London Wasps have been the form side in the league, winning nine of their last ten league matches. Will the masters of the late run nip in and steal the title again?

Bath Rugby have returned to the summit of the English game after a couple of years in the doldrums, playing an exhilarating off-loading game. Will the trophy bear the name of the aristocrats of the English game?

Leicester Tigers looked like missing out on qualification, until their famed big match temperament saw them through at the death. Will the biggest team in the league fight their way to the top again?

Last weekend, the Guinness Premiership lived up to its title as the world's most competitive league when qualification for the semi-final came right down to the wire.

One point was all that separated Leicester Tigers from Sale Sharks in fourth place and that was claimed just three minutes from the end of a 1,760 minute season for both clubs.

This weekend, four of the brightest stars in the Guinness Premiership this season will go head-to-head, with a place at Twickenham on 31st May at stake.

London Wasps will start their match against Bath Rugby as slight favourites following their win over Leeds Carnegie that saw them steal second place from their opponents on the last day of the season.

Central to Wasps' success has been England fly-half Danny Cipriani, nominated this week for both the Guinness Premiership Player of the Season and the Land Rover Discovery of the Season awards.

Cipriani was named in Martin Johnson's first England squad on Tuesday and looks likely to keep his place for the tests in New Zealand. Playing outside him in that first test could be his opponent on Sunday, Bath Rugby's Olly Barkley.

Barkley also celebrated this week by being nominated for the Guinness Premiership Player of the Season award. Barkley has put issues off the pitch firmly to one side and been one of Bath's most consistent players this season, no mean feat when you consider the other form players in Steve Meehan's side.

Despite playing most of his matches at inside-centre, Barkley has epitomised the modern interpretation of the role, able to act as play maker or capable of making breaks himself.

The statistics show the players fairly level in terms of metres made, but Barkley averages nearly 40 metres per match to Cipriani's 31. Barkley also leads Cipriani on defenders beaten with 35 defenders beaten at an average of two per match to Cipriani's 21 at an average of one per match.

However, Cipriani is well ahead of Barkley in the scoring stakes, with six tries and a total of 188 points. Cipriani also leads the league in terms of assists, having set up 11 tries in his 20 Guinness Premiership matches to date.

Later on Sunday afternoon, two of the best finishers in the business will go head-to-head as Gloucester Rugby's James Simpson-Daniel faces Leicester Tigers' Tom Varndell.

Simpson-Daniel was another nominated for the Guinness Premiership Player of the Season Award this week after finishing the regular season as Gloucester's equal top try scorer, with the third best tally in the league.

In addition, his try towards the end of the first half in the Bath match has been nominated for the MBNA Try of the Season Award. However, a long-standing shoulder injury has kept Simpson-Daniel out of the reckoning for England selection.

Tom Varndell will tour with the Saxons in the summer, but finished the season as the league's top scorer, the second time he has achieved this feat in three seasons. Varndell is a former winner of the Land Rover Discovery of the Season Award, having won it in season 2005/6.

Leicester Tigers found themselves three minutes away from finishing sixth before the reliable Varndell touched down at Welford Road against Harlequins.

It was one of two tries Varndell scored in the match, taking his tally to 13 for the season, four ahead of Simpson-Daniel.

However, the statistics show that Simpson-Daniel makes more metres and more breaks per match than his semi-final rival.

Simpson-Daniel makes just shy of a staggering 50 metres per match, with one and a half clean breaks per match and beating nearly two defenders per match.

In comparison, Varndell averages 35 metres per match and roughly one clean break and defender beaten per match.

Both semi-finals are on Sunday 18th May, with London Wasps kicking off first against Bath Rugby at 2pm at Adams Park. Gloucester Rugby versus Leicester Tigers starts at Kingsholm at 4.30pm.

The winners will meet at the Guinness Premiership Final on Saturday 31st May. Ticket sales are already running over 55,000 with up to 20,000 tickets being made available for the finalists, meaning tickets remaining for neutrals are now in very short supply.

Olly Barkley, Daniel Cipriani
Matches: 16, 20
Total Tackles: 98, 87
Total Misses: 16, 22
Total Carries: 122, 68
Total Metres: 625, 619
Total Passes: 238, 239
Defender Beaten: 35, 21
Off load: 17, 12
Try Scored: 3, 6
Total Kicks in Play; 122, 125

James Simpson-Daniel, Tom Varndell
Matches: 17, 20
Total Tackles: 63, 54
Total Misses: 15, 8
Total Carries: 80, 82
Total Metres: 835, 697
Total Passes: 39, 23
Defender Beaten: 32, 20
Clean Breaks: 24, 15
Try Scored: 9, 13
Total Kicks in Play: 7, 16