Leicester snatched an English Premiership rugby play-off place in dramatic fashion as Tom Varndell's last minute try clinched a 31-28 victory against Harlequins on Saturday.

The Tigers needed a bonus-point win over Harlequins at Welford Road as well as Sale to lose at home to London Irish if they were to finish in the fourth and final play-off place.

And with Sale losing 17-7 at Edgeley Park, Marcelo Loffreda's side grabbed that top-four finish to secure European action next season and set up a Premiership play-off semi-final clash with top of the table Gloucester.

Leicester were in trouble when they trailed by four points with three minutes but Varndell's try, which Andy Goode converted, snatched an unlikely win.

Gloucester beat Bath 8-6 at Kingsholm but there were major injury concerns for watching England boss Martin Johnson.

Gloucester's 2003 World Cup winning centre Mike Tindall, Bath prop Matt Stevens and his front-row colleague Lee Mears all failed to last the distance of a punishing encounter.

Johnson and Rob Andrew are due to announce a 32-man squad for next month's New Zealand tour on Tuesday.

Wing James Simpson-Daniel's 34th-minute try shaded an intense encounter, consigning Bath to third spot and a daunting semi-final away to Wasps.

Gloucester-bound Olly Barkley booted two penalties for the visitors.

Wasps continued their blistering end-of-season form with an all-important bonus-point win, 45-28, against already-relegated Leeds.

Lawrence Dallaglio's men ended the regular season with nine wins from their final 10 league games and Leeds offered little resistance to halt the charge from Wasps, who now host Bath in the play-offs.

Sale's play-off hopes lay in tatters as London Irish produced a stirring display.

The Sharks were 12-0 down at the break after tries from wing Topsy Ojo and centre Seilala Mapusua.

Mapusa claimed his second in the closing stages and, although replacement Chris Bell replied late on for Sale, the hosts had long since surrendered the points.

World Cup winner Richard Hill headed into retirement with a 25-20 victory in his 288th and final appearance for Saracens.

Hill, 34, received a tremendous ovation from the fans but it looked as though his farewell was going to be ruined by Bristol's powerful 19-year-old centre Luke Eves, who struck with two tries as Bristol led 20-18 going into the last minute.

But wing Kameli Ratuvou outpaced the visiting defence to race over in the left-hand corner for a last-gasp winning try.

Fly-half Alex Goode, making his debut, converted with the final kick of the match to complete a 10-point contribution, with two penalties and two conversions.

It was an occasion for the players saying their final farewells at Sixways as Worcester beat Newcastle Falcons 51-10.

South African full-back Thinus Delport, prop Tony Windo and fly-half Shane Drahm were all involved in the try feast that saw the troubled Falcons torn to pieces.

And the victory sent a signal to Bath that the Warriors will be no pushovers when the two meet in the European Challenge Cup final at Kingsholm in a fortnight.

English Premiership rugby union results on Saturday:
 
Gloucester 8 Bath 6
Leeds Carnegie 28 Wasps 45
Leicester 31 Harlequins 28
Sale 7 London Irish 17
Saracens 25 Bristol 20
Worcester 51 Newcastle 10
 
Premiership table after Saturday's matches
(played, won, drawn, lost, points for, points against, total points)
 
Gloucester 22 15 0 7 551 377 74
Wasps 22 14 2 6 599 459 70
Bath 22 15 0 7 526 387 69
Leicester 22 13 0 9 539 428 64
Sale 22 14 0 8 481 374 63
Harlequins 22 12 0 10 480 440 63
London Irish 22 13 0 9 433 382 59
Saracens 22 11 0 11 533 525 52
Bristol 22 7 1 14 393 473 37
Worcester 22 6 2 14 387 472 36
Newcastle 22 7 0 15 333 542 34
Leeds Carnegie 22 2 1 19 336 732 12
Note: Bristol deducted 1 points for fielding an ineligible player

AFP