Summer Cup - Round 1

Team & Tactics - 0000hrs Monday
Predictions - 2000 hrs Wednesday

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Pool A -  Northampton Saints vs Gloucester 
Location - Hong Kong Stadium
Weather - Sunny , 24 degrees, 5 mph light breeze

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Northampton Saints

Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

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

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Mikey Haywood 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Samu Manoa 20. Calum Clark 21. Aaron Smith 22. Ryan Lamb 23. Gael Fickou

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Gloucester

Manager - Prop

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Rory Best	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Antoine Guillamon
04. Tom Savage (c)	11. Johnny May
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Akapusi Qera	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Cane	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Luke Narraway	15. Jesse Mogg

16. Korree Britton 17. Rhys Gill 18. Adam Jones 19. Elliott Stooke 20. JVN 21. Dimitri Yachvilli 22. Pat Lambie 23. Jaimie Roberts

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Pool A -  London Wasps vs Exeter Chiefs 
Location - Eden Park
Weather - Sunny , 24 degrees, 5 mph light breeze

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London Wasps

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Joe Ford
03. Scott Wilson
04. George Kruis	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Brad Barritt
06. Scott Higginbotham	13. Francis Sailli
07. Ross Moriaty	14. Horacio Agulla
08. David Sisi	15. Ben Ransom

Replacements; 16. Tom Lindsay 17. David Wilson 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Tim Swinson 20. Louis Picamoles 21. Ruan Pienaar 22. George Lowe 23. Andrea Masi

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Exeter Chiefs 
 
 
Manager – Pooly (Caretaker)
 

01. Coenie Oosthuizen	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. Joe Conlon	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Jack Nowell
08. Toby Faletau	15. Ben Smith

 
16. Brett Sturgess 17. Simon Alcott 18. John Afoa 19. James Hanks 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Henry Slade 23. Matt Jess

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Pool A -  Bath Rugby vs Sale Sharks 
Location - Aloha Stadium 
Weather - Sunny , 24 degrees, 5 mph light breeze

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Bath

Manager –  Bathite
 

01. Cian Healy	09. Tawera Kerr - Barlow
02. Chris Tolufua	10. James Hook
03. Owen Franks
04. Johann Muller (c)	11. Tom Biggs
05. Dave Attwood	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Carl Fearns	13. Rene Ranger
07. Frans Louw	14. Eliot Daly
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Alex Goode

 
16. Nathan Catt 17. Adrian Strauss 18. Kane P-Newport 19. Rynhardt Eldstadt 20. Guy Mercer 21. Michael Claassens 22. Ollie Devoto 23. Olly Woodburn

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Sale Sharks

Manager –  LondonIrishOllie
 

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Connor Murray
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Davit Kubriashvili
04. Yohann Maestri	11. Bryan Habana
05. Kearnan Myhall	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Matt Garvey	13. Jonathon Joesph
07. David Seymour	14. Will Addison
08. JMF Lobbe(c)	15. Rob Miller

 
16. Gary Botha 17. Henry Thomas 18. Logovii Molopola 19. James Gaskell 20. Schalk Burger 21. Hayden Thomas 22. Johan Goosen 23. Charlie Aymsebury

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Pool B -  Leicester Tigers vs London Irish 
Location - Ellis Park Stadium
Weather - Sunny , 24 degrees, 5 mph light breeze

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Leicester Tigers
 
 Manager – Sgt_Pooly
 

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Karl Dickson
02. Jamie George	10. Toby Flood
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Ed Slater	11. Marlon Yarde
05. Tom Price	12. Ian Madigan
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Luke Wallace	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Rob Kearney

 
  
 
16. Tom Youngs 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Dan Cole 19. Geoff Parling 20. Sam Warbuton 21. Ben Youngs 22. Danny Cipriani 23. James O'Connor

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London Irish 

01. Tom Smallbone	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Rhys Marshall	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Tom Palmer	11. Anthony Watson
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Guy Armitage
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. David Strettle
08. Ally Hogg	15. Matt Tait

Replacements; 16. Rob Herring 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Leo Halavatu 19. Simon Shaw 20. Imanol Harinodoquy 21. Joe Simpson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Delon Armitage

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Pool B -  Saracens vs Harlequins 
Location - Sun Life Stadium
Weather - Sunny , 24 degrees, 5 mph light breeze

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Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullan	09. Ben Spencer
02. Rob Hawkins	10.    Charlie Hodgson
03. Kieran Brookes
04.  Ollie Kohn	11. Tom Varndell
05.  Charlie Matthews	12.  Tom Casson
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14.  Tom Williams
08. Nick Easter (C.)	15.  Chris Wyles

16. Jared Saunders 17. Harry Allen 18. Ben Tameifunia 19. Maro Itoje  20. Guy Thompson 21. Morgan Parra 22. Sam Stanley 23. Duncan Taylor

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Harlequins

Manager - Driver

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Richard Wrigglesworth
02. Ben Kayser	10. Rhys Priestland (K)
03. Will Collier
04. Ian Henderson	11. Seb Stegman
05. Alistair Hargreaves	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Tom Croft	13. George North
07. Chris Robshaw (C)	14. Mark Cueto
08. Jack Clifford	15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

16. Joe Grey 17. Daryl Marfo 18. James Johnston 19. Eben Etzebeth 20. David Denton 21. Bryn Hall 22. Morne Steyn 23. Nick Abendanon

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Pool B -  Worcester Warriors vs Newcastle Falcons 
Location - Estadio José Amalfitani
Weather - Sunny , 24 degrees, 5 mph light breeze

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Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Will Genia
02. Tafata Polota Nau	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Ben Howard
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Matt Hopper
07. Michael Hooper	14. Julien Savea
08. Ben Morgan	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Ollie Hayes 17. George Porter 18. Juan Figallo 19. George Robson 20. Liam Messam 21. Kahn Fotuali'i 22. Robbie Freaun 23. Tom Homer


Ben Howard picked in place of Alex Cuthbert to fill the U21 quota and also add the 10th EQ player. 

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Newcastle Falcons

Manager – CF

01. Grant Shiells	09. Piri Weepu (C)
02. Kevin Mealamu	10. Owen Farrell (K)
03. Tom Mercy
04. Louis Deacon	11. Ugo Monye
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Luke Marshall
06. Jacques Burger	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Will Welch	14. Matt Banahan
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Dimitri Swarzeski 17. Tendai 'Beast' Mtawaria 18. Matt Stevens 19. George Skivington 20. Micky Young 21. Phil Godman 22. Matheu Batseraud 23. Mike Brown


Scott Macloed dropped to add Matt Stevens and ensure three front row on the bench. Du Plessis dropped for Welch and Blair for Young to meet EQ quota.

London Wasps

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Joe Ford
03. Scott Wilson
04. George Kruis	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Brad Barritt
06. Scott Higginbotham	13. Francis Sailli
07. Ross Moriaty	14. Horacio Agulla
08. David Sisi	15. Ben Ransom

Replacements; 16. Tom Lindsay 17. David Wilson 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Tim Swinson 20. Louis Picamoles 21. Ruan Pienaar 22. George Lowe 23. Andrea Masi

London Irish 

01. Tom Smallbone	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Rhys Marshall	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Tom Palmer	11. Anthony Watson
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Guy Armitage
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. David Strettle
08. Ally Hogg	15. Matt Tait

Replacements; 16. Rob Herring 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Leo Halavatu 19. Simon Shaw 20. Imanol Harinodoquy 21. Joe Simpson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Delon Armitage

Bath
Manager –  Bathite
 

01. Cian Healy	09. Tawera Kerr - Barlow
02. Chris Tolufua	10. James Hook
03. Owen Franks
04. Johann Muller (c)	11. Tom Biggs
05. Dave Attwood	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Carl Fearns	13. Rene Ranger
07. Frans Louw	14. Eliot Daly
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Alex Goode

 
16. Nathan Catt 17. Adrian Strauss 18. Kane P-Newport 19. Rynhardt Eldstadt 20. Guy Mercer 21. Michael Claassens 22. Ollie Devoto 23. Olly Woodburn

Bath hand débuts to All Blacks Ranger and Kerr Barlow.

We'll just have weather for all games as light wind & sunny

Leicester Tigers
 
 Manager – Sgt_Pooly
 

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Karl Dickson
02. Jamie George	10. Toby Flood
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Ed Slater	11. Marlon Yarde
05. Tom Price	12. Ian Madigan
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Luke Wallace	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Rob Kearney

 
  
 
16. Tom Youngs 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Dan Cole 19. Geoff Parling 20. Sam Warbuton 21. Ben Youngs 22. Danny Cipriani 23. James O'Connor

when is this starting?

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullan	09. Ben Spencer
02. Rob Hawkins	10.    Charlie Hodgson
03. Kieran Brookes
04.  Ollie Kohn	11. Tom Varndell
05.  Charlie Matthews	12.  Tom Casson
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14.  Tom Williams
08. Nick Easter (C.)	15.  Chris Wyles

16. Jared Saunders 17. Harry Allen 18. Ben Tameifunia 19. Maro Itoje  20. Guy Thompson 21. Morgan Parra 22. Sam Stanley 23. Duncan Taylor

From driver:
1.Marcos Ayerza
2.Ben Kayser
3.Will Collier
4.Iain Henderson
5.Alistair Hargreaves 
6.Tom Croft
7.Chris Robshaw
8.Jack Clifford
9.Richard Wrigglesworth
10.Rhys Priestland
11.Seb Stegman
12.Wesley Fofana
13.George North
14.Mark Cueto
15.Adam Ashley-Cooper

FALCONS

1.Grant Shiels
2.Kevin Mealamu
3.Tom Mercer
4.Louis Deacon
5.Marco Wenztel
6.Tinis Du Plessis
7.Jaque Burger
8.Jamie Heaslip
9.Piri Weepu (c)
10.Owen Farrell (k)
11.Ugo Monye
12.Luke Marshall
13.Maxime Mermoz
14.Matt Banahan
15.Stuart Hogg

16.Swarzeski 17.Mtawaria 18.Skivington 19.MacLeod 20.Blair 21.Godman 22.Batseraud 23.Brown

you need 2 prop's on bench cf

Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

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

16. Ollie Hayes 17. George Porter 18. Juan Figallo 19. George Robson 20. Liam Messam 21. Kahn Fotuali'i 22. Robbie Freaun 23. Kurtley Beale

Need another EQ starting mate.

prop_lyd wrote:you need 2 prop's on bench cf

And an U21 player starting.

Good team CF, is that your strongest?

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

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

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Mikey Haywood 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Samu Manoa 20. Calum Clark 21. 22. Ryan Lamb 23. Gael Fickou

OP updated. Not that it matters at the moment, but had to edit some sides so that they fulfilled the quotas. 

SJE you were missing a man on the bench, so I chucked Aaron Smith in, which seems like what you were meant to do!

Anyway have fun predicting boys.

Cheers Flux!!

no its not my strongest side pooly, however as its not the season yet im fiddling around with different combinations

Cheers Flux.

2m predo bonus on this one

Saints 24-22 Gloucester

Saints - solid experienced pack, good set piece, see lineout going well but possible engine room carrying issues against bigger units. Nice creative backline with plenty of tries in them. Could maybe do with a physical option in midfield for poor conditions.

Gloucester - TH could be targeted by better front rows but good unit. I like the engine room and backrow flanks strong. Narraway possibly could be improved. Burns looking good and Robson not quite at this level but will be. Again bit of physical in midfield could be handy but tidy backline with tries in them.

will struggle to put anything major on here till friday

No probs mate, bonus for scores. I'm just trying to give combos feedback

ok cool.

Northampton 20 Gloucester 15
London Wasps 26 Exeter Chiefs 28
Bath 30 Sale Sharks 29
Leicester Tigers 27 London Irish 24
Worcester 24 Newcastle 20

Saints 26 - 24 Gloucester
Very strong teams, Gloucester a little less experienced generally (esp backline) but very promising. Saints front row getting on a bit.

Wasps 20 - 27 Chiefs
wasps very adept at both forms of set piece technically but the tight 5 is less imposing in the loose, could struggle with the power Exeter have too. Dynamic backrows, but Folau could really damage the Wasps backline so Ransom will be under huge pressure under the high ball and Wilko too experienced for Joe Ford.

Worcester 30 - 25 Falcons.

Worcester front row will get the nudge on, but Falcons have an excellent looking lineout. Good back rows for both sides. Beware of what happens with Wentzel this season in SA, rumours he might retire. A very classy Wuss backline vs a very powerful Newcastle one. Farrell and Weepu both playing well but Genia has too much and will take the game away from Newcastle and put his backs through.

Bath 22 - 21 Sale
Big battle at the scrum with very imposing packs, think Bath edge the pack fight. Don't think Daly is a winger but I can see why Bathite did want him and Eastmond together at centre. sale backline has worked together well before and will be more structured but Bath at home with taht pack edge it

Tigers 24 - 21 Irish.
Tigers pack is young but powerful and dynamic, will take some dealing with. Might be out-noused by Irish. Think Laidlaw-Cooper will take a while to click. Similar looking backlines in many respects with greener inside centres but Wade is currently a different class to Watson and both benches are good so won't change much

Saints 27-24 Glos
Saints look quality, their weakest position for me is back up fly half, if Sexton gets injured it could cost you a few tight games. Glos also look quality, not as strong in back fives or back row today. Both are defo playoff material

Wasps 19-24 Exeter
Exeter look strong for next season. Wasps also look like they have a strong future but 7,8,10,15 all a bit out of their league ATM.

Bath 22-23 Sale
Two good sides. For Bath I'd sign a 13 and play Ranger on wing or a fly half as I don't think Hook is a top quality FH. Sale should possibly look to lose Davies for an IC as he is better OC.

Tigers 26-25 Irish
Tigers look good. Back line dangerous. Forwards should come good and plenty of bench options. Irish may be worried this season think they have a few holes. Age is hurting squad IMO

Sarries 19-24 Quins
2,3,4,12,15 for Sarries could do with upgrading if they want a playoff spot, Quins looking very strong

Bath 26-26 Sale

Pretty even, two good sides. I like Bath centre combo, could really click offensively in the good conditions.

Saracens 21-22 Quins

Toughie to call, Quins with a bit more experience sneak it. Some power in Sarries backrow, Quins centres could work but need to see more of North at 13

Worcester 32-30 Wasps

Wasps look transformed, fair play to CF he's building a very compatible team. If he nails selections, (Dusatoir in that backrow make it scary) I can see him doing well in the league.

Worcester looking v strong and one of best teams in league when all stars are out.

Got to say the big difference in the Wuss-Falcons game was Genia for me, he was untouchable on Saturday

Yea he was great 1st half, he always looks good against Phillips who was stinking tbh.

That chase back for Genia break was embarrassing

Northampton Saints 25 - 25 Gloucester

Two decent sides, with some good players up front. I like the glos front five, some good balance of youth and experience. Glos backs have a lot of potential and I like the midfield combo. Saints have too much in the way of players that have peaked recently. Both benches are good, but Glos have a decent gamechanging bench in every department, therefore I see this turning out as a draw.

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Worcester Warriors 34 - 26 Newcastle Falcons.

After the end of season shake down Falcons look much better they have ever done. The backline when fully organised looks like it has potential, but the front five need some serious work in the coming week. However, I would like to see them actually play their best side off the bat in the next game. CF hasn't put out his best side since taking over and I would like to get an idea of what his best is. despite the improvement this is a chance for Wuss to flex the arm and show how much they have come along under CJB. Great side, but needs to try and even up his EQ, otherwise it's going to be difficult to balance all of those stars into his side with the EQ letting him down later in the season.

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Bath Rugby 20 - 17 Sale Sharks

Both sides follow the same idea up front, and in the fact they both have big forwards and look to use them to allow their creative backs some open space. For me this mantra will stifle the play of each others game plan. Bathite, I reckon you'll need to watch carefully where Eastmond and Daly end up playing this season as balancing these two could be great for the future or suffer as they both get in each others ways in terms of development in your side.
Sale need to someone to come in and sort the backs out, there is potential in this side to be dark horses for a strong finish next season.

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Leicester Tigers 27 - 21 London Irish.

Pooly probably has the easiest job in the league and little needs to be said about he is doing. Although he should share some of his EQ talent! Irish under my own admission need a little work and I will be looking to do more dealing for them soon. Area of weakness is probably the depth.

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Saracens 18 - 22 Harlequins

Nice to see both sides rotating in talent and giving a fair chance to shine. Both front fives are both strong technically and provide a good base for either side. Backrows both show a different aspect of play, Sarries have a very powerful and clever unit, whereas Quins are much happier roaming around the pitch. Priestland will do well to bring in the strong runners outside him, but Driver I wouldn't play North at 13 unless desperate. Sarries have a good young Eq contingent but I can imagine them becoming undone a little when they are required to step up. Quins bench contains a few more decent players and will guide them through to a decent win.

Northampton 30 Gloucester 24
London Wasps 22 Exeter Chiefs 25
Leicester Tigers 26 London Irish 21
Worcester 28 Newcastle 20
Sarries 24 Quins 19

Just knocking up predictions now could I have an extra 10 minutes to give reasoning pretty please

No drama Johnny, I'll do results tomorrow

London Wasps 15-24 Exeter Chiefs

Scrum: Edge to Chiefs with more in the engine room and Wilson untested.
Lineout: Edge to Wasps. Bit more jumping wise.
Breakdown: Chiefs really get on top with the whole pack getting at it.
HB's: One a piece but Wilko will set the tone. Ford not ready for this level.
Attack: Edge to Chiefs. Midfield more capable of getting their back three into play and Smith & Folau in great form.
Defence: Both sides susceptible on the wings a little but Ford will struggle with the big runners.


Bath Rugby 20-18 Sale Sharks

Scrum: Both sides lacking a little form at TH. Neither side getting a push on.
Lineout: Great battle. Sale more capable of attacking ball but won’t poach anything.
Breakdown: Edge to Bath. Their front 5 help the back row out a bit more.
HB's: Good battle. Slight edge to Sale quality wise but not sure Murray/Cruden would work to well together.
Attack: Not sure of Daly on the wing but two great little backlines.
Defence:  Bath midfield will struggle as will Joseph for Sale. Daly out of position can be kicked in behind.


Leicester Tigers 28-32 London Irish

Scrum: Hard to edge either way.
Lineout: Edge to Irish. See them capable of poaching a fair bit of George’s throws.
Breakdown: Decent battle. Edge to Irish with Pocock a level above Wallace and receiving a bit more help from his 6 & 8 here.
HB's: Irish edge with these conditions suiting Cooper to a tee.
Attack: Tigers stronger throughout the backline really but Irish are capable.
Defence: Don’t see a weakness really to either side.


Saracens 19-15 Harlequins

Scrum: Both THs struggle but Quins get on top with more at LH/HK.
Lineout: Big edge to Quins with more jumpers and better quality. Hawkins not always accurate either.
Breakdown: Good battle here but Sarries edge slightly. Not sure how much Hendo/Croft would help out.
HB's: Sarries edge. Priestland with no real form so can’t be rated.
Attack: Quins lacking carrying options in the tight. Lots of pressure on Henderson. Feel North is better on the wing and then coming in field similar to Bowe.
Defence: North will struggle positionally.


Worcester Warriors 30-23 Newcastle Falcons

Scrum: Worcester can get on top here with great form in the props.
Lineout: Slight edge to Newcastle. Capable of picking of a throw or two from TPN.
Breakdown: Edge Worcester. Welch not quite up to standard yet.
HB's: Only going one way. Falcons may need to invest in another scrummy/flyhalf if they want to play an expansive game.
Attack: Two great units in the backs. Mermoz better at 12 though.
Defence: No glaring weakness to either side.

Results:

Northampton 28-22 Gloucester
Wasps 20-28 Exeter Chiefs
Bath 26-23 Sale
Leicester 30-25 Irish
Saracens 20-23 Harlequins
Worcester 33-24 Newcastle

Predo bonus:

Pooly, Driver, Prop, CJ, CJB, Flux, Bathite, SJE