It is not so long ago that the rugby season was of an even more brutal length than it is now, and even though individual games contained nothing like the power in the hits and the pressure for results that they do now, it was not uncommon for most of the big Welsh clubs and a good number of the big English clubs to play twice a week, so they would have to front up in midweek after a testing Saturday game.

Leicester will know all about that come Tuesday evening. After they had scraped themselves off the turf after a shocking display at Twickenham yesterday, they were immediately into pre-match mode for their away game against high-flying Bath on Tuesday, difficult enough as it is but even more so when you consider that a good part of the rest of their season now rests on winning that match.

There is no doubt that the competitiveness of the Guinness Premiership is at an all-time high. It is to the credit of the coaches and players that so too is the level of inventiveness out on the paddock, but the truth is that Leicester must contemplate a packed summit area in the table which this morning sees five clubs separated only by a mere four points. After Sale’s impressive victory over Bristol on Friday night, Leicester find themselves in fifth place, outside the all-important top four which convey a place in the Premiership playoffs at the end of the season.

It could even be worse for them, given the Wasps victory over Worcester yesterday, because Wasps have a game in hand over Leicester, away against Newcastle, and a victory there — and that is by no means out of the question, to say the least — would effectively consign Leicester to sixth place, if they are not able to win at the Rec on Tuesday night.

Furthermore, Sale are now one point above Leicester as of this morning, following their gritty 24-17 win at Bristol, and there is the feeling among the Tigers that the season — especially given yesterday’s dismal effort — is sliding from beneath their feet.

After Bath, the Leicester programme becomes undeniably comfortable by comparison. They meet Bristol at home and Newcastle away and their final game of the season, which may yet be for fourth place in the table, is against Harlequins at home. Harlequins have been wonderfully vibrant of late and before their game at Leeds today stood proudly in fourth place in the Premiership table, although it is doubtful, especially if the match is live for Leicester, if Harlequins are as yet good enough or tough enough to win at Welford Road.

For Leicester not to end the season in the top four would obviously be a salutary experience, and would create pressure of a kind on the coaching regime of Marcelo Loffreda, the Argentine. Leicester always look upon any season without silverware as a failure, and while they have compensations of late, for them not to at least appear in the semi-finals would really be too much.

The other suspicion given recent form, and allowing for Gloucester’s improvement against Saracens yesterday, is that any side finishing in the last four can definitely take the title. Gloucester and Bath have been out ahead of the pack for a long time, but there is the suspicion that late-running teams such as Sale and Wasps may just be timing that late run to perfection, and it is not out of the question that Gloucester and Bath could be overtaken for the silverware.

There is a wider picture to all of this in terms of qualification for next season’s Heineken Cup as at present we do not know whether England will have seven or only six places in the tournament for 2008-09, the number depending on which clubs from which country go furthest in the competition. Should London Irish knock out Toulouse in the semi-final then England will have seven entrants and a good deal of the pressure will be removed, despite the lack of real commercial power and potential profits from the Heineken Cup. It is profitable in its own way and the kudos which it brings can hardly be overestimated.

At present, and should there be seven qualifications, it seems that eight English clubs are currently contending. It is probably Harlequins of them all who have made the biggest advance. There was a period in the middle of this season where they seemed to be falling apart and it is massively to the credit of Dean Richards and his men that Harlequins have shown a real tough and stroppy streak in not only rescuing their season but becoming contenders. Nor is home advantage at the Twickenham Stoop to be sniffed at any more. There is a tasty biting from the crowd which, if it does not yet rival Kingsholm, is probably worth at least a score.

On yesterday’s evidence, it is Saracens who are ending the season in reverse, a supreme irony considering that they will be carrying the England banner proudly into the Heineken Cup semi-finals. Saracens are now almost completely out of the playoff picture, they looked tired and ragged in their 39-15 defeat against Gloucester yesterday and they will have to work ferociously hard to get themselves back together to put in a performance against Munster at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.

Their patchy form does illustrate that it is possible to take an occasional part in proceedings at the top of the division and to threaten to win honours, but it is quite another thing to have a seat in the real and lasting elite. Saracens have definitely improved, but that extra step appears to be beyond them. Naturally, they can prove me wrong in Europe, but to do so they will most likely have to beat both Munster, who they meet in the last four on Sunday April 27, and Toulouse, arguably two of the top five teams that European rugby has ever produced.

Despite Saracens’ dip, the overall health of the Premiership is clearly blooming. Attendances have been affected slightly by the fact that the opening passages of the tournament took place while the top players of all nationalities were away at the World Cup, but the number of sold-out grounds every week is growing, and so the total number of spectators who actually manage to get in is not reflected remotely in the overall interest in the competition.

It is also significant not only that the top of the table now contains so many contenders, but that the Premiership is flexing its muscles. In common with the Rugby Football Union, the Premiership is determined not to sacrifice itself and its progress on the false altar of the experimental laws which the misguided are currently trying to foist on the sport. It is gratifying that, for all the intensity and eyeball-out nature of the whole thing, people are still finding time to take in the wider picture.

Whether a battered and bruised Leicester will be in that picture, we will know more after a lung-bursting evening in Bath on Tuesday.

Race for the playoffs in the Guinness Premiership

1 GLOUCESTER Played 19 Pts 61 Apr 19 v Leeds (h) May 4 v Wasps (a) May 10 v Bath (h)

Victory against Saracens yesterday put Gloucester in prime position to fi nish top

2 BATH Played 18 Pts 55 Tues v Leicester (h) Apr 19 v Worcester (a) May 3 v Saracens (h) May 10 v Gloucester (a)

They have a tough run-in with games against three of the top teams including a visit to Gloucester on the fi nal day

3 SALE Played 18 Pts 54 Tues v Wasps (a) Apr 20 v Newcastle (h) May 4 v Harlequins (a) May 10 v London Irish (h)

Their trip to Harlequins in their penultimate fi xture could decide their fortunes

4 HARLEQUINS Played 18 Pts 54 Today v Leeds (a) Apr 19 v London Irish (a) May 4 v Sale (h) May 10 v Leicester (a)

They need wins against Leeds and London Irish as a buffer for their tough fi nish

5 LEICESTER Played 18 Pts 53 Tues v Bath (a) Apr 19 v Bristol (h) M ay 4 v Newcastle (a) May 10 v Harlequins (h)

Need to bounce back from loss to Ospreys to get their league challenge on track

6 WASPS Played 17 Pts 51 Tues v Sale (h) Apr 20 May 4 v Gloucester (h) May 7 v Newcastle (a) May 10 v Leeds (a)

With a game in hand, they remain in the playoff mix

7 SARACENS Played 19 Pts 47 Apr 20 v Wasps (h) v Bath (a) May 10 v Bristol (h)

A big loss against Gloucester yesterday will have blow their playoff chances off course

SEMI-FINALS AND FINAL - The top four clubs advance to the semifi nals n The club fi nishing top has home advantage against the fourth-placed team and the runners-up are at home against the third-placed club

Semifinals May 17 & 18 Final May 31, Twickenham