Fantasy Aviva Premiership Round Eight

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Newcastle Falcons vs. Worcester Warriors
Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rory Best	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Owen Franks
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Richie McCaw(c)	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Kieran Read	15. Alex Goode

16. Lee Mears 17. Paul Doran-Jones 18. Soane Tonga'uiha 19. Ed Slater 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Luke Burgess 22. Toby Flood 23. George Lowe

Tactics

HOME FORM - WON EVERY GAME AT HOME FOR OVER 2 YEARS
WINNING - WE HAVE PLAYERS THAT KNOW HOW TO WIN EVERY GAME IN MCCAW, READ, FRANKS, CRUDEN, SBW

Gameplan – Simple rugby, High intensity.......With the game in damp conditions we’ll be looking to control the set piece, pack and look to play in the right areas of the pitch. Cruden will dictate play and will look to clear his lines from our own 22. We’ll look to put pressure on the opposition set piece throughout the game and we think we can get the upperhand in both scrum & lineout.

Defence – We’ll be deploying the rush defence looking to narrow the options for the oposition. McCaw will look to put pressure on Barkley throughout and force him to rush his game.

Set piece – Damp conditions usually means plenty of knock on which means plenty of scrums. We’ve went for a hefty scrummaging unit to really tear into Worcester from the off. Franks & Barcella will look to get secure a good platform and attack if a weakness seen. (Anyone who see Barcella at weekend will know he has his scrum mojo back!). Maestri will back up Franks as a real scrummaging lock and look to put pressure on the Opp LH/HK.

We’ll look for the take and drive on our own ball with Best/Maestri being the key men here. With 5 good jumpers and Parling pulling the strings we’ll keep things solid on our own throw whilst looking to target the opposition throw all game.

Pack – We’ve went for numerous carrying options in the pack and will look to use short pick and drives and keep things simple. McCaw & Robshaw will lead the assault and will also look to make a bit of a mess of the breakdown. With the poor conditions they’ll be plenty of opportunity to get hands in rucks and force turnover ball which will be used to force Worcester retreating back.

Backs – Big backline to help get us over the game line and punch holes in the opposition defence (SBW & AAC particular) SBW will look for flat straight simple passes from the halfbacks and get between the Worcester 10/12 combo. Cruden to play the conditions and unleash as needed(used to the rain plaining in NZ).

Goode will add a top draw tactical kicking option in the back 3 and look to hit the corners if weakness seen in the opp lineout.

KEY POINTS:

HOME ADVANTAGE- Won every game at home in over 2 years
LEAGUE FORM- In the mix and one of form teams in league despite loss of big name players
RETURN OF SH PLAYERS - We are raised by the return of our world class players McCaw, Franks, Read, Cruden, AAC offer us a real lift and tempo will be off the chart!!


Worceseter Warriors
Manager - prop_lyd

01.Beast	09.Eion Reddan
02.Richardt Strauss	10.Olly Barkley (k)
03.BJ Botha
04.Tom Savage	11.Julien Malzieu
05.Jim Hamilton (c)	12. Pat McCabe
06.Ryan Jones	13.Matt Hopper
07.Justin Tipuric	14.James Short
08.Ben Morgan	15.Rob Cook

16.Dave Ward 17.Paul James 18.Chris Budgen 19.Ollie Kohn 20.Mamuka Gorgodze 21.Dwayne Peel 22.Morne Steyn/Sean Maitland (if Steyn banned) 23.Sam Vesty

Tactics

We have confidence coming into this match after 2 good wins in the Amlin cup and now the victory over Sale picking up the squad's confidence and making them want more. The Warriors are hungry for Falcon blood! We have selected a big pack who will look to keep the ball up their jumpers and a set of backs who are good both defensively and on the counter.

Forwards
*Front row to look to get the nudge on and we have 2 good props to come on later on to maintain the pressure. Strauss will look to get round the park.
*Big 2nd row pairing who will look to wind up their opposition and do the donkey work around the park. Hamilton will contest at the lineouts which Jones will lead.
*Back Row are good at the breakdown and we have strong, fast carriers who will offer themselves off the 10-12 channel and the 12-13 one to look to spread their defence. Tips will look for turnover ball with Jones and Morgan will look to create the gaps. Gorgodze will continue with the hard running.

Backs
*Quick ball to Barkley who will play with his head up and look to play quick rugby only if on, if not we will look to pin Falcons into the corners and force them to run from deep.
*McCabe to be his usual influential self and give good ball to Hopper who will use his offloading skills to release the runners and outside backs.
*Pace in the back 3 with Malzieu bringing the force. Cook and Short will look to hit the angles.
*Bench: if Steyn is on it then he will bring more control/Vesty'll come on for an extra boot/McFadden will bring pace and strong running.

Defence
*McCabe to lead this.
*Fast blitz banana defence with Reddan sweeping.
*A back 5 player to be on the tacklers shoulders to be first at the breakdown to look to either slow down ball or turn it over. They will look to support tackling in the 9-10-12 channels.
*If we get turnover and nothing is on we will ping to the corner.

Overall Play
*Strong carrying up front with the first 20 minutes being the forwards taking the ball in and creating the overlaps.
*Backs to play with their heads up and if it's on to break through the gaps and look for the offloads, if it's wet it'll be more up the jumper rugby!
*Barkley/McCabe/Cook to pin Falcons back but make sure their kicks go out of play and stop quick counter attacks.
*Barkley to take anything that's kickable.

We've caused one upset and won't take Newcastle lightly.........no respect and on our day we can push any team and this season we have beaten Gloucester in pre-season and Sale in the league which were both shock defeats showing we have it in up!!

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Harlequins vs. Gloucester
Light rain, 9 degrees, 12mph wind

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Lee Dickson (c)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Yoann Huget
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper	14. Taku Ngwenya
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Joe Marler 18. Ben Franks 19. George Kruis 20. Sam Warburton 21. Karl Dickson 22. Greig Laidlaw 23. Florian Fritz

Tactics

Game Plan

Play our usual game of strong carries up front and aggressive rucking allowing us to spread the ball wider and get our outside backs into space. We will look to play at a quick tempo controlled by our half backs. We will also look to retain possession and not kick aimlessly. We will look predominantly for our front 5 to carry off 9 and 10 with our backrow carrying off 10 and 12.

When our players are carrying we are looking for them to win the collisions and keep the legs pumping after contact. We will look to run at spaces rather than faces and look to offload if it is on.

All our players have an integral part to play in our rucking game. We need to get men to the breakdown early and ruck past the ball and move any Gloucester players from the breakdown. Quick ball for Lee Dickson is important to us. We want to run at an unorganized defence so there is less time for Gloucester to reorganize the better.

Set piece

In Borthwick we have as gooder line out technician as you could ask for. He will use himself, Botha and Wood as our key jumpers with Hooper and Easter usually in the midfield as carriers. Borthwick will also look to take Gloucester's lineout apart.

At the scrum we will look to put huge pressure on with Woodcock and Afoa both top class scrumagers.

Backs

Will look to Burns to put Roberts and Joseph into space, both of whom cut brilliant lines. Also have the option of Rob Kearney joining the line at pace and the blindside winger will also look to join the line. Will look for mismatches in the defensive line.

Defence

Quick linespeed is crucial as is pressurising Gloucester's key decision makers. We will look to double up on the tackle with one man looking to take the legs and the other concentrating on the ball. At the breakdown Hooper will look to disrupt and we will look to slow down the ball legally when we have the numbers in defence. We will look to knock back Gloucester carriers and win the collisions. This will stop Gloucester's momentum and allow us to attack the breakdown.


Gloucester
Manager – Mat

01.Guthro Steenkamp	09. Will Genia
02. Joe Grey	10. Dan Carter
03. Nicola Mas
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. JSD
05. George Robson	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan de Jongh
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol harinordoqouy	15. Johnny May

16. Nick Wood17.Jamie George 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20.Jamie Heaslip 21. Dan Robson 22. Israel Dagg. 23 Richard Kahui

Tactics

fresh from beating unbeaten leicester glos travel to quins looking for the win

We will be aiming to play a high tempo quick game when possible however we will look to play territory and push quins back to start with and force them to play from areas they dont want to play from. we see our kicking game as being the key to gaining the chance to open up.

- We Have the ability to play the game many different ways and the ability to raise and slow the tempo as desired
- Key decision makers at 2,8,9,10,12
- Target the scrum with Steenkamp, grey and Mas a formidable unit.
- We will attack all lineouts as we see this as a massive area for us Hari, etzbeth, Robson, Lapandry, Alberts will be looking to starve quins of lineout ball.
- Packed with ball carriers and dynamism we will be carrying it in to the heart of quins looking for gaps and offloads to keep the ball moving
- All glos back 3 looking to attack at any oipportunity and exploit mismatches. they play as a unit in real life which is a huge advantage
- Great kicking options with Genia, carter and Barnes able to control the game where needed but also capable of launching blistering attacks
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We will use a blitz defence with centres up quick as we see the ball from yach to wilko being slow and enabling us to get in their faces.
- huge impact bench with palmer heaslip dagg and kahui all coming on to sure up the win

Key points

- lineout domination- lineout is one of the key areas of possession and pressure
- Tempo- Glos can play the game many ways allowing variety. we see dickson and burns losing out in a tactical battle
- Real life form- tons of players in excellent form
- Decision makers in all the key positions
- key players back from the RC
impact bench
we were the first to topple leicester and have great momentum

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Leicester Tigers vs. Northampton Saints
Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Sebastien Bruno	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Pascal Pape	11. Ugo Monye
05. Alistair Hargreaves	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Francois Louw	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Tom Youngs 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Simon Shaw 20. Tom Croft 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Isa Nacewa

Tactics:

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

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Cole, Bruno and Sheridan as a unit, with Pape and Hargreaves' power behind, to look to really get the shove on. Jenkins and Johnston to pile the pressure on agaianst the likes of Webber and Thomas in the second half.

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

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Saints defence. The likes of Waldrom, SOB, Pape, Louw and Hargreaves to be used to crash through the Saints defence.

- Huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Louw, and the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could 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 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:

Home Advantage
Our home record is sensational, and we always feel we will win games at Welford Road. We feel we have the players to control the game, and in front of our own fans, Welford Road is a fortress.

Breakdown Advantage
We are placing huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today. With breakdown expert Francois Louw - supported by the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial. Any opportunity that we get, we will look to win turnover ball.

Weather Conditions
In strong winds and rain, our side is at its best. Controlling, tactical HB's, and a massive pack full of carriers. Play to our strengths, and play to the weather, and force Saints into mistakes for Wilko to take the points.


Northampton Saints
Manager - dammit_chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Carl Hayman
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Patricio Albacete	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Liam Messam	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Julian Bonnaire	14. Julian Savea
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

16. Rob Webber 17. Sona Taumalolo 18. Henry Thomas 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22. Matt Giteau 23. Ben Foden

Tactics

Overview - the conditions are light rain, which will suit the Saints gameplan of looking for Hernandez and Halfpenny to control the game with their boots and kicking the ball deep into the Tigers own half. Relying on our lineout that is led by Bonnaire to place Tigers under pressure. We then want to give the ball to our backline that is full of gainline breakers and power. We will look to place Tigers under pressure with an aggressive defence, force mistakes and attack the breakdown in numbers. We will play a simple structured game and power our way up through the midfield.

For those who mention Hernandez is out of form would suggest looking at his performances in the Rugby Championship and not the week he flew back from Argentina to play for Racing. We are looking to use his tactical kicking game throughout the match to keep Saints in the right areas.

http://www.planetrugby.co.uk/story/0,25883,3821_8086280,00.html


Pack/SetPiece/Breakdown

- Will look to work through the phases and work around the fringes to make hard yards and give Hernandez a platform to put the ball into the Tigers half, aiming for touch and lineouts. Looking to get Messam, Parisse, Lawes and Albacete on the ball as much as possible.

- We think we have an advantage with the lineout with Bonnaire leading, plus Parisse, Lawes and Albacete able to jump. This is a key area we want to target and emphasis on Hernandez and Halfpenny looking to put the ball deep into the Tigers half and placing Bruno's throwing under question.

- We do have a solid scrum with good form from Domingo, HArtley and Hayman, but see that Tigers do have a lot of strength here, so we will need to ensure as few handling errors as possible so they can't use this as a key area. With Parisse at no8 we do have a top class operator if our scrum does get pushed backwards.

- big emphasis this week on the breakdown, we will look to attack this area in numbers and force turnovers and dominate - have picked a fast, dynamic backrow, which has a lot of power to clear out any Tigers players around the fringes (Lawes, Messam etc). We will also look at Fofana and Tuilagi to do a job in midfield at the breakdown.

Attack -

- Our backs are putting in a big shift with ball carrying through the 12-13 combination, we will look at Fofana and Tuilagi to get us over the gainline and will use Savea as a battering ram through the middle. We look to play to our strengths and this is a key area.

- Hernandez to control the game at 10 with his kicking game and positional play by keeping us deep in the Tigers half, if we can keep them from the danger areas then our defence is very strong. Look for drop goal opportunities for Hernandez and keep the scoreboard ticking over at all times - Halfpenny to kick anything from within 50metres.

- Good form in the backline from 9-15, we've got to use out backs as much as possible with ball carrying and supporting the likes of Albacete, Lawes, Messam and Parisse. We also have a very experienced set of backs on the bench who can each change the game.

Defence -

- aggressive defence that is led by Lawes in the forwards and we will look to put in a huge defensive effort in the first 20mins to prevent Tigers building any form of momentum.

- will use the kicking game of Hernandez and Halfpenny to clear our lines, find touch and then place Tigers lineout under pressure. Message is getting the ball into touch, stopping Tigers game from flowing and keeping the home crowd silent.

- will implement a blitz defence, with Fofana and Tuilagi the defensive brick in the midfield, see if we can then force TIgers into a kicking game where we have Halfpenny at the back who should win any contest there.

Key points -

- Really good try scoring form from forwards and backs and a lot of players in very good form in real life.

- Rested key players last weekend to bring to Welford Road fresher.

- Look for Hernandez to win the tactical kicking battle with ball in hand kicks, probably best fly half in the world at that.

- Stop Tigers building momentum by putting the ball deep and long into their own half and then targetting the lineout for as much as possible.

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London Welsh vs. Bath Rugby
Light rain, 8 degrees, 13mph wind

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Dave Wilson
04. Sitaleki Timani	11. Digby Ioane
05. George Skivington	12. Owen Farrell
06. Tom Johnson	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Thierry Dusautoir ©	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Adam Jones 19. Dean Schofield 20. Sione Kalamafoni 21. Charlie Davies 22. Andrew Trimble 23. Tom Homer

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 Bath 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 Bath make.

Attacking specifics

• In damp conditions we will look to keep possession and run the ball, but willkeep it tight to ensure that we don't spill the ball and lose possession. Parra and Lambie will dictate the tempo and angles of attack. Ioane and Habana will both look to hit good lines off the 10, 12 and 13's shoulders. We will also use them as decoys with Taute hitting the line looking for gaps.
  
• 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.
  
• Ball carrier to target Bath back row making them the tacklers, with support runners then hitting the ruck hard and early and burying them at the bottom of the ruck ensure that they cannot effect turnovers.
  

Defensive specifics

• 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

• Home advantage.
  
• We come in with confidence, having picked up points in every game so far this season and having won our last 4 games on the trot and 5 of our last 6.
  
• Strength, quality and consistency in the key controlling positions (2,8,9 and 10).
  
• 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.
  
• Our bench will only be used for tactical or injury replacements and will not just be unloaded as a matter of course.
  
• Our key area of focus is to dominate to collisions at the contact area. From there we feel we can control the game.
  

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Cian Healy	09. Aaron Smith
02. Kevin Mealamu	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Graham Kitchener	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. Cory Jane
08. Juan Martin Fernando Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Charlie Faumuina 17. Chris Brooker 18. Jon Golding 19. Louis Deacon 20. Tom Guest 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Nopolini Nalaga 23. Stuart Hogg

Overall: Look to play the conditions throughout with Hodgson running the tempo. Use big runners/carries and go through the phases. Keep things simple in our own half and increase the pressure in opposition half.

Scrum: We will really look to attack and come out on top of the scrum. Our front five is a really strong unit, with two of the best props in Europe with Mealamu. Lobbe will control the scrum from number eight. Apply pressure and look to get nudge on throughout. Look to play the ref and if not going our way use as a restart.

Lineout: Our second row partnership is where we really feel we can have advantage. Whitelock and Lobbe are world class operators, backed up by Haskell and Kitchener we feel we can really get at the opposition throw. If we see any weakness we will look to slightly alter the game plan, looking for corners in order to put more pressure on the throw.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Lobbe, 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.

Breakdown: Look to clear hard and fast with Haskell and Healy looking to make a nuisance of themselves so Pocock can get his hands on opposition ball.

Backs: We will be looking to use the backs in order to create or go through holes. Smith and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. Smith will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with North, Rougerie, Jane seeing lots of the ball. If conditions improve look to use Hodgson to play running rugby. Miller is also a good runner who will look to use his boot occasionally to pen the Welsh defenders back and give us some territory with Lobbe leading the chase. We feel Farrell and Taute have potentially suspect defence which we look to expose.

Defence: Use a blitz defence in order to put pressure on Welsh’s key decision makers and prevent them from playing. Aaron Smith to sweep in behind. We will look to target Farrell early and pressure him into making mistakes. We feel this will stop fluidity in the Welsh backline

Substitutes: Our subs will come on and look to keep a high tempo. Brooker, Golding and Faumuina can come in and help strengthen our front row targeting Whitehead and Sturgess. Deacon and Guest will look to add grit late on. Wigglesworth has a lot of experience and will look to use it late on to control the tempo whereas we feel Davies’ inexperience might tell in a tight match. Nalaga and Hogg are two deadly runners who can come on and exploit tired legs, finding holes.

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Sale Sharks vs. London Irish
Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. David Strettle
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Adam Thomson	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Peter O'Mahony	14. Kyle Eastmond
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Jerome Schuster 17. Darren Dawdiuk 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison

Key Points

• Ayerza starts at LH for his ability at the scrum. He will look to get at Stevens from the start!

• We have serious power to bring on in the front 5 late on in the game and see the scrum as an area we can dominate.

• We have superb form throughout the side in real life with Ayerza, Zirka, Retalick, Bekker, POM, Pickles, Care, Sexton, Steyn, Freuen, Eastmond and Bendy all showing strongly in recent games for club/country.

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 when it’s on 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 Irish to come at us from deep.

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much room as possible to attack from.

• In Irish 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 play an aggressive blitz on defence, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Irish momentum before it can get going.

• Care will act as a 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 Thomson & POM looking to get his 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.

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Andrew Hore	10. Nick Evans
03. Matt Stevens
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Johann Muller	12. Luke McAllister
06. Marcell Coeztee	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pieterson
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Delon Armitage

16. Grant Shiells 17. Tom Lindsay 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Nick Kennedy 20. Will Fraser 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Sireli Naqalevuki

London Irish make two changes from last weeks win over Harlequins. Andrew Hore and Matt Stevens come in to the front row in place of Tom Lindsay and Martin Castrogiovanni, who drop to the bench. New signing Will Fraser makes the subs bench after impressing in an 'A' game on Monday.

'We played some good rugby last week and I want to keep things consistent. The League is our primary focus this season and I want to build momentum and keep in the top 4. Castro has played a lot of games this season so deserves a rest, and bringing Matt in gives us another good ball carrying option as well as a solid set piece. It's good to have Andrew Hore back as well. Tom Lindsay has done very well but played a lot of games so thoroughly deserves a rest. Andrew is a great scrummager, hits his man in the lineout and is great on the deck. He can win us turnovers and along with Steff makes us formidable at the breakdown.'

Tactics

- Play the game in the right areas. Pienaar, 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.

- Armitage will look to dominate the breakdown, win us penalties and secure quick ball. Hore will also support him in this area. 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 Sale 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.

- 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.

- We have a lot of form players, in key positions like 8, 9, 10, 12. With Steffon at 7 we have the form 7 in the NH and will look to boss the breakdown and control the game at home.

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Saracens vs. London Wasps
Light rain, 8 degrees, 12mph wind

Saracens
Manager – Driver

01.Matt Mullen	09.Jean Doussain(k)
02.George Chuter	10.Francios Trinh-Duc
03.Jannie Du Plessie
04.Flip Van Der Merwe	11.Mark Cueto
05.Ali Williams	12.Ma'a Nonu
06.Phil Dowson	13.Henry Trinder
07.Ross Rennie	14.Tim Visser
08.Joe Van Nikerk (c)	15.Ben Smith

16.Hika Elliot 17.Max Lahiff 18.Phil Swainstone 19.Tim Swinson 20.Alessandro Zanni 21.Will Chudley 22.Ronan O'Gara 23.Chris Bell


Saracens will look too play a physical game in weather with dictates it. Mullen and Jannie Du Plessie will look to smash the Wasps props at the scrum and Chuter will look to test TPN patience in a game where the margins will make the difference. We have gone for a massive pairing in the engine room with Flip Van Der Merwe packing down to add a real physical presence and dominate Manoa in this part of the game , Williams is widely acknoladged as quality lineout operator and is a class above Wentzel who is struggling in real life.

Phil Dowson and Ross Rennie will look to smash every tackle and get to there fight to make a mess of the Wasps breakdown to slow down there ball to the finest margins of the rule book and offer them selves in the loose running off shoulders and looking for the offload. JVN will keep things tidy at the base and clean up any mess and carry at Priestland.

JMD and FTD will play it as there see mixing the game up and dictating the tempo through kicks to the corner and taking the ball to the gain line to hit our big runners on the outside.

Nonu will look to test the opposition by hitting the ball on the gainline and trying to keep Baritt occupied in defence to allow Trinder and the back 3 to come hit the games off his shoulder.

Cueto , Visser and Smith are all suited for this tight game and posses solid kicking games , however if there is a chance to attack the dogleg we will shift the ball to the space and attack

KEY POINTS

*Test Ojo and Banahans' kicking game by kicking the ball in behind them and forcing them to kick it back

* Kicks to Mike Brown to be booted into the cloud to put pressure on him and force a mistake.

*Shorten the lineout and use the likes of FVM and JVN to carry in the midfield.

*Full lineouts Visser to come running short off the tail in the same way North does for Wales and exploit the gap between the OS and 10

*BLITZ DEFENSE with JMD sweeping behind

*JMD to kick all penalties in there half to build a sizeable lead


London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Benn Robinson	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Samu Manoa	11. Matt Banahan
05. Marco Wentzel (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Steve Mafi	13. George Pisi
07. Liam Gill	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Sean Cronin 17. Charlie Beech 18. Shaun Knight 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Jonathan Poff 21. Mike Blair 22. Steven Myler 23. Tom Varndell

Tactics
We will look to our forwards to carry hard, attacking gaps in the Saracens 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 attack space and suck in Saracens defenders with some powerful carrying.

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 Saracens players, allowing Thomas to get quick, clean ball for us to attack the space on offer. We will look to ruck aggressively and really look to take the physical battle to Saracens. We will look to create mismatches in midfield and will target the outside shoulder of the Saracens players.

Line speed and aggression is key for us in defence, we will try and prevent Saracens 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 Sarries wingers and put us deep into their territory where we will look to really pressurize them and look to force them into errors. Thomas will look to snipe around the fringes and get our forwards coming onto the ball and making good yards each time they carry.

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 Sarries 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 Sarries 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 Saracens defensive line. We willl look to Banahan to come in off his wing to give us another crash ball option.

At the scrum, on our own ball, we will look to turn the scrum legally to erase the Sarries 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 Thomas and Preistland controlling our play.

---

Some big games this week.

Quins v Glos, Tigers v Saints and Saracens v Wasps the picks for me!

London Welsh make 2 changes to the starting XV for the visit of Bath Rugby to the Kasam Stadium. Dave Wilson and Sitaleki Timani start in the front 5 with Adam Jones and Dean Schofield dropping to the bench. Head coach Ozzy3213 had this to say.

“We are in a good run of form, and picked up a very good win away from home last week. Having continuity in the side is important, but we have to keep fresh and keep players on their toes hence the couple of changes this week. Bringing Sitaleki in will really add to our second row, and Dave Wilson is in excellent form right now, so we are confident that we have a pack who can do a job this weekend.”

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Dave Wilson
04. Sitaleki Timani	11. Digby Ioane
05. George Skivington	12. Owen Farrell
06. Tom Johnson	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Thierry Dusautoir ©	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Adam Jones 19. Dean Schofield 20. Sione Kalamafoni 21. Charlie Davies 22. Andrew Trimble 23. Tom Homer

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 Bath 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 Bath make.

Attacking specifics

• In damp conditions we will look to keep possession and run the ball, but willkeep it tight to ensure that we don't spill the ball and lose possession. Parra and Lambie will dictate the tempo and angles of attack. Ioane and Habana will both look to hit good lines off the 10, 12 and 13's shoulders. We will also use them as decoys with Taute hitting the line looking for gaps.
  
• 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.
  
• Ball carrier to target Bath back row making them the tacklers, with support runners then hitting the ruck hard and early and burying them at the bottom of the ruck ensure that they cannot effect turnovers.
  

Defensive specifics

• 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

• Home advantage.
  
• We come in with confidence, having picked up points in every game so far this season and having won our last 4 games on the trot and 5 of our last 6.
  
• Strength, quality and consistency in the key controlling positions (2,8,9 and 10).
  
• 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.
  
• Our bench will only be used for tactical or injury replacements and will not just be unloaded as a matter of course.
  
• Our key area of focus is to dominate to collisions at the contact area. From there we feel we can control the game.
  

Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers

Northampton Saints have freshened up their pack for the trip to Welford Road in what promises to be a brutal contest. They recall Patricio Albacete and Julian Bonnaire to the starting lineup and give Liam Messam his first start of the season. Manager Dammit Chris stated:

"Every season we play at Welford Road we know that the game is won upfront, I wanted to rest Patricio (Albacete) and Julian (Bonnaire) from the game last week so they were fresh this weekend, and of course it is great to hand Liam Messam his first start of the season. It is going to be a tough, physical game but we are on a good run of form and we'll look to come away with a win".

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Carl Hayman
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Patricio Albacete	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Liam Messam	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Julian Bonnaire	14. Julian Savea
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

16. Rob Webber 17. Sona Taumalolo 18. Henry Thomas 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22. Matt Giteau 23. Ben Foden

Tactics

Overview - the conditions are light rain, which will suit the Saints gameplan of looking for Hernandez and Halfpenny to control the game with their boots and kicking the ball deep into the Tigers own half. Relying on our lineout that is led by Bonnaire to place Tigers under pressure. We then want to give the ball to our backline that is full of gainline breakers and power. We will look to place Tigers under pressure with an aggressive defence, force mistakes and attack the breakdown in numbers. We will play a simple structured game and power our way up through the midfield.

For those who mention Hernandez is out of form would suggest looking at his performances in the Rugby Championship and not the week he flew back from Argentina to play for Racing. We are looking to use his tactical kicking game throughout the match to keep Saints in the right areas.

http://www.planetrugby.co.uk/story/0,25883,3821_8086280,00.html


Pack/SetPiece/Breakdown

- Will look to work through the phases and work around the fringes to make hard yards and give Hernandez a platform to put the ball into the Tigers half, aiming for touch and lineouts. Looking to get Messam, Parisse, Lawes and Albacete on the ball as much as possible.

- We think we have an advantage with the lineout with Bonnaire leading, plus Parisse, Lawes and Albacete able to jump. This is a key area we want to target and emphasis on Hernandez and Halfpenny looking to put the ball deep into the Tigers half and placing Bruno's throwing under question.

- We do have a solid scrum with good form from Domingo, HArtley and Hayman, but see that Tigers do have a lot of strength here, so we will need to ensure as few handling errors as possible so they can't use this as a key area. With Parisse at no8 we do have a top class operator if our scrum does get pushed backwards.

- big emphasis this week on the breakdown, we will look to attack this area in numbers and force turnovers and dominate - have picked a fast, dynamic backrow, which has a lot of power to clear out any Tigers players around the fringes (Lawes, Messam etc). We will also look at Fofana and Tuilagi to do a job in midfield at the breakdown.

Attack -

- Our backs are putting in a big shift with ball carrying through the 12-13 combination, we will look at Fofana and Tuilagi to get us over the gainline and will use Savea as a battering ram through the middle. We look to play to our strengths and this is a key area.

- Hernandez to control the game at 10 with his kicking game and positional play by keeping us deep in the Tigers half, if we can keep them from the danger areas then our defence is very strong. Look for drop goal opportunities for Hernandez and keep the scoreboard ticking over at all times - Halfpenny to kick anything from within 50metres.

- Good form in the backline from 9-15, we've got to use out backs as much as possible with ball carrying and supporting the likes of Albacete, Lawes, Messam and Parisse. We also have a very experienced set of backs on the bench who can each change the game.

Defence -

- aggressive defence that is led by Lawes in the forwards and we will look to put in a huge defensive effort in the first 20mins to prevent Tigers building any form of momentum.

- will use the kicking game of Hernandez and Halfpenny to clear our lines, find touch and then place Tigers lineout under pressure. Message is getting the ball into touch, stopping Tigers game from flowing and keeping the home crowd silent.

- will implement a blitz defence, with Fofana and Tuilagi the defensive brick in the midfield, see if we can then force TIgers into a kicking game where we have Halfpenny at the back who should win any contest there.

Key points -

- Really good try scoring form from forwards and backs and a lot of players in very good form in real life.

- Rested key players last weekend to bring to Welford Road fresher.

- Look for Hernandez to win the tactical kicking battle with ball in hand kicks, probably best fly half in the world at that.

- Stop Tigers building momentum by putting the ball deep and long into their own half and then targetting the lineout for as much as possible.

Good to have SH players back

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

Harlequins are delighted to welcome back Tony Woodcock and Michael Hooper to the side to take on Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop. They are eager to make a big impression before returning to there national squads. Quins are able to call upon some of the form players in Europe such as Nick Easter and Freddie Burns. Lee Dickson captains the side with club captain Sam Warburton coming off the bench this week.

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Lee Dickson (c)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Yoann Huget
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper	14. Taku Ngwenya
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Joe Marler 18. Ben Franks 19. George Kruis 20. Sam Warburton 21. Karl Dickson 22. Greig Laidlaw 23. Florian Fritz

Tactics

Game Plan

Play our usual game of strong carries up front and aggressive rucking allowing us to spread the ball wider and get our outside backs into space. We will look to play at a quick tempo controlled by our half backs. We will also look to retain possession and not kick aimlessly. We will look predominantly for our front 5 to carry off 9 and 10 with our backrow carrying off 10 and 12.

When our players are carrying we are looking for them to win the collisions and keep the legs pumping after contact. We will look to run at spaces rather than faces and look to offload if it is on.

All our players have an integral part to play in our rucking game. We need to get men to the breakdown early and ruck past the ball and move any Gloucester players from the breakdown. Quick ball for Lee Dickson is important to us. We want to run at an unorganized defence so there is less time for Gloucester to reorganize the better.

Set piece

In Borthwick we have as gooder line out technician as you could ask for. He will use himself, Botha and Wood as our key jumpers with Hooper and Easter usually in the midfield as carriers. Borthwick will also look to take Gloucester's lineout apart.

At the scrum we will look to put huge pressure on with Woodcock and Afoa both top class scrumagers.

Backs

Will look to Burns to put Roberts and Joseph into space, both of whom cut brilliant lines. Also have the option of Rob Kearney joining the line at pace and the blindside winger will also look to join the line. Will look for mismatches in the defensive line.

Defence

Quick linespeed is crucial as is pressurising Gloucester's key decision makers. We will look to double up on the tackle with one man looking to take the legs and the other concentrating on the ball. At the breakdown Hooper will look to disrupt and we will look to slow down the ball legally when we have the numbers in defence. We will look to knock back Gloucester carriers and win the collisions. This will stop Gloucester's momentum and allow us to attack the breakdown.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. David Strettle
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Adam Thomson	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Peter O'Mahony	14. Kyle Eastmond
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Jerome Schuster 17. Darren Dawdiuk 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison

Key Points

• Ayerza starts at LH for his ability at the scrum. He will look to get at Stevens from the start!

• We have serious power to bring on in the front 5 late on in the game and see the scrum as an area we can dominate.

• We have superb form throughout the side in real life with Ayerza, Zirka, Retalick, Bekker, POM, Pickles, Care, Sexton, Steyn, Freuen, Eastmond and Bendy all showing strongly in recent games for club/country.

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 when it’s on 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 Irish to come at us from deep.

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much room as possible to attack from.

• In Irish 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 play an aggressive blitz on defence, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Irish momentum before it can get going.

• Care will act as a 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 Thomson & POM looking to get his 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.

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Benn Robinson	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Samu Manoa	11. Matt Banahan
05. Marco Wentzel (c)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Steve Mafi	13. George Pisi
07. Liam Gill	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Sean Cronin 17. Charlie Beech 18. Shaun Knight 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Jonathan Poff 21. Mike Blair 22. Steven Myler 23. Tom Varndell

Tactics
We will look to our forwards to carry hard, attacking gaps in the Saracens 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 attack space and suck in Saracens defenders with some powerful carrying.

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 Saracens players, allowing Thomas to get quick, clean ball for us to attack the space on offer. We will look to ruck aggressively and really look to take the physical battle to Saracens. We will look to create mismatches in midfield and will target the outside shoulder of the Saracens players.

Line speed and aggression is key for us in defence, we will try and prevent Saracens 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 Sarries wingers and put us deep into their territory where we will look to really pressurize them and look to force them into errors. Thomas will look to snipe around the fringes and get our forwards coming onto the ball and making good yards each time they carry.

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 Sarries 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 Sarries 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 Saracens defensive line. We willl look to Banahan to come in off his wing to give us another crash ball option.

At the scrum, on our own ball, we will look to turn the scrum legally to erase the Sarries 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 Thomas and Preistland controlling our play.

Saracens
Manager – Driver

01.Matt Mullen	09.Jean Doussain(k)
02.George Chuter	10.Francios Trinh-Duc
03.Jannie Du Plessie
04.Flip Van Der Merwe	11.Mark Cueto
05.Ali Williams	12.Ma'a Nonu
06.Phil Dowson	13.Henry Trinder
07.Ross Rennie	14.Tim Visser
08.Joe Van Nikerk (c)	15.Ben Smith

16.Hika Elliot 17.Max Lahiff 18.Phil Swainstone 19.Tim Swinson 20.Alessandro Zanni 21.Will Chudley 22.Ronan O'Gara 23.Chris Bell


Saracens will look too play a physical game in weather with dictates it. Mullen and Jannie Du Plessie will look to smash the Wasps props at the scrum and Chuter will look to test TPN patience in a game where the margins will make the difference. We have gone for a massive pairing in the engine room with Flip Van Der Merwe packing down to add a real physical presence and dominate Manoa in this part of the game , Williams is widely acknoladged as quality lineout operator and is a class above Wentzel who is struggling in real life.

Phil Dowson and Ross Rennie will look to smash every tackle and get to there fight to make a mess of the Wasps breakdown to slow down there ball to the finest margins of the rule book and offer them selves in the loose running off shoulders and looking for the offload. JVN will keep things tidy at the base and clean up any mess and carry at Priestland.

JMD and FTD will play it as there see mixing the game up and dictating the tempo through kicks to the corner and taking the ball to the gain line to hit our big runners on the outside.

Nonu will look to test the opposition by hitting the ball on the gainline and trying to keep Baritt occupied in defence to allow Trinder and the back 3 to come hit the games off his shoulder.

Cueto , Visser and Smith are all suited for this tight game and posses solid kicking games , however if there is a chance to attack the dogleg we will shift the ball to the space and attack

KEY POINTS

*Test Ojo and Banahans' kicking game by kicking the ball in behind them and forcing them to kick it back

* Kicks to Mike Brown to be booted into the cloud to put pressure on him and force a mistake.

*Shorten the lineout and use the likes of FVM and JVN to carry in the midfield.

*Full lineouts Visser to come running short off the tail in the same way North does for Wales and exploit the gap between the OS and 10

*BLITZ DEFENSE with JMD sweeping behind

*JMD to kick all penalties in there half to build a sizeable lead

Leicester Tigers have named their side to play Northampton Saints at Welford Road this week.

Tigers make three changes to the side that lost by a point away to Gloucester last week - Sebastien Bruno, Alistair Hargreaves and Kurtley Beale come in for Stephen Moore, James Horwill and Isa Nacewa. Brian O'Driscoll takes over the captaincy in Horwill's absence.

Tigers have been in imperious form so far this season, and last week's last minute loss to Gloucester was their first defeat in nine games. They will surely be very keen to get back to winning ways, and will undoubtedly see a game at fortress Welford Road against Saints as a perfect opportunity to vent their frustrations.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Sebastien Bruno	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Pascal Pape	11. Ugo Monye
05. Alistair Hargreaves	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Francois Louw	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Tom Youngs 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Simon Shaw 20. Tom Croft 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Isa Nacewa

Tactics:

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

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Cole, Bruno and Sheridan as a unit, with Pape and Hargreaves' power behind, to look to really get the shove on. Jenkins and Johnston to pile the pressure on agaianst the likes of Webber and Thomas in the second half.

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

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Saints defence. The likes of Waldrom, SOB, Pape, Louw and Hargreaves to be used to crash through the Saints defence.

- Huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Louw, and the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could 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 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:

Home Advantage
Our home record is sensational, and we always feel we will win games at Welford Road. We feel we have the players to control the game, and in front of our own fans, Welford Road is a fortress.

Breakdown Advantage
We are placing huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today. With breakdown expert Francois Louw - supported by the likes of SOB, Cole and BOD, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial. Any opportunity that we get, we will look to win turnover ball.

Weather Conditions
In strong winds and rain, our side is at its best. Controlling, tactical HB's, and a massive pack full of carriers. Play to our strengths, and play to the weather, and force Saints into mistakes for Wilko to take the points.

01.Beast	09.Eion Reddan
02.Richardt Strauss	10.Olly Barkley (k)
03.BJ Botha
04.Tom Savage	11.Julien Malzieu
05.Jim Hamilton (c)	12. Pat McCabe
06.Ryan Jones	13.Matt Hopper
07.Justin Tipuric	14.James Short
08.Ben Morgan	15.Rob Cook

16.Dave Ward 17.Paul James 18.Chris Budgen 19.Ollie Kohn 20.Mamuka Gorgodze 21.Dwayne Peel 22.Morne Steyn/Sean Maitland (if Steyn banned) 23.Sam Vesty

Tactics

We have confidence coming into this match after 2 good wins in the Amlin cup and now the victory over Sale picking up the squad's confidence and making them want more. The Warriors are hungry for Falcon blood! We have selected a big pack who will look to keep the ball up their jumpers and a set of backs who are good both defensively and on the counter.

Forwards
*Front row to look to get the nudge on and we have 2 good props to come on later on to maintain the pressure. Strauss will look to get round the park.
*Big 2nd row pairing who will look to wind up their opposition and do the donkey work around the park. Hamilton will contest at the lineouts which Jones will lead.
*Back Row are good at the breakdown and we have strong, fast carriers who will offer themselves off the 10-12 channel and the 12-13 one to look to spread their defence. Tips will look for turnover ball with Jones and Morgan will look to create the gaps. Gorgodze will continue with the hard running.

Backs
*Quick ball to Barkley who will play with his head up and look to play quick rugby only if on, if not we will look to pin Falcons into the corners and force them to run from deep.
*McCabe to be his usual influential self and give good ball to Hopper who will use his offloading skills to release the runners and outside backs.
*Pace in the back 3 with Malzieu bringing the force. Cook and Short will look to hit the angles.
*Bench: if Steyn is on it then he will bring more control/Vesty'll come on for an extra boot/McFadden will bring pace and strong running.

Defence
*McCabe to lead this.
*Fast blitz banana defence with Reddan sweeping.
*A back 5 player to be on the tacklers shoulders to be first at the breakdown to look to either slow down ball or turn it over. They will look to support tackling in the 9-10-12 channels.
*If we get turnover and nothing is on we will ping to the corner.

Overall Play
*Strong carrying up front with the first 20 minutes being the forwards taking the ball in and creating the overlaps.
*Backs to play with their heads up and if it's on to break through the gaps and look for the offloads, if it's wet it'll be more up the jumper rugby!
*Barkley/McCabe/Cook to pin Falcons back but make sure their kicks go out of play and stop quick counter attacks.
*Barkley to take anything that's kickable.

We've caused one upset and won't take Newcastle lightly.........no respect and on our day we can push any team and this season we have beaten Gloucester in pre-season and Sale in the league which were both shock defeats showing we have it in up!!

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rory Best	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Owen Franks
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Richie McCaw(c)	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Kieran Read	15. Alex Goode

16. Lee Mears 17. Paul Doran-Jones 18. Soane Tonga'uiha 19. Ed Slater 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Luke Burgess 22. Toby Flood 23. George Lowe

Tactics

HOME FORM - WON EVERY GAME AT HOME FOR OVER 2 YEARS
WINNING - WE HAVE PLAYERS THAT KNOW HOW TO WIN EVERY GAME IN MCCAW, READ, FRANKS, CRUDEN, SBW

Gameplan – Simple rugby, High intensity.......With the game in damp conditions we’ll be looking to control the set piece, pack and look to play in the right areas of the pitch. Cruden will dictate play and will look to clear his lines from our own 22. We’ll look to put pressure on the opposition set piece throughout the game and we think we can get the upperhand in both scrum & lineout.

Defence – We’ll be deploying the rush defence looking to narrow the options for the oposition. McCaw will look to put pressure on Barkley throughout and force him to rush his game.

Set piece – Damp conditions usually means plenty of knock on which means plenty of scrums. We’ve went for a hefty scrummaging unit to really tear into Worcester from the off. Franks & Barcella will look to get secure a good platform and attack if a weakness seen. (Anyone who see Barcella at weekend will know he has his scrum mojo back!). Maestri will back up Franks as a real scrummaging lock and look to put pressure on the Opp LH/HK.

We’ll look for the take and drive on our own ball with Best/Maestri being the key men here. With 5 good jumpers and Parling pulling the strings we’ll keep things solid on our own throw whilst looking to target the opposition throw all game.

Pack – We’ve went for numerous carrying options in the pack and will look to use short pick and drives and keep things simple. McCaw & Robshaw will lead the assault and will also look to make a bit of a mess of the breakdown. With the poor conditions they’ll be plenty of opportunity to get hands in rucks and force turnover ball which will be used to force Worcester retreating back.

Backs – Big backline to help get us over the game line and punch holes in the opposition defence (SBW & AAC particular) SBW will look for flat straight simple passes from the halfbacks and get between the Worcester 10/12 combo. Cruden to play the conditions and unleash as needed(used to the rain plaining in NZ).

Goode will add a top draw tactical kicking option in the back 3 and look to hit the corners if weakness seen in the opp lineout.

KEY POINTS:

HOME ADVANTAGE- Won every game at home in over 2 years
LEAGUE FORM- In the mix and one of form teams in league despite loss of big name players
RETURN OF SH PLAYERS - We are raised by the return of our world class players McCaw, Franks, Read, Cruden, AAC offer us a real lift and tempo will be off the chart!!

I think Morne Steyn is banned isn't he Prop??

I thought he only got a 1 week ban?

Mat wrote:Glaws XXIII
Manager – Mat

01.Guthro Steenkamp	09. Will Genia
02. Joe Grey	10. Dan Carter
03. Nicola Mas
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. JSD
05. George Robson	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan de Jongh
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol harinordoqouy	15. Johnny May

16. Nick Wood17.Jamie George 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20.Jamie Heaslip 21. Dan Robson 22. Israel Dagg. 23 Richard Kahui

Tactics

fresh from beating unbeaten leicester glos travel to quins looking for the win

We will be aiming to play a high tempo quick game when possible however we will look to play territory and push quins back to start with and force them to play from areas they dont want to play from. we see our kicking game as being the key to gaining the chance to open up.

- We Have the ability to play the game many different ways and the ability to raise and slow the tempo as desired
- Key decision makers at 2,8,9,10,12
- Target the scrum with Steenkamp, grey and Mas a formidable unit.
- We will attack all lineouts as we see this as a massive area for us Hari, etzbeth, Robson, Lapandry, Alberts will be looking to starve quins of lineout ball.
- Packed with ball carriers and dynamism we will be carrying it in to the heart of quins looking for gaps and offloads to keep the ball moving
- All glos back 3 looking to attack at any oipportunity and exploit mismatches. they play as a unit in real life which is a huge advantage
- Great kicking options with Genia, carter and Barnes able to control the game where needed but also capable of launching blistering attacks
-
We will use a blitz defence with centres up quick as we see the ball from yach to wilko being slow and enabling us to get in their faces.
- huge impact bench with palmer heaslip dagg and kahui all coming on to sure up the win

Key points

- lineout domination- lineout is one of the key areas of possession and pressure
- Tempo- Glos can play the game many ways allowing variety. we see dickson and burns losing out in a tactical battle
- Real life form- tons of players in excellent form
- Decision makers in all the key positions
- key players back from the RC
impact bench
we were the first to topple leicester and have great momentum


good luck steve top game ahead

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Andrew Hore	10. Nick Evans
03. Matt Stevens
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Johann Muller	12. Luke McAllister
06. Marcell Coeztee	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pieterson
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Delon Armitage

16. Grant Shiells 17. Tom Lindsay 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Nick Kennedy 20. Will Fraser 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Sireli Naqalevuki

London Irish make two changes from last weeks win over Harlequins. Andrew Hore and Matt Stevens come in to the front row in place of Tom Lindsay and Martin Castrogiovanni, who drop to the bench. New signing Will Fraser makes the subs bench after impressing in an 'A' game on Monday.

'We played some good rugby last week and I want to keep things consistent. The League is our primary focus this season and I want to build momentum and keep in the top 4. Castro has played a lot of games this season so deserves a rest, and bringing Matt in gives us another good ball carrying option as well as a solid set piece. It's good to have Andrew Hore back as well. Tom Lindsay has done very well but played a lot of games so thoroughly deserves a rest. Andrew is a great scrummager, hits his man in the lineout and is great on the deck. He can win us turnovers and along with Steff makes us formidable at the breakdown.'

Tactics

- Play the game in the right areas. Pienaar, 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.

- Armitage will look to dominate the breakdown, win us penalties and secure quick ball. Hore will also support him in this area. 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 Sale 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.

- 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.

- We have a lot of form players, in key positions like 8, 9, 10, 12. With Steffon at 7 we have the form 7 in the NH and will look to boss the breakdown and control the game at home.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Aaron Smith
02. Kevin Mealamu	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Graham Kitchener	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. Cory Jane
08. Juan Martin Fernando Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Charlie Faumuina 17. Chris Brooker 18. Jon Golding 19. Louis Deacon 20. Tom Guest 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Nopolini Nalaga 23. Stuart Hogg

Overall: Look to play the conditions throughout with Hodgson running the tempo. Use big runners/carries and go through the phases. Keep things simple in our own half and increase the pressure in opposition half.

Scrum: We will really look to attack and come out on top of the scrum. Our front five is a really strong unit, with two of the best props in Europe with Mealamu. Lobbe will control the scrum from number eight. Apply pressure and look to get nudge on throughout. Look to play the ref and if not going our way use as a restart.

Lineout: Our second row partnership is where we really feel we can have advantage. Whitelock and Lobbe are world class operators, backed up by Haskell and Kitchener we feel we can really get at the opposition throw. If we see any weakness we will look to slightly alter the game plan, looking for corners in order to put more pressure on the throw.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Lobbe, 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.

Breakdown: Look to clear hard and fast with Haskell and Healy looking to make a nuisance of themselves so Pocock can get his hands on opposition ball.

Backs: We will be looking to use the backs in order to create or go through holes. Smith and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. Smith will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with North, Rougerie, Jane seeing lots of the ball. If conditions improve look to use Hodgson to play running rugby. Miller is also a good runner who will look to use his boot occasionally to pen the Welsh defenders back and give us some territory with Lobbe leading the chase. We feel Farrell and Taute have potentially suspect defence which we look to expose.

Defence: Use a blitz defence in order to put pressure on Welsh’s key decision makers and prevent them from playing. Aaron Smith to sweep in behind. We will look to target Farrell early and pressure him into making mistakes. We feel this will stop fluidity in the Welsh backline

Substitutes: Our subs will come on and look to keep a high tempo. Brooker, Golding and Faumuina can come in and help strengthen our front row targeting Whitehead and Sturgess. Deacon and Guest will look to add grit late on. Wigglesworth has a lot of experience and will look to use it late on to control the tempo whereas we feel Davies’ inexperience might tell in a tight match. Nalaga and Hogg are two deadly runners who can come on and exploit tired legs, finding holes.

Nice team CB, can see ours being a tight one, going to have to get my tactics spot on!

Yer looks really tight. Unbelivable set of backs on the field. Glad Jane, Smith, Kev and Whitelock are back. If the game was last week I think you'd definitely be favourite

Longest Tactics i'v posted in a while lol.

Match thread updated and prediction are OPEN

Guys suffering from really bad food poisoning at the moment, sorry no tactics at the moment reckon I could get them done by 11ish. On the upside have managed to lose 10llbs of weight in 13 hours...great diet!

I'm happy for you to do them quickly if other's are get better soon fella!!

Harlequins 19-17 Gloucester

Great front row battle and I can see a fair few scrums. Quins have a bit more of a scrummaging front 5 and will edge here although the engine rooms will be tight in the loose. Bit more carrying in the Gloucester backrow but more dog in the Quins unit. Hari & Wood lacking form cancel out a little and really not much in the contest and lineout back 5.

Both 9's not really on fire but Genia a class above, similar at 10 despite Burns playing well he's not in Carters league. Really interesting midfield battle which in the conditions just sides to Quins. I do like the Gloucester pair but think you need a physical presence in these type of conditions. Real flair in the Gloucester back 3 but not that great defensively which will be an issue, May isn't the solidest of FB's especially in the damp conditions. Quins very solid esp with Kearney dispite him lacking form. Huget in good form.

Cracking game and in dry conditions Gloucester would have too this one. Just think Steve has selected better for the conditions and Quins are solid at home.

Leicester 23-20 Saints

Good front row match up and scrum will be key, with Tigers getting nudge on slightly with the off balanced Saints unit and Hartley popping up every 2mins. Not much in lineouts with Bonnaire providing good platform for Saints and 2 good engine rooms. Saints just edge backrow with SOB lacking form a little and Parrisse playing well as is Louw helping Tigers out.

Complete step up for Tigers in the halfbacks. Simpson not ideal in conditions and Hernadez not in great form against Wilko who's in great nick. Really top back battle, some serious talent on show. Not sure of Fofana/Tuilagi as a pairing as both don't like to pass, two class players though.

Really great game. Good tactics from both and will be tight. Home advantage key.

happy to wait chris. have done for others this season if i remember correctly

Welsh 18-23 Bath

Again the scrum will play a decent part in the game. Not much in this one with BdP & Corbs lacking a bit of form evening it up a little. Much stronger engine room from Bath in loose and set piece. Can see the tactic of hitting corners really working with Whitelock & Lobbe top draw ops and no real quality outlet bar maybe Vermeulen for Welsh. TJ playing really well shades Haskell who's struggling a little but 7/8 a step up for Bath, can see them getting some joy at breakdown with no real fetcher for Welsh.

With a strong pack advantage can see Bath halfbacks exploiting. Parra picking up some good form but overall Bath have advantage. Similar in centres with JD a standout but Farrell hindering Welsh attacking play. Outstanding wings, best in world from both sides but just see them wasted a little with Farrell at 12 for Welsh.

Bath lineout and breakdown advantage will really hurt Welsh and better balance backline will see them through with a good win.

Do other 2 in a bit

Cheers for waiting Prop and Steven, am writing them up now!

I'd have waited but done the games this morning whilst waiting for missus and haven't got time to repredo. Be lucky to get other two games in tbh.

Pete I've updated my tactics - will try and do my predos a bit later today as am off back to bed now! Been a long, long night!

Quins 21-20 Glos

Two huge front rows but Quins just get the nudge on here. 2^nd rows are even but the backrow is just given to Glos. Very tight pack battle with not much turnover ball. In the weather Quins have a good 9-10 but Glos obviously have that extra international experience. Outside backs I can see Quins more suited for the weather and will find the gaps however, Glos’ back 3 can create chances from nothing. Feel Quins have more to offer from the bench in the pack but Glos have the backs subs. Quins’ll grind this one out and close it off up front but Glos will score the tries. Very close game.



Tigers 22-18 Saints

Front row to Tigers here with the 2nd row even-ish. I do prefer the Tigers back row but Parisse is in very good form. 9-10 even with both having good control and the bit of spice when required. More experience from Tigers in backs will help here, Saints have flair but the Tigers will get quicker ball from their set pieces and a huge forwards impact bench.

Welsh 18-20 Bath

Stronger front row to Bath but BDP may get some against the head. 2^nd rows go to Bath here. Bath have a little bit more in the backrow for carriers but Welsh should get some joy with turnover ball too. Two good sets of halfbacks with controlling fly halves here. 12 to Bath 13 to Welsh. Two good sets of back 3 but I feel that Farrell may choke the Welsh play. Welsh’s forwards bench keeps it close but I feel Bath have that extra quality and will get their backline moving more.



Sharks 24-20 Irish

Sharks will get the nudge on at scrum time with Ayerza getting under Stevens. 2^nd rows will just go to Sharks but both teams should retain lineout ball. 2 strong backrows on show here with Armitage getting some joy at the breakdown but Sharks have some strong carriers especially in POM. 2 form half backs bringing quality for both teams. Feel Irish will get a bit more joy in the centres but Sharks strong in defence here. Back 3’s good with both 14’s gaining the upper hand on their side. Irish will shore up the scrum when Castro comes on but I think that the damage will be done by then with the Sharks forwards gaining initial momentum.



Sarries 15-13 Wasps

Sarries will win the initial scrum battle but Wasps have a bit more on the bench. 2^nd rows both have the physical edge and the lineout control so wont split them. Backrow, Sarries have the strong runners but Wasps have the players who will slow down/turnover their ball. More on offer from Sarries hb’s. Think Nonu will find enough gaps but Trinder lacking a little bit of form so may be smothered by Pisi. Brown will get some joy in the back three but Visser may get one over Banahan. Not many tries here and it’ll come down to penalties and territory.

Newcastle  29 - 21 Worcester

Decent front row battle, Franks vs Beast a great match up. Again a great battle in the second rows, slight edge to the home side in quality. Decent back row on show from Worcs, but Falcons first choice unit is as good as it gets. The home side sneak the HBs but i like Worcester's unit. Two good centre combos, but again advantage to Newcastle. Newcastle with the better back three. Worcs put up a good fight today, but unlucky for Prop that he is the person who plays Newcastle in the one game from Sept to Dec when they have SH players playing.

Harlequins 23 - 22 Gloucester

Slight advantage up front to Quins with 3 great players. Both sets of locks have good form, and its tough to split the units. Really tough to split these back rows. Alberts on top of Wood, Hari's form see Easter win the no.8 battle. Glaws HBs are as classy as you get, but Quins have the form with Burns in particular. Not a lot in the centres, two great units, and the back threes are advantage Glaws. Great game this, Quins' home advantage about all that splits them

Welsh 24 - 22 Bath

Think Bath are the first side to get change out of Welsh's front row. BdP losing his rating now and Mealamu still going strong. Been impressed by Timani and think he adds to Welsh, but Whitelock is the best lock on the planet right now and makes a big difference to Bath's team. For me Welsh have all the form in the back row and can see them getting on top. HB battle worth the entrance fee alone. Not a lot in the centre battle, although struggle with Farrell at 12 at the mo. Welsh so much better with these wingers, and the back three battle is crazy. Such a close game. At home, plumping for Welsh with their back row and HBs.

Falcons v Warriors
- Falcons at home, with their SH players back, are about as tough as games come. Can see Worc battling away and their backrow stifling newcastle for about 60 mins but then falcons will have too much.
25-18

Quins v Glos
- Slight edge in the scrum to Glos and good lock pairings for both side, cant see either dominating lineout. Can see this one coming down to the backs. Glos have the names at half backs with two class players. Quins have the form 10 in Burns and a good centre combo. Pacey back 3 for Glos but could be got at defensively and think more experience in the Quins back 3 can exploit this.
27-26

Tigers v Saints
- Some good form in Tigers forwards will see them get on the front foot and can see Wilko kicking some pens here to keep the board ticking. Saints have a very mobile and powerful side but think Tigers can just put the strangle on and squeeze a big home win out.
21-18

Welsh v Bath
- Huge game here. Think the Bath pack has real quality and can really test Welsh at home. Slightly prefer the Welsh half backs although Hodgson is playing great stuff at 10 and will be given a good platform. The backlines are both quality, though Farrell doesnt convince me still. Some good impact players on the bench for both sides but a little more from Bath can see them sneak this late on.
21-23

Saracens v Wasps
- Huge game for both sides. Front fives even, but give Sarries the egde in the backrow. A better half back combo for the home side too. Nonu back in Sarries side transforms their backs, gives them go forward. Barritt and Pisi good defenders though. Very tough to call but at home and with a slight edge throughout Sarries take it.
25-22

Saracens 23-21 Wasps

Another really good contest with big improvements in sides with SH players involved. Both strong scrummaging units backed up by powerful lock combo's shading to Sarries. A little bit more for the Sarries backrow with 6/8 in good form.

Not much in two good halfback pairings but Sarries boosted hugely by the return of Nonu and this gives them the edge in the centres. Good form and individuals in the back 3's also. Sarries with just a bit too much and strong at home with their SH back.

Can I concede now before it get's any worse??

Newcastle Falcons 24-18 Worcester Warriors

Nothing between the front 5s around the park or at scrum time in this one. Falcons have a few more quality jumpers at the lineout though and will cause a few problems. Falcons welcome back some world class talent in the back row. Great form for Worcester will see this tight but Falcons just shade it. Halfbacks to Falcons. On current form there’s not much between the 9s but Cruden is a class above at 10. From 11-15 Falcons take the advantage stronger man for man Malziue apart. On the bench Falcons have the front 5 players to turn the screw at the scrum although Gorgodze will be a massive presence for Worcester. Falcons have enough to eventually over power Worcester in the pack here.

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Harlequins 19-18 Gloucester Rugby

Good battle at the set piece which neither side will really dominate. Both sides will get around the park strongly. On current form the back rows are fairly even. Alberts the better BS, OS is even but Easter shades at 8 with Harri lacking form. Halfbacks go to Glaws with an extra level of quality but some very good form for Quins and they will get the backline moving. Not much between the midfields and back 3 in this one with decent quality on show for both sides. Bit more impact in the backs for Glaws from the bench but the pack battle will still be a stalemate. Tough game to score with both sides fairly even. Home advantage sees Quins shade it.

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Leicester Tigers 26-22 Northampton Saints

Another tight set piece battle! No major shift either way. Few more dynamic carriers for Tigers on show. Tigers have a lot more to offer at the breakdown and see them really disrupting Saints ball. Halfbacks shade to Tigers. Two good units but not sure Simpson suits the game plan. Phillips starting the better option. In the backs Saints have more to offer carrying wise particularly in midfield. More creativity from Tigers though. Saints lacking creativity at 10-12-13. Both sides are strong defensively. Off the bench Tigers have the options to take advantage of the scrum. Tigers with the cleaner ball in this one and they have the directness and creativity to open Saints up at home.

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London Welsh 16-13 Bath Rugby

See a slight edge to Welsh with good meat in the 2nd row supporting the scrum. Lineout is an even affair though. On current form Welsh shade the back row battle with the Bath flanks not in great form. Halfbacks to Bath. Think the combo would work fantastically together and both in great form. Good combo from Welsh as well though with Lambie in good form. Midfield battle is fairly even. Farrell playing himself into a bit of form while Rougerie not playing the greatest recently. Two cracking back threes on show. Not much either way between the benches. Welsh will get the better of the forwards battle and that is crucial at home.

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Saracens 15-12 London Wasps

Very good set piece battle. See Wasps just edging the scrum but Sarries just edging the lineout. Little more quality for Sarries in the back row and they get an edge. Halfbacks shade to Sarries on current form but neither side has a metronomic kicker on show. Even in the back 3s but Visser to have a say in the match. Not a lot between the midfields. Nonu the star operator but Wasps stronger as a combo. Nothing between the benches but see the last 20 minutes becoming a kicking battle. Sarries with the stronger pack overall and see O’Gara winning the kicking battle in the last quarter to take the win at home.

I thought tactics were limited to 500 words now?!

please??

Don't give up Prop!! You've just caught me with my SH players back.

Sale 24-23 Irish

Think Sale will get a nudge on in the set piece and front 5 with some serious quality on show. Same again in the backrow with Sale just edging but two good units.

Irish just shade the halfbacks and back 3 but think Sale have enough in centres and at home to seal a real narrow win. Two top sides.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Don't give up Prop!! You've just caught me with my SH players back.

You smashed me in the other game too!! Leave me alone!!

Newcastle 26 - 22 Worcester

Newcastle have that little bit more in all areas here. Worcester have improved out of sight and are much closer than they have been in recent seasons (you can tell that by Pooly's team selection). In either side I'm not a huge fan of Cruden especially his defence. Benjamin a very average player in a team of stars. Savage stands out in your pack prop and Short and Cook do in the backline.

Leicester 23 - 24 Northampton

I don't see much at all in the front 5's. I think Saints may have more in the lineout and more in the loose with Albacete and Lawes really making a difference. Half backs to Leicester but not by much with the Saints combo offering more of an attacking threat. Outside backs are tough but i really like the physical edge offered by Saints. This is a very very good game, maybe the game of the week. I think that Saints have just about the stronger pack and they will be able to do enough with the ball in hand to get a good away win.

London Welsh 24 - 26 Bath

Pete is unlucky to play Bath in the one week when they have there stars back. Scrum is tight with Welsh gaining a slight advantage. Bath will control the lineout though with Welsh lacking a top operator. As units the Welsh front row take it but the Bath back 5 is a strong unit and will take the game by the scruff of the neck, something Bath have been lacking this season. Half backs are very tight, Smith and Parra neck and neck with Hodgson's form putting him ahead of Lambie. Centres are just to Bath with back 3's dead even with potentially the four best wingers in the world on show. Tough game to call. Bath just have more and win it.

Sale 19 - 17 London Irish

Front 5 goes to Sale. I suspect the lineout will be even but the scrum should go the way of Sale. back rows are tight, conditions probably suit Sale more than they do the Irish unit. Two of the three best half backs in the league on show here and I think the conditions will play into the Irish units hands with the extra control Pienaar gives from 9, but make no mistake Care is on electric form and is no weakness. Prefer the Sale centres but the Irish back 3. In the end the pack wins it for Sale.

Saracens 18 - 18 Wasps

Think Wasps will get a good nudge on the scrum and will probably control the lineout with Wentzel in charge. Prefer the Wasps back row with more carriers. Rennie v Gill at breakdown will be a good one. Half backs one a piece. Can't call the outside backs, both have strengths and weaknesses and will cancel each other out.

Cheers for the comments steve

Pete,

Won't be on tonight at a wedding reception and have no idea who worse for ware i will be come 12 tomorrow. So apologies for no predictions if i can't get them in.

Newcastle 15 - 10 Worcester

On paper a lot stronger backline with Newcastle, but don't see the team clicking as much as they would do in 1-2 weeks time due to the length of time their players have been away at the RC. Especially as Worcester team has been playing week in week out and their pack is very capable of killing games in wet conditions. Find it hard to rate SBW and wouldnt start Miles Benjamin as he's been out of action for so long. Great backrow battle on display.

Quins 33-32 Gloucester
Can see this being a high scoring affair with both teams having electric backlines and a lot of tries in nice conditions that will see a lot of turnovers and attacking chances. Both teams will get try BP's, but Steven has a lot of very in form players and home advantage, would probably have given Mat a draw/away win if he had an international hooker - not sure how Grey would do in the big games until I've seen him in more HC or get an England cap - no2 such a key position too.

London Welsh 23 - 23 Bath

Similar issues with me in this as the Newcastle/Warriors game, think it will take an extra week for all the Bath players to gel, but they have so much quality on display that they will get a draw away at Welsh. Think they have a lot of world class players and despite Welsh having the better kicking game I see Bath as having the quality to stay close until the end. Would say that there is a slight advantage in the Bath subs bench to get the draw after Welsh dominate with the boot.

Sale 25 - 22 London Irish

Tough one to call, pretty even packs and no real advantage to either though the form of the Sale no7 is very impressive at the moment. Big area for me is the form of Sale's halfbacks, Danny Care is the form no9 in Europe by some distance at the moment and his service to Sexton makes a close to perfect halfback combination. The Irish backline is still very strong, but just see Sale having a little bit too much.

Saracens 17 - 15 Wasps

Packs again very even, think Wasps have the edge in getting over the gainline with the excellent Manoa and Mafi tearing up the park. Would have both in my team straight away! But I think the issue for Wasps away from home is their halfback combo, they desperately need Priestland to find some form again, as he could be the difference in games like this. As it is the return on Nonu makes a heck of a difference to Drivers backline, a lot of direction, physical presence and go forward. Very narrow win in a really physical contest.

Newcastle Falcons 20 Worcester Warriors 17

Falcons stronger in a couple of key areas, mainly 8 and 10 which I think would see them control the game better than Worcester. Warriors physicality in their pack and off the bench would keep them close and make Falcons work hard, but they have enough to win this one without too much difficulty.


Harlequins 17 Gloucester 21

Really tough one to call this as there are tow excellent teams on show. The key thing for me is the control that you get from the 8, 9, 10 and in everyone of those jerseys I would have the Gloucester player as considerably better than their direct opponent. I also really like the balance in the Gloucester pack and can see Genia and Carter just making sure they are always playing in the right areas and that will see them get a fantastic away win.


Leicester Tigers 19 Northampton Saints 21

Nothing between these two sides really going man for man with the exception of Parisse being a cut above Waldrom for me. I have to look at how the pieces fit together. Tigers win in the physicality stakes for me, but Saints better balanced in the pack. I also think that saints would have the upper hand in the lineout, with Bonnaire leading it and all of their back 5 good options as jumpers. Looking at the tactics from Saints they are going to put the ball in deep and look to play off the lineout and I see real joy for them in this area and think they get a fantastic away win here.


Sale Sharks 24 London Irish 18

This was a really strange one when I sat down and looked at it, as overall, man for man, I think Irish are slightly better than Sale, but when I looked at how various combinations would work and different facets of the game would go, I could see Sale getting the upper hand, particularly off the scrum, where for me Stevens is a real weak link. I also think Sale have the better bench to come on, and at home I can see them closing the game out and a comfortable win.


Saracens 19 London Wasps 25

Chuter a weak link for Saracens now in my opinion, and as a result I can see Wasps getting an edge in both the scrum and the lineout, where Wentzel would have a field day. I also think that Wasps bench is better and as a result of those things they get a strong away win here.

Falcons 28 Worcester 20
Quins 20 Gloucester 23
Welsh 20 Bath 23
Leicester 22 Northampton 22
Sale 28 London Irish 25

Sorry for no explanations , massive hangover.....