Aviva Premiership Round Twenty

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

---

Exeter Chiefs vs London Irish
Location - Sandy Park
Weather - Light Rain, 11 degrees, 18 mph Southerly

---

Exeter Chiefs

Manager – Pooly (Caretaker)

01. John Afoa	09. TJ Perenara
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Pascal Pape	11. Israel Folau
05. James Horwill	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Steve Mafi	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Cory Jane
08. Toby Faletau	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Simon Alcott 18. John Andress 19. James Hanks 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Gonzalo Camacho

Tactics

- Look to set a tone in the set piece with big front 5 unit & two big scrummaging locks
- Dominate collisions and allow TJ fast ball to attack with
- Look to ruck over the ball and allow Steffon to get in amongst things
- Wilko to take 3 points on offer
- Look to keep ball in hand and work through the phases

---

London Irish

Manager – N/A

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Simon Shaw	11. Marland Yarde
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Dan Bowden
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. David Strettle
08. Imanol Harinodoquy	15. Delon Armitage (k)

16. Rob Herring, 17. Paulica Ion, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Tom Palmer, 20. Jerome Kaino, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Brock James, 23. Sailosi Tagicakibau

---

---

Harlequins vs Bath Rugby
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Weather - Light Rain Showers, 12 degrees, 13 mph Southerly

---

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Marcos Ayerza	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.Joe Grey	10.Gareth Steenson
03.James Johnstone
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Hudson Tonga'uhia
06.Marcell Coatzee	13.Adam Ashley Cooper
07.Chris Robshaw(c)	14.Mark Cueto
08.Dave Denton	15.Jared Payne

16.Neil Briggs 17.John Smit 18.Will Collier 19.Mo Botha 20.Iain Henderson 21.Bryn Hall 22.Morne Steyn 23.James Short

---

Bath Rugby
Manager – Flux/Pooly

01. Cian Healy	09. Micheal Classens
02. Adrian Strauss	10. James Hook (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Dave Attwood	11. Tom Varndell
05. Johann Muller	12. Francois Steyn
06. Carl Fearns	13. Elliot Daly
07. Francois Louw(c)	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Israel Dagg

16. John Golding 17. Christophe Tolufua 18. Kane Palmer-Newport 19. Rynhardt Eldsadt 20. Julian Salvi 21. Chris Cook 22. Kyle Eastmond 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

• Basic game around the big front five, being mobile and strong in contact. The whole pack can carry the ball well, Hook and Claasens will use a simple pod system to get front foot ball.
  
  
• Muller to run lineout, Attwood and Louw as back up jumpers, great advantage and possession to be had here against Welsh.
  
  
• Mobile back-row that can carry and be a nuisance at the breakdown, either turning ball over or slowing it down.
  
  
• Claasens and Hook to play a simple game, slow ball goes to forwards to gain momentum. Quick ball shipped into Steyns hand who will look to get the back three and Daly into spaces.
  
  
• Hook to kick, Steyn to kick for long range penalties.
  
  
• Dagg to marshal the back-three and look to counter any poor kicks to him or his back-three.
  
  
• In the decent conditions, simple but small popping of the ball to big carriers coming in at angles will keep Quins defence going backwards.

---

---

Leicester Tigers vs London Wasps
Location - Welford Road
Weather - Light Rain, 11 degrees, 14 mph South South Easterly

---

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Digby Ioane
05. Richie Gray	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willam Alberts	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton	14. Marlon Yarde
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Rob Kearney

16. Bismark du Plessis 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Kyle Snickler 19. Geoff Parling 20. Liam Gill 21. Karl Dickson 22. Jordan Turner-Hall 23. Miles Benjamin

---

London Wasps

Manager – CF

01. Tendai Mtawaria	09. Piri Weepu (C)
02. Dimitri Swarzeski	10. Owen Farrell (K)
03. Hoani Tui
04. George Skivington	11. Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Matheiu Basteraud
06. Tinius Du Plessis	13. Luke Marshall
07. Matt Everard	14. Ugo Monye
08. Jacques Burger	15. Mike Brown

Replacements: 16.George Chuter 17.Ben Broster 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Louis Deacon 20.Theiry Dusatoir 21,Micky Young 22.Nicky Robinson 23.Maxmie Mermoz

Relatively strong side out tonight. The tight 3 are world class. The beast is the stand out strong in defence and is feared worldwide. Big game for Swarzeski, needs to stay strong in the lineout and will communicate a lot with his forwards. Tui makes a rare start as we can see how he does. Wentzel and Skivington paired together again after a while. Weepu and Farrell at 9 and 10 are class. Farrell will kick whenever possible especially in behind for the back to run onto. Basteraud is the powerhouse in the center with the young Marshall looking to run into the gaps with the ball.

Wasps only have two front row replacements on the bench. Paul Sackey randomly selected and removed and added Boris Stankovich in his place.

---

---

London Welsh v Northampton Saints
Location - Kassam Stadium
Weather - Light Rain, 11 degrees, 14 mph Southerly

---

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

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

16. Rhys Gill 17. David Wilson 18. Tom Lindsay 19. George Kruis 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 O'Connell, 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 Saints 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 O'Connell jumping in the middle. If winning own ball Borthwick will look to call full number lineouts to tie in the Saints 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 Saints pack, this will keep Ferris, Bekker, Wood and Read on the move.
  
  
• The backrow will target the halfbacks, 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. - With the fact that Smith and Sexton can withdraw into their shells when under pressure.
  
  
• 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 Sexton's options and push him inside towards our backrow.
  
  
• Look for Pickles to run down Sexton'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.
  
  
• With the wet and tricky conditions, a simple territory based game with our strong lineout will and minimal amount of errors will win the game.

---

Northampton Saints

Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Gael Fickou
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. JP Pieterson
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Calum Clark 21. Aaron Smith 22. Stephen Myler 23. Jamie Elliot

Key Points

• Look to rattle the Welsh halfbacks with big runners and tacklers down their channels. Both have struggled for form IRL in recent months.

• Win the contact battle. Picamoles aside Welsh lack carriers in the pack and if we can win the contact battle Welsh will struggle to get any momentum going.

Tactics

We will look to control territory and apply pressure on Welsh in key areas looking to force mistakes. When in possession in the right areas, we will look to play a strong carrying game, attacking in groups so as to win the collisions and get over the gain line. Offloads will be kept to an absolute minimum as we look to sustain pressure deep in Welsh territory. We will kick all penalties in Welsh territory at goal and take the drop goal option whenever it’s available.

• In these conditions the scrum will be an important weapon. With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep it up and take full advantage drawing penalties from Welsh.

• With handling an issue we want to keep things simple and use Bekker, Wood and Read as banker ball at the lineout. We will look to bring the ball down into the maul and use the physicality of our pack to drive us into the right areas.

• We will look to blitz aggressively, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any opposition momentum before it can get going.

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

• The back 3 will sit deep to cover any kicks down the line and 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 it with Wood 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.

---

---

Sale Sharks vs Gloucester
Location - Salford City Stadium
Weather - Light Rain, 11 degrees, 11 mph South South Easterly

---

Sale Sharks

Manager – N/A

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Gary Botha	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Henry Thomas
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Cameron Shepard
05. James Gaskell	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Matt Garvey	13. Jonathon Joseph
07. David Seymour	14. Tom Brady
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Nathan Charles, 17. Davit Kubriashvili , 18. Logoviii Mulipola, 19. Kearnan Myall, 20. Schalk Burger, 21. Scott Mathie, 22. Johan Goosen, 23. Charlie Amesbury

---

Gloucester

01. Nick Wood	09. Dimitri Yachvilli
02. Rory Best	10. Pat Lambie (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Shane Monahan
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Savage	13. JDJ
07. Sam Cane	14. JSD
08. JVN (c)	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Korree Britton 17. Antoine Guillamon 18. Rubert Harden 19. Akapusi Qera 20. Luke Narraway 21. Dan Robson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics

Key Points

Strong-Balanced Backrow
JVN brings a very strong carrying game and can run off our outside backs to hit the gaps and power through. Cane brings his breakdown work and learning from the master McCaw can't be a bad thing at international level he will look to make a nuisance of himself. Savage brings abrasiveness and hard hitting tackles, he will bring impact with his loose play and in the tight. These three will be the backbone to a good win.

Running Rugby
We want to play running rugby today and have picked hard hitting centres who will do the job in making both their tackles and in breaking the gainline to offload to our dangerous back three who will be running a number of different angles and keeping the opposition guessing.

Powerful Front 5
We have picked a heavy unit in our front 5 to get us the nudge come scrum time and disrupt a lot of Sale ball at the set piece. All are powerful runners and can cause mayhem in quick clearing out of players either on the wrong side or on the side of the ruck (legally).

Attacking

• We come off the back of a huge win and expect nothing else but another big win.

• Yachvilli and Lambie to play what's in front of them and look to release Roberts or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Lambie will stick it in the corners and, with Hamilton, Whitelock, Cane, JVN and Savage we have a number of jumpers to gain the ball back.

• Look for runners off of 10 and 12 channel to make the initial break before sending the ball out wide to JSD and Sharples.

• We will look to use our big pack to carry alot of ball and, if it isn't on then run off of 9 and take a couple of 'up the jumper' phases to drag defenders in.

• Our back three will look to come off their wings and hit the right angles.

• Impact bench to shore up our victory and to keep the scoreboard ticking (Burns) , Robson and Trinder will play fast-in your face-rugby, Qera and Narraway will have a field day against tired legs in the loose.

Set Piece

• Strong scrum which will get the edge up on the tighthead side and a good bench to come on as well to continue the pressure, 8-9-10 is a move we will use alot.

• We will use the maul to get ourselves up the pitch quickly and power over from short distance.

• Lineout has been mentioned previously where we have many strong jumpers here who will look to control attacking and defensive ones.

Defending

• Banana blitz defence targetting 10 so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres, we will protect the channels to stop 9 sniping.

• Yachvilli to control the game and will look to sweep and counter attack off any kick through's.

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Savage and Cane time to get over the ball and obliterate any protection they have in place.

• If the turnover isn't on we won't commit and will fan out defending inside-out.

---

---

Saracens vs Worcester Warriors
Location - The Allianz Park
Weather - Light Rain, 11 degrees, 12 mph Southerly

---

Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullen	09. Morgan Parra
02. Schalk Brits	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Ben Tameifuna
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Leigh Halfpenny (k)
05. Ollie Kohn	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Tom Williams
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Alex Goode

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Sekope Kepu 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Richie McCaw 20. Ben Spencer 22. Charlie Hodgson 23. Drew Mitchell

Tactics-

We have rotated several key players to keep the squad fresh at the end of the season after a hard European game

In this weather we will be playing a territorial game keeping the ball generally tight. We will use the forwards a great deal and expect them to work their socks off knowing we have quality replacements on the bench to counter fatigue.

Breakdown- work as a pack, Fraser slowing/stealing/winning quick ball, Billy clearing out and Brown switching between the 2. The rest of the forwards to help out. Counter-ruck with numbers if the ball is turnoverable, if not don't over commit so we have numbers in defence.

Scrum- very strong unit here, push hard throughout to get at their front row as we can replace tired legs. If the ball is sticking in hand well and we get some go-forward, let Billy charge down the blindside to test their defence on that side

Lineout- Ryan to call and main jump, several other options to use but keep it simple. Use the maul off the lineout to tire their pack, and let's challenge their throw with Ryan in the poor weather. If it starts to falter, bring on Botha or McCaw to help it.

Defence- Blitz, looking to double up tacklers to either create mauls or have a man straight at the breakdown, as the extra space outside this will make is less exploitable with reduced handling in the rain. If we have the time, go for the big hit with the pack as we might knock the ball loose. Brown lead fringe defence, Smith the line and Brits to sweep and return the chip.

Attack- Keep it simple. Parra to make the decisions and keep it tight in 3-man drives and mauls when slow and quickfire forward pick and go attacks when quicker, straight down the ruck fringes. When we spread it, have Barrett in depth to kick when necessary and let him bring in the defence then either pass to Allen who runs straight if their 12 steps in or pop to Billy/Brits on the crash if he steps out. If there is an overlap use it otherwise don't force the pass. Smith running in support. Look for either HB to chip or crossfield kick to the wingers (their wings are culpable in the air) or garry-owen for the flankers to chase in the opposition 22. Fraser to hunt the ball like a hound. Take DGs if the defence holds. If their wingers are isolated on the blind side, target them with a quick attack.

Kicking - take all points on offer through 1/2p. Kick for territory and kick back receptions unless a run is on- our back 3 are surer under the high ball. Chase all kicks but look for depth and to play in their 22.

Subs- replace once tiredness shows, or Botha on if lineout is weak, McCaw (with Brown to 8 if needed) if we need work at the breakdown.

---

Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Will Genia
02. Tafata Polota Nau	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. George Robson	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Robbie Freaun
07. Michael Hooper	14. Julien Savea
08. Ben Morgan	15. Tom Homer

16. Will Radburn 17. George Porter 18. Tevita Taumopeau 19. Gerhard Mostert 20. Liam Messam 21. Shaun Perry 22. Matt Hooper 23. Kurtley Beale


Overall: Look for strong running rugby led by our half back combination who will look to control our tempo and keep us playing in the right areas. In the conditions we will look to establish set piece dominance and lots of forward carries with nothing too fancy

We have momentum. 10 wins in 13 games, with 2 losses the result of a second string. Our players will be fresh and with the high of winning will be looking to keep the run going

We are expecting to dominate the scrum with a good squeeze and will look to win penalties. Look for Figallo to pressure Mullan who we think is a weakness. If we experience looks of success here look to relentlessly target it.

At the lineout we feel we can hold our own and if we can develop an advantage early we shall look to switch the game plan and look for corners with the boot. Robson, Kitchener, Morgan and Haskell are all quality jumpers and we will look to switch up the lineout. Brits has slightly suspect throwing and we will look to challenge this.

As well as performing in the set piece we will be looking to get our forwards making some big carries in open play. This will be key in the conditions and with our big runners we feel we can dominate. We will be looking to burst into space and makes gains with the likes of Morgan, TPN, Figallo and Haskell on the ball.

Look to attack the breakdown hard and fast with lots of bodies looking to slow down or turn over Sarries ball. We have picked a back row that we feel can really target the breakdown with Hooper our main man.

Strong half back combination will be looking to control the tempo of our game. Will Genia will play his natural game mixing it up with his passing and his sniping runs. Dan Carter is our main playmaker and will look to use his vast array of talents to adapt to the game. He will look to get his running and passing game involved while his kicking offers another option.

The back five will be looking to make inroads with their attacking running. Nonu will be look to make strong runs, crashing through defences. He will look to draw in defences to offer more space for our other runners. Freaun, Homer, Cuthbert and Savea will be looking to make use of the spaces with their running

Use a blitz defence with Homer trailing

With Carter, Genia and Homer we have some quality boots and we will look to take advantage. If we experience dominance at the lineout look to put the ball into corners. Genia will also use his box kick abilities to give our players something to chase.

We will look to make full use of our bench. Porter, Radian + Taumoepeau are quality options who will look to get involved around the park and at scrumtime. Mostert will look to come on add Grit. Messam can add his carrying for our pack. Hopper and Beale can be solid against tired legs.

---

Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Will Genia
02. Tafata Polota Nau	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. George Robson	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Robbie Freaun
07. Michael Hooper	14. Julien Savea
08. Ben Morgan	15. Tom Homer

16. Will Radburn 17. George Porter 18. Tevita Taumopeau 19. Gerhard Mostert 20. Liam Messam 21. Shaun Perry 22. Matt Hooper 23. Kurtley Beale


Overall: Look for strong running rugby led by our half back combination who will look to control our tempo and keep us playing in the right areas. In the conditions we will look to establish set piece dominance and lots of forward carries with nothing too fancy

We have momentum. 10 wins in 13 games, with 2 losses the result of a second string. Our players will be fresh and with the high of winning will be looking to keep the run going

We are expecting to dominate the scrum with a good squeeze and will look to win penalties. Look for Figallo to pressure Mullan who we think is a weakness. If we experience looks of success here look to relentlessly target it.

At the lineout we feel we can hold our own and if we can develop an advantage early we shall look to switch the game plan and look for corners with the boot. Robson, Kitchener, Morgan and Haskell are all quality jumpers and we will look to switch up the lineout. Brits has slightly suspect throwing and we will look to challenge this.

As well as performing in the set piece we will be looking to get our forwards making some big carries in open play. This will be key in the conditions and with our big runners we feel we can dominate. We will be looking to burst into space and makes gains with the likes of Morgan, TPN, Figallo and Haskell on the ball.

Look to attack the breakdown hard and fast with lots of bodies looking to slow down or turn over Sarries ball. We have picked a back row that we feel can really target the breakdown with Hooper our main man.

Strong half back combination will be looking to control the tempo of our game. Will Genia will play his natural game mixing it up with his passing and his sniping runs. Dan Carter is our main playmaker and will look to use his vast array of talents to adapt to the game. He will look to get his running and passing game involved while his kicking offers another option.

The back five will be looking to make inroads with their attacking running. Nonu will be look to make strong runs, crashing through defences. He will look to draw in defences to offer more space for our other runners. Freaun, Homer, Cuthbert and Savea will be looking to make use of the spaces with their running

Use a blitz defence with Homer trailing

With Carter, Genia and Homer we have some quality boots and we will look to take advantage. If we experience dominance at the lineout look to put the ball into corners. Genia will also use his box kick abilities to give our players something to chase.

We will look to make full use of our bench. Porter, Radian + Taumoepeau are quality options who will look to get involved around the park and at scrumtime. Mostert will look to come on add Grit. Messam can add his carrying for our pack. Hopper and Beale can be solid against tired legs.

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullen	09. Morgan Parra
02. Schalk Brits	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Ben Tameifuna
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Leigh Halfpenny (k)
05. Ollie Kohn	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Tom Williams
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Alex Goode

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Sekope Kepu 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Richie McCaw 20. Ben Spencer 22. Charlie Hodgson 23. Drew Mitchell

Tactics-

We have rotated several key players to keep the squad fresh at the end of the season after a hard European game

In this weather we will be playing a territorial game keeping the ball generally tight. We will use the forwards a great deal and expect them to work their socks off knowing we have quality replacements on the bench to counter fatigue.

Breakdown- work as a pack, Fraser slowing/stealing/winning quick ball, Billy clearing out and Brown switching between the 2. The rest of the forwards to help out. Counter-ruck with numbers if the ball is turnoverable, if not don't over commit so we have numbers in defence.

Scrum- very strong unit here, push hard throughout to get at their front row as we can replace tired legs. If the ball is sticking in hand well and we get some go-forward, let Billy charge down the blindside to test their defence on that side

Lineout- Ryan to call and main jump, several other options to use but keep it simple. Use the maul off the lineout to tire their pack, and let's challenge their throw with Ryan in the poor weather. If it starts to falter, bring on Botha or McCaw to help it.

Defence- Blitz, looking to double up tacklers to either create mauls or have a man straight at the breakdown, as the extra space outside this will make is less exploitable with reduced handling in the rain. If we have the time, go for the big hit with the pack as we might knock the ball loose. Brown lead fringe defence, Smith the line and Brits to sweep and return the chip.

Attack- Keep it simple. Parra to make the decisions and keep it tight in 3-man drives and mauls when slow and quickfire forward pick and go attacks when quicker, straight down the ruck fringes. When we spread it, have Barrett in depth to kick when necessary and let him bring in the defence then either pass to Allen who runs straight if their 12 steps in or pop to Billy/Brits on the crash if he steps out. If there is an overlap use it otherwise don't force the pass. Smith running in support. Look for either HB to chip or crossfield kick to the wingers (their wings are culpable in the air) or garry-owen for the flankers to chase in the opposition 22. Fraser to hunt the ball like a hound. Take DGs if the defence holds. If their wingers are isolated on the blind side, target them with a quick attack.

Kicking - take all points on offer through 1/2p. Kick for territory and kick back receptions unless a run is on- our back 3 are surer under the high ball. Chase all kicks but look for depth and to play in their 22.

Subs- replace once tiredness shows, or Botha on if lineout is weak, McCaw (with Brown to 8 if needed) if we need work at the breakdown.

Tiger make 4 changes from the side that beat Leinster in the HC, Pooly:

"It's the business end of the seson, we're looking to build some momentum as well as keeping players fresh. We've included Gray & Launchbury to give us some mobility around the park and Castro gets a start at TH to allow Dan Cole a week off."

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Digby Ioane
05. Richie Gray	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willam Alberts	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton	14. Marlon Yarde
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Rob Kearney

16. Bismark du Plessis 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Kyle Snickler 19. Geoff Parling 20. Liam Gill 21. Karl Dickson 22. Jordan Turner-Hall 23. Miles Benjamin

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Marcos Ayerza	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.Joe Grey	10.Gareth Steenson
03.James Johnstone
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Hudson Tonga'uhia
06.Marcell Coatzee	13.Adam Ashley Cooper
07.Chris Robshaw(c)	14.Mark Cueto
08.Dave Denton	15.Jared Payne

16.Neil Briggs 17.John Smit 18.Will Collier 19.Mo Botha 20.Iain Henderson 21.Bryn Hall 22.Morne Steyn 23.James Short

01. Nick Wood	09. Dimitri Yachvilli
02. Rory Best	10. Pat Lambie (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Shane Monahan
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Savage	13. JDJ
07. Sam Cane	14. JSD
08. JVN (c)	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Korree Britton 17. Antoine Guillamon 18. Rubert Harden 19. Akapusi Qera 20. Luke Narraway 21. Dan Robson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics

Key Points

Strong-Balanced Backrow
JVN brings a very strong carrying game and can run off our outside backs to hit the gaps and power through. Cane brings his breakdown work and learning from the master McCaw can't be a bad thing at international level he will look to make a nuisance of himself. Savage brings abrasiveness and hard hitting tackles, he will bring impact with his loose play and in the tight. These three will be the backbone to a good win.

Running Rugby
We want to play running rugby today and have picked hard hitting centres who will do the job in making both their tackles and in breaking the gainline to offload to our dangerous back three who will be running a number of different angles and keeping the opposition guessing.

Powerful Front 5
We have picked a heavy unit in our front 5 to get us the nudge come scrum time and disrupt a lot of Sale ball at the set piece. All are powerful runners and can cause mayhem in quick clearing out of players either on the wrong side or on the side of the ruck (legally).

Attacking

• We come off the back of a huge win and expect nothing else but another big win.

• Yachvilli and Lambie to play what's in front of them and look to release Roberts or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Lambie will stick it in the corners and, with Hamilton, Whitelock, Cane, JVN and Savage we have a number of jumpers to gain the ball back.

• Look for runners off of 10 and 12 channel to make the initial break before sending the ball out wide to JSD and Sharples.

• We will look to use our big pack to carry alot of ball and, if it isn't on then run off of 9 and take a couple of 'up the jumper' phases to drag defenders in.

• Our back three will look to come off their wings and hit the right angles.

• Impact bench to shore up our victory and to keep the scoreboard ticking (Burns) , Robson and Trinder will play fast-in your face-rugby, Qera and Narraway will have a field day against tired legs in the loose.

Set Piece

• Strong scrum which will get the edge up on the tighthead side and a good bench to come on as well to continue the pressure, 8-9-10 is a move we will use alot.

• We will use the maul to get ourselves up the pitch quickly and power over from short distance.

• Lineout has been mentioned previously where we have many strong jumpers here who will look to control attacking and defensive ones.

Defending

• Banana blitz defence targetting 10 so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres, we will protect the channels to stop 9 sniping.

• Yachvilli to control the game and will look to sweep and counter attack off any kick through's.

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Savage and Cane time to get over the ball and obliterate any protection they have in place.

• If the turnover isn't on we won't commit and will fan out defending inside-out.

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Pooly (Caretaker)

01. John Afoa	09. TJ Perenara
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Pascal Pape	11. Israel Folau
05. James Horwill	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Steve Mafi	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Cory Jane
08. Toby Faletau	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Simon Alcott 18. John Andress 19. James Hanks 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Gonzalo Camacho

Tactics

- Look to set a tone in the set piece with big front 5 unit & two big scrummaging locks
- Dominate collisions and allow TJ fast ball to attack with
- Look to ruck over the ball and allow Steffon to get in amongst things
- Wilko to take 3 points on offer
- Look to keep ball in hand and work through the phases

Bath Rugby
Manager – Flux/Pooly

01. Cian Healy	09. Micheal Classens
02. Adrian Strauss	10. James Hook (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Dave Attwood	11. Tom Varndell
05. Johann Muller	12. Francois Steyn
06. Carl Fearns	13. Elliot Daly
07. Francois Louw(c)	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Israel Dagg

16. John Golding 17. Christophe Tolufua 18. Kane Palmer-Newport 19. Rynhardt Eldsadt 20. Julian Salvi 21. Chris Cook 22. Kyle Eastmond 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

• Basic game around the big front five, being mobile and strong in contact. The whole pack can carry the ball well, Hook and Claasens will use a simple pod system to get front foot ball.
  
  
• Muller to run lineout, Attwood and Louw as back up jumpers, great advantage and possession to be had here against Welsh.
  
  
• Mobile back-row that can carry and be a nuisance at the breakdown, either turning ball over or slowing it down.
  
  
• Claasens and Hook to play a simple game, slow ball goes to forwards to gain momentum. Quick ball shipped into Steyns hand who will look to get the back three and Daly into spaces.
  
  
• Hook to kick, Steyn to kick for long range penalties.
  
  
• Dagg to marshal the back-three and look to counter any poor kicks to him or his back-three.
  
  
• In the decent conditions, simple but small popping of the ball to big carriers coming in at angles will keep Quins defence going backwards.

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

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

16. Rhys Gill 17. David Wilson 18. Tom Lindsay 19. George Kruis 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 O'Connell, 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 Saints 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 O'Connell jumping in the middle. If winning own ball Borthwick will look to call full number lineouts to tie in the Saints 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 Saints pack, this will keep Ferris, Bekker, Wood and Read on the move.
  
  
• The backrow will target the halfbacks, 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. - With the fact that Smith and Sexton can withdraw into their shells when under pressure.
  
  
• 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 Sexton's options and push him inside towards our backrow.
  
  
• Look for Pickles to run down Sexton'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.
  
  
• With the wet and tricky conditions, a simple territory based game with our strong lineout will and minimal amount of errors will win the game.

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Gael Fickou
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. JP Pieterson
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Calum Clark 21. Aaron Smith 22. Stephen Myler 23. Jamie Elliot

Key Points

• Look to rattle the Welsh halfbacks with big runners and tacklers down their channels. Both have struggled for form IRL in recent months.

• Win the contact battle. Picamoles aside Welsh lack carriers in the pack and if we can win the contact battle Welsh will struggle to get any momentum going.

Tactics

We will look to control territory and apply pressure on Welsh in key areas looking to force mistakes. When in possession in the right areas, we will look to play a strong carrying game, attacking in groups so as to win the collisions and get over the gain line. Offloads will be kept to an absolute minimum as we look to sustain pressure deep in Welsh territory. We will kick all penalties in Welsh territory at goal and take the drop goal option whenever it’s available.

• In these conditions the scrum will be an important weapon. With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep it up and take full advantage drawing penalties from Welsh.

• With handling an issue we want to keep things simple and use Bekker, Wood and Read as banker ball at the lineout. We will look to bring the ball down into the maul and use the physicality of our pack to drive us into the right areas.

• We will look to blitz aggressively, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any opposition momentum before it can get going.

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

• The back 3 will sit deep to cover any kicks down the line and 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 it with Wood 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.

WASPS TACTICS

01.Tendi Mtawaria
02.Dimitri Swarzeski
03.Hoani Tui
04.Marco Wentzel
05.George Skivington
06.Tins Du Plessis
07.Matt Everard
08.Jaque Burger
09.Piri Weepu (c)
10.Owen Farrell
11.Ugo Monye
12.Mathieu Basteraud
13.Luke Marshall
14.Tom Varndell
15.Mike Brown

Replacements: 16.George Chuter 17.Ben Broster 18.Louis Deacon 19.Theiry Dusatoir 20,Micky Young 21.Nicky Robinson 22.Maxmie Mermoz 23.Paul Sackey

Relatively strong side out tonight. The tight 3 are world class. The beast is the stand out strong in defence and is feared worldwide. Big game for Swarzeski, needs to stay strong in the lineout and will communicate a lot with his forwards. Tui makes a rare start as we can see how he does. Wenzrel and Skivgton paired together again after a while. Weepu and Farrell at 9 and 10 are class. Farrell will kick whenever possible especially in behind for the back to run onto. Basteraud is the powehouse in the center with the young Marshall looking to run into the gaps with the ball.

Predos open, slight alteration to the Wasps side.

Normal Tigers tactics.

Big carries, get backs into game off platform.

why is there a slight alteration to wasps side? also what was it lol?

You were short a prop on the bench CF so Stanks was put in instead of Sackey

ah ok ta.

Exeter Chiefs 23 - 21 London Irish

The set-piece battle will be even in this contest and this will allow both the talented back rows time on the ball. It's just about even up front overall. Halfbacks are mostly in good form, but will give it to Chiefs with just a bit more control from here. Irish backs are playing well and will do some damage as a unit, but not as talented as Chiefs but they have some form issues. I also think that Irish have a better bench to change things late on, but will leave it a little too late.

---

Harlequins 28 - 34 Bath Rugby

Two very powerful front fives, which I'd edge towards the favour of Bath. Back rows again, are both class units, but see that battle come to evens. One a piece in the halfbacks, the conditions suit Steenson but Hook will get the best out of the Bath back line as well - which will make them dangerous on the front foot. Some talent in the Quins side, but I think the blistering pace of the Bath backs will hurt them. A bit more potency in the Bath and subs, and I can see them stealing a strong away win here.

---

Leicester Tigers 38 - 14 London Wasps

The very powerful Tigers front five will demolish the Wasps front row. With Domingo in cracking form and Tui being solid at best and backed up by two of the lighter locks around can only see it going one way. Lineouts perhaps will be a much fairer contest, but can see Tigers opting for the scrum. This will allow their back row to impose themselves on the Wasps unit and dominate proceedings. Halfbacks are close Weepu and faz have been in some very good form, so will see them doing some good stuff together. In the backs Wasps can just about match Tigers, Bast and Marshall need to swap, but they won't get so swamped like their forwards. However with the advantage up front, it will be hard for a unit that are more comfortable attacking than defending. If Wasps could bring in a strong platform, they could challenge most sides in the league.

---

Sale Sharks 19 - 20 Gloucester

This is a close one in the packs. Good amounts of grunt from each and both will secure their own possession at least. Glos will have a stronger presence on the deck with Cane in the side, but Lobbe and Seymour are no mugs. Both have strong carriers which will be needed in the conditions as well. yachvilli will control the game which as mentioned is an advantage in the conditions. Safe to say both sets of backs are more suited to running rugby and the conditions won't necessarily allow that. Both benches are good, but just a little more class from within the Glos one and with Yach at the helm they will scrape through.

---

Saracens 25 - 23 Worcester Warriors

Front rows are evens with both having players which aren't the best technically or just a little out of form. Back five goes to Sarries with some better form, in comparison to some of the Wuss players, bar maybe Kitch and Hooper. Halfbacks both are class in the conditions, Parra vs Genia is worth the ticket alone! Carter though edges it to Wuss, and he will get the his back line firing. Sarries are no slouches here either. Both benches are very good, more to come from Saracens especially! Tough one to call, but to me the kicking of Parra, Goode and Halfpenny will see Sarries just win it at home.

Chiefs 18 vs 12 Irish

Set Piece= Chiefs win the scrum with a top unit. Plus TPN will be knackered from his attempts to play for both Worcester and Irish this weekend! Irish might edge the lineouts
Breakdown= Irish have a slight edge here even with Pocock out in real life
Game Control= Irish HBs are great playmakers but the Exeter pair will run the match and take their points and they have the set piece and packs to play a territory game in the rain
Attack= Little plan from either but despite the attacking ability of Cooper and Strettle recent try-scoring spree that leaves me feeling like I'm in 2008, the Exeter backline is more dangerous and well complemented by big carriers in the pack
Defence= Edge to Chiefs as Cooper/Simpson can be exploited
Subs= Edge to Irish here
Overall= Exeter will still win their own ball at the lineout and breakdown and this is enough to let the HBs give them territorial control and win the match

Quins 18 - 20 Bath

Set Piece= Good scrum battle but with JJ looking out of sorts, Bath will get an advantage. Quins probably have an advantage at the lineout but not a telling one
Breakdown= Bath backrow all more than capable here and poor Robshaw isn't omnipresent enough to counter them
Game Control= Bath have the pack and kickers throughout the backline esp at HB to play most of the rugby in Quins half
Attack= Really good backlines with less good 10s from both sides, as well as similar quality carriers albeit in different bits of the pack, but the tactics give Bath an edge
Defence= Daly and Varndell are exploitable
Subs= Evens
Overall= Quins give it a go but Bath have just enough to steal this one

Tigers 30 - 21 Wasps
Set Piece= Castro- Beast equal in the scrum but otherwise the Tigers get a hefty shove on. They win the lineout too.
Breakdown= Warburton well supported in his back row and will have a field day as he seems to have gotten some form back
Game Control= Youngs and Flood are a nice combo but didn't click this weekend despite the score, and Weepu Farrell is an excellent combo for rainy days. Barnes will help Tigers but think Wasps get this
Attack= If Wasps backline get ball in good areas they will do some damage but so will Leicester's, and Tiger's pack will batter the Wasps too. Don't know how Varndell can play twice either
Defence= Wasps might be vulnerable at ruck fringes
Subs= Tigers
Overall= Tigers will have too much possession and the weapons to use them too, though Farrell and Weepu will keep Wasps in the match until the last 20 when they will struggle to keep out the storm

Welsh 20 - 19 Saints
Set Piece= Pretty even at the scrums, maybe Saints take it a little but nothing really against the head. Welsh will steal a few Saints' lineouts though
Breakdown= Pretty even
Game Control= Despite neither having the greatest few weeks, Welsh HBs are excellent at this, but this becomes even taking form into account
Attack= More forward threat (safer in the rain) for welsh but more backs threat to Saints (and to a greater degree)
Defence= Edge to Welsh as I'm still not convinced that Ashton can make a legal tackle
Subs= Welsh make more impact
Overall= Welsh have enough to win at home just

Sale 16 vs 20 Gloucester
Set Piece= Small edge to Gloucester in the scrum, smaller edge to Sale in the lineout.
Breakdown= To Gloucester
Game Control= Gloucester HBs dictate play better but Cruden will get Sale's backline moving despite the weather
Attack= See more threat from Gloucester, amplified by the well-structured tactics. Be carefully stating you will play running rugby in the rain, though the plan is simple enough that it's not too risky
Defence= Evens
Subs= Very close but probably an edge to Gloucester
Overall= Gloucester steal this one

Exeter 28-22 Irish
SP: Chiefs take the advantage here.
BK: Chiefs have strong players, Irish bring international quality.
HB: 9 to Irish 10 to Chiefs.
AT: Chiefs much more dangerous here.
BE: Chiefs a man down with Alcott retired Overall they still have a bit more.
TA: Chiefs have some!

Quins 20-23 Bath
SP: Bath Stronger.
BK: Prefer the Quins back row.
HB: Not a lot on show from either really.
AT: Both will get it out wide quick, feel Steyn may out perform the Quins 12.
BE: Good impact and control from both.
TA: Mark down for Quins not having any. Bath keep it simple and will edge this battle.

Tigers 28-18 Wasps
SP: Tigers much stronger at the scrum, lineout will be closer.
BK: Tigers a step up in each position.
HB: Again, Wasps match Tigers here.
AT: Tigers are scary out wide, Wasps no shirkers but won't get great ball.
BE: Good from both, Tigers stronger in front row replacements.
TA: None from Tigers and Wasps' not great tactics, would have been closer if played to strengths.

Welsh 23-25 Saints
SP: Saints a step up at scrum time, Welsh look good for lineouts so this’ll be even at the lineout.
BK: Tough to split these.
HB: Good control from Welsh, Saints have Dickson in form but Sexton needs games, he will perform well in the conditions though.
AT: This is where Saints are a step up.
BE: Saints take the forwards bench here, back replacements clear.
TA: Playing territory is a good call from Welsh and sending Picamoles down the 10 channel will work a bit but Sexton is no shirker in defence. Saints using territory as well and they are targetting the nudge at the scrum which I think they’ll get.

Sarries 26-23 Worcester
SP: Hard to split here, think Sarries just have a bit more of a scrummaging combination.
BK: Sarries have fantastic form coming in here but Worcester do have some international quality. Think Sarries edge the battle.
HB: Genia hitting good form here and the standout of the bunch, Parra steady and won’t give up ground easily.
AT: Nonu struggling for form but 2 of the best outside back combos on show today, Can’t split them.
BE: Sarries bringing more impact to get them over the finish line.
TA: Sarries have great tactics and use the breakdown well, takes in all options of slow and quick ball. Warriors good tactics but Sarries a step up here. Think Warriors will get joy from their half-backs but don‘t think their bench will have the desired effect up front.

Exeter 26-22 Irish
Quins 18-21 Bath
Tigers 29-18 Wasps
Welsh 25-26 Saints
Sale 19-22 Glos

Quins 25-22 Bath
Welsh 24-24 Saints
Sale 18-24 Gloucester
Saracens 21-21 Worcester

Quins 25-12 Bath
Welsh 27-24 Saints
Sale 15-24 Gloucester
Saracens 17-25-Worecester

Any chance of some PM feedback on why I got trounced by Worcester, CF?

Just because that margin is quite far off the others predicted and by itself changes my match from a 3 point win to a 1 point loss so I'd like to know how to make changes to prevent that in future matches

yup will send ya a PM in a bit mate

Cool, thanks chap

Got called in again lads, sorry for no predictions

Can someone get the results done? I'll get the page updated this afternoon hopefully, just working on this weeks page.

RESULTS

Exeter 26 - LI 19*
Quins 23- Bath 24*
Tigers 33- wasps 18
Welsh 25- Saints 25. Draw
Sale 17 - Gloucester 25
Sarries 23* - Worcester 24 (stupid rounding up 23.5!)

Gutted. So close

Full:
Flux, CJ, Prop

Half:
CJB, Pooly, CF

Page:
Flux

MARK