The Breakdown | There has never been a Premiership run-in quite like this one

07/05/2024 13:00

Fewer players in fewer teams, rule changes and a relentless season have combined to create a thrilling climax to the league

In the minutes after Harlequins' Champions Cup semi-final defeat by Toulouse on Sunday, the sense of frustration, of missed opportunity, was palpable. To a man they believed they would have pulled off the greatest European victory in their history without making quite so many first-half mistakes. "You know that emoji with the monkey face? That's how I feel," said Danny Care. "We genuinely felt we could get close against a team as good as Toulouse and could have won. Maybe we should have. Now it's back to the Premiership and we've got to dry our tears pretty quickly."

They then made a hurried exit stage left, promptly drying those tears because they face a trip to Exeter on Saturday, a six-day turnaround for a match that will go a long way to determining whether they reach the Premiership semi-finals. If they win it then the same could be said for their final regular-season match, against Bristol. It is quite the run of fixtures for Quins, but then most of the sides in the top eight of the leagueface the same predicament.

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