the times | Monday May 2 2022 53
Sport
fightback by draw specialists
Who will seal last two play-off spots?
Harlequins..............3rd 74pts
Remaining fixtures
Gloucester (H) May 21,
Exeter Chiefs (A) June 4
Quins would have
confirmed their place in
the play-offs on Friday with
a victory, but lost 32-31 to
Northampton. They did
take two bonus points,
though, so need only four
points from their final two
to qualify. A remarkable
collapse could mean they
are knocked out, but it’s
unlikely. Would they quietly
prefer to finish fourth and
play Leicester Tigers, not
Saracens, though?Northampton
Saints........................4th 68pts
Remaining fixtures
Saracens (A) May 21,
Newcastle (H) June 4
Between February and
March, Saints lost four
league games in a row — to
Leicester, Sale Sharks,
Exeter and Gloucester —
but then beat Wasps,
London Irish, Bristol and
Bath (when 19 points down
at one stage) and then
Harlequins to give
themselves a chance of
making it. They are likely
to take five points against
Newcastle on the final day,
so anything they can
garner from Saracens
could see them home.Gloucester..............5th 67pts
Remaining fixtures
Harlequins (A) May 21,
Saracens (H) June 4
Gloucester have just
smashed Bath 64-0, but
their problem is they have
the hardest run-in. A win
away to Quins, especially if
Saints lose to Saracens, will
shift the dial. Curiously,
whoever between
Gloucester and Saracens
wins the Challenge Cup
quarter-final on May 6,
could then make it harder
for themselves in the
league — with a semi-final
the following week before
the last league games.Exeter Chiefs........6th 62pts
Remaining fixtures
Bristol Bears (A) May 20,
Harlequins (H) June 4
With a bye this weekend
they watched both
Gloucester and
Northampton win, which
made their task harder. Rob
Baxter, their director of
rugby, thought they would
have to win both final
games to qualify — and he’s
right. A five-pointer against
Bristol looks doable, and
then it depends on whether
Quins have already
qualified. Exeter will back
themselves to beat them at
home anyway.
Words by Will KelleherHow they stand
P W D L F A B Pts
Leicester 22 18 0 4 679 437 14 86
Saracens 22 16 1 5 720 417 16 82
Harlequins 22 14 0 8 581 483 18 74
Northampton 22 13 0 9 661 571 16 68
Gloucester 22 12 1 9 607 490 17 67
Exeter 22 12 0 10 504 456 14 62
Sale 22 10 3 9 501 469 13 61London Irish (^239596366391561)
Wasps 22 11 1 10 597 564 14 60
Bristol (^2270155146431543)
Newcastle 22 6 1 15 405 568 7 33
Worcester 23 5 1 17 408 787 8 30
Bath 22 4 1 17 407 696 9 29
Arundell came on
as a 61st-minute
replacement and
immediately
helped to ignite
London Irish’s
recovery. The
teenager chipped
over the Wasps
defence (1) before
regathering,
oustripping the
chasing defenders
(2) and dotting
down (3) for
London Irish’s
second of four
tries in 15 minutes
DAVID ROGERS/GETTY IMAGES
2
3
opponents as easy as Bath, so Saints are set for fourth
story, however, is the all-but-
inevitable failure of Exeter Chiefs to
reach the last four. It has been a
difficult season for Rob Baxter, the
club’s director of rugby.
The decision to dismiss Julian Salvi
as defence coach, with a few weeks of
the domestic season remaining, tells a
tale of a manager wasting no time in
planning for next season.
Look at the table and Exeter appear
to retain the possibility of making the
top four. When the Premiership
recommences after a European break
later in May, they head up the M5 to
Bristol. The Bears are rivalling Bath
for the club in the most dizzying
downward spiral. Their final game is
at home to Harlequins. A 72-point
total is possible.
But that is not going to be enough,
even though the Saints have to visit
Saracens in the penultimate round of
the regular season. They have the
safety net of Newcastle Falcons on the
last day of the campaign. There is no
An evaluation of their limited
contribution to this league has been
masked by Bath’s miserable efforts (or
lack of them at Gloucester).
The Shed enjoyed themselves
greatly, but there are not many
environments when 64-0 will satisfy
as much as it did for those merry
denizens of Gloucester. Bath gave up.
If relegation was on the agenda they
would have fought for the ball at
every breakdown. Instead, they barely
bothered to go through the motions.
It’s difficult to know how good
Gloucester were, as Bath were so bad.
Bristol is another West Country
club that threw in the towel, this time
at Leicester. Cut adrift from
Champions Cup qualification, they
are playing for nothing and nothing
comes from nothing.
The Grayson kick was a testimony
to what the Premiership is getting
right. My old club is a reminder of the
rubbish that is part of the non-
relegation package.
home to Gloucester, the odds remain
firmly in favour of Northampton
qualifying in fourth place.
The Premiership has been
transformed into a riot of running
rugby. The entertainment levels are
off the scale. Harlequins came from
off the pace to win the title last
season. Northampton and Gloucester
can dare to dream, although the
cussed Leicester Tigers have grown
fast from being Steve Borthwick’s
cubs and Saracens have that steel to
their game.
That’s the good side to the
Gallagher Premiership. The bad side
is the impact of a league without the
risk of relegation. Newcastle have
plummeted towards the bottom, but
will not have to fight for their survival
should Worcester or Bath conjure a
win before they meet for what
appears the quasi-relegation decider
on the Premiership’s last day.
Worcester are making no imprint
whatsoever upon the Premiership.
because of that Grayson swing of
the boot.
The one team the kick did not
shake off was Gloucester. The
rout of Bath enabled them to
stay only a solitary point
adrift of fourth place.
On paper,
Gloucester have a
horrible ending to the
season, visiting
Harlequins before
welcoming Saracens to
the Shed. But even
Saracens would not fancy
the trip if Gloucester
were gunning for a win to
overtake Northampton.
Gloucester will need at least
two points from their visit to the
Stoop to leapfrog Northampton
ahead of the Saints’ hugely
probable five points against Newcastle.
With the champions not quite
certain of their own qualification and
focused on a winning performance at
team Northampton would rather
meet under such circumstances.
Earlier this season, the East
Midlands team travelled to the
North East and crushed Dean
Richards’s side 44-8. This
calendar year, Newcastle have
lost 11 of their 12 Premiership
fixtures.
Their only win was against
Worcester Warriors, along with
Bath the worst team in the league.
Bar something unforeseeable, the
fast-moving Saints offensive
will have the match and the
bonus point in the bag by
half-time.
Let’s assume Saracens
beat them a week earlier. It
is highly probable they will
finish with 73 points. That is
one too many for Exeter, all
Grayson made the
kick to earn Saints
a crucial victory
57
Metres made by
Arundell — more
than by all but
one player on
either team,
despite the fact he
was only on the
pitch for the final
20 minutes. Ollie
Hassell-Collins,
the London Irish
wing, was the
only player who
made more —
82m.