A slightly belated look back at last weekend's action sees that the top four in Aviva Premiership Rugby have strengthened their grip on a semi-final spot in the penultimate round of the competition over the extended Easter weekend.
Leicester Tigers and Saracens confirmed home semi-final spots with wins over Newcastle Falcons and Gloucester Rugby respectively. Leicester Tigers will now play their semi-final match on Saturday 14th May, kicking off at 3.15pm, while Saracens will be at Vicarage Road on Sunday 15th May, kicking-off at 2.30pm.
Their opponents will be determined by the outcome of matches in the final round of Aviva Premiership Rugby, which takes place in two weeks and follows Newcastle Falcons' rescheduled match against Bath Rugby next Saturday - a game that will have repercussions at the top and bottom of the table.
Saracens completed a bonus point 35-12 win over third placed Gloucester at Vicarage Road and in doing so showed that they might just have what it takes to go one step futher than they did last season. The highlight was a potential try of the season from hooker Schalk Brits. For Gloucester this completed a run of matches against all of the other top four sides which saw them only manage a draw, a win and a loss, but still tighten their grip on third place.
Northampton Saints strengthened their hold on fourth place with a 20-26 win over London Irish at the Madejski Stadium and ended the Exiles semi-final hopes in the process.
Only Bath Rugby can now knock Gloucester or Saints out of a semi-final berth. Bath hammered London Wasps 10-43 at Twickenham Stadium and have a game in hand on the top four, which they play against Newcastle Falcons at Kingston Park next Saturday.
Newcastle’s 13-24 defeat against Leicester Tigers and Leeds Carnegie’s 3-38 defeat to Harlequins means it stays as tight as it could be at the bottom with nothing to choose between the bottom two clubs. Leeds will hope Newcastle remain pointless against Bath this weekend but they still must rely on getting a result at Franklin’s Gardens on the last day of the season to stay up.
Leaving the first match of the weekend until last, Exeter Chiefs left Edgeley Park with a 24-30 win on Good Friday to spoil Charlie Hodgson's leaving party, as he made his final home appearance for the Sharks after 11 years of service.
All round 22 matches kick-off at 15:00 on Saturday 7th May. Four clubs are now two matches away from the Twickenham Final. Tickets remain on general sale before allocations are given for the Finalists. Visit www.ticketmaster.co.uk for information.
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