Fantasy Aviva Premiership Round Seven

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Bath Rugby vs. Newcastle Falcons
Cloudy, 8 degrees, 14mph winds

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Chris Brooker	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. George North
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell	13. Stuart Hogg
07. David Pocock	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Juan Martin Fernando Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Charlie Faumuina 17. Kevin Mealamu 18. Jon Golding 19. Louis Deacon 20. Tom Guest 21. Aaron Smith 22. Mike Harris 23. Aurelien Rougerie

Overall: Look to dominate in the scrum and use that as a platform to really bring our backs in who will be looking to run at the defence with bad intentions.

Forwards: We will really look to attack and come out on top of the scrum. We have two of the best props in Europe in Kubrashvilli and Healy and we feel we can really punish the Falcons scrum, pushing them backwards. With our second row partnership we are looking at Luke Romano to provide the grunt necessary and offering the banker ball while Graham Kitchener will be trying to retain our lineout something we feel he is very capable of doing.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Lobbe, Haskell and Healy dangerous runners who can really create gaps for our backs. We will be looking for lots of energy from our forwards to open up holes to be exploited. Our carrying is somewhere we feel we have a distinct advantage. At the breakdown we will look for David Pocock and James Haskell to win turnover ball or manage to slow down opposition ball by going through opponents. They will both be looking to cause as much trouble as possible.

Backs: We will be looking to play running rugby with the ball in our hands. Using our forwards to create space we will look for quick ball and get the likes of Miller, Nalaga and North who are all deadly runners, running at the Falcons defenders. Wigglesworth will control the tempo of the backs and will look to keep the backs calm and composed. We will look to get Allen + Hogg involved in the game as much as possible. Hodgson will look to get involved in our attack, linking our play

Defence: Look to wrap the defensive line. Look for Pocock to put pressure on Flood who we feel will struggle.

Substitutes: We have some really good options on the bench who we feel can really add to the game. Mealamu, Golding and Faumuina can come in and help strengthen our front row. Deacon is an option who can really add grunt and grit late on. Tom Guest will look to play a get involved with our carrying. Aaron Smith will look to come on and really up the tempo with some sniping runs. Harris will look to provide a good kicking option late while we feel Rougerie can damage tired defences late on.


Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rory Best	10. Toby Flood
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Paul O’Connell(c)	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Kelly Brown	13. George Lowe
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Toby Faletau	15. Alex Goode

16. Lee Mears 17. Owen Franks 18. Alex Waller 19. Geoff Parling 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Luke Burgess 22. James O’Connor 23. Miles Benjamin



Tactics

HIGH TEMPO, POSSESION, BIG CARRIES.....GAME CHANGERS IN BACKLINE IN SBW, YOUNGS, FLOOD, BOWE, CUTHBERT

GAME FORM - 5 wins from 6

Game plan...Fast paced, high intensity, offloading, dynamic rugby. We’ll look to hit the ground running and hit the opposition fast from the off. We’ll be aiming to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will play flat and look to get our backline into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.

Set piece:

In the decent conditions look to get the ball in and out for Youngs/Flood to attack with. Look for fast ball off the top of the lineout with POC making the calls. If weakness seen in either set piece we’ll look to exploit.

Pack & Breakdown:

Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our backrow will target the breakdown and look to get in a second tackler to tie up the opposition carriers. Youngs will wait for the call and look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot.

DEFENCE:

Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow out backrow to dominate affairs. Thorn/Brown in particular will look to hit the ruck hard and remove attempted turnovers from the equation allowing us to ruck over the ball and control the breakdown. Robshaw will look to target the opposition fly half early on and pressure his kicking. Youngs to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Backs:

Basically get the backs into play whenever possible with Flood & Young the spark. Look to get SBW, Bowe & Cuthbert into the game whenever possible. Youngs to play on instinct around the fringes and look to get SBW running angles through the Bath 9/10 axis and 12/13 axis.


POINTS:

SCRUM & LINEOUT – Target throughout, if weakness seen go for the jugular, especially the lineout with Goode/Flood pinging corners
PHYSICAL PACK – Win the collosion and target rucks to drive through opposition
BREAKDOWN – Brussow/Robshaw to work their magic and Youngs to monitor to attack on turnover ball
FORM – We are in great form 5 from 6
BACKS – World class running options and finishers, big game players and finishers to see us through at home
ROLLING MAUL – With our big front 5 look to get the rolling maul going off selected lineouts and eat up the ground
IMPACT BENCH - Keep the temp high and bring on top draw talent to see us over the finishing line.

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Gloucester vs. Leicester Tigers
Cloudy, 9 degrees, 13mph winds

Gloucester
Manager - anonmattyt

01. Nick Wood	09. Will Genia
02. Adriaan Strauss	10. Johan Goosen(k)
03. Nicola Mas
04. Richie Grey	11. James Simpson-Daniel
05. George Robson	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordoqouy	15. Johnny May

16. Guthro Steenkamp 17. Joe Gray 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20. Stephen Ferris 21. Dan Robson 22.Juan De Jongh 23. Iain Balshaw

Tactics

Glos welcome Leicester to fortress Kingsholm. Glos are glad to welcome back some of their key players from RC

We will be aiming to play a high tempo quick game and look to move it wide and keep leicester moving. However we are aware we need to win the territory and possession battle first.

- We Have the ability to play the game many different ways and the ability to raise and slow the tempo as desired
- Key decision makers at 2,8,9,10,12
- Target the scrum with Wood, Strauss and Mas a formidable unit.
- We will attack all lineouts as we see this as a massive area of weakness for Leicester. Hari, Gray, Robson, Lapandry, Alberts will be looking to starve Leicester of lineout ball. see only horwill as a recognised jumper and the lineout is one of the best ways of getting attacking quick ball. we aim to make Moore's darts be under pressure
- Packed with ball carriers and dynamism we will be carrying it in to the heart of leicester looking for gaps and offloads to keep the ball moving
- All glos back 3 looking to attack at any oipportunity and exploit mismatches. they play as a unit in real life which is a huge advantage
- Great kicking options with Genia, Goosen and Barnes able to control the game where needed but also capable of launching blistering attacks
- Aim to get after Yachvilli and Wilko. They are not the most attacking of players and playing off 9 is not the easiest way of playing a quick attacking game so disrupting yachvilli is a key

- We will use a blitz defence with centres up quick as we see the ball from yach to wilko being slow and enabling us to get in their faces.
- huge impact bench with Steenkamp, Grey, Ferris etc all coming on to sure up the win

Key points

- lineout domination- lineout is one of the key areas of possession we see ourselves as having a far superior set up
- Tempo- Glos can play the game many ways allowing variety. we see yach and wilko as not being that capable of opening up the game making defending easier
- Real life form- tons of players in excellent form
- Decision makers in all the key positions
- key players back from the RC


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Pascal Pape	11. Ugo Monye
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll
07. Francois Louw	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Tom Youngs 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Simon Shaw 20. Tom Croft 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Rene Ranger

Tactics:

We will play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game, the power of our pack and the strength in our set piece.

- Ability to play in different ways - we're not here to kick the ball away. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Cole and Sheridan to look to really get the shove on against Wood and Mas. Jenkins and Johnston to pile the pressure on agaianst Steenkamp and Harden in the second half.

- Attack at all lineouts. Our lineout is led by Horwill; with Pape, SOB and Louw as our other jumping options.
Some great lineout stealers in our ranks who will pressure every one of Strauss' throws.

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Gloucester defence. The likes of Waldrom, SOB, Moore, Pape and Horwill to be used to crash through the Gloucester defence.
Look to play an offloading game, with runners always supporting.

- Huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Louw, and the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial today.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili our general pulling the strings. We want Yach and Wilko to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack and looking for where the gaps are. We want Mermoz and BOD on the ball looking to send our back three into space.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Yachvili to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Unload our powerful bench to impact the game in the second half.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.


Key Points:

Form and Momentum
8 wins out of 8, having already beat Sale, Castres, Saracens and London Welsh away from home - we are absolutely flying at the minute and have so much confidence. In stark contrast- Gloucester have lost half of all their games so far this season.

Breakdown Advantage
We are placing huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today. With breakdown expert Francois Louw - supported by the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial. Any opportunity that we get, we will look to win turnover ball.

Real Life Form
Our squad is packed full of players who are playing very well in real life. The likes of Sheridan, Wilko, Monye and Louw are playing some of their best rugby in a long time. Cole, Waldrom, Pape, Mermoz, BOD and Clerc have all started the season in fine form. On the bench too with Youngs, Cencus, 36 and Ranger all playing well.

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London Irish vs. Harlequins
Cloudy, 9 degrees, 12mph winds

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Johann Muller	12. Luke McAllister
06. Marcell Coeztee	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pieterson
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Delon Armitage

16. Matt Stevens 17. Andrew Hore 18. WP Nel 19. Stuart Hooper 20. Hendrie Fourie 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Guy Armitage

Tactics

- Play the game in the right areas. Pienaar, Evans and Mac to dictate this. We can still attack and will still run the ball but also we want to dominate territory. Our 9,10,12 are on good form and can control the game for us.

- Armitage will look to dominate the breakdown, win us penalties and secure quick ball. With Evans and Mac in attack we have great playmakers who can put people like Bast, JP, Yarde and Delon in space. JP will come off his wing and look for gaps to be put through.

- Evans to kick all pens for goal, if out of range go for touch. Muller is our main lineout jumper but Garvey and Daniel will also be used to keep Quins guessing. We will look for quick ball off the top and use Bast as a decoy runner as well as ball carrier to get over the gainline.

- We will target the scrum with two big powerful scrummaging props on our side. We will look to win as many pens as poss to kick points from.

- We will look to big hits in on Roberts and shut him down quickly to stop Quins gaining as much momentum.

- We have a fresh side as a lot of players were rested in the HC. We also have a lot of form players, in key positions like 8, 9, 10, 12. With Steffon at 7 we have the form 7 in the NH and will look to boss the breakdown and control the game at home.


Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

Harlequins name a strong side to face London Irish, who sit one place above them in the League table. We have come off two impressive '5 pointers' in the HC and face a London Irish side who have come off worst in both of their titanic battle in the last two weeks.

01. Joe Marler	09. Lee Dickson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Dave Denton	13. Florian Fritz
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Matthew Rees 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Ben Franks 19. Jerome Thion 20. Tom Wood 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

Game Plan

The conditions allow us to play to our strengths, which mean’s controlling the tempo and the territory of the game. We will look to tie in defenders with strong carries from our mobile and physical pack before we then look to send the ball wider where Burns can pull the strings. We are going to look to maintain possession when in the Irish half so as to tire the Irish players as they make tackle after tackle. Rucking is a vital part of our game and we need our forwards to ruck effectively and ruck past the ball for two reasons, so Dickson can get quick ball and play at a quick tempo, and to negate the threat of Steffon Armitage.

Forwards

The quality of our pack speaks for itself. We are packed with carriers who will be carrying hard and in numbers and will look to offload if it’s on. When they reach contact they will aim to win the collisions and keep pumping the legs in contact.

We will look to control the set piece with a strong front row starting and then coming off the bench. Borthwick will control the lineout as he does so well.

Backs

Half backs will look to control the tempo and put others into space. In the midfield we have two huge carriers who will tie in defenders and put others into space. In the back 3 we have pace to burns and 3 fantastic finishers who will take most of their half chances. We will look to put them into spaces.

Defence

Quick line speed and double up in the tackle when we can. Look to win the collisions and knock irish back and stop there momentum. Warburton to cause havoc at the breakdown.

Key Points

Form players – we have a side full of them. They make a difference.

Strong carrying – we have load s of carriers and we need them to cross the gainline to make rucking easy for us. The quick ball comes easier when we make dents in the Irish defence.

Quick ruck ball - we have to ruck hard to get us quick ball. Front 5 key to this.

Form – We are coming off of two BP wins. Irish come of two tiring defeats

Freshness – many of our side have been able to rest for at least one game in last two weeks so are raring to go.

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Northampton Saints vs. Saracens
Light Rain, 7 degrees, 12mph winds

Northampton Saints
Manager - dammit_chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Carl Hayman
04. Bradley Davies	11. Chris Ashton
05. Alun Wyn Jones	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Courtney Lawes	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Cane	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

16. Rob Webber 17. Sona Taumalolo 18. Henry Thomas 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Julian Bonnaire 21. Mike Phillips 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Julian Savea

Tactics

Overview - To play a game based on power, speed, pressure and aggression. To use the extra physicality and ball carrying power of our pack to gain an advantage for open play and look to get over the gainline and create gaps for our backline to exploit, aiming to outscore Sarries on the try front and for Halfpenny to nail all his shots at goal. Aggressive defence and will look to target the breakdown for turnover ball to attack with - this is a key area we are wanting to target against Sarries.

Pack/SetPiece/Breakdown

- Will look for the pack to work through the phases, keep the ball away from Saracens. Have a lot of gainline breakers and real physicality throughout.

- Four lineout jumpers in Wyn Jones, Davies, Lawes and Parisse - Hartley been in great form and will mix up the lineout and use it as an attacking platform. Will use Lawes athleticism to get at the Sarries lineout and attack their ball.

- Solid scrum with Domingo, Hartley and Hayman in top form - again will use as an attacking platform for Parisse and Simpson to run from.

- big emphasis this week on the breakdown, we will look to attack this area in numbers and force turnovers and dominate - have picked a fast, dynamic backrow and Fofana and Tuilagi in midfield are also excellent at this. Getting quick ball is key as have a lot of try scorers in the backline, all of whom are again in very good form.

Attack -

- feel we have a very strong pack that has more physicality, pace and ball carriers than Sarries counterparts, so should see more ball to attack with and have the option to go route one with the forwards. Want the pack to get us over the gainline and spread ball wide to the backs.

- Hernandez to control the game at 10, with really strong 12-13 combination and we will look to attack through the midfield as see this area as somewhere we have an advantage and can punch holes in the Sarries defence.

- Great form in the outside backs with a lot of tries at the weekend Tuilagi (2), Fofana (2), Wade (2) and Halfpenny (1). Confident if we get the ball to them there are a lot of tries on offer in the conditions.

Defence -

- aggressive defence that is led by Lawes in the forwards who is at blindside this week so he can go straight for the Sarries backline and put in hard hits.

- will implement a blitz defence, with Fofana and Tuilagi the defensive brick in the midfield. Force Sarries into a kicking game, which will give the ball to our backthree.

Key points -

- Home advantage, good try scoring form and a lot of players in very good form in real life.

- look to play a more physical game than Sarries are used to, aggressive defence to force mistakes and turnovers.

- strong bench to come on in the final 30minutes and have been picked for their impact.


SARACENS

01.Matt Mullen	09.Dewaldt Duvenage
02.John Smit(c)	10.Iain Humphreys
03.Ben Tameifuna
04.Lionel Nallet	11.Tim Visser
05.Ali Williams	12.Chris Bell
06.Joe Van Niekerk	13.Henry Trinder
07.Ross Rennie	14.Adam Thompstone
08.Luke Narraway	15.Ben Smith

16.George Chuter 17.Max Lahiff 18.Jannie Du Plessie 19.Tim Swinson 20.Phil Dowson 21.Will Chudley 22.Francois Trinh-Duc 23.Mark Cueto

Play a big physical game around attacking the fringes and coming round the corner and using our ball carriers throught out our side. Our team is based around playing the game in the right areas with our half backs getting us into the right positions.

- Use our rolling maul and get it going from kick offs and lineouts to put the saints pack under pressure and tone the crowd down.

- Put the Saints back 3 under pressure , we’ve picked two giant wings in Visser (6,4 and 240ibs) and Thompstone (6ft and 222ibs) so they’ll be a strong kick chase from them and JVN and Rennie in the back row.

- Target the Saints lineout , AWJ has stopped calling the O’s lineout in real life with Ryan Jones now leading it and Lawes is a poor jumper and even worse under pressure from Ali Williams one of the best 5s in the buissness.

- Duvenage to snipe and tie the fringe defenders in to give Viss , Thom ,Rennie and JVN holes to run at and break the line.

- Ihump to keep a eye open for the crossfield in the Saints half with Visser bombing down on Wade.

- Mullen , Smit , Tameifuna , Nallet and Williams is a powerful front 5 and will look to secure clean ball at the scrum and disrupt the Saints scrum with Smit getting at Hartley by scrummaging under him and forcing him to pop up and having a few quite words to test Hartleys temper.

- Blitz/Fan defence with Trinder looking to get up on Manu early doors , Fofana loves to step back inside and will be met by Ross Rennie covering the 10/12 channel. 9 to sweep behind

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London Wasps vs. London Welsh
Cloudy, 8 degrees, 8mph winds

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Ben Daley	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Sean Cronin	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Samu Manoa	11. Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Steve Mafi	13. George Pisi
07. Jonathan Poff	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Nathan Morris 17. Charlie Beech 18. Shaun Knight 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Dewald Potgieter 21. Mike Blair 22. Dan Bowden 23. Matt Banahan

Tactics
We will look to our forwards to carry hard, attacking gaps in the London Welsh defensive line, getting us over the gain line and onto the front foot. We will ensure our carriers have plenty of support, so we can continue our attacks. We will look the likes of Manoa, Mafi and Cronin to get us over the gain line.

We will look to recycle the ball by getting good numbers to the breakdown, with the first few players rucking past the ball to clear out the London Welsh players, allowing Thomas to get quick, clean ball for us to attack the space on offer. We will look to create mismatches in midfield and will target the outside shoulder of the London Welsh players.

Line speed and aggression is key for us in defence, we will try and prevent London Welsh from having time on the ball by having quick line speed and tackling their carriers before they reach the gain line, knocking them back and forcing them into mistakes, where we can exert pressure and try and get turnovers.

Preistland will look to kick in behind the London Welsh wingers and put us deep into their territory where we will look to really pressurize them and look to force them into errors. Thomas will look to snipe around the fringes and get our forwards running onto the ball.

Wentzel will be our main go to man, we will also look to use Mafi and Wilson at the tail of the lineout where we can launch attacks from and get our big centers running at the London Welsh fly half, whom our back row will look to be in the face of all game.

With the ball in hand, we will look to punch holes in the London Welsh defensive line and get the ball to our back three. Barritt will look to take the contact and give us line breaking options with Pisi running good outside lines, we will attack gaps and half gaps in the London Welsh defensive line.

At the scrum, on our own ball, we will look to turn the scrum legally to erase the London Welsh back row from helping out in defence before starting our own attacks. We will look to control possession and be patient, recycling the ball through several phases with Thomas and Preistland controlling our play.


London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Adam Jones
04. Dean Schofield	11. Digby Ioane
05. George Skivington	12. Owen Farrell
06. Tom Johnson	13. Jonathon Davies
07. Thierry Dusautoir ©	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. David Wilson 19. Sitaleki Timani 20. Maurie Fa’asavalu 21. Tomas O’Leary 22. Joel Tomkins 23. Matt Jess

Tactics

Basic Game Plan

Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. Focus will be on winning the gainline collisons in both attack and defence. In order to do this we have picked a very big pack to try to physically dominate this area of the game. We will look to apply pressure to Wasps by keeping the ball for long periods and wearing them down defensively, and also by maintaining a solid defence and denying them opportunities to get on the score board. Pressure forces mistakes, and we will look to capitalise on any that Wasps make.

Attacking specifics

• In good conditions we will look to keep possession and run the ball, with Parra and Lambie dictating the tempo and angles of attack. Ioane and Habana will both look to hit good lines off the 10, 12 and 13's shoulders. We will also use them as decoys with Taute hitting the line looking for gaps.
  
• Big carriers to run hard and straight in midfield off early phase ball.
  
• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• All opportunities for points with the boot to be taken by Parra or Farrell(penalties or drop goals).
  

Defensive specifics

• We will look to play a blitz defence with quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline and knock him back even further. Parra will sweep in behind.
  
• We will not overcommit to the breakdown. If a turnover is on, we will go for it, otherwise we will legally slow the ball and maintain a solid defensive line to blitz from.
  
• Maintain discipline and do not give away penalties.
  

Key Points

• We come in with confidence, having picked up points in every game so far this season and having secured back to back wins inthe Amlin Cup the last 2 weeks..
  
• Strength and quality in the key controlling positions (2,8,9 and 10) which you need to win away from home..
  
• We are solid defensively in midfield with real attacking threat out wide.
  
• We have no traditional fetcher, but with BdP in the side the balance of our pack is good as he is better at the breakdown than most opensides.
  

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Worcester Warriors vs. Sale Sharks
Cloudy, 8 degrees, 10mph winds

Worcester Warriors
Manager - prop_lyd

01. Beast	09. Eoin Reddan
02. Gary Botha	10. Olly Barkley (k)
03. BJ Botha
04. Luke Charteris	11. Julien Malzieu
05. Jim Hamilton (c)	12. Fergus McFadden
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jon Clarke
07. Justin Tipuric	14. James Short
08. Ben Morgan	15. Rob Cook

16. Korree Britton 17. Paul James 18. Chris Budgen 19. Ryan Jones 20. Tom Savage 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Sam Vesty 23. Sean Maitland

Tactics
Forwards

Strong front row who will look to edge up on the tighthead to give Morgan more time to pick the scrum. Botha to put pressure on their put in.

A strong 2nd row who will target the lineout and we will utilise the lineout as out main weapon of attack providing quick ball and allow us to maul with a very heavy and efficient pack.

Back row again is strong and we will look to counter act the breakdown as well as picking up and keeping the game tight. Morgan and Gorgodze will look to run off of 12-13 to create the gaps.

A good bench with old heads who can slow down the play and Savage to bring on more power.
Pack to cause issues at the breakdown and play 'ball up the jumper's' rugby.


Backs

Barkley to ping the ball into the corners unless an overlap has been created.. This is where we will use our lineout force he will stand deep at times to create the space for our outside backs to hit the gaps.

Barkley will look for quick offloads to wingers or back row who will target the 9-10 channel to bring the ball back into our forwards. This should create overlaps and suck in the defence before quick ball out wide, Mcfadden and Clarke will run straight and hard and look for the offload.

We have a strong back 3 and Cook is a strong clearer of lines. Malzieu brings the brute force and in defence will hold his own and Short can bring some flair. They will look to run as much ball as possible but not get isolated so we can keep to our gameplan.

After 30 minutes, if we are getting joy off 1st phase ball we will continue to use it but; for the first 30minutes it will be the forwards ball unless something is on.

Barkley will take all kicks at goal he is confident in.


Defence

We will use a banana defence. People have picked up on our 10-12 defence so we will make sure we have one of our stronger pack members on their shoulders to assist in the tackle and look for quick turnover ball. Any turnovers will be punted off the pitch in the oppositions half unless a massive gap is obvious.

IF THIS DEFENCE IS NOT WORKING then we will bring Malzieu in to stand at 12 and use his heavy hitting to prevent the ball being spun out wide. We will look to stop Wasps playing by slowing the ball down at the breakdown.

We will look to not commit too many at the breakdown so we can defend strongly from inside out and stop any gaps. If we see an available turnover we will take it but no silly penalties. Pressure will be put on their scrum half to use the ball quickly and put 10 under pressure.


Overall

Forward orientated play with experienced players. Backs to get us into good positions. And our pack and strong pack bench will be controlling the game and rolling us towards the opposition’s tryline.

We are very fired up, have a set of leaders in the squad, want another win and to rattle the opposition.


Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Adam Thomson	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Keith Earls
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. V. Kakovin 17. D. Dawdiuk 18. L. Ducalcon 19. C. Day 20. M. Kvesic 21. B. Spencer 22. J. Hook 23. W. Addison

Key Points

• 5 genuine jumping options on show to secure the lineout. The Worcester "pinging the corners" game will play straight into our hands.

• With Barkley playing deep this allows us to get up on the blitz and stop Gorgodze/Morgan building any momentum

• Real impact of the bench. Massive front row to come on and attack the scrum while an in-form Hook and Addison give us game changers in the backs.

Tactics

We will look to play a fast paced attacking game using big carriers running of the 9/10/12 axis to get us over the gain line and generate quick ball. Keeping the ball alive is crucial so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload and get us further over the gain line. Our back three will look to get involved as much as possible running support lines of the halfbacks and midfield looking for the inside ball or offload. If for whatever reason we aren’t getting quick ball, we will look to take control of territory with the boots of Sexton & Steyn and win the kicking battle against Barkley.

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much room as possible to attack from.

• In Worcester territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs. In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

• We will play an aggressive blitz on defence, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Worcester momentum before it can get going.

• Danny Care will act as a sweeper and cover any chips or grubbers behind the defensive line.

• We will leave two players sitting deep to cover any kicks and they will look to counter attack of any loose ball.

• With the blitz in operation, we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it hard and fast. If the ball looks available we will flood the breakdown with Thomson & Quedragao looking to get his hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow the ball down and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

---

Big game steve!

Is anyone going to play any of their NZ and Aus players that played Bledisloe this week or give them a rest?

It is indeed a big game. Yet to decide on my own team but don't expect I will play Hooper or Woodcock.

Likewise Conrad Smith wont play but might give Hore a game.

Won't be playing Beale. Was a tiring game.

I'll be looking at including Thomson and Barrett as neither were involved in the match day squad but I'll be giving the rest a break

Only my matchday squad players aren't being considered

Yea, bench spot at best I think

Leicester at home is very very tasty indeed.

Northampton Saints team versus Saracens

Northampton Saints make a number of changes to the team that beat Newcastle Falcons 32-24 last weekend with manager Dammit Chris stating "Saracens are an incredibly physical team and we've taken that into account when selecting our team against them, we know we will have to make the hard yards and have a strong set piece. The weather looks like it is going to be ideal for our backline, Wadey has been on top form, and I'm delighted to have Sam Cane and Julian Savea back in the match day twenty three too."

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Carl Hayman
04. Bradley Davies	11. Chris Ashton
05. Alun Wyn Jones	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Courtney Lawes	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Cane	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

16. Rob Webber 17. Sona Taumalolo 18. Henry Thomas 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Julian Bonnaire 21. Mike Phillips 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Julian Savea

Tactics

Overview - To play a game based on power, speed, pressure and aggression. To use the extra physicality and ball carrying power of our pack to gain an advantage for open play and look to get over the gainline and create gaps for our backline to exploit, aiming to outscore Sarries on the try front and for Halfpenny to nail all his shots at goal. Aggressive defence and will look to target the breakdown for turnover ball to attack with - this is a key area we are wanting to target against Sarries.

Pack/SetPiece/Breakdown

- Will look for the pack to work through the phases, keep the ball away from Saracens. Have a lot of gainline breakers and real physicality throughout.

- Four lineout jumpers in Wyn Jones, Davies, Lawes and Parisse - Hartley been in great form and will mix up the lineout and use it as an attacking platform. Will use Lawes athleticism to get at the Sarries lineout and attack their ball.

- Solid scrum with Domingo, Hartley and Hayman in top form - again will use as an attacking platform for Parisse and Simpson to run from.

- big emphasis this week on the breakdown, we will look to attack this area in numbers and force turnovers and dominate - have picked a fast, dynamic backrow and Fofana and Tuilagi in midfield are also excellent at this. Getting quick ball is key as have a lot of try scorers in the backline, all of whom are again in very good form.

Attack -

- feel we have a very strong pack that has more physicality, pace and ball carriers than Sarries counterparts, so should see more ball to attack with and have the option to go route one with the forwards. Want the pack to get us over the gainline and spread ball wide to the backs.

- Hernandez to control the game at 10, with really strong 12-13 combination and we will look to attack through the midfield as see this area as somewhere we have an advantage and can punch holes in the Sarries defence.

- Great form in the outside backs with a lot of tries at the weekend Tuilagi (2), Fofana (2), Wade (2) and Halfpenny (1). Confident if we get the ball to them there are a lot of tries on offer in the conditions.

Defence -

- aggressive defence that is led by Lawes in the forwards who is at blindside this week so he can go straight for the Sarries backline and put in hard hits.

- will implement a blitz defence, with Fofana and Tuilagi the defensive brick in the midfield. Force Sarries into a kicking game, which will give the ball to our backthree.

Key points -

- Home advantage, good try scoring form and a lot of players in very good form in real life.

- look to play a more physical game than Sarries are used to, aggressive defence to force mistakes and turnovers.

- strong bench to come on in the final 30minutes and have been picked for their impact.

London Welsh name a strong side to travel to face London Wasps at Adams Park this weekend. World class stars such as Bismarck du Plessis and Thierry Dusautoir return to the side to join the likes of Digby Ioane and Bryan Habana who ran in tries for fun last time out in the Amlin Challenge Cup.

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Adam Jones
04. Dean Schofield	11. Digby Ioane
05. George Skivington	12. Owen Farrell
06. Tom Johnson	13. Jonathon Davies
07. Thierry Dusautoir ©	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. David Wilson 19. Sitaleki Timani 20. Maurie Fa’asavalu 21. Tomas O’Leary 22. Joel Tomkins 23. Matt Jess

Tactics

Basic Game Plan

Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. Focus will be on winning the gainline collisons in both attack and defence. In order to do this we have picked a very big pack to try to physically dominate this area of the game. We will look to apply pressure to Wasps by keeping the ball for long periods and wearing them down defensively, and also by maintaining a solid defence and denying them opportunities to get on the score board. Pressure forces mistakes, and we will look to capitalise on any that Wasps make.

Attacking specifics

• In good conditions we will look to keep possession and run the ball, with Parra and Lambie dictating the tempo and angles of attack. Ioane and Habana will both look to hit good lines off the 10, 12 and 13's shoulders. We will also use them as decoys with Taute hitting the line looking for gaps.
  
• Big carriers to run hard and straight in midfield off early phase ball.
  
• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• All opportunities for points with the boot to be taken by Parra or Farrell(penalties or drop goals).
  

Defensive specifics

• We will look to play a blitz defence with quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline and knock him back even further. Parra will sweep in behind.
  
• We will not overcommit to the breakdown. If a turnover is on, we will go for it, otherwise we will legally slow the ball and maintain a solid defensive line to blitz from.
  
• Maintain discipline and do not give away penalties.
  

Key Points

• We come in with confidence, having picked up points in every game so far this season and having secured back to back wins inthe Amlin Cup the last 2 weeks..
  
• Strength and quality in the key controlling positions (2,8,9 and 10) which you need to win away from home..
  
• We are solid defensively in midfield with real attacking threat out wide.
  
• We have no traditional fetcher, but with BdP in the side the balance of our pack is good as he is better at the breakdown than most opensides.
  

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Chris Brooker	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. George North
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell	13. Stuart Hogg
07. David Pocock	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Juan Martin Fernando Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Charlie Faumuina 17. Kevin Mealamu 18. Jon Golding 19. Louis Deacon 20. Tom Guest 21. Aaron Smith 22. Mike Harris 23. Aurelien Rougerie

Overall: Look to dominate in the scrum and use that as a platform to really bring our backs in who will be looking to run at the defence with bad intentions.

Forwards: We will really look to attack and come out on top of the scrum. We have two of the best props in Europe in Kubrashvilli and Healy and we feel we can really punish the Falcons scrum, pushing them backwards. With our second row partnership we are looking at Luke Romano to provide the grunt necessary and offering the banker ball while Graham Kitchener will be trying to retain our lineout something we feel he is very capable of doing.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Lobbe, Haskell and Healy dangerous runners who can really create gaps for our backs. We will be looking for lots of energy from our forwards to open up holes to be exploited. Our carrying is somewhere we feel we have a distinct advantage. At the breakdown we will look for David Pocock and James Haskell to win turnover ball or manage to slow down opposition ball by going through opponents. They will both be looking to cause as much trouble as possible.

Backs: We will be looking to play running rugby with the ball in our hands. Using our forwards to create space we will look for quick ball and get the likes of Miller, Nalaga and North who are all deadly runners, running at the Falcons defenders. Wigglesworth will control the tempo of the backs and will look to keep the backs calm and composed. We will look to get Allen + Hogg involved in the game as much as possible. Hodgson will look to get involved in our attack, linking our play

Defence: Look to wrap the defensive line. Look for Pocock to put pressure on Flood who we feel will struggle.

Substitutes: We have some really good options on the bench who we feel can really add to the game. Mealamu, Golding and Faumuina can come in and help strengthen our front row. Deacon is an option who can really add grunt and grit late on. Tom Guest will look to play a get involved with our carrying. Aaron Smith will look to come on and really up the tempo with some sniping runs. Harris will look to provide a good kicking option late while we feel Rougerie can damage tired defences late on.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

Harlequins name a strong side to face London Irish, who sit one place above them in the League table. We have come off two impressive '5 pointers' in the HC and face a London Irish side who have come off worst in both of their titanic battle in the last two weeks.

01. Joe Marler	09. Lee Dickson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Dave Denton	13. Florian Fritz
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Matthew Rees 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Ben Franks 19. Jerome Thion 20. Tom Wood 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

Game Plan

The conditions allow us to play to our strengths, which mean’s controlling the tempo and the territory of the game. We will look to tie in defenders with strong carries from our mobile and physical pack before we then look to send the ball wider where Burns can pull the strings. We are going to look to maintain possession when in the Irish half so as to tire the Irish players as they make tackle after tackle. Rucking is a vital part of our game and we need our forwards to ruck effectively and ruck past the ball for two reasons, so Dickson can get quick ball and play at a quick tempo, and to negate the threat of Steffon Armitage.

Forwards

The quality of our pack speaks for itself. We are packed with carriers who will be carrying hard and in numbers and will look to offload if it’s on. When they reach contact they will aim to win the collisions and keep pumping the legs in contact.

We will look to control the set piece with a strong front row starting and then coming off the bench. Borthwick will control the lineout as he does so well.

Backs

Half backs will look to control the tempo and put others into space. In the midfield we have two huge carriers who will tie in defenders and put others into space. In the back 3 we have pace to burns and 3 fantastic finishers who will take most of their half chances. We will look to put them into spaces.

Defence

Quick line speed and double up in the tackle when we can. Look to win the collisions and knock irish back and stop there momentum. Warburton to cause havoc at the breakdown.

Key Points

Form players – we have a side full of them. They make a difference.

Strong carrying – we have load s of carriers and we need them to cross the gainline to make rucking easy for us. The quick ball comes easier when we make dents in the Irish defence.

Quick ruck ball - we have to ruck hard to get us quick ball. Front 5 key to this.

Form – We are coming off of two BP wins. Irish come of two tiring defeats

Freshness – many of our side have been able to rest for at least one game in last two weeks so are raring to go.

Saracens name a side with plenty of grunt and power which is based around a simple yet effective game plan. Industrious 8 Luke Narraway comes into the side along with the dynamic Ben Tameifuna at tight head. Calm heads Duvenage and Humphreys start at 9 and 10.

SARACENS

01.Matt Mullen	09.Dewaldt Duvenage
02.John Smit(c)	10.Iain Humphreys
03.Ben Tameifuna
04.Lionel Nallet	11.Tim Visser
05.Ali Williams	12.Chris Bell
06.Joe Van Niekerk	13.Henry Trinder
07.Ross Rennie	14.Adam Thompstone
08.Luke Narraway	15.Ben Smith

16.George Chuter 17.Max Lahiff 18.Jannie Du Plessie 19.Tim Swinson 20.Phil Dowson 21.Will Chudley 22.Francois Trinh-Duc 23.Mark Cueto

Play a big physical game around attacking the fringes and coming round the corner and using our ball carriers throught out our side. Our team is based around playing the game in the right areas with our half backs getting us into the right positions.

- Use our rolling maul and get it going from kick offs and lineouts to put the saints pack under pressure and tone the crowd down.

- Put the Saints back 3 under pressure , we’ve picked two giant wings in Visser (6,4 and 240ibs) and Thompstone (6ft and 222ibs) so they’ll be a strong kick chase from them and JVN and Rennie in the back row.

- Target the Saints lineout , AWJ has stopped calling the O’s lineout in real life with Ryan Jones now leading it and Lawes is a poor jumper and even worse under pressure from Ali Williams one of the best 5s in the buissness.

- Duvenage to snipe and tie the fringe defenders in to give Viss , Thom ,Rennie and JVN holes to run at and break the line.

- Ihump to keep a eye open for the crossfield in the Saints half with Visser bombing down on Wade.

- Mullen , Smit , Tameifuna , Nallet and Williams is a powerful front 5 and will look to secure clean ball at the scrum and disrupt the Saints scrum with Smit getting at Hartley by scrummaging under him and forcing him to pop up and having a few quite words to test Hartleys temper.

- Blitz/Fan defence with Trinder looking to get up on Manu early doors , Fofana loves to step back inside and will be met by Ross Rennie covering the 10/12 channel. 9 to sweep behind

Leicester Tigers have named their side to travel to Gloucester this week.

On-form Tigers have made 4 changes from their last Aviva premiership game - a 24-22 victory away to Sale Sharks. From that side - Dan Cole, Pascal Pape, Francois Louw and Maxime Mermoz return to the Tigers lineup.

Tigers rested several players over the European fortnight, and this week's side sees 10 changes to the team that beat Castres 28-18 in France last week in the Heineken Cup.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Pascal Pape	11. Ugo Monye
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll
07. Francois Louw	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Tom Youngs 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Simon Shaw 20. Tom Croft 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Rene Ranger

Tactics:

We will play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game, the power of our pack and the strength in our set piece.

- Ability to play in different ways - we're not here to kick the ball away. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Cole and Sheridan to look to really get the shove on against Wood and Mas. Jenkins and Johnston to pile the pressure on agaianst Steenkamp and Harden in the second half.

- Attack at all lineouts. Our lineout is led by Horwill; with Pape, SOB and Louw as our other jumping options.
Some great lineout stealers in our ranks who will pressure every one of Strauss' throws.

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Gloucester defence. The likes of Waldrom, SOB, Moore, Pape and Horwill to be used to crash through the Gloucester defence.
Look to play an offloading game, with runners always supporting.

- Huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Louw, and the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial today.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili our general pulling the strings. We want Yach and Wilko to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack and looking for where the gaps are. We want Mermoz and BOD on the ball looking to send our back three into space.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Yachvili to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Unload our powerful bench to impact the game in the second half.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.


Key Points:

Form and Momentum
8 wins out of 8, having already beat Sale, Castres, Saracens and London Welsh away from home - we are absolutely flying at the minute and have so much confidence. In stark contrast- Gloucester have lost half of all their games so far this season.

Breakdown Advantage
We are placing huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today. With breakdown expert Francois Louw - supported by the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial. Any opportunity that we get, we will look to win turnover ball.

Real Life Form
Our squad is packed full of players who are playing very well in real life. The likes of Sheridan, Wilko, Monye and Louw are playing some of their best rugby in a long time. Cole, Waldrom, Pape, Mermoz, BOD and Clerc have all started the season in fine form. On the bench too with Youngs, Cencus, 36 and Ranger all playing well.

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Johann Muller	12. Luke McAllister
06. Marcell Coeztee	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pieterson
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Delon Armitage

16. Matt Stevens 17. Andrew Hore 18. WP Nel 19. Stuart Hooper 20. Hendrie Fourie 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Guy Armitage

London Irish name a strong side to face Harlequins at the Madejski Stadium this weekend.
After disappointing Heineken Cup defeats, in which Irish rested many top players, stnick has commented on his delight at the return of the AP.
'With the new squad rules this season, competing on three fronts (AP, HC, LV) is very difficult. After we saw the draw for our Heineken Cup Group, we decided that the AP would be our main focus this season. Having probably the best two sides in Europe outside of the AP in your group makes it extremely challenging to get through the group and get a home quarter final, which is vital in modern day rugby. Therefore we sat down as a group and made a decision to make the AP our primary focus this season. Obviously we fielded very strong sides against Leinster and Clermont but were able to rest Poux, Castro, Muller, Armitage, Evans and now they come back in fully fit and ready to take on Quins. We also have Ruan (Pienaar) back from the RC. He got a good run out last week against Clermont and starts at half back with Nev. Quins will be a tough challenge, they are on the back of two good wins and we will have to be on the top of our game to secure a home win. Saying that, we are very strong at home and if the lads deliver I am confident we can secure the win and maintain our top 4 challenge.

Tactics

- Play the game in the right areas. Pienaar, Evans and Mac to dictate this. We can still attack and will still run the ball but also we want to dominate territory. Our 9,10,12 are on good form and can control the game for us.

- Armitage will look to dominate the breakdown, win us penalties and secure quick ball. With Evans and Mac in attack we have great playmakers who can put people like Bast, JP, Yarde and Delon in space. JP will come off his wing and look for gaps to be put through.

- Evans to kick all pens for goal, if out of range go for touch. Muller is our main lineout jumper but Garvey and Daniel will also be used to keep Quins guessing. We will look for quick ball off the top and use Bast as a decoy runner as well as ball carrier to get over the gainline.

- We will target the scrum with two big powerful scrummaging props on our side. We will look to win as many pens as poss to kick points from.

- We will look to big hits in on Roberts and shut him down quickly to stop Quins gaining as much momentum.

- We have a fresh side as a lot of players were rested in the HC. We also have a lot of form players, in key positions like 8, 9, 10, 12. With Steffon at 7 we have the form 7 in the NH and will look to boss the breakdown and control the game at home.

Gloucester XXIII

01. Nick Wood	09. Will Genia
02. Adriaan Strauss	10. Johan Goosen(k)
03. Nicola Mas
04. Richie grey	11. JSD
05. George Robson	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol harinordoqouy	15. johnny May

16. Guthro Steenkamp 17. Joe Gray 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom palmer 20. Stephen Ferris 21. Dan Robson 22.Juan De Jongh 23. Iain Balshaw

Tactics

Glos welcome Leicester to fortress Kingsholm. Glos are glad to welcome back some of their key players from RC

We will be aiming to play a high tempo quick game and look to move it wide and keep leicester moving. However we are aware we need to win the territory and possession battle first.

- We Have the ability to play the game many different ways and the ability to raise and slow the tempo as desired
- Key decision makers at 2,8,9,10,12
- Target the scrum with Wood, Strauss and Mas a formidable unit.
- We will attack all lineouts as we see this as a massive area of weakness for Leicester. Hari, Gray, Robson, Lapandry, Alberts will be looking to starve Leicester of lineout ball. see only horwill as a recognised jumper and the lineout is one of the best ways of getting attacking quick ball. we aim to make Moore's darts be under pressure
- Packed with ball carriers and dynamism we will be carrying it in to the heart of leicester looking for gaps and offloads to keep the ball moving
- All glos back 3 looking to attack at any oipportunity and exploit mismatches. they play as a unit in real life which is a huge advantage
- Great kicking options with Genia, Goosen and Barnes able to control the game where needed but also capable of launching blistering attacks
- Aim to get after Yachvilli and Wilko. They are not the most attacking of players and playing off 9 is not the easiest way of playing a quick attacking game so disrupting yachvilli is a key

- We will use a blitz defence with centres up quick as we see the ball from yach to wilko being slow and enabling us to get in their faces.
- huge impact bench with Steenkamp, Grey, Ferris etc all coming on to sure up the win

Key points

- lineout domination- lineout is one of the key areas of possession we see ourselves as having a far superior set up
- Tempo- Glos can play the game many ways allowing variety. we see yach and wilko as not being that capable of opening up the game making defending easier
- Real life form- tons of players in excellent form
- Decision makers in all the key positions
- key players back from the RC


[/quote]

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Ben Daley	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Sean Cronin	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Samu Manoa	11. Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Steve Mafi	13. George Pisi
07. Jonathan Poff	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Nathan Morris 17. Charlie Beech 18. Shaun Knight 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Dewald Potgieter 21. Mike Blair 22. Dan Bowden 23. Matt Banahan

Tactics
We will look to our forwards to carry hard, attacking gaps in the London Welsh defensive line, getting us over the gain line and onto the front foot. We will ensure our carriers have plenty of support, so we can continue our attacks. We will look the likes of Manoa, Mafi and Cronin to get us over the gain line.

We will look to recycle the ball by getting good numbers to the breakdown, with the first few players rucking past the ball to clear out the London Welsh players, allowing Thomas to get quick, clean ball for us to attack the space on offer. We will look to create mismatches in midfield and will target the outside shoulder of the London Welsh players.

Line speed and aggression is key for us in defence, we will try and prevent London Welsh from having time on the ball by having quick line speed and tackling their carriers before they reach the gain line, knocking them back and forcing them into mistakes, where we can exert pressure and try and get turnovers.

Preistland will look to kick in behind the London Welsh wingers and put us deep into their territory where we will look to really pressurize them and look to force them into errors. Thomas will look to snipe around the fringes and get our forwards running onto the ball.

Wentzel will be our main go to man, we will also look to use Mafi and Wilson at the tail of the lineout where we can launch attacks from and get our big centers running at the London Welsh fly half, whom our back row will look to be in the face of all game.

With the ball in hand, we will look to punch holes in the London Welsh defensive line and get the ball to our back three. Barritt will look to take the contact and give us line breaking options with Pisi running good outside lines, we will attack gaps and half gaps in the London Welsh defensive line.

At the scrum, on our own ball, we will look to turn the scrum legally to erase the London Welsh back row from helping out in defence before starting our own attacks. We will look to control possession and be patient, recycling the ball through several phases with Thomas and Preistland controlling our play.

01. Beast	09. Eoin Reddan
02. Gary Botha	10. Olly Barkley (k)
03. BJ Botha
04. Luke Charteris	11. Julien Malzieu
05. Jim Hamilton (c)	12. Fergus McFadden
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jon Clarke
07. Justin Tipuric	14. James Short
08. Ben Morgan	15. Rob Cook

16. Korree Britton 17. Paul James 18. Chris Budgen 19. Ryan Jones 20. Tom Savage 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Sam Vesty 23. Sean Maitland

Tactics
Forwards

Strong front row who will look to edge up on the tighthead to give Morgan more time to pick the scrum. Botha to put pressure on their put in.

A strong 2nd row who will target the lineout and we will utilise the lineout as out main weapon of attack providing quick ball and allow us to maul with a very heavy and efficient pack.

Back row again is strong and we will look to counter act the breakdown as well as picking up and keeping the game tight. Morgan and Gorgodze will look to run off of 12-13 to create the gaps.

A good bench with old heads who can slow down the play and Savage to bring on more power.
Pack to cause issues at the breakdown and play 'ball up the jumper's' rugby.


Backs

Barkley to ping the ball into the corners unless an overlap has been created.. This is where we will use our lineout force he will stand deep at times to create the space for our outside backs to hit the gaps.

Barkley will look for quick offloads to wingers or back row who will target the 9-10 channel to bring the ball back into our forwards. This should create overlaps and suck in the defence before quick ball out wide, Mcfadden and Clarke will run straight and hard and look for the offload.

We have a strong back 3 and Cook is a strong clearer of lines. Malzieu brings the brute force and in defence will hold his own and Short can bring some flair. They will look to run as much ball as possible but not get isolated so we can keep to our gameplan.

After 30 minutes, if we are getting joy off 1st phase ball we will continue to use it but; for the first 30minutes it will be the forwards ball unless something is on.

Barkley will take all kicks at goal he is confident in.


Defence

We will use a banana defence. People have picked up on our 10-12 defence so we will make sure we have one of our stronger pack members on their shoulders to assist in the tackle and look for quick turnover ball. Any turnovers will be punted off the pitch in the oppositions half unless a massive gap is obvious.

IF THIS DEFENCE IS NOT WORKING then we will bring Malzieu in to stand at 12 and use his heavy hitting to prevent the ball being spun out wide. We will look to stop Wasps playing by slowing the ball down at the breakdown.

We will look to not commit too many at the breakdown so we can defend strongly from inside out and stop any gaps. If we see an available turnover we will take it but no silly penalties. Pressure will be put on their scrum half to use the ball quickly and put 10 under pressure.


Overall

Forward orientated play with experienced players. Backs to get us into good positions. And our pack and strong pack bench will be controlling the game and rolling us towards the opposition’s tryline.

We are very fired up, have a set of leaders in the squad, want another win and to rattle the opposition.

Four lineout jumpers in Wyn Jones, Davies, Lawes and Parisse

Your joking right Chris? Davies is very rarely used as a jumper and is a lifter mainly and Lawes is only really used for Saints if they are missing Sorenson , Day and Wood.

Hernandez to control the game at 10

You mean the guy that's 3rd choice 10 at Racing metro

aggressive defence that is led by Lawes in the forwards who is at blindside this week so he can go straight for the Sarries backline

Think you might want to work out which side flankers pack down on fella , Lawes can't be that confident in you if he sees this?

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rory Best	10. Toby Flood
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Paul O’Connell(c)	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Kelly Brown	13. George Lowe
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Toby Faletau	15. Alex Goode

16. Lee Mears 17. Owen Franks 18. Alex Waller 19. Geoff Parling 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Luke Burgess 22. James O’Connor 23. Miles Benjamin



Tactics

HIGH TEMPO, POSSESION, BIG CARRIES.....GAME CHANGERS IN BACKLINE IN SBW, YOUNGS, FLOOD, BOWE, CUTHBERT

GAME FORM - 5 wins from 6

Game plan...Fast paced, high intensity, offloading, dynamic rugby. We’ll look to hit the ground running and hit the opposition fast from the off. We’ll be aiming to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will play flat and look to get our backline into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.

Set piece:

In the decent conditions look to get the ball in and out for Youngs/Flood to attack with. Look for fast ball off the top of the lineout with POC making the calls. If weakness seen in either set piece we’ll look to exploit.

Pack & Breakdown:

Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our backrow will target the breakdown and look to get in a second tackler to tie up the opposition carriers. Youngs will wait for the call and look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot.

DEFENCE:

Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow out backrow to dominate affairs. Thorn/Brown in particular will look to hit the ruck hard and remove attempted turnovers from the equation allowing us to ruck over the ball and control the breakdown. Robshaw will look to target the opposition fly half early on and pressure his kicking. Youngs to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Backs:

Basically get the backs into play whenever possible with Flood & Young the spark. Look to get SBW, Bowe & Cuthbert into the game whenever possible. Youngs to play on instinct around the fringes and look to get SBW running angles through the Bath 9/10 axis and 12/13 axis.


POINTS:

SCRUM & LINEOUT – Target throughout, if weakness seen go for the jugular, especially the lineout with Goode/Flood pinging corners
PHYSICAL PACK – Win the collosion and target rucks to drive through opposition
BREAKDOWN – Brussow/Robshaw to work their magic and Youngs to monitor to attack on turnover ball
FORM – We are in great form 5 from 6
BACKS – World class running options and finishers, big game players and finishers to see us through at home
ROLLING MAUL – With our big front 5 look to get the rolling maul going off selected lineouts and eat up the ground
IMPACT BENCH - Keep the temp high and bring on top draw talent to see us over the finishing line.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Adam Thomson	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Keith Earls
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. V. Kakovin 17. D. Dawdiuk 18. L. Ducalcon 19. C. Day 20. M. Kvesic 21. B. Spencer 22. J. Hook 23. W. Addison

Key Points

• 5 genuine jumping options on show to secure the lineout. The Worcester "pinging the corners" game will play straight into our hands.

• With Barkley playing deep this allows us to get up on the blitz and stop Gorgodze/Morgan building any momentum

• Real impact of the bench. Massive front row to come on and attack the scrum while an in-form Hook and Addison give us game changers in the backs.

Tactics

We will look to play a fast paced attacking game using big carriers running of the 9/10/12 axis to get us over the gain line and generate quick ball. Keeping the ball alive is crucial so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload and get us further over the gain line. Our back three will look to get involved as much as possible running support lines of the halfbacks and midfield looking for the inside ball or offload. If for whatever reason we aren’t getting quick ball, we will look to take control of territory with the boots of Sexton & Steyn and win the kicking battle against Barkley.

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much room as possible to attack from.

• In Worcester territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs. In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

• We will play an aggressive blitz on defence, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Worcester momentum before it can get going.

• Danny Care will act as a sweeper and cover any chips or grubbers behind the defensive line.

• We will leave two players sitting deep to cover any kicks and they will look to counter attack of any loose ball.

• With the blitz in operation, we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it hard and fast. If the ball looks available we will flood the breakdown with Thomson & Quedragao looking to get his hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow the ball down and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

Driver, largely ignoring your points you've raised - Lawes has been doing very well with the Saints lineout since returning, and I said in my tactics that he would be using his athleticism to get at your lineout. Also he's at no6 so he can spend the 80mins running around and smashing your backline to shreds - he's looking forward to meeting Humphries...

Hernandez top class. So don't really need to say anything about that, but suggest you might want to look at how many times he featured on Planet Rugby's team of the week during the RC at fly half...at least twice if memory serves correct.

Must be getting nervous if you are trying to do a Warren Gatland on me

Hernandez top class. So don't really need to say anything about that

Pretty lazy comeback Chris , blokes been average since coming back from RC.

Lawes has been doing very well with the Saints lineout since returning, and I said in my tactics that he would be using his athleticism to get at your lineout.

Has he? could of fooled , you know the bloke who knows Zero about being a forward talking about Line outs.....

Good job I've got Bonnaire on the bench then - if I struggle that much then he'll come on.

Hernandez v good in RC apart from on game v NZ - don't mind him as my no10.

You been watching too much football again mate!

Keep talking about this RC Hernandez who hasn't turned up in the HC yet fella.

Bonnaire on the bench for your lineout? Thought Courtney was going the full 80?

Watch a lot more rugby than football fella , just nothing sports wise comes near to NUFC for me.

Predictions are OPEN

Bath 24 - 23 Newcastle

See both LHs getting on top, but Best gives falcons the edge. Two very good 4s but falcons get the edge with POC. Bath Take the back row with a quality unit. Sarries v Tigers in the HBs with not a great deal in it for me. One apiece in the centre with SBW the standout. Two strong back threes. Really tight game this one. Bath at home and top back row sneaks it. 

Saints 27 - 25 Saracens

Saints take control of the scrum for me with a better unit. Prefer Sarries second row, and without Bonnaire Saimts' lineout looks much weaker. Great back row battle, maybe slight edge to Sarries. Pretty even HB contest with decent form on both sides. Saints take the centres, and two very good back threes. Really good game this, and Sarries will push Saints all the way, but ultimately just fall short. 

HI Pete

My tactics are updated.

Good luck luke. cracking game on paper. will be very close

Mat, sorted

Tactics updated Pete, sorry for being late did it as soon as got in the office

Cheers Pete. Sorry for the lateness of tactics lads. Been one of those weeks.

Yeh should be a good one matt - be interesting to see which way people go.


Wasps 21 - 23 Welsh

Welsh's unit to get on top up front with the power and quality that they have. Wasps have great 2nd form and take this area and the lineout too. Two really good back rows that are tough to split, maybe edge to Welsh. Welsh take the HB battle with real class in there, but I give centres to Wasps with their balanced combo. Welsh take the back threes - team looks so much better with their wingers back. I think Welsh have enough to take a great win here. Good game. 

Worcester 23 - 24 Sale

Probably give the advantage to Worcs up front with their Saffer trio.  Think Sale take the 2nd row with Bekker the standout. Two good back rows with great line breakers. Sale take the HBs, and jut edge the centres too. Pretty even in the back threes. This is really tough to call. I think Sale have just enough to get a good away win. 

Now worries about the late tactics boys, I've had a manic week too so know where you are coming from.

Bath 28 - 26 Newcastle

Front 5's are very close. The major areas of conflict are the back row and half backs and I think Bath definately take the back row (I actually think Kieran Read potentially Pooly's most important returnee when he is back) and the half backs are one a piece with Youngs ahead of Wigglesworth and Hodgson ahead of Flood (on form). I can't call a think between the outside backs with North and SBW the game changers on each side.

Great game. Just goes to Bath.

Gloucester 23 - 23 Leicester

Packs are very close, perhaps a slight advantage to Leicester but not by much. Gloucester stronger in the loose upfront though. Half backs to Gloucester for me, both 9's lacking form but Genia a class above. Goosen and Wilko close battle. Centres dead level but I'd give Leicester the back 3. Can't call this one so a draw from me.

Northampton 31 - 24 Saracens

Forwards go to Saints. I don't really see Saracens doing any damage to the Saints lineout as I don't think there lineout is good enough to disrupt Saints. In the loose I prefer Saints and scrum should go to Northampton. Backs go to Saints in every position. The outside backs are up there with a full strength Bath as the best outside backs in the league. Going to be a long afternoon for Saracens.

London Wasps 19 - 19 London Welsh

Set piece goes one each with Welsh winning the scrum with Jones hurting Daley but I expect Wentzel to do a job on the Welsh lineout. Welsh have the stronger pack overall but I see Wasps as very combative with fighters such as Wilson, Poff and Mafi making it tough for Welsh. Half backs are pretty even. Thomas and Parra both in fine form. Prefer the Wasps centre combo but the Welsh back 3. Another exceptionally tight one.

Worcester 21 - 20 Sale

Worcester have the overall advantage upfront. The back row in particular is sublime and it needed to be to be stronger to the impressive Sale unit. Scrum goes to Worcester with the lineout pretty even. The backline goes to Sale, but I think that the form of Barkley is vital to Worcester's chances in this game. Its a tight one but I think this one goes to Worcester by the narrowest of margins.

That fence will give you splinters Steve

It certainly will. If I can't call them I'd rather people who do see a difference in the sides call them.

Bath 20-22 Falcons

Front row edged to Falcons with both LH getting advantage but hooker a bit more in Best. Good experience in Falcons 2^nd row department but Bath’ll hold their own come lineouts. Strong backrow on show from both so rate this evens. Good sets of hb’s just edged by Falcons, not much in centres or back 3 but Falcons have a bit more to come on from bench so a close win for them.



Glos 19-22 Tigers

Front rows even here. At the moment I just prefer the Tigers 2^nd rows. Backrow edged at 8 by Hari for Glos. 9-10 I’d say are evens. Give the edge just to the Tigers centre partnership and just in the backline with Sharples needing a bit more form against Monye. Prefer the Tigers bench so they’ll take a very good win away from Kingsholm.



Irish 21-20 Quins

Front row edged to Quins but I prefer the Irish back 5 who will just do enough at scrumtime and breakdown. 2 good sets of 9-10 but Irish have a little more quality there. Centres even but prefer the Quins back 3. I feel Quins will score the tries but Evans will take this game through kicks thanks to the pack getting the penalties for Irish.



Saints 20-17 Sarries

Strong Saints front row will get the nudge on at scrum time. Prefer the Sarries 2^nd rows but only just. Saints will win the backrow competition here and have strong runners. Bit of a better hb combo from Saints and more quality in the centres. 2 good sets of back 3 to nullify each other. Think Saints will take this just.



Wasps 14-18 Welsh

Front row quite easily to Welsh. Prefer the hard hitting Wasps 2^nd row though. Back row given to Welsh so they will have scrum dominance but may be challenged come the lineout. Better 9-10 for Welsh with Priestland struggling at the moment. Like both centres but not sure how much ball JD2 will get, him vs Pisi will be a good battle. More bedded in quality in the Welsh back 3 but it’s up front that they win this game.

Bath Rugby 19-22 Newcastle Falcons

Falcons shading the front 5 battle here with some good form and Romano looking a little jaded for Bath. Should get a slight edge at the scrum and around the park. Bath stronger in the back row though with some real class at 7 and 8. Decent battle at halfback. Both sets will get their sides moving. Midfield edges to Falcons with SBW a step up from everyone on show. Two very even back threes on show. Some decent form for both sides and very similar looking playing styles overall. See a few Blesidoe cup players on the bench which hurts Bath in particular. Don’t see tired legs coming on having much affect on the game. Newcastle with a tiny bit more in the starting lineups but home advantage negates that. Bath struggle though in the final quarter with jet lag taking its toll and the high tempo Falcons style is the perfect way to take advantage.

---

Gloucester Rugby 23-27 Leicester Tigers

Can see Tigers getting some joy at scrum time particularly with some meat in the 2nd row. Edge at the lineout to Glaws. Tigers should secure their own ball but Glaws have a lot more variety on attacking ball. Tigers front 5 will get through more work at ruck time though. Tight back row battle. Not much between the flanks. Harri the class 8 on show but lacking form somewhat. See Tigers really getting at the breakdown though with a lot of turnover merchants on show. Halfbacks go to Tigers. While the 9s are close, Wilko is in golden form again and is a level above Goosen currently. Fairly even in midfield with two decent units. For form and class Tigers take the back 3 with a very good unit. Not an awful lot between the benches. Kingsholm factor is always big but Tigers momentum is just as big at the moment. See the Tigers pack outworking Glaws at the breakdown and getting the cleaner ball for the win.

---

London Irish 16-15 Harlequins

Good front 5 battle. Nothing in it at the lineout but Irish will get a little more out of the scrum. Quins unit will get around the park more though. Backrow battle is fairly even. See the 6s even for form and class. 7s shade to Irish, form is becoming a slight issue with Warburton. While 8s shade to Quins with Easter on form. Neither side gets a real advantage. Halfbacks are a step up to Irish with a classy unit. One of the best in the league. Nothing between the midfields while there is some good form in the back threes. More game changers to come in from the bench for Quins. Very close game this one. Impact bench negates home advantage but Irish have that little more on game control and should see out a narrow win.

---

Northampton Saints 17-12 Saracens

Bit more for Saints at the scrum. Neither lineout is the strongest. Saints have plenty of decent jumpers but no leader while Sarries have a decent leader but not many jumping options. In the backrow it’s a good battle on the flanks but Parisse a step up at 8 and will get Saints on the front foot. Halfbacks edge to Saints on current form. Back threes are tight but the Saints midfield is a lot stronger possibly creativity issues though for Saints at 10-12-13. See Saints getting on the front easier in this one. Sarries will make the game a right mess but will struggle to get any momentum themselves.

---

London Wasps 18-22 London Welsh

Scrum advantage to Welsh with a very good front 5 on show. Can’t see either side getting at each others lineouts though. Welsh front 5 will do more around the park though. Feel Welsh are stronger man for man in the backrow and they could really get at Wasps here. Halfbacks shade to Welsh. Nothing between the 10s but Parra the stronger 9 on show. Great runners on show for Welsh in the back 3. Wasps take the midfield. Don’t really see anything between Pisi/Davies but Barrett the stronger IC at the moment. Don’t see either bench really changing the tide of the game. Welsh have the pack to really disrupt here and some good runners in the backs to get a few tries.

Bath v Newcastle
- Front rows are close, Best much better than Brooker gives Falcons an edge there. More experience in falcons 2nd row and good combo. Backrows are both qualtiy and tough to call. Hodgson the form half back out of the 4 on show but Falcons combo a bit better and they link well. Deadly wingers for Falcons, possibly even better attacking wingers for Bath. 4 superb wingers. Falcons centres a little more class but Allen is playing well and Rougerie to come on helps Bath. Both good benches and think at home with Hodgson dictating, Bath can sneak it.
28-27

Glos v Tigers
- Titanic front five battle. Cannot split it. same with backrows. 2 good units. Bit more spark in Glos backline but Tigers are solid and with wilko controlling can stay in the game. great glos bench sees them win at home.
32-29

Saints v Sarries
- Saints get a small edge upfront and a good platform to build off. JMH to me has looked good recently. Fofana / Tuilagi is a great combo and will take some stopping. They will cause Bell / Trinder some issues. Saints have the stronger back 3 also.
35-29

Wasps v Welsh
- Powerful, workman like wasps pack. bit more class in welsh pack with BDP and Dusatoir. Some great AP form players in Wasps backline and Welsh have Habana and JD playing very well. Two good benches to keep the tempo high.
20-20

Worcester v Sale
- Warriors pack is one of my favourites in this league. Real big front five, good lineout, solid scrum, and a backrow that has everything, carriers, breakdown work, big hitters. Barkley at 10 on good form and will kick well. Not sure Cook is quite good enough for this league yet but i rate short dont know why he doesnt get more game time for sarries in reali life. sale also have a strong pack with a good set piece. excellent half back combo which will test warriors. Strong backline too, gets the edge on Warriors, but think the warriors monster pack can sneak them a win, with Jones, Savage, james etc to come on. real close game.
23-21

Bath 24 - 21 Newcastle
Opposite scoreline if Newcastle at home, but see the Bath pack very strong, though having Brooker v Best is a tad of a mismatch. Don't see the Falcons pack getting on top, but could have some joy at the lineout. Backlines both strong, but not sure either are the best combinations. Prefer the impact that hte Bath bench brings here.


Gloucester 21 - 19 Tigers
The Shed's a really hard place to go and I think Tigers would win if the conditions were more suited to their halfbacks. Mat has a really good pack and at home they will be able to do a bit more with their backline. Goosen/Barnes combo would be very good.

London Irish 25 - 25 Quins
Really tough game for me here, and sorry Nick, but I am not a big fan of Lindsay and the packs are really even, but more form in the Quins pack. I think not having the top class hooker here could be an issue, but then you have Hore to bring on from the bench, so it wont cost you. A lot of Steven's team are on very good form, but just think Quins need someone a bit better than Biggs on one of the wings to win these games.

Wasps 28 - 29 Welsh
Love the combination of Manoa and Mafi in the Wasps pack, think that they will cause trouble for all teams in this game for the full 80mins. However, thing that stops Wasps winning this one is really the half back combinaton they have here, if Priestland was on better form then no issues, but Pete has his big guns back in the backline and can just see them having that extra bit of quality here.

Worcester 22 - 21 Sale
This was toughest game of the week to predict on for me, few people have pointed out how good the Warriors pack is and to win away you need to get an advantage here and don't quite see Sale getting that. But Sale have that extra bit of quality in the backline. Warriors will get more ball but wont score tries like Sale could, swinging factor for me in this has been the quality of Barkley's kicking of late and that co,bined with the pack gets the home win.

Gloucester 20-20 Leicester

Great teams. Form issues in Tigers pack and Gloucester backs. Gloucester strong at home hard to beat.

Irish 19-18 Quins

Close pack battle with Irish just shading with form. Step up at halfback shades Irish tight win.

Saints 9-11 Sarries

Not much in teams but Saints tactics wrong and will miss out in poor conditions with Sarries frustrating.

Wasps 19-20 Welsh

Real close affair, some top names in Welsh pack but really close with form. Big issues with Farrell at 12 but JD, Barritt & Pisi in magic form. Welsh just shade.

Worcester 25-25 Sale

Titanic pack battle and great form for both. Sale get edge in front 5 but Worcester back row sublime. Worcester centres and Sale back 3 just hinder each team a little but good contest, can't split.

Bath Rugby 28 Newcastle Falcons 26

Looking man for man there isn't much in it, but Falcons have an edge in a couple of jerseys. When I look at how the units gel together though and where each team can get an edge I only see Falcons having one in the lineout. For me the scrum goes to Bath, and I see their bench as having more form to bring on, which with being at home is enough to give them the win.


Gloucester 22 Leicester Tigers 21

Massive match up this one and as with most games now little in it player wise. A little more physicality perhaps from Leicester, which is unusual as Gloucester are always a big physical side. Slightly better balance in the Gloucester pack for me though, particularly the back row, and being at home is what swings it their way. Tigers would win this at Welford Road.


London Irish 32 Harlequins 29

This has tries written all over it and is an even contest. The difference for me is at half back where Irish are a step up on Quins and that ultimately is what would win them this game.


Northampton Saints 27 Saracens 23

Searching for real differences in the sides and places where a decent edge can be gained, and in this one it is in the centres where it's a big step up for Saints and I can see them getting a lot of joy in that area. Home advantage as well and it's a comfortable win.


Worcester Warriors 23 Sale Sharks 23

Can't split this one. Nothing in it in most areas. I have maybe Sale as slightly better overall but not enough to win away. Strong Worcester pack would not lose this one at home.

Pete wont bw able to predict gave to be at rugby for 11 to do pitch inspection with durham refs. Snow overnight may have froze pitch

Bath 22-21 falcons what a game. Bath much stronger with players back as are falcons. Tough to call.falcons edge lineout and bath scrum. Can see this as a draw until the bath bench come on. Having players on form like Aaron smith makes the difference.

Irish 28-27

Another ridiculously close match. Packs level. Quins take front row. Second rows one a piece. Backrow fairly even with 2 great units that work well.massive gulf
In class at half backs. However burns in exceptional form.

Quins take centres and think they would work brilliantly with burns.
Nick Evans wins it with kick at the death

Worcester 22-21 sale.

Worcester pack will get on top here . Great carrying options for Worcester. Think sale have better packs but will not get enough quality ball to win.

Saints 28-27 sarries

Closer than it looks on paper for several reasons. Neither side has the greatest lineouts. Packs fairly even and the light rain will make it disjointed.

In heavy wet weather sarries will turn over teams with their pack. Great backrow balance for sarries. Lawes is out of his depth at 6 at this level.

Saints backline is sublime and nearly all in form. J m h also will be able to execute great kicking game. Saints back 3 lightning and Ashton on fire. Would not fancy the saints back 3 in heavy conditions but here they will out.

Cane vs Rennie would be worth price of admission

Sorry realised i didn't predict on this game as was waiting on tactics...

 Irish 26 - 24 Harlequins

Give the advantage to Quins up front with Lindsay struggling, but the prop battle is huge. Both TH's to get the nudge on. Form sees Quins get the 2nd row advantage, whilst the back row battle is huge, with both teams having in form options. Irish get a good advantage at HB, with the centres being a great battle. Irish much better back three. Really tough to call this, Quins better back 5, but Irish at home and big fan of their 9, 10, 12 combo and think they will just nick this.