Challenge Cup - Round Four

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La Rochelle vs Gloucester Rugby
Stade Marcel-Deflandre
Sunny, 11 degrees, 6mph North Easterly Winds

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La Rochelle

01. Mike Corbel	09. Ricky Januarie
02. Hikario Forbes	10. Zach Holmes
03. Uini Atonio
04. Jason Eaton	11. David Raikuna
05. Mathieu Tanguy	12. Botia Veivuke
06. Keving Gourdon	13. Steve Barry
07. Victor Vito	14. Gabriel Lacroix
08. Jone Qovu Nailiko	15. Vincent Rattez

:-
16. Maxime Gau, 17. Dany Priso, 18. Mohamed Boughanmi, 19. Damien Lagrange, 20. Romain Sazy, 21. Alexi Bales, 22. Brock James, 23. Elliot Roudil

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Gloucester
Manager - Anonmattyt

01. Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira	09. Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzebeth	11. Jonny May
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Matt Toomua
06. Ross Moriarty	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Ardie Savea	14. Israel Dagg
08. Sam Dickinson	15. Israel Folau

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Subs: 16. Titi Lamisotele, 17. Joe Gray, 18. Rob Evans, 19. Richie Gray, 20. Will Alberts, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. Dan Carter, 23. Charlie Walker

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Exeter Chiefs vs Lyon
Sandy Park
Mist, 9 degrees, 3mph North Westerly Winds

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Nathan Catt	09. Chris Cook
02. Dane Coles	10. Camille Lopez (k)
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Noa Nakaitaci
05. Kane Douglas	12. Stuart McCloskey
06. Dave Ewers	13. George Pisi
07. Teimana Harrison	14. James Lowe
08. Charles Ollivon	15. Maxime Medard

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Thomas Domingo, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. James Horwill, 20. Brad Shields, 21. Greg Laidlaw, 22. Alex Lozowski, 23. Andrew Trimble

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Lyon

01. Sami Mavinga	09. Baptiste Couilloud
02. Ti'i Paulo	10. Romain Loursac
03. BJ Botha
04. Felix Lambey	11. Henry Clunies-Ross
05. Maselino Paulino	12. Thibault Regard
06. Deon Fourie	13. Paul Bonneford
07. Dylan Cretin	14. Frank Romanet
08. Curits Browning	15. Jerome Porical

:-
16. Cameron Mapusua, 17. Hamza Kaabèche, 18. David Attoub, 19. Simon Christian Njewel, 20. Didier Tison, 21. Pierre-Louis Barassi, 22. Jacques Louis Potgieter, 23. Augustin Figuerola

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Bath Rugby vs Cardiff Blues 
The Rec
Mist, 8 degrees, 3mph North Westerly Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Finn Russell
03. Scott Wilson
04. Mitch Lees	11. Andrew Kellaway
05. Charlie Ewers	12. Sam Hill
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Harold Vorstef
07. Liam Gill	14. Ben Loader
08. Arno Botha	15. Cheslin Kolbe

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16. Eddy Ben Arous 17. Rory Best 18. Samson Lee 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Liam Squire 21. Tawera Kerr Barlow 22. Beauden Barrett  23. Liam Williams

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Cardiff Blues

01. Rhys Gill	09. Lloyd Williams
02. Kristian Dacey	10. Steve Shingler
03. Taufa'ao Filise
04. George Earle	11. Blaine Scully
05. James Down	12. Willis Halaholo
06. Seb Davies	13. Rey Lee-Lo
07. Sam Warburton	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Josh Navidi	15. Matthew Morgan

:-
16. Matthew Rees, 17. Brad Thyer, 18. Scott Andrews, 19. Jarrad Hoeata, 20. Kirby Myhill, 21. Tomos Williams, 22. Nicky Robinson, 23. Cory Allen

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Newport Gwent Dragons vs Leicester Tigers
Rodney Parade
Light Cloud, 9 degrees, 3mph Southerly Winds

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Newport Gwent Dragons

01. Phil Price	09. Sarel Pretorious
02. Rhys Buckley	10. Angus O'Brien
03. Brok Harris
04. Matthew Screech	11. Ashton Hewitt
05. Cory Hill	12. Adam Warren
06. James Thomas	13. Sam Beard
07. Nic Cudd	14. Tyler Morgan
08. Lewis Evans	15. Tom Prydie

:-
16. Elliot Dee, 17. Sam Hobbs, 18. Leon Brown, 19. Rynard Landman, 20. Harrison Keddie, 21. Tavis Knoyle, 22. Rhys Jones, 23. Jack Dixon

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Fluxy

01. Max Lahiff	09. Nick Phipps
02. Dave Ward	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Pascal Pape (c)	11. Henry Purdy
05. Dominic Bird	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Don Armand	13. Mathieu Basteraud
07. Sam Jones	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Kurtley Beale

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Subs: 16. Hika Elliott 17. Mikheil Nariashvili 18. Owen Franks 19. Stan South 20. Calum Chick 21. Micky Young 22. James Lang 23. Sean Maitland

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Worcester Warriors vs Timisoara Saracens
Sixways Stadium
Light Cloud, 8 degrees, 3mph Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Lucas Noguera Paz	09. Sam Harrison
02. Codie Taylor	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Leone Nakawara	11. James Short
05. Huw Taylor	12. Anton Leniert-Brown
06. Jackson Wray	13. Huw Jones
07. Matt Todd	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Jarrad Payne

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Joe Moody 18. Will Collier 19. Adam Beard 20. Ben Morgan 21. Gareth Davies 22. Dan Biggar 23. Waisake Naholo

Selected a big pack to go up against what can be a tough Romanian pack. Looking to spread them wide in the backs and use impact from the bench to get a big win.
*We have eased some of our internationals back in ready to hit the Premiership running and be re-integrated into the squad. We are looking at building our confidence and getting a solid win today.

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Timisoara Saracens

01. Eddie Aholelei	09. Valentin Calafeteanu
02. Eugen Capatana	10. Jack Umaga
03. Horatiu Pungea
04. Valentin Poparlan	11. Fonovai Tangimana
05. Marian Drenceanu	12. Paula Kinikinilau
06. Randall Morrison	13. Brian Sefanaia
07. Daniel Gabriel Ianus	14. Stephen Shennan
08. Sandu Stelian Burcea	15. Catalin Fercu

:-
16. Andrei Radoi, 17. Gigi Militaru, 18. Samuel Maris, 19. Ionut Muresan, 20. Dorin Lazar, 21. Gabriel Conache, 22. Tevita Manumua, 23. Madalin Lemnaru

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Pau vs Bristol Rugby
Stade du Hameau
Light Cloud, 11 degrees, 2mph South Westerly Winds

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Pau

01. Geoffrey Moise	09. Taniela Moa
02. Lucas Rey	10. Brandon Fajardo
03. Malik Hamadache
04. Masalosalo Tutaia	11. Marvin Lestremau
05. Abdellatif Boutay	12. Pierre Dupouy
06. Sean Dougall	13. Julien Fumat
07. Giovanni Kueffner	14. Watisoni Votu
08. Paddy Butler	15. Charly Malie

:-
16. Quentin Lespiaucq 17. Julien Jacquot 18. Matthew Tierney 19. Baptiste Pesenti 20. Loic Bernad 21. Julien Thomas 22. Thibault Daubagna 23. Mehdi Boundjema

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Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Tomas Cubelli
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Billy Searle
03. Mike Ross
04. Kearnan Myall	11. Jesse Mogg
05. Luke Charteris	12. Christian Lealiifano (k)
06. John Barclay (c)	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Josh Van Der Flier	14. Digby Ioane
08. Carl Fearns	15. Sam Apsland-Robinson

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16. Toni Uhila 17. Manuel Montoya  18. Sekope Kepu 19.  Donnacha Ryan 20  Lawrence Pearce 21. Kahn Fotuali'i 22. Jimmy Gopperth 23. Charlie Sharples 

Tactics:
Attributes:

Attacking:
1) Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
2)  Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Defending:
1) Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set. 
2) Breakdown - Organised Ruck defence: with guards and body guards set, allowing the rest of the line to set off them.

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Euro sides updated

Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Tomas Cubelli
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Billy Searle
03. Mike Ross
04. Kearnan Myall	11. Jesse Mogg
05. Luke Charteris	12. Christian Lealiifano (k)
06. John Barclay (c)	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Josh Van Der Flier	14. Digby Ioane
08. Carl Fearns	15. Sam Apsland-Robinson

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16. Toni Uhila 17. Manuel Montoya  18. Sekope Kepu 19.  Donnacha Ryan 20  Lawrence Pearce 21. Kahn Fotuali'i 22. Jimmy Gopperth 23. Charlie Sharples 

Tactics:
Attributes:

Attacking:
1) Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
2)  Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Defending:
1) Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set. 
2) Breakdown - Organised Ruck defence: with guards and body guards set, allowing the rest of the line to set off them.

Weather Conditions updated

Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Lucas Noguera Paz	09. Sam Harrison
02. Codie Taylor	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Leone Nakawara	11. James Short
05. Huw Taylor	12. Anton Leniert-Brown
06. Jackson Wray	13. Huw Jones
07. Matt Todd	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Jarrad Payne

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Joe Moody 18. Will Collier 19. Adam Beard 20. Ben Morgan 21. Gareth Davies 22. Dan Biggar 23. Waisake Naholo

Selected a big pack to go up against what can be a tough Romanian pack. Looking to spread them wide in the backs and use impact from the bench to get a big win.
*We have eased some of our internationals back in ready to hit the Premiership running and be re-integrated into the squad. We are looking at building our confidence and getting a solid win today.

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Nathan Catt	09. Chris Cook
02. Dane Coles	10. Camille Lopez (k)
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Noa Nakaitaci
05. Kane Douglas	12. Stuart McCloskey
06. Dave Ewers	13. George Pisi
07. Teimana Harrison	14. James Lowe
08. Charles Ollivon	15. Maxime Medard

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Thomas Domingo, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. James Horwill, 20. Brad Shields, 21. Greg Laidlaw, 22. Alex Lozowski, 23. Andrew Trimble

Gloucester
Manager - Anonmattyt

01. Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira	09. Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzebeth	11. Jonny May
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Matt Toomua
06. Ross Moriarty	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Ardie Savea	14. Israel Dagg
08. Sam Dickinson	15. Israel Folau

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Subs: 16, Titi Lamisotele , 17. Joe Gray, 18. Rob Evans, 19. Richie Gray, 20. Will Alberts, 21. TJ Perenara, 22. Dan Carter, 23. Charlie Walker

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Finn Russell
03. Scott Wilson
04. Mitch Lees	11. Andrew Kellaway
05. Charlie Ewers	12. Sam Hill
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Harold Vorstef
07. Liam Gill	14. Ben Loader
08. Arno Botha	15. Cheslin Kolbe

16. Eddy Ben Arous 17. Rory Best 18. Samson Lee 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Liam Squire 21. Tawera Kerr Barlow 22. Beauden Barrett 23. Liam Williams

La Rochelle 12 - 45 Gloucester Rugby
Gloucester have too much quality in the spine of their team, to be overcome by this La Rochelle side. A good day out in France for the Cherry & Whites.

La Rochelle 13 - 40 Gloucester Rugby
The Glos back row and half back pairing will be too much for La Rochelle to cope with.

La Rochelle 20 - 21 Gloucester Rugby

La Rochelle 29 - 30 Gloucester Rugby

La Rochelle 21 - 24 Gloucester Rugby
Tougher game this week for Matt and Gloucester won't have things all their own way. Can see Gloucester getting on top in the scrum but struggling in the lineout with LCD's throw and no real leader. Past that, Gloucester look in good shape (bar perhaps 8) and will get a foothold late on for the win. 

La Rochelle 23 - 24 Gloucester Rugby

La Rochelle 33 - 34 Gloucester Rugby

La Rochelle 11 - 44 Gloucester Rugby
Mismtch in nearly every position and strong bench.

La Rochelle 17 - 46 Gloucester Rugby
The French side put up a fight at home, but Glos will eventually overpower them in the 2nd half and run riot with plenty of quality in the backs. Really strong side for the challenge cup, and Glos look one of the favourites

Exeter Chiefs 31 - 15 Lyon
Lyon will proivde a tough task in the first 50 minutes, but once the Chiefs eventually breakdown the men from Lyon it will be a certain victory.

Exeter Chiefs 32 - 12 Lyon
Up front Chiefs will get a lot of success and their bench will get them over the bonus point mark.

Exeter Chiefs 30 - 29 Lyon

Exeter Chiefs 32 - 17 Lyon
Much stronger outfit from the home side and they'll come away with a pretty routine win. 

Exeter Chiefs 24 - 23 Lyon

Exeter Chiefs 35 - 34 Lyon 

Exeter Chiefs 38 - 12 Lyon
BP win for the home side.

Exeter Chiefs 38 - 14 Lyon
Lyon are no great shakes, and up against a solid Exeter pack, tough to see them competing for long. I'd expect the Exeter pack to dominate the 2nd half, and their backs to finish off all the chances they get for an easy win at home

Bath Rugby 26 - 22 Cardiff Blues
Blues provide one of the tougher opponents in the Challenge Cup and with some of their big names returning, it is a test for Bath - especilaly with a young and in experienced back line. But we will see bath pull through a scare to win this home game.

Bath Rugby 30 - 18 Cardiff Blues
This could be quite a close game at the start with Blues not as bad as their performance this Thursday. Think the Bath bench will push them to the bonus point though.

Bath Rugby 27 - 26 Cardiff Blues

Bath Rugby 34 - 33 Cardiff Blues

Bath Rugby 28 - 18 Cardiff Blues
Bath need a better TH but past that it's a dominant pack performance. Backs pretty good but more threat out wide would have seen a better win. 

Bath Rugby 20 - 19 Cardiff Blues

Bath Rugby 30 - 29 Cardiff Blues

Bath Rugby 36 - 18 Cardiff Blues
Hardest game in this competition this week, but Bath side is too good. 

Bath Rugby 27 - 23 Cardiff Blues
One of the better match ups in the second tier competition. Cardiff were good last week in real life, and I'd expect them to give this Bath side a run for their money with the weakness at tighthead for Bath putting them on the back foot. Bath have plenty of quality in their pack to help overcome this, and think they will take the win late on

Newport Gwent Dragons 9 - 44 Leicester Tigers
Dragons have really lost some form and confidence. Lots of quality across the board for Tigers and will get a big win.

Newport Gwent Dragons 27 - 28 Leicester Tigers

Newport Gwent Dragons 39 - 40 Leicester Tigers

Newport Gwent Dragons 16 - 34 Leicester Tigers
Tigers with way too much in the pack and plenty of finishing power in the backline. They';; pull away in the 2nd half for a good win. 

Newport Gwent Dragons 24 - 25 Leicester Tigers

Newport Gwent Dragons 29 - 30 Leicester Tigers

Newport Gwent Dragons 17 - 35 Leicester Tigers
Tigers pack is too strong, with a big gain line breaker in the no13 shirt as well they will get the upper hand and win comfortably.

Newport Gwent Dragons 14 - 33 Leicester Tigers
Dragons are not a good side, and Leicester have easily picked a good enough side to handle them on the road with ease. Tough to say much more with no tactics

Worcester Warriors 65 - 10 Timisoara Saracens
Just too much from this Warriors side for the Romanians to handle. Big win for the hosts who take control of their group.

Worcester Warriors 40 - 39 Timisoara Saracens

Worcester Warriors 69 - 68 Timisoara Saracens

Worcester Warriors 48 - 9 Timisoara Saracens
Another routine win for an AP side. 

Worcester Warriors 24 - 23 Timisoara Saracens

Worcester Warriors 63 - 62 Timisoara Saracens

Worcester Warriors 68 - 3 Timisoara Saracens
Not remotely close to a contest.

Worcester 57 - 9 Timisoara Saracens
Worcester handled the Romanians with ease on the road last week, and have picked another big pack to dominate their only potential strength. Easy win once the backs get hold of the ball

Pau 18 - 28 Bristol Rugby
Pau have looked decent as of late, but can't see them matching this Bristol pack. I'm struggling to see Lealifiano having any rating at the minute, seeing as he is still away with a serious health concern such as Leukaemia. Still the away side have enough to see the victory through.

Pau 17 - 35 Bristol Rugby
The Bristol outside backs will rip into Pau and their second rows will dominate the lineout.


Pau 26 - 27 Bristol Rugby

Pau 15 - 22 Bristol Rugby
Again this week, Bristol look in good shape and will come away with a decent win.

Pau 27 - 28 Bristol Rugby


Pau 31 - 32 Bristol Rugby

Pau 15 - 43 Bristol Rugby
Not a very good Pau team against an ever improving Bristol side.

Pau 19 - 31 Bristol Rugby
Pau a decent outfit, but Bristol have picked close to a first choice pack, difficult to see anything other  than a dominating pack performance and easy win. Don't know much about the Bristol 10 though