Heineken Cup Round One

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Pool One

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Munster vs. Gloucester
Light rain showers, 14 degrees, 21mph winds.
Munster
Manager – Tony McGahan

01. Wian du Preez	09. Conor Murray
02. Damien Varley	10. Ronan O'Gara
03. BJ Botha
04. Donncha O'Callaghan	11. Keith Earls
05. Paul O'Connell (c)	12. Lifeimi Mafi
06. Donnacha Ryan	13. Will Chambers
07. Niall Ronan	14. Doug Howlett
08. Denis Leamy	15. Johne Murphy

16. Denis Fogarty 17. Marcus Horan 18. John Hayes 19. Peter O'Mahony 20. James Coughlan 21. Tomas O'Leary 22. Ian Keatley 23. Danny Barnes

Tactics

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Wood	09. Genia
02. Gray	10. Carter
03. white
04.Gray	11. Gear
05.Tom Palmer	12. Barnes
06. Bonnaire	13. May
07. Burger	11. Guildford
08. Hari	15. Dagg

16. Payne 17. Strauss 18. Mas 19. Bakkies 20. Deacon 21. Lewis 22. Hape 23. JSD

Tactics

Glos travel to Thomond in ideal conditions for running rugby we are targetting the BP win which would have been unheard of a few years ago.


The aim here is to win quick ball and attack using our ball carriers. We have gone for a powerful and extremely mobile pack with ball carriers as ever and will look to blow them away.

Pack

we have gone for a scrum that can take them on and secure our ball with ease and gone for some monsters on the bench to really dominate this area at the 50 minute mark.

the one area where Munster are usually strong is the lineout and so we have picked probably the best set of lineout forwards this game has seen to ruin that area and turn it into our ball.

Bonnaire, hari, Burger, Williams, Palmer will all be used to win our ball and we will compete massively on theirs so as we can get at them.

We will be looking to go off the top or drice and look to get the ball to Carter to decide. This will be after we have won the forward battle.

With any game you need to win it up front and that is what we will be doing.

First thirty will be all catch and drive and launching the backrow at we will aim to get at them and win the collisions and get good quick ball for our backs.

Overall the forwards are looking to dominate the game and set the pace. we want to play at pace and get forwards running at them. We see our world class backrow as massively superior and will look to exploit this.

Backs.

we are aiming to run the ball where poossible. initially we will be looking to play for terrritory and pressure their lineout to win the forward battle. we have 2 great kickers in Barnes and Carter with Dagg also handy,

Once we start getting quick ball Carter will look to hit Gear comeing off his wing and also look to get the ball wide to take munster on.

As the game progresses our back 3 will counter attack when it is on and take quick throw etc to raise the pace.

Our backrow will also offer themselves up in midfield to punch and create quick recylcled ball to create mismatches.

Probably the quickest Gloucester backline ever so we are looking at using it.

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Scarlets vs. Castres

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Pool Two

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Sale Sharks vs. Edinburgh
Cloudy with heavy rain, 12 degrees, 13mph winds.
Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Shaun Perry
02. Guilleme Guirado	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Alun Wyn Jones	11. Sam Smith
05. Christian Day	12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Victor Vito	13. James Hook
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Tom Brady
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Nick Abendanoon

16. Catt 17. Sharman 18. Tialata 19. Jones 20. Thomson 21. Spencer 22. Goode 23. Earls

Setpiece
At scrum time we will be looking to really turn the screw. Ayerza and Ducalcon are both strong technical scrummagers and will look to get at their man and really disrupt Edinburgh putting the nudge on and providing us with a solid platform all game. At the lineout, we will look to Day to call the line and will have Wyn Jones, at the front, and our entire back row to support him as jumpers to mix things up. Our jumpers will look to either play the ball of the top quickly and look to our backline to move it or bring it down into a maul and make the hard yards through the pack, sucking in the Edinburgh forwards to leave space out wide for our backs. On Edinburgh ball we will look for AWJ to get up in the air at the front of the line and Day to follow Gilcrist in the line and disrupt the Scottish sides lineout. If we really start to get on top of the lineout we will look to Cruden & Hook to kick for the corners a few times and really put the pressure on.

Breakdown
We have a very mobile and quick pack to really target the breakdown. On our own ball we will look to our forwards to get numbers to the breakdown quickly rucking past the ball and clearing out the Edinburgh boys looking to recycle clean fast ball. On defence, if we are first to the breakdown or the ball carrier is isolated we will look to seriously commit numbers and will look to Quedragao to secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit lighter numbers to the breakdown but look to counter ruck slowing down Edinburgh ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.

General Attacking Play
We will look to play a strong carrying game using our big carriers to hit the gain line offloading in or just before the tackle (when it's on) to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. Brady will look to come in field at different times tracking the runs of our bigger carriers looking for the ball on the offload. If running the ball is not on we will look to Cruden or Hook to kick in behind the opposition back 3.

Shaun Perry will look to keep things simple and provide quick clean ball for Cruden. Cruden and Hook have been instructed to play heads up rugby and if overlaps or gaps appear they will look to get the ball moving and take advantage. They will look to rotate at first receiver and provide a different threat to the opposition defence. Abendanoon will look to come up from fullback from time to time and offer an extra ball carrying threat while looking to create these overlaps out wide.

Cruden will look to kick for goal when in opposition territory and take the drop goal option when it’s available to keep the score board moving.

General Defensive Play
In defence we will be using a blitz defence and will look to get up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any opposition momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. We will look to keep opposition on the back foot forcing the kick. Shaun Perry will act as a sweeper and look to cover any chips in behind the line. Our wingers will look to sit deeper on defence then the rest of the line ready for any kicks. Our back three have been instructed to play to their strengths and look for the counter attack, running the ball back with serious pace.

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Edinburgh
Manager – Michael Bradley

01. Allan Jacobsen	09. Mike Blair
02. Ross Ford	10. Harry Leonard
03. Geoff Cross
04. Esteban Lozada	11. Tim Visser
05. Grant Gilchrist	12. Matthew Scott
06. David Denton	13. Nick de Luca
07. Ross Rennie	14. Lee Jones
08. Netani Talei	15. Jim Thompson

16. Steven Lawrie 17. Kyle Traynor 18. Lewis Niven 19. Steven Turnbull 20. Stuart McInally 21. Chris Leck 22. Grei Laidlaw 23. Tom Brown

Tactics

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Racing Metro vs. Cardiff Blues

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Pool Three

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Glasgow vs. Leicester Tigers
Sunny intervals with light rain, 12 degrees, 15mph winds.
Glasgow
Manager – xxx

01. Ryan Grant	09. Colin Gregor
02. Dougie Hall	10. Duncan Weir
03. Ed Kalman
04. Richie Gray	11. Tommy Seymour
05. Alastair Kellock	12. Troy confirmedNathan
06. James Eddie	13. Alex Dunbar
07. Chris Fusaro	14. Federico Aramburu
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Peter Murchie

16. Finlay Gillies 17. Gordon Reid 18. Michael Cusack 19. Rob Verbakel 20. Ryan Wilson 21. Henry Pyrgos 22. Graeme Morrison 23. Stuart Hogg

Tactics

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Clarke Dermody	09. Dimitri Yachvili (k)
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson
03. Ben Franks
04. Pascal Pape	11. Napolioni Nalaga
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Nathan Hines	13. Florian Fritz
07. Magnus Lund	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Miller

16. Dan Murphy 17. Lee Mears 18. Jason Hobson 19. Tom Denton 20. John Barclay 21. Chris Cusiter 22. Brock James 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

- Look to Easter, Hines, Horwill, Pape and Moore to give us real go-forward with their carrying. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle. All players are to act as support runners when they can.

- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson. With 5 big jumpers, we will relentlessly target Hall's throws.

- Lund is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Glasgow.

- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible. We will be physical and relentless up front and pacey and clinical in attack.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9, with Yachvili pulling the strings. We will look to go through the phases and dominate possession, move Glasgow around with our half back's tactical kicking, and unleash our pacey back three as and when we can.

- If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, Wilkinson will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what comes naturally to all of them - counter attacking and running the ball back. All have good boots to rely on if it isn't on or they are isolated, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- Early on Yachvili to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Horwill to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.

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Montpellier vs. Leinster

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Pool Four

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Aironi Rugby vs. Newcastle Falcons
Cloudy, 12 degrees 5mph winds.
Aironi Rugby
Manager – xxx

01. Matias Aguero	09. Tito Tebaldi
02. Fabio Ongaro	10. Naas Oliver
03. Fabio Staibano
04. Quintin Geldenhuys	11. Sinoti Sinoti Toomaga
05. Marco Bortolami	12. Matteo Pratichetti
06. Nicola Cattina	13. Andrea Masi
07. Simone Favaro	14. Giulio Toniolatti
08. Nick Williams	15. Ruggero Trevisan

16. Roberto Santamaria 17. Salvatore Perugini 18. Luca Redolfini 19. George Biagi 20. Josh sole 21. Tyson Keats 22. Luciano Orquera 23. Gabriel Pizarro

Tactics

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. William Servat	10. Toby Flood
03. Owen Franks
04. Brad Thorn	11. Drew Mitchell
05. Paul O’Connell©	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Kelly Brown	13. Jared Payne
07. Ben Woods	14. Charlie Amesbury
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Tom Arscott

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Craig Mitchell 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Geoff Parling 20. Chris York 21. Jonny Arr 22. Nick Evans 23. James O’Connor

TACTICS:

- Look to put a marker down in the set piece and play the percentages early on
- Dominate possesion and put squeeze on opposition half backs when they have ball
- Target scrum and lineout all game
- As game wears on with points on the board, we'll look to set the backline free and get JOC on to run at tired legs

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Ulster Rugby vs. ASM Clermont Auvergne

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Pool Five

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Saracens vs. Benetton Treviso
Cloudy, 12 degrees, 11mph winds.
Saracens
Manager – LDCPete

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Gary Botha	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Adam Jones
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Digby Ioane
05. Victor Matfield (c)	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Alessandro Zanni	13. Henry Trinder
07. Tom Wood	14. Rene Ranger
08. Luke Narraway	15. Isaia Toeava

16. George Chuter 17. Matt Mullan 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Lionel Nallet 20. George Smith 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Owen Farrell 23. Mark Cueto

Tactics

Our generic gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game.

In attack our primary gameplan is always to control possession and run the ball, utilising big carriers attacking gaps in the line, and looking to offload to support runners to continue getting over the gainline and keep the ball alive. If the offload is not on, we will take the contact and look to recycle quickly at the breakdown. If running the ball is not on we will uitilise the kicking game of one of our backs to take us into the right area of the pitch.

In defence we will look to blitz, with our scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line. Key for us is line speed, getting up to make the tackle before the ball carrier hits the gainline, and confidence and trust in the man next to you in the defensive line, meaning we will not jump out or get pulled to far away from the next defender leaving gaps that can be exploited.

At the breakdown, we will not overcommit players. If the ball is not there to be won, then we will commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow it down whilst maintaining a strong defensive line across the pitch. If the ball looks like it is there to be won, we will look to get more numbers there quickly, with the first 1 or 2 players immediately rucking past the ball to clear the opposition players who are trying to get hands on it, and the next man in will then look to get it out quickly for us to counter attack on turnover ball.

We will look to really attack the scrum, both in attack and defence. We will not be looking to drop the scrum at all, and Victor Matfield in his role as captain will be talking to the referee constantly to ensure that he is aware that we want to scrummage. We will look to be aggressive in this area throughout.

Game Specific Tactics

• Play off 9 - Parra will be key decision maker and will play what is in front of him.
  
• Get our back three into the game often - Ioane and Ranger will come off their wings looking for work and Toeva will hit the line early looking to create overlaps.
  

Key Points

• Home Advantage. We have never lost a home Heineken Cup match in this game.
  

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Benetton Treviso
Manager – xxx

01. Michele Rizzo	09. Tobias Botes
02. Franco Sbaraglini	10. Kris Burton
03. Lorenzo Cittadini
04. Antonio Pavanello	11. Luke McLean
05. Corniel van Zyl	12. Alberto Sgarbi
06. Francesco Minto	13. Ezio Galon
07. Manoa Vosawai	14. Tommaso Benvenuti
08. Marco Filippucci	15. Ludovico Nitoglia

16. Diego Vidal 17. Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet 18. Pedro di Santo 19. Bian Vermaak 20. Paul Derbyshire 21. Fabio Semenzato 22. Willem De Waal 23. Brendan Williams

Tactics

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Ospreys vs. Biarritz Olympique

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Pool Six

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Harlequins vs. Connacht
Cloudy, 13 degrees, 11mph winds.
Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Matias Aguero	09. Jano Vermaak
02. Schalk Brits (c)	10. Rhys Priestland
03. John Afoa
04.Erik Lund	11. Joe Rokocoko
05. George Skivington	12. Riki Flutey
06. Jamie Gibson	13. George Lowe
07. Luke Wallace	14. Ross Chisholm
08. Richie Vernon	15. Peter Hynes

16. Rob Vickers 17. Joe Marler 18. Leo Halavatau 19.Charlie Matthews 20. James Gaskell 21. Tomas O'Leary 22. Freddie Burns 23. Olly Lindsey-Hague

Tactics

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Connacht
Manager – Eric Elwood

01. Brett Wilkinson	09. Paul O'Donohoe
02. Adrian Flavin	10. Miah Nikora
03. Rodney Ah You
04. Michael Swift	11. Brian Tuohy
05. Mike McCarthy	12. David McSharry
06. Thomas Anderson	13. Gavin Duffy
07. Eoghan Grace	14. Fetu'u Vainikolo
08. George Naoupu	15. Tiernan O'Halloran

16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

Tactics

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Toulouse vs. London Irish
Sunny intervals, 18 degrees, 13mph winds.
Toulouse
Manager – Guy Noves

01. Carl Hoeft	09. Jean-Marc Doussain
02. William Servat	10. Luke McAlister
03. Census Johnston
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Yves Donguy
05. Patricio Albacete	12. Yannick Jauzion
06. Jean Bouilhou	13. Florian Fritz
07. Thierry Dusautoir	14. Maxime Medard
08. Shaun Sowerby	15. Clement Poitrenaud

16. Gary Botha 17. Johnson Falefa 18. Yohan Montes 19. Yoann Maestri 20. Louis Picamoles 21. Nicolas Bezy 22. Lionel Beauxis 23. Timoci Matanavou

Tactics

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London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. James Buckland	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Dean Mumm	11. Paul Sackey
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jacques Fourie
07. Hendrie Fourie	14. J.P Pieterson
08. Pierre Spies	15. Matthew Tait

16. Soane Tonga'uhia 17. Neil Briggs 18. Duncan Bell 19. Matt Garvey 20. Joe Worsley 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Marland Yarde 23. Sireli Naqalevuki

Tactics

Looks jazzy Pete

Tried to make it easy to read. Might not all fit on one page once the teams and tactics are in though.

Matt's got a toughie this week, looks game of the round.

Love the HC, can't wait for the weekend

Saracens make 10 changes for the visit of Benetton Treviso to Vicarage Road this week. In the pack Alex Corbisiero, Gary Botha, Adam Jones and Graham Kitchener come into the side, and in the backs only Digby Ioane remains from the side that beat Sale Sharks last time out.

Head coach Ozzy3213 had this to say.

"It is a long season, and we have to keep players fresh. We are fortunate in having great depth in the squad which is shown by 8 of the 10 players who we are bringing in being full internationals,. We have a great home record and the players know that there is a responsibility on them this week to ensure that continues against a Benetton Treviso side who will want to make their mark on the competition as well."

Saracens
Manager – LDCPete

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Gary Botha	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Adam Jones
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Digby Ioane
05. Victor Matfield (c)	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Alessandro Zanni	13. Henry Trinder
07. Tom Wood	14. Rene Ranger
08. Luke Narraway	15. Isaia Toeava

16. George Chuter 17. Matt Mullan 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Lionel Nallet 20. George Smith 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Owen Farrell 23. Mark Cueto

Tactics

Our generic gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game.

In attack our primary gameplan is always to control possession and run the ball, utilising big carriers attacking gaps in the line, and looking to offload to support runners to continue getting over the gainline and keep the ball alive. If the offload is not on, we will take the contact and look to recycle quickly at the breakdown. If running the ball is not on we will uitilise the kicking game of one of our backs to take us into the right area of the pitch.

In defence we will look to blitz, with our scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line. Key for us is line speed, getting up to make the tackle before the ball carrier hits the gainline, and confidence and trust in the man next to you in the defensive line, meaning we will not jump out or get pulled to far away from the next defender leaving gaps that can be exploited.

At the breakdown, we will not overcommit players. If the ball is not there to be won, then we will commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow it down whilst maintaining a strong defensive line across the pitch. If the ball looks like it is there to be won, we will look to get more numbers there quickly, with the first 1 or 2 players immediately rucking past the ball to clear the opposition players who are trying to get hands on it, and the next man in will then look to get it out quickly for us to counter attack on turnover ball.

We will look to really attack the scrum, both in attack and defence. We will not be looking to drop the scrum at all, and Victor Matfield in his role as captain will be talking to the referee constantly to ensure that he is aware that we want to scrummage. We will look to be aggressive in this area throughout.

Game Specific Tactics

• Play off 9 - Parra will be key decision maker and will play what is in front of him.
  
• Get our back three into the game often - Ioane and Ranger will come off their wings looking for work and Toeva will hit the line early looking to create overlaps.
  

Key Points

• Home Advantage. We have never lost a home Heineken Cup match in this game.
  

whats the toulouse team?

Ah balls, I thought I had updated it all stnick. Will get it done later today mate.

not good enough pete!!

Sorry, consider my wrists slapped!

will try and find out info on tagi, ojo, delon today. hopefully will have at least one of them fit for edinburgh!

Leicester Tigers have named their side for the Heineken Cup clash away to Glasgow Warriors this week.

Tigers have made 11 changes to the side that comprehensively defeated London Irish at Welford Road last week, including an all new front five and back three.

Returning World Cup stars Stephen Moore, Ben Franks, Pascal Pape, James Horwill, Nick Easter, Napolioni Nalaga and Vincent Clerc all make their first starts of the season, whilst Clarke Dermody, Magnus Lund and Florian Fritz all return to action.

Manager LukeLovesLuka said "to be able to make 11 changes, and bring in 10 full internationals speaks volumes for the squad we have here. The season is a long, gruelling campaign, and you need strength in depth if you want to compete an all fronts - as we do.

It's great to have James (Horwill) back to lead the side out, and the likes of Pascal (Pape) and Vincent (Clerc) had great World Cup's, and we can't wait to see them in action.

Glasgow can be a very difficult place to go, and we've picked a horrible pack to try and gain the upper hand. Dimitri (Yachvili) and Jonny (Wilkinson) continue together in the half backs after a great start to their partnership last week against Irish, and we hope they can get better and better."


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Clarke Dermody	09. Dimitri Yachvili (k)
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson
03. Ben Franks
04. Pascal Pape	11. Napolioni Nalaga
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Nathan Hines	13. Florian Fritz
07. Magnus Lund	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Miller

16. Dan Murphy 17. Lee Mears 18. Jason Hobson 19. Tom Denton 20. John Barclay 21. Chris Cusiter 22. Brock James 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

- Look to Easter, Hines, Horwill, Pape and Moore to give us real go-forward with their carrying. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle. All players are to act as support runners when they can.

- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson. With 5 big jumpers, we will relentlessly target Hall's throws.

- Lund is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Glasgow.

- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible. We will be physical and relentless up front and pacey and clinical in attack.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9, with Yachvili pulling the strings. We will look to go through the phases and dominate possession, move Glasgow around with our half back's tactical kicking, and unleash our pacey back three as and when we can.

- If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, Wilkinson will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what comes naturally to all of them - counter attacking and running the ball back. All have good boots to rely on if it isn't on or they are isolated, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- Early on Yachvili to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Horwill to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.

stnick88 wrote:will try and find out info on tagi, ojo, delon today. hopefully will have at least one of them fit for edinburgh!

I tweeted Losi yesterday and he said he was hoping to be fit. We need at least one of the three of them out there with Homer and Thompstone in the back three. This HC pool is a big opportunity for us to make the quarters I think, and we need to get off to a good start on Saturday.

whats your name on twitter?

same as on here mate.

We welcome back a number of world cup stars this week and will be looking to come away with a win in our 1st HC game of the season. We've named a world class front 5 and will look to front up and dominate the set piece from the off. If we can tame the Italians in this area early on we feel we'll have the platform and talent to come back to Kingston Park happy.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. William Servat	10. Toby Flood
03. Owen Franks
04. Brad Thorn	11. Drew Mitchell
05. Paul O’Connell©	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Kelly Brown	13. Jared Payne
07. Ben Woods	14. Charlie Amesbury
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Tom Arscott

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Craig Mitchell 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Geoff Parling 20. Chris York 21. Jonny Arr 22. Nick Evans 23. James O’Connor

TACTICS:

- Look to put a marker down in the set piece and play the percentages early on
- Dominate possesion and put squeeze on opposition half backs when they have ball
- Target scrum and lineout all game
- As game wears on with points on the board, we'll look to set the backline free and get JOC on to run at tired legs

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Matias Aguero	09. Jano Vermaak
02. Schalk Brits (c)	10. Rhys Priestland
03. John Afoa
04.Erik Lund	11. Joe Rokocoko
05. George Skivington	12. Riki Flutey
06. Jamie Gibson	13. George Lowe
07. Luke Wallace	14. Ross Chisholm
08. Richie Vernon	15. Peter Hynes

16. Rob Vickers 17. Joe Marler 18. Leo Halavatau 19.Charlie Matthews 20. James Gaskell 21. Tomas O'Leary 22. Freddie Burns 23. Olly Lindsey-Hague

Tactics

you obviously didnt slap your wrists hard enough pete because I STILL DONT SEE A TOULOUSE TEAM!!!!

no pressure mate.

Also, I don't think Barclay and Cusiter can feature against me

I don't know what you two are talking about!

Tactics

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Wood	09. Genia
02. Gray	10. Carter
03. white
04.Gray	11. Gear
05.Tom Palmer	12. Barnes
06. Bonnaire	13. May
07. Burger	11. Guildford
08. Hari	15. Dagg

16. Payne 17. Strauss 18. Mas 19. Bakkies 20. Deacon 21. Lewis 22. Hape 23. JSD

Jeez that Munster lineup is not that scary anymore. They are not half the team they were are they.

Think Murray the scrum half is a prospect though. There bench used to be so much stronger

You not think Matt? Think they look strong although lack a bit in the backrow without Wallace. Still a very tough place to go but probably not as tough as previous years when they were unbeatable

Just amazed at how much they have declined. particularly bench etc.

Also in the centres but definitely in the backrow.

Leamy, Wallace, Quinlan looked much better for example

No Flannery also and Johnne Murphy at 15???

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. James Buckland	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Dean Mumm	11. Paul Sackey
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jacques Fourie
07. Hendrie Fourie	14. J.P Pieterson
08. Pierre Spies	15. Matthew Tait

16. Soane Tonga'uhia 17. Neil Briggs 18. Duncan Bell 19. Matt Garvey 20. Joe Worsley 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Marland Yarde 23. Sireli Naqalevuki

Irish team updated after the RFU kindly banned Delon. bunch of helmets.

Weather for Limerick is Cloudy with sunny intervals so will base my tactics on this.

Glaws Tactics

Glos travel to Thomond in ideal conditions for running rugby we are targetting the BP win which would have been unheard of a few years ago.


The aim here is to win quick ball and attack using our ball carriers. We have gone for a powerful and extremely mobile pack with ball carriers as ever and will look to blow them away.

Pack

we have gone for a scrum that can take them on and secure our ball with ease and gone for some monsters on the bench to really dominate this area at the 50 minute mark.

the one area where Munster are usually strong is the lineout and so we have picked probably the best set of lineout forwards this game has seen to ruin that area and turn it into our ball.

Bonnaire, hari, Burger, Williams, Palmer will all be used to win our ball and we will compete massively on theirs so as we can get at them.

We will be looking to go off the top or drice and look to get the ball to Carter to decide. This will be after we have won the forward battle.

With any game you need to win it up front and that is what we will be doing.

First thirty will be all catch and drive and launching the backrow at we will aim to get at them and win the collisions and get good quick ball for our backs.

Overall the forwards are looking to dominate the game and set the pace. we want to play at pace and get forwards running at them. We see our world class backrow as massively superior and will look to exploit this.

Backs.

we are aiming to run the ball where poossible. initially we will be looking to play for terrritory and pressure their lineout to win the forward battle. we have 2 great kickers in Barnes and Carter with Dagg also handy,

Once we start getting quick ball Carter will look to hit Gear comeing off his wing and also look to get the ball wide to take munster on.

As the game progresses our back 3 will counter attack when it is on and take quick throw etc to raise the pace.

Our backrow will also offer themselves up in midfield to punch and create quick recylcled ball to create mismatches.

Probably the quickest Gloucester backline ever so we are looking at using it.

Have these tactics done up with Stockport being sunny intervals, Friday through to Sunday

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Shaun Perry
02. Guilleme Guirado	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Alun Wyn Jones	11. Sam Smith
05. Christian Day	12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Victor Vito	13. James Hook
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Tom Brady
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Nick Abendanoon

16. Catt 17. Sharman 18. Tialata 19. Jones 20. Thomson 21. Spencer 22. Goode 23. Earls

Setpiece
At scrum time we will be looking to really turn the screw. Ayerza and Ducalcon are both strong technical scrummagers and will look to get at their man and really disrupt Edinburgh putting the nudge on and providing us with a solid platform all game. At the lineout, we will look to Day to call the line and will have Wyn Jones, at the front, and our entire back row to support him as jumpers to mix things up. Our jumpers will look to either play the ball of the top quickly and look to our backline to move it or bring it down into a maul and make the hard yards through the pack, sucking in the Edinburgh forwards to leave space out wide for our backs. On Edinburgh ball we will look for AWJ to get up in the air at the front of the line and Day to follow Gilcrist in the line and disrupt the Scottish sides lineout. If we really start to get on top of the lineout we will look to Cruden & Hook to kick for the corners a few times and really put the pressure on.

Breakdown
We have a very mobile and quick pack to really target the breakdown. On our own ball we will look to our forwards to get numbers to the breakdown quickly rucking past the ball and clearing out the Edinburgh boys looking to recycle clean fast ball. On defence, if we are first to the breakdown or the ball carrier is isolated we will look to seriously commit numbers and will look to Quedragao to secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit lighter numbers to the breakdown but look to counter ruck slowing down Edinburgh ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.

General Attacking Play
We will look to play a strong carrying game using our big carriers to hit the gain line offloading in or just before the tackle (when it's on) to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. Brady will look to come in field at different times tracking the runs of our bigger carriers looking for the ball on the offload. If running the ball is not on we will look to Cruden or Hook to kick in behind the opposition back 3.

Shaun Perry will look to keep things simple and provide quick clean ball for Cruden. Cruden and Hook have been instructed to play heads up rugby and if overlaps or gaps appear they will look to get the ball moving and take advantage. They will look to rotate at first receiver and provide a different threat to the opposition defence. Abendanoon will look to come up from fullback from time to time and offer an extra ball carrying threat while looking to create these overlaps out wide.

Cruden will look to kick for goal when in opposition territory and take the drop goal option when it’s available to keep the score board moving.

General Defensive Play
In defence we will be using a blitz defence and will look to get up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any opposition momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. We will look to keep opposition on the back foot forcing the kick. Shaun Perry will act as a sweeper and look to cover any chips in behind the line. Our wingers will look to sit deeper on defence then the rest of the line ready for any kicks. Our back three have been instructed to play to their strengths and look for the counter attack, running the ball back with serious pace.

Quins Tactics

Play at a quick pace and use our forwards to draw in men and get quick ball to our backs. Play with patience and send the ball wide when its on. Look to get the 4 tries as we are targeting a 5 point win.

We have a strong side all over the park and want to dominate all aspects from the scrum the the kicking battle.

Glos to still play at a quick pace and target bonus point but will play more circumspect and play territory to dominate and look to play in their half. We will then launch our backs

Irish tactics

Keep the ball alive and moving and dont get bogged down in to an arm wrestle. get as much quick, clean ball out to the hernandez/sbw/fourie axis and work the toulouse defence. use the ball carriers before sucking in the defenders to create the space for the likes of SBW and Pieterson.

Target the scrum with our big powerful props and look to dominate here and use it as an attacking platform. Also look to disrupt the flow of Toulouse play by attacking their set piece.

Darn you Pete! Stockport is Sunny Intervals all weekend on BBC hence Abendanoon at fullback!!

Few changes to the Sale tactics...

- Target the scrum where we have a seriously powerful unit and look to punish Edinburghs handling errors.

- Keep it simple at the lineout and look to bring it down into the maul rather then playing off the top to prevent handling errors.

- Cut the offloading down to a minimum to prevent handling errors and retain possession.

- Look to Cruden and Hooks boot to put us in the right positions to launch our attack

Not driving this week so will hopefully get predo's in today.

Munster 18-24 Gloucester

Tough place to go but Matt is right about Munster not looking as strong. Weather suits the Munster style but Gloucester have too much. See both holding their set piece with great options from Gloucester preventing POC getting at lineout. Carter to pull the strings and great bench for Gloucester sees them pull off a great win.

Only criticism of Gloucester is they lack a bit physicality in the centres which in the conditions especially could hinder their attack slightly. I like Barnes at 12 though and he'll give them a solid kicking option outside Carter.

Sale 16-10 Edinburgh

Great pack for Sale and see them getting an edge around the park. Could of been more but see Johnny was expecting better weather and his lineup shows this. Perry has a great box kick though and will keep them in right areas. Too much in the backs although Edinburgh back 3 is dangerous and Visser could give Brady a game.

Glasgow 12-20 Leicester

Glasgow are a handy team at home and will put up a good fight. Leicester have some serious grunt in the pack though and with Yach, Wilko and 36 have plenty of boot. See it close till 60 then Leicester wingers coming into the game.

Saracens 56-6 Treviso

Sarries outclass the Italians in every position and will control this one from the off.

Quins 34-16 Connacht

Quins to ease through in this one. Connacht are a decent outfit at home but won't br able to live with Quins for 80.

Toulouse 25-22 Irish

Sorry Nick. Toulouse are great at home and you really need to dominate to stand a chance of getting anything. Saying that, Irish will push them all the way with great prop options and a centre combo to scare most.

Munster 10-16 Gloucester

Good even tussle in the front 5 but Glaws are a step up every where else in this one. Thomond is a hard place to travel too but Glaws have enough to see off a Munster side in transition.


Glasgow 9-20 Leicester Tigers

Tigers with more quality across the park really and should pick up a decent win north of the border.


Aironi Rugby 15-34 Newcastle Falcons

Poor Aironi would be annihilated by the Falcons front 5 which is a whos who of world rugby really! Too much quality throughout from the AP champions


Saracens 39-12 Benetton Treviso

Sarries with stronger players 1 through 15 and should pick up a good win at home.


Harlequins 22-12 Connacht

Connacht make their debut in the Heino against a strong Quins outfit mixed with youth and experience. Quins with more quality here but Connacht wont be completely blown away


Toulouse 17-17 London Irish

Tough one this. Irish shade it slightly for overall quality but Toulouse are such a great side particularly at home. Not sure Irish will dominate the pack battle enough to win here but have enough to pick up the draw for me.

Munster 9-21 Gloucester

Genia and Carter will dictate this game - great backline for Mat will see them outscore Munster and can't see them being fazed due to quality of the side.

Glasgow 11-27 Leicester Tigers

Tigers will blow Glasgow away in this game, no question. Got better players all over the park.

Aironi Rugby 19-35 Newcastle Falcons

Home advantage counts, but not a fan of Newcastle backrow or balance of back three - everywhere else complete quality and BP away win.

Saracens 26-9 Benetton Treviso

Treviso are a really interesting team and very hard to break down these days, they will distrupt and frustrate but Sarries quality will see them through with a few tries in lsat ten mins.

Harlequins 33-3 Connacht

Hammering. Even though its a young Quins team they have got the WC players where it matters and each youngster is very good and will go in full of confidence.

Sale 33 - 17 Edinburgh
Moving Hook to 13 is a great move, he'd bring out best in JTH and support Cruden. Good pack, could have been a higher score, but think Perry has had his better days and slows down attacks.

Toulouse 26-26 London Irish

Issue here for me is that Buckland is not the best hooker for Irish in what is the pressure cooker of European rugby - some areas that Irish get the advantage over Toulouse, but see this as a crucial area - I dont think its enough to make them lose, but wont get them the win.

Munster 12-18 Gloucester
Glos' backs are way to strong here and silence the crowd.

Glasgow 10-30 Leicester Tigers
Tigers simply reign supreme all over the park

Aironi Rugby 18-45 Newcastle Falcons
Backs off the bench impact sees Falcons run away with this.

Saracens 28-6 Benetton Treviso
Sarries back row give Treviso a torrid time.

Harlequins 30-3 Connacht
Good balance of age and experience gets this match tied up.

Sale 30-15 Edinburgh
Sale's centre partnership creates some mouth-watering tries and gets the bonus point win.

Toulouse 25-24 London Irish
See Irish just slipping up to a late penalty.

Munster 18 - 22 Gloucester

Munster arguably take the front 5, and in the rain see Gloucester's SH backs struggling a little, but having enough class to take a good win away from Ireland in the end.

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Sale 24 - 17 Edinburgh

Decent battle in the scrum, and Edinburgh have some decent runners in the backs, but overall Sale should have this quite comfortaby, especially at home.

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Aironi 12 - 46 Newcastle

Newcastle's pack will absolutely destroy Aironi, and up until the subs come on this will be a sensationally one-sided affair.

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Saracens 39 - 9 Treviso

Sarries the better side in every aspect of the game, and win this whilst not coming out of first gear.

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Harlequins 28 - 15 Connacht

Quins with the better quality, but don't see Connacht rolling over like some of the other teams have. Quins more than comfortable in the end though.

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Toulouse 25 - 24 Irish

Great match ups allover the pitch. Have the packs as even, and backs pretty even too, with Irish perhaps the stronger at HB. Tough to call, not a lot in it, Toulouse so strong at home though.

Munster 12 - 21 Gloucester

Too much power in Gloucester pack and WC halfbacks wins the the game.

Sale 17 - 6 Edinburgh

Sale have gone strong hear and have well enough to win. Conditions prevent a rout but comfortable enough.

Glasgow 15 - 22 Leicester

Same as other games. Leicester to strong everywhere expect perhaps the 2nd row. Leicester just have to go through the motions.

Aironi 12 - 19 Newcastle

Aironi have a decent side with some quality players. Newcastle have enough to win though.

Saracens 42 - 10 Treviso

Comfortable win for Sarries and they get off to a fine start.

Toulouse 20 - 24 Irish

I think Irish are much stronger here and have a enough to win the game. Good win in a tough game.

Munster 15 - 18 Gloucester
Added quality in the half backs seals the victory for Mat.

Sale 21 - 12 Edinburgh
Strong line up on show from Johnny, can see it being a tight battle in the pack but the extra quality in the Sale back line wins them this one.

Glasgow 18 - 20 Leicester Tigers
The Tigers have the edge in most departments here, feel their half backs will see them through to a hard fought victory.

Aironi 15 - 19 Newcaste Falcons
Newcastle have enough quality to come away with the victory against a decent Aironi side.

Saracens 27 - 10 Treviso
Too much quality in the Sarries side that sees them to an easy victory.

Toulouse 22 - 25 London Irish
Strong outfit for the Irish, good win in what would be a tough and tight encounter.

Guys lets be realistic a lot of these games will be hammerings. I know bonus points determine seeding but for me a lot of these are walkovers

Sale 21 - 13 Edinburgh

Sale experimenting on wings and some backrow with out form but too strong.

Glasgow 8 - 31 Leicester Tigers
The Tigers have the edge in most departments here, easy win
Aironi 8-39 Newcaste Falcons
Newcastle have more everywhere could be a cricket score

Saracens 45- 10 Treviso
Too much quality in the Sarries side that sees them to an easy victory

Toulouse 22 - 19London Irish
Irish back 3 let them down at the hardest place to win

Quins 15-3Connacht Steven experiments and gets home just about after scares

Munster 15 Gloucester 24

Glaws have too much for a Munster side that needs rebuilding. Thomond Park factor keeps it respectable but not close.

Sale Sharks 25 Edinburgh 20

Edinburgh make a game of it but not strong enough defensively to stop Sale putting more points on the board than them.

Glasgow 9 Leicester Tigers 26

Not enough quality in the home side to trouble Leicester.

Aironi Rugby 6 Newcastle Falcons 30

Aironi are getting better, but nowhere near enough quality in their team to stop Falcons getting a comfortable away win.

Harlequins 20 Connacht 16

Connacht will scrap, but enough quality through the Quins team for the home win.

Toulouse 22 London Irish 20

Just looking at the quality of that Toulouse side says to me they must be huge favourites for this in the real world. Irish to get an LBP but tough place to go and win.

RESULTS

Pool One
Munster 14 Gloucester 29
Scarlets 31 Castres Olympique 23

Pool Two
Sale Sharks 31 Edinburgh 14
Racing Metro 20 Cardiff Blues 26

Pool Three
Glasgow 12 Leicester Tigers 33
Montpellier 16 Leinster 16

Pool Four
Aironi Rugby 13 Newcastle Falcons 41
Ulster Rugby 16 ASM Clermont Auvergne 11

Pool Five
Saracens 46 Benetton Treviso 9
Ospreys 28 Biarritz 21

Pool Six
Harlequins 33 Connacht 10
Toulouse 28 London Irish 24

SCORERS

Munster 14 Gloucester 29

Tries: Varley, Howlett
Conversions: O'Gara (2)

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Tries: Dagg, Burger
Conversions: Carter (2)
Penalties: Carter (5)

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Sale Sharks 31 Edinburgh 14

Tries: Ouedraogo, Hook (2), Cruden
Conversions: Cruden (4)
Penalties: Cruden

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Tries: Jones, Rennie
Conversions: Leonard (2)

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Glasgow 12 Leicester Tigers 33

Penalties: Weir (4)

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Tries: Nalaga (2), Moore, Fritz
Conversions: Yachvili (2)
Penalties: Yachvili (3)

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Aironi Rugby 13 Newcastle Falcons 41

Tries: Masi
Conversions: Tebaldi
Penalties: Tebaldi (2)

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Tries: Mitchell, Youngs, Franks. Mermoz, O'Connor
Conversions: Flood (5)
Penalties: Flood (2)

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Saracens 46 Benetton Treviso 9

Tries: Ioane (2), Nonu, Ranger (2), Trinder
Conversions: Parra (5)
Penalties: Parra (2)

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Penalties: Burton (3)

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Harlequins 33 Connacht 10

Tries: Rokocoko (2), Vernon, Vermaak
Conversions: Priestland (2)
Penalties: Priestland (3)

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Tries: Duffy
Conversions: Nikora
Penalties: Nikora

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Toulouse 28 London irish 24

Tries: Bouilou, Donguy, Doussain
Conversions: McAlister (2)
Penalties: McAlister (3)

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Tries: Sackey, Spies, Fourie
Conversions: Pienaar (3)
Penalties: Pienaar

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Top work Pete

For prediction bonuses full bonuses to Matt, Steve, Luke, Arry, Pooly, Chris, myself, Pete and Prop.

Again for prediction bonuses all games need to be predicted sorry ITFL and Driver. No bonus for everyone else