Summer Tournament Round One

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Pool A

Harlequins vs. Exeter Chiefs
at Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Light cloud, 23 degrees, 8 mph winds.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Karl Dickson
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. George Kruis	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Charlie Matthews	12. Harry Sloan
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Jack Nowell
08. Nick Easter	15. Ollie Lindsey-Hague

16. Tatafu Polata-Nau 17. Giorgi Jgenti 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Jack Clifford 21. Luke McGrath 22. Colin Slade 23. Juan Martin-Hernandez


Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Nic White
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Marnitz Boshoff (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. David Strettle
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Luther Burrell
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (c)
07. Jacob Rowan	14. Andrew Trimble
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O'Connor

16. Sean Cronin 17. Richard Barrington 18. James Johnston 19. Paul O'Connell 20. Gus Jones 21. Toby Flood 22. Chris Cook 23. Tom Varndell

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Bath Rugby vs. Leicester Tigers
at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Sunny intervals, 19 degrees, 10 mph winds.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Christian Lealifiano
06. James Haskell	13. Damien De Allende
07. Sean O'Brien	14. George North
08. Liam Messam	15. Stuart Hogg

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16. Mikey Haywood 17. James Slipper 18. Jake Cooper Wollsey 19. Luke Romano 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Matt Hopper 23. Kurtley Beale


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Stephen Moore	10. Pat Lambie (K)
03. Cencus Johnson
04. Nathan Hines	11. Matt Banahan
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Francois Louw	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Mike Brown

16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Dan Cole 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Jacques Burger 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Jaco Taute

Tactics:

Power based game using huge pack and backs to drive holes through the bath defence.

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Newcastle Falcons vs. Sale Sharks
at Newlands, Cape Town
Sunny intervals, 15 degrees, 9 mph winds.

Newcastle Falcons

01. Matt Mullen	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Rory Best	10. Dan Bigger
03. Matt Stevens
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Tim Visser
05. Geoff Parling	12. Luke Marshall
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Max Evans
07. Will Fraser	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Ben Mowen	15. Charles Pitatau

16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tongauhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Yoaan Maestri 20.Dave Ewers 21.Dave Lewis 22.Owen Farrell 23.Rob Miller


Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Simon Zebo
05. Dave Attwood	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O' Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Sam Cane	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Luke Whitelock	15. Jared Payne

16. Jack McGrath 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Francois Steyn 23. Semesa Rokoduguni

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Pool B

London Irish vs. Northampton Saints
at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg
Sunny, 18 degrees, 8 mph winds.

London Irish
Manager Prop_Lyd

01. Tom Court	09. Lee Dickson
02. Ken Owens	10. Nick Evans(k)
03. Rhodri Jones
04. Dean Mumm (c)	11. Adam Thompstone
05. Devin Toner	12. Alapati Leiua
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Warburton	14.Bjorn Basson
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

Subs:
16. Tom Lindsay 17. Will Collier 18. Tom Smallbone 19. Stuart  Hooper 20. George Smith 21.  Rory Kockett 22. Owen Williams 23. Robbie Henshaw


Northampton Saints
Manager Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Gareth Davies
02. Rob Webber	10. Matt Giteau(k)
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Samu Manoa	11. Jordan Williams
05. Jonny Gray	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Steven Luatua	13. Elliot Daly
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Verenki Goneva
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rhys Marshall 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Henry Thomas 19. Lood de Jager 20. CJ Stander 21. Joe Simpson 22. Matt Toomua 23. Tommy Bowe

Tactics:Looking to play a game next year based around an aggressive, physical pack who can crash over the gainline and give good front foot ball to attack from. Quick service from the no9 and a creative no10 to and use Fofana and Goneva to suck in defenders and create space for our speedsters. Then throw on impact bench.

Looking for feedback on halfbacks, whether people take into account leadership/captains in squads.

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Gloucester vs. Saracens
at Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Sunny, 21 degrees, 6 mph winds.

Gloucester
Manager – Mat

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. TJ Perenara
02. Luke Cowan dickie	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Coenie Ousthuizen
04. Dominic Bird	11. Hosea Gear
05. George Robson	12. Matt Scott
06. Schalk Burger	13. Ryan Crotty
07. Pablo Montera	14. Charlie Walker
08. Gaetano Galan	15. Israel Folau

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16. Guthro Steenkamp  17. Joe Gray  18. Nicholas Mas  19. Roman Taofofina  20. Tom Croft 21. Dan Robson  22. Handre Pollard 23. Johnny May

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Keven Mealamu	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Patricio Albacete	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Victor Matfield	12. Jonathan Davies
06. Thierry Dusatoir(c)	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Heinrich Brussow	14. Chris Ashton
08. Dave Denton	15. Matt Tait

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16. Jamie George 17. Max Lahiff 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Flip van der Merwe 20. Nathan Hughes 21. Henry Taylor 22. Freddie Burns 23. Scott Williams

Tactics:

- Overall - Dominate collisions, set tone in the forwards, intelligent kicking and hit the corners. Use rolling maul to tie in defence. Keep it safe in own half and bring backs into play in opp half
- Set Piece - Turn screw in scrum if weakness seen. Attack the line out and alternate quick ball off top with Denton/Fekitoa/JD coming in off Parra at angles
- Attacking - Increase tempo in opp half. 9/10/12 kicking option and Fekitoa running striaght and hard with wingers tracking for offload of centres
- Defensive - Hit rucks hard and look to isolate runners allowing Brussow/Dusatior (working in tandom) to slow or turn ball over. Blitz defence with SH sweeping behind.

Can I get feedback in predo's about combo's pls  

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London Wasps vs. London Welsh
at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Sunny, 20 degrees, 6 mph winds.

London Wasps
Manager  Ozzy3213

01. Joe Marler	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Henry Slade
03. David Wilson
04. Matt Symons	11. Anthony Watson
05. Jordan Onojaife	12. Guy Armitage
06. Luke Wallace	13. Tom Fowlie
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Luke Narraway (c)	15. Delon Armitage

16. Harry Thacker 17. Ben Moon 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Hayden Thompson-Stringer 20. Will Owen 21. Will Homer 22. Theo Brophy-Clews 23. Tom Collins

Tactics

• Standard tactics of a possession based game and looking to through the phases with pace and intensity.
  
• Offloading in or just before the tackle to keep the ball alive and move the opposition defence around.
  
• Blitz defence with scrum half sweeping to cover.
  

Predictions
Am looking for peoples opinions on which EQ players can be starters for me, who can bench and who needs a spell in the LV Cup team please.

London Welsh

01. Nathan Catt	09. Ben Spencer
02. Dave Ward	10. Olly Barkley
03. Oliver Tomaszczyk
04. George Skivington	11. Mark Cueto
05. Mouritz Botha	12. Jordan Turner-Hall
06. Tom Guest	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Phil Dowson	14. Sam Smith
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Chris Pennell

16. Koree Britton 17. Brett Sturgess 18. BJ Botha 19.James Percival 20. Josh Buggea 21. Oliver Claxton 22. Tom Casson 23. Ben Ransom

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01. Matt Mullen	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Rory Best	10. Dan Bigger
03. Matt Stevens
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Tim Visser
05. Geoff Parling	12. Luke Marshall
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Max Evans
07. Will Fraser	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Ben Mowen	15. Charles Pitatau

16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tongauhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Yoaan Maestri 20.Dave Ewers 21.Dave Lewis 22.Owen Farrell 23.Rob Miller

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Simon Zebo
05. Dave Attwood	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O' Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Sam Cane	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Luke Whitelock	15. Jared Payne

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16. Jack McGrath 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Francois Steyn 23. Semesa Rokoduguni

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Karl Dickson
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. George Kruis	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Charlie Matthews	12. Harry Sloan
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Jack Nowell
08. Nick Easter	15. Ollie Lindsey-Hague

16. Tatafu Polata-Nau 17. Giorgi Jgenti 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Jack Clifford 21. Luke McGrath 22. Colin Slade 23. Juan Martin-Hernandez

Tactics

Northampton Saints
Manager Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Gareth Davies
02. Rob Webber	10. Matt Giteau(k)
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Samu Manoa	11. Jordan Williams
05. Jonny Gray	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Steven Luatua	13. Elliot Daly
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Verenki Goneva
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rhys Marshall 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Henry Thomas 19. Lood de Jager 20. CJ Stander 21. Joe Simpson 22. Matt Toomua 23. Tommy Bowe

Tactics:Looking to play a game next year based around an aggressive, physical pack who can crash over the gainline and give good front foot ball to attack from. Quick service from the no9 and a creative no10 to and use Fofana and Goneva to suck in defenders and create space for our speedsters. Then throw on impact bench.

Looking for feedback on halfbacks, whether people take into account leadership/captains in squads.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Stephen Moore	10. Pat Lambie (K)
03. Cencus Johnson
04. Nathan Hines	11. Matt Banahan
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Francois Louw	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Mike Brown

16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Dan Cole 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Jacques Burger 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Jaco Taute

Tactics:

Power based game using huge pack and backs to drive holes through the bath defence.

London Irish Rugby Championship Team
Manager Prop_Lyd

01. Tom Court	09. Lee Dickson
02. Ken Owens	10. Nick Evans(k)
03. Rhodri Jones
04. Dean Mumm (c)	11. Adam Thompstone
05. Devin Toner	12. Alapati Leiua
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Warburton	14.Bjorn Basson
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

Subs:
16. Tom Lindsay 17. Will Collier 18. Tom Smallbone 19. Stuart  Hooper 20. George Smith 21.  Rory Kockett 22. Owen Williams 23. Robbie Henshaw

Was it only 8 eq last season too?! If so I made a big hash of the season thinking it was 10!!

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Keven Mealamu	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Patricio Albacete	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Victor Matfield	12. Jonathan Davies
06. Thierry Dusatoir(c)	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Heinrich Brussow	14. Chris Ashton
08. Dave Denton	15. Matt Tait

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16. Jamie George 17. Max Lahiff 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Flip van der Merwe 20. Nathan Hughes 21. Henry Taylor 22. Freddie Burns 23. Scott Williams

Tactics:

- Overall - Dominate collisions, set tone in the forwards, intelligent kicking and hit the corners. Use rolling maul to tie in defence. Keep it safe in own half and bring backs into play in opp half
- Set Piece - Turn screw in scrum if weakness seen. Attack the line out and alternate quick ball off top with Denton/Fekitoa/JD coming in off Parra at angles
- Attacking - Increase tempo in opp half. 9/10/12 kicking option and Fekitoa running striaght and hard with wingers tracking for offload of centres
- Defensive - Hit rucks hard and look to isolate runners allowing Brussow/Dusatior (working in tandom) to slow or turn ball over. Blitz defence with SH sweeping behind.

Can I get feedback in predo's about combo's pls  

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Nic White
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Marnitz Boshoff (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. David Strettle
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Luther Burrell
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper (c)
07. Jacob Rowan	14. Andrew Trimble
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O'Connor

16. Sean Cronin 17. Richard Barrington 18. James Johnston 19. Paul O'Connell 20. Gus Jones 21. Toby Flood 22. Chris Cook 23. Tom Varndell

You've named Nic White twice Flux  

Cheers mate!

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Christian Lealifiano
06. James Haskell	13. Damien De Allende
07. Sean O'Brien	14. George North
08. Liam Messam	15. Stuart Hogg

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16. Mikey Haywood 17. James Slipper 18. Jake Cooper Wollsey 19. Luke Romano 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Matt Hopper 23. Kurtley Beale

Match thread updated predictions are OPEN

Harlequins 20-29 Exeter Chiefs
 
Scrum: Experience of the Chiefs props can edge out a few penalties but not game changing.
Lineout: Both teams more then capable of playing off the top. 
Breakdown: Fairly even here overall. Feel Rowan will look out of place in the league to start off with.
HB's: 10s dead even on current form and very similar players. White a step up on Dickson though.
Attack: Chiefs midfield a step up. Sloan would look out of place in the league. 
Defence: Chiefs midfield would work very well together. Chiefs win the contact battle in the backs.
Bench: POC a fantastic impact for Chiefs but else where very even.
Tactics: Nice balance to the Quins side a very promising side long term. Too soon for Sloan though. Chiefs always seem to be improving possible lack of creativity but a good kicking approach would work well next season.
 
Bath Rugby 33-29 Leicester Tigers
 
Scrum: Would expect Tigers to edge ever so slightly here but still suffering with some form issues.
Lineout: Both sides with strong options. Maul would be a very useful tool for Tigers.
Breakdown: Tight battle but Tigers edge with Big Bast filling the BOD void well here!
HB's: Form issues for Tigers. Lambie needs to get himself fit and playing the Rugby Championship.
Attack: Don't see the Tigers 10-12 getting the best out of their backs currently. Bath with serious pace in the wider channels can cause problems in the good weather. 
Defence: Tigers midfield can make yardage against their opposite numbers. Banahan can be turned.
Bench: Tigers front row options can up the work around the park! Beale is the definition of an impact player though.
Tactics: Some form issues still lingering in the Tigers front 5. Bast suits their style perfectly and is a perfect BOD replacement for them. More needed at 10. Messam at 8 will cause problems off the back of scrums. Backline arguably a little light weight. Backrow carrying options help out here but more would be needed in the wet.
 
London Irish 28-30 Northampton Saints
 
Scrum: See Jones struggling for Irish up against world class opposition.
Lineout: Good variety from both sides and they should both get some attacking moves going.
Breakdown: Good competition here. Both front 5s hit the ruck well and the back rows are well balanced/
HB's: Edge to Irish in both shirts but Saints are still capable here.
Attack: Liking the Saints backline but Leiua and Dulin offer plenty for Irish. Feel there's more of an attacking threat from the back 5 of the Saints pack though. 
Defence: Both 13s are questionable as is Goneva positionally on the wing.
Bench: Very mobile look to the Saints front 5 options. Kockett & Williams will offer fantastic control for Irish though.
Tactics: Liking the back 5 of the Irish pack. Good work rate, bit of carrying and can turn the ball over. Front row needs a bit of work though.Very impressed with the Leiua signing and he will work well of Evans. Saints pack looking very imposing. Great weapon on attack and defence. 9/10 lets them down though if not dominating the pack battle and needs tweaking. Leadership isn't a massive factor for me except in big games like finals. Most sides in the league can call on 3/4 players with leadership roles either internationally or at club level.
 
Gloucester 32-32 Saracens
 
Scrum: Good old battle here between the props. Mealamu edges it to Sarries.
Lineout: Matfield a class above anything Robson has played and should read a few balls.
Breakdown: Great little battle. Feel the Glaws front 5 edge but Sarries flanks even it up. 
HB's: Parra a step up at 9. Cips looking a good option for Matt. Steyn looked decent for the Saffa's but needs a good RC due to poor club form. 
Attack: Glaws back three is step up but Sarries midfield is a real humdinger and will cause a lot of damage during the season. Lack of mobile ball carrying in the pack for Sarries.
Defence: Gear v Ashton could cause problems if left one on one. 
Bench: Glaws front row edge but Flip & Hughes can provide some impact for Sarries.
Tactics: Back three options for Glaws are strong as is the back row depth. Cowan-Dickie struggls a little and Robson hasn't come on as hoped. Loving the Sarries midfield but a very old look to the pack and they won't do the job week in week out. Steyn needs to step up. Dus & Brus work great at the breakdown but carrying lacking.
 
London Wasps 34-25 London Welsh
 
Scrum: Wasps props can get on top here. 
Lineout: Both lineouts struggle with no top quality options and both hookers known for wobbles.
Breakdown: Wasps should slow Welsh up a lot here.
HB's: Step up to Wasps.
Attack: Welsh midfield looking stronger but more about the Wasps back three.
Defence: Positionally issues for the Wasps wings.
Bench: Extra experience of Welsh is telling.
Tactics: Onojaife, Guy Armitage, Fowlie, Thacker, Thompson-Stringer and the young sub backs should be no more then LV at the moment or bench in international/injury emergencies. Symons & Narraway = bench figures T Youngs, Wallace, Slade & Watson based on the quality of other EQ options and foreign alternatives should be the bench options but would have no problem starting either.

Quins 22-24 Exeter

Hard to judge. Not many scrums and very even pack wise. Quins take front row with brookes a Bolter.

Young quins locks lack experience but good unit.

Quins take backrow but out gunned out
Wide
With Sloan out of his depth. Close game with quins pack a better unit. Exeter half backs a good combo but not a unit to play expansive rugby

Bath 22-21Leicester


Hard to separate with mean front 5s think bath take backrow
With carrying and physicality on backrow.

FDP class
Apart both centre combos not right. Allende a back 3 who can play 12. Not a 13

Bath sneak this on having a better 9,10. Foutuali had a mixed bag and lambie been out for ages.


No fan of Hodson but with FDP they will win

Newcastle 19-21 sale

Slater and parling a bang in form pair but falcons front row will struggle.

Both packs lack carrying and will be a stale mate.
Fancy care and barret to create more

Feel eastmond can be got
At as have said for years. The recent game vs nz confirmed this but Marshall not
The man to
Do it

Irish 28-28 saints

Experience a big factor and that Irish backrow schools saints
. Luatua great but having a poor season and gits not a ten.

Saints far from
Full strength and probably favourites for title next year.
Prop has big names
And experience and they hold
On

Wasps 39-20 welsh.

Easy game. Is CJ on hols? In danger of being left behind.

Quins 20-24 Chiefs
Quins looking good with a strong eq showing here. Agree with others that Sloan could be slightly out of his depth. Chiefs back row and back line much more improved from last season.

Bath 24-22 Tigers
Lambie needs a bit more form but think that Tigers win the 13 battle. Bath edge it at halfbacks.

Falcons 23-25 Sale
Sale just take the front row. Would pick Farrell over Biggar to start for Falcons at present. Feel Sale have enough in the back 3 but Falcons looking good and just need a little more in front row.

Glos 30-30 Sarries
Tough to split the packs especially now Burger is back. Both 10's suit their respective backlines and I do like the look of the Falcons centre pairing (for some combo feedback pooly). Folau the standout in the back 3 for both teams and can't really split it overall sorry guys. Both teams will be very close to the top next season. Would be a great game to watch.

Wasps 38-19 Welsh
Of Wasps starting side I feel 5, 12 and 13 require a bit more development time. Overall the eq options are very strong though and their back up eq front rows are going to blossom this season. A couple of names on the Welsh bench ensure ethey get some points on the board but this is essentially a walk over.

Quins 23 Chiefs 27

Quins pack is raw but full of talent in the front 5, Wood best player on pitch but chiefs win a few other positions. Total contrast in backs with Quins youthful again and Chiefs full of seasoned ints which will see them home. AAC as skipper is good choice. Nowell and Ojo don't offer massive try scoring threat for me. but rock in defence.

Bath 20 Leicester Tigers 25

Both have massive battles in pack with Bath struggling with Messem at 8. Half backs are tasty  battle but swing to Tigers with Lambie and Kahn a well balanced pairing. Centres both pretty good but 12 to Bath and 13 to Tigers. wings to bath with Hogg not playing in last 3 months besides for poor jocks side.

Is tomorrow too late? Bit of a hectic weekend

Can't see it being an issue

Bath 24 - 23 Leicester

two strong teams here. De Allende stands out in Bath as possible weakness whereas I'm a little unsure of the 9, 10, 12 axis for Leicester when it comes to controlling games against the best teams. Strong everywhere else. Perhaps TJ stands out a little in the Tigers pack.

Newcastle 25 - 26 Sale

Fraser stands out in Falcons pack as weaker link until he gets back on the pitch for Sarries. Possible weakness in the 10, 12 13 for Sale defensively against a side with big carriers. Eastmond might get lost this will create gaps in the midfield with some strong runners against them.

Irish 23 - 25 Saints

I'm a little unsure on the likes of Jones, Toner and Thompstone in the AP and the same with Gray, Luatua, Davies and Williams for Saints. Goneva a great signing and the sheer physicality of the potential Saints backline including Savea, Fofana, Manu and Goneva is unrivalled in this league. Giteau no weakness at 10 for me and Davies exciting but needs to play some big games and shine. For Irish it looks good perhaps weakness in that front 5.

Gloucester 29 - 34 Saracens

Very strong from Sarries. I myself don't like Davies at 12 and would go will Williams and Davies as my centre pairing. Pack is strong but don't rate props on the bench at all.

For Gloucester I think that LCD is a weakness in the AP at full strength as a starter and I'm unconvinced by Bird/Robson combo. Galan and Matera probably fit into a back row with Heaslip and Alberts but not together.

Wasps 25 - 23 Welsh

LV Cup - Symons, Onajafe and Fowlie. Slade likely to stand out in full AP games. All on bench need LV as well.

Front row fine to start as are back row and 9. Wouldn't start the centres in AP.

Quins 22 - 26 Chiefs
Quins have one of the best academies in the game, Clifford and Snickler on the bench are going to be future England players, but in this game the more experienced Chiefs team will get the win. Fluxy has completely transformed Chiefs now and the backrow and backline are very good, just need a few impact bench players and will be huge improvements in league position next year.

Bath 30 -27 Tigers
Bath made some great signings over the summer and no chance they will be at bottom end of the table - not sure ou get the best out of Messam at the back of the scrum, would prob play Haskell there instead. No real ball fetcher/turnover specialist. Tigers pack is very strong, one issue with the backline is you know how they will play with their big ball carriers and for me need one player with a bit of spark in midfield.

Falcons 28-32 Sale
Sale will be up there with the favourites for the league next year, half back combo is great and powerful pack - maybe just need a bit more quality in the no2 shirt to get that top spot. Falcons second row combination looks very strong, impressed with both. Backline they need a guy who can straighten up and power over the gainline, don't think the balance is quite right.

Glos 29-29 Sarries
Agree with a few others who have mentioned LCD as a slight issue, he will become a quality player and be there or there abouts with England, just needs more of a run of games - to a far lesser extent I'd say the same about Waller, so Sarries wont get a massive advantage at set piece but just enough to make a difference. WOuldn't play JD at no12, but otherwise Sarries very strong. Gloucester back row is very good and can't split it once benches are unloaded.

Wasps 33-22 Welsh
Haven't seen enough of Symons to comment, but would only have Onajafe, Moon and Collins in the LV starting lineup, as others need some more gametime in the AP/LV Cup. Can see Watson having a great season and in dry/sunny conditions would start him ahead of Delon due to attacking threat.

Harlequins 17-27 Exeter

FR - little edge to Exeter in scrum, Quins more in loose
SR - little bit of mis-match with 2 quality ops for Exeter. Not sure Quins pair quite ready for this level but plenty of potential
BR - both sides leaving plenty for 8's in carrying stakes. Quins would need to bump up engine room significantly to get away with flank combo. Rowan not at this level yet for Exeter
HB - not much in 10's but White a level up
CE - mis match in ability. For Exeter really nice combo, Sloan not ready
B3 - Exeter shade wings, big step at FB.

Overall - 2 different kinds of sides so hard to level off fairly. Exeter much stronger, plenty of young EQ potential for Steve

Is it too late to predo?

No mate, predos can stay open until I get home from work tomorrow evening.

Bath 23-22 Leicester

Not much in the set pieces with both teams very solid and set out well. Tigers backrow lacks a bit of carrying and Messem prob better at 8 but no major issue for both. Backs again very close with Banahan the odd man out in both backlines. Apart from that both have solid combo's but Bath just have a little edge to sneak.

Newcastle 19-17 Sale

Not much in set pieces and front 5's pretty equal with a man a piece in engine room. Both backrows lack a real carrying option with some steady operators but nobody really taking the game to the opp, Whitelock perhaps not quite at this level but getting there. Sale halfbacks a step up but not sure of defence on centre pairing, 10/12 channel a bit of an issue. Falcons centres steady, Max more of a winger or impact sub I think. Not much in the back 3's, WLR adds a bit of X Factor in the Sale team but do prefer him at FB having more time where he's world class. Good game with little in it, just a bit more of a solid defence in the backs for Falcons helps them through.

London Wasps 25-20 London Welsh

Solid front row for Wasps although both hookers can be got at in set piece although no major line threat helps this. Don't know a great deal about Wasps engine room so would have to give edge to Welsh. Not a huge fan of Wallace, esp at 6 and much depends on how Narraway starts for Irish in real life. As it stands both sides miss a bit of quality in the back rows but nothing of real concern in this match up. Step up for Wasps at half back, Youngs looking peachy and will bring on Slade in this one. Slade possibly not at AP level but really like him. Welsh lack quality. Welsh with a little bit more at centre, would struggle to rate all except JTH in AP. Really like the blend of Wasps back 3 though. Wasps edge with a bit more quality throghout. I suspect CJ has canned it in????

London Irish 26-22 Northampton

Saints with a little edge in the scrum but Irish pull it back with no line out leader in Saints pack. Good engine rooms for both, think Manoa loses a bit at lock but solid option. Irish shade backrow with a nice unit with a bit of everything. Irish again shade the halfabcks, Giteau much better at 12 and Dickson a bit up on Davies. One a piece in centres, not seen much of Irish 12 but Daly a problem in defence at 13. Saints better wings but Irish 15. Good match up and both have some good combo's. Bit more in Irish half backs and backrow will give a bit more control and the win.

London Irish 24 Northampton Saints 24

London Irish better from 4-8 , Saints have plenty of graft but Irish have more quality. Half backs to Irish with Giteau a 12 throughout these days. Outside backs go Saints with more quality throughout. Goneva a great buy for Chris.

Gloucester 20 Saracens 23

Gloucester have quality in 2,3,6 and 7 , Sarries full of expiernce in pack and this sees them through in the forwards. Backs are a tasty battle with Cips in great form. JD/Fekitoa is a great combo. Both have dangerous back 3s. Saracens sneak it through forwards.

London Wasps 34 London Welsh 22

Where is CJ? I'll check if he's been on the 606 Facebook as he usually posts on there.

Pete , Your lads who i'd be comftable with starting would be 1,2,3,7,9,11,14 and 15. Rest of your guys would benifit from the LV.

I'll leave predos open until 6pm fellas and will total up scores then.

Happy with that compared to last season and not playing full strength!

Sorry guys been manic

Thanks for feedback boys.

Cheers Pete, as much as I was thinking tbh.

Full Bonus:

Matt, Steve, Prop. Pete, Driver, Chris, SJE & Pooly