Challenge Cup Round Three

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Worcester Warriors v Bordeaux- Begles
Sixways
Light Cloud, 9 Degrees, 11mph SSW Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Val Ruskin	09. Sam Harrison
02. Codie Taylor	10. Owen Williams(k)
03. Luc Dulcalcon
04. Tom Savage (c)	11. Horatio Agulla
05. Devin Toner	12. Johnny Murray
06. Mike Williams	13. Huw Jones
07. George Smith	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Jackson Wray	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Luca Paz 19. Dean Mumm 20. Warren Whiteley 21. Rory Kockott 22. Jarrad Payne 23. Cory Allen

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Bordeaux

15 Nans Ducuing, 14 Metuisela Talebulamaijaina, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Julien Rey, 11 Blair Connor, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Yann Lesgourgues, 8 Loann Goujon, 7 Hugh Chalmers, 6 Louis Madaule, 5 Jan Andre Marais (c), 4 Julien Le Devedec, 3 Patrick Toetu, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Steven Kitshoff.

Replacements: 16 Clement Maynadier, 17 Sébastien Taofifenua, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Adam Jaulhac, 20 Marco Tauleigne, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Lonca, 23 Charles Brousse.

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Rugby Calvisano v Newcastle Falcons
Centro Sportivo San Michele
Sunny, 11 Degrees, 3mph NNW Winds

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Calvisano

15 Matteo Minozzi, 14 Ben De Jager, 13 Alberto Chiesa, 12 Tommy Castello (c), 11 Marco Susio; 10 Filippo Buscema, 9 Riccardo Raffaele, 8 Jim Tuivaiti, 7 Maxime Mbanda, 6 Alessio Zdrilich, 5 Davide Zanetti, 4 Agustin Cavalieri, 3 Salvatore Costanzo, 2 Lorenzo Giovanchelli, 1 Sami Panico.

Replacements: 16 Gabriele Morelli, 17 Elia Violi, 18 Rudy Biancotti, 19 Luca Beccaris, 20 Matteo Archetti, 21 Renato Giammarioli, 22 Giacomo De Santis, 23 Daniele Di Giulio

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Alec Hepburn	09. Greig Laidlaw (k)
02. Jamie George (c)	10. Gareth Anscombe
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Jacques Potgeiter	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Luke Jones	12. Tom Stephenson
06. Callum Clark	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Jordi Murphy	14. Vince Tavae Aso
08. Jack O'Donaghue	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Vincent Debaty 18. Matt Stevens 19. Flip Van Der Merwe 20. Kieran Read 21. Nick Phipps 22. Owen Farrell 23. Charles Piutau

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Exeter Chiefs v Edinburgh
Sandy Park
Light Cloud, 11 Degrees, 13mph SW Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 
Manager – Fluxy

01. Nic Auterac	09. Nic White
02. Rob Webber	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Woolley
04. Jake Ball	11. Teddy Thomas
05. James Horwill	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Sam James
07. Luke Wallace	14. JP Pietersen
08. Brad Shields	15. Maxime Medard

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Jefferson Poirot 18. Vincent Koch 19. Juandre Kruger 20. Joe Edwards 21. Connor Murray 22. Alex Losowski 23. Cory Jane

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Edinburgh

15 Dougie Fife, 14 Tom Brown, 13 William Helu, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Otulea Katoa 10 Greig Tonks, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Cornell Du Preez, 7 John Hardie, 6 Nasi Manu, 5 Fraser McKenzie, 4 Anton Bresler, 3 WP Nel, 2 Ross Ford (c), 1 Alasdair Dickinson.

Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Alex Toolis, 20 Jamie Ritchie, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Dean

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Castres v Gloucester
Stade Pierre-Antoine
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 7mph SSW Winds

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Castres

15 Geoffrey Palis, 14 Romain Martial, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Romain Cabannes (c), 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Julien Seron, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Alexandre Bias, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Victor Moreaux, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau.

Replacements: 16 Mathieu Bonello, 17 Mihaita Lazar, 18 Lucas Martinez, 19 Alex Tulou, 20 Theo Hannoyer, 21 Julien Dumora, 22 Remi Lamerat, 23 Antoine Dupont

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Gloucester


1 Beast
2 LCD
3 Antonio
4 Gray
5 Robson
6 Croft
7 Savea
8 Dickinson
9 Genia
10 Cipriani
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Crotty
14 Talebula
15 Folau
16 Ousthuizen
17 Strauss
18 Figallo
19 stooke
20 Alberts
21 Robson
22 Carter
23 Naiyaralo

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Connacht v London Wasps
Sportsground
Light Rain, 9 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

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Connacht

15 Tiernan O'Halloran (c), 14 Rory Parata, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Danie Poolman, 10 Jack Carty, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Eoin McKeon, 7 Nepia Fox Matamua, 6 Eoghan Masterson, 5 Andrew Browne, 4 Ben Marshall, 3 Nathan White, 2 Jason Harris Wright, 1 Ronan Loughney.

Replacements: 16 David Heffernan, 17 Conan O'Donnell, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Danny Qualter, 20 George Naoupu, 21 Ian Porter, 22 Craig Ronaldson, 23 Niyi Adeolokun

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London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Cory Flynn	10. Charlie Hodgson (k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Grant Gilchrist	11. Manuel Montero
05. Sam Twomey	12. George Moala
06. Carl Fearns	13. Nick Tompkins
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Craig Gilroy
08.  Tom Guest	15. jesse Mogg

:-
16. Nathan Catt 17. Adrian Strauss, 18. Tom West 19. George Skivington  , 20 Victor Vito , 21. Rhodri Williams , 22. Kyle Godwin, 23.  George Lowe

Bordeaux have loaned 23 players there I think sirj!

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Nic Auterac	09. Nic White
02. Rob Webber	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Woolley
04. Jake Ball	11. Teddy Thomas
05. James Horwill	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Sam James
07. Luke Wallace	14. JP Pietersen
08. Brad Shields	15. Maxime Medard

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Jefferson Poirot 18. Vincent Koch 19. Juandre Kruger 20. Joe Edwards 21. Connor Murray 22. Alex Losowski 23. Cory Jane

Cheers Prop fixed now

Cheers fella, rather play Bordeaux that chiefs at the moment!

mark

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Alec Hepburn	09. Greig Laidlaw (k)
02. Jamie George (c)	10. Gareth Anscombe
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Jacques Potgeiter	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Luke Jones	12. Tom Stephenson
06. Callum Clark	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Jordi Murphy	14. Vince Tavae Aso
08. Jack O'Donaghue	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Vincent Debaty 18. Matt Stevens 19. Flip Van Der Merwe 20. Kieran Read 21. Nick Phipps 22. Owen Farrell 23. Charles Piutau

Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Val Ruskin	09. Sam Harrison
02. Codie Taylor	10. Owen Williams(k)
03. Luc Dulcalcon
04. Tom Savage (c)	11. Horatio Agulla
05. Devin Toner	12. Johnny Murray
06. Mike Williams	13. Huw Jones
07. George Smith	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Jackson Wray	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Luca Paz 19. Dean Mumm 20. Warren Whiteley 21. Rory Kockott 22. Jarrad Payne 23. Cory Allen

London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Cory Flynn	10. Charlie Hodgson (k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Grant Gilchrist	11. Manuel Montero
05. Sam Twomey	12. George Moala
06. Carl Fearns	13. Nick Tompkins
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Craig Gilroy
08.  Tom Guest	15. jesse Mogg

:-
16. Nathan Catt 17. Adrian Strauss, 18. Tom West 19. George Skivington  , 20 Victor Vito , 21. Rhodri Williams , 22. Kyle Godwin, 23.  George Lowe

1 Beast
2 LCD
3 Antonio
4 Gray
5 Robson
6 Croft
7 Savea
8 Dickinson
9 Genia
10 Cipriani
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Crotty
14 Talebula
15 Folau
16 Ousthuizen
17 Strauss
18 Figallo
19 stooke
20 Alberts
21 Robson
22 Carter
23 Naiyaralo

Chaps is it 6 English starting ?

Yes Matt

PREDICTIONS OPEN

Pms to me this week please

RESULTS:

Worcester 32 (T:4 C:3 P:2)
Bordeaux 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Calvisano 13 (T:1 C:1 P:2)
Newcastle Falcons 46 (T:6 C:5 P:2)

Exeter 33 (T:4 C:2 P:3)
Edinburgh 20 (T:2 C:2 P:2)

Castres 20 (T:2 C:2 P:2)
Gloucester 35 (T:5 C:5)

Connacht 22 (T:2 P:4)
Wasps 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)

Worcester Warriors 26 - 20 Bordeaux Begles

A relatively routine win at home for the Warriors. Bordeauz have been decent as of late, but warriors win out here and with some young talent on display for Warriors making it quite shaky at points. But Williams can boot them to victory

Worcester 28 - 23 Bordeaux
Pretty close pack battle, but too many attacking options for the home side. Williams play well for Tigets in real life makes a difference too.

Worcester Warriors v Bordeaux-Begles 30-39

Worcester 34 - 20 Bordeaux

Warriors 29-19 Bordeaux
Warriors have too much here

Worcester 25-15 Bordeaux

Not sure Worc have enough out for the bonus point against a decent french side.

Worcester 20 - 21 Bordeaux

Worcester 26-15 Bordeaux

The French are a decent outfit but Worcester are set out stronger everywhere bar probably centre. A routine win for Prop who's going well of late.

Worcester 28 - 18 Bordeaux

Worcester 28 - 26 Bordeaux

Wuss gone with the right mix of youth and quality, and will just have enough to see off a decent Bordeaux side at home, with the bench crucial here.

Rugby Calvisano 6 - 50 Newcastle Falcons

Despite being away from home the Falcons have this one and the bonus point in the bag, despite being well rotated.

Calvisana 5 - 48 Newcastle.
Not really a contest.

Rugby Calvisano v Newcastle Falcons 42-43

Calvisano 18 - 28 Newcastle

Calvisano 9-34 Newcastle
Newcastle take this easily

Calvisano 6-45 Falcons

Bit of a walk over this one.

Calvisano 12 - 41 Newcastle

Calvisano 12-29 Newcastle

No real match here for Newcastle who'll get a solid win under their belt. If Stephenson keeps improving that could be a viable centre combo in the future.

Calvisano 10-45 Falcons
Falcons have way too much here and I think their half backs and front row will cause all sorts of issues for a Calvisano side who aren't bringingmuch to the table.

Calvisiano 8 - 50 Falcons

Chiefs 30 - 20 Edinburgh
Good team by Fluxy can see this being a routine bp win.

Exeter Chiefs v Edinburgh Rugby. 29-28

Chiefs 30 - 18 Edinburgh

Exeter 33-20 Edinburgh
Bit too much for Edinburgh here

Exeter 22-18 Edinburgh

Edinburgh have the better of the pack battle for me but are let down by the backs and haven't the impact of the Chiefs bench. More needed in the pack to win in the away leg though.

Exeter 21 - 20 Edinburgh

Exeter 30-15 Edinburgh

Again Exeter much too strong. Prefer Serfontein at 12 and that could be a decent partnership with James slowly improving, good win for Exeter.

Chiefs 30-22 Edinburgh
Much closer game here with Edinburgh ok up front however outwide Chiefs have too much here with a good looking back line on show.

Chiefs 30 - 17 Edinburgh

Exeter 23 - 20 Edinburgh

Edinburgh front row is one of the best around in club rugby at the moment, and could have the Exeter pack on the back foot, with plenty of back row quality here too. Back 5 of exeters pack is solid though, and they are far stronger behind the scrum. Its going to be close and messy, but think Exeter have enough

Castres 25 - 29 Gloucester

Castres are recovering from dismal form last season, and a much tougher unit than before. Glaws rotated, but a bit more guile out wide and dynamism up front sees them take an away victory.

Castre 24 - 30 Gloucester
Similar to above, like the Gloucester pack. Will be a good away win.

Castres 15 - 35 Gloucester

Castres 16-27 Gloucester
Gloucester have more quality all over

Castres 20-38 Glaws

Castres not taking the cup overly serious and Glaws gone in strong.

Castres 15 - 22 Gloucester

Castres 22-28 Gloucester

One of the harder games of the round for the English sides but Gloucester look strong and this shouldn't be an issue. Plenty in the first XV and a strong bench see a good win.

Castres 20-32 Glos
Castres are below par and below strength here. Glos come out all guns blazing and their half back pairing and those outside will cause all sorts of issues. Bench will pull them further away.

Castres 20 - 27 Gloucester

Castres 23 - 31 Gloucester

Castres don't care about Europe, and Glos have gone with a close to full strength side. Not much further to say really, Glos's backs will probably run riot in these conditions, and in reality 31 points may not be high enough

Connacht 22 - 24 Wasps

Game of the round in the Challenge Cup. Connacht have been great as of late in the Pro 12 and Wasps haven't been in bad form themselves. The Hodgson influence can see Wasps home to a tight away win in tough conditions.

Connacht 22 - 24 Wasps
Really like Spencer at no9 for Wasps can see them winning this one and starting to get a bit of momentum going forward in the season against a Connachty team playing some great rugby.

Connacht v London Wasps 30-31

Connacht 19 - 29 Wasps

Connacht 23-31 Wasps
Connacht keep it close but extra quality wins it

Connacht 19-20 Wasps

Good battle here but Carty a weak link at 10 compared to Hodgson and Connacht haven't the depth of the Wasps late on

Connacht 18 - 18 Wasps

Connacht 23-21 Wasps

Connacht looking pretty good his season and I'm not sure Wasps have enough to come away with the win. At home I think they'd take it but just fall short here.

Connacht 19-20 Wasps
The sportsground is a hard place to go especially with the form Connacht are in at the moment. Going to be pretty even up front but I feel that Wasps should just have enough out wide to nick a very very close win.

Connacht 24 - 26 Wasps

Connacht have been in great form, and their centre partnership in particular is a match for pretty much anyone. Unfortunately for them, they don't have the pack to complement, and I'd expect Wasps to take a stranglehold on the game, and grind out a tough win on the road in the conditions