Heineken Cup Round Five

Team & Tactics - 2000hrs Saturday
Predictions - 2359hrs Tuesday

Teams to be updated closer to the deadline

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P1 Racing Métro 92 v Gloucester
Location - Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir

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Racing Metro 92

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Sebastien Descons
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Olly Barkley
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Karim Ghezal	11. Juan Imhoff
05. francois van der Merwe	12. Alexandre Dumoulin
06. Antoine Batut	13. Guillaume Bousses
07. Bernard Le Roux	14. Sireli Bobo
08. Jacques Cronje (c)	15. Gaetan Germain

16. Thomas Bianchin 17. Julien Brugnaut 18. Juan Pablo Orlandi 19. Jone qovu Nailiko 20. Mathieu Belie 21. Juan Martin Hernandez 22. Camille Gerondeau 23. Alvaro Galindo

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Gloucester

01. D.Murphy	09. D.Robson
02. R.Best	10. P.Lambie (k)
03. A.Jones
04. T.Savage	11. J.May
05. S.Whitelock	12. R.Mills
06. A.Strokosch	13. M.Tindall
07. A.Qera	14. C.Sharples
08. L.Narraway (c)	15. I.Balshaw

16. D.Dawiduk 17. R.Harden 18. N.Wood 19. J.Hamilton 20. JVN 21. D.Yachvilli 22. F.Burns 23. J.Roberts

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P2 Ospreys v Northampton Saints
Location - Liberty Stadium

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Ospreys

01. Ryan Bevington	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Dan Biggar
03. Campbell Johnstone
04. Ian Gough	11. Eli Walker
05. James King	12. Ashley Beck
06. Ryan Jones	13. Andrew Bishop
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Ross Jones
08. Joe Bearman	15. Richard Fussell

16. Scott Baldwin 17. Duncan Jones 18. Adam Jones 19. Lloyd Peers 20. George Stowers 21. Rhys Webb 22. Matthew Morgan 23. Tom Issacs

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Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Steven Kitshoff	09. Lee Dickson
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Samu Manoa	12. James Downey
06. Calum Clark	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Jp Pieterson
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. S. Tonga'uiha 17. M. Haywood 18. B. Mujati 19. A. Bekker 20. R. Wilson 21. A. Smith 22. S. Myler 23. J. Elliot

Tactics

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

• Lee Dickson 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 Clark & Wood looking to get their hands on the ball.

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

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P3 Connacht v Leicester Tigers
Location - Galway Sportsgrounds

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Connacht

Manager – Eric Elwood

01. Dennis Buckley	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Adrian Flavin	10. Dan Parks (k)
03. Nathan White
04. Michael Swift	11. Fetu'u Vainikolo
05. Mike McCarthy	12. David McSharry
06. John Muldoon (c.)	13. Eoin Griffin
07. Willie Faloon	14. Tiernan O'Halloran
08. George Naoupou	15. Robbie Henshaw

16. Jason Harris-Wright, 17. Brett Wilkinson, 18. Ronan Loughney, 19.Eoin McKeon, 20. Johnny O'Connor, 21. Dave Moore, 22. Miah Nikora, 23. Gavin Duffy

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Karl Dickson
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Aaron Jarvis
04. Ed Slater	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Richie Gray(c)	12. James O’Connor
06. Maurie Fa'asalavu	13. Matt Smith
07. Liam Gill	14. Christian Wade
08. Willam Alberts	15. Matt Tait

16. Jamie George 17. Luke Cowen-Dickie 18. Martin Castrogiovani 19. Tom Price 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Harrison 22. Dante Mama 23. Charlie Walker

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P4 Bath Rugby v Castres Olympique
Location - The Rec

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. N.Catt	09. C.Cook
02. C.Tolufua	10. O.Barkley (k)
03. O.Franks
04. J.Muller (c)	11. T.Biggs
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (lk)
06. C.Fearns	13. E.Daly
07. F.Louw	14. T.Bowe
08. S.O'Brien	15. I.Dagg

16. O.Tomascyuk 17. L.Mears 18. C.Healy 19. S.Hooper 20. R.Skuse 21. M.Classens 22. J.Hook 23. K.Eastmond

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Castres Olympique

01. Mihaita Lazar	09. Thierry Lacrampe
02. Mathieu Bonello	10. Remi Tales
03. Michael Coetzee
04. Matthias Rolland (c)	11. Marcel Garvey
05. Iosefa Tekori	12. Remi Lamerat
06. Jannie Bornman	13. Romain Cabannes
07. Yannick Caballero	14. Paul Bonnefond
08. Pedrie Wannenburg	15. Romain Teulet

16. Brice Mach 17. Karena Wihingi 18. Saimone Taumoepeau 19. Christophe Samson 20. Ibrahim Diarra 21. Thomas Sanchou 22. Daniel Kirkpatrick 23. Brice Dulin

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P5 ASM Clermont Auvergne v London Wasps
Location - Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin

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ASM Clermont Auvergne

01. Raphael Chaume	09. Morgan Parra
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Brock James
03. Davit Zirakashvili
04. Jamie Cudmore	11. Napolioni Nalaga
05. Nathan HInes	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Julien Bonnaire	13. Aurelien Rougerie (c)
07. Julien Bardy	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Damien Chouly	15. Lee Byrne

16. Ti'i Paulo 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Daniel Kotze 19. Loic Jacquet 20. Alexandre Lapandry 21. Ludovic Radoslavjevic 22. David Skrela 23. Regan King

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London Wasps

Manager – CF

01. Tim Payne	09. Danny Care
02. Dimitri Swarzeski	10. Jimmy Gopperth (K)
03. Nicolas Mas
04. George Skivington	11. Mark Cueto
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Thierry Dusautoir (C)	13. Billy Twelvetrees
07. Julien Salvi	14. Tom Varndell
08.Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

Replacements: 16. George Chuter 17. Boris Stankovich 18. Jeremy Castex 19. James Cannon 20. Micky Young 21. Owen Farrell 22. Ugo Monye 23. Charlie Ingall

Tough away game here and one we need to win..a few changes have been made with Farrell being left out with Gopperth being preferred for this game, also Cueto gets a run out at the expense of Monye....We will look to be strong at the set piece, and hopefully dominate the scrum..Swarzeski is under pressure at the moment at the line out and we need him to be solid and on form today. The forwards will look to tire the oppostion and once the oppo start to tire, the backs will come into play more, and cueto and varndell's pace will look dominate the game and run the ball forward looking to get quick ball to Mermoz and 36...Gopperth will go for drop goals on a regualr basis, as we look to jusy get the win any way possible..performance today isnt as important as grabbing a vital win.

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P6 London Irish v Montpellier
Location - Madejski Stadium

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London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Max Lahiff	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Simon Shaw	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Regan King
06. Liam Messam	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Marlande Yarde
08. Tom Guest	15. Delon Armitage

16.Rob Herring, 17. Leo Halavatau, 18. Gethin Jenkins, 19. Tom Palmer, 20. Imanol Harinordoquy, 21. Jack Moates, 22. Daniel Bowden, 23. Shontayne Hape

Default team, from last week

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Montpellier

01. Yvan Watremez	09. Julien Tomas (c)
02. Rassie van Vuuren	10. Sanitago Fernandez
03. Juan Figallo
04. Mickael Demarco	11. Yoan Audrin
05. Aliki Fakate	12. Paul Bosch
06. Alexandre Bias	13. Matt Carraro
07. Kelian Galletier	14. Timoci Nagusa
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Martin Bustos Moyano

16. Mickael Ladhuie 17. Na'ama Leleimalefaga 18. Barry Fa'amausili 19. Thibault Privat 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Eric Escande 22. Shontayne Hape 23. Benjamin Thiery

I'm in the Amlin , Irish are in this.

Oh really, just followed it of the fixture pages.

Let's blame Pooly for this

It's always Pooly's fault!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zc5BJ2bz4AE

Poolys theme music......

oh wow


don't know what to say...

Surprisingly catchy , video features everyone in the town practically.

97% council estate Hartlepool

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Steven Kitshoff	09. Lee Dickson
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Samu Manoa	12. James Downey
06. Calum Clark	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Jp Pieterson
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. S. Tonga'uiha 17. M. Haywood 18. B. Mujati 19. A. Bekker 20. R. Wilson 21. A. Smith 22. S. Myler 23. J. Elliot

Tactics

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

• Lee Dickson 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 Clark & Wood looking to get their hands on the ball.

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

TBC - depending on league table and weather

Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. N.Catt	09. C.Cook
02. C.Tolufua	10. O.Barkley (k)
03. O.Franks
04. J.Muller (c)	11. T.Biggs
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (lk)
06. C.Fearns	13. E.Daly
07. F.Louw	14. T.Bowe
08. S.O'Brien	15. I.Dagg

16. O.Tomascyuk 17. L.Mears 18. C.Healy 19. S.Hooper 20. R.Skuse 21. M.Classens 22. J.Hook 23. K.Eastmond

Weather not on these games unless its a team in the league I thought? Ad might not get the table done that soon. Got two deadlines this week. Latest will be done is Friday.

Songs quite catchy Driver!!

01. D.Murphy	09. D.Robson
02. R.Best	10. P.Lambie (k)
03. A.Jones
04. T.Savage	11. J.May
05. S.Whitelock	12. R.Mills
06. A.Strokosch	13. M.Tindall
07. A.Qera	14. C.Sharples
08. L.Narraway (c)	15. I.Balshaw

16. D.Dawiduk 17. R.Harden 18. N.Wood 19. J.Hamilton 20. JVN 21. D.Yachvilli 22. F.Burns 23. J.Roberts

Top man.

Teams in by 8pm Saturday

Pooly f'in strut?!?!

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Karl Dickson
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Aaron Jarvis
04. Ed Slater	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Richie Gray(c)	12. James O’Connor
06. Maurie Fa'asalavu	13. Matt Smith
07. Liam Gill	14. Christian Wade
08. Willam Alberts	15. Matt Tait

16. Jamie George 17. Luke Cowen-Dickie 18. Martin Castrogiovani 19. Tom Price 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Harrison 22. Dante Mama 23. Charlie Walker

Named Matt Smith twice fella

Too many Matt's lol

Connacht

Manager – Eric Elwood

01. Dennis Buckley	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Adrian Flavin	10. Dan Parks (k)
03. Nathan White
04. Michael Swift	11. Fetu'u Vainikolo
05. Mike McCarthy	12. David McSharry
06. John Muldoon (c.)	13. Eoin Griffin
07. Willie Faloon	14. Tiernan O'Halloran
08. George Naoupou	15. Robbie Henshaw

16. Jason Harris-Wright, 17. Brett Wilkinson, 18. Ronan Loughney, 19.Eoin McKeon, 20. Johnny O'Connor, 21. Dave Moore, 22. Miah Nikora, 23. Gavin Duffy

WASPS TACTICS

01.Tim Payne 09.Danny Care
02.Dimitri Swarzeski 10.Jimmy Gopperth
03.Nicolas Mas 11.Mark Cueto
04.Marco Wentzel 12.Maxime Mermoz
05.George Skivgnton 13.Billy Twelvetrees
06.Thierry Dusatoir (c) 14.Tom Varndell
07.Juliven Salvi 15.Mike Brown
08.Thomas Waldrom

Replacements: 16.Chuter 17.Stankovich 18.Castex 19.Cannon 20.Young 21.Farrell 22.Monye 23.Ingall

Tough away game here and one we need to win..a few changes have been made with Farrell being left out with Gopperth being preferred for this game, also Cueto gets a run out at the expense of Monye....We will look to be strong at the set piece, and hopefully dominate the scrum..Swarzeski is under pressure at the moment at the line out and we need him to be solid and on form today. The forwards will look to tire the oppostion and once the oppo start to tire, the backs will come into play more, and cueto and varndell's pace will look dominate the game and run the ball forward looking to get quick ball to Mermoz and 36...Gopperth will go for drop goals on a regualr basis, as we look to jusy get the win any way possible..performance today isnt as important as grabbing a vital win.

Still unable to do correct format CF?

No need to predict on:

London Irish 0-30 Montpellier

Racing Metro 19 Gloucester 24
Ospreys 9 Northampton 18
Connacht 11 Leicester 29
Bath 35 Castres 13
Clermont 25 London Wasps 20

Ospreys 10-18 Northampton
Saints pack will get on top in this match.

Connacht 12-28 Leicester
However much I like Connacht and their style of play I think Tigers will get a good win from The Sportsground with a strong squad.

Bath 30-14 Castres
Castres don't travel well, Bath's backs will link and power through.

Clermont 28-21 London Wasps
Clermont at home are unstoppable and Wasps come to them at the wrong time. Never thought I'd say it but maybe starting Farrell would have helped out. Think Wasps have enough to get a good bonus point.

Racing Metro 15 Gloucester 21
Ospreys 15 Northampton 19
Connacht 12 Leicester 22
Irish 22 Montpelier 17
Clermont 25 London Wasps 16

Racing 17-23 Gloucester
Ospreys 20-24 Saints
Bath 24-17 Castres
ASM 28-22 Wasps

Racing Metro 17 - Gloucester 26
Ospreys 18 - Saints 26
Connacht 15 - Tigers 31
Bath 29 - 15 Castres
ASM 24 - Wasps 21

Racing Metro 22 - 28 Gloucester
Ospreys 20 - 26 Northampton Saints
Connacht 18 - 32 Leicester Tigers
Bath 22 - 20 Castres
Clermont Auvergne 31 - 24 London Wasps
London Irish 0 - 30 Montpellier

Racing Metro 20-26 Gloucester
Connacht 10-25 Leicester
Bath 28-18 Castres
Irish 0-30 Montpelier
Clermont 30-20 London Wasps

Racing 24 Glaws 31
Ospreys 20 Saints 28
Cinnacht 12 Leicester 27
Bath 35 Castres 18
Irish 0 Montpellier 30
Clermont 27 Wasps 21

Predo's closed

Can't do results at minute but bonus to:

Driver, Prop, Bathite, Pooly, CJ, Flux, SJE, Ollie

MARK

By my reckoning, results:

Racing 19 - Gloucester 29
Ospreys 16 - saints 26
Connacht 13 - Tigers 31
Bath 33 - Castres 16
Irish 0 - Montpellier 30
Clermont 31 - Wasps 21