Ceri Sweeney kicked a last-gasp penalty to see defending champions Cardiff Blues beat Gloucester 26-25 in a thoroughly entertaining LV= Cup encounter at Kingsholm in a re-run of last season's Anglo-Welsh final.

The Blues had won that Twickenham showpiece 50-12 in April, but it was Gloucester who led 16-13 after a frenetic opening half thanks to tries from captain Gareth Delve and flanker Adam Eustace, plus a penalty apiece from fly-half Nicky Robinson and full-back Freddie Burns.

Cardiff's points came courtesy of a Xavier Rush score plus eight points from Sweeney's boot.

Burns and Sweeney traded penalties early in the second stanza before Sam Norton-Knight glided over to put Cardiff back in front.

But two late penalties from Spencer looked to have given the Cherry and Whites a first win in five games, only for Sweeney, who kicked 16 points in total, to hold his nerve in the dying seconds.

England winger David Strettle was injured scoring a fourth-minute try as Harlequins and Scarlets opened their campaign with a hard-fought 15-15 draw.

Strettle, released to play for his club when Martin Johnson reduced his original 32-man squad for the Twickenham clash with Australia to the match-day 22, continued briefly after treatment.

But clearly struggling, he was replaced by George Lowe nine minutes later in his side's opening pool match at The Stoop.

Harlequins added a further try from lock George Robson and a penalty and conversion from fly-half Rory Clegg.

The Welsh side replied with tries from centre Gareth Maule, left-wing Andy Fenby and a penalty and conversion from number 10 Rhys Priestland.

Neil Back guided a youthful Leeds side to a 28-17 victory over his former employers as Leicester were beaten at Headingley.

The 2003 World Cup-winner, who served the Tigers with such distinction during his seven years at Welford Road, is steadily acclimatising to the demands of top-flight rugby as Leeds' head coach.

Last weekend, his men beat Wasps to register their first Guinness Premiership win of the season - and overcoming the reigning champions represented another notable scalp.

First-half tries by David Lemi and Mark Van Gisbergen combined with the boot of Dave Walder to earn Wasps a hard-fought 24-20 victory over London Irish.

Wasps, who took this match seriously by playing a close-to-full-strength team, were 18-10 up at the break thanks to the touchdowns by two of their back three.

Walder had kicked a conversion and two penalties by then and he added another three-pointer after the interval to steer the visitors home.

Peter Hewat went over for a brace of tries for Irish, one either side of half-time, but they could not recover despite late pressure.

Saracens beat Bath 30-22 for the second time in nine days to kickstart their campaign.

The Guinness Premiership leaders twice came from behind, before running out deserved victors of an entertaining match.

Fly-half Glen Jackson kicked 20 points, helping Saracens to nine wins from 10 in all competitions.

Worcester got their campaign off to an impressive start with a comfortable 32-6 victory over a battling Newcastle side on Saturday.

It took the Warriors some time to subdue the stubborn Falcons but three close-range tries in the second half eventually killed the visitors off.

Worcester fielded their strongest available side in an attempt to regain some form and avenge last week's league defeat at Newcastle and it paid off.

The visitors, who made 12 changes, conceded tries to Tom Wood, Ollie Frost, Jake Abbott and Miles Benjamin, while Willie Walker kicked 12 points.

On Friday, Newport Gwent Dragons extended their unbeaten home record to nine matches as they eased to a 20-9 victory over a below-par Sale side in an error-riddled clash at Rodney Parade.

The Dragons, unbeaten at home since March, took an early lead through a converted try from fly-half and captain Shaun Connor, but his opposite number Charlie Hodgson kicked two penalties to narrow the gap to 7-6 at the break.

Connor and Hodgson exchanged further penalties after the break before scrum-half Danny Lee wriggled his way over for a try which clinched the win as replacement fly-half Adam Greendale added the conversion and a further penalty.

On Thursday night, Northampton held off a superb fightback from a severely depleted Ospreys to open their campaign with a 19-17 victory at a sparsely populated Liberty Stadium.

Saints had held a 13-0 lead following a try from lock James Cannon plus two penalties and a conversion from fly-half Stephen Myler.

But tries from hooker Richard Hibbard and replacement Jonathan Spratt, plus seven points from the boot of stand-off Gareth Owen, brought the Welsh side back to take a 17-16 advantage.

But Myler knocked over another penalty 10 minutes from time to seal the win.