Champions Cup Round Five

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Harlequins vs Ulster Rugby
Twickenham Stoop
Sunny, 5 Degrees, 11mph NW Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ethan Waller	09. Henry Pyrgos
02. Scott Baldwin	10. Steven Myler
03. John Afoa
04. Pieter Steph Du Toit	11. Jack Nowell
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Luther Burrell
06. Jaco Kriel	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Jack Clifford	14. Yoann Huget
08. Mamuka Gorgodze (c)	15. James O'Connor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Tadhg Furlong 19. Luke Romano 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Luke McGrath 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Jaco Taute

Tactics

Play a percentage game. Play territory and when we get into good positions use our forwards and Burrell to get us over the gain line before moving the ball wide into the hands of our outside backs. 

Use the set piece as a weapon to gain penalties and territory especially looking to use the driving maul in the Ulster half. 

In defence look to blitz and use the chop tackle as the default tackle then look to get the man over the ball.

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Ulster

01. Kyle McCall	09. Paul Marshall
02. Rory Best (c)	10. Ian Humphreys
03. Ricky Lutton
04. Lewis Stevenson	11. Rory Scholes
05. Franco van der Merwe	12. Stuart McCloskey
06. Robbie Diack	13. Luke Marshall
07. Chris Henry	14. Sammy Arnold
08. Roger Wilson	15. Craig Gilroy

Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Bronson Ross, 19 Nick Williams, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Louis Ludik.

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Saracens v Leicester Tigers
Allianz Park
Sunny, 4 Degrees, 12mph NW Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Lee Dickson
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Bradley Davies	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. James Haskell	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Ben Franks 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Geoff Parling 20. John Hardie 21. Brad Weber 22. Henry Trinder 23. Pat Lambie

Tactics:

TARGET FTD - He's only been at the club for 2 days so we'll look to disrupt his game and play on the lack of cohesion in the backline. He's obvioulsy not going to know exit and set piece moves so Haskell and Fraser will look to hunt him down early on.

TARGET BREAKDOWN WITH FEW OPTIONS FOR OPPOSITION - Cole, Hughes, Haskell, Fraser, Whitelock give us numerous breakdown options. Look to target the opposition who have few breakdown specialists and try and steal/slow down ball.

TARGET LAHIFF - Look to put pressure on Lahiff and get between him and Moore. If weakness seen we'll look to hold the ball in force the pens.

BIG RUNNERS DOWN THE 10/12 CHANNEL - Look to get big runners(Tuip, Hughes etc) down the opposition 10/12 channel to get us over the gain line. Also look to kick in behind Banahan and make him turn.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. 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 bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their 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 with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

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. 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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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Max Lahiff	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. George Skivington	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Henry Purdy
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

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16. Schalk Brits 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Brian Mujati 19. Pascal Pape 20. Wycliffe Palu 21. Micky Young 22. Freddie Burns 23. Drew Mitchell
Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, throughout our XV, big line breakers to make the hard yards and tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Du Preez and Trinh-Duc to exploit.

- Use the rolling maul - Moore to lead from the back guided by Du Preez, and use a regular weapon off lineouts won.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Du preez our general pulling the strings. We want to control of the tempo of the game as much as we can through our 9/10/12/15.

- At the lineout use Matfield as our banker ball and Skivington and Lobbe as alternative jumpers - we will rotate the target. 
With the boots of Du Preez, FTD and Beale, we will look to get the ball deep in Sarries territory and then contest all lineouts. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers right throughout the side, that will look to tire down Sarries defence. 
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud, Skiv, Banahan and Moore used consistently to get us over the gainline.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Smith and Lobbe, supported by the likes fo Jenkins and Bast, to really look to get into the breakdown and give the opposition problems.

Trinh-Duc to kick all penalties.

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London Irish v Glasgow Warriors
Madejski Stadium
Sunny, 4 Degrees, 13mph NW Winds

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London Irish

01. Ben Moon	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Henry Slade (k)
03. Dave Wilson
04. Matt Symons	11. Marland Yarde
05. James Broadhurst	12. Brad Barritt
06. Rynhardt Elstadt	13. JJ Engelbrecht
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Jesse Kriel
08. Jerome Kaino (c)	15. Anthony Watson

16. Harry Thacker 17. Scott Sio 18. Ben Alexander 19. Romain Millo-Chluski 20. Sean O'Brian 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Tim Nani Williams 23. Noa Nakatachi

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Glasgow Warriors

01. Gordon Reid	09. Ali Price
02. Pat MacArthur	10. Duncan Weir
03. Zander Fagerson
04. Leone Nakarawa	11. Sean Lamont
05. Jonny Gray (c)	12. Finn Russell
06. Ryan Wilson	13. Mark Bennett
07. Chris Fusaro	14. Taqele Naiyaravoro
08. Adam Ashe	15. Stuart Hogg

Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Greg Peterson, 20 Hugh Blake, 21 Lee Jones, 22 Sam Johnson, 23 Glenn Bryce

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Northampton Saints v Treviso
Franklin Gardens
Sunny, 3 Degrees, 13mph NW Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Joe Simpson
02. Ashley Johnson	10. George Ford
03. Adam Jones
04. Paul Jedrasiak	11. Nick Cummins
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Ollie Devoto
06. Facunda Isa	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Jones	14. Adam Ashley Cooper
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Dylan Hartley 17. Logi Mulipola 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Michael Paterson 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Niko Matawulu 22. Alex Dunbar 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:
Play at a high intensity/tempo from the outset of the game moving the ball across the park, with a big forward pack to get us over the gainline, using the setpiece to launch attacks and go at Treviso and lay down a marker in Europe. Looking to score tries, by earning the right to go wide, which the conditions will allow. Good game to bring Manu back in and we are looking to finish top of our European pool to get a home draw in the next round.

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Treviso

01. Matteo Zanusso	09. Chris Smylie
02. Roberto Santamaria	10. James Ambrosini
03. Salesi Manu
04. Filo Paulo	11. Simone Ragusi
05. Jeff Montauriol	12. Alberto Sgarbi
06. Marco Barbini	13. Sam Christie
07. Alessandro Zanni (c)	14. Andrea Pratichetti
08. Robert Barbieri	15. Luke McLean

Replacements: 16 Ornel Gega, 17 Cherif Traorè, 18 Alberto De Marchi, 19 Tom Palmer, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Marco Lazzaroni, 22 Alberto Lucchese, 23 Enrico Bacchin.

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Leinster Rugby v Sale Sharks
RDS Arena
Light Cloud, 5 Degrees, 10mph NW Winds

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Leinster

01. Jack McGrath	09. Luke McGrath
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Tadhg Furlong
04. Devin Toner	11. Dave Kearney
05. Mike McCarthy	12. Luke Fitzgerald
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Ben Te'o
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Isa Nacewa (c)
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Rob Kearney

Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Peter Dooley, 18 Marty Moore, 19 Tom Denton, 20 Dominic Ryan, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Noel Reid.

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Bernard Foley
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Iain Henderson	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. CJ Stander	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Ross Harrison 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Maro Itoje 20. Sean McMahon 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Francois Steyn 23. Willie Le Roux

Tactics

Usual expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to keep the ball moving. Look to use a rugby league shape with runners on the gain line and out the back door to force the opposition into making defensive decisions. Really look to target the Leinster midfield channel. Te'o known to shoot early and not the strongest communicator. We will look to take advantage with runners out the back door and splitting the attack with multiple play makers in the backs. 

Straight line blitz defence led by Fekitoa. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Foley will look to defend deep with Bendy covering the backfield while Nadolo steps in to the line. Marmion will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

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RC Toulon v Bath Rugby
Stade Mayol
Sunny, 11 Degrees, 13mph NW Winds

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RC Toulon

01. Florian Fresia	09. Eric Escande
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Quade Cooper
03. Levan Chilachava
04. Jocelino Suta	11. Bryan Habana
05. Konstantine Mikautadze	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe	14. Josua Tuisova
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. James O'Connor

Replacements: 16 Anthony Etrillard, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 Steffon Armitage, 20 Frédéric Michalak, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 23 Thibault Lassale

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. James Slipper	09. Tawera Kerr Barlow
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Christian Lealifano
03. Scott Wilson
04. Charlie Ewels	11. Lolagi Visnia
05. Alexander Flanquardt	12. Sam Hill
06. James Gaskell	13. Francis Saili
07. Liam Gill	14. Hallan Amos
08. Josh Beaumont	15. Rhys Patchell

16. Richard Barrington 17. Rory Best 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Francois Louw 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Beauden Barrettt 23. Damian De Allende

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Lads I don't mind doing the page, but I don't know how to do results, or will have the time to do them!

It will be worth getting the thermals out lads...

Harlequins

1. Ethan Waller
2. Scott Baldwin
3. John Afoa
4. Pieter Steph Du Toit
5. Jim Hamilton
6. Jaco Kriel
7. Jack Clifford
8. Mamuka Gorgodze (c)
9. Henry Pyrgos
10. Steven Myler
11. Jack Nowell
12. Luther Burrell
13. Jonathan Joseph
14. Yoann Huget
15. James O'Connor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Tadhg Furlong 19. Luke Romano 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Luke McGrath 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Jaco Taute

Tactics

Play a percentage game. Play territory and when we get into good positions use our forwards and Burrell to get us over the gain line before moving the ball wide into the hands of our outside backs. 

Use the set piece as a weapon to gain penalties and territory especially looking to use the driving maul in the Ulster half. 

In defence look to blitz and use the chop tackle as the default tackle then look to get the man over the ball.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Lee Dickson
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Bradley Davies	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. James Haskell	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Ben Franks 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Geoff Parling 20. John Hardie 21. Brad Weber 22. Henry Trinder 23. Pat Lambie

Tactics:

TARGET FTD - He's only been at the club for 2 days so we'll look to disrupt his game and play on the lack of cohesion in the backline. He's obvioulsy not going to know exit and set piece moves so Haskell and Fraser will look to hunt him down early on.

TARGET BREAKDOWN WITH FEW OPTIONS FOR OPPOSITION - Cole, Hughes, Haskell, Fraser, Whitelock give us numerous breakdown options. Look to target the opposition who have few breakdown specialists and try and steal/slow down ball.

TARGET LAHIFF - Look to put pressure on Lahiff and get between him and Moore. If weakness seen we'll look to hold the ball in force the pens.

BIG RUNNERS DOWN THE 10/12 CHANNEL - Look to get big runners(Tuip, Hughes etc) down the opposition 10/12 channel to get us over the gain line. Also look to kick in behind Banahan and make him turn.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. 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 bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their 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 with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

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. 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.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Max Lahiff	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. George Skivington	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Henry Purdy
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

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16. Schalk Brits 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Brian Mujati 19. Pascal Pape 20. Wycliffe Palu 21. Micky Young 22. Freddie Burns 23. Drew Mitchell

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

1. Wyatt Crockett
2. Ashley Johnson
3. Adam Jones
4. Paul Jedransiak
5. Courtney Lawes
6. Facondo Isa
7. Sam Jones
8. Sergio Parisse (c)
9. Joe Simpson
10. George Ford
11. Nick Cummins
12. Ollie Deveto
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Adam Ashley Cooper
15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Dylan Hartley 17. Logi Mulipola 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Michael Paterson 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Niko Matawulu 22. Alex Dunbar 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:
Play at a high intensity/tempo from the outset of the game moving the ball across the park, with a big forward pack to get us over the gainline, using the setpiece to launch attacks and go at Treviso and lay down a marker in Europe. Looking to score tries, by earning the right to go wide, which the conditions will allow. Good game to bring Manu back in and we are looking to finish top of our European pool to get a home draw in the next round.

All of the Euro sides have been added, conditions are in as well.

I'm playing Tigers flux

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. James Slipper	09. Tawera Kerr Barlow
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Christian Lealifano
03. Scott Wilson
04. Charlie Ewels	11. Lolagi Visnia
05. Alexander Flanquardt	12. Sam Hill
06. James Gaskell	13. Francis Saili
07. Liam Gill	14. Hallan Amos
08. Josh Beaumont	15. Rhys Patchell

16. Richard Barrington 17. Rory Best 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Francois Louw 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Beauden Barrettt 23. Damian De Allende

I did post my team on the homepage on Monday, before the thread wasup, asking if someone could copy it across.

1.Ben Moon
2.Tom Youngs
3.Dave Wilson
4.Matt Symons
5.James Broadhurst
6.Rynhardt Elstadt
7.Marcell Coetzee
8.Jerome Kaino (C)

9.Ben Youngs
10.Henry Slade (K)
11.Marlande Yarde
12.Brad Barritt
13.JJ Engelbrect
14.Jesse Kriel
15.Anthoney Watson

16.Harry Thacker 17.Scott Sio 18.Ben Alexander 19.Romain Millo-Chluski 20.Sean O'Brian 21.Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22.Tim Nani Williams 23.Nakatachi

Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, throughout our XV, big line breakers to make the hard yards and tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Du Preez and Trinh-Duc to exploit.

- Use the rolling maul - Moore to lead from the back guided by Du Preez, and use a regular weapon off lineouts won.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Du preez our general pulling the strings. We want to control of the tempo of the game as much as we can through our 9/10/12/15.

- At the lineout use Matfield as our banker ball and Skivington and Lobbe as alternative jumpers - we will rotate the target.
With the boots of Du Preez, FTD and Beale, we will look to get the ball deep in Sarries territory and then contest all lineouts. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers right throughout the side, that will look to tire down Sarries defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud, Skiv, Banahan and Moore used consistently to get us over the gainline.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Smith and Lobbe, supported by the likes fo Jenkins and Bast, to really look to get into the breakdown and give the opposition problems.

Trinh-Duc to kick all penalties.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Bernard Foley
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Iain Henderson	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. CJ Stander	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Ross Harrison 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Maro Itoje 20. Sean McMahon 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Francois Steyn 23. Willie Le Roux

Tactics

Usual expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to keep the ball moving. Look to use a rugby league shape with runners on the gain line and out the back door to force the opposition into making defensive decisions. Really look to target the Leinster midfield channel. Te'o known to shoot early and not the strongest communicator. We will look to take advantage with runners out the back door and splitting the attack with multiple play makers in the backs.

Straight line blitz defence led by Fekitoa. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Foley will look to defend deep with Bendy covering the backfield while Nadolo steps in to the line. Marmion will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

Don't think I missed any tactics or teams. 

Predos open until 1800 Sunday and to SJE!

Won't be doing results tonight and will be travelling most of the day tomorrow so these can stay open till 6pm Monday for anyone who will be struggling to do them today.

I sent my Predos to Flux - just seen your posts!

I'm at work till 7 won't be able to predict

RESULTS:

Harlequins 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)
Ulster 18 (P:6)

Saracens 26 (T:2 C:2 P:4)
Leicester Tigers 21 (T:2 C:1 P:3)

London Irish 30 (T:4 C:2 P:2)
Glasgow 21 (T:2 C:1 P:3)

Northampton 45 (T:6 C:6 P:1)
Treviso 23 (T:1 P:6)

Leinster 23 (T:1 P:6)
Sale 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)

Toulon 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)
Bath 20 (T:2 C:2 P:2)

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

Harlequins 27- 21 Ulster

Quins have enough to beat a dogged Ulster in the set piece, Ethan looks like the best Waller. Young but future world class flankers and with Gorgodze's power, Quins get a really good platform from the pack. Solid HBs who won't make mistakes in using this. Harlequin centres are not in great form, but the back3 all work well together. Home win

Harlequins 33 - 24 Ulster

Ulster have some very good players, but unfortunately their strengths are matched by Quins and then some. Can see it being close early on, but the bench will ultimately carry quins to a bonus point win at home, but won't have it all their own way

Harlequins 28-18 Ulster

Plenty of rotation for Quins but they look well set out against a decent Ulster outfit. Waller could be got at a little in the front row but he has plenty of experience around him to bring him through. Strong back 3 for Quins and they'll get a good win.

Quins 20-15 Ulster

Fairly even pack battle but greater control of Quins halfbacks sees them through this.

Quins 23 - 12 Ulster
Quins really shaping up well for a challenge in the competition, great blend of experience and youth and will get a good victory over Ulster.

Harlequins v Ulster Rugby 18-17

Saracens 25 - 23 Tigers

Saracens come up ahead in the scrum. With more help in the backrow, Tigers take the lineout by a hair. LOts of power in the backrow for Tigers, and Waldrom in the form of his life, but also a really nice balance for Saracens and I think that's a really close contest generally and in the breakdown, but Sarries may edge the breakdown with more turnovers and Tigers make more gainline yards. 1 half back a piece but both sets work together ok and overall I prefer Tigers, but Trinh-Duc is a new recruit and this does hurt them a bit. In the outbacks, I think Saracens have a touch more form and can attack the Tigers centres and they hold on for a win

Saracens 32 - 26 Leicester

Sarries look to have the advantage throughout the pack for me, Leicester have plenty of power, but a bit limited in other areas. Pooly right to target FTD and Lahiff specifically, big ask for FTD to walk into the side, and Lahiff will be up against it, although Cole's lack of form is a factor. Sarries backs to take advantage and get the bonus

Sarries 25-18 Tigers

Can't see Tigers firing with FTD so new and the Sarries midfield offers more.

Saracens 22 - 18 Leicester Tigers
A few form issues for some of the home team, especially at no9 but can see them over powering Tigers in the second row and getting an edge there. Very even across the park a few more games for the French no10 and could have been more interesting. 

Saracens 21 - 20 Leicester

Saracens v Leicester Tigers 16-17

London Irish 30 - 21 Glasgow

Glasgow can compete at the lineout but Irish will win the scrum. Good young backrow for Glasgow but I think Irish ahead here too. Solid well set out outbacks and exciting halfbacks who control the game, and Irish win comfortably

London Irish 27 - 14 Glasgow

Irish have the pack to starve Glasgow's backs of possession, which is their strength. Russell at 12 was a horrible call in the pro12 last week, and won't be any better this week either. Comfortable win for Irish at home

Irish 30-24 Glasgow

Good pack from Irish, they perhaps lack a bit of quality in the engine room but they've got enough around to gain control early on. Strong bench to see out the game late on.

Irish 30-23 Glasgow

Impact bench sees Irish take the tbp

London Irish 25 - 20 Glasgow
Irish look a very strong team with some great EQ options, Slade's injury robs them a bit and scoreline would probably have been bigger if he was fit and playing at no10 for Chiefs. The Glasgow pack could cause some issues, especially second row pairing. 

Irish 23 - 22 Glasgow

London Irish v Glasgow Warriors 22-21

Saints 42 - 17 Treviso

Saints put out a weakened side but still better throughout the pack, Jedrasiak looks a star and a few young talents in that Saints lineup. Despite Ford's form, there is a hiuge gulf in class in favour of Saints at halfback. Experienced back 3 will take their chances, a good, balanced centre partnership though one player lacking gametime and the other just back from injury but against Treviso it doesn't matter

Saints 42 - 10 Treviso

Treviso just aren't up the level required, and against the Euro specialists they've pretty much got no hope. Might get a score, but Saints pack will dominate this one and ease to victory

Northampton 42-10 Treviso

One of the easiest games of the round for a good Saints outfit. No real areas that Treviso can attack outside the scrum and Saints will get a routine win here. 

Saints 37-18 Treviso

Easiest game of the round for the english teams

Northamton 43 - 42 Treviso

Northampton Saints v Benetton Treviso 44-43

Leinster 25 - 26 Sale

Recent improvement in form admittedly but Leinster aren't what they once were and Sale have a very strong pack out which will win all the key areas. Leinster are equal at HB thanks to Sexton but not by much, Foley close, then Leinster have a good backline with quality throughout but the centre balance works for Sale and I think overall they win that battle too and use the pack advantage and win

Leinster 23 - 30 Sale

Sale have a tough one this week, but think their pack has the edge, with Ayerza against Furlong a bit of a a mismatch at this stage of their careers. I'd fancy Leinster to edge the breakdown with a great back row, but other than that Sale have the advantage all over the park. Will be tough, but Sale take it

Leinster 20-30 Sale

One the toughest game of the round on paper but Leinster still not the force they once were despite some improvements. Sale pack too strong and loads of attacking talent to come away with a win. 

Leinster 25 - 24 Sale
Hardest one to predict and before watching the Leinster game yesterday I'd have edged for a Sale win, but see them really missing Sexton and Leinster obviously benefit from having him. Can see Leinster winning the backrow battle, with O'Mahony being out injured for a little while. Sexton's kicking game could cause Sale's wings some issues. Very close game. 

Leinster 21 - 22 Sale 

Leinster Rugby v Sale Sharks. 18-19

Toulon 24- 20 Bath

Toulon front row look vulnerable and Bath can really test them despite not their best set up. Bath are very good at the lineout too with the backrow and test Toulon here, but despite good players they will be struggling to deal with Toulon backrow's raw power. Close at halfback, and I think the Bath centres are much better balanced but will lose out in power. Toulon 1st XV too strong at home but Bath don't give them an easy ride

Toulon 26 - 20 Bath

Bath not gone with a full strength side, and the youngsters they have played will find it a big ask on the road in Toulon. Will be a good battle in open play, but they'll get dominated at set piece and that will be the difference

Toulon 32-25 Bath

Toulon side flooded with top class talent although not quite looking that threatening this year. Bath will make a real game of it but they're not quite at Toulon's level in the pack and will fall short. 

Toulon 23-18 Bath

Toulon not firing on all cylinders this year but too much quality for a weakened Bath side

Toulon 25 - 22 Bath
Going to Toulon is a very difficult ask and Bath have some very good youngsters in key positions, while Toulon have world class options - they aren't as good as they have been in previous years, but can see the home side winning the gain line battle and with Cooper at no10 they could take advantage there. 

Toulon 25 - 24 Bath

RC Toulon v Bath 15-14

Sorry mate, thought this was open till tomorrow.