Ben Youngs praised the Mattioli Woods Welford Road for their part in helping to secure the play-off win over Sale Sharks and book a place in the Gallagher Premiership Final.

Speaking after the match, which doubled as the final home appearance for Youngs and fellow retiree Dan Cole, the experienced scrum-half said: "The fans were outstanding, as they have been my whole career, and they helped to get us over the line today."

"We were throwing ourselves into it at the end there, it was a tough defensive effort, and having this crowd behind us helped make it happen."

Experienced in reaching the final weekend of the competition before now, Youngs knows what is ahead for he and his teammates as they build up to the showdown with Bath Rugby at Allianz Stadium.

"You have got to stay exactly where your feet are right now, that's all we can do," he said.

"We have given ourselves a shot, that's what we've done today and what we've done by working hard all year to get the opportunity to play in the Premiership Final."

On next weekend's opponents, he added: "Bath are a very, very good team, who have been on fire all season."

"We have a great challenge ahead of us and are looking forward to it."