The fixtures, both on Sunday 9 June, line up like this:

Saracens v Bristol Bears, StoneX Stadium, KO 14.00 BST
Gloucester-Hartpury v Exeter Chiefs, Kingsholm, KO 16.30 BST

The four squads have been announced:

Saracens

15 Breach 14 Grant 13 Gregson 12 McKenna 11 Farries 10 Harrison 9 Wyrwas 1 Hunt 2 Campbell 3 Clifford 4 Evans 5 Taylor 6 De Goede 7 M. Packer (co-captain) 8 P. Cleall

16 Field 17 Gondwe 18 Rose 19 McMillan 20 Kasolo 21 Infante 22 Bridger 23 Clapp (co-captain)

Bristol Bears

15 Lovibond 14 Bonner 13 Murray 12 Aitchison 11 Wills 10 Reed (co-captain) 9 Bevan 1 Pam 2 Atkin-Davies 3 Botterman 4 Burns 5 Ward (co-captain) 6 Joyce-Butchers 7 Gallagher 8 R. Marston-Mulhearn

16 Sprague 17 Phillips 18 E. Marston-Mulhearn 19 Cunningham 20 Nigrelli 21 Burgess 22 M. Smith 23 Keight

Gloucester-Hartpury

15 Sing 14 Venner 13 H. Jones 12 Heard 11 Hendy 10 George 9 Hunt (co-captain) 1 Carson 2 N. Jones 3 Muir 4 Beckett 5 Monaghan 6 Brock 7 Lewis 8 Aldcroft (co-captain)

16 Dale 17 Perry 18 Tuipulotu 19 K. Willims 20 Castellucci 21 Blackburn 22 Hyett 23 Lund

Exeter Chiefs

15 Tessier 14 Buchanan 13 Doidge 12 Cantorna 11 Clarke 10 Wilkins 9 Bradley 1 Rogers 2 Tuttosi 3 Menin 4 Van Der Velden 5 Leitch (captain) 6 Jefferies 7 Allen 8 Johnson

16 Moloney 17 Sams 18 Hanlon 19 Orchard 20 Feaunati 21 Millar-Mills 22 Bricknell 23 Brennan

The smart money is on Sarries and G-H. But that’s not so very smart since home sides have a habit of winning semis, and the contrast in losses across the season is stark: G-H and Sarries a combined 3; Bears and Chiefs 10. So whether they’ve been on top form or not, the first two know how to win.

Saracens

Sarries’ record this year has been similar to 2023, in other words, unlike any of their previous seasons of the new league, not quite at the top. Most of their stats place them way ahead of all their rivals, yet somehow they contrived to lose two games, roughly two more than usual. It benefits them that they meet Bears at home; the support they get there means a lot to them.

Among the usual array of stars – Alex Austerberry has to be satisfied with only eleven past and present Red Roses – two of their veterans are celebrating big occasions: Sarah McKenna makes her 100th club appearance, Poppy Cleall her 150th.

Bristol Bears

Bears are in a very similar position to Chiefs. They too are attempting to reach a final after two consecutive semi-finalis. Despite their astonishing win over Sarries 35-10 back in March, it’s hard to see them jumping this last hurdle.

Dave Ward has shifted Hannah Botterman to tight-head to allow Simi Pam to operate on the left. It will be interesting to see how she fares in this less familiar position against McKinley Hunt. Ward also opts for Amber Reed at 10 and Holly Aitchison at inside-centre, though no doubt there’ll be plenty of flexibility in their playing patterns.

Gloucester-Hartpury

G-H had a nasty shock when they went down by two points to Sarries last week, but that may have been the push they needed approaching the knock-out phase. They are missing Alex Matthews, so Zoe Aldcroft plays 8, allowing Sarah Beckett to partner Sam Monaghan at lock.

At their best they play well enough to beat most international sides you care to mention, a classic case of the whole adding up to more than the constituent parts.

Exeter Chiefs

Chiefs’ finishing position, fourth, has been a disappointment to them; the club’s driving ambition has been to take the trophy sooner rather than later. But this season has not seen the continued improvement expected. They’ve been semi-finalists three times running, but their chances of inproving on past results have been dampened by injury. Kanako Kobayashi’s absence sees Merryn Doidge switch to centre and Alex Tessier plays at the back, with Robyn Wilkins at 10. Rachel Johnson rejoins the squad from her successes with the Eagles.

The World of Officialdom

I must admit my disappointment at seeing only two womern appointed to the two semis, Nikki O’Donnell and Holly Wood. Though they have considerable experience up to international level, both will act as ARs, not referees.