Premiership finale - five teams in play-off hunt
Five teams go into the Premiership's dramatic final day still in with a chance of joining table toppers Bath in this season's play-offs and of winning the title at Twickenham in two weeks' time.Leicester, Sale, Bristol, Gloucester and Saracens could remarkably all still finish anywhere from second to sixth as they go into the weekend separated by just five points after 17 matches. Johann van Graan's Bath side have come back from last season's final defeat against Northampton with a vengeance, winning 14 games this term and leading the table by 15 points.Such is Bath's dominance so far they secured top of the table and a home semi-final at the Recreation Ground with three rounds of games to go and will play whoever finishes fourth on Friday, 6 June, while second will host third on Saturday, 7 June.With something riding on all five games that all kick-off at 15:05 BST this Saturday, here's what each club needs to do - and in some cases hope for outside of their control - to seal a semi-final spot.
Second: Leicester - 56 points, 10 wins
For the Tigers, the task is simple - beat Newcastle at home and second place in the table along with a home semi-final is theirs. One point is enough to secure the top four.The league's most successful side are on the prowl for their record-extending 12th title and have a two-point cushion over third-placed Sale.Leicester have the most amount of wiggle room if they do lose and drop points, as at least three results would need to go against them for them to drop out of the top four.However, they will be confident of getting the job done against a Falcons side who have won just two league matches in the past two seasons and finished rock bottom of the table in both.
Third: Sale - 54 points, 11 wins
If the Tigers do slip up, the Sharks will be circling.Sale visit Exeter, with the Chiefs already assured of a ninth-placed finish and nothing to play for on the day.A repeat of December's win over the Chiefs and Alex Sanderson's team will cement third place regardless of other results. A loss with two bonus points would still be enough for the top four.It's been 19 years since the club's sole Premiership title.But the Manchester side have a trick up their sleeve in that they have the most league wins of any club aside from Bath, meaning if they end the season on the same number of points as any of their competitors, they would finish above them by virtue of having more league victories.The Sharks also have England fly-half George Ford arriving at the end of the season in stunning form as they have won three of their past four Premiership games.In the unlikely event that Tigers draw and Sale win, or Leicester lose and Sale draw, the two sides could finish level on points but with Sale on top.
Fourth: Bristol - 53 points, nine wins
Currently occupying the final play-off spot are Pat Lam's Bristol Bears and they face a highly unpredictable Harlequins side.Victory would guarantee a top four finish but anything less than that and the Bears will be looking over their shoulders, with Gloucester and Saracens ready to strike.Ashton Gate holds a special place in the hearts of Quins fans as the scene of their epic semi-final fightback victory at "Bristanbul" in 2021 en-route to claiming their second Premiership title.Any slip-ups at Welford Road for Leicester and Sandy Park for Sale would mean Bristol could still yet finish second and book in another memorable home semi-final.
Fifth: Gloucester - 51 points, nine wins
Gloucester go into the game knowing nothing less than victory over reigning champions Northampton will do.Do that and they will only need one of Leicester, Sale or Bristol to lose without any bonus points and they sneak into the top four at the finish line.In what would be an astonishing story, the Cherry and Whites could mathematically still secure a home semi-final at Kingsholm if they all suffer defeat and pick up no bonus points.If they were to secure a bonus-point victory over Saints they would jump up to 56 points, level with Leicester.Given both teams would have 10 wins, Gloucester would likely finish above the Tigers due to their superior points difference (currently Gloucester +74, Leicester +72).Northampton have suffered a disappointing defence of the title they won last season but fly-half Fin Smith and co have shown the immense quality they possess in their run to the European Champions Cup final last weekend.
Sixth: Saracens - 51 points, nine wins
Saracens' host Bath at StoneX Stadium with their destiny out of their hands as they bid to avoid missing out on the top four for only the third time since 2009.Those two occasions were 2020 when they were relegated in the wake of the salary cap scandal and the following season when they played in the second tier.It has been a season of rebuilding for Mark McCall and his coaching staff after the departures of legendary players including Owen Farrell and Billy and Mako Vunipola last summer, while full-back Alex Goode has announced he would retire at the end of the season after making a Sarries record 400th appearance earlier this month.Their play-off hopes were struck a huge blow at Northampton a fortnight ago with Tarek Haffar's last-second try stealing a 28-24 victory for the Saints that left the Men in Black's hopes dangling.Their task is similar to that of Gloucester, as they go into the game with the same number of points and wins as they Cherry and Whites, but they have a substantially lower points difference of +30. They need results above to go their way and to win by a big margin to have any hope although they are facing a substantially lower strength Bath side who are fielding seven debutants in their matchday 23.
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