By Peter Snow's Swingometer
May 8 2004

London Wasps welcome a reborn Leicester Tigers outfit to the Causeway Stadium for the last Zurich Premiership league game of the season. The spectre of a playoff semi-final will hang over Warren Gatland's plans today. One eye will be kept on proceedings at Bath as they take on Gloucester. Like them or loathe them, the playoffs are here to stay. The title sponsor needs a bang for its bucks. Are they necessary? According to some, yes (hello, Joshy!), according to traditionalists, no. A look at the league and the various permutations shows that eight teams can still make the playoffs in its two-tier format, and four can still make the championship shoot-out.

Funnily enough, if it was like the old days then, erm, eight teams could still be in with a shout of qualfying for Europe and two teams would be scrapping it out for top position on the final day. Whilst this may not always have been the outcome of 21 hard-fought rounds of league rugby, it has come about this season.

So the only difference is Northampton and Gloucester now get a shot at clawing back on the top spot despite being eight to ten points off the pace. The sponsors will be happy with that. So, too, should most of the teams as they "know" the rules, even our beloved Mellie.

However, this year's end-games are different from last season's, as Mellie no doubt realises. Bath have been faltering to the end stages as injuries and contractual gymnastics have taken their toll. A ten points lead garnered from the World Cup half of the season have been frittered away as their attack has lost its edge.

Entering the final straight Bath hve to overcome Gloucester. Ordinarily this would be an easy four-pointer as the Cherry and Whites never win at The Rec. in league matches. The best they have done is a draw last season. Would'nt Mellie just love it if his bad lads could throw Bath's season into freefall today?

Would that be what Bath might want, however? Look what Gloucester's three weeks gap did for them last season, allowing ours-truly to pummel them in the championship decider. I think Bath would love to scrape a win and take the rest that Gloucester did not need. They would be sensible and arrange a full-on practice game, not a match against their own United team.

And so, on to London Wasps challenge today. Tigers have not lost many games since regaining the seven forwards shorn from their squad during the RWC. They've won 7, drawn 2 and lost only 3 games since they beat us by 10 points in early November. Deano has gone. Harsh, but as Mellie would say, it was time for change.

Today Ben Kay sits on the bench due to lack of form, a World Cup hangover or perhaps because they want Deacon to learn the ropes before King Johnno retires.

The result? Wasps by six if we still need to win at the death. Tigers by six if we don't. A pig's ear!