Exeter

Final league position: 1st

Champions last season when they finished second in the table behind Wasps, they have topped the table for the first time having been the most consistent team. They suffered only a minor wobble in the Premiership, surprisingly losing at home to Worcester, but failed to make the knock-out stage of the European Champions Cup having been grouped with Leinster. There is no team in England better at retaining possession than the Chiefs who are rarely in panic mode, but they are stripped of romance.

Verdict: Set for the grandest of finals against Saracens. Paul Rees

Saracens

Final league position: 2nd

There was a point in the season when Saracens, the pre-eminent club in England this decade, looked like slipping out of the top four. They lost three Premiership matches in a row at the end of last year with back-to-back Champions Cup defeats to Clermont Auvergne in between, their squad depth plumbed by international calls and injuries. They lost their European crown in Leinster and they look more fallible than they have for some time, but they still take some beating. And next year their Lions will have a louder roar.

Verdict: Still the standard bearers. PR

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Wasps

Final league position: 3rd

They can point to two reasons why they have not booked a home semi, as was the case last year. Their tendency to build a comfortable lead and then let teams back into the match has been remarkable in its consistency, and while all sides have been hit by injuries, they were particularly so in late September and early October. With Danny Cipriani, Willie le Roux and Christian Wade all shining, their backs were lethal but they look a big lump or two short up front. Recent rumblings of discontent only add to the sense that the next chapter in Wasps’ history will be a significant one. Stopping Saracens in the semi-final would appear beyond them.

Verdict: If not a major step backwards, certainly sideways. The Premiership title would be a huge ask for a team so accommodating in defence. Gerard Meagher

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Christian Wade was a bright sport for Wasps but the team were too defensively frail. Photograph: Henry Browne/Getty Images

Newcastle

Final league position: 4th

A remarkable achievement for the Falcons to reach the playoffs and Dean Richards and his coaching staff deserve all the plaudits they receive. Richards has recruited shrewdly and instilled belief and while Exeter may prove too strong, they will give it an almighty crack at Sandy Park and their away form has been a significant part of their success. The victories over Sale and Leicester, to book a last-four spot, summed up their season and we can only hope that Richards is given the finances to sustain Newcastle’s development.

Verdict: The story of the season – if they can make it to Twickenham it will be one for the ages. GM

Leicester

Final league position: 5th

Finishing outside the playoffs for the first time since 2004 is not good enough for a club of Leicester’s pedigree. It would have helped had Ben Youngs, George Ford, Matt Toomua, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny May and Telusa Veainu been simultaneously fit and available but the Tigers seldom had the dominant forward platform which was their trademark. Mark Bakewell’s arrival as forwards coach brought an improvement there but they are not even the best team in the Midlands.

Verdict: Nothing to write home about. Robert Kitson

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Injuries, including to Ellis Genge, meant Leicester struggled. Photograph: Patrick Khachfe/JMP/REX/Shutterstock

Bath

Final league position: 6th

Nine tries against already-relegated London Irish on the final weekend could not disguise another season of mediocrity. Todd Blackadder argues that injuries played a part but, as he concedes, “we all know we will have to do better next season.” The fact remains that Bath have made the play-offs only once in the past eight years, while the decision not to renew the faithful Matt Banahan’s contract is a head scratcher.

Verdict: Still less than the sum of their expensive parts. RK

Gloucester

Final league position: 7th

Three heavy defeats in their final four matches ended any hope of reaching the playoffs but this may prove the season where they stirred. It must be remembered that Johan Ackermann arrived on the eve of the the season with barely time to discover his surroundings but he has given his side a freedom to play and some conviction. He recruited well and the signs for next season are promising.

Verdict: Lifting the Challenge Cup on Friday would be tangible evidence of their progress. GM

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Gloucester beat Newcastle 33-12 to go into the Challenge Cup final. Photograph: David Davies/PA

Sale

Final league position: 8th

The Sharks are on the up and will be disappointed to have missed out on Champions Cup qualification. The shrewd recruitment of Jono Ross and Faf de Klerk made a difference and there are some highly talented academy players emerging. Must produce their tough-to-beat home form more often away; three losses in their opening four league games did not help either.

Verdict: Deflating finish to an encouraging campaign. RK

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Northampton

Final league position: 9th

Uncanny similarities with Quins: Premiership champions since return from relegation then a gradual, remorseless slide. Every season since 2011, Saints have suffered at least one humiliation. This season they have come thick and fast, starting on day one. Even then, though, they managed somehow to reach the top of the table by the end of September. By Christmas they were in 10th and Jim Mallinder had gone.

Verdict: New start desperately required, and they’ll get one with Chris Boyd. Michael Aylwin

Facebook Twitter Pinterest There was more darkness than light in Noarthampton’s season. Photograph: Robbie Stephenson/JMP/REX/Shutterstock

Harlequins

Final league position: 10th

In October, John Kingston claimed he had 28 players unavailable after a home win against Worcester that moved Quins briefly into third. On Saturday, the number was 20 after a fifth defeat in a row condemned them to 10th. It has been a season of horror for Quins. Presumably those absentee figures include every last body eligible to lace a boot, but even by the standards of this season of injuries it represents extenuating circumstances. And now Kingston has gone.

Verdict: Ravaged by injury, but their worst finish since relegation in 2005. MA

Worcester

Final league position: 11th



Will be favourites for relegation next season, but don’t be surprised if they avoid it. On the field, they play with increasing confidence and will be bolstered by astute signings, particularly among the backs, who should be as deadly as any. Their real problems lie off the field. If English rugby is unsustainable, Worcester are as shocking an example as any, their losses ballooning to over £8m in the year to June 2017. They remain up for sale.

Verdict: Could become everyone’s second favourite team, if they continue to exist. MA



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donncha O’Callaghan, the Worcester Warriors captain, retired from rugby at the end of the season. Photograph: David Rogers/Getty Images

London Irish

Final league position: last

Their return to the Premiership started with a bonus point victory over Harlequins at Twickenham, but it only proved a portent for the latter. Irish had a (slightly) stronger squad than when they were relegated in 2016, but found themselves further behind. It was an achievement to keep the relegation issue alive until the penultimate weekend, but if they are to have a future in the top flight, regardless of the debate over relegation, they need to find a ground that will provide income on non-match days.

Verdict: Their future hinges on where, rather than how, they play. PR