Anglo Welsh Cup Round 2

Team Sheets and tactics due by COB Thur
Predictions open Fri. Results due Sun/Mon

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Saracens v Exeter Chiefs
Sunny, 9 Degrees, 9mph Winds

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Saracens
Manager – LDCPete

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Scott Lawson	10. Patric Lambie
03. Phil Swainston
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Rene Ranger
05. George Kruis	12. Owen Farrell
06. Tom Wood	13. Henry Trinder
07. Will Fraser	14. Tim Visser
08. Rodney So'oialo	15. Tom Homer

16. Bismarck du Plessis 17. Tendai Mtwarira 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Addison Lockley 20. Luke Narraway 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Chris Bell 23. Marcus Watson

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Driver

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Junior Polliuegga
02.John Smit	10.Ronan O'Gara
03.Hoani Tui
04.Simon Shaw(c)	11.Iain Balshaw
05.Peter Short	12.Andrea Masi
06.Ben Skirving	13.George Pisi
07.Dave Wallace	14.David Lemi
08.Aaron Carpenter	15.Sep Visser

16.Neil Clark 17.Alistair Dickinson 18.Tom Mercy 19.Tommy Hayes 20.Marty Holah 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Steven Myler 23.Luke Arscott

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London Wasps v Dragons
Sunny Intervals, 10 Degrees, 9mph Winds

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London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Charlie Beech	09. Martin Roberts
02. Joe Gray	10. Rory Clegg
03. Juan Gomez
04. Peter Elder	11. Noah Cato
05. Richard Birkett	12. James Downey
06. James Haskell	13. Mike Tindall (c)
07. Deon Stegmann	14. Tom Williams
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Chris Wyles

16. Andy Titterell 17. Tom French 18. CJ Van Der Linde 19. Steve Mafi 20. Alex Fan 21. Mike Blair 22. Will Fulton 23. Tom May

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Dragons

01. Phill Price	09. Wayne Evans
02. Tom Willis (capt)	10. Matthew Jones
03. Nathan Buck
04. Adam Jones	11. Tonderai Chavhanga
05. Rob Sidoli	12. Lewis Robling
06. Jevon Groves	13. Tom Riley
07. Gavin Thomas	14. Mike Poole
08. Andrew Coombs	15. Martyn Thomas

16 Rhys Buckley, 17 Nathan Williams, 18 Kieron Jenkins, 19 Lewis Evans, 20 Hugo Ellis, 21 Joe Bedford, 22 Geraint O'Driscoll, 23 Jason Tovey.

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Bath Rugby v Worcester Warriors
White Cloud, 10 Degrees, 7mph Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Matt Thompson	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Euan Murray
04. Louis Deacon	11. Tim Nanai Williams
05. James Cannon	12. Dominic Waldouck
06. Sean O’Brien	13. Ben Williams
07. Will Skinner	14. Tom Varndell
08. Gareth Delve	15. Richard Haughton

16 Joe Ward 17 Jon Golding 18 Davit Kubrashvilli 19 Yoann Maestri 20 Tom Guest 21 Byron Kelleher 22 Francois Steyn 23 Anthony Allen

Tactics

Just look to use forwards to constantly get over gain line and eventually release backs. Forward based plan

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. George Porter	09. Jordi Pasqualin
02. Koree Britton	10. Joe Ford
03. John Andress
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Bryan Habana
05. Dom Barrow	12. Gavin Henson
06. Ollie Stedman	13. Sean Lamont
07. Craig Newby (c)	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Sebastian Chabal	15. Greig Tonks

16. Chris Fortey 17. Gareth Denman 18. Sylvain Marconnet 19. Danie Russouw 20. Ben Morgan 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Morne Steyn 23. Julien Malzieu

Tactics

Forwards rugby for first 20 minutes with Hamilton and Chabal the main runners,
Henson to bring the backs into play as much as possible and, if young Ford struggles he'll switch to 10 for decision making skills,
Habana to go looking for the ball and Lamont to look to take the gaps provided by Henson,
Quick ball wanted from Pasqualin,
We have a strong lineout here and feel our young front row should be able to steady the scrum to allow Chabal to pick and drag the opposing 8 wide,
We will take all points available,
Tonks to hit any gaps he can see which he has done all season for Saints,
Bring on our big hitters to play the final 30 with a backline of Steyn-Henson-Malzieu!
Russouw to swap with Hamilton to give Barrow full 80,
Hard fast rugby is going to be played with quite a few youngsters out to prove a point.

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Ospreys v Northampton Saints
White Cloud, 11 Degrees, 8mph Winds

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Ospreys

01. Duncan Jones	09. Rhys Webb
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Dan Biggar
03. Cai Griffiths
04. Ian Gough	11. Richard Fussell
05. Ian Evans	12. Andrew Bishop
06. Joe Bearman	13. Tom Isaacs
07. Justin Tipuric (c)	14. Hanno Dirksen
08. Jonathan Thomas	15. Barry Davies

16 Mefin Davies, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Joe Rees, 19 Tom Smith, 20 James King, 21 Matthew Morgan, 22 Sonny Parker, 23 Kristian Phillips.

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Northampton Saints[/b]
Manager – Dammit Chris

01. Matt Stevens	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Henry Thomas
04. Dave Attwood	11. Christian Wade
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Max Evans
06. Jackson Wray	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Elliot Daly
08. Ryan Kankowski	15. Rory Lamont

16. Rob Webber 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Zak Taulaufo 19. Patricio Albacete 20. Joe Launchberry 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jack Wallace 23. Jamie Elliot

Tactics:

Overview:
To follow on from two large wins in recent weeks and carry on playing fast, high-tempo, attacking rugby and looking to score tries, through an approach of using powerful ball runners and then using our halfbacks to up the tempo and attack. We've got some of the best young players in the game and have a lot of experience to help them through the game.

Forwards:
Strong unit selected to batter Ospreys in the set piece, particularly the scrum and will be looking to use Attwood, Lawes and Kankowski as main lineout jumpers to generate quick ball for our backline.

We will look to go through phases and use our big ball carriers to target the Ospreys backline - Kankowski, Lawes, Hartley and Stevens will all be used for this. We will aim to punch holes in the Ospreys defence and get over the gainline.

At the breakdown we have Gill and Wray to get there at speed and we will target this in numbers to generate quick ball for Simpson.

Backs:
With the weeather condiitons and Simpson and Cipriani we are only ever going to look to attack and play the game at a speed. Cips will mix it up by brining runners like Lawes, Kankowski, Tuilagi and Lamont into the game and get us over the gainline. If we set our backline loose then we have Ospreys there for the taking.

We have selected Evans and Tuilagi to play in the midfield and they will interchange in attack to give us more options, whether that is Tuilagi crash ball in the 12 channel and a little bit of creative magic from Evans in the 13 shirt.

Once we have punched holes in the Ospreys defence we will look to get the ball out wide as fast as possible and give the ball to our backthree. We will score tries in this game and have more firepower than Ospreys all over the park.

Defence:
We will look to play an aggressive defensive line, that targets the Ospreys 10. Putting Biggar under pressure and forcing him into mistakes or a kicking game to our backthree.

We will look to try and hold the Ospreys midfield up on their feet in the tackle area and force the ref to give us a scrum.

We will bring Kankowski into the backline at defensive lineouts, with Simpson marking the 5metre channel - again emphasis on putting pressure on Biggar.

Substitutions:
We are carefully managing our England players back from the World Cup
Webber for Hartley 40mins
Vunipola for Stevens 40mins
Wallace for Tuilagi 40mins (with Daly reverting to 13)
Albacete for Lawes 50mins
Taulaufo for Thomas 60mins
Launchberry for Attwood 60mins
Harrison for Simpson 60mins
Elliot for Wade 70mins

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London Irish v Newcastle Falcons
Sunny Intervals, 10 Degrees, 3mph Winds

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London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Soane Tonga'uhia	09. Neal De Kock
02. James Buckland	10. Ruan Pienaar
03. Duncan Bell
04. Mouritz Botha	11. Marland Yarde
05. Matt Garvey	12. Gonzalo Tiesi
06. David Sisi	13. Matthew Tait
07. Jacques Botes	14. J.P Pieterson
08. Xavier Rush	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. WP Nel 17. Neil Briggs 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Nick Kennedy 20. Pierre Spies 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Sireli Naqalevuki 23. Delon Armitage

Tactics

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Lionel Faure	09. Ben Youngs
02. Marius Tincu	10. Nick Evans
03. Oliver Tomaszczyk
04. Dean Schofield	11. Charlie Amesbury
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ben Smith
06. Kelly Brown(c)	13. Brad Barritt
07. Ben Woods	14. Sean Maitland
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jared Payne

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Paul Doran-Jones 18. Rodrigo Roncero 19. Juandre Kruger 20. Chris York 21. Sarel Pretorious 22. Toby Flood 23. Tom Catterick

Tactics:

Overall - Fast paced, high intensity rugby. Look to contol possesion and make Irish work for any ball. Woods & Brown will look to make it a mess at the breakdown and slow and Irish attacks down.

Set piece - Look to get nudge on come scrum time and force that home if a weakness seen. Strong front 5 bench to be phased in early in the second. Parling to lead the lineout with all 3 backrowers strong options.

Breakdown - Look to get Brown & Woods into the Irish attack and slow play down. Barritt will look to hold up the attacker to allow pack to join in maul.

Halfbacks - Our pack will look to provide quick ball to Youngs who will look for gaps with Evans hanging off his shoulder. We'll look to use the pace of these two to attack Irish around the fringes.

Backs - Ben Smith at 12 to provide 2nd ball player and Barritt at 13 to sure up outside defence. We'll look to get Payne coming into the line at pace also. Look to use Power/Pace in the back 3 at any chance.

Subs - Replace Youngs/Evans with Pretorious/Flood at halftime. Forwards phased in from early in the second, we'll look to get through full bench.

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Sale Sharks v Harlequins
Sunny Intervals, 11 Degrees, 6mph Winds

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Nicholas Bezy
02. Brett Sharman	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Werner Kruger
04. Steven Sykes	11. Sam Smith
05. Chris Jones	12. Olly Barkley
06. Julien Salvi	13. Yann David
07. Michael Lipman	14. Keith Earls
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Nick Abendanoon

16. Imolek 17. Creevy 18. Knight 19. Day 20. Horstman 21. Spencer 22. Goode 23. Camacho

Setpiece
At scrum time we will be looking to really turn the screw. Ayerza and Kruger will look to get at their man and really disrupt Quins putting the nudge on and providing us with a solid platform all game. At the lineout, we will look to Jones to lead the line. He will call the line and will have Sykes, at the front, and our entire back row to support him as jumpers to mix things up. Our jumpers will look to either play the ball of the top quickly and look to our backline to move it or bring it down into a maul and make the hard yards through the pack, sucking in the Quins forwards to leave space out wide for our backs. On Quins ball we will look for Sykes to get up in the air at the front of the line and Jones to follow Matthews in the line and disrupt the Quins lineout. If we really start to get on top of the lineout we will look to Sexton to kick for the corners a few times and really put the pressure on.

Breakdown
We have a very mobile and quick pack to really target the breakdown. On our own ball we will look to our forwards to get numbers to the breakdown quickly rucking past the ball and clearing out the Harlequins boys looking to recycle clean fast ball. On defence, if we are first to the breakdown or the ball carrier is isolated we will look to seriously commit numbers and will look to Salvi and Lipman to secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit lighter numbers to the breakdown but look to counter ruck slowing down Quins ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.

General Attacking Play
We will look to play a strong carrying game using our big carriers to hit the gain line offloading in or just before the tackle (when it's on) to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. Earls will look to come in field at different times tracking the runs of our bigger carriers looking for the ball on the offload. If running the ball is not on we will look to Sexton or Barkley to kick in behind the Quins back 3.

Bezy will look to play around the fringes of the breakdown and make his usual snipping runs when it’s on, tying the Harlequins back row to the breakdown. Sexton and Barkley have been instructed to play heads up rugby and if overlaps or gaps appear they will look to get the ball moving and take advantage. They will look to rotate at first receiver and provide a different threat to the opposition defence. Abendanoon will look to come up from fullback from time to time and offer an extra ball carrying threat while looking to create these overlaps out wide.

Sexton will look to kick for goal when in Quins territory and take the drop goal option when it’s available to keep the score board moving. Bezy though will look for the quick tap when the Quins defence is slow to organise.

General Defensive Play
In defence we will be using a blitz defence and will look to get up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any Quins momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. We will look to keep Harlequins on the back foot forcing the kick. Bezy will act as a sweeper and look to cover any chips in behind the line. Our wingers will look to sit deeper on defence then the rest of the line ready for any kicks. Our back three have been instructed to play to their strengths and look for the counter attack, running the ball back with serious pace.

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"Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ceri Jones	09. Ryan Glynn
02. Rob Vickers	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Leo Halavatau
04. Sam Twomney	11. Peter Hynes
05. Charlie Matthews	12. Riki Flutey
06. Luke Wallace	13. Ross Chisholm
07. David Seymour (c)	14. Ollie Lindsey-Hague
08. Jamie Gibson	15. Freddie Burns

16. Olly Hayes 17. Aston Croall 18. Will Collier 19. James Gaskell 20. Sam Jones 21. Phil Burgess 22. Sam Stuart 23. George Lowe

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Leicester Tigers v Gloucester Rugby
Sunny Intervals, 9 Degrees, 9mph Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Chris Cusiter
02. Lee Mears	10. Brock James (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Chris Jack	11. Alesana Tuilagi
05. Nathan Hines	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Johnathan Poff	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. John Barclay	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Rob Miller

16. Clarke Dermody 17. Tom Youngs 18. Jonny Harris 19. Tom Croft 20. Nick Easter 21. Scott Mathie 22. Jonny Wilkinson 23. Napolioni Nalaga


Tactics

GENERAL:

- We have picked a massive carrying pack to give us a platform for our dangerous backs to build upon. We will look to carry the hard yards through the middle, and then pick the right moments to unleash the pace we have out wide.

- Defensively we will look to blitz, with Young sweeping behind the line to deal with any short kicks. BOD to defend the 12 channel on set pieces to cover Hape's crash ball, and Twelvetrees to move to 13 to cover May's pace.

- B.James to kick all penalties in range.

- Utilise our powerful bench to win the game for us in the last quarter. Wilkinson to come on and close the game out for us, Nalaga to give us pace and power out wide, and Dermody, Croft and Easter to strengthen our set piece and pack.

FORWARDS:

- We will look to maintain a strong set-piece all game, with two massively powerful props in Crockett and Johnston to get the shove on come scrum time. Both Crockett and Johnston are tall props, so they are told to hold their bind and keep their body and back straight in an effort to stop them being done underneath. Hines and Jack to lead our lineout, with Poff and Barclay as options too, who will all look to steal from Strauss's throw. From attacking scrums, Waldrom to look for the pick-and-go if it is on to test Gloucester's defence.

- Every one of our forwards brings a carrying game, and we feel we can really tire Gloucester's defence with this before unleashing our pacey back line. Our big carriers are encouraged to run straight to best utilise the carrying options they bring. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle. All players are to act as support runners when they can.

- We are playing with a left and right flanker - we will target the breakdown massively, with two players who can play openside on our flanks. Gloucester have no real 7 in their team, and we feel we can get gain a big advantage here. Both Poff and Barclay are told to hit the breakdown area hard and fast looking to get their hands on turnover ball. We want to seriously disrupt the quality of the ball Gloucester can get, and steal as much as we can for our own backs to use.

- Get after a tired back five for Gloucester, who appreared in 21 World Cup matches between them in the last 6 weeks.

- Poff and Barclay to really get after Lamb early on and hit him hard.

BACKS:

- Cusiter is asked to play his natural game. Give B.James great quick service, snipe round the fringes looking for gaps, and feed our ball carriers into the right areas.

- With B.James at pivot we are looking for a balanced game. He is tasked with getting our strike runners into the game, testing Gloucester's back three with kicks and getting our back line moving. He is given license to play what is in front of him - his long range passes and cross field kicks should keep Gloucester's defensive line guessing. If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, he will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Tuilagi/Waldrom/Crockett/Johnston to be used off the shoulder of the half backs, inside or out, and look to crash through the defence.

- Twelvetrees can act as our second receiver, and brings another kicking option if we are looking for territory - and he can also hit the gain line hard to make yards. BOD to play his natural game, be the leader in our midfield, and look to get our back three into the game.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what comes naturally to all of them - counter attacking and running the ball back. All have good boots to rely on if it isn't on or they are isolated, but the counter is what we ask them to look for. Tuilagi, Ojo, and Miller provide us with explosive pace and this is a weapon we will look to use as much as possible.

- Tuilagi to look to isolate JSD in attack and test his defence.


KEY POINTS:

- Home Advantage - Unbeaten at home since the start of last season. Welford Road is once again the fortress that we all know.

- A massive carrying pack that should tire Gloucester down to allow our pacey back line room to cause damage with their pace.

- Get after a tired back five in Gloucester's pack, who appreared in 21 World Cup matches between them in the last 6 weeks.

- Target the breakdown and get after Lamb - Both Poff and Barclay to do all they can to keep winning us ball for our backs to use - Gloucester have no real 7 in their team, and we feel we can get gain a big advantage here - and both players to get some big hits on Lamb early on.

- If the game is tight, B.James will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Utilise our powerful bench to win the game for us in the last quarter.

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Steenkamp	09. Lawson
02. Strauss	10. Lamb
03. White
04. Bakkies	11. Carraro
05. Palmer	12. Hape
06. Ferris	13. Ferris
07. Burger	14. JSD
08. Alberts	15. Hamilton

16 Wood 17 Fourie 18 Harden 19 Gray 20 AJ 21 Lewis 22 Ryan Davis 23 Vainokolo

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Cardiff Blues v Scarlets
Sunny Intervals, 12 Degrees, 4mph Winds

No Prediction Needed

1 Cian Healy
2 Matt Thompson
3 Euan Murray
4 Louis Deacon
5 James Cannon
6 Sean O’Brien
7 Will Skinner
8 Gareth Delve
9 Fourie Du Preez
10 Charlie Hodgson
11 Tim Nanai Williams
12 Dominic Waldouck
13 Ben Williams
14 Tom Varndell
15 Richard Haughton

16 Joe Ward
17 Jon Golding
18 Davit Kubrashvilli
19 Yoann Maestri
20 Tom Guest
21 Byron Kelleher
22 Francois Steyn
23 Anthony Allen

Same Welsh teams as last week SJE

Perfect thanks Driver

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Driver

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Junior Polliuegga
02.John Smit	10.Ronan O'Gara
03.Hoani Tui
04.Simon Shaw(c)	11.Iain Balshaw
05.Peter Short	12.Andrea Masi
06.Ben Skirving	13.George Pisi
07.Dave Wallace	14.David Lemi
08.Aaron Carpenter	15.Sep Visser

16.Neil Clark 17.Alistair Dickinson 18.Tom Mercy 19.Tommy Hayes 20.Marty Holah 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Steven Myler 23.Luke Arscott

Tactics

- Physical up front , plenty of carries from Sheridan/Smit/Shaw/Skirving/Wallace/Carpenter and really take the game to Saracens.
- Skirving/Short/Carpenter all targets at the lineout as we will look to mix things up.
- Junior will look to tie the Sarries back row up at the break down and give ROG more ball time to play the percentages and ping sarries back or attack the gainline using Masi as our big strike runner.

SUBs

Dickinson for Sheridan 50 minutes
Clark for Smit 50 minutes
Myler for ROG 60 mins
Mercy for Tui 60 mins
Hayes for Shaw 40mins

Quins (Will format later in the week)

1. Ceri Jones
2. Rob Vickers
3. Leo Halavatau
4. Sam Twomney
5. Charlie Matthews
6. Luke Wallace
7. David Seymour (c)
8. Jamie Gibson
9. Ryan Glynn
10. Gareth Steenson
11. Peter Hynes
12. Riki Flutey
13. Ross Chisholm
14. Ollie Lindsey-Hague
15. Freddie Burns

16. Olly Hayes
17. Aston Croall
18. Will Collier
19. James Gaskell
20. Sam Jones
21. Phil Burgess
22. Sam Stuart
23. George Lowe

Get team in tomorrow hopefully...Champions away

probably be a mixed team from me pooly. want to give youngsters like yarde, sisi and garvey a game but might put some first teamers on the bench.

Yea similar Nick. Be a mixture of youth and experience as per last game

Will sort out the formatting later in the week

15. Tom Homer
14. Tim Visser
13. Henry Trinder
12. Owen Farrell
11. Rene Ranger
10. Patric Lambie
9. Francois Hougaard

1. Alex Corbisiero
2. Scott Lawson
3. Phil Swainston
4. Graham Kitchener
5. George Kruis
6. Tom Wood
7. Will Fraser
8. Rodney So'oialo

16. Bismarck du Plessis 17. Tendai Mtwarira 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Addison Lockley 20. Luke Narraway 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Chris Bell 23. Marcus Watson

Northampton Saints[/b]
Manager – Dammit Chris

Saints name four of England's World Cup players in the game against Ospreys this weekend, with Dylan Hartley returning to captain the side, Dammit Chris stated 'the guys feel that they have something to prove after a disappointed few months away in New Zealand, and guys like Dylan, Joe and Courtney didnt get as much game time as they deserved - they've been back in training since Monday and have looked fresh and raring to go. Matt and Manu are only going to play 40 minutes, and we want to give all our bench a game so we wont be expecting any of the lads to play more than 50minutes"

01. Matt Stevens	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Henry Thomas
04. Dave Attwood	11. Christian Wade
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Max Evans
06. Jackson Wray	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Elliot Daly
08. Ryan Kankowski	15. Rory Lamont

16. Rob Webber 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Zak Taulaufo 19. Patricio Albacete 20. Joe Launchberry 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jack Wallace 23. Jamie Elliot

Tactics:

Overview:
To follow on from two large wins in recent weeks and carry on playing fast, high-tempo, attacking rugby and looking to score tries, through an approach of using powerful ball runners and then using our halfbacks to up the tempo and attack. We've got some of the best young players in the game and have a lot of experience to help them through the game.

Forwards:
Strong unit selected to batter Ospreys in the set piece, particularly the scrum and will be looking to use Attwood, Lawes and Kankowski as main lineout jumpers to generate quick ball for our backline.

We will look to go through phases and use our big ball carriers to target the Ospreys backline - Kankowski, Lawes, Hartley and Stevens will all be used for this. We will aim to punch holes in the Ospreys defence and get over the gainline.

At the breakdown we have Gill and Wray to get there at speed and we will target this in numbers to generate quick ball for Simpson.

Backs:
With the weeather condiitons and Simpson and Cipriani we are only ever going to look to attack and play the game at a speed. Cips will mix it up by brining runners like Lawes, Kankowski, Tuilagi and Lamont into the game and get us over the gainline. If we set our backline loose then we have Ospreys there for the taking.

We have selected Evans and Tuilagi to play in the midfield and they will interchange in attack to give us more options, whether that is Tuilagi crash ball in the 12 channel and a little bit of creative magic from Evans in the 13 shirt.

Once we have punched holes in the Ospreys defence we will look to get the ball out wide as fast as possible and give the ball to our backthree. We will score tries in this game and have more firepower than Ospreys all over the park.

Defence:
We will look to play an aggressive defensive line, that targets the Ospreys 10. Putting Biggar under pressure and forcing him into mistakes or a kicking game to our backthree.

We will look to try and hold the Ospreys midfield up on their feet in the tackle area and force the ref to give us a scrum.

We will bring Kankowski into the backline at defensive lineouts, with Simpson marking the 5metre channel - again emphasis on putting pressure on Biggar.

Substitutions:
We are carefully managing our England players back from the World Cup
Webber for Hartley 40mins
Vunipola for Stevens 40mins
Wallace for Tuilagi 40mins (with Daly reverting to 13)
Albacete for Lawes 50mins
Taulaufo for Thomas 60mins
Launchberry for Attwood 60mins
Harrison for Simpson 60mins
Elliot for Wade 70mins

Leicester Tigers have made 5 changes to the side that beat Scarlets so convincingly last week. Tigers entertain Gloucester at Welford Road in the second round of the Anglo Welsh Cup.

Wyatt Crockett returns to play in the front row alongside debutant Lee Mears. Chris Jack comes in to the second row, Thomas Waldrom replaces Ernst Joubert in the back row and Brian O'Driscoll comes in for Yannick Jauzion in the only personnel change to Tigers' back line, with Billy Twelvetrees moving from outside centre to inside centre.

Manager LukeLoveLuka said "we've gone with a strong side. We've been hit by quite a few injuries this week, and we have a few new faces who need game time. We're not necessarily using the Anglo Welsh Cup to give youngsters a game - we're using it as a platform for our season.

There are 8 players starting this week who were at the World Cup, and another 4 on the bench. We need these players back integrated with the squad as soon as we can, and this competition is a perfect chance for that - ahead of next week's league game against Sale.

Gloucester are always a strong team, no matter what side they pick. But at Welford Road we fear nobody, and I have picked a team I am sure we get us the win."


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Chris Cusiter
02. Lee Mears	10. Brock James (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Chris Jack	11. Alesana Tuilagi
05. Nathan Hines	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Johnathan Poff	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. John Barclay	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Rob Miller

16. Clarke Dermody 17. Tom Youngs 18. Jonny Harris 19. Tom Croft 20. Nick Easter 21. Scott Mathie 22. Jonny Wilkinson 23. Napolioni Nalaga


Tactics

GENERAL:

- We have picked a massive carrying pack to give us a platform for our dangerous backs to build upon. We will look to carry the hard yards through the middle, and then pick the right moments to unleash the pace we have out wide.

- Defensively we will look to blitz, with Young sweeping behind the line to deal with any short kicks. BOD to defend the 12 channel on set pieces to cover Hape's crash ball, and Twelvetrees to move to 13 to cover May's pace.

- B.James to kick all penalties in range.

- Utilise our powerful bench to win the game for us in the last quarter. Wilkinson to come on and close the game out for us, Nalaga to give us pace and power out wide, and Dermody, Croft and Easter to strengthen our set piece and pack.

FORWARDS:

- We will look to maintain a strong set-piece all game, with two massively powerful props in Crockett and Johnston to get the shove on come scrum time. Both Crockett and Johnston are tall props, so they are told to hold their bind and keep their body and back straight in an effort to stop them being done underneath. Hines and Jack to lead our lineout, with Poff and Barclay as options too, who will all look to steal from Strauss's throw. From attacking scrums, Waldrom to look for the pick-and-go if it is on to test Gloucester's defence.

- Every one of our forwards brings a carrying game, and we feel we can really tire Gloucester's defence with this before unleashing our pacey back line. Our big carriers are encouraged to run straight to best utilise the carrying options they bring. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle. All players are to act as support runners when they can.

- We are playing with a left and right flanker - we will target the breakdown massively, with two players who can play openside on our flanks. Gloucester have no real 7 in their team, and we feel we can get gain a big advantage here. Both Poff and Barclay are told to hit the breakdown area hard and fast looking to get their hands on turnover ball. We want to seriously disrupt the quality of the ball Gloucester can get, and steal as much as we can for our own backs to use.

- Get after a tired back five for Gloucester, who appreared in 21 World Cup matches between them in the last 6 weeks.

- Poff and Barclay to really get after Lamb early on and hit him hard.

BACKS:

- Cusiter is asked to play his natural game. Give B.James great quick service, snipe round the fringes looking for gaps, and feed our ball carriers into the right areas.

- With B.James at pivot we are looking for a balanced game. He is tasked with getting our strike runners into the game, testing Gloucester's back three with kicks and getting our back line moving. He is given license to play what is in front of him - his long range passes and cross field kicks should keep Gloucester's defensive line guessing. If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, he will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Tuilagi/Waldrom/Crockett/Johnston to be used off the shoulder of the half backs, inside or out, and look to crash through the defence.

- Twelvetrees can act as our second receiver, and brings another kicking option if we are looking for territory - and he can also hit the gain line hard to make yards. BOD to play his natural game, be the leader in our midfield, and look to get our back three into the game.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what comes naturally to all of them - counter attacking and running the ball back. All have good boots to rely on if it isn't on or they are isolated, but the counter is what we ask them to look for. Tuilagi, Ojo, and Miller provide us with explosive pace and this is a weapon we will look to use as much as possible.

- Tuilagi to look to isolate JSD in attack and test his defence.


KEY POINTS:

- Home Advantage - Unbeaten at home since the start of last season. Welford Road is once again the fortress that we all know.

- A massive carrying pack that should tire Gloucester down to allow our pacey back line room to cause damage with their pace.

- Get after a tired back five in Gloucester's pack, who appreared in 21 World Cup matches between them in the last 6 weeks.

- Target the breakdown and get after Lamb - Both Poff and Barclay to do all they can to keep winning us ball for our backs to use - Gloucester have no real 7 in their team, and we feel we can get gain a big advantage here - and both players to get some big hits on Lamb early on.

- If the game is tight, B.James will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Utilise our powerful bench to win the game for us in the last quarter.

Tactics updated

Glaws team. will re format later just wanted to get team in early

1 Steenkamp
2 Strauss
3 White
4 Bakkies
5 Palmer
6 Ferris
7 Burger
8 Alberts
9 Lawson
10 Lamb
11 Carraro
12 Hape
13 May
14 JSD
15 Hamilton
16 Wood
17 Fourie
18 Harden
19 Gray
20 AJ
21 Lewis
22 Ryan Davis
23 Vainokolo

Tactics updated.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Lionel Faure	09. Ben Youngs
02. Marius Tincu	10. Nick Evans
03. Oliver Tomaszczyk
04. Dean Schofield	11. Charlie Amesbury
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ben Smith
06. Kelly Brown(c)	13. Brad Barritt
07. Ben Woods	14. Sean Maitland
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jared Payne

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Paul Doran-Jones 18. Rodrigo Roncero 19. Juandre Kruger 20. Chris York 21. Sarel Pretorious 22. Toby Flood 23. Tom Catterick

Tactics:

Overall - Fast paced, high intensity rugby. Look to contol possesion and make Irish work for any ball. Woods & Brown will look to make it a mess at the breakdown and slow and Irish attacks down.

Set piece - Look to get nudge on come scrum time and force that home if a weakness seen. Strong front 5 bench to be phased in early in the second. Parling to lead the lineout with all 3 backrowers strong options.

Breakdown - Look to get Brown & Woods into the Irish attack and slow play down. Barritt will look to hold up the attacker to allow pack to join in maul.

Halfbacks - Our pack will look to provide quick ball to Youngs who will look for gaps with Evans hanging off his shoulder. We'll look to use the pace of these two to attack Irish around the fringes.

Backs - Ben Smith at 12 to provide 2nd ball player and Barritt at 13 to sure up outside defence. We'll look to get Payne coming into the line at pace also. Look to use Power/Pace in the back 3 at any chance.

Subs - Replace Youngs/Evans with Pretorious/Flood at halftime. Forwards phased in from early in the second, we'll look to get through full bench.

Good luck Nick

"]London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Soane Tonga'uhia	09. Neal De Kock
02. James Buckland	10. Ruan Pienaar
03. Duncan Bell
04. Mouritz Botha	11. Marland Yarde
05. Matt Garvey	12. Gonzalo Tiesi
06. David Sisi	13. Matthew Tait
07. Jacques Botes	14. J.P Pieterson
08. Xavier Rush	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. WP Nel 17. Neil Briggs 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Nick Kennedy 20. Pierre Spies 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Sireli Naqalevuki 23. Delon Armitage

Tactics

London Wasps team to face Dragons

1. Charlie Beech
2. Joe Gray
3. Juan Gomez
4. Peter Elder
5. Richard Birkett
6. James Haskell
7. Deon Stegmann
8. Billy Vunipola

9. Martin Roberts
10. Rory Clegg
11. Noah Cato
12. James Downey
13. Mike Tindall (c)
14. Tom Williams
15. Chris Wyles

16. Andy Titterell
17. Tom French
18. CJ Van Der Linde
19. Steve Mafi
20. Alex Fan
21. Mike Blair
22. Will Fulton
23. Tom May

Tactics to come...

01. George Porter	09. Jordi Pasqualin
02. Koree Britton	10. Joe Ford
03. John Andress
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Bryan Habana
05. Dom Barrow	12. Gavin Henson
06. Ollie Stedman	13. Sean Lamont
07. Craig Newby (c)	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Sebastian Chabal	15. Greig Tonks

16. Chris Fortey 17. Gareth Denman 18. Sylvain Marconnet 19. Danie Russouw 20. Ben Morgan 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Morne Steyn 23. Julien Malzieu

Tactics
Forwards rugby for first 20 minutes with Hamilton and Chabal the main runners,
Henson to bring the backs into play as much as possible and, if young Ford struggles he'll switch to 10 for decision making skills,
Habana to go looking for the ball and Lamont to look to take the gaps provided by Henson,
Quick ball wanted from Pasqualin,
We have a strong lineout here and feel our young front row should be able to steady the scrum to allow Chabal to pick and drag the opposing 8 wide,
We will take all points available,
Tonks to hit any gaps he can see which he has done all season for Saints,
Bring on our big hitters to play the final 30 with a backline of Steyn-Henson-Malzieu!
Russouw to swap with Hamilton to give Barrow full 80,
Hard fast rugby is going to be played with quite a few youngsters out to prove a point.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Nicholas Bezy
02. Brett Sharman	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Werner Kruger
04. Steven Sykes	11. Sam Smith
05. Chris Jones	12. Olly Barkley
06. Julien Salvi	13. Yann David
07. Michael Lipman	14. Keith Earls
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Nick Abendanoon

16. Imolek 17. Creevy 18. Knight 19. Day 20. Horstman 21. Spencer 22. Goode 23. Camacho

Setpiece
At scrum time we will be looking to really turn the screw. Ayerza and Kruger will look to get at their man and really disrupt Quins putting the nudge on and providing us with a solid platform all game. At the lineout, we will look to Jones to lead the line. He will call the line and will have Sykes, at the front, and our entire back row to support him as jumpers to mix things up. Our jumpers will look to either play the ball of the top quickly and look to our backline to move it or bring it down into a maul and make the hard yards through the pack, sucking in the Quins forwards to leave space out wide for our backs. On Quins ball we will look for Sykes to get up in the air at the front of the line and Jones to follow Matthews in the line and disrupt the Quins lineout. If we really start to get on top of the lineout we will look to Sexton to kick for the corners a few times and really put the pressure on.

Breakdown
We have a very mobile and quick pack to really target the breakdown. On our own ball we will look to our forwards to get numbers to the breakdown quickly rucking past the ball and clearing out the Harlequins boys looking to recycle clean fast ball. On defence, if we are first to the breakdown or the ball carrier is isolated we will look to seriously commit numbers and will look to Salvi and Lipman to secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit lighter numbers to the breakdown but look to counter ruck slowing down Quins ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.

General Attacking Play
We will look to play a strong carrying game using our big carriers to hit the gain line offloading in or just before the tackle (when it's on) to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. Earls will look to come in field at different times tracking the runs of our bigger carriers looking for the ball on the offload. If running the ball is not on we will look to Sexton or Barkley to kick in behind the Quins back 3.

Bezy will look to play around the fringes of the breakdown and make his usual snipping runs when it’s on, tying the Harlequins back row to the breakdown. Sexton and Barkley have been instructed to play heads up rugby and if overlaps or gaps appear they will look to get the ball moving and take advantage. They will look to rotate at first receiver and provide a different threat to the opposition defence. Abendanoon will look to come up from fullback from time to time and offer an extra ball carrying threat while looking to create these overlaps out wide.

Sexton will look to kick for goal when in Quins territory and take the drop goal option when it’s available to keep the score board moving. Bezy though will look for the quick tap when the Quins defence is slow to organise.

General Defensive Play
In defence we will be using a blitz defence and will look to get up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any Quins momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. We will look to keep Harlequins on the back foot forcing the kick. Bezy will act as a sweeper and look to cover any chips in behind the line. Our wingers will look to sit deeper on defence then the rest of the line ready for any kicks. Our back three have been instructed to play to their strengths and look for the counter attack, running the ball back with serious pace.

---

Match thread updated.
If anyone wants to add some tactics will put them up in the morning

Just a quick request,
Can we get back to using the coding please guys next week? Makes updating the page a much easier job

Just look to use forwards to constantly get over gain line and eventually release backs. Forward based plan

Predictions open

Are everyone's tactics uploaded guys? Just want to make sure before I make my predictions this week.

Saracens 21–20 Exeter

See Exeter getting the edge on in the scrum and a bit more quality in the engine room. Backrow is split with Wood and Wallace the standouts. Backs go to Saracens and I think they have enough on the bench in the forwards to see this one through.

Wasps 39-13 Dragons

Too much for Wasps

Bath 27–23 Worcester

Serious Bath pack that has edge, especially in the front row which is very strong. Bath halfbacks very strong and Worcester backline looks threatening. Great benches on show but Bath have a little too much in the pack and halfbacks for Worcester who’ll push them close.

Ospreys 18-25 Saints

Saints have edge throughout, not sure about Evans at 12, think that combo would look stronger the other way round.

Sale 29–22 Harlequins

Sale have much more experience and quality on show in this one and will dominate. Strong potential combo’s for Steve with some great youngsters but Sale’s quality and tactics see them through.

Leicester 25–23 Gloucester

Game of the week with two potential top 4 sides going head to head. Edge up front to Leicester by the narrowest of margins which is evened out by a very physical Gloucester engine room. Cracking backrow for Gloucester that will get the edge on Leicester with some serious carrying options, bit more for Leicester at the breakdown and with Luke targeting this in tactics they might get some joy.

Both the Leicester halfbacks have the edge, especially at 10. Good balance in the centres with BOD a class above others on show. Prefer the Leicester wingers but Hamilton slightly better at 15.

Very tight game. Gloucester have a definite edge in the back 5 but no real scavenger to counter the two Tigers boys. Leicester have enough in the backs to see them through. Luke has his tactics set out well and with no game plan for Gloucester I have to give the home side the edge. Different result with Gloucester tactics.

Tactics:

Attacking, expansive rugby. Will look to get space out wide and get runners in open space and one on one with defenders.

Target the set piece. Both scrum and lineout we can see some joy and will use them as platforms to attack off.

Use Tonga'uhia, Garvey, Sisi and Rush as main ball carriers to suck in defenders before getting the ball to Pienaar to get the backs involved.

We will look to dominate possession and territory at home and play in the right areas of the pitch.

Botes to pressure the off form Youngs to disrupt the flow of Falcons game.

Subs - We will get Castro on for Bell at 60 to give him 20 minutes and really turn the screw at scrum time. Spies on for Sisi to add power to the back row late on. Delon will also come on for Pienaar with JMH going to 10. Naqa for Tiesi to cause problems for a tiring Falcons defence.

Glaws tactics

We have picked a huge pack to physically dominate Leicester we see our pack as Wong far superior and will target the set pieces. Hugely.

We are also packed with ball carriers and we will be looking to carry and offload and tire Leicester out. In the back row man for man we are far superior and all in form off the back of great world cups. Burger and ferris have immense work rate and will be dominating the break down.


After we have forward pack dominance we will use out backline more and look to get exciting talents such as jsd and carraro testing leicester out wide

Will do my predos tomorrow morning to let everyone's tactics get updated so no one misses anything.

Won't be giving comments on games without tactics as I don't really see the point as the sides speak for themselves.

Saracens 22 - 20 Exeter

Wasps 32 - 21 Dragons

Bath 20 - 19 Worcester

Baths pack has a lot of tired players but the general quality is better than Worcester's so can't see Worcester getting an advantage. Both sets of backs are strong and its and even game outwide.

Ospreys 20 - 41 Saints

Saints have a very strong side but see them as very ver vunerable defensively at 10/12. I for one have never seen Max Evans play 12 and he will struggle to get the postional work right and Cipriani certainly won't be covering for him. In attack though they have the ability to rip a poor Ospreys side to pieces.

London Irish 23 - 28 Newcastle

Newcastle stronger side than Irish although I'd have given Youngs another week or 2 after what must have been a mentally draining World Cup for him. Newcastle win the battle in the packs and the backs have enough to turn this advantage into points.

Leicester 25 - 22 Gloucester

Leicester have picked a strong side which suits their tactics. A lot of World cup players playing for Gloucester in there pack which has better individuals but as mentioned will be tired. Both sets of backs are strong and I see May causing BOD some problems with his pace.

Can I point out a bit of nonsense, Gloucester back 5 will be tired?? Bakkoes played very little, Alberts came off the bench
Most games as did palmer. Burger and ferris played quite a bit. If anything my back 5 should be fresher than anyone's and bursting to play

There's a ban on talking about game/predo's after they open Matt, don't think you were around that week.

Ok pooly I will button it!

It doesn't bother me mate, I'm prob the worst offender

I think Driver brought a rule in and you prob missed it as you were away.

Decent rule in all honesty. Just reading through tactics and thought to myself hang about !!

Wasps 53 Dragons 12

Bath 35 Worcester 29

Ospreys 10 Saints 24

Sale 19 Harlequins 13

London Irish 20 Newcastle 20

Leicester 26 Gloucester 22

Saracens 22–20 Exeter

Wasps 40-16 Dragons

Ospreys 15-28 Saints

Sale 35–28 Harlequins

London Irish 17-19 Newcastle

Leicester 30–28 Gloucester

Irish 21 15 Newcastle front row such a walkover it will set tone. Newcastle have. Better half backs but new combo. Smith better at 15 and generally I feel pooly moves players too much. He has most versatile players in AAC , Joc and smith but need consistent position.

Backrow even with woods and vermaulen lacking form and me not knowing sisi. Back 3 Irish with each man better in his position. Throw in home advantage and comfortable.

Pooly playing that front row has obviously decided ap more worth winning

Sale 52-26 sje team streets ahead. Mismatch but good experience for youngsters. Cricket score on paper

Ospreys 14- saints 34 easy game. Saints will play tempo and have depth. Least dynamic engine room you will see ospreys wise. Thought gough retired last year tremendous player over the years. Think saints 10,12 is wrong and will concede but apart from that class above.

Never seen Evans play 12 and for me weird. Apart from that saints cut loose. Can saints play in the wet ?? Think they may need to make hay while weather is good

Matt are you predicting the Saracens vs Exeter game?

Saracens 22-14 Exeter game of round for me. Exeter do what I look for in at least matching pack away. Prefer sarries front row but Exeter take second row
And squeak backrow although wood the outstanding player.

Where Exeter lose this is the spine. An inexperienced 8 with a not great 9 and 10 who needs good ball means for me they will have ball and waste it.

Sarries backs much more dynamic and think their balance will see tries. As a glos fan masi joined us years ago after a 6n where he was outstanding he then tanked so bad we paid him up 7 months in so I struggle with him. Homer in top form and trinder also

Driver on phone so doing a couple at a time. Interesting games. Could be some high scores. Often I post and it takes me so long to type that the conversation has changed and my post looks weird

Driver on phone so doing a couple at a time. Interesting games. Could be some high scores. Often I post and it takes me so long to type that the conversation has changed and my post looks weird

Ah ok no problem Mate , You off on your travels again this week?

Bath 27-21 Worcester. Bath front row will make this a blood bath and Worcester backs make it respectable

No travels until November. Have to go to Australia. If England had beaten france I would have gone then and fly in to nz for semi but as we lost postponed. I have until January to go but it's so far I keep putting off. Not glamorous when you go on your own for a week or two and live in a hotel. If I go to SA or Canada I can see friends and often get a game of rugby

Wasps 60-13 dragons dreadful mismatch

Have to go to Australia - you make it sound like its a choir lol , would love to head out to Aus! always fancied moving there but costs a fair bit

Australia has so many minerals that they sell to china and indIa who make our iPads etc that it is super wealthy. It's about 5 quid a coffee in Sydney. Used to be 3/4$ to pound now 1.5$ to pound.

They now come to England and think its cheap. I was in Oslo about 3 weeks ago and it was 16 quid a pint in the harbour!!!

Saracens 23 - 20 Exeter Chiefs
Bath 24 - 21 Worcester Warriors
Ospreys 18 - 22 Northampton Saints
London Irish 28 - 28 Newcastle Falcons
Sale Sharks 22 - 20 Quins
Leicester Tigers 25 - 23 Gloucester

Guys just got internet connection back

Can you give me an extra 30mins to make predicitons please?

Driver/SJE could you say whether thats ok please...