The Gallagher Premiership has its final four. Reigning champions Northampton Saints host Leicester Tigers at Franklin's Gardens on Friday, 12 June (19:45), and Bath welcome Exeter Chiefs to the Rec the following afternoon (15:00), with both home sides chasing a place in the final.
Northampton finished top of the table to earn their home semi-final, and Bath secured second spot — and a third successive home play-off — by holding off Leicester 24-22 on the final day, Thomas du Toit's hat-trick proving decisive. Exeter claimed the last play-off berth with a 32-12 win over Saracens that ended Mark McCall's tenure at the club and returned the Chiefs to the semi-finals for the first time since 2021, the year after they last lifted the title.
Bath's biggest selection question is Finn Russell. The Scotland and Lions fly-half has missed the past two matches with a calf strain, but head of rugby Johann van Graan expects him back for Exeter. "His rehab is going well and he is doing it with a smile," van Graan said, adding that the call would come down to risk. "It is about managing risk and making a good decision – if it was do or die today he would have been in."
Exeter arrive as the form outsiders, and chairman Tony Rowe believes the club is on the brink of a new era. A takeover by American billionaire Bill Foley's Black Knight group is edging toward completion, and Rowe has made no secret of his ambition. "When we started to look for investors, I thought the money would come from the Middle East, but it's not. It's all American," he said. He framed the interest around the sport's growth in the United States: "It's because the World Cup in 2031 is in America. People, who we hopefully tie up with, are good sporting people, long-term investors."
Rowe insists the incoming owners want continuity under director of rugby Rob Baxter. "They've said to me, and they said to Rob, that they don't want us to change anything," he said. "They want success, and I think we can give them that." For all the off-field momentum, he was blunt about why the cash matters. "Rugby Union in England at the moment is fantastic," he said, "but to keep alive, we need to invest in our sport."
The other semi-final renews the East Midlands derby, one of English rugby's fiercest rivalries. Saints boss Phil Dowson described the build-up to the knockout meeting as "lively" and "spicy," a nod to the needle that has run through the fixture all season. Northampton, who beat Bath in the 2024 final, carry the weight of being reigning champions; Leicester, beaten by Bath on the final day, travel north needing to reverse recent form against their nearest neighbours.
Bath, beaten finalists in 2024, are again among the favourites and will fancy a third straight final appearance — provided Russell is fit. The Bath-Exeter tie is their first semi-final meeting since 2020, when the Chiefs last won the title. Exeter's revival, Northampton's title defence and the derby edge of Saints-Tigers give the Premiership's penultimate weekend a compelling shape before the title decider.
