Hammersley exit highlights spending constraints facing Premiership clubs

It is now 10 years since Newcastle travelled to Wasps, needing to win by 24 points to leapfrog their opponents at the foot of the table and avoid relegation on the final day of the season. Ultimately, the Falcons edged a four-point win, going down to the Championship swinging while Wasps narrowly avoided falling into the abyss. It was not a classic but for tension you couldn’t beat it and it is worth noting it was one of the rare occasions when Wasps attracted a capacity crowd in High Wycombe.

A decade on and a cursory glance at both the table and the fixture list suggests that Worcester’s home match against Bath on Saturday should be similarly dramatic. All roads really should be leading to Sixways but with relegation on pause until at least the summer of 2024, Worcester and Bath will play out a dead rubber. The sense of apathy is palpable and not just because Bath have recently been giving the impression they have already clocked off for the summer.

Premiership Rugby this week reaffirmed the commitment to a return of relegation in two years’ time – or rather reminded us that is what the agreement says, because given the stringent criteria for promotion, given the security it offers Premiership clubs, it cannot be taken as read. The Premiership Rugby chief executive, Simon Massie-Taylor, also argued that the absence of relegation has not had a material impact on audiences and that it is a necessary evil after the financial hardship brought on by the pandemic, when clubs were losing millions of pounds and pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. Still, we approach the final day of the regular campaign with little on the line. Fourth place is yet to be decided but Northampton are hot favourites to clinch the victory they need