Bath, who have not made the Premiership play-offs in five seasons, face Leicester, the side never missing from the semi-finals in a decade, full of beans with their head coach, Mike Ford, hailing a break-through into the Premiership’s top four.
Ford has an injury-free squad from which to select for Saturday’s semi-final. “Everyone’s fit,” he said after Bath had claimed their ninth bonus point win of the season with a 50-30 victory against Gloucester at The Rec. “It’s a fantastic position to be in, playing Leicester at home with a fully fit squad. We can’t wait.”
Bath had just ended the regular season with a seven-try romp, beating an under-strength Gloucester side who included eight from their academy in the match-day 23 and five making their Premiership debuts. Ford conceded Bath versus Leicester – they have been knocking lumps off each other since well before the dawn of professional rugby – would be a different matter “not unlike a Test match”.
“I know we conceded 30 and there was a bit of an end-of-season, nothing-at-stake feel to the game, but looking at the 22 matches it’s been a great season. Last year we were one point off getting fourth place. This year we’re one point off top.
“Over the last four or five years it’s only been Northampton, Leicester, Quins and Sarries. We’ve now broken into the top four,” said Ford.
Gloucester have their own play-off to prepare for. On Sunday they play Connacht in the first of two play-offs for the 20th and final place in next season’s Champions Cup.
Gloucester got there by winning the Challenge Cup and rescuing their season. Connacht, who fought back to get within four points of the Ospreys on Saturday, are there as the highest-placed Guinness Rabo12 side not to have already qualified for Europe’s top tier.
Should Gloucester win at Kingsholm on Sunday, they will play the seventh-placed French side in the Top 14, currently Racing Métro, although they have one match to play. That will also be a Gloucester home fixture, but at Worcester rather than Kingsholm where Madness are centre stage.
The Rabo12 was sorted on Saturday with all six games kicking off at 3pm and Glasgow coming out on top. Their Scotland fly-half Finn Russell scored two tries and claimed 22 points to beat Ulster 32-10.
Glasgow scored four tries in 18 minutes in the second half in front of a packed Scotstoun Stadium to take the bonus points which guaranteed a home semi-final and their first top-of-the-table finish. Ulster return to Glasgow on Friday for that semi.
Munster, in second place, and Ospreys also made the play-offs while Scarlets and Leinster qualify for the Champions Cup – the Dublin side running in five tries against Edinburgh at Murrayfield to ease some of the pressure on their coach, Matt O’Connor.
