Premiership Play Offs: Semi-Final Run Downs for Bath vs Bristol & Leicester vs Sale

The action kicks off with a hotly anticipated West Country derby, as the table toppers Bath host the fourth placed Bristol Bears down at the Rec. The Friday night lights will be shining bright upon this one, with Bath chasing down their first league title in a staggering 29 years to complete a stunning treble, whilst Bristol search for the first Premiership title in their club's history.

Following that we head to the East Midlands, as Leicester Tigers host Sale Sharks for a battle between the Premiership's second and third placed sides. Leicester are the side in the Premiership play offs that last lifted the league title, with their 2022 triumph a fond recent memory for the Welford Road faithful. Sale are out to end a 19-year wait for the top prize in English club rugby, with George Ford at the helm as the architect of Alex Sanderson's side.

Two sides that have decorated histories, yet have each seen the Premiership title allude them for far too long. We'll start with Bath, who have proven why they are the undisputed team to beat in England at the moment. Bath enjoyed a stellar Premiership campaign, which saw them qualify for the play-offs three weeks before the end of the regular season. 14 wins in 18 matches is an emphatic statement of intent, as the blue, black and whites proved that their domestic league campaign was no fluke.

Bath are just two wins away from completing an incredible treble, the likes of which has not been seen since the 2000/01 season. Leicester Tigers were technically the last side to win three trophies in the same season, as Leicester won the Heineken Cup, the Zurich Championship and won an additional trophy for finishing the regular season in top spot. Bath have already gone and won the Premiership Rugby Cup, the EPCR Challenge Cup and now eye the Premiership title to complete an unforgettable trilogy of their own.

It could certainly be considered among the all-time best English club seasons, should Bath go on to win the Premiership title come the end of the season. The depth in talent is immense, with fly half Finn Russell and tight-head prop Will Stuart dutifully called upon by Andy Farrell for the British & Irish Lions tour this Summer. Bath will no in doubt provide an array of stars for England's tour to Argentina and the USA, with a Premiership title triumph only strengthening any claims for international recognition.

Having already qualified for the play offs, Bath sent a rotated side out to face Saracens this past weekend. The blue, black and whites succumbed to a 36-26 defeat in North London, with the last win for Johann van Graan's side being the Challenge Cup Final triumph over Lyon, in the Principality Stadium (37-12). Comparatively with Bristol Bears, Pat Lam's side dug their claws into the play-offs and refused to let go despite the boundless pressure upon the last weekend of the regular season.

Bristol finished their league campaign just two points ahead of both Gloucester and Saracens, who's respective wins ensured that Bristol had to get the job done over Harlequins. The West County club did just that in their one-sided 52-26 triumph, which had their attacking intensity on full display as they carved through the London club time and again at Ashton Gate.

Despite being four time winners of the RFU Championship (now Tier 2) and with an EPCR Challenge Cup title in the trophy cabinet, Bristol have never experienced the highs of winning the Premiership title. The furthest that the Bristolians have ever gotten is the play off semi-finals, as a win at the Rec would be a historic one for the Bears faithful. The most memorable match from Bristol's history of play-off defeats, was the blistering 43-36 defeat to Harlequins, which has gone down as one of the greatest Premiership fixtures of all time. If we get anything close to that in tomorrow night's clash, we'll be in for a real cracker.

Since Leicester Tigers Premiership title triumph in 2022, Saracens and Northampton have been crowned champions of England. However, neither Sarries or the Saints were able to qualify for the top four this season, in what is a testament to the competitiveness of the 10-team Premiership. Leicester are the most recent winners to make the play offs, which will instill plenty of confidence into Michael Cheika's side.

Whilst the Premiership title is plenty motivation on its own for the East Midlanders, there is the added emotional influence of a changing of the guard at Welford Road. Ben Youngs, Dan Cole and Mike Brown have all confirmed their plans to retire from professional rugby at the end of the season, with Handre Pollard and Julian Montoya among those also set to depart the Tigers den in a few short weeks. With such an exodus of personnel, the Leicester players will want to send of the club legends with one more Premiership winner's medal to add to the collection.

Leicester had the unenviable job of avoiding a banana skin upon the final weekend of the Premeirship's regular season, as Cheika's men needed just one point from their clash with Newcastle Falcons. The danger was there for the Tigers, if they had rested on their laurels and come unstuck by the Falcons.

However, no such issues came their way, as a barnstorming six-try win hammered Newcastle 42-20 to secure their spot in the top four. It has been a stunning first season at the helm for Leicester boss Cheika, who could go one better than Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou's now famous quip, should the Australian win a major trophy in his first season with the Tigers.

Pivoting now to Sale Sharks, and proud Northerners were battle-tested upon their arduous trek down south upon the final weekend of the season. Sale came up with the win following a hard-fought 30-26 tussle with Exeter Chiefs, in what would have been an exhaustive trip down to Devon. With hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie and back row Tom Curry called up for the Lions squad, and an assortment of talents all gunning for their respective Summer tours, Alex Sanderson's squad has stepped up once again, as they push to return to the Premiership Final.

Sale's last venture to the previously named Twickenham Stadium, was for their 2023 Premiership Final defeat to Saracens. It's been a long old wait for the Greater Manchester side to pick up the league title, with veteran England fly half George Ford out to lead his side to the summit for the first time since the 2005/06 season.

With the experience of Ford, the Curry twins and Cowan-Dickie, coupled with the young England prospects Asher Opoku-Fordjour, Rekeiti Ma'asi-White, Tom Roebuck and Joe Carpenter, the excitement is certainly there to see the Premiership trophy return up North after a decade of Southern and Midlands dominance.