Fantasy Aviva Premiership Round Six

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Newcastle Falcons vs. Harlequins
Cloudy, 12 degrees, 13mph winds

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Soane Tonga’uiha	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rory Best	10. Toby Flood
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Geoff Parling	12. Sonny Bill-Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Lowe
07. Heinrich Brussow	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O’Connor

16. Lee Mears 17. Clement Ric 18. Fabien Barcella 19. Ed Slater 20. Kelly Brown 21. Luke Burgess 22. Ben Williams 23. Miles Benjamin


Tactics

HOME ADVANTAGE – Won every game at home in over 2 years
BACKLINE – Major talent and game breakers in backline

General – High intensity, quick passing game. Look to keep the ball alive in the forwards and use the offload to keep the tempo high. Play the wind if needed and attack the opposition lineout.

FORWARDS

Set Piece:

Scrum – With the good conditions and minimal restarts expected we’ll be looking to use the scrum as a restart and get the ball in and out and provide quick ball to our backline. If a glaring weakness is seen in the opposition we’ll look to keep the ball in longer but this is the call of the pack captain. Strong bench options to put squeeze on in 2nd half.

Lineout – quick ball off the top using Parling as primary caller, also look to use Robshaw at the tail and Faletau, Thorn to offer front ball. Target opposition ball and contest outside of 22 especially. Good jumping options throughout side. In opposition half look for Best (one of safest throws in game) to throw to middle/back which generates quicker/attacking ball. With our midfield coming into the attacking line flat we’ll look to open up the opposition midfield.

Breakdown – Look to target breakdown throughout game and really slow opposition attacking ball down and limit the opposition FH’s options forcing him to kick. Brussow to lead the attack with Faletau & Robshaw providing a devastating trio. Will look to get Thorn/Tonga in at rucks who’ll clear out and give our backrow the ideal opportunity to get hands on ball

Defence – Look to use the blitz defence and get in the face of the opposition preventing any momentum. Youngs to sweep in behind and look out for any grubbers.

BACKS

Halfbacks – Look to get fast attacking ball and Youngs to play how he does he does for Leicester by raising the tempo and attacking the fringes. Flood to play flat to the line and bring SBW into play.

Centres – Look to Get SBW hitting it hard through the centre and draw in the opposition defence. Also look to use him as decoy with Flood using the miss pass and getting Lowe on the outside or JOC through the middle/outside.

Back 3 – Serious gas and power to exploit the opposition out wide. JOC to come into the line and will mix it up off Flood. Look to exploit Cuthbert & Bowe height in the opposition half with Flood putting in the cross-field kick.

POINTS:


Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Karl Dickson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Quade Cooper
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Taku Ngwenya
08. Dave Denton	15. Rob Kearney

16. Matthew Rees 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Jerome Thion 20. Carl Fearns 21. Lee Dickson 22. Greig Laidlaw 23. Luke Morahan

Tactics

We are quite simply going to play like Quins do in real life. We are going to stretch Newcastle with carriers and pace throughout the side. We are going to look to control the set piece and have Cooper take the ball to the line and put others into space. Karl Dickson is going to play the game at pace and get quick ball out to our backs.

We will look for our forwards to carry off 9 and 10 in the early phases but then we are going to get into wider channels and get the ball into the hands of our dangermen in the back ground.

We need our forwards to ruck honestly and to get us quick ball which we require. Whilst we have a mobile pack we also have a very powerful pack which will hold its own in an arm wrestle.

Important to win collisions and look for offloads in attack to keep the game at a quick pace. The likes of Marler, Brits, Afoa, Wood, Warburton and Denton will love this in our pack.

We will look to keep the ball in hand for long periods so as to tire Newcastle and forcing them to make lots of tackles.In the backs we will look to explout the gaps and use the electric pace we have in our backline.

In defence we hammer into Newcastle at 100%. Put everyone of there players under pressure and look to force errors. Warburton and Wood to marshall the breakdown and slow down Newcastle ball. Borthwick to ruin Newcastle line as he has been doing for Saracens.

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Gloucester vs. Bath Rugby
Heavy Rain, 12 degrees, 9mph winds

Gloucester RFC
Manager – Mat

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09 Will Genia
02. Joe Grey	10.Ryan Lamb
03. Nicola Mas
04. Richie Grey	11. Zac guildford
05. George Robson	12. Matt Scott
06. Steven Ferris	13. Richard Kahui
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. JSD
08. Immanol Harinordoqouy (c)	15. Iain Balshaw

Subs:
16. Nick Wood 17. Jamie George 18. Rupert Harden 19. Julien Pierre 20. Jamie Heaslip21. Dan Robson22. Charlie Sharples 23. Berrick Barnes [/quote]

Glos welcome bath for the west country derby. It is pooring with rain and we have picked a side for the conditions.

Tactics

We are aiming to keep the ball and play proper wet weather rugby.

We have picked a huge scrummaging front 5 and each of our players will be looking to win their individual battle. We believe that man for man our front 5 is better and they will be key to winning the game.

We will aim to be rock steady on our own ball and look to pick up at 8 a lot to keep hold of the ball and play our possession game. On their ball we will be looking to dismantle their scrum and take their front row to the cleaners.

The other area of the set piece we are aiming to dominate is the lineout. We have hari grey robson Lapandry and ferris. On our own ball we will be looking to win and maul us in to good field positions to launch attacks.

We will aim to steal there ball and further dominate possession.

We will be targetting the breakdown to make sure we win our ball easily and disrupt theirs.

General play.

Our pack is full of carriers and we will be looking to keep the ball and really take it to bath. The aim is to maintain possession and get in to the Right areas where genia can orchestrate things.
He will look to hit lamb who will either nudge it to the corners or where in right position look to go wide. Scott is a kicking and distributing 12 and will slot in to ten where necessary. Kahui will also be used as a crash option to keep hold of ball and start building again.

We see ourselves as having a class bench of forwards and will look To get them on early on in to second half as this game will be tiring. Barnes will come on to steer us home.

Any penalties in range will be kicked. We will also employ a blitz defence as handling will be difficult and we can pressure bath this way.


Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Chris Brooker	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Euan Murray
04. Jarrad Hoeata	11. Stuart Hogg
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. George North
08. Tom Guest	15. Rob Miller

16. Davit Kubrashvilli 17. Will Tanner 18. Jon Golding 19. Tom Donnelly 20. Akapusi Qera 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Maxime Medard 23. Isiah Toeava

Overall: Look to dominate in the scrum and use that as a platform to really bring our backs in who will be looking to run at the defence with bad intentions.

Forwards: We will really look to attack and come out on top of the scrum. We have two of the best props in Europe in Murray and Healy and we feel we can really punish the Saints scrum, pushing them backwards. With our second row partnership we are looking at Jarrad Hoeata to provide the grunt necessary and offering the banker ball while Graham Kitchener will be trying to retain our lineout something we feel he is very capable of doing.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Guest, Haskell and Healy dangerous runners who can really create gaps for our backs. We will be looking for lots of energy from our forwards to open up holes to be exploited. Our carrying is somewhere we feel we have a distinct advantage. We will really look to target Ryan Lamb with our carries. At the breakdown we will look for David Pocock and James Haskell to win turnover ball or manage to slow down opposition ball by going through opponents. They will both be looking to cause as much trouble as possible.

Backs: We will be looking to play running rugby with the ball in our hands. Using our forwards to create space we will look for quick ball and get the likes of Miller, Hogg and North who are all deadly runners, running at the Sale defences. Wigglesworth will control the tempo of the backs and will look to keep the backs calm and composed. We will look to get Allen + Rougerie involved in the game as much as possible. Hodgson will look to get involved in our attack, linking our play

Defence: Look to wrap the defensive line. Look for Pocock to put pressure on Lamb who we feel will struggle.

Substitutes: We have some really good options on the bench who we feel can really add to the game. Golding and Kubrashvilli can come in and help strengthen our front row. Donnelly will look to come on and shore up the lineout. Akapusi Qera is a quality player who can really cause trouble around the park. FDP will look to control our tempo late in the game. Toeava and Medard have the attacking spark that can real create something for our side.

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London Irish vs. Northampton Saints
Light Rain, 12 degrees, 7mph winds

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Julien Dupuy
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Johann Muller	12. Luke McAllister
06. Keegan Daniel	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pieterson
08. Netani Talei	15. Delon Armitage

16. Matt Stevens 17. James Buckland 18. WP Nel 19. Stuart Hooper 20. Hendrie Fourie 21. Neal De Kock 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Sireli Naqalevuki

Team News

London Irish hand a start to Pacific Islander Netani Talei at number 8. The big ball carrier replaces Springbok Pierre Spies. In the backs, Luke McAllister and Mathieu Bastereaud come in for Sireli Naqalevuki and Max Evans.

'With it set to rain, we wanted Netani to come in to really take the game to Saints and repeatedly get us over that gain line. Pierre deserves a rest and Netani brings a slightly different aspect to the game, his physicality and ball carrying will really test Saints defence. Mac coming back gives us great kicking options and playmaking ability playing outside Nick Evans.'

Tactics

- Play the game in the right areas. Dupuy, Evans and Mac to dictate this. We can still attack and will still run the ball but also we want to dominate territory. Our 9,10,12 are on good form and can control the game for us. We will look to pressure Simpson, whos real life form has been shaky, and try to disrupt the service to Saints backline and spoil their flow.

- Armitage will look to dominate the breakdown, win us penalties and secure quick ball. With Evans and Mac in attack we have great playmakers who can put people like Bast, JP, Yarde and Delon in space. JP will come off his wing and look for gaps to be put through.

- Evans to kick all pens for goal, if out of range go for touch. Muller is our main lineout jumper but Garvey and Daniel will also be used to keep Saints guessing. We will look for quick ball off the top and use Bast as a decoy runner as well as ball carrier to get over the gainline.

- Saints have a dangerous back three so we will not kick loose to them. Any kicks will be in to space with Yarde and JP putting as much pressure as possible on the opposition.

- We will target the scrum with two big powerful scrummaging props on our side. We will look to win as many pens as poss to kick points from.


Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris

01. Sona Taumalolo	09 Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10.Matt Giteau
03. Carl Hayman
04. Bradley Davies	11. Leigh Halfpenny (k)
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Ashley Beck
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Julian Salvi	14. Chris Ashton
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rob Webber 17. Logovi'i Mulipola 18. Thomas Domingo 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22. George Ford 23. Siti Siviatu

Tactics

Overview - To play a game based on power, speed, pressure and aggression. To use the extra physicality and ball carrying power of our pack to gain an advantage for open play and look to get over the gainline and create gaps for our backline to exploit.

Aggressive defence to force mistakes and turnovers and will aim to target the breakdown for turnover ball to attack with. Light rain makes conditions perfect for our pack and backline, especially the backthree who are all ideally suited to the weather.

Pack/SetPiece

- strong, physical pack and an area we feel we can target Irish with. Big ball carriers throughout and will look to work through the phases and tie in Irish defenders before going wide to our backline.

- six internationals players to use in the front row that can be used throughout the 80mins and we will really target the scrum, look for penalties and assert dominance to get a good attacking platform here.

- target Lindsay at both the scrum and lineout.

- Bonnaire to control the calls and generate quick ball to attack from at the lineout. We will use Lawes to attack the Irish lineout and will aim to put Lindsay's throwing under a lot of pressure. We've got 4 good options with Davies, Lawes, Bonnaire and Parisse.

- The inform Salvi is a key figure at the breakdown&we are looking to really target this area - this week we have Taulalolo, Davies and Lawes to add more physicality in clearing out the rucks and if the ball is there to be won at the breakdown we will put numbers in and get the fast ball to launch attacks from.


Attack -

- feel we have a very strong pack that has more physicality and ball carriers than Irish, so should see more ball to attack with and have the option to go route one with the forwards - will aim to get Hartley,Taumalolo, Lawes, Davies and Parisse on the ball as much as we can early on and set the game up as a really physical confrontation.

- key is punching holes in the Irish midfield and getting the ball to our backthree in space - Simpson has a big role in making snipes around the fringes (on good form too!) and Giteau to act as key playmaker in bringing runners into the channels. Will look to send attacks down Yarde's channel and see how he handles the pressure.

- look for turnovers to attack Irish when they haven't set their defence, attack with speed and stretch them. Got a lot of try scorers and confident can score more tries than Irish and Halfpenny's boots to match Evans.

Defence -

- aggressive defence and we will look for Lawes to target the Evans/McAlister channel from the off - looking to force mistakes.

- will implement a blitz defence, with Tuilagi looking to marshall Pisi and keep the main Wasps playmaker out of the game.

Key points -

- really strong pack that is vital away from home, big ball carriers and very physical. Good form with 3 wins in a row and good try scoring form

- target Lindsay at the set piece and look to get the upper hand here, very strong scrum and lineout - Saints showed how important this was in real life v Wasps last week.

- strong impact bench that can make a difference towards the end of the game.

- conditions suit the team perfectly in both forwards and the backline.

- great form in real life - Hartley, Lawes, Bonnaire, Parisse, Giteau, Tuilagi and all back three.

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Sale Sharks vs. Leicester Tigers
Cloudy, 12 degrees, 10mph winds

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Stephen Sykes	11. David Strettle
05. Christian Day	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Keith Earls
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Vasil Kakovin 17. Darren Dawdiuk 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvestic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Kyle Eastmond

Key Points

• Fantastic record at home. In the last two years we have lost just one game at home. Games between Sale & Tigers have always been tight so home support is massive.

• We come into this game with some momentum ourselves with two good wins including a great performance away to Bath.

• Fantastic real life form throughout the side with the likes of Zirka, Day, POM, Pickles, the halfbacks, Steyn, Earls & Bendy all going really well.

Tactics

We will look to play a fast paced attacking game using big carriers running of the 9/10/12 axis to get us over the gain line and generate quick ball. Keeping the ball alive is crucial so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload and get us further over the gain line. Our back three will look to get involved as much as possible running support lines of the halfbacks and midfield looking for the inside ball or offload. If for whatever reason we aren’t getting quick ball, we will look to take control of territory with the boots of Sexton & Steyn and force Tigers to come at us from deep.

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to get at least parity at the scrum. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much more room as possible to attack from.

• In Tigers territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs.

• In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

• We will look to blitz aggressively, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Tigers momentum before it can get going.

• Danny Care will play sweeper and cover any chips or grubbers behind the defensive line.

• We will leave two players sitting deep to cover any kicks and they will look to counter attack of any loose ball.

• With the blitz in operation, we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it hard and fast. If the ball looks available we will flood the breakdown with POM and Quedragao looking to get their hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow the ball down and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Alistair Hargreaves	11. Ugo Monye
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Tom Youngs 18. Dan Cole 19. Pascal Pape 20. Tom Croft 21. Michael Claasens 22. Brock James 23. Dominic Waldouck

Tactics:

We will play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game, the power of our gigantic pack and the strength in our set piece.

- Ability to play in different ways - we're not here to kick the ball away. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Mujati and Sheridan to look to really get the shove on against Schuster and Zirakishvilli. Jenkins and Cole to pile the pressure on against Kakovin and Ducalcon in the second half.

- Attack at all lineouts. Our lineout is led by Horwill; with Hargreaves, SOB and Scaysbrook as our other jumping options.
Some great lineout stealers in our ranks who will pressure every one of Paice's throws.

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Sale defence. The likes of Waldrom, SOB, Scaysbrook, Moore, Hargreaves and Horwill to be used to crash through the Sale defence.
Look to play an offloading game, with runners always supporting.

- Scaysbrook is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. With Scaysbrook, SOB, and BOD, we feel our breakdown play will be crucial today.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili our general pulling the strings. We want Yach and Wilko to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack and looking for where the gaps are. We want 12T and BOD on the ball looking to send our back three into space.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Yachvili to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Unload our powerful bench to impact the game in the second half.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.


Key Points:

Gigantic Pack
Average weight of 18st per player, we will look to dominate Sale's pack physically allowing our HB's quick, clean ball.

Form and Momentum
5 wins out of 5, having just beat League Champions Newcastle last week - we are absolutely flying.

Second Half
We feel we can get a massive advantage as the game wears on, and will look to the likes of Jenkins, Cole, Pape and Croft to really give us the upper hand in the second half.

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Saracens vs. London Welsh
Light Rain, 12 degrees. 8mph winds

Saracens
Manager – Driver

01.Matt Mullen	09.Jean-Marc Doussain
02.John Smit	10.Francois Trinh-Duc (K)
03.Craig Mitchell
04.Lionel Nallet	11.Mark Cueto
05.Ali Williams	12.Chris Bell
06.Joe Van Nikirk(c)	13.Henry Trinder
07.Ross Rennie	14.Tim Visser
08.Rapheal Lakafia	15.Freddie Burns (k)

16.Hika Elliot 17.Max Lahiff 18.Phil Swainstone 18.Tim Swinson 19.Luke Narraway 20.Dewaldt Duvenage 21.Paddy Jackson 22.Adam Thompstone

Tactics


This is a big game for us and we will stick to a simple game plan and limit our mistakes through this. Our forwards will work hard in the tight to ensure we keep the possession and make the Welsh pack work hard with runners coming round the corner with the likes of Cueto and Visser looking to get involved from the wing and run at the 10 channel from deep.

Attacking wise.

1. Plenty of carriers in the team, ask questions of the Welsh team with the likes of JVN , Lakafia Visser , Bell and Trinder running at them
   
2. JMD and FTD to play the percentages , keep a level head throughout. kick when we have and use the ball when the oppertunity presents itself
   
3. High tempo in the attack with the ball presented in front of them

Blitz defense with plenty of big hitters and 9 sweeping behind to cover any kicks.


Home advantage - plenty of pressure on Welsh on the road and the Saracens crowd right behind us in this huge game.


London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Owen Farrell
03. Adam Jones
04. Nathan Hines	11. Matt Jess
05. George Skivington	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Kevin McLaughlin	13. Darren Cave
07. Thierry Dusautoir ©	14. Christian Wade
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Louis Ludik

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. David Wilson 19. James Hanks 20. Tom Johnson 21. Charlie Davies 22. Butch James 23. Ross Chisholm

Tactics

Basic Game Plan

Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. Focus will be on winning the gainline collisons in both attack and defence. In order to do this we have picked a very big pack to try to physically dominate this area of the game. We will look to apply pressure to Saracens by keeping the ball for long periods and wearing them down defensively, and also by maintaining a solid defence and denying them opportunities to get on the score board. Pressure forces mistakes, and we will look to capitalise on any that Saracens make.

Attacking specifics

• Play off 9. Parra to be key decision maker in the backs.
  
• Play in the right areas. We want to play possession rugby but in the damp conditions we will only do that in the right areas. Parra and Farrell will target the area behind Visser with the boot and we will get up quiclkly forcing him to kick and concede territory.
  
• With the damp conditions we will still look to play a possession game but will tighten things up a bit and if the offload is not 100% on we will take the contact and look to stay up and drive through before recycling when eventually taken to ground.
  
• Big carriers to run hard and straight in midfield off early phase ball.
  
• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• All opportunities for points with the boot to be taken by Parra or Farrell(penalties or drop goals).
  

Defensive specifics

• Darren Cave will be defensive captain.
  
• We will look to play a blitz defence with quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline and knock him back even further. Parra will sweep in behind.
  
• We will not overcommit to the breakdown. If a turnover is on, we will go for it, otherwise we will legally slow the ball and maintain a solid defensive line to blitz from.
  
• Maintain discipline and do not give away penalties.
  

Key Points

• We come in with confidence, having picked up points in every game so far this season and having got our first win last weekend. Saracens are under presure having lost 5 from 5 and pressure forces mistakes, which we have the players in the side to capitalise on.
  
• Settled players in key positions (2, 8, 9,10). We have good continuity in key jerseys and in difficult conditions this is important. For Saracens Smit and Lakafia make their first starts with this 8,9,10 combination never having played together before.
  
• We are solid defensively in midfield with real attacking threat out wide.
  
• We have no traditional fetcher, but with BdP in the side the balance of our pack is good as he is better at the breakdown than most opensides.
  

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London Wasps vs. Worcester Warriors
Light Rain, 12 degrees. 8mph winds

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Ben Daley	09. Mike Blair
02. Sean Cronin	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Mouritz Botha	11. Matt Banahan
05. Marco Wentzel (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Steve Mafi	13. George Pisi
07. Jonathan Poff	14. Tom Varndell
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Nathan Morris 17. Charlie Beech 18. Shaun Knight 19. Dan Tuohy 20. Dewald Potgieter 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Dan Bowden 23. Topsy Ojo

Tactics
We will look to our forwards to carry hard, attacking gaps in the Worcester defensive line, getting us over the gain line and onto the front foot. We will ensure our carriers have plenty of support, so we can continue our attacks.

We will look to recycle the ball by getting good numbers to the breakdown, with the first few players rucking past the ball to clear out the Worcester players, allowing Blair to get quick, clean ball for us to attack the space on offer. We will look to create mismatches in midfield and will target the outside shoulder of the Worcester players.

Line speed and aggression is key for us in defence, we will try and prevent Worcester from having time on the ball by having quick line speed and tackling their carriers before they reach the gain line, knocking them back and forcing them into mistakes, where we can exert pressure and try and get turnovers.

Preistland will look to kick in behind the Worcester wingers and target Malzieu and put us deep into their territory where we will look to really pressurize and go after their lineout.

Wentzel will be our main go to man, we will also look to use Mafi and Wilson at the tail of the lineout where we can launch attacks from and get our big centers running at the Worcester fly half, whom our back row will look to be in the face of all game.

With the ball in hand, we will look to punch holes in the Worcester defensive line and get the ball to our back three. Barritt will look to take the contact and give us line breaking options with Pisi running good outside lines, we will attack gaps and half gaps in the Worcester defensive line.

We will use Banahan as another crash ball option, coming in off his wing, looking to suck in Worcester defenders before spreading the ball and making use of the space.

At the scrum, on our own ball, we will look to turn the scrum legally to erase the Worcester back row from helping out in defence before starting our own attacks. We will look to control possession and be patient, recycling the ball through several phases with Blair and Preistland controlling our play.


Worcester Warriors
Manager - prop_lyd

01. Paul James	09 Dwayne Peel (c)
02. Richardt Strauss	10.Tom Heathcote
03. BJ Botha
04. Ollie Kohn	11. Sean Maitland
05. Luke Charteris	12. Olly Barkley (k)
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Matt Hopper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Julien Malzieu
08. Ryan Jones	15. Rob Cook

Subs:
16. Gary Botha 17. Nathan Catt 18. Chris Budgen 19. Shane Jennings 20. Ben Morgan 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Sam Vesty 23. Olly Morgan

Tactics
Forwards

Strong front row who will look to edge up on the tighthead to give Jones more time to pick the scrum. Strauss will be good for the wet weather work.

A strong 2nd row who will target the lineout and we will utilise the lineout as out main weapon of attack providing quick ball and allow us to maul with a very heavy and efficient pack.

Back row again is strong and we will look to counter act the breakdown as well as picking up and keeping the game tight.Kohn and Gorgodze will look to run off of 12-13 to create the gaps.

A good bench with old heads who can slow down the play and Morgan to bring on more power.
Wet weather pack to cause issues at the breakdown and play 'ball up the jumper's' rugby.


Backs

Heathcote and Barkley are to ping the ball into the corners unless an overlap has been created.. This is where we will use our lineout force. Heathcote will stand deep at times to create the space for our outside backs to hit the gaps.

Barkley will look for quick offloads to wingers or back row who will target the 9-10 channel to bring the ball back into our forwards. This should create overlaps and suck in the defence before quick ball out wide.

We have a strong back 3 and Cook is a strong clearer of lines. Malzieu brings the brute force and in defence will hold his own and Maitland can bring some flair. They will look to run as much ball as possible but not get isolated so we can keep to our gameplan.

After 30 minutes, if we are getting joy off 1st phase ball we will continue to use it but; for the first 30minutes it will be the forwards ball unless something is on.

Barkley will take all kicks at goal he is confident in.


Defence

We will use a banana defence. People have picked up on our 10-12 defence so we will make sure we have one of our stronger pack members on their shoulders to assist in the tackle and look for quick turnover ball. Any turnovers will be punted off the pitch in the oppositions half unless a massive gap is obvious.

IF THIS DEFENCE IS NOT WORKING then we will bring Malzieu in to stand at 12 and use his heavy hitting to prevent the ball being spun out wide. We will look to stop Wasps playing by slowing the ball down at the breakdown.

We will look to not commit too many at the breakdown so we can defend strongly from inside out and stop any gaps. If we see an available turnover we will take it but no silly penalties. Pressure will be put on their scrum half to use the ball quickly and put 10 under pressure.


Overall

Forward orientated play with experienced players. Backs to get us into good positions. And our pack and strong pack bench will be controlling the game and rolling us towards the opposition’s tryline. Jennings has had a number of sessions with us and will be brought on to cause problems at the breakdown against tired opposition.

We are very fired up, have a set of leaders in the squad, want another win and to rattle the opposition.

---

Sarries v Welsh.......

Will Driver go for it and get tactics in!?!?

It'll be emotional for me going back to Vicarage Road!

Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris

With three wins in a row Northampton Saints are beginning to build some momentum during the Rugby Championship and have made two changes to the team that beat London Wasps at Franklins Gardens last week.

Dammit Chris said "London Irish is a tough place to go and I felt that we could do with an extra carrying option in the pack with Bradley Davies, and I wanted to bring back Ben Foden into the backthree for that extra defensive stability he brings.

The pack battle is going to be very important this weekend, and I've been delighted with the form of Courtney (Lawes) and Dylan (Hartley) over the last few weeks, hopefully that will continue and they will both be with the England set up come the Autumn Internationals. If we can get our backs on the front foot then we have every chance of a win."

01. Sona Taumalolo	09 Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10.Matt Giteau
03. Carl Hayman
04. Bradley Davies	11. Leigh Halfpenny (k)
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Ashley Beck
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Julian Salvi	14. Chris Ashton
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rob Webber 17. Logovi'i Mulipola 18. Thomas Domingo 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22. George Ford 23. Siti Siviatu

Tactics

Overview - To play a game based on power, speed, pressure and aggression. To use the extra physicality and ball carrying power of our pack to gain an advantage for open play and look to get over the gainline and create gaps for our backline to exploit.

Aggressive defence to force mistakes and turnovers and will aim to target the breakdown for turnover ball to attack with. Light rain makes conditions perfect for our pack and backline, especially the backthree who are all ideally suited to the weather.

Pack/SetPiece

- strong, physical pack and an area we feel we can target Irish with. Big ball carriers throughout and will look to work through the phases and tie in Irish defenders before going wide to our backline.

- six internationals players to use in the front row that can be used throughout the 80mins and we will really target the scrum, look for penalties and assert dominance to get a good attacking platform here.

- target Lindsay at both the scrum and lineout.

- Bonnaire to control the calls and generate quick ball to attack from at the lineout. We will use Lawes to attack the Irish lineout and will aim to put Lindsay's throwing under a lot of pressure. We've got 4 good options with Davies, Lawes, Bonnaire and Parisse.

- The inform Salvi is a key figure at the breakdown&we are looking to really target this area - this week we have Taulalolo, Davies and Lawes to add more physicality in clearing out the rucks and if the ball is there to be won at the breakdown we will put numbers in and get the fast ball to launch attacks from.


Attack -

- feel we have a very strong pack that has more physicality and ball carriers than Irish, so should see more ball to attack with and have the option to go route one with the forwards - will aim to get Hartley,Taumalolo, Lawes, Davies and Parisse on the ball as much as we can early on and set the game up as a really physical confrontation.

- key is punching holes in the Irish midfield and getting the ball to our backthree in space - Simpson has a big role in making snipes around the fringes (on good form too!) and Giteau to act as key playmaker in bringing runners into the channels. Will look to send attacks down Yarde's channel and see how he handles the pressure.

- look for turnovers to attack Irish when they haven't set their defence, attack with speed and stretch them. Got a lot of try scorers and confident can score more tries than Irish and Halfpenny's boots to match Evans.

Defence -

- aggressive defence and we will look for Lawes to target the Evans/McAlister channel from the off - looking to force mistakes.

- will implement a blitz defence, with Tuilagi looking to marshall Pisi and keep the main Wasps playmaker out of the game.

Key points -

- really strong pack that is vital away from home, big ball carriers and very physical. Good form with 3 wins in a row and good try scoring form

- target Lindsay at the set piece and look to get the upper hand here, very strong scrum and lineout - Saints showed how important this was in real life v Wasps last week.

- strong impact bench that can make a difference towards the end of the game.

- conditions suit the team perfectly in both forwards and the backline.

- great form in real life - Hartley, Lawes, Bonnaire, Parisse, Giteau, Tuilagi and all back three.

"]Gloucester RFC
Manager – Mat

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09 Will Genia
02. Joe Grey	10.Ryan Lamb
03. Nicola Mas
04. Richie Grey	11. Zac guildford
05. George Robson	12. Matt Scott
06. Steven Ferris	13. Richard Kahui
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. JSD
08. Immanol Harinordoqouy (c)	15. Iain Balshaw

Subs:
16. Nick Wood 17. Jamie George 18. Rupert Harden 19. Julien Pierre 20. Jamie Heaslip21. Dan Robson22. Charlie Sharples 23. Berrick Barnes [/quote]


Glos welcome bath for the west country derby. It is pooring with rain and we have picked a side for the conditions.

Tactics

We are aiming to keep the ball and play proper wet weather rugby.

We have picked a huge scrummaging front 5 and each of our players will be looking to win their individual battle. We believe that man for man our front 5 is better and they will be key to winning the game.

We will aim to be rock steady on our own ball and look to pick up at 8 a lot to keep hold of the ball and play our possession game. On their ball we will be looking to dismantle their scrum and take their front row to the cleaners.

The other area of the set piece we are aiming to dominate is the lineout. We have hari grey robson Lapandry and ferris. On our own ball we will be looking to win and maul us in to good field positions to launch attacks.

We will aim to steal there ball and further dominate possession.

We will be targetting the breakdown to make sure we win our ball easily and disrupt theirs.

General play.

Our pack is full of carriers and we will be looking to keep the ball and really take it to bath. The aim is to maintain possession and get in to the Right areas where genia can orchestrate things.
He will look to hit lamb who will either nudge it to the corners or where in right position look to go wide. Scott is a kicking and distributing 12 and will slot in to ten where necessary. Kahui will also be used as a crash option to keep hold of ball and start building again.

We see ourselves as having a class bench of forwards and will look To get them on early on in to second half as this game will be tiring. Barnes will come on to steer us home.

Any penalties in range will be kicked. We will also employ a blitz defence as handling will be difficult and we can pressure bath this way.

Who's this Matt Scorr??? Sounds good

The element of surprise is my tactic.....

Rain for 4 of the 6 matches this week. Be interesting to see how that affects peoples selections and tactics.

Always happy with light rain - it's heavy rain that I could struggle in when I don't have guys like Albacete and Hernandez playing! Quite a few teams you wouldn't want to go to when the heaven's open, some huge packs around!

You've got Gray in twice matt

Cheers Pooly. Keep doing that

Leicester Tigers have named their side to travel to Sale Sharks this week.

Tigers are the only side with a 100% record in the Aviva Premiership, and will travel to Sale full of confidence.

Tigers continue to freshen up their pack, with Brian Mujati, Alistair Hargreaves and Thomas Waldrom coming into the side that beat Champions Newcastle Falcons last week.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Alistair Hargreaves	11. Ugo Monye
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Tom Youngs 18. Dan Cole 19. Pascal Pape 20. Tom Croft 21. Michael Claasens 22. Brock James 23. Dominic Waldouck

Tactics:

We will play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game, the power of our gigantic pack and the strength in our set piece.

- Ability to play in different ways - we're not here to kick the ball away. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Mujati and Sheridan to look to really get the shove on against Schuster and Zirakishvilli.  Jenkins and Cole to pile the pressure on against Kakovin and Ducalcon in the second half.

- Attack at all lineouts. Our lineout is led by Horwill; with Hargreaves, SOB and Scaysbrook as our other jumping options. 
Some great lineout stealers in our ranks who will pressure every one of Paice's throws.

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Sale defence. The likes of Waldrom, SOB, Scaysbrook, Moore, Hargreaves and Horwill to be used to crash through the Sale defence.
Look to play an offloading game, with runners always supporting.

- Scaysbrook is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. With Scaysbrook, SOB, and BOD, we feel our breakdown play will be crucial today. 

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili our general pulling the strings. We want Yach and Wilko to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack and looking for where the gaps are. We want 12T and BOD on the ball looking to send our back three into space.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Yachvili to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Unload our powerful bench to impact the game in the second half.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.


Key Points:

Gigantic Pack
Average weight of 18st per player, we will look to dominate Sale's pack physically allowing our HB's quick, clean ball.

Form and Momentum
5 wins out of 5, having just beat League Champions Newcastle last week - we are absolutely flying. 

Second Half
We feel we can get a massive advantage as the game wears on, and will look to the likes of Jenkins, Cole, Pape and Croft to really give us the upper hand in the second half.

Wet weather team with 5 changes to keep the squad fresh and to add some experience. Jennings will have had 3 days with us so is on the bench and if he comes on will be used at the back of the lineout. We have selected a wet weather pack.

01. Paul James	09 Dwayne Peel (c)
02. Richardt Strauss	10.Tom Heathcote
03. BJ Botha
04. Ollie Kohn	11. Sean Maitland
05. Luke Charteris	12. Olly Barkley (k)
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Matt Hopper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Julien Malzieu
08. Ryan Jones	15. Rob Cook

Subs:
16. Gary Botha 17. Nathan Catt 18. Chris Budgen 19. Shane Jennings 20. Ben Morgan 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Sam Vesty 23. Olly Morgan

Tactics
Forwards

Strong front row who will look to edge up on the tighthead to give Jones more time to pick the scrum. Strauss will be good for the wet weather work.

A strong 2nd row who will target the lineout and we will utilise the lineout as out main weapon of attack providing quick ball and allow us to maul with a very heavy and efficient pack.

Back row again is strong and we will look to counter act the breakdown as well as picking up and keeping the game tight.Kohn and Gorgodze will look to run off of 12-13 to create the gaps.

A good bench with old heads who can slow down the play and Morgan to bring on more power.
Wet weather pack to cause issues at the breakdown and play 'ball up the jumper's' rugby.


Backs

Heathcote and Barkley are to ping the ball into the corners unless an overlap has been created.. This is where we will use our lineout force. Heathcote will stand deep at times to create the space for our outside backs to hit the gaps.

Barkley will look for quick offloads to wingers or back row who will target the 9-10 channel to bring the ball back into our forwards. This should create overlaps and suck in the defence before quick ball out wide.

We have a strong back 3 and Cook is a strong clearer of lines. Malzieu brings the brute force and in defence will hold his own and Maitland can bring some flair. They will look to run as much ball as possible but not get isolated so we can keep to our gameplan.

After 30 minutes, if we are getting joy off 1st phase ball we will continue to use it but; for the first 30minutes it will be the forwards ball unless something is on.

Barkley will take all kicks at goal he is confident in.


Defence

We will use a banana defence. People have picked up on our 10-12 defence so we will make sure we have one of our stronger pack members on their shoulders to assist in the tackle and look for quick turnover ball. Any turnovers will be punted off the pitch in the oppositions half unless a massive gap is obvious.

IF THIS DEFENCE IS NOT WORKING then we will bring Malzieu in to stand at 12 and use his heavy hitting to prevent the ball being spun out wide. We will look to stop Wasps playing by slowing the ball down at the breakdown.

We will look to not commit too many at the breakdown so we can defend strongly from inside out and stop any gaps. If we see an available turnover we will take it but no silly penalties. Pressure will be put on their scrum half to use the ball quickly and put 10 under pressure.


Overall

Forward orientated play with experienced players. Backs to get us into good positions. And our pack and strong pack bench will be controlling the game and rolling us towards the opposition’s tryline. Jennings has had a number of sessions with us and will be brought on to cause problems at the breakdown against tired opposition.

We are very fired up, have a set of leaders in the squad, want another win and to rattle the opposition.





Hope these are ok....doing them on phone.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Chris Brooker	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Euan Murray
04. Jarrad Hoeata	11. Stuart Hogg
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. George North
08. Tom Guest	15. Rob Miller

16. Davit Kubrashvilli 17. Will Tanner 18. Jon Golding 19. Tom Donnelly 20. Akapusi Qera 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Maxime Medard 23. Isiah Toeava

Overall: Look to dominate in the scrum and use that as a platform to really bring our backs in who will be looking to run at the defence with bad intentions.

Forwards: We will really look to attack and come out on top of the scrum. We have two of the best props in Europe in Murray and Healy and we feel we can really punish the Saints scrum, pushing them backwards. With our second row partnership we are looking at Jarrad Hoeata to provide the grunt necessary and offering the banker ball while Graham Kitchener will be trying to retain our lineout something we feel he is very capable of doing.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Guest, Haskell and Healy dangerous runners who can really create gaps for our backs. We will be looking for lots of energy from our forwards to open up holes to be exploited. Our carrying is somewhere we feel we have a distinct advantage. We will really look to target Ryan Lamb with our carries. At the breakdown we will look for David Pocock and James Haskell to win turnover ball or manage to slow down opposition ball by going through opponents. They will both be looking to cause as much trouble as possible.

Backs: We will be looking to play running rugby with the ball in our hands. Using our forwards to create space we will look for quick ball and get the likes of Miller, Hogg and North who are all deadly runners, running at the Sale defences. Wigglesworth will control the tempo of the backs and will look to keep the backs calm and composed. We will look to get Allen + Rougerie involved in the game as much as possible. Hodgson will look to get involved in our attack, linking our play

Defence: Look to wrap the defensive line. Look for Pocock to put pressure on Lamb who we feel will struggle.

Substitutes: We have some really good options on the bench who we feel can really add to the game. Golding and Kubrashvilli can come in and help strengthen our front row. Donnelly will look to come on and shore up the lineout. Akapusi Qera is a quality player who can really cause trouble around the park. FDP will look to control our tempo late in the game. Toeava and Medard have the attacking spark that can real create something for our side.

Michael Harris is set to play for Aus this week matey.

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Ben Daley	09. Mike Blair
02. Sean Cronin	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Mouritz Botha	11. Matt Banahan
05. Marco Wentzel (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Steve Mafi	13. George Pisi
07. Jonathan Poff	14. Tom Varndell
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Nathan Morris 17. Charlie Beech 18. Shaun Knight 19. Dan Tuohy 20. Dewald Potgieter 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Dan Bowden 23. Topsy Ojo

Tactics
We will look to our forwards to carry hard, attacking gaps in the Worcester defensive line, getting us over the gain line and onto the front foot. We will ensure our carriers have plenty of support, so we can continue our attacks.

We will look to recycle the ball by getting good numbers to the breakdown, with the first few players rucking past the ball to clear out the Worcester players, allowing Blair to get quick, clean ball for us to attack the space on offer. We will look to create mismatches in midfield and will target the outside shoulder of the Worcester players.

Line speed and aggression is key for us in defence, we will try and prevent Worcester from having time on the ball by having quick line speed and tackling their carriers before they reach the gain line, knocking them back and forcing them into mistakes, where we can exert pressure and try and get turnovers.

Preistland will look to kick in behind the Worcester wingers and target Malzieu and put us deep into their territory where we will look to really pressurize and go after their lineout.

Wentzel will be our main go to man, we will also look to use Mafi and Wilson at the tail of the lineout where we can launch attacks from and get our big centers running at the Worcester fly half, whom our back row will look to be in the face of all game.

With the ball in hand, we will look to punch holes in the Worcester defensive line and get the ball to our back three. Barritt will look to take the contact and give us line breaking options with Pisi running good outside lines, we will attack gaps and half gaps in the Worcester defensive line.

We will use Banahan as another crash ball option, coming in off his wing, looking to suck in Worcester defenders before spreading the ball and making use of the space.

At the scrum, on our own ball, we will look to turn the scrum legally to erase the Worcester back row from helping out in defence before starting our own attacks. We will look to control possession and be patient, recycling the ball through several phases with Blair and Preistland controlling our play.

Saracens
Manager – Driver

01.Matt Mullen	09.Jean-Marc Doussain
02.John Smit	10.Francois Trinh-Duc (K)
03.Craig Mitchell
04.Lionel Nallet	11.Mark Cueto
05.Ali Williams	12.Chris Bell
06.Joe Van Nikirk(c)	13.Henry Trinder
07.Ross Rennie	14.Tim Visser
08.Rapheal Lakafia	15.Freddie Burns (k)

16.Hika Elliot 17.Max Lahiff 18.Phil Swainstone 18.Tim Swinson 19.Luke Narraway 20.Dewaldt Duvenage 21.Paddy Jackson 22.Adam Thompstone

Tactics


This is a big game for us and we will stick to a simple game plan and limit our mistakes through this. Our forwards will work hard in the tight to ensure we keep the possession and make the Welsh pack work hard with runners coming round the corner with the likes of Cueto and Visser looking to get involved from the wing and run at the 10 channel from deep.

Attacking wise.

1. Plenty of carriers in the team, ask questions of the Welsh team with the likes of JVN , Lakafia Visser , Bell and Trinder running at them
   
2. JMD and FTD to play the percentages , keep a level head throughout. kick when we have and use the ball when the oppertunity presents itself
   
3. High tempo in the attack with the ball presented in front of them

Blitz defense with plenty of big hitters and 9 sweeping behind to cover any kicks.


Home advantage - plenty of pressure on Welsh on the road and the Saracens crowd right behind us in this huge game.

More to follow.

London Welsh make one change to the matchday 23 that beat Gloucester last weekend for this weeks visit to Vicarage Road to take on Saracens. The starting XV remains the same, with fit again Tom Johnson replacing Ofisa Treviranus on the bench. Head coach Ozzy3213 had this to say;-

"We thought long and hard about the make up of our side this week, and on balance we felt that the guys who performed so well last weekend deserved to start again. We know how we want to play, and will be looking to impose our gameplan on Saracens from the first whistle to last. This will be a tough encounter without doubt, but I am confident that our guys can continue the good form that they have shown in recent weeks."

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Owen Farrell
03. Adam Jones
04. Nathan Hines	11. Matt Jess
05. George Skivington	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Kevin McLaughlin	13. Darren Cave
07. Thierry Dusautoir ©	14. Christian Wade
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Louis Ludik

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. David Wilson 19. James Hanks 20. Tom Johnson 21. Charlie Davies 22. Butch James 23. Ross Chisholm

Tactics

Basic Game Plan

Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. Focus will be on winning the gainline collisons in both attack and defence. In order to do this we have picked a very big pack to try to physically dominate this area of the game. We will look to apply pressure to Saracens by keeping the ball for long periods and wearing them down defensively, and also by maintaining a solid defence and denying them opportunities to get on the score board. Pressure forces mistakes, and we will look to capitalise on any that Saracens make.

Attacking specifics

• Play off 9. Parra to be key decision maker in the backs.
  
• Play in the right areas. We want to play possession rugby but in the damp conditions we will only do that in the right areas. Parra and Farrell will target the area behind Visser with the boot and we will get up quiclkly forcing him to kick and concede territory.
  
• With the damp conditions we will still look to play a possession game but will tighten things up a bit and if the offload is not 100% on we will take the contact and look to stay up and drive through before recycling when eventually taken to ground.
  
• Big carriers to run hard and straight in midfield off early phase ball.
  
• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• All opportunities for points with the boot to be taken by Parra or Farrell(penalties or drop goals).
  

Defensive specifics

• Darren Cave will be defensive captain.
  
• We will look to play a blitz defence with quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline and knock him back even further. Parra will sweep in behind.
  
• We will not overcommit to the breakdown. If a turnover is on, we will go for it, otherwise we will legally slow the ball and maintain a solid defensive line to blitz from.
  
• Maintain discipline and do not give away penalties.
  

Key Points

• We come in with confidence, having picked up points in every game so far this season and having got our first win last weekend. Saracens are under presure having lost 5 from 5 and pressure forces mistakes, which we have the players in the side to capitalise on.
  
• Settled players in key positions (2, 8, 9,10). We have good continuity in key jerseys and in difficult conditions this is important. For Saracens Smit and Lakafia make their first starts with this 8,9,10 combination never having played together before.
  
• We are solid defensively in midfield with real attacking threat out wide.
  
• We have no traditional fetcher, but with BdP in the side the balance of our pack is good as he is better at the breakdown than most opensides.
  

Best of luck Pete.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Soane Tonga’uiha	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rory Best	10. Toby Flood
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Geoff Parling	12. Sonny Bill-Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Lowe
07. Heinrich Brussow	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O’Connor

16. Lee Mears 17. Clement Ric 18. Fabien Barcella 19. Ed Slater 20. Kelly Brown 21. Luke Burgess 22. Ben Williams 23. Miles Benjamin


Tactics

HOME ADVANTAGE – Won every game at home in over 2 years
BACKLINE – Major talent and game breakers in backline

General – High intensity, quick passing game. Look to keep the ball alive in the forwards and use the offload to keep the tempo high. Play the wind if needed and attack the opposition lineout.

FORWARDS

Set Piece:

Scrum – With the good conditions and minimal restarts expected we’ll be looking to use the scrum as a restart and get the ball in and out and provide quick ball to our backline. If a glaring weakness is seen in the opposition we’ll look to keep the ball in longer but this is the call of the pack captain. Strong bench options to put squeeze on in 2nd half.

Lineout – quick ball off the top using Parling as primary caller, also look to use Robshaw at the tail and Faletau, Thorn to offer front ball. Target opposition ball and contest outside of 22 especially. Good jumping options throughout side. In opposition half look for Best (one of safest throws in game) to throw to middle/back which generates quicker/attacking ball. With our midfield coming into the attacking line flat we’ll look to open up the opposition midfield.

Breakdown – Look to target breakdown throughout game and really slow opposition attacking ball down and limit the opposition FH’s options forcing him to kick. Brussow to lead the attack with Faletau & Robshaw providing a devastating trio. Will look to get Thorn/Tonga in at rucks who’ll clear out and give our backrow the ideal opportunity to get hands on ball

Defence – Look to use the blitz defence and get in the face of the opposition preventing any momentum. Youngs to sweep in behind and look out for any grubbers.

BACKS

Halfbacks – Look to get fast attacking ball and Youngs to play how he does he does for Leicester by raising the tempo and attacking the fringes. Flood to play flat to the line and bring SBW into play.

Centres – Look to Get SBW hitting it hard through the centre and draw in the opposition defence. Also look to use him as decoy with Flood using the miss pass and getting Lowe on the outside or JOC through the middle/outside.

Back 3 – Serious gas and power to exploit the opposition out wide. JOC to come into the line and will mix it up off Flood. Look to exploit Cuthbert & Bowe height in the opposition half with Flood putting in the cross-field kick.

POINTS:

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Julien Dupuy
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Johann Muller	12. Luke McAllister
06. Keegan Daniel	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pieterson
08. Netani Talei	15. Delon Armitage

16. Matt Stevens 17. James Buckland 18. WP Nel 19. Stuart Hooper 20. Hendrie Fourie 21. Neal De Kock 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Sireli Naqalevuki

Team News

London Irish hand a start to Pacific Islander Netani Talei at number 8. The big ball carrier replaces Springbok Pierre Spies. In the backs, Luke McAllister and Mathieu Bastereaud come in for Sireli Naqalevuki and Max Evans.

'With it set to rain, we wanted Netani to come in to really take the game to Saints and repeatedly get us over that gain line. Pierre deserves a rest and Netani brings a slightly different aspect to the game, his physicality and ball carrying will really test Saints defence. Mac coming back gives us great kicking options and playmaking ability playing outside Nick Evans.'

Tactics

- Play the game in the right areas. Dupuy, Evans and Mac to dictate this. We can still attack and will still run the ball but also we want to dominate territory. Our 9,10,12 are on good form and can control the game for us. We will look to pressure Simpson, whos real life form has been shaky, and try to disrupt the service to Saints backline and spoil their flow.

- Armitage will look to dominate the breakdown, win us penalties and secure quick ball. With Evans and Mac in attack we have great playmakers who can put people like Bast, JP, Yarde and Delon in space. JP will come off his wing and look for gaps to be put through.

- Evans to kick all pens for goal, if out of range go for touch. Muller is our main lineout jumper but Garvey and Daniel will also be used to keep Saints guessing. We will look for quick ball off the top and use Bast as a decoy runner as well as ball carrier to get over the gainline.

- Saints have a dangerous back three so we will not kick loose to them. Any kicks will be in to space with Yarde and JP putting as much pressure as possible on the opposition.

- We will target the scrum with two big powerful scrummaging props on our side. We will look to win as many pens as poss to kick points from.

Will name team tonight. Still no interweb in manchester.

Pooly you've named Cuthbert on both wings. Actually making a trip up to Newcastle myself this weekend as Chester play Percy Park. Not playing as suspended but looking forward to the sites that can be viewed from the Ramada gateshead.

Cheers Steve, you off out in Newcastle??

I'v been to Percy Park a few times Steve , It's a bitch to park at as it's slap bang in a housing estate. good 20 minutes from Newcastle.

Most self sufficent club you'll ever go to outside top 2 leagues.

I don't know. Not planning it but it might happen.

Got Michael Stephenson at 15 which will be interesting, quality player

Yeah i'v seen that they signed him , rugby round that area is a bit weird at the moment. Lot's of money being splashed about.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Stephen Sykes	11. David Strettle
05. Christian Day	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Keith Earls
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Vasil Kakovin 17. Darren Dawdiuk 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvestic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Kyle Eastmond

Key Points

• Fantastic record at home. In the last two years we have lost just one game at home. Games between Sale & Tigers have always been tight so home support is massive.

• We come into this game with some momentum ourselves with two good wins including a great performance away to Bath.

• Fantastic real life form throughout the side with the likes of Zirka, Day, POM, Pickles, the halfbacks, Steyn, Earls & Bendy all going really well.

Tactics

We will look to play a fast paced attacking game using big carriers running of the 9/10/12 axis to get us over the gain line and generate quick ball. Keeping the ball alive is crucial so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload and get us further over the gain line. Our back three will look to get involved as much as possible running support lines of the halfbacks and midfield looking for the inside ball or offload. If for whatever reason we aren’t getting quick ball, we will look to take control of territory with the boots of Sexton & Steyn and force Tigers to come at us from deep.

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to get at least parity at the scrum. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much more room as possible to attack from.

• In Tigers territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs.

• In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

• We will look to blitz aggressively, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Tigers momentum before it can get going.

• Danny Care will play sweeper and cover any chips or grubbers behind the defensive line.

• We will leave two players sitting deep to cover any kicks and they will look to counter attack of any loose ball.

• With the blitz in operation, we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it hard and fast. If the ball looks available we will flood the breakdown with POM and Quedragao looking to get their hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow the ball down and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Karl Dickson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Quade Cooper
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Taku Ngwenya
08. Dave Denton	15. Rob Kearney

16. Matthew Rees 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Jerome Thion 20. Carl Fearns 21. Lee Dickson 22. Greig Laidlaw 23. Luke Morahan

Tactics

We are quite simply going to play like Quins do in real life. We are going to stretch Newcastle with carriers and pace throughout the side. We are going to look to control the set piece and have Cooper take the ball to the line and put others into space. Karl Dickson is going to play the game at pace and get quick ball out to our backs.

We will look for our forwards to carry off 9 and 10 in the early phases but then we are going to get into wider channels and get the ball into the hands of our dangermen in the back ground.

We need our forwards to ruck honestly and to get us quick ball which we require. Whilst we have a mobile pack we also have a very powerful pack which will hold its own in an arm wrestle.

Important to win collisions and look for offloads in attack to keep the game at a quick pace. The likes of Marler, Brits, Afoa, Wood, Warburton and Denton will love this in our pack.

We will look to keep the ball in hand for long periods so as to tire Newcastle and forcing them to make lots of tackles.In the backs we will look to explout the gaps and use the electric pace we have in our backline.

In defence we hammer into Newcastle at 100%. Put everyone of there players under pressure and look to force errors. Warburton and Wood to marshall the breakdown and slow down Newcastle ball. Borthwick to ruin Newcastle line as he has been doing for Saracens.

Predictions are OPEN

only have time for score predos today fellas. Will hopefully be done early afternoon

Gloucester 23 - 21 Bath

Up front to Gloucester. Half backs even and Outside backs to Bath. Overall Gloucester will have better ball and should have enough for the win at home.

London Irish 24 - 22 Northampton

Packs are close. Scrums even as are lineouts with both packs having carriers. Halfbacks to Irish in the conditions. Outside backs to Northampton. Overall very tough to call. Just giving it to Irish.

Sale 25 - 23 Leicester

Front 5 to Leicester with the back row to Sale. Halfbacks to Sale with outside backs pretty even, but I think Sale half backs with get the backs moving much better than Leicesters. Good contest.

Saracens 18 - 17 London Welsh

Think Welsh will get a nudge at the scrum but the rest of the packs are even, perhaps a little more carrying in the Saracens back 5 but plenty for Welsh as well. Half backs even as are the outside backs. Really tough to call this one.

Wasps 22 - 21 Worcester

Setpiece pretty even but Worcesters half backs take the advantage in the pack. Half backs and outside backs to Wasps with a strong unit. Another really tough battle to call. Just to Wasps in the end.

sorry lads wont have time for reasons as am off to urban golf in Soho in 15 minutes and wont be back from london till midday tomorrow then straight off to the madejski. so just scores for this week....

Wasps 24-22 Worcester
Saracens 19-19 Welsh
Newcastle 26-24 Quins
Sale 25-22 Tigers
Glos 25-23 Bath

Newcastle Falcons 24-20 Harlequins

Very similar packs in this one. Can’t see either side getting at the scrum or lineout in a big way. Similar combinations in the 2nd and back row and similar form. Pack battle would be fantastic to watch in this one. Halfbacks fairly tight. The real life link up works for Tigers. Quins will be punished on defence though with Cooper being got at. Back threes are fairly tight but more form for Falcons in midfield. Home advantage and a little more at halfback and midfield see Falcons out.

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Gloucester 17-12 Bath Rugby

Although there’s some great propping options for Glaws feel the 2nd row won’t add much at scrum time. Glaws will get an advantage but with a real big lump in the row they would dominate here. Lineout wise Glaws will pick off a few balls and perhaps should have gone for a more territorial game then possession based. Good back row battle but Glaws have that little more quality there. In the backs Bath will find it easier to get over the gain line but they will be looking at poor ball in this one and don’t see them doing enough to nick a result in the conditions.

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London Irish 20-17 Northampton Saints

Scrum wise Irish to get a little edge with Castro getting at his man a bit. Good battle at the lineout and neither side will get an edge. Bonnaire has helped Chris out massively here. Both back rows will get through plenty of work but Irish with the stronger carrying game will find it easier to get over the gain line. At halfback Irish better suited for the damp conditions. Saints have an edge in the back threes with a great unit. Not sure how much ball either back 3 will see with the 13s on show though. In midfield its tight with two decent units. Tight game but the extra control of the Irish halfbacks sees it through for me.

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Saracens 12-19 London Welsh

Can’t see either side getting much leeway from the set piece. The Welsh front 5 will get through a lot more work around the park though. Back row battle is fairly tight but the Welsh line up will disrupt the opposition a little more. Halfbacks tight. Welsh with great kicking options and control but Sarries have the ability to open up the defence at any time. Back threes very tight again but midfield goes to Welsh with a classy unit. More detailed game plan from Welsh is a plus. Welsh have the pack to get into the ascendancy and see them dictating the tempo of this game.

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London Wasps 13-17 Worcester Warriors

Good battle at the set piece but Worcester will get more work out of their front 5 particularly hitting rucks around the park. The Worcester backrow has an extra bit of ability and some superb form and with the help of their front 5 will really get around the park. In the backs the back three are fairly similar quality wise although some good form for Wasps. Midfield goes to Wasps with a strong unit. Worcester shored up a bit defensively with good tactics but will still be caught occasionally. Halfbacks are one a piece. Worcester have gone about it the right way and will make this a real pack battle. Wasps have the better backs but will struggle for clean ball and will be on the back foot for most the game.

Falcons 22-21 Quins
2 good front rows edged by Falcons but the Quins 2nd row will ensure they don't go backwards. Prefer the Quins back row but Falcons will hold their own here, Quins'll slow down just enough ball. Hb's to Falcons, SBW has a bit of class but isn't doing great in Japan whereas Roberts is showing glimpses of what he's capable of. Back 3 to Falcons by a bit here and home advantage'll see them edge it.

Glos 15-12 Bath
In these conditions Glos have picked a very strong pack who will edge the scrum and be able to take ball on well. Bath's back row will hold Glos but under the pressure in the scrum they may struggle a bit, Grey is performing well at the moment. Prefer the Bath hb's in the rain to control the game. Centres to Glos and back 3 evens here. Glos have a little bit more off the bench although not sure whether Barnes'll do much so Bath may sneak a few points back. Pack wins this low scoring game.

Irish 19-21 Saints
Very strong Saints pack who will gain the advantage. Irish will hold their own come lineout and their backrow may get a few turnovers. Looking at the backs there is just a bit more for Saints in their quality overall. Evans'll keep the scoreboard ticking but the Saints centre pairing stop Irish's playmakers. In this weather Irish may have a better suited backline but Saints are no jokers here and get the away win.

Sale 19-19 Tigers
Huge battle here!! Front 5 goes to Tigers and with excellent back up to come on! Backrow is even with neither side getting the edge on the other at the breakdown. Very close in the half backs as well, Care will just have a bit more spark I think. Looking at both sets of backs they will do well with ball in hand but I reckon Sexton may give better running ball. Although Wilko'll get the positions. Sorry guys but I really really can't split this one.

Sarries 16-17 Welsh
Another huge game this weekend!! Welsh do have the stronger front row. And 2 good 2nd rows both with lineout specialists meaning not many balls will be lost there. Good carrying-wet weather back rows with both 8's doing well. 6 to Sarries but 7 to Welsh. Not a Farrell fan but he will put Welsh in good territory. 2 good centre pairings edged by Welsh with JD2 doing well although, when confident Trinder will blitz through and this is something he's good at. Back 3 to Sarries with the cool head of Cueto calming the storm here. Need to think about home advantage but also the fact that Welsh won their last game so will be confident. Sarries have pressure to win. I'm going to say Welsh will take this due to their front 5. Again a very hard one to predict and it could honestly have gone either way.

Newcastle 23-22 quins

Hard game to rate. Have recalculated a few times. Home advantage worth 3 and to win away you need to win forward battle. Quins do this just.

Front row quins- great form all 3. Falcons have tonga who is a faded force around park( most saints fans laugh how we walks everywhere) and pdj who has gone backwards however both are strong scrummagers and best on fire.

Second row one a piece bakkies and Parling best

Quins backrow best in game as a unit. Incredible unit Steve has everything and could be lions backrow.

Half backs is where falcons squeak this

If quins had lee Dickson and burns they would win.

Cooper has been poor and would be got at. Also think quins should have kept
It tighter. Possession tactics Steve employs was right but maybe less moving it side to side as I think that's where you are weakest.

Roberts is gaining form and jj looks lost but in a while quins centre pairing will be top. Two top 4 challengers. Quins better pack but not by enough to win at falcons.

Falcons form issues and sbw and thorn will fade now in Japan but they are champs for a reason

Irish 22-22 saints

Front row even. Castro not what he was but still top. Saints take second row easily. Backrow shaded by saints. Saints back 5 much better
As unit and would
Win game
But

Irish half backs Significantly better.

Back 3 good battle Jp and halfpenny standouts. Irish half backs
Nick a draw. Giteau serious weakness at 10 Chris he never plays there and is inspired at 12. Playing best rugby In Europe at 12. Play him
There. Ford giteau too lightweight though

Sale 18-20 Leicester first time I have gone against sale all year but for me Leicester front 5 and bench forwards win it.better scrum
And lineout

Care and sexton keep it close as they control game.I can't see how sale
Will score their backline does
Not have much creativity Steyn and freaun one dimensional. Hook would see them play a much better game and maybe win

2 great sides but Leicester bench wins it.

Newcastle 23-20 Quins
Two incredible sets of forwards. Wow. Hardly anything between them. Slight advantage maybe to Quins but its so close. Halfbacks to Newcastle and will edge the rest of the backs to Newcastle.

Irish 23-25 Saints
Small advantage to Saints in the forwards here I'd say. Evans key factor in the half backs but prefer rest of the Saints backs. Close but just about to Saints

Sale 21-20 Tigers
Tigers have a really strong front five and I feel have an advantage here. Overall take the forwards but only just with Sale having a stronger back row. Sale have better half backs and rest of the backs about equal. Strong bench from Tigers but Sale are at home.

Sarries 17-18 Welsh
Overall think Welsh have just enough about them. Stronger half backs and front row should just about get them through.

Wasps 18-15 Warriors
Just about prefer the Warriors forwards but the Wasps backs. If it wasn't Heathcote at 10 I'd have more confidence with Warriors but he may struggle

Saracens 18-18 welsh

Welsh back 5 better and stop welsh winning. Ftd and burns should swap as FTD played there internationally.

Outside backs shaded by welsh as is front row. Not enough for win though. Fasivalu would have made welsh much better on front foot

Wasps 16-14 warriors

Worcester pack just a bit better but wasps half backs and backs win it.

Heathcote a liability at this level prop. Barkley or
Anyone would be better. Warriors backrow class

Newcastle Falcons 20 Harlequins 20

Just can't call it really as so even overall. In a couple of weeks if Youngs gets sharp and back to form as he showed he might do last night, then he would be the difference. I see Falcons with home advantage nudging ahead, but I think the Quins bench has enough to snatch a draw at the death.


Gloucester 16 Bath Rugby 10

Difficult game in poor conditions with neither 10 way ahead of the other in terms of controlling a game like this. Man for man I would go for Gloucester in 3 of the 4 key jerseys for me (2,8,9) which in the wet is even more crucial. With that edge, and hat home, and with an advantage in the lineout I think Gloucester win a low scorer comfortably.


London Irish 22 Northampton Saints 22

As with the Falcons v Quins game there is little in it in terms of personnel. One place Saints have a definite edge is at hooker, but I give Irish the edge at 10 with Giteau having played all his rugby at 12 this season. No real give in the lineout, scrum, or physicality of both sides, and exactly the same as Falcons v Quins I see Irish getting in front with home advantage but the Saints bench rescuing them late on.


Sale Sharks 21 Leicester Tigers 23

I really like the Sale side, think it's a well balanced, functional pack, but in this game I just think Tigers have a bit more in some key areas, namely their physicality, a stronger bench, and a big jump in class at hooker. Close one, but with edges in those areas and a very in form 10, I think Tigers have enough to get a great away win.


London Wasps 16 Worcester Warriors 17

Tough call this one, and has taken me the longest to come to a result. Heathcote I have puzzled long and hard over, and concluded that in some matches he would struggle in this game, but I can see him being given a good platform by his pack in this one. Conversely Priestland has been hit and miss so far this season, and I think that Wasps here could struggle with the physicality of the Worcester pack, which means he won't have great ball and I can see him imploding a little. Ultimately I think the pack that prop has put together wins them the game here, with a great balance and loads of physicality to it. Close game though.

Gloucester 16-15 Bath

Edge in the front row for Gloucester in poor conditions will allow them to edge scrum. Bit of a lack of grunt for Gloucester in the engine room and massive contrast in form with Robson great and Gray poor. Big carrying options for Bath in engine room but Gloucester will sneak lineout. Not much in two v good back rows.

Bath probably just edge halfbacks as a unit for conditions but Genia the standout. Backs again probably just side with Bath throughout and perfectly set out for conditions. Baths backs much stronger but Gloucester at home and edging set piece in conditions is key.

Irish 23-20 Saints

Big scrum advantage for Irish and Saints will struggle here (luckily not heavy rain so not as bad as Gloucester game). Good grunty 2nd rows for both, think the Saints combo works well with Bonnaire calling the lineout(astute signing Chris and transforms your set up). Back row just shades to Irish but two good units.

Slight issues with Saints half backs and Irish step up here especially in conditions. Simpson playing well but Evans big step up at 10 and struggle to rate Giteau here with him not playing there for a few years. Nothing in centres in titanic physical match up, Saints back 3 a step up but Irish strong. Irish have edge and with Evans dictating will ease through.

Sale 22-22 Tigers

Great front 5 battle and nothing in it. Similar in back rows but little edge in form in the pack for Sale. Little edge back to Tigers in backs, some good form. Earls has been great for Munster. Very very tight and just see a draw on cards with some good form (ESP Tigers).

Saracens 27-22 Welsh

Good scrum advantage for Welsh but not massive issue in damp conditions although will give Welsh points with Parra's boot. See Sarries edging lineout though. Bit more in back 5 of scrum for Sarries, especially in back row which Sarries will control.

Nothing in the 9's, Doussain in better form but Parra extra class. TD complete step up at 10 though and give Sarries edge. Nothing in 13's but JD big step up at 12, Bell strong defensively but not sure at 12. Cave an odd shout for defensive captain as he struggles at times for Ulster in defense, great going forward. Sarries better back 3 by a fair bit. Welsh big scrum but think Sarries edge past here and strong Sarries back row and halfbacks give good platform.

Wasps 20-20 Worcester

Great matchups, esp front 5. Warriors stronger back row but Wasps halfbacks and centres keep it tight.

Newcastle Falcons 18 Harlequins 15

Falcons better in most positions , step up at the half backs with Dickson not even 1st choice at Quins in real life so would struggle in this game.

Gloucester 9 Bath Rugby 10

Glaws team bang on in forwards but backs all wrong with dry weather backs in heavy rain. Pocock would have field day on deck. Hodgson great field player with boot. Wriggles in great form for Sarries in real life and ideal for these types of games

London Irish 25 Northampton Saints 20

Level throughout teams with both having stardust , Giteau at 10 is a mark down for me with him playing 12 the last 2 years. Irish at home and a better 10/12 axis wins them this.

Sale Sharks 15 Leicester Tigers 19

Tigers players in great form , and have plenty of momentum. Sale team is great but Tigers have more from bench to see game through.

London Wasps 20 Worcester Warriors 16

Wasps at home and better players at 2 , 9 and 10 see them take this. I'd play Barkley at 10 playing some lovely stuff Prop.

Newcastle Falcons 23 - 23 Harlequins
Gloucester 12 - 10 Bath
London Irish 23 - 21 Northampton Saints
Sale Sharks 23 - 25 Leicester Tigers
Saracens 20 - 18 London Welsh

Sorry for no explanations, was my 18th yesterday and have only just got in I feel horrendous

Newcastle 27 - 26 Harlequins

Just give the advantage to Quins in the front row, but a good contest. Slightly prefer Newcastle in the second row with lineouts pretty even. I just edge to Quins in the back row with a bit more qaulity for me. Struggling with both Quins HBs - not sure why the other Dickson isn't playing - Newcastle edge here. Can't really split the centres, great battle here. Newcastle take back threes. Not much in the benches for me. Slight edge to Quins in the pack, slight edge to Newcastle in the backs. Home advanatge sways a tight game.


Gloucester 23 - 20 Bath

Edge to the home side in the front row, Healy v Mas a great battle. Glaws take the second row with much more quality. Slight edge to Glaws in the back row but Bath's will ertainly cause problems. One apiece in the HB's, and slight edge to Bath with their good centre unit. Agains slight edge to Bath in the back three, but two good combos. Glaws take the pack, and at home, have enough here.


Irish 23 - 21 Saints

Not a great deal in the front row, slight advanatge to Irish with strong props. Bit more about Saints' second row, two good back rows which are tough to split - maybe edge Saints. Much better HB's from Irish - Saints team is so strong, but playing a 12 at 10 will hinder them in tight games like this. Two good centre units, Mac in strong form edges it tot Irish. Two good back threes - form maaybe just to Irish. Great game, at home Irish have enough though I think.


Saracens 19 - 18 Welsh

Welsh take the front row with their great unit, one apiece in the second row with maybe Sarries edging the lineout. Bit more class in Sarries back three, but such grunt in Welsh's unit. For the conditions I think Welsh HB's are slightly better suited, as are the centres for me. Although I see Sarries back three finding it a bit easier in the wet. Such a close game this one, found it really tough to pick a winner.


Wasps 18 - 18 Worcester

Slight edge to Worcester up front, two good second row units with a bit more grunt to Worcester. Two great back row units, find it really tough to sepearte here. Think Wasps have a bit more about them at HB with a bit more class, and I prefer their centre combo as well. Slight edge to Wasps in the back three on form. Worcester has a great pack, especially in the conditions, but they lose out in the backs Sitting on the fence, apologies.

Jeez, just read through predos, mine and SJE's game so tight, any more coming in?