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Thrilling finale anticipated

Author: Brandon Barker
Date: 24/04/2009

The Guinness Premiership goes into its final round of fixtures with still all to play for at the top of the table.

Play-off places remain a possibility for six of the 12 clubs although, at the bottom, Bristol's relegation was confirmed some weeks ago, as predicted by rugby bettings experts a long time earlier.

Leicester Tigers look all but certain to finish the regular season top of the pile, holding a five-point lead over Harlequins going into their final fixture at home to doomed Bristol.

The Welford Road outfit made sure of their lofty status with a hard-fought 16-13 victory at Saracens last time out, needing a late Sam Vesty penalty to seal the win.

Leicester's season had seemed to be in tatters a matter of months ago when coach Heyneke Meyer left to return home to South Africa, but Richard Cockerill has stepped in and driven the team on to better things.

All Bristol can hope for at the weekend is a committed display before they head back to National League One and they are unlikely to upset the odds.

Quins, Bath and London Irish are all locked on 61 points ahead of the final weekend, with the first two mentioned sides enjoying home advantage on Saturday.

Newcastle Falcons are the visitors to the Twickenham Stoop, while Bath play host to Saracens. However, although the Exiles are on the road, a trip to Sixways to take on lowly Worcester Warriors is not the most taxing fixture of the programme.

Toby Booth's side have been the entertainers of the Guinness Premiership season to date, racking up 59 tries in their 21 games to date.

With victory so crucial at the 22nd time of asking, that adventure and thrust could prove crucial in the battle for second place and a home tie in the play-off semi-finals.

Gloucester currently stand fifth and need one of the teams above them to slip up if they are to snatch a top-four finish.

The Cherry and Whites have suffered Premiership final heartache in the last two seasons, losing to Leicester and then Wasps, having topped the table on both occasions.

Dean Ryan's men travel to Wasps at the weekend, with a revenge victory an absolute necessity, although morale in the camp must have been hit by the recent EDF Energy Cup Final thrashing by Cardiff Blues.

The final fixture of the weekend sees Sale Sharks looking for a minor miracle when they play host to Northampton Saints.

A one-point deduction for fielding an unregistered player means that the Sharks must secure a bonus-point win and pray that other results go their way.

However, their hopes look slim and the existing top four are unlikely to falter at this late stage, setting the scene for the important post-season action.

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