A trophy-laden era ended at Sandy Park as Exeter Chiefs beat Saracens 32-12 on the final day of the Gallagher Premiership regular season, knocking Mark McCall's side out of the play-off race and bringing his long reign as Saracens director of rugby to a close. Saracens finished fifth, one place outside the cut, having needed a result to keep their season alive.
McCall, who oversaw six Premiership titles in his time in charge, was reflective rather than bitter afterwards. "I've been fortunate enough to experience the highs and the lows, I suppose, to come to this club at the time that I did and get to work with the people that I've worked with," he said. "I'm absolutely blessed to have done that for as long as I have done it."
He was adamant the club he leaves behind is in good health. "I think that from a playing squad perspective, there's a lot to be optimistic about. I think there's a good core there," McCall said. "We've had a really good two months - it's as connected as I can remember the group for the last two or three years." He pointed to recruitment and the academy as reasons for hope: "We've got some brilliant talent coming through the academy, we've got some good senior players who are joining the club. I think we've got a good group and we've just got to do better than we did this year."
The other decisive game of the afternoon went to the south-west. Bath beat Leicester Tigers 24-22 at the Recreation Ground to lock up second place and a home semi-final, the win built on a hat-trick from Springbok prop Thomas du Toit. It was a milestone afternoon for the departing front-rower, whose three close-range tries took him to 21 in the competition, a record for a prop in the Premiership. Du Toit, named Bath's player of the year, brushed off questions about the record, indicating he would rather not dwell on it.
Not everyone was convinced Bath are peaking at the right moment. Writing in The Times, Stuart Barnes argued the champions had to grind their way past Leicester and look short of their best, suggesting they badly need the influential Finn Russell back from injury before the knockout rounds. Leicester, beaten but already safe, dropped to fourth.
Elsewhere on the final day, Gloucester thumped Newcastle 54-21 and Sale Sharks saw off Bristol 38-17, results that secured Champions Cup places for next season rather than a play-off berth.
The semi-final line-up pits familiar foes against each other. Northampton Saints host Leicester in an East Midlands derby at Franklin's Gardens on Friday 12 June (19:45 BST), before Bath welcome Exeter to The Rec on Saturday 13 June (15:00 BST). For McCall, the watching brief begins now; for Du Toit and Bath, the defence of their title resumes against the very side whose final-day win sent the McCall era into the history books.
