After 22 pulsating rounds and two amazing semi-finals, it all comes down to a winner takes all showpiece Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Northampton Saints, exclusively live on BT Sport.
The successors to Leicester Tigers as English champions will be decided in front of an 80,000 sell-out crowd at the home of English rugby on Saturday, May 31.
The Tigers’ chances of reaching their tenth consecutive final were ended in a tense semi-final against the Saints, while Saracens overturned a half-time deficit to defeat Harlequins.
Whilst Saturday’s final will be the first not to feature Leicester in a decade, both Saracens and Northampton have reached the Twickenham climax in recent years, with Saracens winning the title in 2011 and the Saints were losing finalists 12 months ago.
Both 2014 finalists go into Saturday’s showpiece accustomed to the experience of playing in major finals, both having played in last weekend’s European finals in Cardiff.
Northampton will be aiming to clinch the double after they beat Bath at Cardiff Arms Park in the Amlin Challenge Cup final, while Saracens fans will be hoping to avenge defeat by Toulon in the Heineken Cup final at the Millennium Stadium by winning their second Premiership title in four seasons.
In a highly dramatic semi-final against their East Midlands rivals Leicester, Tom Wood’s late try put Northampton Saints into the final as they pulled off a stunning comeback.
It was a ferocious late onslaught from Saints that sent Franklin’s Gardens into raptures and denied their rivals a 10th consecutive appearance in the final, with Tigers overcoming Jim Mallinder’s side in last season’s Twickenham showpiece.
In the second semi-final, Saracens overturned a half-time deficit to beat Harlequins at Allianz Park and reach their first Premiership final in three years.
Despite going down to 13 men temporarily, tries from Kelly Brown, Brad Baritt and Chris Ashton were enough for Sarries to comfortably claim a place in the final.
Saracens have won on five of their last six visits to Twickenham in all tournaments and have appeared in two previous Premiership finals, both against Leicester, losing in 2010 but becoming champions a year later.
Northampton Saints are bidding to become the eighth different side to become Premiership champions and the first after London Wasps in 2003 to attain a Premiership and European Challenge Cup double.
This is the first occasion that the two clubs have met at Twickenham, and also the first time they have met in any final.
The two sides have spent nine long months vying for the right to be crowned champions, the culmination of 135 games between the top 12 teams and the season all comes down to this one game.
Will it be Saracens or Northampton who will be crowned this year’s Aviva Premiership champions?
Alongside the Aviva Premiership final, BT Sport will also be screening live coverage of the Top 14 final at the Stade de France, where Toulon and Castres battle it out to become French domestic champions.
This is a repeat of last season’s final, which Castres won to leave Toulon as runners-up for a second successive year, but Toulon start as favourites having topped the regular standings, five places above their opponents.
The final will also be of interest to English rugby fans as it will be 2003 World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson’s last match before his retirement from the sport.
From Twickenham in the afternoon to the Stade de France in the evening, BT Sport has both the English and French domestic championship finals covered.
Follow the 2014 Aviva Premiership Final live on BT Sport. SOTB’s viewing guide:
BT Sport is the only place to see the 2014 Aviva Premiership Final live as English rugby’s top flight comes to a compelling climax at Twickenham.
After screening 68 exclusively live games so far during the season, BT Sport’s coverage of its first Premiership campaign will draw to a close on Saturday, May 31, as it presents live coverage of the final starting at 2.00pm on BT Sport.
In the one-hour build-up ahead of the 3.00pm kick off, BT Sport’s presentation team will be based inside and outside the ground as they bring fans all the atmosphere and anticipation ahead of English club rugby’s biggest showpiece.
Craig Doyle leads the channel’s on-air team from pitchside at Twickenham where he will be joined by former England stars and regular BT Sport pundits Lawrence Dallaglio and Matt Dawson as well as a number of special guests, including Wales defensive coach Shaun Edwards.
Guiding fans through every twist and turn of the final will be lead commentator Alistair Eykyn, calling his first Premiership final on television.
Alongside him to offer expert comments will be Ben Kay and Austin Healey, while reporters Sarra Elgan and Martin Bayfield will conduct interviews with the key players and coaches.
There will be extensive post-match reaction and analysis, plus live coverage of the trophy presentation ceremony and all the celebrations of the winning team.
In addition, a special live edition of the The Clare Balding Show will be broadcast following BT Sport’s live coverage of the final at 5.30pm, with the presenter joined by 2003 World Cup winner Lewis Moody, Wales captain Sam Warburton and Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave.
Then at 7.30pm, Jill Douglas will present BT Sport’s live coverage of the French Top 14 final between Toulon and Castres at the Stade de France in Paris.
BT Sport’s live coverage throughout the day will also be available to watch in high-definition on BT Sport 1 HD and online via btsport.com or the official BT Sport app.
Further news, features, text commentaries, reports and exclusive video clips from can also be found online via the BT Sport rugby union website and on Twitter via @btsportrugby.
Saturday 31st May SARACENS v NORTHAMPTON SAINTS Aviva Premiership Final 2014 | Kick-off: 15:00 LIVE: 2.00pm-5.30pm BT Sport 1 The Clare Balding Show: Twickenham Special LIVE: 5.30pm-6.30pm BT Sport 1 TOULON v CASTRES Top 14 Final | Kick-off: 20:00 LIVE: 7.30pm-10.30pm BT Sport 1
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ITV will screen free-to-air highlights of the finale of the Aviva Premiership season as Saracens take on Northampton Saints at Twickenham.
There will be three chances for fans to watch ITV’s one-hour highlights shows, the first of which will air a few hours after the final has concluded, on ITV4 and in high-definition on ITV4 HD on Saturday night at 10.00pm.
Two further opportunities follow, on Sunday evening at 11.50pm on ITV and again on ITV4 at 11.00pm on Monday night.
Mark Durden Smith will present ITV’s extended highlights alongside former Saracens and Bath prop David Flatman, who will provide expert analysis and interviews with the key players and coaches.
Match coverage and commentary will be provided by the BT Sport team of Alistair Eykyn, Ben Kay and Austin Healey.
ITV’s highlights programme will also include a review of this season’s Aviva Premiership campaign and a look at some of the best tries scored throughout the season.
It will also be available to view on-demand for up to 30 days via the catch-up service ITV Player on various devices.
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Saturday 31st May Aviva Premiership Final: Saracens v Northampton Highlights: 10.00pm-11.00pm ITV4 Repeated: Sun 1 June – 11.50pm ITV / Mon 2 June – 11.00pm ITV4.
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