Celebration and heartache in final round

PREMIERSHIP WRAP: It was celebration and heartache all around after the 24th and final round of league action.

The semifinalists were confirmed – Saracens hosting Northampton Saints next Saturday and Sale Sharks at home to Leicester Tigers on Sunday.

However, most of the heartache was further down the standings – with qualification for Europe next season on the line.

Bath ran in nine tries in a 61-29 win over a game Saracens second string to snatch the last Champions Cup spot next season from local rivals Bristol.

Hooker Tom Dunn scored a hat-trick as Johann van Graan’s resurgent side notched a fourth successive Premiership victory, a run that has propelled the club from the bottom of the table to that all-important eighth qualifying place.

The Rec broke into wild celebration as news came through from Ashton Gate that Bristol’s winning margin against Gloucester had not been enough.

* Bristol missed out on a Champions Cup spot, despite a hard-fought 36-21 win over local rivals Gloucester – as they were pipped by Bath on points’ difference.

The bonus-point victory was not enough for the Bears to stay in eighth place in the final Premiership table as Bath’s winning margin over Saracens proved crucial.

* Two tries from Juan Martin Gonzalez ensured London Irish finished a difficult week on a high as they saw off Exeter Chiefs 17-14.

The build-up to the game had been far from ideal for Irish, whose players were paid late as the club’s proposed takeover continues to drag on.

All the scores and scorers follow below

Bath 61-29 Saracens

For Bath
Tries: Reid, Dunn 3, Obano 2, Cloete, Bailey, Lawrence
Cons: Spencer 8

For Saracens
Tries: Segun, Hartley 2, Lewis, Vunipola
Cons: Vunipola 2

The teams:

Bath: 15 Matt Gallagher, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Ruaridh McConnochie, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Ben Spencer (captain), 8 Miles Reid, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Ted Hill, 5 GJ van Velze, 4 Josh McNally, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Beno Obano.
Replacements: 16 Niall Annett, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Max Green, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Jonathan Joseph.

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly (co-captain), 14 Rotimi Segun, 13 Josh Hallett, 12 Olly Hartley, 11 Ben Harris, 10 Manu Vunipola, 9 Ruben de Haas, 8 Ollie Stonham, 7 Toby Knight, 6 Nathan Michelow, 5 Callum Hunter-Hill, 4 Alex Wardell, 3 Christian Judge, 2 Ethan Lewis (co-captain), 1 Eroni Mawi.
Replacements: 16 Samson Adejimi, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 Harvey Beaton, 19 Kaden Pearce-Paul, 20 Max Eke, 21 Charlie Bracken, 22 Dom Morris, 23 Tobias Elliott.

Referee: Christophe Ridley
Assistant referees: Jack Makepeace, Greg Macdonald
TMO: Martin Fox

Bristol Bears 36-21 Gloucester

The scorers

For Bristol Bears
Tries: Naulago, Thacker, Bradbury, Radradra 2
Cons: MacGinty 4
Pen: MacGinty

For Gloucester
Tries: Thorley, May, Penalty try
Cons: Hastings 2, a penalty try does not require a conversion

The teams:

Bristol: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Siva Naulago, 13 Semi Radradra, 12 James Williams, 11 Ioan Lloyd, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Harry Randall (co-captain), 8 Fitz Harding, 7 Sam Jeffries, 6 Steven Luatua (co-captain), 5 Chris Vui, 4 Joe Batley, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Harry Thacker, 1 Yann Thomas..
Replacements: 16 Will Capon, 17 Jake Woolmore, 18 Max Lahiff, 19 Magnus Bradbury, 20 Jake Heenan, 21 Andy Uren, 22 Sam Bedlow, 23 Noah Heward.

Gloucester: 15 Santi Carreras, 14 Jonny May, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Seb Atkinson, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Lewis Ludlow (captain), 6 Jack Clement, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Freddie Clarke, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 George McGuigan, 1 Mayco Vivas.
Replacements: 16 Seb Blake, 17 Val Rapava-Ruskin, 18 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 19 Cam Jordan, 20 Freddie Thomas, 21 Ben Meehan, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Alex Hearle.

Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Karl Dickson, Andrew Jackson
TMO: Rowan Kitt

Leicester Tigers 17-20 Harlequins

The scorers

For Leicester Tigers
Tries: Montoya, Reffell
Cons: Pollard, Gopperth
Pen: Pollard

For Harlequins
Tries: Penalty try, Murley
Cons: Smith, a penalty try does not require a conversion
Pens: Smith 2

The teams:

Leicester Tigers: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Dan Kelly, 11 Harry Potter, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Hanro Liebenberg, 5 Cameron Henderson, 4 Harry Wells, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Julián Montoya (captain), 1 Tom West.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Clare, 17 Francois van Wyk, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Finn Carnduff, 20 Olly Cracknell, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Jimmy Gopperth, 23 Matt Scott.

Harlequins: 15 Nick David, 14 Cadan Murley, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care, 8 Alex Dombrandt (captain), 7 Will Evans, 6 Jack Kenningham, 5 Irne Herbst, 4 Dino Lamb, 3 Will Collier, 2 Sam Riley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Jack Musk, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Will Hobson, 19 George Hammond, 20 Will Trenholm, 21 Lewis Gjaltema, 22 Luke Northmore, 23 Louis Lynagh.

Referee: Ian Tempest
Assistant referees: Adam Leal, Hamish Smales
TMO: Claire Hodnett

London Irish 17-14 Exeter Chiefs

The scorers

For London Irish
Tries: Gonzalez 2, Pearson
Con: Jackson

For Exeter Chiefs
Tries: Vermeulen, Hendrickson
Cons: Slade 2

The teams:

London Irish: 15 Henry Arundell, 14 Ben Loader, 13 Benhard van Rensburg, 12 Rory Jennings, 11 Lucio Cinti, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Ben White, 8 So’otala Fa’aso’o, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Matt Rogerson (captain), 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Oliver Hoskins, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Danilo Fischetti.
Replacements: 16 Mike Willemse, 17 Tarek Haffar, 18 Lovejoy Chawatama, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Tom Pearson, 21 Chandler Cunningham-South, 22 Joe Powell, 23 James Stokes.

Exeter Chiefs: 15 Josh Hodge, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade (captain), 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Tom Wyatt, 10 Harvey Skinner, 9 Stu Townsend, 8 Greg Fisilau, 7 Christ Tshiunza, 6 Jacques Vermeulen, 5 Jack Dunne, 4 Jannes Kirsten, 3 Josh Iosefa-Scott, 2 Jack Innard, 1 Alec Hepburn.
Replacements: 16 Iestyn Harris, 17 Billy Keast, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Mike Williams, 20 Aidon Davis, 21 Tom Cairns, 22 Tom Hendrickson, 23 Dan John.

Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Craig Maxwell-Keys, Wayne Falla
TMO: Stuart Terheege

Sale Sharks 54-12 Newcastle Falcons

The scorers

For Sale Sharks
Tries: Roebuck, S James 2, B Curry, Rodd, Quirke, Reed, Penalty try
Cons: Ford 6, a penalty try does not require a conversion

For Newcastle Falcons
Tries: Obatoyinbo, Blamire
Con: Connon

The teams:

Sale Sharks: 15 Joe Carpenter, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 Robert du Preez, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Arron Reed, 10 George Ford, 9 Raffi Quirke, 8 Jono Ross (captain), 7 Ben Curry, 6 Sam Dugdale, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Jean-Luc du Preez, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Bevan Rodd.
Replacements: 16 Ethan Caine, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 James Harper, 19 Josh Beaumont, 20 Daniel du Preez, 21 Tom Ellis, 22 Will Cliff, 23 Sam James.

Newcastle Falcons: 15 Elliott Obatoyinbo, 14 Adam Radwan, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Brett Connon, 9 Sam Stuart, 8 Callum Chick (captain), 7 Philip van der Walt, 6 Pedro Rubiolo, 5 Sebastian de Chaves, 4 Greg Peterson, 3 Mark Tampin, 2 Jamie Blamire, 1 Adam Brocklebank.
Replacements: 16 Conrad Cade, 17 Phil Brantingham, 18 Richard Palframan, 19 Freddie Lockwood, 20 Carl Fearns, 21 Josh Barton, 22 Tian Schoeman, 23 Josh Thomas.

Referee: Sara Cox
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jamie Leahy
TMO: Dean Richards