By Ollie Phillips
It’s incredible – there are only 80 minutes left of the regular Premiership season and barely anything is decided.
We know Northampton Saints are guaranteed a home semi-final, but they’re not yet confirmed as regular season champions.
Saracens are definitely in the play-offs but aren’t sure of whether they’ll be home or away in the semi-finals.
And the other certainty is that Leicester Tigers, Gloucester and winless Newcastle Falcons aren’t able to reach the post-season – the latter two of those teams embarrassingly far behind.
Premiership final repetition
But for seven teams there is something to play for, and I think the key match this weekend is Saracens’ trip north to Sale Sharks – a repeat of last year’s final.
Saracens could finish the weekend occupying any of the top four spots in the league, so there is less on it for them, although they’d want to be at home in the play-offs.
Sale on the other hand could be as high as second, earning themselves a home semi-final, and as low as sixth, out of the play-offs and left to ponder next season.
It is a monumental Premiership tie in Manchester, and with all fixtures this weekend kicking off at the same time it’ll be fascinating to see how each side competes.
Bristol Bears and Harlequins face each other with the loser guaranteed to be out of the running, and the winner’s chances of featuring in the play-offs only slightly better.
The point is this, the reduction to 10 teams as a result of the loss of three teams has ensured that the season is competitive all the way through to the very end.
And there are genuine questions to be asked of those clubs who are resting players to the extreme given the lengthened rest periods this season has allowed. But the league is mostly competitive and that is a good thing.
Last week I said the Premiership top four would be made up of Northampton, Bath, Harlequins and Saracens and that’s a prediction I am sticking with.
At the other end
It really is embarrassing as a former player of both Gloucester and Newcastle Falcons to see them down at the bottom of the league and looking so uncompetitive.
Whatever Gloucester head coach George Skivington says, his 90-0 loss to Northampton last weekend in the Premiership was humiliating and shames an otherwise competitive league.
It is fitting, then, that these two teams – so far off the rest – are set to face each other this weekend in the final match of their regular seasons.
Can you imagine if the Falcons won? Winning just one match all season is hardly something to be proud of, but should Gloucester lose it really would complete a dire Premiership campaign.
The Cherry and Whites may have a European final but heading there off the back of two embarrassing losses – for different reasons – would surely make the Sharks overwhelming favourites.
Former England Sevens captain Ollie Phillips is the founder of Optimist Performance, experts in leadership development behavioural change and executive coaching support. Follow Ollie on Twitter and on LinkedIn @OlliePhillips11
