Challenge Cup - Round Five

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Bristol Rugby vs Bath Rugby
Ashton Gate Stadium
Sunny, 6 degrees, 11 mph North Westerly Winds

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Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Manuel Montoya	10. Jimmy Gopperth(k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Luke Charteris	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Chris Robshaw (c)	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Josh Van Der Flier	14. Rene Ranger
08. Carl Fearns	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Loni Uhila 17. Rob Buchanan  18. Tom West 19.  Grant Gilchrist 20  Victor Vito 21. Kahn Fotua'li  22. Christian Lealiifano  23. Craig Gilroy

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.

Tactics:

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Aaron Smith
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Josh Beaumont	12. Sam Hill
06. Liam Squire	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

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16. Ellis Genge 17. Rory Best 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Will Skelton 20. Dan Lydiate 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Damian De Allende  23. Liam Williams

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Benetton Rugby vs Gloucester Rugby
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Light Cloud, 5 degrees, 3 mph North Westerly Winds

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Benetton Rugby

01. Nicola Quaglio	09. Tito Tebaldi
02. Luca Bigi	10. Tomasso Allan
03. Simone Ferrari
04. Marco Fuser	11. Luca Sperandino
05. Dean Budd	12. Luke McLean
06. Braam Steyn	13. Luca Morisi
07. Marco Lazzaroni	14. Angelo Esposito
08. Roberto Barbieri	15. David Odiete

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Replacements: 16 Roberto Santamaria, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Alberto De Marchi, 19 Jean Francis Montauriol, 20 Andrea Pratichetti, 21 Giorgio Bronzini, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Alberto Sgarbi

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Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Anonmattyt

01. Rob Evans	09. TJ Perenara
02. Joe Gray	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Uini Atonio
04. Richie Gray	11. Jonny May
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Matt Toomua
06. Ben Curry	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Julian Salvi	14. Charlie Walker
08. Ross Moriarty	15. Israel Dagg

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Subs: 16. Coonie Ousthuizen, 17. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 18. Juan Figallo, 19. Tomas Lavanini, 20. Sam Dickinson, 21. Will Genia, 22. Dan Carter, 23. Israel Folau

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Brive vs Leicester Tigers
Stadio Comunale di Monigo
Light Snow, 7 degrees, 7 mph North Westerly Winds

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Brive

01. Damien Lavergne	09. Vasil Lobzhanidze
02. Guillaume Ribes	10. Thomas Laranjeira
03. Kevin Buys
04. Wilhelm Steenkamp	11. Benito Masilevu
05. Johan Snyman	12. Seremia Burotu
06. William Whetton	13. Chris Tuatara-Morrison
07. Said Hireche	14. Taku Ngwenya
08. Sisa Koyamaibole	15. Benjamin Lapeyre

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Replacements: 16 Thomas Acquier, 17  Vivien Devisme, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Arnaud Mela, 20 Julien Ledevedec, 21 Jean-Baptiste Pejoine, 22 Sevanaia Galala, 23 David Delarue

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Fluxy

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Micky Young
02. Dave Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Brian Mujati
04. Dominic Bird	11. Henry Purdy
05. Pascal Pape (c)	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Liam Messam	13. Ben Te'o
07. Sam Jones	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Calum Chick	15. Jack Maddocks

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Subs: 16. Hika Elliott 17. Mikheil Nariashvili 18. Ricardo Brugnara 19. Stan South 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Antoine Dupont 22. Freddie Burns 23. Mathieu Basteruad

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Worcester Warriors vs Edinburgh Rugby
Sixways Stadium
Sunny, 5 degrees, 11 mph North Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Val Ruskin	09. Sam Harrison
02. Ken Owens	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Tom Savage	11. James Short
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Anton-Leniert Brown
06. Jordan Taufua	13. Mark Bennett
07. Matt Todd (c)	14. Sergeal Petersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Jarrad Payne

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Luca Paz 18. Will Collier 19. Leone Nakawara 20. Warren Whiteley 21. Gareth Davies 22. Jules Plisson 23. Jonah Placid

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Edinburgh

01. Alisdair Dickinson	09. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
02. Ross Ford	10. Jason Tovey
03. Simon Berghan
04. Fraser McKenzie	11. Tom Brown
05. Ben Toolis	12. Chris Dean
06. Cornell Du Preez	13. Mike Allen
07. Hamish Watson	14. Damien Hoyland
08. Nasi Manu	15. Blair Kinghorn

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Replacements: 16 Neil Cochrane, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Murray McCallum, 19 Lewis Carmichael, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Sean Kennedy, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Glenn Bryce

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Grenbole vs Exeter Chiefs
Stade Des Alpes
Light Cloud, -1 degrees, 7 mph North Westerly Winds

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Grenoble

01. Dennis Coulson	09. David Mele
02. Alexandre Dardet	10. Gilles Bosch
03. Walter Desmaison
04. Matias Marie	11. Bastien Guillemin
05. Thomas Jolmes	12. Nigel Hunt
06. Ben Hand	13. Edward Dratai Sawailau
07. Kevin Kornath	14. Pierre Mignot
08. Fabien Alexandre	15. Clement Gelin

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Replacements: 16 Paulin Mas, 17 Russow Du Klerk, 18 Dayna Edwards, 19 Mickael Capelli, 20 Loic Baradel, 21 Lillian Saseras, 22 Xavier Mignot, 23 Chris Farrell

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Nathan Catt	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Dane Coles	10. Alex Lozowski (k)
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Stuart McCloskey
06. Charles Ollivon	13. Francis Saili
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Olly Woodburn
08. Fritz Lee	15. Maxime Medard

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Thomas Domingo, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. James Horwill, 20. Brad Shields, 21. Chris Cook, 22. Richie Mo'unga, 23. Andrew Trimble

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Nathan Catt	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Dane Coles	10. Alex Lozowski (k)
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Stuart McCloskey
06. Charles Ollivon	13. Francis Saili
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Olly Woodburn
08. Fritz Lee	15. Maxime Medard

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Thomas Domingo, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. James Horwill, 20. Brad Shields, 21. Chris Cook, 22. Richie Mo'unga, 23. Andrew Trimble

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Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Manuel Montoya	10. Jimmy Gopperth(k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Luke Charteris	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Chris Robshaw (c)	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Josh Van Der Flier	14. Rene Ranger
08. Carl Fearns	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Loni Uhila 17. Rob Buchanan  18. Tom West 19.  Grant Gilchrist 20  Victor Vito 21. Kahn Fotua'li  22. Christian Lealiifano  23. Craig Gilroy

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.


Tactics:

Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Val Ruskin	09. Sam Harrison
02. Ken Owens	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Tom Savage	11. James Short
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Anton-Leniert Brown
06. Jordan Taufua	13. Mark Bennett
07. Matt Todd (c)	14. Sergeal Petersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Jarrad Payne

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Luca Paz 18. Will Collier 19. Leone Nakawara 20. Warren Whiteley 21. Gareth Davies 22. Jules Plisson 23. Jonah Placid

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Aaron Smith
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Josh Beaumont	12. Sam Hill
06. Liam Squire	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Ellis Genge 17. Rory Best 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Will Skelton 20. Dan Lydiate 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Damian De Allende 23. Liam Williams

1 Rob Evans
2 Gray
3 Antonio
4 Gray
5 Stooke
6 Curry
7 Salvi
8 Moriarty
9 Perenara
10 Cips
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Kurindrani
14 Walker
15 Dagg
16 Ousthuizen
17 LCD
18 Figallo
19 Lavanini
20 Dickinson
21 Genia
22 Carter
23 Folau

Predictions open and to me please guys.

Bristol Rugby 25 - 24 Bath Rugby

Bristol Rugby 25 - 24 Bath Rugby

Bristol Rugby 24 - 24 Bath Rugby

Bristol Rugby 22 - 25 Bath Rugby
Some really good matchups and little in the front 5's although the Bath backrow can get on top with a stronger trio. Halfbacks to Bath by a distance and after that it's mostly the away side.

Bristol Rugby 23 - 22 Bath Rugby
Such an even game. See Bristol edging the set piece with lineout and scrum but huge swing in the game when the bench comes on for Bath. Home advantage just sways it.

Bristol Rugby 22 - 21 Bath Rugby

Bristol Rugby 22 - 25 Bath Rugby
Bath have much more fire power and despite being 50/50 in pack will score more tries.
Front row fairly even, Bath second rows do not work with Kitchener out of form And Beaumont a backrow. Back row a good battle with Fearns simply not at this level. Half backs and back 3 massively to Bath who win.


Bristol Rugby 30 - 28 Bath Rugby
Cracking game with both sides putting out their big hitters. Think Bristol are stronger up front and will dominate territory and the collisions. Bath's backs keep them in it, but Bristol hold on.

Benetton Treviso 30 - 31 Gloucester Rugby

Benetton Treviso 39 - 40 Gloucester Rugby

Benetton Treviso 29 - 30 Gloucester Rugby

Benetton Treviso 12 - 40 Gloucester Rugby
Routine win for Gloucester. Not sure about the balance of the backrow but it'll matter little against the quality of the opposition.

Benetton Treviso 5 - 53 Gloucester Rugby
Some youngsters in the Gloucester pack, but that backline will run riot.

Benetton Treviso 44 - 45 Gloucester Rugby

Benetton Treviso 23 - 24 Gloucester Rugby

Benetton Treviso 32 - 33 Gloucester Rugby


Benetton Treviso 19 - 39 Gloucester Rugby
Glos will spank a poor Treviso on the road, far too much quality on show

Brive 34 - 35 Leicester Tigers

Brive 27 - 28 Leicester Tigers

Brive 17 - 26 Leicester Tigers
Brive are decent at home but Tigers have went in strong and will come away with the win without too much drama. 

Brive 17 - 23 Leicester Tigers
Tough place to go, some form issues with a few in the Tigers pack, but the backline and impact from the bench will get them tries as the game goes on.

Brive 49 - 50 Leicester Tigers

Brive 20 - 21 Leicester Tigers

Brive 30 - 31 Leicester Tigers 

Brive 15 - 22 Leicester Tigers
Leicester travel away and despite picking a mix and match side with a very under powered backrow they have too much for Brive. Leicester have some great experience in their team and get chance to blood some youth off the bench

Brive 23 - 33 Leicester Tigers
Brive good at home, but Leicester gone with a strong line up and will expect them to pull away in the last 20 to win this comfortably

Worcester Warriors 29 - 28 Edinburgh Rugby

Worcester Warriors 26 - 25 Edinburgh Rugby

Worcester Warriors 32 - 23 Edinburgh Rugby
Good contest but Worcester will assert control in the 2nd half and come away with a good win. 

Worcester Warriors 32 - 20 Edinburgh Rugby
Worcester looking very strong in this competition, good mix of power in the pack and some great runners in the backline.

Worcester Warriors 30 - 29 Edinburgh Rugby

Worcester Warriors 20 - 19 Edinburgh Rugby

Worcester Warriors 32 - 31 Edinburgh Rugby

Worcester Warriors 29 - 20 Edinburgh Rugby
Good game and won Worcester with home advantage grow in to and take in second half.
Worcester pick full strength side and have a good blend of carrying, breakdown and set piece. Edinburgh good pack also and the back row battle a treat.
Big difference in backs with Worcester having more strike runners and this wins the game. 


Worcester Warriors 30 - 22 Edinburgh Rugby
Edinburgh a strong side up front, but Wuss have plenty of quality in their pack to handle a strong opposition. Behind the scrum, Wuss far stronger

Grenoble 24 - 25 Exeter Chiefs

Grenoble 31 - 32 Exeter Chiefs

Grenoble 16 - 30 Exeter Chiefs
Another pretty good game until the power of Exeter just becomes too much for the home side. Another routine win.

Grenoble 13 - 30 Exeter Chiefs
Strong Chiefs side, have some strong running backs that will help them win the gain line battle in the middle and some great finishers.

Grenoble 28 - 29 Exeter Chiefs

Grenoble 19 - 20 Exeter Chiefs

Grenoble 31 - 32 Exeter Chiefs

Grenoble 12 - 44 Exeter Chiefs
Total mismatch. Exeter will get the bp early and then empty Bench

Grenoble 17 - 28 Exeter Chiefs
Exeter have some real class in their side, and players like Coles and Lawes are the key to leading them to an easy win on the road