Harlequins are top dogs
Harlequins secured top spot in the Premiership with a 24-10 win over Sale, and they will be joined in the semifinals by Leicester, Saracens and Northampton, who all scored convincing wins in the season's final round of action.
Harlequins' victory came after England internationals Danny Care and Mike Brown dotted down for tries in the first-half to help the London club establish a 15-3 first-half lead at Edgeley Park.
Two second-half penalties from Nick Evans stretched Harlequins lead to 21-3 before Will Addison gave Sale a fleeting hope of a fightback with a converted try which took the score to 21-10.
But a further Harlequins penalty took the score to 24-10 as the visitors wrapped up a clinical victory.
In other matches Saturday, nine-time champions Leicester fired a warning to their rivals after recording a 28-3 win over Bath at Welford Road which secured second place in the table.
Billy Twelvetrees replaced the injured Toby Flood at half-time and helped Leicester turn a 3-0 half-time lead into a 28-3 victory at home.
Twelvetrees kicked 10 points and created two of the Tigers' three tries in a win which earned them a semifinal next Saturday at home to Saracens, the team they have played in the last two finals.
Saracens meanwhile held onto third place in the standings with a 40-22 win over Exeter, while Northampton breezed past Worcester 42-14 to finish the season on a high at Franklin's Gardens.
The champions trailed 10-9 at the interval but two tries early in the second half gave them the impetus they needed to cruise to a comfortable victory over the Chiefs.
England internationals Chris Ashton and Ben Foden were among the scorers as Saints crossed five times for a comfortable win over the Warriors.
At the bottom of the table Newcastle face relegation from the Premiership despite their crunch basement battle against fellow strugglers Wasps ending with a hard-earned 14-10 victory.
The Falcons finished bottom by a point following a 22-game regular league season that saw them win just six matches. They needed a bonus point triumph over 11th-placed Wasps - and also deny their opponents a losing one in the process - but that fanciful script never seriously looked like unfolding at a packed Adams Park.
All the results and scorers:
Newcastle Falcons 14-10 London Wasps
The scorers:
For Wasps:
Try: Wade
Con: Robinson
Pen: Robinson
For Newcastle:
Tries: Fitzpatrick, Stringer
Cons: Gopperth 2
Teams:
Wasps: 15 Richard Haughton, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Dominic Waldouck, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Charlie Davies, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Jones, 6 Joe Launchbury, 5 Marco Wentzel (captain), 4 Richard Birkett, 3 Ben Broster, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Zac Taulafo, 18 Simon McIntyre, 19 Ross Filipo, 20 Tinus Du Plessis, 21 Nic Berry, 22 Will Robinson, 23 Chris Mayor.
Newcastle: 15 Greg Goosen, 14 Corne Uys, 13 Jamie Helleur, 12 James Fitzpatrick, 11 Ryan Shortland, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Adam Balding, 7 Will Welch, 6 Ally Hogg, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 James Hudson, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Rob Vickers, 1 Jonny Golding.
Replacements: 16 Matt Thompson, 17 Grant Shiells, 18 James Hall, 19 James Goode, 20 Taiasina Tu'ifua, 21 Mark Wilson, 22 Chris Pilgrim, 23 Tom Catterick
London Irish 52-18 Gloucester
The scorers:
For London Irish:
Tries: Allinson, Armitage, Joseph, Tagicakibau, Yarde 2
Cons: Homer 2
Pens: Homer 6
For Gloucester:
Tries: Voyce 2
Cons: Burns
Pens: Burns 2
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Delon Armitage, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Joe Ansbro, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Steve Shingler, 9 Darren Allinson, 8 Ofisa Treviranus 7 David Sisi, 6 Jamie Gibson, 5 Bob Casey (captain), 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Leo Halavatau, 2 David Paice, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 James Buckland, 17 Paulica Ion, 18 Faan Rautenbach, 19 Matt Garvey, 20 Kieran Roche, 21 Marland Yarde, 22 Adrian Jarvis, 23 Paul Hodgson
Gloucester: 15 Tom Voyce, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Jonny May, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Ollie Phillips, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Dave Lewis, 8 Matt Cox, 7 Alasdair Strokosch, 6 Tom Savage, 5 Alex Brown, 4 Jim Hamilton (captain), 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Darren Dawidiuk, 1 Dan Murphy.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Yann Thomas, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Peter Buxton, 20 Akapusi Qera, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Tim Taylor, 23 Ian Clark
Northampton Saints 42-14 Worcestor Warriors
The scorers:
For Northampton:
Tries: Foden, Ashton, Diggin, Waller
Cons: Myler 2, Lamb 3
Pens: Myler 2, Lamb 2
For Worcester:
Tries: Drauniniu, Horstmann
Cons: Gray 2
Yellow cards: Perry, Shervington
Northampton: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 George Pisi, 12 James Downey, 11 Paul Diggin, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson (captain), 8 Roger Wilson, 7 Phil Dowson, 6 James Craig, 5 Christian Day, 4 Mark Sorenson, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Andy Long, 1 Soane Tonga'Uiha.
Replacements: 16 Ross McMillan, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Paul Doran Jones, 19 Ben Nutley, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Tom May.
Worcester: 15 Tom Arscott, 14 Miles Benjamin, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Ravai Fatiaki, 11 Josh Drauniniu, 10 Danny Gray, 9 Shaun Perry (captain), 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Neil Best, 5 Craig Gillies, 4 James Percival, 3 Bruce Douglas, 2 Chris Fortey, 1 George Porter.
Replacements: 16 Ed Shervington, 17 Ryan Furniss, 18 Ceri Jones, 19 Ben Gulliver, 20 Sam Betty, 21 Jonny Arr, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Charlie Hayter.
Saracens 40-22 Exeter Chiefs
The scorers:
For Saracens:
Tries: Short, Goode, Gill, Hodgson
Cons: Farrell 4
Pens: Farrell 4
For Exeter:
Tries: Johnson, Budgen, Jess
Cons: Steenson 2
Pens: Steenson
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 David Strettle, 13 Chris Wyles, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 James Short, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Justin Melck, 6 Jackson Wray, 5 Mouritz Botha, 4 Steve Borthwick (captain), 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 John Smit, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 George Kruis, 20 Will Fraser, 21 Neil de Kock, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 Joe Maddock.
Exeter Chiefs: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Phil Dollman, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Bryan Rennie, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Gareth Steenson, 9 Kevin Barrett, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (captain), 3 Craig Mitchell, 2 Chris Whitehead, 1 Ben Moon.
Replacements: 16 Neil Clark, 17 Brett Sturgess, 18 Chris Budgen, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Ben White, 21 Haydn Thomas, 22 Ignacio Mieres, 23 Nic Sestaret.
Leicester Tigers 28-3 Bath
The scorers:
For Tigers:
Tries: Agulla, Allen, Penalty
Cons: Twelvetrees 2
Pens: Flood, Twelvetrees 2
For Bath:
Pen: Barkley
Leicester: 15 Geordan Murphy (captain), 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Anthony Allen, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs,8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Steve Mafi, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 George Skivington, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 George Chuter, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Logovi'i Mulipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Craig Newby, 20 Calum Green, 21 Sam Harrison, 22 Billy Twelvetrees, 23 Scott Hamilton.
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Olly Woodburn, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Carl Fearns, 6 Josh Ovens, 5 Ben Skirving, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 David Wilson, 2 Lee Mears, (captain) 1 Nathan Catt.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Charlie Beech, 18 Duncan Bell, 19 Will Spencer, 20 Guy Mercer, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Sam Vesty, 23 Kyle Eastmond.
Harlequins 24-10 Sale Sharks
The scorers:
For Sale:
Tries: Addison
Cons: Bell
Pens: Bell
For Harlequins:
Tries: Brown, Care
Cons: Evans
Pens: Evans 4
Yellow card: Easter
Sale Sharks: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Will Addison, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Tommy Bell, 9 Scott Mathie, 8 Mark Easter, 7 David Seymour (captain), 6 Will Bordill, 5 Tom Holmes, 4 Kearnan Myall, 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Marc Jones, 1 Lee Imiolek.
Replacements: 16 Tommy Taylor, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Joe Ward, 19 Billy Emerson, 20 Jordan Davies, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Iain Thornley, 23 Charlie Amesbury.
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Tom Williams, 13 George Lowe, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Sam Smith, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw (captain), 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 George Robson, 4 Olly Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Tomas Vallejos, 20 Tom Guest, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Matt Hopper.