Sale are the only team to have topped the league at the end of the regular season and gone on to win the play-offs, that was in 2006.
Before that Wasps won three back-to-back titles having failed to prove themselves as the best side after 22 league games.
However, after a troubled and controversial childhood the true virtues of the play-offs are now beginning to show.
Cream of the crop
The fight for the top four has provided numerous clashes of epic proportions, and has seen the cream of English rugby slowly rise to the top.
In a season which has not only included the annual Six Nations but also a World Cup, many teams have had to draw upon the full quota of their squads to maintain momentum and now fatigue is beginning to show through, most notably at Leicester.
Wasps have done a better man-management job and once again look like they may have timed their run to perfection.
Bath and Gloucester have been consistent throughout the 22 games, and their clash at Kingsholm on Saturday should decide who finishes top.
Sale and Harlequins will probably fight out for the last spot, presuming Wasps dispatch bottom team Leeds and lowly Newcastle tomorrow night.
What ever happens, the semis are sure to be electric and the final on May 31 nothing short of a test fixture.
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