Five storylines to follow during Round 22 : PlanetRugby

Ahead of Round 22 of the Premiership, Planet Rugby delves into the weekend’s action and picks out our five storylines to follow from the five games.

George Ford searching for first win at Sale

The return to fitness of the England fly-half was meant to take the Sharks to the next level but, if anything, it’s created an extra problem, given the outstanding form of South African playmaker Rob du Preez. Sale have yet to win a game with Ford in the squad, out of five matches he has played since returning from a serious Achilles problem.

Director of rugby Alex Sanderson is attempting to shoehorn both him and Du Preez into the side by shifting the latter out to 13, a position he had very limited success in last season. He struggled to get to grips with the defensive side of things in 2021/22 and again it is causing him – and the Sharks – issues in 2023.

It is not the 29-year-old’s fault as such – he is simply inexperienced in the position – but Du Preez continues to make bad decisions without the ball. Unperturbed by their poor run of results, Sanderson is continuing with the experiment but, if it doesn’t work at Ashton Gate, then it quite simply should be ditched, especially with their home semi-final coming under increasing threat.

Battle intensifies for Champions Cup qualification

It has been an incredibly competitive campaign but it is getting to the stage where some teams may stop thinking about the play-offs and instead be looking over their shoulder when it comes to Champions Cup qualification.

With Wasps and Worcester Warriors out of the reckoning due to the financial issues which forced them into administration, it has made it easier to get into next season’s top-tier ‘European’ competition. However, it has equally increased the pressure on all the sides and it would be deemed a failure for whoever misses out.

At the moment, Northampton Saints, who are fifth on 48 points, will feel safe, but a defeat to Saracens, combined with a win for those below them – Exeter (43), Bristol (41), Harlequins (41) and Gloucester (40) – would make them sweat, especially with those outfits all having a game in hand over the Saints.

It will be an incredibly tense end to the campaign for all those teams, with supporters having expectations that they will be seeing Champions Cup rugby next season.

West Country strugglers seeking derby day cheer

Let’s be honest, it’s not been a great campaign for any of the West Country sides with no team currently in the top half. Exeter Chiefs may be enjoying an excellent Champions Cup, reaching the semi-finals after thrashing the Stormers last weekend, but their Premiership form has been pretty poor, residing in sixth, eight points outside the play-off places.

Behind them are Bristol Bears in seventh and then the two traditional powerhouses, Gloucester and Bath, who are languishing in ninth and 10th respectively. In fact, the latter two have become so irrelevant in the wider context of…