Danny Cipriani inspires Wasps to play-off place, Saracens ease past London Irish and George Kruis ruled out of England tour
Billy Vunipola was back with a vengeance but England have bad news in Kruis and possibly Elliot Daly
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Your support makes all the difference.Billy Vunipola handed England a big boost with his first match in three months as Saracens sealed second place in the Aviva Premiership with a 51-14 victory at already-relegated London Irish.
Fit-again Vunipola came off the bench in Saracens' seven-try victory in Reading, tasting his first action since breaking his arm in a 15-15 Champions Cup draw at Opsreys on January 13.
The 25-year-old has not played Test rugby since March 2017, with knee and shoulder problems contributing to a wretched 18-month injury run.
But now Vunipola can chase full match sharpness ahead of both Saracens' play-off campaign - and England's three-Test June tour to South Africa.
George Kruis won't be joining him, however, after Saracens boss Mark McCall revealed he will have ankle surgery at the end of the season.
Saracens hardly needed to drive beyond second gear to cruise past Irish, whose second Premiership relegation in three years had been confirmed on Saturday with Worcester's 44-13 win over Harlequins.
Brad Barritt, Duncan Taylor, Michael Rhodes, Marcelo Bosch, Richard Barrington, Alex Goode and Schalk Brits all crossed in Sarries' bonus-point victory, which secured the north Londoners a home Premiership semi-final, while Owen Farrell kicked five conversions and added two penalties.
The visitors comfortably shrugged off a yellow card for Maro Itoje, even though tries from Joe Cokanasiga and Johnny Williams had Irish trailing by just two points at half-time.
Danny Cipriani and James Haskell marked their final home appearances for Wasps by helping to secure a place in the Aviva Premiership play-offs with a 36-29 victory over Northampton.
Cipriani, who is thought to be joining either Racing 92 or Stade Francais next season, took centre stage at the Ricoh Arena by orchestrating the downfall of determined opposition while England head coach Eddie Jones watched from the stands.
Jones has steadfastly refused to pick Cipriani but he can only have been impressed by the vision and handling he displayed in the penultimate round of the regular Premiership season.
Haskell stepped off the bench as Wasps were in the process of building a commanding lead and, while his arrival was warmly greeted by team-mates and fans, it was the prelude to a collapse from the title contenders.
Leading 33-17 with 25 minutes remaining, they lost focus and paid the price as Northampton struck twice in quick succession to cause ripples of panic around Coventry.
A penalty by Jimmy Gopperth eased the anxiety but the most telling contribution by Haskell, who has yet to find a new club, was a high tackle that meant a late try for Josh Bassett was disallowed.
The victory might have come at considerable cost for club and country, however, as Elliot Daly limped off after injuring his left arm while trying to stop Tuala's try.
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