Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The second, third and fourth place sides in the Prem all lost to add intrigue to the run-in
ByMike HensonBBC Sport rugby union news reporter- Published1 hour ago
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The emotions at the final whistle at Franklin's Gardens were difficult to read.
Prem leaders Northampton had beaten Bath - the defending champions and their nearest rivals - via a Fin Smith penalty with the clock in the red, but the Saints players, perhaps sapped by the heat and opposition, barely raised an arm in celebration.
By the admission of their own coaching staff, Saints had been lucky to take the win.
Across four matches in all competitions this month, they have conceded an average of more than 37 points. They have also won three of them, but their attack is having to work overti me to keep the victories coming.
Bath, with one eye on their Champions Cup semi-final against Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday, had picked a largely second-string side as superstars like Finn Russell, Ollie Lawrence and Thomas du Toit took the weekend off.
Instead the hugely promising Ciaran Donoghue, playing his first minutes of the season after suffering a knee injury in pre-season, stepped in at 10 seamlessly, flinging passes and fixing the defence with his own running ability.
On the wing, Louis Hennessey, making his fifth Prem start of the season, was excellent, beating defenders and getting his hands free to keep the momentum of attack going.
Miles Reid and Josh Bayliss - two of the visitors' more regular faces - were superb in the back row.
They may have lost the game, but the Bath could arguably take more heart from a match having pushed Saints so hard.
Four months ago, the shoe (army) was on the other foot. Northampton didn't perhaps stray so far from their first-choice line-up then, but a mix-and-match side ran out comfortable winners against a more familiar-looking Bath at the Recreation Ground in the reverse fixture.
Both sides have formidable depth that sets them apart from the rest, with standards staying high as selection chops and changes.
It is the difference that makes it difficult to see anything other than a fourth meeting of the season taking place in the Prem final on 20 June.
Other sides with weaker squads and more salary cap head-room to play with may also be looking to see if they can tempt some of Saints and Bath's fringe figures with the promise of a more central role elsewhere.
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Saracens' superstars and starlets
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Caluori leads the Prem try-scoring charts with 18, five more than Northampton's Tommy Freeman
In the early 2000s, Real Madrid had a team-building philosophy they coined 'Zidanes y Pavones'. The theory was to mix top-end imported talent - like France superstar Zinedine Zidane - with homegrown youth, such as local centre-back prospect Francisco Pavon.
Saracens may be on to something similar.
Noah Caluori, only 19, is already somewhere between prospect status and the superstar bracket.
His chip-and-chase try in the win over Leicester showed dexterity and cunning, as well as raw speed - the wing scampering over the sideline before leaping back infield to claim the ball, ensuring he had enough lateral momentum to hold off Ollie Hassell-Collins and score.
He is part of a bumper crop of Sarries talent.
Twenty-four year-old Olly Hartley, who was picked up from Wasps and whose progress was checked by a bad knee injury in April 2024, danced through for the hosts' first try.
At scrum-half, Charlie Bracken, the 22-year-old son of former England international Kyran, has muscled his way ahead of Ivan van Zyl and is nippy around the fringes.
Highly rated 21-year-old Nathan Michelow replaced Tom Willis on 10 minutes and went toe-to-toe with the Tigers back row.
Olamide Sodeke, 6ft 9in, nearly 20 stone and only 20 years old, looms in the wings, awaiting his first Prem start after two Under-20 World Cup campaigns with England. He was picked for England A in November, reflecting the esteem he is held in by international selectors.
Tobias Elliot, Angus Hall and Jack Bracken, Charlie's younger brother, are all further along in their development.
Next season, scrum-half Tomos Williams will arrive from Gloucester and mentoring Bracken will be part of his brief.
George Martin and Alfie Barbeary are joining to bring go-forward to a pack that was put into reverse at scrum time by Leicester and is losing the influential Willis to France's Top 14 in the summer.
Can a sprinkling of high-profile signings supplementing a conveyor belt of talent haul Saracens back to the top of the domestic game?
This season is unlikely to extend to the play-offs. They are seven points off fourth-placed Exeter and six behind fifth-placed Bristol.
But as the likes of Maro Itoje (31), Elliot Daly (33), Jamie George (35) and Owen Farrell (34) head towards the back end of their careers, it is the template for incoming coach Brendan Venter next term.
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'Great way to lose the game boys'
Image source, Rex FeaturesImage caption, Referee Carley was perfectly positioned to see the incident involving Roots and Innard
Referee Matthew Carley 's microphone picked up Tomos Williams' taunt.
"That's a great way to lose the game boys," the Gloucester scrum-half shouted across at Exeter as the referee blew up with the clock in the red and the Cherry and Whites 34-31 to the good.
With the Chiefs in possession and throwing the ball around in pursuit of a late game-snatching score, visiting flanker Ethan Roots appeared to strike Gloucester hooker Jack Innard in the face on the floor after a tackle.
The 20-minute red card for Roots ended the game and, although Exeter departed Kingsholm with two losing bonus points, they will rue what might have been.
With a ban surely incoming for Roots and the top-four picture tightening up, the incident might yet cost Exeter more.
Bath, Leicester and Saracens all feature in their final four league matches.
For Gloucester, the result helps a sudden feel-good factor start to swell with a fine all-round performance, new technical director Chris Boyd on the ground, and new signings Dewi Lake and Jac Morgan en route.
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Hodge's homecoming
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Hodge started four of Exeter's first six league games this season before being frozen out of the first-team picture at the Chiefs
It might be the most eye-catching part of Red Bull's takeover of Newcastle, but the energy drink giant aims to do more than just bring big-name players to the north east of England.
Stemming the flow of talent out of the club is also a key objective.
Guy Pepper, Trevor Davison, Adam Radwan, Jamie Blamire, Callum Chick and Ben Redshaw were all brought through from the club's huge catchment area, but moved on as they skidded along the bottom of the Prem.
Josh Hodge was another who slipped though the Falcons' talons.
The classy full-back moved on to Exeter aged 20, but crossed for his first try since returning to the north east from Sandy Park earlier this month in Friday night's defeat by Bristol.
Preventing talent such as Hodge's haemorrhaging south in the first place will quickly make Newcastle strong without the need to look further afield than their own academy.
Newcastle had seven representatives called up for England Under-17 training last Friday, more than Northampton (four), Bath (six) or Leicester (four).
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The top-four tussle
After last weekend's results - with four one-sided victories surrounding Northampton's dramatic, tight win over Exeter - this round provided more intrigue, with the outcome of three matches up in air right to the final whistle.
A combination of defeats for Leicester and Exeter, and victories for Bristol and Saracens, gives the top-four race a bit more mystery.
If Saracens can beat an injury-hit Bristol in a massive match on 9 May, maybe the play-offs are still in reach for the Londoners?
At the bottom, after defeat by Sale, Harlequins are in very real jeopardy of missing out on the top eight finish necessary to gain Champions Cup qualification.
How do you see it panning out? Comment below.
