About v2Premiership Round 1
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Londonirishollie
Bathite
prop_lyd
Driver
LukeLovesLuka
Sgt_Pooly
pullthestrings
SirJohnnyEnglish
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The v2 Forum :: Sport :: Sports Gaming :: Archived games :: The New Fantasy Aviva Premiership Season 1
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Premiership Round 1
by SirJohnnyEnglish Thu 19 Jan 2012, 3:04 pm
First topic message reminder :
Team Sheets and tactics due by Saturday (18:00)
Predictions due till Monday (18:00)
Newcastle Falcons v Northampton Saints
Mild Winds, Sunny With Cloud
Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Fluxy
16. Tom Mercey 17. Joe Graham 18. Tim Swinson 19. Will Welch 20. Joel Hodgson 21. Paul Diggin 22. Luke Fielden 23. Jon Golding
tactics
Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish
16. Alex Waller 17. Mike Haywood 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Calum Clark 20. Roger Wilson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. John Clarke
General Game Plan:
We will use our strong carriers to attack gaps and half gaps in the Newcastle line, looking to offload in contact to support runners thus changing the point of attack and keeping our forward momentum going. Sexton will look to attack from first receiver and inject pace to the proceedings committing the Newcastle defence and leaving space in wider channels for our runners to exploit. If running the ball is not on our halfbacks will look to the boot to put us in the right areas.
On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the Newcastle ball carriers before they can get to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown harder. Lee Dickson will act as a sweeper to cover any grubbers or chips behind the line while our back three will sit deep ready to cover any kicks down the touch lines and counter attack at pace.
With the blitz in operation we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it fast and hard. The first two players on the scene will look to ruck past the ball and clear out the Falcons players providing quick counter attacking ball to be used against a disorganised defensive line. If the ball does not look available we will not commit to the ruck and look to strengthen the defensive line instead.
Key Points:
•Scrum
We will contest every engagement! On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and create extra room for our 8-9-10 axis to work in. On Newcastle ball we will disrupt the put in looking for penalties or to create rushed poor ball for the Falcons halfbacks.
•Lineout
With 5 jumpers on our ball, we want to really use the lineout as an attacking platform like South Africa in recent years. We will use a full compliment and play the ball off the top allowing our halfbacks to get on the ball at pace with room outside.
•Ball Carrying
On the blitz we want to take advantage of the lack of real ball carriers in the Newcastle pack and force the Falcons to play on the back foot and kick the ball to our danger men in the back 3. We will use the gang tackle on isolated carriers, slowing ball down and forcing the turnover
Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Moderate Winds, Sunny With Cloud
Exeter Chiefs
Head Coach – Ozzy3213
16. Simon Alcott 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Tommy Hayes 20. James Phillips 21. Junior Poluleuigaga 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Jason Shoemark
Tactics
Our gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game. We will work as units and play a structured game (as the Chiefs and Saracens do in real life). We will put a lot of emphasis on the set piece, and look to use both as a real platform to play from, whilst not allowing our opponents to do the same. We will also look to use our big ball carriers to attack the gainline whilst having support runners on their shoulders to either take the offload or hit the ruck quickly as appropriate.
Specifics
Harlequins
Manager – Driver
16.Chris Brooker 17.Mark Lambert 18.Tim Fairbrother 19.Charlie Matthews 20.Matt Kvesic 21.Karl Dickson 22.Rory Clegg 23.Tom Casson
Tactics
In ideal conditions we will look to move the ball and play at a high tempo whilst remember that possession is key to an away win. we have selected a mobile pack which has been picked to secure the set piece firstly and then do the flashy off loading game. We have tried to give our back line a balance through out with a controlling set of half backs hard running 12 and a pacy 13 to take his man on the outside. Our back 3 contains a out and out finisher (Benjiman) a well rounded linking a winger (AAC) and a solid all rounder at the back (Brown). Our bench is aimed at seeing a game out with powerful additions to the front 5 and a clever back row who can play all 3 positions well.
- Keep the ball and grind out the phases in the tight putting Care/Evans in a position to ping Chiefs back or spread the ball along the line and use AAC as a extra midfielder to link play up.
- Robson will look to keep the lineout solid on our own ball limiting to the 5 slots at the lineout in our own half and expanding to full lineout in the opposition 22 to tie defenders in and allow our backs to utilise there strike moves.
- Skinner and Robshaw will look to make a mess of Exeter's ruck and disrupt there ball with in the limitations of the rule book.
- We will use Easter as a linking 8 looking to free his upper body in the tackle and offload to his supporting players which he should have no trouble finding in our pack.
- Benjiman , Brown and Cooper have been given instructions to keep the ball alive on kick returns and look to shift the point of attack if there is nothing on then Kicking will be resorted to.
-Keep the scrum up , with referees struggling to control the set piece in real life we know that if we hold our binds and stay up at the scrum the ref will see us as getting on top and in a away game you have to control the set piece.
Saracens v Gloucester Rugby
Moderate to Strong Winds, Sunny With Clouds
SARCENS
Manager – LukeLovesLuka
16. Rhys Gill 17. Jamie George 18. John Smit 19. Hugh Vyvyan 20. Andy Saull 21. Jackson Wray 22. Richard Wigglesworth 23. Joe Maddock
Tactics
We will work as units and play a structured game. We will use the scrum and lineout as weapons.
- Attack the lineout as much as we can using the tactical kicking of Parra, Hodgson and Farrell. Borthwick to lead, supported by Joubert, Botha and Brown.
- Call for scrums when we can if we are getting the advantage we expect to. Joubert to control from the base.
- Look to all of our forwards to give us real go-forward with their carrying.
- Mix-up the first reciever options between Hodgson, Barritt and Farrell. All of our midfield are interchangable.
- At the breakdown, if the ball looks available we will look to seriously commit numbers to clear the ruck allowing Burger and Brown to come in and secure us turnover ball.
- Hodgson is given license to play the game as he sees it. We do ask that he uses our lineout ability to put pressure on the opposition, so a kicking game will be employed, but if he sees an opportunity to attack out wide - that is his call.
- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - 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.
- Test the Gloucester back three with high kicks in the strong wind. If they are struggling keep bombarding them, forcing the mistakes.
- 6/2 bench split, with massive pack replacements to keep set piece and carrying game up till 80 mins.
- Early on Parra to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Borthwick to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.
Gloucester
Manager – prop_lyd
16. Matais Cortese 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Will James 20. Andy Hazell 21. Rory Lawson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Johnny May
Tactics
*We have a pack that will look to gain the up at scrum time and are mobile,
*Our lineout will be able to steal ball and Hamilton and Brown will look to put pressure on their throw,
*Backrow to look for turnovers or to slow the ball down and cause general disruption,
*Lambie to look to get our backs running but if ball is slow to pin Sarries back,
*Trinder to run close to EFS for the gaps and a backrower on their shoulder,
*Back 3 to look for the ball as often as possible and continue our exciting brand of rugby,
*Look to neutralise their attack with a banana blitz defence with a back rower looking for turnover ball at the tackle,
*Use bench as and when with Burns and May adding more pace and Harden, James and Hazell adding the power,
*We have won both warm up matches so confidence is high,
*Exciting, fast rugby, big hitting pack, gunning to make an instant impact on the league with Lambie pulling the strings and taking the points when required.
Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
Mild to Moderate Winds, Sunny With Clouds
Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly
16. Tom Youngs 17. Dan Cole 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jeremy Staunton 23. Scott Hamilton
Tactics
In the great conditions we'll be looking to play at a high tempo and intensity from the off and move the opposition around the park.
We will look to set a tone in the set piece with our big scrummaging front 5 and will target this all game. Parling will lead the line and we will look to target the opposition's throw with Croft/Parling marshalling the front/middle of the line. We'll use big carries from our pack to draw in the Sale defence with Youngs marshalling and looking for gaps to exploit around the fringes.
Warburton will target the breakdown with Youngs sniping around and playing flat to the line to allow 36 & Manu space to run into. JOC will come looking for the ball in midfield and link up with Manu causing problems in the opposition midfield. We'll look to refresh pack around 60mins + and keep up the intensity.
LINEOUT - Deacon/Croft/Parling to target opposition throw and make a mess of the set piece
SCRUM - Target all game, Castro to put squeeze on Dickinson who's not renowned as big scrummager, Cole to continue pressure in the second backed by strong engine room
CARRYING - Target lack of carrying options in Sale pack, expect Powell to take up brunt of work so will get Warburton to hit him on 1st phase and attempt slowing/turnover
BREAKDOWN - Warburton to play the breakdown, we'll look to drive over the tackle area with physical front 5 and allow Warburton to get hands on the ball
KICKING OPTIONS - We'll look to kick for touch rather than territory and put pressure on Sale throw with numerous jumpers, We'll look to put 3 markers on Gaskell/Schofield and force them to hit backrow options.
WILKINSON - Use Croft's pace off the back of dominant scrum to put pressure on Wilkinson's distribution and force him to kick from hand or to play to midfield where Sale lack kicking options
HOME ADVANTAGE - Fortress Welford Road
JOC - Will look to get hands on the ball as much as possible and look for work in midfield, he'll also look to target Cueto on the outside
Sale Sharks
Manager – LondonIrishOllie
16.Joe Ward 17.Lee Imoliek 18.Henry Thomas 19.Kearnan Myall 20.Onosa'i Auva'a 21.Jordan Crane 22.Scott Mathie 23.Jonny Leota
Tactics
Our game revolves around playing the percentages, and playing the game in the right area of the park, and with Wilkinson and Peel starting this should not be a problem.
We will not look to go too wide too early, we will make sure we are getting some go forward ball before we do this, if we are not getting over the gainline Wilko, Peel and Miller who are all accomplished kickers from hands will ensure we are down in Leicesters 22.
Tuitupou and Fourie are both very good defenders and will look to nullify 36 and Tuilagi, however when we have the ball, we will targtet their centres, Tuilagi has the tendency to jump out the line and leave a massive hole exposed, and with only the inexpereinced 36 inside him, he will have no one to marshall him.
Scrum - Dickinson is not a destructive scrummager but he holds his own against whoever he is against. Kubriashvili will be able to target Ayerza, and this should lead to many penalties.
Lienout - Gaskell is our lineout caller, if he sees him and Schofield are bing makred out of it, he will call it to Vernon who is 6 ft 5 and has a spring or Andy Powell who is 6 ft 4 and will easily be able to win ball if no one is challenging him due to their marking of our locks
Lineout - Each of their lineouts we will put Schofield up at 2, to put the throwing of Webster underpressure, especially as he is known to go wayward when under pressure.
Breakdown - Seymour is the form 7 in the AP. Our pack is one that is very experienced and hardworking and we will use them to ruck over and past the ball.
Experience - Our team is full of experience all over the park, whereas Leicester's backline is very inexpereinced, and when Youngs gets frustrated, we all know he can lose his head. This is the same for Manu. So we will really look to wind them up and frustrate them.
Kicking - Wilkinson we take any points that are within range.
Subs - Imoliek for Dickinson after 55 mins. Thomas for Kubriashvili after 65 mins. Others as and when needed. Hooker change after 60 mins unless, due to circumstances it would be better if we didn't.
Bath Rugby v London Irish
Moderate Winds, Sunny With Clouds
Bath Rugby
Manager - Bathite
16.D.Wilson 17.R.Batty 18.N.Catt 19.R.Caldwell 20.S.Taylor 21.C.Cook 22.T.Heathcote 23.O.Woodburn
General gameplan
A sell out Recreation game pays host to the first game of the premiership and the home crowd will look to get behind the team, boosted by the signings of world class players, Steyn, Shaw and Franks. Bath have picked a team with strength and dynamism up front and some tactical nous in the backs to allow finishers out wide to propogate.
Picked a backline with a very varied skill set, so we can change the gameplan, depending on the circumstances and to remain unpredictable. Steyn and Donald can kick long, high and low. Bendy & Biggs counter attack with pace, Banahan and Carraro have the physical ability to draw defenders and smash over the gainline.
Have picked big ball carriers in Franks, Attwood, Shaw and Louw to punch holes in midfield and to keep opposition back row busy, trying to tire legs and encourage mistakes. Look to force Irish to keep the ball tight and go through the phases in the middle third of pitch
Backs play
* Classens, Donald and Steyn to dominate the midfield and tight kicking game, an area where Irish might be lacking other than Bowden
* Look for short grubbers in behind Hape and Ansbro, who might lack out and out pace and kicking game to respond
* Earn the right to go wide, drawing in fringe defence with Classens sniping and Louw, Franks & Fearns running off him
* Donald to play flat on the gain line, looking for a size mismatch against his opposite number and to draw Hape and make him make a decision
* Use up and under in middle third from Steyn/Donald to allow back three to challenge, an area they are very strong in real life
* Carraro picked for his defensive leadership, he will look to lead the blitz and force the ball inside, where we feel our back row can slow ball and prevent quick ball out wide
Forwards play
* Use bulk of the front five at scrumtime to create a solid set piece in good ground conditions. Look to use strength advantage to apply pressure on opposing scrums, so backrow must deal with scrappy ball
* Fight at the breakdown in opposition third, not afraid of giving away the odd penalty
* Jump at 1/2 on opposition lineout, pressurising the hooker's throw. Always compete for throw to discourage and impeded off the top ball
* Caldwell comes on after 50mins for Shaw, allowing both to give everything. Caldwell brings fresh carrying legs and try scoring form to the game for the second half
London Irish
Manager – Pullthestrings
16. James Buckland, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Faan Rautenbach, 19. Steve Mafi, 20. Jamie Gibson, 21. Paul Hodgson, 22. Shane Geraghty, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau
Tactics
We've picked a strong side to travel down to Bath this week. The conditions are ripe for running rugby and we feel this is where we are superior, with ball in hand. We'll be looking for big runners throughout the game to crashing it up and getting us over the gain line. We'll play heads up rugby and look to go where we see mismatches in the opposition defence.
- We'll compete at the set piece and look to make Bath's ball as messy as possible. We won't get hung up on this however, as we know our strengths lie away from the set piece, in open play.
- Kennedy to be our primary option at the lineout, with Harinordoquy and Pocock great options too. In general, play off the top ball unless the situation calls for a catch and drive to set a platform (ie in our 22)
- Our main focus is the breakdown. Look to use the energy saved from the set piece to get around the park and disrupt their ball at every opportunity (legally). Pocock to make a nuisance of himself and look for turnovers.
- Use strong carriers in the loose off 9 and 10 to gain hard yards. Use the piston system of bashing it up, with Bowden behind patroling matters.
- Put pressure on their fly half all game. Make it difficult for him.
- Play rugby in their half. Bowden to pick his marks and put us in the right places.
- Look for big runs through their midfield, with an arguably suspect defence. Hape and Ansbro to be strong in defence and look for the opportunity to make big tackles and put them on the back foot.
- Homer to go for points at every opportunity. Make them scared to give away penalties in their half, thus giving us more time at the breakdown.
- Simpson to put tempo on the game, quickly getting the ball away from the breakdown and into the hands of Bowden. Look to snipe to keep them guessing.
London Wasps v Worcester Warriors
Moderate to Strong Winds, Sunny With Clouds
London Wasps
Manager – Stnick88
16. Zak Taulafo 17. Ben Broster 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Richard Birkett 20. Tinus Du Plessis 21. Nic Berry 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Dominic Waldouck
Tactics
- In dry conditions, play a high tempo game and with pace.
- Young to snipe around the fringes and control the game with Robinson.
- Look to get Joseph to run on the outside of opposition defenders and get him 1 on 1.
- Tuilagi to come off his wing on the crash ball from attacking scrums and lineout.
- Poff and Salvi to do the breakdown work and secure as much turnover ball as possible. Warriors dont have a natural openside and we will look to exploit this at the breakdown. We want to disrupt Warriors as much as possible to give Carter scrappy and slow ball to work off. We will look to secure our own quick ball and get Robinson, Flutey, JJ running at Worcester.
- Look to stop Nonu gaining any momentum, Parisse, Salvi, Garvey etc to put the big hits in to stop him getting over the gain line.
- Wentzel as our main lineout option, Garvey and Parisse other options. In attacking lineouts look to mix up, sometimes playing the ball off the top for Young to work with, other times secure it at the front and maul forward.
- Cipriani to come on at 60 to add attacking spark to our back line.
WorcesterWarriors
Manager – InTheFastLane
16. Ed Shervington 17. Ceri Jones 18. George Porter 19. Ben Gulliver 20. Jake Abbott 21. Johnny Arr 22. Andy Goode 23. Matt Hopper
Team Sheets and tactics due by Saturday (18:00)
Predictions due till Monday (18:00)
Newcastle Falcons v Northampton Saints
Mild Winds, Sunny With Cloud
Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Fluxy
| 01. Graham Shiells | 09. Jordi Pasqualin |
| 02. William Servat | 10. Jimmy Gopperth (K) |
| 03. Euan Murray | |
| 04. James Hudson (C) | 11. Jack Cuthbert (K) |
| 05. Tom Palmer | 12. James Fitzpatrick |
| 06. Magnus Lund | 13. Tom May |
| 07. Hienrich Brussow | 14. Suka Hufanga |
| 08. Tom Guest | 15. Alex Tait |
16. Tom Mercey 17. Joe Graham 18. Tim Swinson 19. Will Welch 20. Joel Hodgson 21. Paul Diggin 22. Luke Fielden 23. Jon Golding
tactics
- Playing the right areas and using our strengths - Using the boots of; Hodgson, Gopperth and May to get the forwards in the oppositions half. We have a very dominant front row at the scrum and at lineout time.
- Compete at the breakdown - Look to give the opposition no time to settle in to plays or not to take any ruck lightly, as this will lead to mistakes from the forwards an panicked kicks and decisions from the backs. Brussow and Lund should be first to rucks.
- Defensive line - We shall look to get up as the fast as the slowest man, and then drift the line man on man, in the direction of the play. Scrum-half covers behind as a pendulum.
- Defensive line - We shall look to get up as the fast as the slowest man, and then drift the line man on man, in the direction of the play. Scrum-half covers behind as a pendulum.
- Penalties - When the oppurtunity arises Gopperth shall take all kickable points within his rage.
- Substitutions - Euan Murray on for Tom Mercey at 60 minutes, likewise Golding on for Shiells at the same time. Welch on for Guest if we were losing in the second half. And finally Fielden on for Stegmann at 65 minutes.
Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish
| 01. Soane Tonga'uiha | 09. Lee Dickson |
| 02. Dylan Hartley | 10. Johnny Sexton |
| 03. Brian Mujati | |
| 04. Courtney Lawes | 11. Jamie Elliot |
| 05. Samu Manoa | 12. James Downey |
| 06. Phil Dowson | 13. George Pisi |
| 07. Tom Wood | 14. Chris Ashton |
| 08. Kieran Read | 15. Ben Foden |
16. Alex Waller 17. Mike Haywood 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Calum Clark 20. Roger Wilson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. John Clarke
General Game Plan:
We will use our strong carriers to attack gaps and half gaps in the Newcastle line, looking to offload in contact to support runners thus changing the point of attack and keeping our forward momentum going. Sexton will look to attack from first receiver and inject pace to the proceedings committing the Newcastle defence and leaving space in wider channels for our runners to exploit. If running the ball is not on our halfbacks will look to the boot to put us in the right areas.
On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the Newcastle ball carriers before they can get to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown harder. Lee Dickson will act as a sweeper to cover any grubbers or chips behind the line while our back three will sit deep ready to cover any kicks down the touch lines and counter attack at pace.
With the blitz in operation we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it fast and hard. The first two players on the scene will look to ruck past the ball and clear out the Falcons players providing quick counter attacking ball to be used against a disorganised defensive line. If the ball does not look available we will not commit to the ruck and look to strengthen the defensive line instead.
Key Points:
•Scrum
We will contest every engagement! On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and create extra room for our 8-9-10 axis to work in. On Newcastle ball we will disrupt the put in looking for penalties or to create rushed poor ball for the Falcons halfbacks.
•Lineout
With 5 jumpers on our ball, we want to really use the lineout as an attacking platform like South Africa in recent years. We will use a full compliment and play the ball off the top allowing our halfbacks to get on the ball at pace with room outside.
•Ball Carrying
On the blitz we want to take advantage of the lack of real ball carriers in the Newcastle pack and force the Falcons to play on the back foot and kick the ball to our danger men in the back 3. We will use the gang tackle on isolated carriers, slowing ball down and forcing the turnover
Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Moderate Winds, Sunny With Cloud
Exeter Chiefs
Head Coach – Ozzy3213
| 01. Perry Freshwater | 09. Haydn Thomas |
| 02. Bismarck du Plessis | 10. Ignacio Mieres |
| 03. Hoani Tui | |
| 04. James Horwill (c) | 11. Gonzalo Camacho |
| 05. James Hanks | 12. Sireli Naqelevuki |
| 06. Tom Johnson | 13. Josh Tatupu |
| 07. Steffon Armitage | 14. Paul Sackey |
| 08. Ofisa Treviranus | 15. Luke Arscott |
16. Simon Alcott 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Tommy Hayes 20. James Phillips 21. Junior Poluleuigaga 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Jason Shoemark
Tactics
Our gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game. We will work as units and play a structured game (as the Chiefs and Saracens do in real life). We will put a lot of emphasis on the set piece, and look to use both as a real platform to play from, whilst not allowing our opponents to do the same. We will also look to use our big ball carriers to attack the gainline whilst having support runners on their shoulders to either take the offload or hit the ruck quickly as appropriate.
Specifics
- Attacking
- Play in the right areas - Mieres to use his boot to ensure we play in the right half of the pitch (kicking for touch and contesting the lineout, not to the Quins back 3).
- Control Possession - When in the right areas our pack, centres and full back to all carry hard and straight and look to get over the gainline and recycle.
- Use driving mauls - Support runners to hit the ball carrier in contact and keep him up and drive forward turning it into a maul. Also use driving mauls off of lineouts.
- Take all points on offer - Mieres to take every kickable penalty at goal.
- Defensive
- Slow opposition ball down - Look to legally (do not give penalties away) slow the ball at the breakdown by getting our back row over it to deny Quins any momentum.
- Do not overcommit to rucks - If the ball is not there to be won, do not overcommit but maintain a solid defensive line and control gainline momentum.
- Blitz Defence - Get up to the gainline quickly as a unit and stop Quins getting any forward momentum. Haydn Thomas to sweep in behind.
- Gang tackle isolated runners - If the Quins ball carrier is isolated we will look to keep him up at the tackle and wrap the ball up creating a maul and eventual turnover if the ball does not come out.
- Key Points
- Home Advantage - Very few teams go to Sandy Park and get a result, however many big names they have in the side.
- Set Piece - Quins state they want to keep the scrum up and scrummage legally. IMO that plays to our strengths and will give us a platform to play from.
Harlequins
Manager – Driver
| 01.Joe Marler | 09.Danny Care |
| 02.Joe Grey | 10.Nick Evans |
| 03.James Johnston | |
| 04.Ollie Kohn | 11.Miles Benjiman |
| 05.George Robson | 12.Jordan Turner-Hall |
| 06.Chris Robshaw(c) | 13.George Lowe |
| 07.Will Skinner | 14.Adam Ashley-Cooper |
| 08.Nick Easter | 15.Mike Brown |
16.Chris Brooker 17.Mark Lambert 18.Tim Fairbrother 19.Charlie Matthews 20.Matt Kvesic 21.Karl Dickson 22.Rory Clegg 23.Tom Casson
Tactics
In ideal conditions we will look to move the ball and play at a high tempo whilst remember that possession is key to an away win. we have selected a mobile pack which has been picked to secure the set piece firstly and then do the flashy off loading game. We have tried to give our back line a balance through out with a controlling set of half backs hard running 12 and a pacy 13 to take his man on the outside. Our back 3 contains a out and out finisher (Benjiman) a well rounded linking a winger (AAC) and a solid all rounder at the back (Brown). Our bench is aimed at seeing a game out with powerful additions to the front 5 and a clever back row who can play all 3 positions well.
- Keep the ball and grind out the phases in the tight putting Care/Evans in a position to ping Chiefs back or spread the ball along the line and use AAC as a extra midfielder to link play up.
- Robson will look to keep the lineout solid on our own ball limiting to the 5 slots at the lineout in our own half and expanding to full lineout in the opposition 22 to tie defenders in and allow our backs to utilise there strike moves.
- Skinner and Robshaw will look to make a mess of Exeter's ruck and disrupt there ball with in the limitations of the rule book.
- We will use Easter as a linking 8 looking to free his upper body in the tackle and offload to his supporting players which he should have no trouble finding in our pack.
- Benjiman , Brown and Cooper have been given instructions to keep the ball alive on kick returns and look to shift the point of attack if there is nothing on then Kicking will be resorted to.
-Keep the scrum up , with referees struggling to control the set piece in real life we know that if we hold our binds and stay up at the scrum the ref will see us as getting on top and in a away game you have to control the set piece.
Saracens v Gloucester Rugby
Moderate to Strong Winds, Sunny With Clouds
SARCENS
Manager – LukeLovesLuka
| 01. Matt Stevens | 09. Morgan Parra (k) |
| 02. Schalk Brits | 10. Charlie Hodgson |
| 03. Carlos Nieto | |
| 04. Steve Borthwick (c) | 11. David Strettle |
| 05. Mouritz Botha | 12. Brad Barritt |
| 06. Kelly Brown | 13. Owen Farrell |
| 07. Jacques Burger | 14. James Short |
| 08. Ernst Joubert | 15. Alex Goode |
16. Rhys Gill 17. Jamie George 18. John Smit 19. Hugh Vyvyan 20. Andy Saull 21. Jackson Wray 22. Richard Wigglesworth 23. Joe Maddock
Tactics
We will work as units and play a structured game. We will use the scrum and lineout as weapons.
- Attack the lineout as much as we can using the tactical kicking of Parra, Hodgson and Farrell. Borthwick to lead, supported by Joubert, Botha and Brown.
- Call for scrums when we can if we are getting the advantage we expect to. Joubert to control from the base.
- Look to all of our forwards to give us real go-forward with their carrying.
- Mix-up the first reciever options between Hodgson, Barritt and Farrell. All of our midfield are interchangable.
- At the breakdown, if the ball looks available we will look to seriously commit numbers to clear the ruck allowing Burger and Brown to come in and secure us turnover ball.
- Hodgson is given license to play the game as he sees it. We do ask that he uses our lineout ability to put pressure on the opposition, so a kicking game will be employed, but if he sees an opportunity to attack out wide - that is his call.
- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - 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.
- Test the Gloucester back three with high kicks in the strong wind. If they are struggling keep bombarding them, forcing the mistakes.
- 6/2 bench split, with massive pack replacements to keep set piece and carrying game up till 80 mins.
- Early on Parra to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Borthwick to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.
Gloucester
Manager – prop_lyd
| 01. Nick Wood | 09. Dave Lewis |
| 02. Darren Dawiduk | 10. Patrick Lambie (k) |
| 03. Adam Jones | |
| 04. Jim Hamilton | 11. Charlie Sharples |
| 05. Alex Brown | 12. EFS |
| 06.Alasdair Strokosch | 13. Henry Trinder |
| 07. Akapusi Q'era | 14. JSD |
| 08. Luke Narraway (c) | 15. Olly Morgan |
16. Matais Cortese 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Will James 20. Andy Hazell 21. Rory Lawson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Johnny May
Tactics
*We have a pack that will look to gain the up at scrum time and are mobile,
*Our lineout will be able to steal ball and Hamilton and Brown will look to put pressure on their throw,
*Backrow to look for turnovers or to slow the ball down and cause general disruption,
*Lambie to look to get our backs running but if ball is slow to pin Sarries back,
*Trinder to run close to EFS for the gaps and a backrower on their shoulder,
*Back 3 to look for the ball as often as possible and continue our exciting brand of rugby,
*Look to neutralise their attack with a banana blitz defence with a back rower looking for turnover ball at the tackle,
*Use bench as and when with Burns and May adding more pace and Harden, James and Hazell adding the power,
*We have won both warm up matches so confidence is high,
*Exciting, fast rugby, big hitting pack, gunning to make an instant impact on the league with Lambie pulling the strings and taking the points when required.
Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
Mild to Moderate Winds, Sunny With Clouds
Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly
| 01. Marco Ayerza | 09. Ben Youngs |
| 02. Rob Webber | 10. Toby Flood |
| 03. Martin Castrogiovani | |
| 04. Lewis Deacon | 11. Christian Wade |
| 05. Geoff Parling | 12. Billy Twelvetrees |
| 06. Tom Croft | 13. Manu Tuilagi |
| 07. Sam Warburton(c) | 14. James O’Connor |
| 08. Thomas Waldroum | 15. Geordan Murphy |
16. Tom Youngs 17. Dan Cole 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jeremy Staunton 23. Scott Hamilton
Tactics
In the great conditions we'll be looking to play at a high tempo and intensity from the off and move the opposition around the park.
We will look to set a tone in the set piece with our big scrummaging front 5 and will target this all game. Parling will lead the line and we will look to target the opposition's throw with Croft/Parling marshalling the front/middle of the line. We'll use big carries from our pack to draw in the Sale defence with Youngs marshalling and looking for gaps to exploit around the fringes.
Warburton will target the breakdown with Youngs sniping around and playing flat to the line to allow 36 & Manu space to run into. JOC will come looking for the ball in midfield and link up with Manu causing problems in the opposition midfield. We'll look to refresh pack around 60mins + and keep up the intensity.
LINEOUT - Deacon/Croft/Parling to target opposition throw and make a mess of the set piece
SCRUM - Target all game, Castro to put squeeze on Dickinson who's not renowned as big scrummager, Cole to continue pressure in the second backed by strong engine room
CARRYING - Target lack of carrying options in Sale pack, expect Powell to take up brunt of work so will get Warburton to hit him on 1st phase and attempt slowing/turnover
BREAKDOWN - Warburton to play the breakdown, we'll look to drive over the tackle area with physical front 5 and allow Warburton to get hands on the ball
KICKING OPTIONS - We'll look to kick for touch rather than territory and put pressure on Sale throw with numerous jumpers, We'll look to put 3 markers on Gaskell/Schofield and force them to hit backrow options.
WILKINSON - Use Croft's pace off the back of dominant scrum to put pressure on Wilkinson's distribution and force him to kick from hand or to play to midfield where Sale lack kicking options
HOME ADVANTAGE - Fortress Welford Road
JOC - Will look to get hands on the ball as much as possible and look for work in midfield, he'll also look to target Cueto on the outside
Sale Sharks
Manager – LondonIrishOllie
| 01. Alisdair Dickinson | 09. Dwayne Peel |
| 02.Marc Jones | 10.Jonny Wilkinson (k) |
| 03. Davit Kubriashvili | |
| 04.Dean Schofield | 11.Mark Cueto |
| 05.James Gaskell (c) | 12.Sam Tuitupou |
| 06.Richie Vernon | 13.Jaque Fourie |
| 07.Dave Seymour | 14.Tom Brady |
| 08.Andy Powell | 15.Rob Miller |
16.Joe Ward 17.Lee Imoliek 18.Henry Thomas 19.Kearnan Myall 20.Onosa'i Auva'a 21.Jordan Crane 22.Scott Mathie 23.Jonny Leota
Tactics
Our game revolves around playing the percentages, and playing the game in the right area of the park, and with Wilkinson and Peel starting this should not be a problem.
We will not look to go too wide too early, we will make sure we are getting some go forward ball before we do this, if we are not getting over the gainline Wilko, Peel and Miller who are all accomplished kickers from hands will ensure we are down in Leicesters 22.
Tuitupou and Fourie are both very good defenders and will look to nullify 36 and Tuilagi, however when we have the ball, we will targtet their centres, Tuilagi has the tendency to jump out the line and leave a massive hole exposed, and with only the inexpereinced 36 inside him, he will have no one to marshall him.
Scrum - Dickinson is not a destructive scrummager but he holds his own against whoever he is against. Kubriashvili will be able to target Ayerza, and this should lead to many penalties.
Lienout - Gaskell is our lineout caller, if he sees him and Schofield are bing makred out of it, he will call it to Vernon who is 6 ft 5 and has a spring or Andy Powell who is 6 ft 4 and will easily be able to win ball if no one is challenging him due to their marking of our locks
Lineout - Each of their lineouts we will put Schofield up at 2, to put the throwing of Webster underpressure, especially as he is known to go wayward when under pressure.
Breakdown - Seymour is the form 7 in the AP. Our pack is one that is very experienced and hardworking and we will use them to ruck over and past the ball.
Experience - Our team is full of experience all over the park, whereas Leicester's backline is very inexpereinced, and when Youngs gets frustrated, we all know he can lose his head. This is the same for Manu. So we will really look to wind them up and frustrate them.
Kicking - Wilkinson we take any points that are within range.
Subs - Imoliek for Dickinson after 55 mins. Thomas for Kubriashvili after 65 mins. Others as and when needed. Hooker change after 60 mins unless, due to circumstances it would be better if we didn't.
Bath Rugby v London Irish
Moderate Winds, Sunny With Clouds
Bath Rugby
Manager - Bathite
| 01.D.Flatman | 09.M.Claassens |
| 02.L.Mears | 10.S.Donald |
| 03.O.Franks | |
| 04.D.Attwood | 11.M.Banahan |
| 05.S.Shaw | 12.F.Steyn(k) |
| 06.L.Moody (c) | 13.M.Carraro |
| 07.F.Louw | 14.T.Biggs |
| 08.C.Fearns | 15.N.Abendanon |
16.D.Wilson 17.R.Batty 18.N.Catt 19.R.Caldwell 20.S.Taylor 21.C.Cook 22.T.Heathcote 23.O.Woodburn
General gameplan
A sell out Recreation game pays host to the first game of the premiership and the home crowd will look to get behind the team, boosted by the signings of world class players, Steyn, Shaw and Franks. Bath have picked a team with strength and dynamism up front and some tactical nous in the backs to allow finishers out wide to propogate.
Picked a backline with a very varied skill set, so we can change the gameplan, depending on the circumstances and to remain unpredictable. Steyn and Donald can kick long, high and low. Bendy & Biggs counter attack with pace, Banahan and Carraro have the physical ability to draw defenders and smash over the gainline.
Have picked big ball carriers in Franks, Attwood, Shaw and Louw to punch holes in midfield and to keep opposition back row busy, trying to tire legs and encourage mistakes. Look to force Irish to keep the ball tight and go through the phases in the middle third of pitch
Backs play
* Classens, Donald and Steyn to dominate the midfield and tight kicking game, an area where Irish might be lacking other than Bowden
* Look for short grubbers in behind Hape and Ansbro, who might lack out and out pace and kicking game to respond
* Earn the right to go wide, drawing in fringe defence with Classens sniping and Louw, Franks & Fearns running off him
* Donald to play flat on the gain line, looking for a size mismatch against his opposite number and to draw Hape and make him make a decision
* Use up and under in middle third from Steyn/Donald to allow back three to challenge, an area they are very strong in real life
* Carraro picked for his defensive leadership, he will look to lead the blitz and force the ball inside, where we feel our back row can slow ball and prevent quick ball out wide
Forwards play
* Use bulk of the front five at scrumtime to create a solid set piece in good ground conditions. Look to use strength advantage to apply pressure on opposing scrums, so backrow must deal with scrappy ball
* Fight at the breakdown in opposition third, not afraid of giving away the odd penalty
* Jump at 1/2 on opposition lineout, pressurising the hooker's throw. Always compete for throw to discourage and impeded off the top ball
* Caldwell comes on after 50mins for Shaw, allowing both to give everything. Caldwell brings fresh carrying legs and try scoring form to the game for the second half
London Irish
Manager – Pullthestrings
| 01. Clarke Dermody (c) | 09. Joe Simpson |
| 02. David Paice | 10. Daniel Bowden |
| 03. Paulică Ion | |
| 04. Bryn Evans | 11. Topsy Ojo |
| 05. Nick Kennedy | 12. Shontayne Hape |
| 06. Declan Danaher | 13. Joe Ansbro |
| 07. David Pocock | 14. Tom Homer (k) |
| 08. Imanol Hariordoquy | 15. Delon Armitage |
Tactics
We've picked a strong side to travel down to Bath this week. The conditions are ripe for running rugby and we feel this is where we are superior, with ball in hand. We'll be looking for big runners throughout the game to crashing it up and getting us over the gain line. We'll play heads up rugby and look to go where we see mismatches in the opposition defence.
- We'll compete at the set piece and look to make Bath's ball as messy as possible. We won't get hung up on this however, as we know our strengths lie away from the set piece, in open play.
- Kennedy to be our primary option at the lineout, with Harinordoquy and Pocock great options too. In general, play off the top ball unless the situation calls for a catch and drive to set a platform (ie in our 22)
- Our main focus is the breakdown. Look to use the energy saved from the set piece to get around the park and disrupt their ball at every opportunity (legally). Pocock to make a nuisance of himself and look for turnovers.
- Use strong carriers in the loose off 9 and 10 to gain hard yards. Use the piston system of bashing it up, with Bowden behind patroling matters.
- Put pressure on their fly half all game. Make it difficult for him.
- Play rugby in their half. Bowden to pick his marks and put us in the right places.
- Look for big runs through their midfield, with an arguably suspect defence. Hape and Ansbro to be strong in defence and look for the opportunity to make big tackles and put them on the back foot.
- Homer to go for points at every opportunity. Make them scared to give away penalties in their half, thus giving us more time at the breakdown.
- Simpson to put tempo on the game, quickly getting the ball away from the breakdown and into the hands of Bowden. Look to snipe to keep them guessing.
London Wasps v Worcester Warriors
Moderate to Strong Winds, Sunny With Clouds
London Wasps
Manager – Stnick88
| 01. Tim Payne | 09. Micky Young |
| 02. George Chuter | 10. Nicky Robinson |
| 03. Nicolas Mas | |
| 04. Matt Garvey | 11. Tom Varndell |
| 05. Marco Wentzel | 12. Riki Flutey |
| 06. Jonathan Poff | 13. Jonathan Joseph |
| 07. Julien Salvi | 14. Alesana Tuilagi |
| 08. Sergio Parisse | 15. Hugo Southwell |
16. Zak Taulafo 17. Ben Broster 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Richard Birkett 20. Tinus Du Plessis 21. Nic Berry 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Dominic Waldouck
Tactics
- In dry conditions, play a high tempo game and with pace.
- Young to snipe around the fringes and control the game with Robinson.
- Look to get Joseph to run on the outside of opposition defenders and get him 1 on 1.
- Tuilagi to come off his wing on the crash ball from attacking scrums and lineout.
- Poff and Salvi to do the breakdown work and secure as much turnover ball as possible. Warriors dont have a natural openside and we will look to exploit this at the breakdown. We want to disrupt Warriors as much as possible to give Carter scrappy and slow ball to work off. We will look to secure our own quick ball and get Robinson, Flutey, JJ running at Worcester.
- Look to stop Nonu gaining any momentum, Parisse, Salvi, Garvey etc to put the big hits in to stop him getting over the gain line.
- Wentzel as our main lineout option, Garvey and Parisse other options. In attacking lineouts look to mix up, sometimes playing the ball off the top for Young to work with, other times secure it at the front and maul forward.
- Cipriani to come on at 60 to add attacking spark to our back line.
WorcesterWarriors
Manager – InTheFastLane
| 01. Matt Mullan | 09. Will Genia |
| 02. Aleki Lutui | 10. Dan Carter |
| 03. Tevita Taumoepeau | |
| 04. James Percival | 11. Ugo Monye |
| 05. Chris Jones | 12. Ma’a Nonu |
| 06. James Haskell | 13. Anthony Allen |
| 07. Maurie Fa’asavalu | 14. Marcel Garvey |
| 08. Ben Morgan | 15. Luke Rooney |
16. Ed Shervington 17. Ceri Jones 18. George Porter 19. Ben Gulliver 20. Jake Abbott 21. Johnny Arr 22. Andy Goode 23. Matt Hopper
- We have a strong 8-9-10-12 axis and will look to control the game using these positions.
- Our dynamic backrow will be looking to really pressure the opposition on the ground a put in some big carries
- Dan Carter is the best Fly Half in the world and will look to control our game making changes as he sees fit
- Will Genia will be looking to snipe around the fringes and will use his running game to pressure Wasps
- We will look to getting Nonu into the game and creating mismatches so he can run at Wasps defenders
- Look to get our dangerous back three involved so they can cause trouble.
- We feel our bench is very strong. Hopper, Goode and Arr are players we can bring on to change the game.
Last edited by SirJohnnyEnglish on Sat 21 Jan 2012, 8:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by stnick88 Mon 23 Jan 2012, 8:53 am
Newcastle v Northampton
- Newcastle have got a strong pack out, with good lineout options, but think they will struggle with Saints power. Lawes, Manoa, Tonga'uhia will get the physical upper hand to give Saints a platform. Sexton can control the game and get Ashton and Foden on the ball. Newcastle just lacking that spark in the backline.
15-20
Exeter v Harlequins
- Like the Exeter pack, has a bit of everything. Quins have an on form pack to compete. Class above in the half backs for Quins although Mieres is playing well and can control things well. Naqa is a beast but lacking form for Chiefs, whereas Quins have Brown and JTH etc playing well. Close game but a sneaky away win for Quins.
20-22
Saracens v Gloucester
- A workman like Sarries pack which can compete with most gets Sarries the upper hand here in most departments. Glos backline is dangerous and think they will cause Sarries problems. Think Sarries will get in the right areas with parra and hodgson and have enough in the backs with Barritt, Farrell and Strettle to get a home win.
23-20
Leicester v Sale
- Not much you can say about Tigers. Quality throughout. Think they will dominate upfront and have so much talent in the backs. Sale's pack is strong and have some spark in the backline in Fourie. Tigers will be tough to beat this year.
28-23
Bath v London Irish
- Closest game of the week I think. No shift in the scrum for me with the lineout close with Kennedy the standout but Bath with a better engine room. Think Irish backrow will get the upperhand at the breakdown and secure good ball for Simpson and Bowden. In the dry that combo will be quality but might struggle in the wet. Bath have some big powerful backs in Banahan, Steyn, Donald that will cause Irish problems but they have good defenders in Hape and Danaher etc. Homers boot will punish Bath but think Bath can get enough front foot ball to score tries.
24-24
- Newcastle have got a strong pack out, with good lineout options, but think they will struggle with Saints power. Lawes, Manoa, Tonga'uhia will get the physical upper hand to give Saints a platform. Sexton can control the game and get Ashton and Foden on the ball. Newcastle just lacking that spark in the backline.
15-20
Exeter v Harlequins
- Like the Exeter pack, has a bit of everything. Quins have an on form pack to compete. Class above in the half backs for Quins although Mieres is playing well and can control things well. Naqa is a beast but lacking form for Chiefs, whereas Quins have Brown and JTH etc playing well. Close game but a sneaky away win for Quins.
20-22
Saracens v Gloucester
- A workman like Sarries pack which can compete with most gets Sarries the upper hand here in most departments. Glos backline is dangerous and think they will cause Sarries problems. Think Sarries will get in the right areas with parra and hodgson and have enough in the backs with Barritt, Farrell and Strettle to get a home win.
23-20
Leicester v Sale
- Not much you can say about Tigers. Quality throughout. Think they will dominate upfront and have so much talent in the backs. Sale's pack is strong and have some spark in the backline in Fourie. Tigers will be tough to beat this year.
28-23
Bath v London Irish
- Closest game of the week I think. No shift in the scrum for me with the lineout close with Kennedy the standout but Bath with a better engine room. Think Irish backrow will get the upperhand at the breakdown and secure good ball for Simpson and Bowden. In the dry that combo will be quality but might struggle in the wet. Bath have some big powerful backs in Banahan, Steyn, Donald that will cause Irish problems but they have good defenders in Hape and Danaher etc. Homers boot will punish Bath but think Bath can get enough front foot ball to score tries.
24-24
Last edited by stnick88 on Mon 23 Jan 2012, 10:05 am; edited 1 time in total
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by Ozzy3213 Mon 23 Jan 2012, 10:48 am
I was doing so well until the last 3 predictions! 
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by Londonirishollie Mon 23 Jan 2012, 5:11 pm
Newcastle 15 Saints 19
Saints have advantage in scrum, Newcastle in Lineout but i feel Saints will get more go forward from the likes of Tonga'huia, Samoa and Lawes. This will lead to Sexton being able to pin back Newcastle to a certain extent. Newcastle will be no mean out of it, and Gopperth's boot will keep them in it, but Saints backs will have too much.
Exeter 18 Quins 22
Exeter have the better scrum, but there play is very limited, and i think Quins will have too much for them, in the backs, with Evans and Brown both being in very good form. The form of Gray at hooker for Quins cannot go unnoticed, but i expect BdP and co to get an advanatge at scrum time but i do not expect this to be enough, against Quins.
Sarries 21 Gloucester 17
Sarries have a set of combinations that work in real life and the addition of a strong pack will just be enough for them. I expect Hodgson and Farrell to win the kicking game against, Lambie, and while Gloucesters backs are exciting, i think at home Sarries will have enough to close out the game. Having said that i think Stevens will be given a tough time at loosehead, as he is clearly a tighthead, who covers loosehead when there are no other options rather than a player who plays both as well as the other.
Saints have advantage in scrum, Newcastle in Lineout but i feel Saints will get more go forward from the likes of Tonga'huia, Samoa and Lawes. This will lead to Sexton being able to pin back Newcastle to a certain extent. Newcastle will be no mean out of it, and Gopperth's boot will keep them in it, but Saints backs will have too much.
Exeter 18 Quins 22
Exeter have the better scrum, but there play is very limited, and i think Quins will have too much for them, in the backs, with Evans and Brown both being in very good form. The form of Gray at hooker for Quins cannot go unnoticed, but i expect BdP and co to get an advanatge at scrum time but i do not expect this to be enough, against Quins.
Sarries 21 Gloucester 17
Sarries have a set of combinations that work in real life and the addition of a strong pack will just be enough for them. I expect Hodgson and Farrell to win the kicking game against, Lambie, and while Gloucesters backs are exciting, i think at home Sarries will have enough to close out the game. Having said that i think Stevens will be given a tough time at loosehead, as he is clearly a tighthead, who covers loosehead when there are no other options rather than a player who plays both as well as the other.
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Location : London
Re: Premiership Round 1
by Londonirishollie Mon 23 Jan 2012, 5:19 pm
Bath 25 Irish 22
I see Bath sneaking this, and i see home advantage being the main difference. Bath will dominate scrum time due to the extra power they get from their 2nd rows, but Irish with Kennedy, Evans and Imanol will get the upper hand at lineoiut time. Pocock will jsut edge Louw at the breakdown but the better kiocking game from Bath is a huge advanatge and for me will be the decisive factor as it will mean, Bath will dominate territory.
Wasps 18 Worcester 15
Wasps better pack will see them edge this game. While Genia, Carter and Nonu will make in roads i think that they will not see enough qulity ball for this to count. I expect Mas, to give Mullan a proper going over, and the rest of their front 5 is also better. Salvi being the only the out and out openside on the pitch will enjoy his role as fetcher, and will win lots of turnovers. Carter keeps Worcester in it and ensures a LBP.
I see Bath sneaking this, and i see home advantage being the main difference. Bath will dominate scrum time due to the extra power they get from their 2nd rows, but Irish with Kennedy, Evans and Imanol will get the upper hand at lineoiut time. Pocock will jsut edge Louw at the breakdown but the better kiocking game from Bath is a huge advanatge and for me will be the decisive factor as it will mean, Bath will dominate territory.
Wasps 18 Worcester 15
Wasps better pack will see them edge this game. While Genia, Carter and Nonu will make in roads i think that they will not see enough qulity ball for this to count. I expect Mas, to give Mullan a proper going over, and the rest of their front 5 is also better. Salvi being the only the out and out openside on the pitch will enjoy his role as fetcher, and will win lots of turnovers. Carter keeps Worcester in it and ensures a LBP.
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Location : London
Re: Premiership Round 1
by LukeLovesLuka Mon 23 Jan 2012, 5:39 pm
Newcastle 15 - 19 Saints
Exeter 20 - 22 Harlequins
Leiccester 26 - 19 Sale
Bath 21 - 20 Irish
Wasps 18 - 15 Worcester
Really sorry about lack of descriptions. Thought i'd have more time today but skiing all week has left me too busy. I'll take the hit on the cash bonus.
Exeter 20 - 22 Harlequins
Leiccester 26 - 19 Sale
Bath 21 - 20 Irish
Wasps 18 - 15 Worcester
Really sorry about lack of descriptions. Thought i'd have more time today but skiing all week has left me too busy. I'll take the hit on the cash bonus.
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by pullthestrings Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:01 pm
Newcastle Falcons 18 - 23 Northampton Saints
Exeter Chiefs 13 - 19 Harlequins
Saracens 24 - 17 Gloucester
Leicester Tigers 32 - 19 Sale Sharks
London Wasps 15 - 15 Worcester Warriors
Explanations to follow.
Exeter Chiefs 13 - 19 Harlequins
Saracens 24 - 17 Gloucester
Leicester Tigers 32 - 19 Sale Sharks
London Wasps 15 - 15 Worcester Warriors
Explanations to follow.
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by Fluxy Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:14 pm
Exeter Chiefs 18 - 16 Harlequins
At set piece time I can see the Exeter front row, dominating the Quins front five as the game drags on. The lineouts will be hotly contested between Robson and Horwill, however again I can judge Chief to edge that contest. Quins back row do get a look in however, as their tireless work rate allows the backline to get some ball and get them playing in Exeter's half.
Sandy Park was always going to be a tough place for the Quins to and get a result, but with their backline receiving limited ball it was tough for to make the most of the chances they got. But they did take some of them. Ashley-Cooper and Brown making some good scores and two incidents of free-flowing rugby form the Quins. But a Du Plessis try in close and the boot of Meires snatches the result.
Saracens 22 - 18 Gloucester
As people may have mentioned, the lineout here was a heavily contested matter. Borthwick was ruling the skies in pre-season, but up against Brown he had a good tussle. However Borthwick can rely on other boys in his pack to take the pressure off and rely on them to jump to confuse the Glos fowards. Scrum time was again very even, but I can see the Glos front-row just nicking it.
Into the backs and what a game, as talent is littered through out both of the line-ups. Although the Parra - Hodgson axis get a strangle hold on the game very quickly, as Parra kicks the Saracens pack into very dangerous places. Then when requiered Hodgson can distribute out to his outisde back, where Strettle gets a brace of scores. However the broken field play of the Glos backline manages them to score a brace of tries.
Leicester Tigers 28 - 21 Sale Sharks
The packs within is this game are slightly even, I can predict that the Sale front-row to edge it. But further in to the back five I can see the Leicester getting an upper hand in the lineout. The backrows from both sides are very mobile so they nullify each other around the park. Again the halback battle is very close but I can see the Flood just getting the edge on Wilkinson as he the ability to get his backline moving and can use Manu or Billy to crash through the centres. This provides big momentum with the Tigers backs which allows O'Connor and Wade
to get some tries.
Bath Rugby 18 - 15 London Irish
Bath have the better pack, as a result they edge the set piece battles and get around the park freeing up the ball for the backs. But The Irish back row gets possession of some ball and allows their backs to score some points. The Irish backline in comparison to the Bath backs, have an edge, but they can't survive without any ball.
Home advantage helps the spur the Bath boys, and Irish come away with a bonus point as they manage to keep it respectable.
London Wasps 20 - 14 Worcester Warriors
Wasps gain a major edge in both the scrum and the lineout. Mullan and the Percival get around the park but can't help prevent the rot at the set piece. However in the back row Worcester gain a major edge, but this doesn't help at Worcester don't see much ball.
Again in the backs Worcester have a serious edge, but they rarely see any ball. So the Wasps' solid backline gets them some solid points to secure the result.
At set piece time I can see the Exeter front row, dominating the Quins front five as the game drags on. The lineouts will be hotly contested between Robson and Horwill, however again I can judge Chief to edge that contest. Quins back row do get a look in however, as their tireless work rate allows the backline to get some ball and get them playing in Exeter's half.
Sandy Park was always going to be a tough place for the Quins to and get a result, but with their backline receiving limited ball it was tough for to make the most of the chances they got. But they did take some of them. Ashley-Cooper and Brown making some good scores and two incidents of free-flowing rugby form the Quins. But a Du Plessis try in close and the boot of Meires snatches the result.
Saracens 22 - 18 Gloucester
As people may have mentioned, the lineout here was a heavily contested matter. Borthwick was ruling the skies in pre-season, but up against Brown he had a good tussle. However Borthwick can rely on other boys in his pack to take the pressure off and rely on them to jump to confuse the Glos fowards. Scrum time was again very even, but I can see the Glos front-row just nicking it.
Into the backs and what a game, as talent is littered through out both of the line-ups. Although the Parra - Hodgson axis get a strangle hold on the game very quickly, as Parra kicks the Saracens pack into very dangerous places. Then when requiered Hodgson can distribute out to his outisde back, where Strettle gets a brace of scores. However the broken field play of the Glos backline manages them to score a brace of tries.
Leicester Tigers 28 - 21 Sale Sharks
The packs within is this game are slightly even, I can predict that the Sale front-row to edge it. But further in to the back five I can see the Leicester getting an upper hand in the lineout. The backrows from both sides are very mobile so they nullify each other around the park. Again the halback battle is very close but I can see the Flood just getting the edge on Wilkinson as he the ability to get his backline moving and can use Manu or Billy to crash through the centres. This provides big momentum with the Tigers backs which allows O'Connor and Wade
to get some tries.
Bath Rugby 18 - 15 London Irish
Bath have the better pack, as a result they edge the set piece battles and get around the park freeing up the ball for the backs. But The Irish back row gets possession of some ball and allows their backs to score some points. The Irish backline in comparison to the Bath backs, have an edge, but they can't survive without any ball.
Home advantage helps the spur the Bath boys, and Irish come away with a bonus point as they manage to keep it respectable.
London Wasps 20 - 14 Worcester Warriors
Wasps gain a major edge in both the scrum and the lineout. Mullan and the Percival get around the park but can't help prevent the rot at the set piece. However in the back row Worcester gain a major edge, but this doesn't help at Worcester don't see much ball.
Again in the backs Worcester have a serious edge, but they rarely see any ball. So the Wasps' solid backline gets them some solid points to secure the result.
Fluxy- Aviva Premiership Commissioner
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Age : 32
Location : Isle of Wight
Re: Premiership Round 1
by Sgt_Pooly Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:16 pm
RESULTS:
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 15-29 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
EXETER CHIEFS* 21-24 HARLEQUINS
SARACENS* 31-18 GLOUCESTER
LEICESTER TIGERS* 35-18 SALE SHARKS
BATH RUGBY 28-21 LONDON IRISH*
LONDON WASPS 24-17 WORCESTER WARRIORS*
* = BONUS POINT
NEWCASTLE FALCONS 15-29 NORTHAMPTON SAINTS
EXETER CHIEFS* 21-24 HARLEQUINS
SARACENS* 31-18 GLOUCESTER
LEICESTER TIGERS* 35-18 SALE SHARKS
BATH RUGBY 28-21 LONDON IRISH*
LONDON WASPS 24-17 WORCESTER WARRIORS*
* = BONUS POINT
Last edited by Sgt_Pooly on Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:20 pm; edited 1 time in total
Sgt_Pooly- Posts : 36294
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by Fluxy Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:16 pm
Just got my laptop back. Don't know if these would count!
Fluxy- Aviva Premiership Commissioner
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by Sgt_Pooly Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:24 pm
I've counted them Flux....
I'll adjust till 2000hrs next week to give people a bit more time
I'll adjust till 2000hrs next week to give people a bit more time
Sgt_Pooly- Posts : 36294
Join date : 2011-04-27
Re: Premiership Round 1
by Fluxy Mon 23 Jan 2012, 6:26 pm
Cheers mate, wasn't more the time issue, just the fact my laptop is on the blink!
Fluxy- Aviva Premiership Commissioner
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Sgt_Pooly- Posts : 36294
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Ozzy3213- Moderator
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Re: Premiership Round 1
by Driver Mon 23 Jan 2012, 7:27 pm
Was a close game Pete. Went right to the last few predictions
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