Premiership Rugby: Round 25 Review

Round 25 of Gallagher Premiership Rugby brought thrills and spills as home semi-finals were secured and stunning comebacks were completed. 

It kicked off on Friday night with Bristol Bears edging a thriller against Exeter Chiefs and Sale Sharks coming away with a win at Wasps, leaving both Chiefs and Sharks with calculators to see if they would stay in semi-final contention going into the final round. 

Then on Saturday, there were tries galore and some spectacular comebacks that leave Gloucester Rugby and Northampton Saints fighting it out for the last semi-final spot on the final weekend. 

Perhaps the pick of the games came at Twickenham, where Harlequins pulled off yet another comeback for their Big Summer Kick-off. 

In front of around 50,000 fans, Gloucester looked to be on their way to a vital win in the race for the top four when they led 24-7 at half-time. 

But no lead is safe against the Gallagher Premiership Rugby champions, and Harlequins did it again with two tries from Joe Marchant on their way to a brilliant 28-24 victory. 

That guaranteed that Quins will return to the semi-finals, while Gloucester had to settle for a losing bonus point. 

Their top-four hopes now rest on bettering Northampton’s result by three points on the final weekend after Saints came away from Saracens with two bonus points. 

In a ridiculous encounter, ten tries were scored in the second half, Theo McFarland getting two of them for the hosts in a 42-38 win. 

Three tries in the last ten minutes for the visitors, including a Tom James double, could end up proving crucial for Saints though, who have their destiny in their own hands ahead of a home clash with Newcastle Falcons. 

Elsewhere, Bath Rugby matched Quins in the comeback stakes, twice trailing by ten points to London Irish before going on to claim a 27-24 victory. 

The turning point came when Kyle Rowe had a second try of the game disallowed for a forward pass when Irish would have been able to stretch 14 points clear. 

Instead, Bath came down the other end with Will Muir scoring a fine try, before Orlando Bailey converted and then sealed the win with a late penalty. 

The other Saturday game saw Leicester Tigers made to work very hard before eventually pulling away to win 27-5 at Newcastle Falcons, Freddie Steward crossing at the death to cap off the win. 

The results on Saturday ended both Sharks’ and Chiefs’ hopes of making the top four, with the teams enjoying contrasting fortunes on Friday night. 

Sale battled to a 16-7 win away to Wasps, Robert du Preez kicking 11 points in that one, while Bristol Bears beat Chiefs 40-33 as Charles Piutau helped himself to a double in an 11-try classic. 

That defeat combined with Saints’ bonus point ensured that Chiefs will not make the semi-finals for the first time since 2015 ahead of next week’s clash with Harlequins. 

All in all, it was a thrilling weekend, and with a week off for European endeavours, the tension will now build heading into the all-important Round 26.