Amlin Cup Quarter Finals

Amlin Seedings

1. Saracens (30pts)
2. Harlequins (29pts)
3. Sale Sharks (28pts)
4. London Welsh (27pts)
5. Worcester Warriors (24pts)

9. Montpellier (19pts)
10. Connacht (15pts)
11. Munster (15pts)

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Team & Tactics - 0000hrs Sunday
Predictions - 2000 hrs Tuesday

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Saracens vs Worcester Warriors
Location - Allianz Park
Weather - Sunny, 9 degrees, 8mph North Easterly

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Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Leigh Halfpenny (K)
05. Bakkies Botha	12. Tom Casson
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Richie McCaw (c.)	14. Tom Williams
08. Nick Easter	15. Alex Goode

16. Matt Mullen 17. Schalk Brits 18. Ben Tameifuna 19. Olly Kohn 20. Billy Vunipola 20. Will Fraser 22. Jordan Burns 23. Beauden Barrett

Tactics- the Allianze Park is ideal for running rugby in most weather, and as a unique match surface will give us an instant advantage over Worcester who won't be used to 4G. We also feel that we have more strength in depth in our pack than Worcester and will aim to use this to our advantage.

Breakdown- act as a unit, with Easter clearing out, McCaw fighting for the ball on the ground and Brown switching between the two and the rest of the pack chipping in. Commit numbers to turnover-able ball from either side but otherwise don't over commit and let Richie get quick ball and slow theirs and use numbers to set the defence and expand our attack. McCaw to chase the ball in attack

Scrum- really have a go at their scrum- they are resting some players and we have excellent subs to use if the front 5 get tired. Go all out in the shove and target Marler and Radburn. If we get momentum, use it to let Easter set up some back row moves to make space for our backs.

Lineout- Ryan to call, Botha to jump at the front to disrupt their ball. Mix up our options as 4-8 are all jumpers, but use Botha and Ryan as banker-ball at position 2 and 4. Any ball that isn't clean, maul and tire their pack.

Defence- Blitz to cut their space, with Buchanan sweeping the chip. Give Nonu no momentum and he can't break the line. Smith to organise. Parra is the best defensive 9 in the world and will man-mark Perry and later Genia out of the game. Brown to lead the defence at ruck fringes and McCaw to get after Carter to pressurise him and take heat off Hodgson.

Attack- maul and pick and drive with slower ball and take their pack's energy down, unless the pressure is on then Parra can kick it. Forwards to pick in units of 3. Work our pack (and thus theirs) as hard as possible from the off. If the quick ball is there Parra can decide whether to make the break or spin it quickly. Hodgson to play flat with Casson as the strike runner, Smith the supporter, Williams and Halfpenny to look for ball off the Blindside wing and Goode to join to switch the direction of attack as a 2nd distributor. When Cuthbert is alone as the blindside winger, target his positioning in defence with 8 pick ups off the scrum and forward carries off the ruck. Aim to move the ball around and offload a lot to keep the ball alive but McCaw to chase the ball to provide a supporter for any breaks/pops or to instantly recover the ball when we go to ground. Once the opposition tire in the second half, start to use Vunipola (and Brits when on) in the crash.

Kicking- take all easy points but if hard, kick for the corner and driving maul. Parra to kick for territory when there is space, Hodgson to kick high for possession with McCaw and the wings on the chase. Target Savea in the air. Chase all kicks

Subs- Our pack will tire so substitute once this happens, we have 5 forwards on the bench for this purpose, with Fraser to keep winning ball (can replace Brown if we need more breakdown work), Billy for impact. Burns covers 9 and wing and can break the game up late on with his pace.

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Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Shaun Perry
02. Will Radburn	10. Kurtley Beale
03. Tevita Taumepeau
04. Gerhard Mostert	11. Marcel Garvey
05. George Robson	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Robbie Freaun
07. Michael Hooper	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Liam Messam	15. Tom Homer

16. George Porter 17. Tatafa Polota Nau 18. Juan Figallo 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Ben Morgan 21. Will Genia 22. Dan Carter 23. Julien Savea

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Harlequins vs Montpellier
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Weather - Sunny, 9 degrees, 9mph North Easterly

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Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Marcos Ayerza	09.Richard Wrigglesworth(c)
02.Joe Grey	10.Morne Steyn (k)
03.Chris Budgen
04.Mouritz Botha	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Iain Henderson	13.Adam Ashley Cooper
07.Chris Robshaw	14.Mark Cueto
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendanon

16.Nathan Morris 17.Mark Lambert 18.James Johnstone 19.Eben Etzebeth20.Jamie Gibson 21.Bryn Hall 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Ollie Lindsey Hague

- Usual Quins game , power based game.

- Clear rucks out to give our backs quick ball.

- Steyn to ping Montpillier back

- Outside backs to run at there line and ask questions of it.

- Blitz with Wiggs sweeping.

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Montpellier Herault

Manager – Fabien Galthie

01. Yvan Watremez	09. Julien Tomas
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Mamuka Gorgodze	11. Timoci Nagusa
05. Aliki Fakate	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo (c.)	13. Thomas Cornbezou
07. Remy Martin	14. Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Benjamin Thiery

16. Na'ama Leleimalefaga 17. Charles Geli 18. Maximiliano Gustos 19. Mickael de Marco 20. Alex Tulou 21. Benoit Paillaugue 22. Santiago Fernandez 23. Jean-Baptiste Peyras

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Sale Sharks vs Connacht
Location - Salford City Stadium
Weather - Sunny, 9 degrees, 3mph South Southwesterly

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Sale Sharks

Manager – N/A

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Aaron Cruden (k)
03.Davit Kubriashvilli
04.Matt Garvey (c)	11.Eli Walker
05.Yoann Maestri	12.Jonathon Davies
06.James Gaskell	13.Jonathan Joseph
07.Dave Seymour	14.Cameron Shephard
08. JMF Lobbe	15.Rob Miller

Subs 16.Marc Jones 17.Logovoi Mulipola 18.Henry Thomas 19.Dean Schofield 20.Schalk Burger 21.Scott Mathie 22.Johan Goosen 23.Tom Brady

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Tactics

• Cruden to stand flat to put Connacht defence under pressure.
  
  
• JJ and wingers to look to get on ball carriers shoulders for a potential offload.
  
  
• Look to use the power of the pack to grind down the opposition
  
  
• Look to get the ball into Cruden's hands so he can get Davies and JJ into gaps
  
  
• JMF to run lineout. With Garvey, Gaskell and Maestri all good jumpers as well.
  
  
• Subs as and when needed.
  
  
• Cruden to take all points on offer.
  

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Connacht

[i]Manager – Eric Elwood

01. Dennis Buckley	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Adrian Flavin	10. Dan Parks (k)
03. Nathan White
04. Michael Swift	11. Fetu'u Vainikolo
05. Mike McCarthy	12. David McSharry
06. John Muldoon (c.)	13. Eoin Griffin
07. Willie Faloon	14. Tiernan O'Halloran
08. George Naoupou	15. Robbie Henshaw

16. Jason Harris-Wright, 17. Brett Wilkinson, 18. Ronan Loughney, 19.Eoin McKeon, 20. Johnny O'Connor, 21. Dave Moore, 22. Miah Nikora, 23. Gavin Duffy

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London Welsh vs Munster
Location - Kassam Stadium
Weather - Sunny, 9 degrees, 8mph North Easterly

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London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Ruan Pienaar (K)
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans
03. Frans Malherbe
04. George Kruis	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Steve Borthwick (C)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Maxime Medard

16. Rhys Gill 17. David Wilson 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Dean Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 21. Danny Care 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Horacio Agulla

Tactics

With a strong record at home the team will look to build on recent form and set up a strong finish to the campaign. We look to impose ourselves from the off and let the opposition know how we are going to play the game and how we want to dictate the pace of the game. Our brand of rugby is physical and fast, however we won't just run the ball at every opportunity. We will only play in the right areas of the paddock, and Evans knows when to attack and when we need to clear the lines. We will look to go through simple phases to reproduce quick ball to cut the defence open. We have brilliant leaders all other the pitch in Borthwick, Pienaar and Evans, and they know what will be required to get we want from the game - a win. With the decent conditions, we will look to play a simple expansive game in attack and in defence will look to force Munster to play from in their 22 and use our strong lineout and kicking game to pressure them.

• James and Wilson are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possession for our backs. A big target for us here is to get under the front-row and make them go backwards with constant pressure.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, Borthwick will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Kruis jumping in the middle. If winning own ball Borthwick will look to call full number lineouts to tie in the Munster fowards.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. We will look to offload in the tackle to keep moving the point of attack and tire out the big Munster pack, this will keep POC, Ryan and their big players on the move.
  
  
• The backrow will target the halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball, which will lead to them rushing and making handling errors and mistakes. Big empahsis on running forwards down the ten channel when there is slow ball.
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing them from setting any defensive lines. Evans will direct traffic with the use of quick pods systems outside the guards of the rucks, and target any of our forwards against their backs.
  
  
• We will use a banana drift line in defence to cut down ROG's options and push him inside towards our backrow.
  
  
• Look for Pickles to run down ROG's channel off scrums, and big carries down this channel in open play.
  
  
• Evans has some dangerous backs out side him, and will look to use them at every valid opportunity after we have tied in forwards or created mismatches in the defensive line.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game. To get an advantage in the scrum, and collisions with big impact players.
  
  
• Pienaar will kick all points, he can kick from within their half, so this indicates that Munster should be wary of giving away penalties.
  
  
• This is a big game for the two teams, and we realise that it will be heated. Therefore with the experience in our side we will look to not give away silly penalties, but punish those given to us.

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Munster

Manager – Rob Penney

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Conor Murray
02. Mike Sherry	10. Ian Keatley
03. BJ Botha
04. Donncha O'Callaghan	11. Simon Zebo
05. Paul O'Connell	12. James Downey
06. Donnacha Ryan	13. Casey Laulala
07. Sean Dougall	14. Doug Howlett (c)
08. Peter O'Mahoney	15. Keith Earls

16. Damien Varley 17. Marcus Horan 18. Stephen Archer 19. Billy Holland 20. Paddy Butler 21. Duncan Williams 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Felix Jones

Montpellier Herault
Manager – Fabien Galthie

01. Yvan Watremez	09. Julien Tomas
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Mamuka Gorgodze	11. Timoci Nagusa
05. Aliki Fakate	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo (c.)	13. Thomas Cornbezou
07. Remy Martin	14. Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Benjamin Thiery

16. Na'ama Leleimalefaga 17. Charles Geli 18. Maximiliano Gustos 19. Mickael de Marco 20. Alex Tulou 21. Benoit Paillaugue 22. Santiago Fernandez 23. Jean-Baptiste Peyras

cheers for the help CJ! Bored by any chance though

Fluxy wrote:cheers for the help CJ! Bored by any chance though

Avoiding family

Connacht

Manager – Eric Elwood

01. Dennis Buckley	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Adrian Flavin	10. Dan Parks (k)
03. Nathan White
04. Michael Swift	11. Fetu'u Vainikolo
05. Mike McCarthy	12. David McSharry
06. John Muldoon (c.)	13. Eoin Griffin
07. Willie Faloon	14. Tiernan O'Halloran
08. George Naoupou	15. Robbie Henshaw

16. Jason Harris-Wright, 17. Brett Wilkinson, 18. Ronan Loughney, 19.Eoin McKeon, 20. Johnny O'Connor, 21. Dave Moore, 22. Miah Nikora, 23. Gavin Duffy

Munster

Manager – Rob Penney

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Conor Murray
02. Mike Sherry	10. Ian Keatley
03. BJ Botha
04. Donncha O'Callaghan	11. Simon Zebo
05. Paul O'Connell	12. James Downey
06. Donnacha Ryan	13. Casey Laulala
07. Sean Dougall	14. Doug Howlett (c)
08. Peter O'Mahoney	15. Keith Earls

16. Damien Varley 17. Marcus Horan 18. Stephen Archer 19. Billy Holland 20. Paddy Butler 21. Duncan Williams 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Felix Jones

Etz vs Gorgodze!!!!!!

Sell tickets for that alonr!

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Leigh Halfpenny (k)
05. Bakkies Botha	12. Tom Casson
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Richie McCaw (c.)	14. Tom Williams
08. Nick Easter	15. Alex Goode

16. Matt Mullen 17. Schalk Brits 18. Ben Tameifuna 19. Olly Kohn 20. Billy Vunipola 20. Will Fraser 22. Jordan Burns 23. Beauden Barrett

Tactics- the Allianze Park is ideal for running rugby in most weather, and as a unique match surface will give us an instant advantage over Worcester who won't be used to 4G. We also feel that we have more strength in depth in our pack than Worcester and will aim to use this to our advantage.

Breakdown- act as a unit, with Easter clearing out, McCaw fighting for the ball on the ground and Brown switching between the two and the rest of the pack chipping in. Commit numbers to turnover-able ball from either side but otherwise don't over commit and let Richie get quick ball and slow theirs and use numbers to set the defence and expand our attack. McCaw to chase the ball in attack

Scrum- really have a go at their scrum- they are resting some players and we have excellent subs to use if the front 5 get tired. Go all out in the shove and target Marler and Radburn. If we get momentum, use it to let Easter set up some back row moves to make space for our backs.

Lineout- Ryan to call, Botha to jump at the front to disrupt their ball. Mix up our options as 4-8 are all jumpers, but use Botha and Ryan as banker-ball at position 2 and 4. Any ball that isn't clean, maul and tire their pack.

Defence- Blitz to cut their space, with Buchanan sweeping the chip. Give Nonu no momentum and he can't break the line. Smith to organise. Parra is the best defensive 9 in the world and will man-mark Perry and later Genia out of the game. Brown to lead the defence at ruck fringes and McCaw to get after Carter to pressurise him and take heat off Hodgson.

Attack- maul and pick and drive with slower ball and take their pack's energy down, unless the pressure is on then Parra can kick it. Forwards to pick in units of 3. Work our pack (and thus theirs) as hard as possible from the off. If the quick ball is there Parra can decide whether to make the break or spin it quickly. Hodgson to play flat with Casson as the strike runner, Smith the supporter, Williams and Halfpenny to look for ball off the Blindside wing and Goode to join to switch the direction of attack as a 2nd distributor. When Cuthbert is alone as the blindside winger, target his positioning in defence with 8 pick ups off the scrum and forward carries off the ruck. Aim to move the ball around and offload a lot to keep the ball alive but McCaw to chase the ball to provide a supporter for any breaks/pops or to instantly recover the ball when we go to ground. Once the opposition tire in the second half, start to use Vunipola (and Brits when on) in the crash.

Kicking- take all easy points but if hard, kick for the corner and driving maul. Parra to kick for territory when there is space, Hodgson to kick high for possession with McCaw and the wings on the chase. Target Savea in the air. Chase all kicks

Subs- Our pack will tire so substitute once this happens, we have 5 forwards on the bench for this purpose, with Fraser to keep winning ball (can replace Brown if we need more breakdown work), Billy for impact. Burns covers 9 and wing and can break the game up late on with his pace.

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Shaun Perry
02. Will Radburn	10. Kurtley Beale
03. Tevita Taumepeau
04. Gerhard Mostert	11. Marcel Garvey
05. George Robson	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Robbie Freaun
07. Michael Hooper	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Liam Messam	15. Tom Homer

16. George Porter 17. Tatafa Polota Nau 18. Juan Figallo 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Ben Morgan 21. Will Genia 22. Dan Carter 23. Julien Savea

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Marcos Ayerza	09.Richard Wrigglesworth(c)
02.Joe Grey	10.Morne Steyn (k)
03.Chris Budgen
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Iain Henderson	13.Adam Ashley Cooper
07.Chris Robshaw	14.Mark Cueto
08.Dave Denton	15.Jared Payne

16.Nathan Morris 17.Mark Lambert 18.James Johnstone 19.Mouritz Botha 20.Jamie Gibson 21.Bryn Hall 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Ollie Lindsey Hague

- Usual Quins game , power based game.

- Clear rucks out to give our backs quick ball.

- Steyn to ping Montpillier back

- Outside backs to run at there line and ask questions of it.

- Blitz with Wiggs sweeping.

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Ruan Pienaar (K)
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans
03. Frans Malherbe
04. George Kruis	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Steve Borthwick (C)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Maxime Medard

16. Rhys Gill 17. David Wilson 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Dean Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 21. Danny Care 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Horacio Agulla

Driver/CJB - you both need 7 EQ starters with 10 in total in the match day squad

Just marking

Abendonan at 15 and swap Mo Botha for Etz

Changed kicker to Halfpenny

These are open too

Sarries 27-23 Warriors
Sarries have the stronger pack but Warriors will bring a bit back in the outside backs but not much between the two. Tactics and home advantage take it, Started with Genia and Carter and this would be a different story.

Quins 18-14 Montpellier
Quins much stronger in the outside backs here and a strong scrummaging front 5 wins it.

Sale 30-18 Connacht
As much as I like Connacht, Sale are a step up in most positions and a lot stronger overall to take a good win.

Welsh 20-17 Munster
Welsh edge the set piece and good control from 9-10 will help them get across the gainline. Barritt will halt the Munster attack early, good result, won't be pretty.

Saracens 32 - 25 Worcester Warriors

Upfront just a bit more from Sarries, the back rows are close but a bit more form for Sarries again. Saracens are a close above in the halfbacks and with the clean ball their backs get the upper hand as well. With the quality of the Wuss backs able to steal a try or two. Good tactics from Saracens and a strong team up front win them this game, along with some brilliant in form forwards on the bench

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Harlequins 24 - 18 Montpellier

Up front it's close, Quins have the power but Montpellier have that and some guile. Halfbacks again are evens, but Quins outside backs decide the game for them as they will get the better of their opponents. Fofana to get a brace of tries here.

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Sale Sharks 26 - 15 Connacht

Sale have much more quality over Connacht in key positions, allied with the home advantage I can't look past them here.

Quins 21 - Montpellier 17
Sale 25 - Connacht 12

Welsh 22 - 18 Munster

Saracens 27-22 Worcester

Sarries have really went for this and just have that bit of extra quality out. Worcester will compete, ESP with a tidy backrow who'll get in the face of the Saracens unit but Sarries too much

Harlequins 23-20 Montpellier

Sale 27-20 Connacht

Welsh 24-22 Munster

Tie of round. Munster in great nick but Welsh have a great team out, top game.

Quins 26-20 Montpelier
Sale 32-21 Connacht
Welsh 25-24 Munster

Saracens 20-14 Worcester

Worc can get some joy through midfield with serious power but question marks over Beale at the moment directing traffic and feel the Sarries front 5 will get around the park more.

Harlequins 26-20 Montpellier
Sale 20-15 Connacht
Welsh 27-23 Munster

Saracens 23 Worcester 17
Sale Sharks 35 Connacht 19
London Welsh 22 Munster Rugby 21

Closed at 8pm mate

My bad , been in since early on this morning.

Get internet in 1 room in the full house lol.

No dramas fella, I've struggled with time too lately

Guessing i don't use Driver's scores in the results? I'll publish with and without

RESULTS

Sarries 29 (28) - Worcester 21 (20)
Quins 26 - Montpellier 18
Sale 30 (31) - Connacht 17 (17)
Welsh 26 (26) - Munster 21 (21)

Technically we did the seedings wrong

But we need a draw for the Semi finals, if pooly could find a way to randomise that?

Oh really, How?

Cheers boys, mega busy at min.

We'll just do;

Sarries - 1
Quins - 2
Sale - 3
Welsh - 4

I'll random them for games

Saracens v Harlequins (Twickernam)

Welsh v Sale (Welford Road)