Premiership Final Day - A reflection

Well, that's it. The final day of the Premiership gave everything one would expect and more. Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to look back…wait…let me clarify myself - you haven't missed the end of the Football Premiership...no that's tomorrow! Today saw the final day of the Guinness Premiership regular season. That's Rugby union don't you know.

As with football, the final day of the rugby union premiership is an absolute mathematical game. Throw in bonus points for 4 tries scored and only losing by seven, and it makes things even more complicated. Four teams still had the chance to get into the top four, thus giving them a semi-final, which then leads to a Grand Final type occasion. All to play for on the final day, this was electric.

TV gave us the top two - Gloucester vs Bath. And just like a disgusting rain-soaked Rec earlier in the season, viewers were treated to the best the English Premiership had to offer. As a pair of matches, these were frenetic, entertaining and extremely physical and proved - ELVS be damned - the English premiership is by-far and away the most entertaining club league competition in the world.

Avram Grant recently said that maybe, in this occasion as the top two look set to finish on equal points, a 'final' should be arranged. He may have a point when you look at the thrill of the Guinness Premiership.

On display is a great amalgamation of what rugby has to offer. You've got the English experience of Grewcock and Borthwick mixed with what is effectively the future of the England team with Lamb and Banahan. Add to this some hugely influential foreigners like Butch James and Marco Bortolami and you can see the spread of quality that gifts this league.

Of course, I don't want to get into a high and mighty ramble about why I feel rugby is better than football, but let me highlight some of the intricacies which makes it such a fantastic sport - with focus on today's action.

The Gloucester players playing at home at Kingsholm walked through the crowd into the ground pre-match. Isn't that lovely? I even once saw Andrew Sheridan on TV getting dropped off by a mate for a game. You wouldn't see a defensive superstar from football in a similar predicament would you? But this is the joy of being below football in terms of popular team sports in England. Rugby revels as a furiously competitive professional sport still in touch with its amateur roots, whereas football creates demi-gods of its participants.

Another area which benefits rugby is the recognition of defence. In rugby, as with Gloucester’s, predominately, defensive heroics today, teams are credited and championed for digging deep and defending. Football doesn't have this luxury. It pains me when a football team produces a magnificent defensive display - last ditch tackles, phenomenal ariel presence and tight all across the park - and all anyone can talk about is how the other team 'deserved something' from the match. Man Utd beat Barcelona with two incredible defensive displays. But at the end of the day, attacking Barca got the majority of commentator approvals, even though United came in with a clear plan to quell any threat.

Today Bath threw everything at Gloucester in another highly entertaining game and in the end the Cherry and Whites came out on top and get a home tie in the playoffs. In action elsewhere, as a result of mind-boggling mathematical permutations, Leicester (rubbish Leicester!) nicked a spot from Harlequins (lovely 'Quins - despite Strettle's hair)!

Such a explosive final day only serves to whet the appetite for both the playoffs, final and, who can forget, England (surely with Cipriani at the helm) taking on New Zealand in June. (Think you can predict the outcome? Take me on here)

This wonderful weekend of sport is now very much underway. Before the nail biting madness that is Chelsea (hopefully) snatching the title tomorrow, we have the more important business of Rochdale doing the business in the first leg of their playoff hopes. Up the Dale!