verblitz 44-29. Also, the Kobelcom Steelers beat Yamaha Jubilo 40-10.
In Group 2 a bunch of teams are near the top while a few teams are struggling. The Ricoh Black Rams are on top despite losing to the NTT-Docomo Red Hurricanes 27-26. The Kubota Spears and the NEC Green Rockets are tied for second. The Green Rockets won the battle between the two teams 22-20. Fukuoka Sanix Blues continue to struggle after losing to Toyota Shokki Shuttle and the Coca-Cola West Red Sparks beat the Kintetsu Liners 31-24.
Eccellenza
Calvisano have a three point lead over Mogliano after they beat Lazio 27-14. Mogliano beat Rovigo 42-17. Fiamme Oro Roma picked up a big 45-27 over fellow middle side Viadana. Elsewhere, San Dora beat Petrarca 15-9 and L'Aquila beat bottom side Cavalieri Prato 24-15.
All-Ireland League
Lansdowne are the new leaders in the All-Ireland League thanks to their 16-10 win over St. Mary's and Terenure College's 33-24 loss to UCD. Cork Constitution beat Dolphin 17-6 to go third. Finally, Ballynahinch beat Young Munster 30-6 and Clontarf beat Old Belvedere 24-21.