Aided by that all-important home advantage in the Premiership semi-finals, Bath reached their first Twickenham showpiece since 2004 with an eye-catching 47-10 last-four win over Leicester Tigers.

The Blue, Black and Whites, who beat their old rivals 45-0 back in September, ran in seven tries in front of a packed Recreation Ground.

Matt Banahan scored a hat-trick, England trio Kyle Eastmond, George Ford and Anthony Watson added further tries, and Sale Sharks-bound Peter Stringer also crossed the whitewash as Bath ran riot against a wilting Tigers defence after the break.

Image source, Getty Images

Having missed out on a play-off spot on the final day of last season, Bath's place in the top four has looked pretty secure for a good while this time around.

With 10 wins from 11 regular-season matches at The Rec, they've relied heavily upon their home form in the Premiership, and a partisan West Country crowd would've played a part in that thumping win over Leicester Tigers in the semi-finals.

Mike Ford may feel they missed an opportunity in the European Champions Cup, however, exiting at the quarter-final stage after an error-strewn first half away to Leinster proved costly.

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

Image source, Getty Images

And last, but definitely not least...

HKT88: If you could change any of the current laws to make the game more exciting, what would they be?

Guscott: "How many am I allowed to change?!

"I would bring back rucking - and all I'd want is for the referees to referee every aspect of the scrum correctly. I still believe if that happened we wouldn't have as many problems as we do, starting with the feed."

Image source, Getty Images

Bath have earned plenty of plaudits for their playing style under Mike Ford over the past couple of years - but the players know now is the time to take the next step.

"To be winners of the Premiership would be a dream for all of us here," England centre Jonathan Joseph told BBC Points West.

"It's something we've been working towards this whole season, it's just been all about that trophy.

"There's many players here I'd love to stand alongside on that podium lifting that trophy and that'd be a memory we'd never forget."

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

Hugo: Do you feel that a system that doesn't let players playing abroad be selected for international duty is outdated?

Guscott: "No. I think there's a lot of merit in having your players play in the same league, playing against each other and being competitive every week. It's a boost to your own championship and it promotes it.

"I think if you allowed players to go the floodgates could open. I don't believe it would happen, but why take the risk?

"I think they should get rid of the exceptional circumstances rule too. If you got rid of that you'd get rid of the debate."

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

TheLastKingOfEngland and MourinoKING: Is Sam Burgess in the England squad more for his performances playing rugby league than his performances in rugby union?

Guscott: "I'd like to think he's not in there because of what he's done in rugby league. Of course, your reputation stays with you forever, but I believe he's there because of who he is as a person and for what he's done so far in rugby union.

"If they're looking to the future, he's only 26, he's getting better and better and he can cover the midfield and back row."

Do you think he'll play in the World Cup and in what position?

"Personally, I'd be surprised if he did make it internationally in the back row. If all the other back-rowers are fit I don't think he'll be in the squad - but I wouldn't be overly surprised if he made it in as a midfielder."

BBC Sport's Nabil Hassan at Twickenham: "I've just had a quick stroll around Twickenham and I asked Bath and Saracens fans for one word to define their season.

"Bath: brilliant, blistering, try-fest, exciting, expected, amazing.

"Saracens: building, improving, hard, up-and-down, controlled, destiny.

"An interesting contrast."

This was Nabil's view of the Bath team arriving at Rugby HQ a few minutes ago...

Image source, Nabil Hassan

Image source, Getty Images

Like Bath's Anthony Watson, George Kruis of Saracens has also enjoyed a pretty barmy season.

The 25-year-old second-rower made his international debut in the same game as Watson - last November's defeat by New Zealand - before going on to become a mainstay in the England side during the Six Nations.

"It's been a big six months," Kruis told BBC London. "The Six Nations was a highlight at the beginning of it, and carrying on through we've had some big games with Saracens too.

"You don't get a lot of time to think about what you'd done and what games you've played in."

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

Image source, Getty Images

Captain: Do you think Stuart Lancaster made the right decision leaving out Christian Wade from his England squad?

Guscott: "It seems strange to me, given that David Strettle and Chris Ashton have not really figured for a while.

"Stuart Lancaster is always thinking and talking about the future, but he's also talked about experienced and there's no doubt that Ashton carries that experience.

"I am surprised. My subjective choice is that I'd swap Strettle for Wade, because Wade has that X-factor. Strettle has the experience and you can always draft him in if you need to, but it'd be good to give Wade that opportunity."

Bath Rugby on Twitter:, external Before the sea of Blue, Black and White descends. #AvivaPremFinal

Image source, @BathRugby

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

RVPlegend: What has been the best thing about this year's Premiership in your view?

Guscott: "The attacking intent and ambition from the teams. I don't know the statistics, but I imagine there's been a lot of tries scored this season.

"And the competition. I love the competitiveness of the Premiership."

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

Image source, Getty Images

Frank7: Graham Kitchener has had an excellent season with Leicester Tigers. He is a very quick and skilful player, so why was he not selected for England?

Guscott: "All of these are subjective, but my reason for not picking Kitchener is that I believe Courtney Lawes, Joe Launchbury and Dave Attwood are all better players. George Kruis has come in and done a brilliant job too.

"Launchbury hasn't been around lately but he's going to be back and a fit Launchbury will be first choice, along with Lawes.

"The likes of Parling, Attwood, Kitchener and Kruis are just going to have to fight for their opportunities and then take them when they come."

By the way, we'll be hearing from Saracens forward Kruis in just a few moments...

Image source, Getty Images

It certainly has been a pretty decent year for a fair few of the Bath boys - none more so than for full-back Anthony Watson.

The 21-year-old, who signed from London Irish in 2013, has starred for the Blue, Black and Whites throughout this season, with his performances prompting Stuart Lancaster to hand him his England debut during the 2014 autumn internationals.

"I've just been enjoying my rugby this year," Watson told BBC Points West. "To come into an environment like this and to try to improve alongside the players we've got here, it's just awesome.

"Credit to the coaches and the other players, they've made it pretty easy for me to just express myself on the pitch."

Jeremy Guscott
Former Bath and England centre

Cumbriankayaker: With the World Cup fast approaching, the understanding the Bath backs have with each other could surely give England an attacking edge - so how many of them would you pick?

Guscott: "You have to keep the ones that are there and bedding in nicely, so George Ford, Jonathan Joseph and Anthony Watson remain.

"Kyle Eastmond is going to be the unfortunate one because of the balance in defence. You have to recognise defence is a big part of the game and, it's not that his defence is weak, it's just that at international level the attacks are that much stronger and better. Teams would see Eastmond and Ford together and see that as a door worth knocking on.

"There is an argument that the whole Bath backline could play. But Mike Brown is the best full-back in the country, Stuart Lancaster likes Jack Nowell and I would probably go with Luther Burrell over Eastmond to give the backline some extra balance."

And here's how things finished at the wrong end of the Premiership table.

We can see that Harlequins have endured a tricky 12 months, dropping from a play-off spot all the way down to eighth, while Gloucester in ninth will be comforted by their victory in the European Challenge Cup final.

I also think we can safely say that London Welsh will be pretty glad to see the back of this season. The Exiles conceded 1,021 points in 22 games, an average of 46 per match, while their only point came courtesy of the four tries they managed against today's finalists Bath back in September.

Not that the final placings count for too much at this stage, but it'll do us no harm to have a brief look back at how the Premiership table ended up after round 22.

Northampton became only the fourth side since the creation of the play-offs to fail to reach the final having finished top of the table (we'll have more on their semi-final defeat a bit later).

And, aside from the top four, Exeter Chiefs and Wasps are also back in Europe's top-tier competition from next season having finished fifth and sixth respectively.

Image source, Getty Images

The Rat Pack against The Wolf Pack, attack against defence, the new kids on the block against the experienced campaigners; however you're billing today's Premiership final, it promises to be a belter.

Bath, six-times top-flight champions, have not lifted English rugby union's biggest prize in 19 years - and today marks their first final since 2004.

Saracens, meanwhile, are in their fourth Premiership showpiece in six seasons, but have only won the title once during that time.

Of course, we'd very much welcome your views on all of those subjects too. Were you pleased to see Sam Burgess in England's 50-man training squad? Who should've been in there that wasn't? And how do you think today's final is going to pan out?

You can get in touch with us via the usual method, by using #bbcrugby on Twitter.

Image source, Getty Images

This week, we've also been encouraging you to send in your questions to former Bath, England and British and Irish Lions centre Jeremy Guscott, who will be commentating for BBC Radio 5 live this afternoon.

The good news is that Jerry has since spent a bit of time answering a selection of those - and you can see what he's got to say about Stuart Lancaster's England squad, what he's enjoyed most about the Premiership season and which rugby union law he'd most like to change between now and kick-off.

In the meantime, we'll be spending the next couple of hours hearing from the two camps involved this afternoon, reminding ourselves of how they both made it to Twickenham and taking a look back at how the season unfolded.

So grab yourself a cuppa, stick your feet up and get stuck in.