European Challenge Cup Final

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Bath v Saracens

Location - Twickenham Stoop
Light Cloud, 12 Degrees, 9mph SSW Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. James Slipper	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Damien De Allende
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Luther Burrell
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Christian Wade
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Richard Hibbard 17. Richard Barrington 18. Scott Wilson 19. Luke Romano 20. Liam Messam 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Liam Williams 23. Christian Lealifano

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Sarries in the loose with big carries. High tempo offloading game looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece. Try to get on top early and use the momentum.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our attack. Ben Tameifuma will look to dominate Waller and interrupt the Sarries scrum. Slipper has been improving in the scrum and Cole has not looked dominant since returning from injury. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Kitch, Falateu and Whitelock options in the lineout. Whitelock will run the lineout with Kitch offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Target the inconsistent throwing of Jamie George and look to pick a few lineouts.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Falateu, Lydiate and Tipuric are adept at the breakdown. Only send numbers in if confident we can get the ball, otherwise look to set the defence and dare Sarries to beat us.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Dan Lydiate will be tasked with getting after Morgen Parr and limiting his effect. Look to put pressure on SBW, when you expect the offload you can make a play on it. Burrell and De Allende can both defend the centre positions so play the matchups. Wigglesworth to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempo and play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Sanchez will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. De Allende is in great form and will similarly look to make plays. Outside of him we have Burrell and North as big bruisers who can run through anything whilst Wade and Goode can bring creative running. We will look to target the defence of Ashton and Tait especially by occasionally getting the ball out wide quickly and isolating them. Goode/De Allende/Sanchez can all play first receiver and will rotate in order to keep tempo up and look to play expansively. Wade and Goode will look to attack when the high ball is aimed at them. Both will love a chance to run in an open field.

The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of Slipper, Big Ben and Falateu in order to break the line and make yards. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Sarries which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Sanchez will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Sanchez and Goode have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: We have six internationals in the bench and will look to use their talents to the full. Hibbard will come on at the 50 and look to keep the tempo up. Wilson and Barrington come on later and look to get involved in the loose. Romano can come on and add grunt all over the park. Messam is a world class operator who when fresh can add a lot to our side against tired legs. FDP is an experienced head who can continue to control the tempo. LLF can come on at 10/12 and use his playmaking ability to change the game late on. Liam Williams can add game changing pace and running ability late on.

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Jamie George	10. Bernard Foley
03. Dan Cole
04. Brad Davies	11. Juan Imhoff
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. Jannie Du Plessis 19. Sam Carter 20. Dave Denton 21. Francois Hougaard 22. Pat Lambie 23. Miles Benjamin

TACTICS:

TARGET SCRUM - Look to isolate Slipper with Cole & George. Cole has dominated Slipper in previous meetings and will look to get one over him again. If weakness seen, will look to keep the scrum up and drive Bath back. Also have extremely strong locking combo to add to 8 man scrum (Davies has been getting rave reviews for Wasps scrum coming on so much). Strong bench with bags of experience to get at the Bath set peice late on. Will look to turn the screw with Barrington and Wilson on.

STRONGER BACK 5 UNIT? - Look to keep things tight in the pack and domainate the contact area. We think we have more power in the back 5 especially, so will use this to our advantage (Davies, Flip, Clark, Hughes etc). Look to clean out the breakdown with strong options and drive through and past the ball when Bath bring it in. If we can keep Bath on the back foot it will force them to clear the ball out fast from the breakdown and put Sanchez on the back foot. Also look to use the rolling maul to good effect and take advantge of our added bulk in the pack.

PUT PRESSURE ON 13 CHANNEL - Target Burrell in defence from the off with SBW looking to put Fekitoa into space so he can use his pace and power on the outside channel. Look to get SBW in the 13 channel also (with Fekitoa playing 12 for the AB's) running at Burrell with Ashton on his shoulder.

TARGET WADE & GOODE UNDER THE HIGH BALL Look to test out Goode and Wade under the high ball when pressure can be applied from our wingers. Look to compete in the air with Parra's strong box kicking. Also look to get SBW drifting into Wade's wing channel off at least 2nd phase ball and try the cross field kick to him. (Wade is 5'6" and SBW is 6'4")

BATH BACKS ON BACK FOOT? - If we see Bath's backs on the back foot with our breakdown plan working, we'll look to push up the defence from midfield and put pressure on them. With the lack of kicking options in Bath's midfield they'll struggle for an exit option if forced to rush things from the breakdown and with SBW & Fekitoa renounded for their line speed in defence (Fekitoa's defence has been outstanding this season) will look to cut off attacks and go for the turnover. The pack will be rehearsed to know when it's on and we'll look to flood the breakdown driving through.

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 tie in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through thei 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 safe ball  with 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, Dusatoir 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 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack 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.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB
[/td]

01. James Slipper	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Damien De Allende
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Luther Burrell
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Christian Wade
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Richard Hibbard 17. Richard Barrington 18. Scott Wilson 19. Luke Romano 20. Liam Messam 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Liam Williams 23. Christian Lealifano

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Sarries in the loose with big carries. High tempo offloading game looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece. Try to get on top early and use the momentum.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our attack. Ben Tameifuma will look to dominate Waller and interrupt the Sarries scrum. Slipper has been improving in the scrum and Cole has not looked dominant since returning from injury. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Kitch, Falateu and Whitelock options in the lineout. Whitelock will run the lineout with Kitch offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Target the inconsistent throwing of Jamie George and look to pick a few lineouts.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Falateu, Lydiate and Tipuric are adept at the breakdown. Only send numbers in if confident we can get the ball, otherwise look to set the defence and dare Sarries to beat us.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Dan Lydiate will be tasked with getting after Morgen Parr and limiting his effect. Look to put pressure on SBW, when you expect the offload you can make a play on it. Burrell and De Allende can both defend the centre positions so play the matchups. Wigglesworth to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempo and play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Sanchez will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. De Allende is in great form and will similarly look to make plays. Outside of him we have Burrell and North as big bruisers who can run through anything whilst Wade and Goode can bring creative running. We will look to target the defence of Ashton and Tait especially by occasionally getting the ball out wide quickly and isolating them. Goode/De Allende/Sanchez can all play first receiver and will rotate in order to keep tempo up and look to play expansively. Wade and Goode will look to attack when the high ball is aimed at them. Both will love a chance to run in an open field.

The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of Slipper, Big Ben and Falateu in order to break the line and make yards. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Sarries which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Sanchez will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Sanchez and Goode have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: We have six internationals in the bench and will look to use their talents to the full. Hibbard will come on at the 50 and look to keep the tempo up. Wilson and Barrington come on later and look to get involved in the loose. Romano can come on and add grunt all over the park. Messam is a world class operator who when fresh can add a lot to our side against tired legs. FDP is an experienced head who can continue to control the tempo. LLF can come on at 10/12 and use his playmaking ability to change the game late on. Liam Williams can add game changing pace and running ability late on.

Decent conditions CJB

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Jamie George	10. Bernard Foley
03. Dan Cole
04. Brad Davies	11. Juan Imhoff
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. Jannie Du Plessis 19. Sam Carter 20. Dave Denton 21. Francois Hougaard 22. Pat Lambie 23. Miles Benjamin

TACTICS:

TARGET SCRUM - Look to isolate Slipper with Cole & George. Cole has dominated Slipper in previous meetings and will look to get one over him again. If weakness seen, will look to keep the scrum up and drive Bath back. Also have extremely strong locking combo to add to 8 man scrum (Davies has been getting rave reviews for Wasps scrum coming on so much). Strong bench with bags of experience to get at the Bath set peice late on. Will look to turn the screw with Barrington and Wilson on.

STRONGER BACK 5 UNIT? - Look to keep things tight in the pack and domainate the contact area. We think we have more power in the back 5 especially, so will use this to our advantage (Davies, Flip, Clark, Hughes etc). Look to clean out the breakdown with strong options and drive through and past the ball when Bath bring it in. If we can keep Bath on the back foot it will force them to clear the ball out fast from the breakdown and put Sanchez on the back foot. Also look to use the rolling maul to good effect and take advantge of our added bulk in the pack.

PUT PRESSURE ON 13 CHANNEL - Target Burrell in defence from the off with SBW looking to put Fekitoa into space so he can use his pace and power on the outside channel. Look to get SBW in the 13 channel also (with Fekitoa playing 12 for the AB's) running at Burrell with Ashton on his shoulder.

TARGET WADE & GOODE UNDER THE HIGH BALL Look to test out Goode and Wade under the high ball when pressure can be applied from our wingers. Look to compete in the air with Parra's strong box kicking. Also look to get SBW drifting into Wade's wing channel off at least 2nd phase ball and try the cross field kick to him. (Wade is 5'6" and SBW is 6'4")

BATH BACKS ON BACK FOOT? - If we see Bath's backs on the back foot with our breakdown plan working, we'll look to push up the defence from midfield and put pressure on them. With the lack of kicking options in Bath's midfield they'll struggle for an exit option if forced to rush things from the breakdown and with SBW & Fekitoa renounded for their line speed in defence (Fekitoa's defence has been outstanding this season) will look to cut off attacks and go for the turnover. The pack will be rehearsed to know when it's on and we'll look to flood the breakdown driving through.

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 tie in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through thei 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 safe ball  with 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, Dusatoir 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 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack 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.

Good luck CJB

Bath Rugby 24-28 Saracens
Can't see a set piece edge between the packs but the Sarries front 5 offer more at the breakdown. Back row battle very tight with a great work rate from both. Slight edge to the Sarries halfbacks who are more capable of getting the backs going. More about the Bath back three but Sarries edge the midfield. Burrell could struggle defensively up against Fekitoa. Both benches have a bit of impact and can change the game up late on.

Bath looking for a very open game and want to put the ball through the hands for long phases but see them getting slow ball from the breakdown and not making a lot of ground v the Sarries midfield. Sarries specifically targetting the breakdown and looking for a big rush defence in the midfield area will cause the Bath attack a lot of problems.

Bath 25-26 Sarries

If it's ok will do tomorrow, been stuck in an airport with no wifi since 6pm and only just got some internet.

Bath 24 - 26 Sarries

Decent from row contest where I think both th's get on top. One a piece in the second rows whilst the back rows really interesting. Edge to sarries on form and they just sneak the packs. Sarries look the stronger at hb and centre but bath bit more dangerous out wide. Two decent benches. Overall a close game but slight edge to Sarries steals it.

Bath 22 - 23 Saracens
Pooly has his tactics spot on for the game, if they were looking to play at a high tempo with Parra at no9 then it would have played into Bath's hands. It gives their 12/13 combination a very good attacking platform and they are right to target Burrell at no13. Hughes also in incredible form and gives them some nice go forward momentum. Prefer the all Welsh balance of the Bath back row. Set piece will be very even, as conditions won't see many scrums and lineout 50/50 with the two hookers, George better than Haywood but Whitlock by far the best on display and will give Bath some good attacking ball.

Bath have better attacking options outwide, would have started Williams instead of North, he's arguably best in form outside back in UK. Just think that in a final Saracens just about have enough with their kicking game and have smart tactics that are right for a final. Bath likely to play the better rugby, can see Wade and North causing trouble with any loose kicks. Sarries just about win.

Bath 25 - 23 Saracens

Great contest again. Saracens will get a bit of joy at the scrum and Bath at the lineout. Great back row combo for Bath and they get the upper hand there. Half backs edge to Bath with a bit more control. Centres to Saracens with back three to Bath with 2 of the best runners in the world. Close contest but Bath take it.

Bath 27-29 Saracens

Saracens win the scrum with Wilson and Barrington likely to struggle late on, and both will be needed. 2 of the best line out men around in Flip and Whitelock, fancy bath to have the edge though. In the back row, I think Lydiate offers nothing ball in hand and Tipuric can be dominated physically, and Sarries have the physicality to be able to do it.

In the backs both half back pairings complement each other well, and the centre are a win for Sarries while Bath take the back 3.

In the end the advantage at the scrum and breakdown physicality will win this one for Saracens

Bath Rugby 27 Saracens 28
really tough to split, two good sides who cancel each other out in a lot of areas. Decider for me is the SBW/Fekitoa midfield. Just think they between them can produce a moment of magic to win a tight game.

RESULT:

Bath Rugby 25 (T:1 C:1 P:6)
Saracens 29 (T:2 C:2 P:5)

Congratulations Pooly. Nice little trophy picked up there.

Unlucky CJB.

Cheers Pete

Well done Pooly