World in Union. Aviva Premiership comes to a thrilling climax, now the play-offs

Thank you to our friends at Aviva for providing us with the Premiership round-up.  This season we started our posts at week 13, we are pleased to announce as from next season it will be from the start of the tournament.  We will also be following the Cornish Pirates in the Championship.

On Saturday, Leicester Tigers, Saracens, Gloucester Rugby and Northampton Saints powered through to the Aviva Premiership Rugby Semi Final finishing in places one to four respectively after an exciting, memorable and hard-fought Aviva Premiership Rugby season at the top of professional club rugby in England.


Leicester Tigers will now face local rivals Northampton Saints in what promises to be an electric Midlands derby on Saturday 14th May at 15.15 at Welford Road. This will be followed the next day by the equally thrilling pairing of Saracens against Gloucester Rugby at 14.30 on Sunday 15th May at Vicarage Road. The winning club from each match will go through to the prestigious Aviva Premiership Rugby Final on Saturday 28th May at Twickenham Stadium where the Aviva Premiership Rugby Champions will be crowned.

Tickets for the Final are still available through Ticketmaster.

This weekend saw all Round 22 matches kick off at the same time on Saturday in a dramatic climax to the regular season.

At The Recreation Ground Bath couldn’t be faulted on effort by scoring four tries before halftime in an improbable chase for an Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final spot. Following the four tries by Sam Vesty, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Matt Carraro and Matt Banahan, Jacques Boussuge added another in the 76th minute. Newcastle replied with tries from Alex Tait and Luke Fielden. Bath settled for fifth place and Heineken Cup qualification while Newcastle Falcons narrowly escaped the relegation zone by finishing in 11th place in the Aviva Premiership Rugby table. Final score: Bath Rugby 42, Newcastle Falcons 12.

At Sandy Park Exeter Chiefs finished their season with a flourish as two second-half tries earned them a tenth Aviva Premiership Rugby win of the season to leapfrog London Wasps and finish a very respectable eighth with Wasps in ninth position. Christian Wade scored for Wasps in the first half but Exeter fought back in the second half with tries from Tom Johnson and Matt Jess. Final score: Exeter Chiefs 21, London Wasps 8.

Over at Kingsholm Gloucester Rugby claimed their place in the Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final in style with a crushing win over Sale Sharks. The power of the home pack and some brilliant attacking play from Charlie Sharples and Henry Trinder who scored five of Gloucester’s 10 tries, ensured there was no fairytale ending to the distinguished Sale careers of Charlie Hodgson and Chris Jones. Final score: Gloucester Rugby 68, Sale Sharks 17.

Saracens will head into their Aviva Premiership Rugby semi-final against Gloucester on the crest of a wave after rounding off the regular season with an 11th consecutive victory over Harlequins who finished in seventh position. Owen Farrell’s second-half contribution of a try, conversion and penalty ultimately proved the difference after the two sides had been locked 6-6 at a packed Twickenham Stoop Stadium. Final score: Harlequins 13, Saracens 16.

Leeds Carnegie blew a 21-point lead at Franklin’s Gardens and finished bottom of the Aviva Premiership Rugby table to face the relegation drop. The West Yorkshire club’s fate will not be decided for another 11 days when the Championship play-offs are decided. Neil Back’s men gave Heineken Cup finalists Northampton Saints an early shock with tries from England flanker Hendre Fourier, his back-row colleague Rhys Oakley and wing Pete Wackett. Saints, needing two points to secure a title play-off place, were at sixes and sevens at 24-3 adrift before normal service was eventually resumed through scores by skipper Phil Dowson and England wing Chris Ashton either side of a penalty try. Final score: Northampton Saints 31, Leeds Carnegie 24.

At Welford Road, Leicester Tigers produced an astonishing final 10 minutes to steal a dramatic victory over London Irish, who finished in sixth position. London Irish were leading 23-13 with just 10 minutes to go before Tigers scored three tries courtesy of Anthony Allen, Tom Croft and Alesana Tuilagi, to record a stunning victory and leave London Irish devastated. Final score: Leicester Tigers 32, London Irish 23.