Heino (or replacement) places up for grabs in AP run-in

First topic message reminder :

Assuming that there won't be much change in the top 4 places in the table, it seems to me that there are 5 sides in with a shout of capturing the last two Heino places.

Current table:
Position Points Team
1 59 Northampton
2 58 Saracens
3 49 Bath
4 44 Leicester Tigers
5 41 Harlequins
6 39 Sale Sharks
7 34 London Wasps
8 30 Exeter
9 27 Gloucester
10 26 London Irish
11 16 Newcastle Falcons
12 4 Worcester

So looking at the games remaining for the 5th & 6th place challengers, here are some possible outcomes for the remaining games (oposition home/away win/loss):

Quins
Worc H - Win
Sar A - Loss
Irish H - Win
Sale A - Win (poss loss)
Tigers H - Poss Loss
Exe A - Poss Loss
Bath H - Poss Loss

Sale
Wasps A L
Saints H L
Bath A L
Quins H L (poss win)
Exe A L
Tigers H L
Irish A W

Wasps
Sale H W
Worc A W
Sar H L
Tigers A L
Glous H W
New H W
Saints A L

Exeter

Irish H W
Tigers A L
Glous H W
Worc A W
Sale H W
Quins H L
New A W

Glous
Saints A L
New H W
Exe A L
Bath H L
Wasps A L
Irish H W
Worc A W

End points excluding bonus points:
End Points Team
53 Harlequins
43 Sale Sharks
50 London Wasps
50 Exeter
39 Gloucester


Thoughts?

From the Grauniad's 'Breakdown' by Paul Rees:

CHIEF'S SCHEDULE BOSSED BY PITCH CONTRACTORS

The timing of the play-off for the final place in the Rugby Champions Cup, between the teams who finish seventh in the English and French leagues, still has to be decided, along with whether it will be played over two legs or as a one-off.

Most of the uncertainty hinges over whether Wasps make it through to the final of the Amlin Challenge Cup. If they defeat Bath in the semi-final, the play-off will probably be a one-off match on neutral territory even if they do not go on to finish seventh.

Should Wasps lose to Bath and Exeter claim seventh, they would not play the home leg of the play-off at Sandy Park because a new pitch is being laid after their final home match of the season against Harlequins on 3 May.

Exeter do not have the option of postponing the work, having booked the contractors months ago. The Chiefs have identified three potential alternative venues and will make a decision if and when they have to.

"It will be a Desso hybrid pitch like the one they have at Twickenham," said the Exeter chief executive, Tony Rowe. "We have had to book a slot and do not have the option of putting back the date. The work has to be carried out at the specified time or it does not get done.

"We have a few options to take the game somewhere else but I am not prepared at this stage to say what they are. All we can think about at the moment is finishing the season in as high a position as we can: we have not ruled out sixth and automatic qualification for the Champions Cup."

Exeter face Sale, who are currently sixth, at Sandy Park on Saturday. They are 11 points behind the Sharks with three matches remaining and a maximum haul would put them in contention for a top-half finish. Their final games are against Harlequins and away to Newcastle while Sale welcome Leicester before travelling to London Irish.

In previous seasons, Exeter would already have qualified, having won the LV Cup. "We are not complaining," said Rowe. "We knew the rules at the start of the season. Winning silverware was an achievement in itself considering where we have come from and, whatever happens in the next few weeks, it has been a pretty good season, especially considering all the long-term injuries we have suffered."

As well as the new pitch, the main stand at Sandy Park is being redeveloped in time for next year's World Cup, taking the capacity at the ground to 12,500.

Wonder which grounds we are looking at?