In fact they did rather better than that. With Sale winning at Saracens, they moved up into second position and earned a home semi-final against Alex Sanderson's team in two weeks' time.
That should be some game, the kind of rugby occasion that has persuaded owner Bruce Craig to stay steadfast in his long term support of a sometimes mercurial and maddening team. Craig will feel vindicated but the celebrations need to be brief, this is a team that can go all the way and everybody at The Rec must stay focussed.
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