Sale missed out on a European Champions Cup spot despite beating Gloucester in a match which featured 13 tries.

Both sides secured a bonus-point in the first half, with the Cherry and Whites going in 26-24 ahead.

Byron McGuigan edged Sale in front but converted tries from Dom Coetzer and Ben Vellacott, along with a Lloyd Evans penalty, put the visitors 41-31 up.

But AJ MacGinty and Denny Solomona crossed before MacGinty's late penalty sealed the Sharks' victory.

Gloucester, who were already assured of third place heading into the match, will now face Saracens in the semi-finals at Allianz Park next Saturday (13:30 BST) after the north Londoners were beaten at Worcester to finish second behind Exeter.

The visitors played their part in an open first half as both teams scored four tries before the break for just the second time in Premiership history, emulating London Irish's win at Wasps in April 2006.

In a see-saw match, in which the lead changed hands six times, Solomona's acrobatic finish following a break from Faf de Klerk and a long pass from MacGinty was arguably the pick of the tries.

Sale appeared set to snatch sixth place but Bath's last-gasp win at Leicester meant Steve Diamond's side had to settle for seventh.

However, the Sharks could yet be handed European Champions Cup qualification depending on end-of-season results in France's Top 14.

Gloucester director of rugby Johan Ackermann told BBC Radio Gloucestershire:

"We had a lot of new combinations, players who have not had a lot of game time in the last few weeks and young players having a taste.

"They never let us down and were in the match the whole time. We maybe could have won it at the end but it was not about the result.

"It was about the effort, heart and commitment so I am proud of the performance.

"Sharks are a good team and had a lot to play for. Yes, we made mistakes - and probably made it harder for ourselves - but it is about the culture we wanted to install."

Sale: Ashton; Solomona, S James, O'Connor, McGuigan; MacGinty, De Klerk; Harrison, Webber, John, Beaumont, Phillips, B Curry, T Curry, Ross (capt).

Replacements: Langdon, Morozov, Jones, Evans, Strauss, Cliff, L James, Reed.

Gloucester: Sharples; Seabrook, Purdy, Banahan, Thorley; L Evans, Braley; Traynor, Walker, Denman, Savage (capt), Grobler, Polledri, Ludlow, G Evans.

Replacements: Gleave, Seville, McAllister, Craig, Hinkley, Vellacott, Coetzer, Marshall.

Referee: Wayne Barnes.

Bath snatched a late victory at Leicester Tigers and the final European Champions Cup place in an epic game.

Jacques van Rooyen's close-range score and Rhys Priestland's conversion completed a second-half comeback to see them edge out Sale into sixth place.

Leicester had earlier led by 14 points with tries by Ellis Genge, Brendon O'Connor and Clayton Blommetjies and 16 points from the boot of George Ford.

Anthony Watson, Joe Cokanasiga and Beno Obano also crossed for Bath.

It was a thrilling send-off for departing Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder, who saw his side trail for the majority of the contest.

They chipped away at a fragile Leicester side in the closing quarter as second-half tries from Obano and Van Rooyen eventually saw them wipe out Tigers' 26-15 half-time lead.

Geordan Murphy's men were unable to close out the game at the end of a frustrating season that saw them finish second from bottom with just seven wins in 22 matches.

It had looked like being the perfect send-off for seven of their squad on their final appearances when Genge, O'Connor and Blommetjies crossed to keep them ahead.

But, for the first time in their Premiership history, Leicester were consigned to a fourth successive home defeat as Bath rallied in the closing quarter.

The Blue, Black and Whites had looked like missing out on the top six with Sale Sharks beating play-off bound Gloucester.

In the end, three sides finished on 56 points from fourth to sixth in the table and Bath edged out seventh-placed Sale by just a point courtesy of Van Rooyen's bonus-point securing try.

Tigers head coach Geordan Murphy told BBC Radio Leicester:

"I feel sick. No excuses really. The boys put in a really good shift. But some big decisions went against us again.

"That's the nature of when you're down on your luck, everything seems to go against you.

"Bath scored a try early and everyone in the stands seemed to think it was a forward pass. Freddie Burns thought so too and took a quick conversion, but the television match official was happy with it.

"Then we had one ruled out for Clayton Blommetjies when I felt he offloaded before his foot went out of touch. Then when it got close down to the wire, short of confidence, we just needed more composure.

"Overall, I'm devastated for the lads. I thought they were really committed under difficult circumstances. But, unfortunately, that's probably indicative of how our season's been."

Bath director of rugby Todd Blackadder told BBC Radio Bristol:

"I'm so proud of the boys. Any other team could have lost this game. They just showed immense character and belief.

"We talked at half-time about what we needed to do and they came out and played right up to the 80th minute.

"Leicester won the collisions and played really well in taking it to us. We had slow ball and just couldn't play on top of them.

"After half-time we recalibrated and broke through and kept asking questions of their defence that eventually paid off.

"We've come a long way this season and passed a massive character test. I'm so pleased we're in the top six as this squad is only going to get better with Champions Cup rugby to play."

Leicester: Worth; Aspland-Robinson, Smith, Eastmond, Blommetjies, G Ford, Harrison; Genge, T Youngs (capt), Cole, Spencer, Kitchener, Fitzgerald, O'Connor, Kalamafoni.

Replacements: Polota-Nau, Gigena, Heyes, Wells, Mapapalangi, White, Hardwick, Sarto.

Sin-bin: Aspland-Robinson (44 mins)

Bath: Watson; Cokanasiga, Joseph, Wright, McConnochie; Burns, Chudley; Obano, Dunn, Lahiff, Douglas, Ewels (capt), Ellis, Louw, Mercer.

Replacements: Batty, Van Rooyen, Nixon, Stooke, Walker, Fotuali'i, Priestland, Rokoduguni.

Sin-bin: Lahiff (38 mins)

Referee: Craig Maxwell-Keys.

James Lang missed a last-minute long-range penalty as Harlequins failed to reach the Premiership play-offs after they fell to defeat at Wasps.

Josh Bassett's effort and Joe Simpson's double put Wasps 24-8 ahead with 25 minutes left but Danny Care's close-range try sparked a Quins revival.

After Lang and Lima Sopoaga traded penalties, Elia Elia's converted score put the visitors two points behind.

Lang then saw his kick drop just under the bar to consign Quins to defeat.

The south London side had appeared to be on course for their first top-four finish since 2014 in the spring, but six defeats in their final seven games meant Paul Gustard's side finished fifth - behind Northampton Saints on games won.

Quins were twice ahead in the first half, first through Marcus Smith's early penalty and then after Joe Marchant powered over in reply to Bassett's score, before Wasps took control.

Simpson crossed twice in the space of five second-half minutes, first with a pick and go from the breakdown and then being fed by Elliot Daly after a flowing move, to mark his final appearance following over a decade with the club.

Saints' defeat at table-topping Exeter, coupled with Elia's score five minutes from time, gave Quins hope that they could snatch the final play-off place but replacement fly-half Lang agonisingly missed with his late attempt from one yard inside his own half.

Wasps had started the day with faint hopes of securing the final European Champions Cup qualification spot but wins for Bath and Sale Sharks left them eighth in the table.

Wasps director of rugby Dai Jones told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire:

"It was important that we got the result to say thank you to the supporters and send the players that are leaving on their way.

"Unfortunately it wasn't enough to get into Europe, which is obviously disappointing. But it is not about today for that - it is 10 months of hard graft to earn the right to be there.

"We have earned the right to be there over the last three or four seasons but haven't earned it this year. There are always five quality teams who miss out.

"We have got to lick our wounds, take our medicine and come back a lot stronger next season."

Harlequins head of rugby Paul Gustard told BBC Radio 5 Live:

"I'm disappointed. Over the course of the game it ebbed and flowed.

"We know we had an opportunity and we have fallen short, which is hard to take.

"I think we have only got seven points from our last six games and we still finished fifth. It is bananas really but it shows you the competitive nature of the league.

"We are one win short of finishing in the top four and this is a team which almost got relegated last season.

"There is loads for us to work on, but I want to be a top-four team so I will look at things holistically and make sure we are a better team next year."

Wasps: Le Roux; Watson, Daly, Lovobalavu, Bassett; Sopoaga, Simpson; McIntyre, Cruse, Brookes, Launchbury (capt), Gaskell, Shields, Carr, Hughes.

Replacements: Taylor, Zhvania, Cooper-Woolley, Rowlands, Johnson, Hampson, Miller, de Jongh.

Harlequins: Brown; Chisholm, Marchant, Tapuai, Ibitoye; Smith, Care; Marler, Buchanan, Sinckler, Symons, Horwill (co-capt), Kunatani, Robshaw (co-capt), Clifford.

Replacements: Elia, Boyce, Collier, Merrick, Dombrandt, Hidalgo-Clyne, Lang, Alofa.

Exeter claimed top spot in the Premiership with victory against Northampton, who they will host next week in the play-off semi-finals.

Piers Francis and Henry Slade exchanged tries before Rory Hutchinson went over to give Saints the lead.

Exeter hit back with scores from Ben Moon and Don Armand, before Cobus Reinach made it 21-21 at half-time.

Tries from Matt Kvesic and Dave Dennis put Exeter in control and Luke Cowan-Dickie completed the win late on.

With Saracens losing 31-29 at Worcester, Exeter top the table in the regular season by eight points.

Northampton ensured a fourth-placed finish despite their defeat, after fifth-placed Harlequins were beaten 27-25 at Wasps.

Saints' one extra win was enough to see them through after the two sides ended the season tied on 56 points.

Exeter, who had stuttered in their last few outings, looked shaky at the beginning as Saints made the perfect start.

Jamie Gibson's run and deft dummy created the break that Francis finished off, but Chiefs quickly restored parity through Slade before Olly Woodburn had a great score chalked off by the television match official after a forward pass in the build up.

Reinach's excellent run gave Saints the field position and overlap they needed for Hutchinson to go over before Exeter took control and looked like the side, along with Saracens, that has dominated the Premiership this season.

Dave Ewers was held up on the line before Moon and Armand - making his 100th Premiership appearance - went over, and it appeared as though Exeter would get another try as intense pressure saw Courtney Lawes and Alex Waller sin-binned in the final minutes of the half.

But a loose pass from Ollie Devoto was gathered in by Reinach, who sprinted the length of the field to stun the home crowd.

Northampton battled bravely with reduced numbers before Kvesic went over for the bonus-point try after a catch and drive in the final seconds of Waller's yellow card, and Dennis got the fifth after a line-out.

Hutchinson had a second score ruled out after a replay showed he failed to ground the ball, while Chiefs replacement Cowan-Dickie was forced over for a third close-range effort of the day for Exeter.

But, after James Lang's last-minute long distance penalty for Harlequins just missed going over at Wasps, Saints went through by virtue of their 11 wins after ending the season level on 56 points with Quins and Bath - who both registered 10 victories in 22 matches.

Bath reached their total after winning 32-31 at Leicester - with 56 points being the lowest total for a fourth-placed side in Premiership history.

Exeter Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter:

"The first half was a bit of a stop-start affair, but once the game got going second half I thought we really came to the fore - there were so many boxes that we ticked really well.

"The flip side of that now is that double-headers are some of the hardest situations to deal with as a player and as a coach, and we've got to make sure that mentally we're bang on on Monday to make sure we're going to go out there and decide that we're going to fight for a final place.

"Northampton are a very dangerous side, they showed that numerous times today, so we're going to have to be prepared to work as hard again, if not harder, next week if we want to get to the final."

Northampton Saints director of rugby Chris Boyd:

"It's a bit like kissing your sister, it's bitter-sweet. We're disappointed to concede 40 points here, despite the fact they're a pretty decent side.

"We had to rely on Wasps doing a job for us, but in the end we're obviously very pleased to make the semi-finals for the first time since 2015.

"I'm pleased, but there'll not be much delight in the changing room, I can tell you that.

"If you compare our game here with the last time we played Exeter, we didn't create many chances in that game, but what we created we finished and we didn't allow them into the game because were were disciplined and accurate."

Exeter Chiefs: Nowell; Cuthbert, Slade, Devoto, Woodburn; J Simmonds, White; Moon, Yeandle (capt), Williams, Dennis, Hill, Ewers, Armand, Kvesic

Replacements: Cowan-Dickie, Keast, Francis, Skinner, S Simmonds, Maunder, Steenson, Hill

Northampton Saints: Tuala; Collins, Hutchinson, Francis, Naiyaravoro; Biggar, Reinach; Waller (capt), Marshall, Hill, Moon, Lawes, Gibson, Ludlam, Harrison

Replacements: Fish, van Wyk, Franks, Ribbans, Wood, Mitchell, Grayson, Burrell

Sin-Bin: Lawes (40 mins), Waller (40 mins)

Referee: Karl Dickson.