The latest rugby news headlines after a dramatci final day in England and a URC shock
Here are you rugby headlines on the evening of Saturday, June 6.
Wales stars make play-offs
Wales lock Dafydd Jenkins led his Exeter Chiefs team to a convincing final day victory over bitter rivals Saracens to secure a Gallagher Prem play-off spot and end Sarries’ season.
Captain Jenkins was relentless as usual as his side took control of a tight contest to secure a 32-12 win that now means they face Bath in the semi-finals.
Christ Tshiunza also played a pivotal role in the pack as he looked like getting back to his best ahead of his summer move to Sale Sharks.
There was also good news for Steve Tandy as Wales squad call-up Kane James came on as a second-half replacement after months out injured to prove he is ready for his international debut. The likes of Rhys Carre and Nick Tompkins played for the visitors.
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Man-of-the-match Henry Slade ran in the crucial 47th-minute try that placed the Chiefs in a commanding position and also landed three conversions and two penalties, with Max Norey and Andrea Zambonin and Stephen Varney touching down too.
The classy England centre inspired Exeter’s fightback after they had spent the second quarter of the shootout for a semi-final place under heavy pressure before coming alive to end to Saracens’ five-match winning run.
Even without England star Immanuel Feyi-Waboso because of a facial injury they were comfortably the better side on a blustery day at Sandy Park to claim bragging rights against their fierce rivals.
They finish the regular season in third place and now meet Bath at the Recreation Ground on Saturday for a place in the final.
The defeat signalled the conclusion of Mark McCall’s trophy-laden 15-year reign as Saracens director of rugby with the former Ireland centre stepping down at the end of the season.
The lingering bad blood from the clubs’ rivalry of the mid to late 2010s was evident when the visitors were booed on to the field.
Glasgow stunned by Bulls in URC semi
Glasgow squandered a 21-3 lead as their United Rugby Championship hopes died with a 22-21 semi-final defeat by the Bulls at Murrayfield.
The South Africans, who seized control in the second half after being dominated in the opening half hour, will visit either Leinster or Stormers in the final on June 20.
Bulls got the scoreboard up and running with a seventh-minute Handre Pollard penalty but the stand-off was swiftly sent to the sin bin for a deliberate knock-on.
Glasgow took full advantage as captain Kyle Steyn ran in two tries within the space of five minutes on the right, both converted by Dan Lancaster.
Glasgow remained in the ascendancy after Pollard’s return to the fray and they were awarded a penalty try in the 25th minute after Ruan Nortje collapsed the maul. The Bulls lock was sent to the sin bin.
The 14-man visitors got themselves back in the game in the 32nd minute when Johan Grobbelaar pushed over from close range after a sustained spell of pressure. Pollard converted to make it 21-10 at the break.
The Bulls stepped up their fightback after the break and got their noses in front through close-range scores from Embrose Papier and Francois Klopper while Glasgow lock Scott Cummings was in the sin bin.
Pollard missed three penalties in the final quarter but Bulls never looked in danger of letting their one-point lead slip.
Bath hold off Leicester
Bath secured home advantage in the Gallagher PREM play-offs after beating Leicester 24-22 at a rainswept Recreation Ground.
The reigning PREM champions withstood a powerful Leicester challenge to nail down second place behind Northampton and will now host Exeter.
Tigers, meanwhile, face a testing trip to East Midlands rivals Northampton when the title race reaches its penultimate lap.
Bath had their South African prop Thomas du Toit to thank for putting them in the driving seat as he scored a hat-trick of tries, all from close range.
Wing Joe Cokanasiga also touched down, with fly-half Santi Carreras kicking two conversions, but Leicester went toe to toe for long periods through tries by Orlando Bailey, Jack van Poortvliet and George Pearson, while James O’Connor added two conversions and a penalty.
Bath, though, were not to be denied, staying firmly on course for a third successive Prem final appearance after losing to Northampton in 2024 and beating Leicester a year ago.
Leicester, eager to bounce back from a hefty defeat against Exeter last time out, went ahead after just four minutes when O’Connor capitalised on strong work by the pack to send Bailey over for a try against his former club.
O’Connor landed a wide-angled conversion, but Bath posted an equalising try from their first meaningful attack, with juggernaut forward Du Toit proving unstoppable with the line in his sights.
And the tighthead was at it again five minutes later, cashing in on a powerful Bath lineout drive to claim his second touchdown, before Carreras’ conversion opened up a 12-7 advantage.
An O’Connor penalty narrowed the deficit, but Bath were ruthless when they established a foothold inside Leicester’s 22.
And they struck with a third try seven minutes before half-time, moving possession wide before Cokanasiga gathered and showcased his strength by smashing through three defenders.
However, Leicester underlined their resilience by drawing level before the break, driving Bath backwards as their driving lineout clicked into gear, and Van Poortvliet touched down. O’Connor’s second successful conversion then tied it up at 17-17.
Tigers boss Geoff Parling switched Bailey from centre to fly-half for the second period, with O’Connor going off, and England international forward George Martin took over from lock Cameron Henderson.
The visitors, though, were immediately in defensive mode as Bath went through phase after phase deep inside Tigers’ 22 as they chased a bonus-point score.
And typically it was Du Toit who finally breached Leicester’s cover, completing his treble, with Carreras converting to restore a seven-point lead.
Leicester had their moments during the final quarter, yet the odd wrong option and spilled pass thwarted their efforts to post a win that would have seen them edge Bath for a home play-off, and Tigers took it to the wire courtesy of Pearson’s 78th-minute try after Cokanasiga was yellow-carded.
But they will not be daunted by an away appointment with Saints, a team they defeated 41-17 on May 9, albeit that game taking place at Leicester.
Quins beat Northampton
Tom Lawday’s try with his final touch as a Harlequins player earned his club a 38-31 victory over leaders Northampton on the last day of the Gallagher Prem’s regular season.
It is a still a campaign Quins will want to put behind them swiftly, though, as results elsewhere meant they finished ninth and missed out on qualification for the Investec Champions Cup.
A much-changed Saints led four times at the Stoop before losing out at the death and they now have a home semi-final against East Midlands rivals Leicester to look forward to on Friday.
A searing breakaway involving Fraser Dingwall and James Ramm led to Northampton scoring the game’s first try after six minutes as young scrum-half Jonny Weimann nipped over after Ramm had been tackled just short.
It was Saints’ 100th try of the Prem season, but it was quickly cancelled out when a spell of pressure led to the ball being worked out to Marcus Smith, whose pass gave Alex Dombrandt an easy finish.
Smith’s conversion levelled matters at 7-7, but the visitors were back ahead after 17 minutes when a tapped penalty deep in Quins territory led to Weimann feeding JJ van der Mescht for the giant lock to crash over from a few metres.
The conversion attempt from Anthony Belleau slid wide, with Harlequins then drawing level with the final play of the first half when Smith got the ball out to Cameron Anderson, whose pass led to Jamie Benson going over on his final appearance for the club.
There was still no separating the sides early in the second half.
Northampton momentarily went in front for a third time when Josh Kemeny slipped through some slack defence following Weimann’s tapped penalty, but Quins equalised again within two minutes when Dombrandt charged into space before timing his pass to put Cassius Cleaves in the clear down the left.
The hosts hit the front for the first time after 59 minutes when the ball was worked towards the right, where Benson’s final pass led to Anderson stepping past George Hendy to score.
Their lead was only brief as Will Porter’s miscued clearance was gathered by Toby Thame and the replacement centre kicked ahead before gathering himself and grounding over the whitewash.
Northampton soon gleefully accepted another gift when Smith’s pass was intercepted by Weimann, who ran in unopposed from 40 metres to grab his second.
Dombrandt then made it a double for himself when he crashed over from close range, with Smith’s conversion setting up a big finish.
It arrived off the final play when Dombrandt got away down the right and passed to Cadan Murley, who rode James Pater’s attempted tackle before giving the departing Lawday his fairytale moment.