Gallagher Premiership: Sale Sharks, Bath earn play-off spots on frantic final day as Bristol Bears, Harlequins miss out

Sale Sharks sealed a spot in the Gallagher Premiership Rugby play-offs after a huge victory on the final day of the season at Saracens, while Bath Rugby also qualified.

Northampton Saints and Saracens had already qualified, while Bristol Bears, Harlequins and Exeter Chiefs narrowly missed out.

Tom Roebuck and Tom Ford starred for the Sharks who won 20-10 at Saracens’ StoneX Stadium in London, as Alex Sanderson’s side secured a third-placed finish.

Despite having already qualified, the result left Saracens in fourth place as they lost the advantage of a home tie in the semi-finals.

Mark McCall’s side will now face first-placed finishers Northampton Saints at Franklin's Gardens for a spot in the final at Twickenham in June.

Meanwhile, Sale will travel to Bath, where they were beaten 42-24 earlier this season.

Bath sealed an impressive 43-12 victory over leaders Northampton on Saturday to book their spot in the play-offs.

A Finn Russell-inspired performance helped lift Bath above Saracens and into second place to earn the home advantage, while Josh Bayliss, Will Muir, Tom Dunn, Ben Spencer and Alfie Barbeary all contributed with tries.

Elsewhere, Bristol Bears missed out on a top-four finish despite sealing a sensational 53-28 victory over Harlequins at Twickenham Stoop.

The win took them from seventh to fifth in the standings but they eventually came up short by two points following Sale and Bath’s wins.

Harlequins dropped to sixth in the standings after the heavy defeat, while Exeter - the only remaining side who could have qualified for the semi-finals - lost 40-22 to Leicester Tigers. 

Leicester finished the season in eighth place despite the win to seal a spot in next season’s Investec Champions Cup, while Gloucester and Newcastle Falcons finished in the bottom two.

The two teams at the foot of the table played each other on the final day, with Gloucester running out 54-14 winners.

Newcastle finished bottom of the table by 27 points and are in danger of dropping into the RFU Championship.

Their last-place finish means they will face a two-legged play-off match against the Championship's top side, should the former be eligible for Premiership promotion.

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