Defending champions Bath book home semi-final as Exeter, Leicester progress

Bath secured home advantage in the Gallagher Prem play-offs after beating Leicester 24-22 at a rainswept Recreation Ground.

The reigning champions withstood a powerful Leicester challenge to nail down second place behind Northampton and will host Exeter next Saturday for a place in the final.

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Tigers, meanwhile, face a testing trip to East Midlands rivals Northampton on Friday as the title race reaches its penultimate lap.

Bath had their South African prop Thomas du Toit to thank for putting them in the driving seat as he scored a hat-trick of tries, all from close range while wing Joe Cokanasiga also touched down, with fly-half Santi Carreras kicking two conversions.

Leicester went toe-to-toe for long periods through tries by Orlando Bailey, Jack van Poortvliet and George Pearson, while James O'Connor added two conversions and a penalty.

Bath, though, were not to be denied, staying firmly on course for a third successive Prem final appearance after losing to Northampton in 2024 and beating Leicester a year ago.

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Slade leads Exeter past Saracens to book Bath showdown

Henry Slade led the way as Exeter emerged emphatic 32-12 winners from their grudge match against Saracens to secure a Gallagher Prem play-off against Bath.

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Slade ran in the crucial 47th-minute try that placed the Chiefs in a commanding position and also landed three conversions and two penalties, with Max Norey, Andrea Zambonin and Stephen Varney touching down too.

The classy England centre inspired Exeter's fightback after they had spent the second quarter of the shoot-out for a semi-final place under heavy pressure before coming alive to end to Saracens' five-match winning run.

Even without England star Immanuel Feyi-Waboso because of a facial injury they were comfortably the better side on a blustery day at Sandy Park to claim bragging rights against their fierce rivals.

They finish the regular season in third place and next meet Bath at the Recreation Ground on Saturday for a place in the final.

The defeat signalled the conclusion of Mark McCall's trophy-laden 15-year reign as Saracens director of rugby with the former Ireland centre stepping down at the end of the season.

Leaders Northampton beaten by Harlequins

Tom Lawday's try with his final touch as a Harlequins player earned his club a 38-31 victory over leaders Northampton.

A much-changed Saints led four times at the Stoop - which included scoring their 100th try of the Prem season through scrum-half Jonny Weimann who scored twice, as did captain Alex Dombrandt for Quins.

It is a still a campaign Quins will want to put behind them swiftly, though, as results elsewhere meant they finished ninth and missed out on qualification for the Investec Champions Cup.

Lawday's fairy-tale farewell moment was a nice way to sign off for the hosts though and Northampton losing out at the death means they have a home semi-final against East Midlands rivals Leicester to look forward to on Friday.

Sale seal Champions Cup place with win over Bristol

Sale's disappointing campaign ended on a high with a comfortable 38-17 bonus-point win over an understrength Bristol to confirm their place in next season's Champions Cup.

Alex Sanderson's Sharks have made the play-offs in each of the past three campaigns but ended this season in seventh, their lowest placing since finishing in that position in 2018-19.

They needed a point to guarantee a place in next term's Champions Cup and a dominant first-half display laid the platform for a thumping six-try win over a Bristol side who finished this season in sixth.

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England fly-half George Ford opened the scoring and lock Ben Bamber soon doubled Sale's lead before winger Arron Reed and full-back Joe Carpenter also touched down.

Bristol, who named an all-English matchday 23 to ensure they meet the RFU's EQP regulations, hit back with two tries from winger Noah Heward and hooker Tomas Gwilliam before the break.

But Sale scored a fifth try through Rekeiti Ma'asi-White and Reed claimed his second before Bristol fly-half Sam Worsley completed the scoring late on.

Redshaw hat-trick helps Gloucester past Newcastle

Gloucester sealed their Champions Cup place for next season with a convincing 54-21 victory over bottom-club Newcastle at Kingsholm as the bonus-point win was enough to deprive Harlequins of the eighth and final spot.

It was not all plain-sailing for Gloucester as they trailed at the end of the first quarter but they then proceeded to blow away their opponents starting with a four-try blitz.

Ben Redshaw scored a hat-trick of tries and Arthur Clark, Caolan Englefield, Max Llewellyn, James Venter and Seb Blake were also on the scoresheet, with Charlie Atkinson converting seven.

George McGuigan, Tom Christie and Simon Benitez Cruz scored Newcastle's tries. Brett Connon converted two and Ben Healy one.