Resurgent Bristol could be play-off party poopers, kingmakers, or even both, in the tightest-ever Gallagher Premiership run-in.
Pat Lam’s West Country outfit host Saracens on Saturday, then face Harlequins at The Stoop on May 18 to close out their regular-season schedule.
Bristol have won a remarkable six league matches on the trot, for a 100 per cent Premiership return in 2024, to sit fourth in the table.
A miserable ratio of four wins from their first 10 matches has flipped to 10 victories from 16, with Bath, leaders Northampton and Leicester all felled in that stint.
Bristol’s England prop Kyle Sinckler will be looking to put one over former employers Harlequins in the next two weeks.
And old London rivalries mean that Sinckler would no doubt relish toppling Saracens this weekend too.
England vice-captain Ellis Genge has been in fine form for his hometown club, while the stylish ex-London Irish centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg has knitted plenty together from midfield.
Just 10 league points separate first from seventh, with leaders Northampton still able to be caught by Exeter ahead of the penultimate round of regular-season fixtures.
The top-four sides progress to the play-offs, with the top two claiming home semi-finals, with that advantage all-but invariably proving pivotal to reaching the final itself.
The Premiership has never been so tight, leaving those seven sides knowing full well that any shortcomings in standards now will put paid to a play-off drive.
This is the time of the season when defending champions Saracens expect to come into their own, with club chiefs challenging players to hit their physical peak.
England centre Alex Lozowski can feature for the first time in six months this weekend too, having recovered fully from an ACL operation.
Harlequins have their own South West sojourn to deal with this weekend, making the Sandy Park trip to square off with Exeter on Saturday.
Bristol’s flying form has edged Quins down to fifth, but if Billy Millard’s men can do the business in Devon, then a crack at a third Premiership title will be fully on the cards.
Bath sit third and will expect to seal a play-off place, especially with a trip to basement battlers Newcastle this weekend.
Sixth-placed Sale host Leicester on Saturday in Manu Tuilagi’s last home game before heading to France, in an emotive clash for the England centre against his old club.
The Sharks’ home form has kept them in the hunt, but their final-day trip to Saracens may see them fall short.
