European Challenge Cup Semi Finals

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Bath v London Irish
Location - Recreation Grounds
Sunny Intervals, 15 Degrees, 13mph ENE Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. James Slipper	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Scott Wilson
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Sitiveni Sivivatu
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Luther Burrell
07. Liam Gill	14. Hallan Amos
08. Josh Beaumont	15. Liam Williams

16. Richard Hibbard 17. Richard Barrington 18. Ben Tameifuma 19. Charlie Ewers 20. Liam Messam 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Michele Campagnaro 23. George North

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 London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. Tom Court	09. Neil De Kock
02. Ken Owens	10. Jules Plisson (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Tom Savage	11. Sergeal Petersen
05. Jacques Potgeiter	12. Cory Allen
06. David Sisi	13. Mark Bennett
07. Will Welch (c)	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

16. Ross Batty 17. Ben Franks 18. Will Collier 19. Dean Mumm 20. Sam Warburton 21. Rory Kockett 22. Dan Biggar 23. Nick Cummins

Tactics
*Want to play an open and expansive game,
*Half backs who will look to control the game,
*Exciting centres and back 3 who will look to run,
*Lightweight, technical pack looking to give quick ball,
*Massive impact bench with international quality,
*We have rotated but we are looking for a morale boosting victory for our run in.

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Saracens v Exeter Chiefs

Location - Allianz Park
Sunny Intervals, 13 Degrees, 14mph ENE Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Bernard Foley
03. Dan Cole
04. Brad Davies	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Thierry Dusatoir(c)	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Keven Mealamu 17. Nick Auterac 18. Tomas Francis 19. Sam Carter 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Frans Hougaard 22. Pat Lambie 23. Maxime Mermoz

Tactics:

TARGET SCRUM - Look to attack the LH/Hooker channel with strong fron 5 unit and strong scrummaging bench.

TARGET BREAKDOWN - Target from the off. Numerous options in Cole, Clark, Dusatoir to slow and turn over Exeter ball.

KEEP BALL ALIVE IN OPP HALF AND DRAG IN EXETER DEFENSIVE UNIT - Look to get big runners into 12/13 channel and tie in Barrit/ACC then use fast ball to attack the channels outside with Barritt/AAC out of the picture.

HOME ADVANTAGE VITAL & STRONG BENCH TO SEE OUT GAME - Home advanatge is key in semi finals, how often do away teams win? Look to use this to our advanatge and strong bench to see out the game.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to move the opposition pack around and then use big carrying options to punch holes through the opposition defence.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for quick ball off the top with the world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors, Shields the expert here. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of SBW's offloads in contact. Back 3 to keep things honest and come looking for work.

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Cian Healy	09. Connor Murray
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Toby Flood
03. Jake Cooper-Woolley
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. Tom Varndell
05. Paul O'Connell (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. James Haskell	14. Cory Jane
08. Fritz Lee	15. James O'Conoor

_
16. Sean Cronin 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Mike Ross 19. Tomás Lavanini 20. Luke Wallace 21. Chris Cook 22. Camille Lopez 23. Andrew Trimble

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. We want to hit the ground running and hit the opposition hard and fast from the off. Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will look to play flat and look to get our back line into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play, which will be a struggle for most of their slow lumbering forwards. 

In defence, as always we will be running a banana defence. Focus will be on the gain-line collisions and driving back in the tackle. Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components. Minimal numbers committed to opposition breakdown. Murray will sweep in behind the defensive line to sweep up any kicks through the line. 

• Territory - When we kick will aim to push Saracens deep within their own territory. This week we are looking to kick long or use Murray's box to force the the Saracens back three to turn and retrieve the ball, with pressure from our kick chase game. We want to keep the ball in field, to tire out a drained Sarries side and to trust our imposing defence (joint second best with tries conceded this season) to frustrate Sarries, and generate penalties. 
  
• Lineout - Using POC, Tui & Lee to mix up our options and look for possession off the top and into midfeld. Look to cut line out numbers and have a forward pod in midfield to exploit the defense of SBW and Fekitoa .
  
• Forwards - Generally in defence with our line we will look to get stuck in early and get the carrier to ground early. This is to then either ensure we have numbers in the defensive line, or to get numbers in at the breakdown to slow up/turnover Sarries ball. Our back row is renowned for physicality at the breakdown and will frustrate the Sarries carriers and support. 
  
• Scrum - Look to get the ball in and out quickly, using the pace and power of our back row unit to make ground and get on the front foot. 
  
• Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition defence to create overlaps for our backs. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our back-row will target the breakdown, looking to blow through the ruck and past the ball, to create clean ball. Allowing time for the halfbacks to dictate.
  
• Attack - In the opposition half take our time and not rush with ball in hand. Have confidence in our carriers to tie in defenders and get across the gain line and in our backs to exploit the gaps when we create them. Carriers to target the defence down Fekitoa's channel & exploit the defensive capabilities in on the wings. Also our back three looking to isolate their slower lads in the defensive line eg Hughes, Davies & Waller etc.
  
• Build a Score - Flood to take on kicking at goal responsibilities. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out and apply pressure.
  
• Playing away - This might be an away game, but our fans our fanatical and will make this feel like a neutral ground!  #Chiefsontour
  

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Pooly are we doing tactics for our first leg showdown?

Can go without for both legs if you want mate?

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Bernard Foley
03. Dan Cole
04. Brad Davies	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Thierry Dusatoir(c)	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Keven Mealamu 17. Nick Auterac 18. Tomas Francis 19. Sam Carter 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Frans Hougaard 22. Pat Lambie 23. Maxime Mermoz

Tactics:

TARGET SCRUM - Look to attack the LH/Hooker channel with strong fron 5 unit and strong scrummaging bench.

TARGET BREAKDOWN - Target from the off. Numerous options in Cole, Clark, Dusatoir to slow and turn over Exeter ball.

KEEP BALL ALIVE IN OPP HALF AND DRAG IN EXETER DEFENSIVE UNIT - Look to get big runners into 12/13 channel and tie in Barrit/ACC then use fast ball to attack the channels outside with Barritt/AAC out of the picture.

HOME ADVANTAGE VITAL & STRONG BENCH TO SEE OUT GAME - Home advanatge is key in semi finals, how often do away teams win? Look to use this to our advanatge and strong bench to see out the game.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to move the opposition pack around and then use big carrying options to punch holes through the opposition defence.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for quick ball off the top with the world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors, Shields the expert here. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of SBW's offloads in contact. Back 3 to keep things honest and come looking for work.

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Cian Healy	09. Connor Murray
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Toby Flood
03. Jake Cooper-Woolley
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. Tom Varndell
05. Paul O'Connell (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. James Haskell	14. Cory Jane
08. Fritz Lee	15. James O'Conoor

_
16. Sean Cronin 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Mike Ross 19. Tomás Lavanini 20. Luke Wallace 21. Chris Cook 22. Camille Lopez 23. Andrew Trimble

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. We want to hit the ground running and hit the opposition hard and fast from the off. Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will look to play flat and look to get our back line into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play, which will be a struggle for most of their slow lumbering forwards. 

In defence, as always we will be running a banana defence. Focus will be on the gain-line collisions and driving back in the tackle. Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components. Minimal numbers committed to opposition breakdown. Murray will sweep in behind the defensive line to sweep up any kicks through the line. 

• Territory - When we kick will aim to push Saracens deep within their own territory. This week we are looking to kick long or use Murray's box to force the the Saracens back three to turn and retrieve the ball, with pressure from our kick chase game. We want to keep the ball in field, to tire out a drained Sarries side and to trust our imposing defence (joint second best with tries conceded this season) to frustrate Sarries, and generate penalties. 
  
• Lineout - Using POC, Tui & Lee to mix up our options and look for possession off the top and into midfeld. Look to cut line out numbers and have a forward pod in midfield to exploit the defense of SBW and Fekitoa .
  
• Forwards - Generally in defence with our line we will look to get stuck in early and get the carrier to ground early. This is to then either ensure we have numbers in the defensive line, or to get numbers in at the breakdown to slow up/turnover Sarries ball. Our back row is renowned for physicality at the breakdown and will frustrate the Sarries carriers and support. 
  
• Scrum - Look to get the ball in and out quickly, using the pace and power of our back row unit to make ground and get on the front foot. 
  
• Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition defence to create overlaps for our backs. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our back-row will target the breakdown, looking to blow through the ruck and past the ball, to create clean ball. Allowing time for the halfbacks to dictate.
  
• Attack - In the opposition half take our time and not rush with ball in hand. Have confidence in our carriers to tie in defenders and get across the gain line and in our backs to exploit the gaps when we create them. Carriers to target the defence down Fekitoa's channel & exploit the defensive capabilities in on the wings. Also our back three looking to isolate their slower lads in the defensive line eg Hughes, Davies & Waller etc.
  
• Build a Score - Flood to take on kicking at goal responsibilities. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out and apply pressure.
  
• Playing away - This might be an away game, but our fans our fanatical and will make this feel like a neutral ground!  #Chiefsontour
  

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. James Slipper	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Scott Wilson
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Sitiveni Sivivatu
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Luther Burrell
07. Liam Gill	14. Hallan Amos
08. Josh Beaumont	15. Liam Williams

16. Richard Hibbard 17. Richard Barrington 18. Ben Tameifuma 19. Charlie Ewers 20. Liam Messam 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Michele Campagnaro 23. George North

will get my team in later today

 London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. Tom Court	09. Neil De Kock
02. Ken Owens	10. Jules Plisson (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Tom Savage	11. Sergeal Petersen
05. Jacques Potgeiter	12. Cory Allen
06. David Sisi	13. Mark Bennett
07. Will Welch (c)	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

16. Ross Batty 17. Ben Franks 18. Will Collier 19. Dean Mumm 20. Sam Warburton 21. Rory Kockett 22. Dan Biggar 23. Nick Cummins

Tactics
*Want to play an open and expansive game,
*Half backs who will look to control the game,
*Exciting centres and back 3 who will look to run,
*Lightweight, technical pack looking to give quick ball,
*Massive impact bench with international quality,
*We have rotated but we are looking for a morale boosting victory for our run in.

Flux, I've done tactics as I wasn't sure if you would or not.

No worries mate will crack on with some later. Only question is, aren't these games at neutral grounds?

Fluxy wrote:No worries mate will crack on with some later. Only question is, aren't these games at neutral grounds?

No mate, teams have home advanatge.

http://www.epcrugby.com/europeanrugbychallengecup/index.php

Challenge Cup games are at home grounds. Its only the Champions Cup that has the home country rule

Bath Rugby 32 London Irish 33
Man for man I very slightly prefer Irish, but I think that the Bath units work better. Home advantage for bath gives them an edge, but no tactics evens that out. Ultimately I struggled to seperate the sides, but can't call it as a draw as it's a knockout game, so have edged on the side of my overview of the teams and in particular the benches, where Irish have an out and out 10 to call on to steer them home, whilst Bath would be looking at either Beale or Campagnaro closing out the game in a key position.

Will do the second game later, as at first glance it looks really close and want to scrutinise the tactics without the kids running around distracting me like they are now!

Bath 19-20 London Irish
Both THs could struggle but see Irish getting the edge here with better support for Thomas. Lineout fairly even. Bath flanks with more quality gives them an edge in the open field especially with Gill in good nick. Halfbacks fairly tight with Plisson going well atm and very hard to separate the backs. More about the Irish bench with Warbs & Biggar in particular making a difference late on to sneak the away win.


Saracens 32-27 Exeter Chiefs
Scrum edge to Sarries with their 2nd row better at locking it down while the lineout is a great little tussle. Prefer the Chiefs back row and see them getting a slight edge at the breakdown with the front 5 even here. Halfbacks one a piece but as a combo Sarries stronger. Going to be some big collisions in midfield. Fancy the Sarries pair to give their side the better attacking ball. Sarries with some decent form to bring into the game late on. 

Similar game plans with both looking to go through the phases and build forward dominance. Not sure either gets on top in the pack for prolonged periods and the the difference here is the attacking quality of the Sarries 10-12-13 unit.

Saracens vs. Exeter Chiefs
This has taken me the best part of an hour to come to a decision over. Some absolutely fascinating match ups. Healy vs. Cole in the scrum, Hughes vs. Lee, but the tasty one for me is the attacking threat of SBW and Fekitoa vs. the defensive excellence of Barritt and AAC. Man for man if was allocating a point for the player in each position who I favoured, it would be a draw. If I'm looking beyond that, I prefer the Chiefs pack as a unit. Would scrum well, decent lineout and lots of big carriers. Sarries might just shade the breakdown though. In the backs I prefer Saracens. Ashton tracking off that 10-12-13 combo could be absolutely lethal and it would be a busy afternoon for Barritt and AAC. Big fan of JOC though, and my one disappointment reading Fluxy's tactics was no mention of how they would get him into the game. For me, in that side you want him on the ball as much as possible. I've always been a forwards win matches, backs decide how much man generally speaking, and on that basis, Chiefs would win, but by by the smallest margin, but I just can't get the attacking threat of the Sarries backline out of my mind and at home, if this was a league game I would score it a draw. With it being a cup semi final, I have scrutinised the tactics to find a winner and both game plans are sound enough, but I just find myself leaning towards the Chiefs and with their stronger pack, I've got to give them a cracking away win.

Saracens 22 Exeter Chiefs 23

Bath 26-25Irish

I understand it's a knockout but Really hard to
seperate.
2 powder puff front rows but Thomas and slipper stand outs.

Locks to bath but Irish with a better work rate and physicality.

Backrow is men against boys with bath having int players vs average.

Half backs one a piece but bath have form and class in backs comparatively. Bench also to bath + home advantage

Sarries vs Exeter is some game on paper. The Chiefs really dominate carriers with Hughes only sarries yet backs a different scenario with sarries having great attacking options but frail defence.


Would be a great game to watch. Love a contrast of styles

Thanks for your input

Bath 27 - 25 London Irish
If Warburton, Mumm, Cummins and Batty had started for Irish then I probably would have given them the away win or draw. The home team have an advantage in the starting pack battle, but that is mainly around the breakdown and in this game that extra bit of ball will be vital. But the Beaumont at no8 is a gamble from Bath, if Morgan hadn't been injured then it would have been a big difference, but quality of the two no8s still quite big, which really does even up the pack battle. I do prefer the balance of the Bath backline though, with that bit more attacking ball I can see Beale being a threat and the form of Williams at fb is massive. Another but...midfield combination for Bath is pretty new in terms of no. of times they have played together and Irish can get some joy. Stupidly close game, with Bath just holding on to reach the final.

Saracens 30 - 30 Exeter Chiefs
Really don't know where to start with this game, either team could win it - the game is so close in a number of areas and Pooly is right to push the importance of home advantage in the game. Though I think the away team has got the edge in physicality, especially with the back row, which must be the biggest in the league. Sarries have the edge come scrum time, but Exeter with O'Connell can really rule the lineout.

Even in halfbacks, but far prefer Murray to Parra and no coincidence that Clermont have been playing their best rugby when Radoslavjevic starts. But prefer the 10,12,13 combination of the home team, but defensively you don't get a more sound pairing of Barritt and AAC. Can see that battle being even and both back threes great attackers, but not the best defensively.

In normal time I can't pick a winner (sorry guys), if it went to extra time maybe the extra physicality of Exeter would see them through, but bench of Sarries is a little stronger. Really tough to call, can see normal time being a high scoring draw, with both sides getting 4 tries.

Bath 28 - 27 Irish
Sarries 32 - 32 Exeter

Bath 27-26 Irish

Wilson could be targetted from the off and a real issue for Bath here. Bath engine room stronger and also take the backrow. Bath have the stronger half backs and back 3 but the centres are pretty tight.

Bath a bit stronger across the park bar front row where they'll struggle. They'll just come away with the win with home advantage key.

Bath 24 - 25 Irish
Saracens 27 - 28.Exeter

Sarries 32-31 Chiefs
Fantastic game, very close to call. Personally I can't see much between the backs but the influence of POC who's been there done that would be huge for Chiefs. Home advantage obviously will gain Sarries a couple of points. Sarries centres could edge something but the Chiefs centre pairing won't give them any gaps. Half backs and back 3 even. Similar tactics from both teams will cancel each other out. Looking at the bench I think this is where Sarries just nick it. This has taken me probably the longest ever to do a prediction!!!!

Sarries 28-28 Exeter

Bath Rugby 31 - 29 London Irish

This is a bit of a mess in the scrums, with both LH's casuing issues to their opposing TH's. Bath have a top level second row combination on show, and their mobility really helps their back row out around the park. Irish have a solid pairing with Potgeiter's physicality and added bonus for pack. Morgan is a clear standout for Irish around the park, however despite the size of Sisi and Morgan, the energy and ability of the Bath bback five gains them some real go forward through the game. 

Both sides have a general and kicking maestro at 9, and allows either side to control the pace of their game when in possession of the ball. Plisson for Irish will aid De Kock in gaining territory for the hard working Irish forward pack. Sanchez provides a bit more creativity at stand off, and with the forward dominance in the loose, his axis with Beale provides some time and space for them to orchestrate their back line and put them into point scoring opportunities. Irish back line contains some dangerous attacking threats and some electric tries will be scored by them. With the benches emptied into the game late on Kockott and Biggar will kick some late points, but the impact of the Bath bench helps swing the game in their favour in the end.

Bath 28-28 London Irish

Bath have got a huge weakness at tighthead in Wilson, he just isn't up to this level, and means they will be on the back foot at scrum time until Tameifuna comes in. Whitelock will likely rule the lineout, while Morgan is the outstanding back row player on show. Bath have a stronger set of flankers, but the pack as a whole is probably equal to Irish at the breakdown, with the likes of Owens excellent around the park.

In the backs, Bath are stronger throughout, and will still be able to play off the back foot. I went back and forth with this, but just couldn't give the win to a side with such a fundamental weakness at the scrum, even with home advantage. Have to to with a draw

Saracens 28-27 Exeter

This is a tough one. Saracens looks to have an advantage at the scrum, while Flip and POC cancel each other out at the line out. The back row battle is crucial. Exeter have 3 massively physical carriers and tacklers, but SOB adds that bit of breakdown nous. I think Exeter have the stronger back row, but Cole, Healy etc will also contribute and the breakdown is probably even overall.

Murray and Foley the strongest half backs on show, while the centre battle is so evenly matched despite the very different strengths. Exeter have a stronger back 3, and also bench strength is in their favour.

If not for home advantage this would be a Exeter win, but just have gone for Sarries on the back of it

RESULTS:

Bath 29 (T:3 C:1 P:4)
London Irish 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)

Saracens 30 (T:4 C:2 P:2)
Exeter Chiefs 29 (T:3 C:1 P:4)

BONUS:
Full: Fluxy, Matt, Prop, Pete, Bam, Chris, SJE & Pooly
Score: CJB, Steve & CJ
Excused: Luke

well played Pooly!

Chiefs search for silverware will continue next season


Just out of interest, (and this addressed to anyone interested!) where do I need to improve/work on to push on next season?

Congrats cjb

I'll ask the same question as fluxy too

You could at least answer my question first

Cheers mate, you'd have had me on neutral ground.

Still won even with Matt's slagging off mid predo which is in bad taste imo.

Well done chaps

Lol not slagged off said it was impossible to call and was a great game. The close score has proved me correct.

Most of these on here were cracking this weekend and with a lot more tries than real life.

Bad taste would be your behaviour after last weeks matches which you really  should apologise for.

Lack of carriers and frail defence......

Out of order. You don't predo on my games so no need to slag my team off, especially during predo's. If I'd have done that you'd have made a right fuss.

Please try and refrain from this in future, it's not really on.

Fluxy wrote: well played Pooly!

Chiefs search for silverware will continue next season


Just out of interest, (and this addressed to anyone interested!) where do I need to improve/work on to push on next season?

Fluxy, for me you have a weakness at 2 and 3. Back row is excellent and hugely powerful but perhaps lacks a little but of balance against the top sides, and you need a top 10 to really kick on. Finally, as I think I said in my predo, in your tactics I'd make more note of how you are going to get your best players into the game. For me JOC is your most talented back, but at 15 you're going to have to tell me how you get him into the game other than the other team kicking to him for me to give him full rating. It's different if your best players are at 9, 10, 12 as they are closer to the action and it's more obvious that they are going to get on the ball more often.

Fluxy wrote:You could at least answer my question first

Will do this week sorry fella snuk on in work quick to see result! Will go through and pm you hopefully by sunday!!

Agree with Pete Flux.

2 is ok, Yeadle is decent but not at the games level. He's better than LCD by a distance but when compare him to other sides on here he's not quite there.

10 and some creativity in your centres are the only other points I think.

Fluxy I would say 2/3 like the rest and 10
Is a big issue. Flood was voted worst foreign player in France and has been all over the place.

Backrow powerful but lacks a bit of nous. If the power does not work what else can they offer ??

Back 3 lacks form. Joc may have been good this week but has been poor for a few seasons.

He will be back strong and likewise tuipoloutu in locks who is having an average season although he was great on the weekend.

You are not far away at all and have improved your side end. A good 10 is key as it would allow you to play barrit and aac and worry less about their lack of creativity. You can really pressure people defensively with those 2 in the centres.

Cheers guys. Not to worry prop, if you don't have time don't worry about it!

I appreciate all the comments guys. My thoughts are that Ross has been great at anchoring the scrums and a good lifter at the line out. For me he needs to be strong in those areas before being handy around the park.

Also understand the comments about the back row, but my impression is they are physically strong, but also handy at the breakdown, so as a unit cover all the roles.

Pete, you're right about JOC earlier in the season I was putting some detail down to how I'd involve him, seems to have slipped!

So based on all this, who wants to crack some offers out to help me? I can do pretty much anyone providing they are quality in return!

Ross is in fine form.
He gave xocci an absolute stuffing on Sunday continuing his form from 6 nations.

If a th can scrimmage then that's the main thing.

Ross did well on Sunday but has been inconsistent for me.

Had a great 6n.

For me at top top level he ain't the greatest but a good 6n means he is in form for me.

He was crucial to quins years ago and is crucial to Ireland. He has runs of good games and then runs of bad ones. He looks fit and firing at moment

Fluxy I agree with those who've said hooker and tighthead are the main areas, but tough ones to improve on too much! Ross is a very solid scrummager when on form, and i'd agree with you that's the primary area for a tighthead.

I think hooker is one of the key positions on the field, and yes Yeandle is solid at the basics, but a bit more quality there would make a big difference imo, especially if you can get someone who is good at turning over ball, which would help with your back row lacking a "specialist 7", although I reckon SOB and Haskell are absolutely fine there.

A bit more starpower in the outside backs may help too