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First thing, and next thing, first.
It was a great weekend with an average margin of victory of less than seven points across five games, a sliver of the scoreboard between entire teams, and hands swapping more often than a professional dog walker.
Fears a few weeks ago that the top-four race could turn into a rout, and that Bath and Northampton could also be penciled in for the June 20 final, proved unfounded.
Instead, the top two looked distinctly wrong, and the final regular-season round brought pressure and consequences.
At Sandy Park, Exeter will face Saracens in a direct shootout for the fourth and final play-off spot.
Chiefs started the final day three points ahead of their rivals. Saracens must win. A bonus-point win would guarantee the Londoners a place in the semi-finals. Even without the extras the win might be enough, though.
In such a scenario, Saracens will have one more win over Chiefs – the first tie-breaking factor if the two teams finish on the same number of points.
Exeter would need to pick up two losing bonus points – one for finishing within seven points and one for scoring four or more – to deny Souris.
Meanwhile, things are simple at Rec. Any win for Leicester would deny defending champions Bath a home semi-final.
Sale, Gloucester and Harlequins will be without a seat in the Champions Cup table when the song stops.
They have home fixtures against Bristol, Newcastle and Northampton, none of which have anything real to play for. Sale are farthest in the table, but have won once in nine love matches since the start of the year.
All five games kick off at 15:15 BST on Saturday. How it ends is anyone’s guess.
