Wayne Smith, the Northampton coach, might have claimed that the structure of the Zurich Championship had a touch of Monty Python about it. But Bristol's supporters would be prepared to do silly walks along the hard shoulder of the M4 all the way to Twickenham next weekend if they could win today's semi-final against the Saints at the Memorial Stadium.
Indeed Bristol's owner Malcolm Pearce would gladly watch that Python match between the Long John Silver Impersonators and a team of Bournemouth gynaecologists if it ended with a victory this afternoon in the first of the semi-finals of the play-offs, with Sale entertaining Gloucester at Heywood Road tomorrow. For victory would mean Heineken Cup qualification for Bristol, not so much through the back door as with a jemmy through a tiny window in the cellar.
Smith's objection was that Bristol have the home draw today, having taken over Leicester's No1 seeding through their unexpected but deserved quarter-final win at Welford Road a fortnight ago. Bristol had, after all, finished eighth in the Premiership, just qualifying for the play-offs, and even their centre Jason Little admitted Smith had a point.
"We strategically finished eighth because we knew we would get home advantage," he joked. "Maybe Wayne has a point, but the rules were there for everyone to see at the start of the season."
Dean Ryan, Bristol's director of rugby whom Gloucester want to partner Nigel Melville at Kingsholm, now has the opportunity to deny his former Newcastle colleague Rob Andrew that final Heineken Cup slot. "This match has been seen as a measure of how far we have come. But whatever the result, we have developed as a side this season.
"It was a comprehensive win at Leicester. Leicester didn't give up on the game and if anyone tries to paint that picture they are wrong. Everyone went on about how Martin Johnson and Neil Back weren't playing but we were without Andrew Sheridan, Garath Archer and Julian White and the players who came in took their opportunities."
But no one caught the eye in the win at Welford Road more than Felipe Contepomi, friend of Juan Sebastian Veron and a man all Argentina will be happy to see wearing the No10 shirt when his country meet first France and then England in his home city of Buenos Aires this month. Contepomi was a revelation at Leicester, creating all Bristol's three tries and converting five kicks in swamp-like conditions.
"The victory showed that Leicester are not invincible and I think beating them was good for everyone, not just ourselves," said Contepomi. He knows that Northampton are keen to put their last trip to Twickenham, that Powergen Cup final pounding by London Irish, behind them by reaching another final but without the injured Ben Cohen they will be marginal underdogs.
At Sale tomorrow Gloucester have more unhappy memories to erase. Sale knocked them out of the Parker Pen Shield semi-final stage when the normally reliable Ludovic Mercier fluffed a simple late penalty. Chris Catling has been added to the Gloucester squad that hit Newcastle for 60 in their quarter-final. The Argentinian Contepomi and the Frenchman Mercier will need their kicking boots this weekend.
