Fixtures 1

Teams due by Friday , predictions over the weekend.

As a treat the fixtures will take place at Camp Nou

Gloucester vs Harliquins

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Gloucester

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Manager – Matt

01. Coonie Oustheiuzen	09. Dave Lewis
02. Adriaan Strauss	10. Stephen Donald
03. Rupert Harden
04. George Robson	11. Zac Guildford
05. Tom Palmer	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Stephen Ferris	13. Jonny May
07. Andy Hazell	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Brett Deacon	15. Scott Hamilton

16. Nick Wood 17. Jamie George 18. Nicolas Mas 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Immanol Harinoediquy 21. Will Genia 22. Dan Carter 23. James Simpson-Daniel
Tactics
Gloucester have picked a super mobile pack with the aim of moving the ball around. we are blessed with some serious ball carriers and aim to use them to batter the oppostion.
We will play a very high tempo and then empty our bench on 50 minutes. Then we will see probably the best bench ever put together in the game take the game further away

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Harliquins

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Manager – Steve

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Byron Kelleher
02. Matt Rees	10. Quade Cooper
03. Brian Mujati
04. Jerome Thion	11. George Lowe
05. Nathan Sharpe	12. Riki Flutey
06. Lewis Moody	13. Gonzarlo Canale
07. Sam Warburton	14. Johnathan Joseph
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Freddie Burns

16. Schalk Brits 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieron Brookes 19. Tom Donnoly 20. Phil Dowsen 21. Lee Dickson 22. Rhys Priestland 23. Jon Clarke
Tactics
We have picked what is at the moment our strongest 23 players who fit the criteria of 10 EQ players. Would like people to comment on weaknesses they see on the bench but most importantly in the Starting XV

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London Wasps vs. Leicester Tigers

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London Wasps

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Manager – Arry

01. Perry Freshwater	09. Martin Roberts
02. Steve Thompson (c)	10. Jimmy Goppereth
03. Werner Kruger
04. Steven Sykes	11. Tom Williams
05. Mark Chisholm	12. Anthoney Faniga'a
06. Tom Johnson	13. Jamie Roberts
07. Jaques Burger	14. Noah Cato
08. Roger Wilson	15. Olly Morgan

16. Tatafu Polota - Nau 17. Benn Robinson 18. James Slipper 19. Dan Ward-Smith 20. James Haskell 21. Luke Burgess 22. Rory Clegg 23. Tom May
Tactics
Look to the forwards to provide us with a solid platform up front to attack from. Use our big, powerful ball carriers to wear Leicester down up front and get us onto the front foot. Early on we will look to our pack to do the dirty work, eventually we will look to play a more expansive game and get our offloading going.

Gopperth will play flat and look to use our centres to get us over the gainline. We will attempt to keep the ball in hand as much as possible and start counter attacks with our back three. Roberts will be our main man in getting us over the gain line, he will run from deep and hit the gain line hard. We will support him in numbers and look to keep him on his feet and drive him forwards.

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Leicester Tigers

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Manager– Luke

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Micky Young
02. Sabastian Bruno	10. Dave Walder
03. Faan Rauntenbach
04. Tom Denton	11. Rupeni Caucaunibuca
05. Alex Brown	12. Clement Poitrinaud
06. Magnus Lund	13. Yannick Jauzion
07. David Pocock	14. Cory Jane
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Dan Murphey 17. Matt Thompson 18. Cencus Johnstone 19. James Horwell 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Ben Youngs 22. Toby Flood 23. Aurelian Rougerie
Tactics
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Northampton Saints vs. Newcastle Falcons

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Northampton Saints

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Manager – Chris

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Mike Phillips
02. Rob Webber	10. Matt Giteau
03. Carl Hayman
04. Dave Attwood	11. Christian Wade
05. Patrico Albacete	12. Willie Mason
06. Simon Taylor	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Leigh Halfpenny
08. Ryan Kankowski	15. Rory Lamount

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Henry Thomas 18. Dave Wilson 19. Joe Launchbery 20. Callum Clark 21. Joe Simpson 22. George Ford 23. Casey Lualala
Tactics
Put out a weakish team against Newcastle this week, small front five, slow backrow and an inexperienced halfback combination. Christian Wade is our most experienced back, so the younger heads will be looking for him for iinspiration.
Play a forward orientated game, get stong ball carriers running from depth and dictate play. Look at Mason and Tuilagi to get over the gainline and bring in backthree when possible. Subs will all come on.

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Newcastle Falcons

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Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Boris Stankovich	09. Michael Classens
02. Tom Lindsey	10. Nick Evans
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Ed Slater	11. Sean Maitland
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Luke Mcalister
06. Chris Robshaw(c)	13. Brad Baritt
07. Marty Holah	14. Miles Benjiman
08. Duane Vermulen	15. Ben Smith

16. Andrew Hore 17. Craig Mitchell 18. Grant Sheills 19. Geoff Parling 20. Jonny Arr 21. Dan Hipkiss 22. Topsy Ojo 23. Colin Slade
Tactics
Normal Falcons tactics...contol the breakdown and contest at the set piece. Get backs into the game at every chance, use McAlsiter as second playmaker and bring Ben Smith into the line.

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Sale Sharks vs. Bath RFC

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Sale Sharks

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Manager – SirJohnny

01. Lionel Faure	09. Nico Bezy
02. David Paice	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Stuart Hooper	11. Luke Rooney
05. Christian Day	12. Jordan Turner-Hall
06. Matt Todd	13. Yann David
07. Michael Lipman	14. Nick Abendanon
08. Victor Vito	15. Geordon Murphy

16. Nathan Catt 17. Brett Sharman 18. Neemia Tialate 19. Chris Jones 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Shaun Perry 22. Olly Barkley 23. Tom Bradey
Tactics
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Bath RFC

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Manager – inthefastlane

01. Jon Golding	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Lee Mears	10. Steve Shingler
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Louis Deacon	11. Ugo Monye
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthoney Allen
06. Joe Worsley	13. Jaque Fourie
07. Sean O'Brian	14. Ollie Phillips
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Tim Nanai Williams

16. Kane Newport 17. Lee Mears 18. Davit Zirakishvilli 19. James Cannon 20. Tom Guest21. Richard Wrigglesworth 22. Dom Wouldouck 23. Kurtley Beale
Tactics
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Saracnes vs. London Irish

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Saracens

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Manager – LDCPete

01. Alex Corbisero	09. Paul Hodgson
02. Scott Lawson	10. Iain Humphries
03. Adam Jones
04. Rynhardt Elstadt	11. Rene Ranger
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Wood	13. Nevin Spence
07. George Smith	14. Tim Visser
08. Joe van Niekerk	15. Alex Goode

16. George Chuter 17. Matt Mullen 18. Tom Mercy 19. Dean Schofield 20. Luke Narraway 21. James Lightfoot-Brown 22. Owen Farell 23. Ben Ransom
Tactics
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London Irish

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Manager – Stnick

01.Tonga Lea'toea	09. Neil De Kock
02. James Buckland	10. Juan Hernandez
03. WP Nel
04. Mauritz Botha	11. Paul Sackey
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sireli Naqalevuki
06. Jaques Botes	13. David Marty
07. Insert text here	14. Joe Maddock
08. Insert text here	15. Insert text here

16. Insert text here 17. Insert text here 18. Insert text here 19. Insert text here 20. Insert text here 21. Insert text here 22. Insert text here 23. Insert text here
Tactics
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Worcester Warriors vs. Exeter Chiefs

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Worcester Warriors

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Manager – Prop_Lyd

01. Dave Flatman	09. Jordi Pasqalin
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Nicky Robinson
03. Yann Thomas
04. Marco Wentzel (c)	11. Leilia Masaga
05. Ollie Kohn	12. Nils Mordt
06. Kearnen Myall	13. Seru Rabeni
07. Craig Newby	14. Phil Chesters
08. Ben Morgan	15. Rob Cook

16. Koree Britton 17. George Porter 18. Bj Botha 19. Dominic Borrow 20. Sabastian Chabal 21. Dan White 22. Sam Vesty 23. Michael La Bourgios
Tactics
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Exeter Chiefs

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Manager – Driver

01. Brett Sturgess	09. Tomas O'Leary
02. Gary Botha	10. Ronan O'Gara
03. Juan Pablo Orlandi
04. Juilian Pierre	11. Iain Balshaw
05. James Hudson	12. Eliota Sapolu
06. Declan Danahar	13. Regan King
07. Shane Jennings	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Gareth Delve	15. Luke Arscott

16. Neil Clark 17. John Smit 18. Mark Lambert 19. George Skivington 20. Carl Fearns 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Horace Aguella 23. Max Evans
Tactics
- Physical and mobile front 5 will look to work hard in the tight and secure quick ball to allow us to go wide. We don’t want to be dragged into an arm wrestle with Worcester.
- We will defend the fringes and stop there power runners in Strauss , Kohn and Newby.
- TOL and ROG will look to play what is in front of them.
- Eliota will look to pull defenders in and create space for Regan King through his off loads

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Out in Barca on the night then....gotta watch them hookers Driver, known a few lads caught out with the pants down wallet flick trick.

lol , who needs them mate when i can come back to Hartlepool and all its Fairy Jobmother rejects and Slags

1.Brett Sturgess
2.Gary Botha
3.Juan Pablo Orlandi
4.Juilian Pierre
5.James Hudson
6.Declan Danahar
7.Shane Jennings
8.Gareth Delve
9.Tomas O’Leary
10.Ronan O’Gara
11.Iain Balshaw
12.Elito Sapolu
13.Regan King
14.Adam Thompstone
15.Luke Arscott

16.Neil Clark 17.John Smit 18.Mark Lambert 19.George Skivington 20.Carl Fearns 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Horace Aguella 23.Max Evans

London Wasps team to face Leicester Tigers

1. Perry Freshwater
2. Steve Thompson (c)
3. Werner Kruger
4. Steven Sykes
5. Mark Chisholm
6. Tom Johnson
7. Jacques Burger
8. Roger Wilson

9. Martin Roberts
10. Jimmy Gopperth
11. Tom Williams
12. Anthony Fainga'a
13. Jamie Roberts
14. Noah Cato
15. Olly Morgan

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau
17. Benn Robinson
18. James Slipper
19. Dan Ward-Smith
20. James Haskell
21. Luke Burgess
22. Rory Clegg
23. Tom May

Quins

1. Tony Woodcock
2. Matthew Rees
3. Brian Mujati
4. Jerome Thion
5. Nathan Sharpe
6. Lewis Moody (c)
7. Sam Warburton
8. Jamie Heaslip
9. Byron Kellaher
10. Quade Cooper (k)
11. George Lowe
12. Riki Flutey
13. Gonzalo Canale
14. Jonathan Joseph
15. Freddie Burns

16. Schalk Brits
17. Joe Marler
18. Kieran Brookes
19. Tom Donnelly
20. Phil Dowson
21. Lee Dickson
22. Rhys Priestland
23. Jon Clarke

We have picked what is at the moment our strongest 23 players who fit the criteria of 10 EQ players.

Would like people to comment on weaknesses they see on the bench but most importantly in the Starting XV.

would definitley pull u up on loosehead mate, Trevor Woodcock?! never heard of him!

1. Coonie
2. Strauss
3. Somerville
4 Robson
5 Palmer
6 Ferris
7 HAzell
8 Deacon
9 Lewis
10 Donald
11 Guildford
12 Hape
13 May
14 Sharples
15 Hamilton
16 Wood
17 George
18 Mas
19 Bakkies
20 Hari
21 Genia
22 Carter
23 JSD

1. David Flatman*
2. Richardt Strauss
3. Yann Thomas*
4. Marco Wentzel (c)
5. Ollie Kohn*
6. Kearnen Myall*
7. Craig Newby
8. Ben Morgan*

9. Jordi Pasqualin*
10. Nicky Robinson (k)
11. Lelia Masaga
12. Nils Mordt*
13. Seru Rabeni
14. Phil Chesters*
15. Rob Cook*

16. Koree Britton*
17. George Porter*
18. BJ Botha
19. Dominic Barrow*
20. Sebastian Chabal
21. Dan White*
22. Sam Vesty*
23. Michael Le Bourgeois*

Gone for the majority of my squad who will not be at the world cup.

Tigers team to play Wasps:

1. Wyatt Crockett
2. Sebastian Bruno
3. Faan Rautenbach
4. Tom Denton
5. Alex Brown (c)
6. Magnus Lund
7. David Pocock
8. Ernst Joubert

9. Micky Young
10. Dave Walder (k)
11. Rupeni Caucaunibuca
12. Clement Poitrenaud
13. Yannick Jauzion
14. Cory Jane
15. Isa Nacewa

16. Dan Murphy
17. Matt Thompson
18. Cencus Johnston
19. James Horwill
20. Thomas Waldrom
21. Ben Youngs
22. Toby Flood
23. Aurelien Rougerie

Somerville retired at the weekend Matt:

http://i.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/5159253/Greg-Somerville-packs-down-for-last-time

Still fine to play though Pooly. you do not lose it overnight!!

Matt

I'm going to let you know in advance that since he has retired i will no longer rate Somerville and will mark him down if you choose to play him.

Change Somerville to Harden.

Somerville was in Planet rugbys team of the week this week so should be able to play this week!!!!

Need to arrange a testimonial Matt...AP winners v HC Winners, give the lad a send off.

Would not want JSD breaking any of your players with his bone crushing tackles pooly.

You may set Roncero and his withering limbs on to him!!

Lol...Rodrigo is still going strong mate, should really get my team in though.

I took Mitchell in the draft as I thought he was injured and wouldn't go to the WC. I then read the other day he's ahead of Adam Jones in the pecking order at the minute due to Jones weight problems!

Apparently Jone's has slipped from 12-15 tackles a game to 3-5 due to his chocolate addication! Massive fan of Jones too, needs to cut out those Yorkie bars though

Newcastle team to face Saints:

1. Boris Stankovich
2. Tom Lindsay
3. Paul Doran-Jones
4. Ed Slater
5. Juandre Kruger
6. Chris Robshaw(c)
7. Marty Holah
8. Duane Vermeulen

9. Michael Classens
10. Nick Evans
11. Sean Maitland
12. Luke McAlister
13. Brad Barritt
14. Miles Benjamin
15. Ben Smith

16. Andrew Hore
17. Craig Mitchell
18. Grant Shiells
19. Geoff Parling
20. Jonny Arr
21. Dan Hipkiss
22. Topsy Ojo
23. Colin Slade

Tactics - Normal Falcons tactics...contol the breakdown and contest at the set piece. Get backs into the game at every chance, use McAlsiter as second playmaker and bring Ben Smith into the line.

I read that also.

To be fair if Jenkins is
Fit and jones not fit enough I think they may go jenks and james

Yea James is solid, not heard anything from Jenkins though.

Wasps tactics

Look to the forwards to provide us with a solid platform up front to attack from. Use our big, powerful ball carriers to wear Leicester down up front and get us onto the front foot. Early on we will look to our pack to do the dirty work, eventually we will look to play a more expansive game and get our offloading going.

Gopperth will play flat and look to use our centres to get us over the gainline. We will attempt to keep the ball in hand as much as possible and start counter attacks with our back three. Roberts will be our main man in getting us over the gain line, he will run from deep and hit the gain line hard. We will support him in numbers and look to keep him on his feet and drive him forwards.

1 Tonga Lea'toea
2 James Buckland
3 WP Nel
4 Mouritz Botha
5 Nick Kennedy
6 Jacques Botes
7 Hendrie Fourie
8 Andy Powell
9 Neal De Kock
10 Juan Martin Hernandez
11 Paul Sackey
12 Sireli Naqalevuki
13 David Marty
14 Joe Maddock
15 Matthew Tait

16 Soane Tonga'uhia
17 Neil Briggs
18 Duncan Bell
19 Matt Garvey
20 George Stowers
21 Ruan Pienaar
22 Mathieu Bastereaud
23 Delon Armitage

Saints Team to face Newcastle:

1. Andrew Sheridan
2. Rob Webber
3. Carl Hayman
4. Dave Attwood
5. Patricio Albacete
6. Simon Taylor
7. Liam Gill
8. Ryan Kankowski

9. Mike Phillips
10. Matt Giteau
11. Christian Wade
12. Willie Mason
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Leigh Halfpenny
15. Rory Lamont

Subs: 16. Chris Whitehead 17. Henry Thomas 18. Dave Wilson 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Calum Clark 21. Joe Simpson 22. George Ford 23. Casey Lualala

Tactics - Put out a weakish team against Newcastle this week, small front five, slow backrow and an inexperienced halfback combination. Christian Wade is our most experienced back, so the younger heads will be looking for him for iinspiration.

Play a forward orientated game, get stong ball carriers running from depth and dictate play. Look at Mason and Tuilagi to get over the gainline and bring in backthree when possible. Subs will all come on.

Saracens team

15. Alex Goode
14. Tim Visser
13. Nevin Spence
12. Billy Twelvetrees
11. Rene Ranger
10. Iain Humphreys
9. Paul Hodgson

1. Alex Corbisiero
2. Scott Lawson
3. Adam Jones
4. Rynhardt Elstadt
5. Graham Kitchener
6. Tom Wood
7. George Smith
8. Joe van Niekerk

16. George Chuter 17. Matt Mullan 18. Tom Mercey 19. Dean Schofield 20. Luke Narraway 21. James Lightfott-Brown 22. Owen Farrell 23. Ben Ransom

Chiefs tactics

- Physical and mobile front 5 will look to work hard in the tight and secure quick ball to allow us to go wide. We don’t want to be dragged into an arm wrestle with Worcester.
- We will defend the fringes and stop there power runners in Strauss , Kohn and Newby.
- TOL and ROG will look to play what is in front of them.
- Eliota will look to pull defenders in and create space for Regan King through his off loads

Sale Sharks

We will be going with our expected world cup side this week...

1. Lionel faure
2. David Paice *
3. Carlos Nieto
4. Stuart Hooper *
5. Christian Day *
6. Matt Todd
7. Michael Lipman *
8. Victor Vito

9. Nicholas Bezy
10. Aaron Cruden
11. Luke Rooney *
12. Jordan Turner Hall *
13. Yann David
14. Nick Abendanoon *
15. Geordan Murphy

16. Nathan Catt * 17. Brett Sharman * 18. Neemia Tialata 19. Chris Jones * 20. Matt Kvesic * 21. Shaun Perry * 22. Olly Barkley * 23. Tom Brady *

Gloucester have picked a super mobile pack with the aim of moving the ball around. we are blessed with some serious ball carriers and aim to use them to batter the oppostion.

We will play a very high tempo and then empty our bench on 50 minutes. Then we will see probably the best bench ever put together in the game take the game further away

Are predictions today? Hard to do them if the teams arent up.

Weekend I think Chris

Ok cool - will go into more depth.

Pooly if I was commenting on your team I would say that they will struggle playing in warm conditions compared to back home and as such will probably concede 40+ points in the first half.

You're not wrong, I leave camp near Cambridge in glorious sunshine in shorts on a Friday and it'll be raining and 10oC cooler in the NE.

Love the South...pity it's full of Southerners!

PREDICTIONS OPEN!

Gloucester 15-28 Harlequins

Front row and engine room to Quins, see a big advantage in the scrum but see an even contest in the lineout. Ferris apart, Quins are on a different level in the backrow, although I do like Hazell & Deacon they'd be outplayed in this one, pack to Quins.

Same story in the halfbacks, Lewis is a steady youngster but Kelleher is a class act and with Donald on the backfoot he would struggle against a foot hold against a front foot Cooper.

Good battle in the centres but again Quins have too much quality as a pairing. Back 3's are Gloucesters with some gorgeous form recently from the wingers.

Quins have some serious talent on show and would contol the pack, esp the scrum and breakdown. With such front foot ball, Cooper would tear Gloucester to shreds.

Score line looks a bit nasty but this is Matt's 3rd/4th choice team out I'm guessing and Steve isn't that far from full strength.

Wasps 22-22 Leicester

Would be a good scrum battle this one but Wasps engine room is a class above. Finding it hard to seperate the back 3's, see Lund as more of a OS and that gives Leicester a bit of unbalance although Pocock is the outstanding talent on show.

Good halfback contest, one a piece really with Goppeth shading Walder and Young shading Roberts.

Prefer Roberts at 12 really but a very strong defensive unit from Wasps, not sure about how much attacking flair they'd have though. Strong unit from Leceister. Stronger back 3 from Leicester 14/15 esp have quality.

See a edge in the pack for Wasps and better bench but better backs for Leicester keeping them in the game.

Apologies on the Glouceter game....I didn't look too much at benches. REVISED SCORE:

Gloucester 23-28 Harlequins

Gloucester bench make a serious impact but Quins hold out by a score.

Sale 23-21 Bath

No move in the front row, huge fan of Kubriashvili and he will seriously anchor that Bath front row. Class above for Bath in the Engine room and a fair bit more grunt. Good lineout options for Sale but Hooper and Day are more 5's, good athletic options around the park though. Good backrow battle, just prefer the Bath team's balance.

Not quite sure I've seen Shingler play so can't really judge here. Have to side with Sale's halfbacks with Cruden in good nick. Good centre combo's on show..really like the Bath combo. Back 3's close and some good bench option..Mears named twice.

Pack slightly to Bath and with a solid 10 they'd win this one.

Saracens 27-24 London Irish

Up front and Engine room to Saracens, lack of good lineout option for Saracens sorted slightly with Wood in the backrow. Backrows pretty even and would be a good contest.

Halfbacks close, JMH lack of form costs him. Inexperienced pairing for Saracens that would suffer against better pairings, Marty the best on show. Stronger back 3 for Saracens although slightly better bench for Irish.

Think Sarries control this one slighty, not enough in the Irish backline to counter Sarries slight pack advantage.

Worcester 18-22 Exeter

Slight afvantage in the front 5 for Exeter and again in the backrow see Exeter edging pack. Halfbacks and centres to Exeter also and a good back 3 contest. Stonger bench for Exeter keeps them in front.

Wasps 19 - 20 Leicester

Packs even. To very strong front rows. Leicester dominate the back line although Faiinga a better 12 than Poit.

Northampton 18 - 21 Newcastle

Good sides with Saints having a stronger from 5 but the Newcastles back row has far better balance. Backs go to Newcastle. Wade is a weakness in this game as he is a athlete more than a rugby player and his skill set may stick out like a sore thumb.

Sale 20 - 18 Bath

Strong pack for Sale although I don't think Todd has the carrying game to play as a 6 but Vito being a beast makes up for this. I'd see both sets of half backs as weak against the quality we have in this league. Prefer sale's backs although Fourie stands out as the class act. I like the back 5 of Bath's pack.

Saracens 23 - 21 Irish

Like the whole Saracens side although the backline lacks experience outside of the halfbacks. Lightfoot-Brown would be heavily penalised in a AP game as he is too inexperienced at this level. I am not a fan of Leatoa (sp) but like the Irish side but just a little behind Sarries in this game.

Worcester 23 - 23 Exeter

Can't be seperated. Chesters is marked down at this level. Good experience in each side. Lineout would be a hell of a contest.

Gloucester 17 22 Harliquins

Pretty much a first choice pack from Quins for this one. See their front row getting on the front foot at scrum time. Good front row from Matt though if he can get that out during the world cup. Good battle at the lineout with neither side getting on top. Big step up in the back row for Quins in this one. Ferris a world class player on his day but not played a lot of rugby at all so marked down hopefully makes the world cup.

At halfback Lewis 2nd choice at Glaws while Donald not had the best of years really. Could be well rated if things go well at Bath. Kelleher is a good player but had a poor season so marked down for me. May pick up at Stade but God knows what’s going on there. In the backs some great form for Matt on the wings but Hape and Hamilton not been fantastic. For Quins Flutey has been lacking form for a poor Wasps side. Lowe is a good little player but more a 13 then winger.

Solid bench from Quins with some top players but that must be the best bench ever seen in rugby for Glaws! Glaws bench will have a serious impact in the last 20 mins but 60 mins of front foot ball and a pack on the rampage will see Cooper do enough damage for Quins

Wasps 20 17 Tigers

Good battle in the front row with Faan and Freshwater being the weak link for either side. Cant see either side getting on top. Solid aviva level partnership for Tigers in the 2nd row but a big step up from Wasps. Pocock the outstanding player in the back row but there’s a lack of balance with 2 7s. Will see Tigers have some success at the breakdown but may struggle carrying wise.

At halfback prefer Young at 9 and Gopperth at 10. In the backs neither Jauzion nor Roberts have had the best year but still a big fan of the french man. Think Luke may well have the best back line in the league for the world cup.

Liking the all Aussie front row on the bench for Arry. Good options for both sides really throughout the bench but Wasps may get an upper hand late on in the scrum.

Saints 18 23 Falcons

Decent battle in the scrum here. Saints have that bit more around the park for me though. In the engine room Slater is well down the list for Tigers now while Kruger not had a lot of game time in the Super 15. Good strong combo for Saints that will get around the park well. In the back row Falcons are man for man stronger for me. Gill seems to be a good prospect for Oz but not had the game time to prove it yet.

Half backs to Falcons for me. Phillips has been pish poor for ages and his service has gone to the dogs. In the backs the back 3 for Falcons is looking very strong. Wade is looking a very good prospect for Saints though. Centres to Falcons. Mason has done nothing in union yet and can’t be rated.

On the bench not liking the lack of back row cover from Pooly. A lot of potential for Saints on the bench but more proven performers from Falcons. Saints front 5 will put a lot of work in today but Newcastle’s back row are a level ahead and Phillips on current form wrecks any momentum Saints may get going

Sarries 26 20 Irish

Good front row from Sarries. Strong in the scrum and good around the park. Nel always likely to give a few penalties. In the 2nd row big fan of Elstadt (when you going to sell him to me Pete?!!)but Kitchner not the man to run a lineout. Kennedy may well have some joy with alot of pressure being put on Tom Wood at the lineout. Prefering the Sarries back row man for man but Smith is off to Japan is he not? And rating will drop as the season goes on.

In the halfbacks De Kock in good form for Sarries IRL but Hernadez just doesn’t seem able to get a run of games together last season. In the back great potential for the Sarries midfield! Irish that bit stronger there though for now. Fan of the Sarries back 3. Visser is a try machine in the Magners.

On the bench Sarries lookin stronger in the forwards. Potential in the backs and great form from Farrell but the Irish backs are a step up. Sarries with the stronger pack here for me with alot to offer around the park and with Humphreys at 10 they have a flyhalf to get the backs moving.

Worcester 17 19 Exeter

Thomas is a bit of a weakness at TH for Warriors but great form at hooker from Strauss. Decent options for Exeter who will do well at the scrum. Wentzal a classy player at lock but chiefs offering that bit more for me. Good battle in the back row. Jennings been key for Leinster. Morgan looking a great prospect this year but Exeter with that bit more strength.

Good proven combination for Chiefs. TOL lacking form for me but much more proven then Pasquelin. Fan of Robinson for Prop. Will do well for him during international periods. In the backs centres to Exeter. Mordt not the greatest centre around by any means while theres great balance to Driver’s combo. Lack of form in the Exeter back 3 but Chesters unproven at a premiership level .

Benches are fairly even between the two sides. Lack of a 10 back up for Exeter is a mark down. Just a bit more quality for Exeter on show today and sees them pick up the win.

Glos 22-20 Quins

Wasps 18-22 Tigers

Saints 20-24 Falcons

Sharks 20-19 Bath

Sarries 18-15 Irish

Gloucester 33 - 29 Quins
Few inexperienced heads in the Quins backline, but they will play at a fast tempo, just see Mat's bench swaying the game completely. Especially the introduction of Carter.

Wasps 26 - 29 Tigers
Think Arry's backline really lacks creativity and if a defence holds firm and stops the centres getting over the gainline then he's going to become quite static. Also not a fan of the back three, Cato's had a poor season and only guy I like is Morgan, but who is capable of giving him the ball in space? Dont think the balance of Tigers backline is right in this, but have enough attacking flair to make the difference.

Sale 19 - 22 Bath
Prefer balance of the Bath team in both forwards and the backs - quite even battle up front, but think Bath's backrow is very disruptive. Think Sale centre partnership could be found wanting and selected three players who at 15's to be the entire backthree very rarely works as positional play between a winger and a fb is so different - only players who have done this well recently for me have been Lewsey and Robinson.

Sarries 27 - 30 Irish
Difference here is the extra experience that Irish bring to the game and I think Hernandez will steer them to victory. I like the look of Pete's team but I can't really ever rate Twelvetrees until he gets ahead of Allen at Leicester, if he does then he could become the best English centre since Greenwood (exactly same frame and style). Also think Irish bench could be a decisive factor, as Lightfoot and Ransom are really untested at this level and I think Ransom could be a liability in his first season because he's missed a lot of tackles in the u20s so would be prone to miss a lot more at this level!

Worcestor 34 - 38 Exeter
Could be a really open game of rugby - think Exeter have improved a lot from last season but Worcester have really improved compared to Leeds. The difference is the quality in the backlines for me - Worcestor need to bring in more English players and some improvements in back three.

Guys - I know there was a big thing made of writing reasons behind the scores etc, but very difficult to do when there are hardly any tactics to read - as its purely how you rate a player. I always put my emphasis on the tactics as that's what wins you games and people who take time on tactics will always do well in my mind compared to others who do one or two paragraphs when the real season starts.

Also with my Saints side, last year I was often told I lost games because of my weak front row, now I've got combinations of Sheridan/DOmingo and Stevens/Hayman with Wilson around too I am finding that the predictions so far largely ignore my front five. Are people now putting more emphasis on the backrow, as certainly wasnt the case last season as I lost games because I lsot at the setpiece!

That's a quality front 5 mate but that's not the be all especially in this weather. Good to get a platform but you lack a bit of form and balance in the rest of the side...others may think different though.

Your front 5 is struggling with form a little bit. it is still strong though. As I pointed out Wade is weak link against Benjamin or Maitland. Also a few players been struggling with form. Tuilagi is your only starter who'd I'd say is in really good form. I struggled with the same thing all last season and there's not much that can be done about it.

i'm not gonna lie chris i also counted you down a bit for taking the p i s s with your tactics.

Wasps 19 23 Leicester

Leicester backs streets ahead and with limited set piece will run out winners

Saints 30-30 Newcastle

Saints obliterate Newcastle front 5. Weak secOnd rows
From falcons cost them victory. Saints better front row also.

Saints better half backs just. All 4 have very little form so giteaus super 15 Form wins the half back battle.

Can't rate Mason and barritt at 13 would be dreadful as he is such a limited player. Great defender but not suited to a running game. Falcons back row and back 3 draw the game.

Sarries vs Irish can't score as Irish side not shown on page properly.

Go easy on them positives there Matt!

All positives apart from the negatives I highlight. For me Mason will be a joke union player.
He was a decent rl player but no mel meninga.

Slater is a national league player and Kruger has no credit as been out so long.

Love Evans but he was poor last year as was Phillips.

Your back 3 would cut Chris up

You think Evans was poor? He was outstanding when it counted...Stade/Munster etc. Never seen him have a bad game in-between.

Agree about Mason, doesn't look up to it at this stage.

Evans poor all year apart from that game. Same as bowe in that had 1 or 2 decent games all year.

Chris said mason best Rl player he has ever seen. I could name 50 or so better he was a decent player no more.

Think maitland would crucify wade