Heineken Cup Round Six

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

Teams to be updated closer to the deadline

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P1 Gloucester v Edinburgh Rugby
Location - Kingsholm Stadium

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Gloucester

01. D.Murphy	09. D.Robson
02. D.Dawiduk	10. P.Lambie (k)
03. R.Harden
04. T.Savage	11. JSD
05. S.Whitelock	12. EFS
06. A.Strokosch	13. H.Trinder
07. A.Qera	14. S.Monahan
08. L.Narraway (c)	15. I.Balshaw

16. D.Ward 17. S.Knight 18. N.Wood 19. E.Stooke 20. P.Burgess 21. R.Lawson 22. F.Burns 23. M.Tindall

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Edinburgh

01. Robin Hislop	09. Richie Rees
02. Steve Lawrie	10. Greig Laidlaw (c)
03. Wp Nel
04. Grant Gilchrist	11. Tim Vissier
05. Sean Cox	12. Matt Scott
06. Stuart McInally	13. Ben Cairns
07. Dimitri Basilaia	14. Douglas Fife
08. David Denton	15. Greig Tonks

16. Andy Titterrell 17. Alex Allan 18. Geoff Cross 19. Netani Talei 20. Roddy Grant 21. Piers Francis 22. Ben Atiga 23. Sep Visser

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P2 Northampton Saints v Toulouse
Location - Franklin Gardens

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Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. JP Pieterson
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Brian Mujati 19. Samu Manoa 20. Calum Clark 21. Aaron Smith 22. Stephen Myler 23. Jamie 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 boot of Sexton and force Toulouse 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 Toulouse 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.

• Smith 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 Wood 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.

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Toulouse

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Luke Burgess
02. Gary Botha	10. Luke McAlister
03. Census Johnston
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Yoann Huget
05. Patricio Albacete	12. Yannick Jauzion
06. Gregory Lamboley	13. Florian Fritz
07. Yannick Nyanga	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Clement Poitrenaud

16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Yohan Montes 19. Yoann Maestri 20. Sylvain Nicolas 21. Jean-Marc Doussain 22. Maxime Medard 23. Gaël Fickou

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P3 Leicester Tigers v Zebre
Location - Welford Road

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Karl Dickson
02. Bismark du Plessis	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Ed Slater	11. Digby Ioane
05. Richie Gray	12. James O’Connor
06. Willam Alberts	13. Matt Smith
07. Luke Wallace	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Tom Youngs 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Dan Cole 19. Geoff Parling 20. Liam Gill 21. Sam Harrison 22. Berrick Barnes 23. Miles Benjamin

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Zebre

01. Matias Aguero	09. Alberto Chillon
02. Andrea Manici	10. Luciano Orquera
03. David Ryan
04. Quintin Geldenhuys	11. Sinoti Sinoti
05. Mike Van Vuren	12. Daniel Halangahu
06. Filippo Ferrarini	13. Gonzalo Garcia
07. Mauro Bergamasco	14. Matteo Prtichetti
08. Josh Sole	15. Paulo Buso

16. Carlo Festuccia 17. Luca Redolfini 18. Salvatore Perugini 19. Emiliano Caffini 20. Nicola Belardo 21. Tito Tebaldi 22. Alberto Benettin 23. Ruggero Trevisan

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P4 Glasgow Warriors v Bath
Location - Scoutstoun Stadium

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Glasgow Warriors

01. Ryan Grant	09. Henry Pyrgos
02. Dougie Hall	10. Duncan Weir
03. Moray Low
04. Tom Ryder	11. DTH van der Merwe
05. Alastair Kellock (c)	12. Peter Horne
06. James Eddie	13. Alex Dunbar
07. Rob Harley	14. Sean Maitland
08. Josh Strauss	15. Peter Murchie

16. Pat MacArthur 17. Gordon Reid 18. 19. Nick Campbell 20. Tim Swinson 21. Niko Matawalu, 22. Scott Wight 23. Stuart Hogg

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

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

16. O.Tomascyuk 17. C.Tolufua 18. J.Golding 19. S.Hooper 20. R.Skuse 21. C.Cook 22. K.Eastmond 23. J.Hook

- Picked a very strong team, going for the bonus point win to qualify
- Strong pack picked to make sure we win the battle up front
- Louw and Mercer playing to allow us to dominate the breakdown
- Steyn to focus on getting territory and pinging opposition back, so we can attack in their half, looking for tries

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P5 London Wasps v Leinster Rugby
Location - Adams Park

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London Wasps

01. Tim Payne	09. Micky Young
02. George Chuter	10. Jimmy Gopperth
03. Matt Stevens
04. Marco Wentzel	11. Ugo Monye
05. George Skivington	12. Jaque Fourie
06. Thierry Dusatoir	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Matt Evarard	14. Tom Varndell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Richard Haughton

16.Ben Broster 17.Zak Taulfao 18.Chris Brooker 19.James Cannon 20.Julien Salvi 21.Danny Care 22.Owen Farrell 23.Charlie Ingall

TEAM NEWS: Many changes have been to the side for this week's game. Dimtri Swarzeski and Nicolas Mas have been rested and dont feature in the 23. Everard gets a chance, amid rumours that Salvi is likely to be sold in the next few days. Young plays as Care is rested after a punishing schedule. Farrell is benched again, amid rumours of a bust-up with the coaching staff. Fourie comes in for the rested 36. Haughton plays for Brown..

With changes comes a new system...we will look to play free flowing rugby, leaving nothing in the changing room...its been a tough group but we have held our own, and can be proud of our efforts. The backs will try to run with quick ball hopefully being avaliable. Gopperth will look to kick over the top to allow the backs to pick up the ball in open spaces and run for the try line..Care will come on after 65 mins, to keep the pace going, and if it gets tight, and we need to kick penalties to get ahead then Farrell will come on

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Leinster

01. Cian Healy	09. Isaac Boss
02. Sean Cronin	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Mike Ross
04. Leo Cullen (c)	11. Luke Fitzgerald
05. Devin Toner	12. Gordon D'Arcy
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Fergus McFadden
07. Shane Jennings	14. Isa Nacewa
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Rob Kearney

16. Aaron Dundon 17. Heinke Van der Merwe 18. Michael Bent 19. Tom Denton 20. Jordi Murphy 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Ian Madigan 23. Brian O'Driscoll

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P6 Cardiff Blues v London Irish
Location - Cardiff Arms Park

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Cardiff Blues

01. Sam Hobbs	09. Lewis Jones
02. Rhys Williams	10. Rhys Patchell
03. Benoit Bourrust
04. James Down	11. Harry Robinson
05. Lou Reed	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Josh Navidi (c)	13. Owen Williams
07. Sam Warburton	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Robin Copeland	15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Kristian Dacey 17. Nathan Trevett 18. Scott Andrews 19. Macauley Cook 20. Luke Hamilton 21. Gareth Davies 22. Ceri Sweeney 23. Dafydd Hewitt

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]London Irish

Manager – Mad for Chelsea

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Tom Palmer	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Imanol Harinordoquy	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. David Strettle
08. Tom Guest	15. Delon Armitage (k)

16. Rob Herring, 17. Paulica Ion, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Jerome Kaino, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Brock James, 23. Marland Yarde

Tactics

A simple game plan constructed around obtaining and exploiting quick ball. Look to unleash our devastating backline whenever possible, while still playing the percentages (ie not necessarily looking to run from our 22 all day, but if it's on, go for it). Look to build a lead, and we have the necessary old hands on the bench to close out the game.

- Dominate the breakdown, through our back row and particularly Pocock (pearless in that area). Jenkins is adept there too.

- Dominate the line-outs. With Kennedy, Palmer and Harinordoquy we have three very good line-out options, and look to challenge for opposition ball as much as possible.

- all international front row should see us gain dominance at the scrum.

- If we get quick ball (or turnover ball), and it's on, release the backline. Hape to draw in defenders and use his off-loading game to put the others into space.

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TBC - depending on league table and weather

Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

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

16. O.Tomascyuk 17. C.Tolufua 18. J.Golding 19. S.Hooper 20. R.Skuse 21. C.Cook 22. K.Eastmond 23. J.Hook

- Picked a very strong team, going for the bonus point win to qualify
- Strong pack picked to make sure we win the battle up front
- Louw and Mercer playing to allow us to dominate the breakdown
- Steyn to focus on getting territory and pinging opposition back, so we can attack in their half, looking for tries

Ah ha didn't see this thread sorry!!

01. D.Murphy	09. D.Robson
02. D.Dawiduk	10. P.Lambie (k)
03. R.Harden
04. T.Savage	11. JSD
05. S.Whitelock	12. EFS
06. A.Strokosch	13. H.Trinder
07. A.Qera	14. S.Monahan
08. L.Narraway (c)	15. I.Balshaw

16. D.Ward 17. S.Knight 18. N.Wood 19. E.Stooke 20. P.Burgess 21. R.Lawson 22. F.Burns 23. M.Tindall

Tigers name a strong side looking to cement their place and get a home tie in the Q/F's.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Karl Dickson
02. Bismark du Plessis	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Ed Slater	11. Digby Ioane
05. Richie Gray	12. James O’Connor
06. Willam Alberts	13. Matt Smith
07. Luke Wallace	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Tom Youngs 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Dan Cole 19. Geoff Parling 20. Liam Gill 21. Sam Harrison 22. Berrick Barnes 23. Miles Benjamin

7 EQ starters remember lads

London Irish

Manager – Mad for Chelsea

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Tom Palmer	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Imanol Harinordoquy	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. David Strettle
08. Tom Guest	15. Delon Armitage (k)

16. Rob Herring, 17. Paulica Ion, 18. Max Lahiff, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Jerome Kaino, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Brock James, 23. Marland Yarde

Tactics

A simple game plan constructed around obtaining and exploiting quick ball. Look to unleash our devastating backline whenever possible, while still playing the percentages (ie not necessarily looking to run from our 22 all day, but if it's on, go for it). Look to build a lead, and we have the necessary old hands on the bench to close out the game.

- Dominate the breakdown, through our back row and particularly Pocock (pearless in that area). Jenkins is adept there too.

- Dominate the line-outs. With Kennedy, Palmer and Harinordoquy we have three very good line-out options, and look to challenge for opposition ball as much as possible.

- all international front row should see us gain dominance at the scrum.

- If we get quick ball (or turnover ball), and it's on, release the backline. Hape to draw in defenders and use his off-loading game to put the others into space.

Good work there Chelsea

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. JP Pieterson
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Brian Mujati 19. Samu Manoa 20. Calum Clark 21. Aaron Smith 22. Stephen Myler 23. Jamie 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 boot of Sexton and force Toulouse 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 Toulouse 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.

• Smith 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 Wood 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.

WASPS TACTICS

01.Tim Payne
02.George Chuter
03.Matt Stevens
04.Marco Wentzel
05.George Skivington
06.Theiry Dusatoir (c)
07.Matt Everard
08.Thomas Waldrom
09.Micky Young
10.Jimmy Gopperth
11.Ugo Monye
12.Jaque Fourie
13.Maxime Mermoz
14.Tom Varndell
15.Richard Haughton

REPLACMENETS: 16.Ben Broster 17.Zak Taulfao 18.Chris Brooker 19.James Cannon 20.Julien Salvi 21.Danny Care 22.Owen Farrell 23.Charlie Ingall

TEAM NEWS: Many changes have been to the side for this week's game. Dimtri Swarzeski and Nicolas Mas have been rested and dont feature in the 23. Everard gets a chance, amid rumours that Salvi is likely to be sold in the next few days. Young plays as Care is rested after a punishing schedule. Farrell is benched again, amid rumours of a bust-up with the coaching staff. Fourie comes in for the rested 36. Haughton plays for Brown..

With changes comes a new system...we will look to play free flowing rugby, leaving nothing in the changing room...its been a tough group but we have held our own, and can be proud of our efforts. The backs will try to run with quick ball hopefully being avaliable. Gopperth will look to kick over the top to allow the backs to pick up the ball in open spaces and run for the try line..Care will come on after 65 mins, to keep the pace going, and if it gets tight, and we need to kick penalties to get ahead then Farrell will come on

You good to open these Flux?

Will get them done later. Swear I wrote somewhere I was away. They'll be done by six this evening.

No bother mate, we'll extend predictions til Wed 8pm

I'm feeling nice and to help you out Flux, i've put Wasps in the right format

01. Tim Payne	09. Micky Young
02. George Chuter	10. Jimmy Gopperth
03. Matt Stevens
04. Marco Wentzel	11. Ugo Monye
05. George Skivington	12. Jaque Fourie
06. Thierry Dusatoir	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Matt Evarard	14. Tom Varndell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Richard Haughton

16.Ben Broster 17.Zak Taulfao 18.Chris Brooker 19.James Cannon 20.Julien Salvi 21.Danny Care 22.Owen Farrell 23.Charlie Ingall

TEAM NEWS: Many changes have been to the side for this week's game. Dimtri Swarzeski and Nicolas Mas have been rested and dont feature in the 23. Everard gets a chance, amid rumours that Salvi is likely to be sold in the next few days. Young plays as Care is rested after a punishing schedule. Farrell is benched again, amid rumours of a bust-up with the coaching staff. Fourie comes in for the rested 36. Haughton plays for Brown..

With changes comes a new system...we will look to play free flowing rugby, leaving nothing in the changing room...its been a tough group but we have held our own, and can be proud of our efforts. The backs will try to run with quick ball hopefully being avaliable. Gopperth will look to kick over the top to allow the backs to pick up the ball in open spaces and run for the try line..Care will come on after 65 mins, to keep the pace going, and if it gets tight, and we need to kick penalties to get ahead then Farrell will come on

These are open

Gloucester 32-10 Edinburgh
Northampton 26-19 Toulouse
Glasgow 17-18 Bath
Wasps 22-24 Leinster
Cardiff 15-22 Irsh

Northampton 24-17 Toulouse
Tigers 58-6 Zebre
Glasgow 14-17 Bath
Wasps 20-24 Leinster
Cardiff 13-20 Irish

Tigers 60 Zebre 3
Gloucester 48 Edinburgh 3
Northampton 22 Toulouse 15
Glasgow 12 Bath 17
Wasps 20 Leinster 20
Cardiff 15 Irish 23

Gloucester 23 - 6 Edinburgh
Northampton 16 - 19 Toulouse
Tigers 20 - 6 Zebre
Wasps 14 - 22 Leinster
Cardiff 13 - 17 Irsh

Gloucester 33-12 Edinburgh
Tigers 42-6 Zebre
Glasgow 16-22 Bath
Wasps 9-20 Leinster
Cardiff 18- 30 Irish

Leicester Tigers 48 - 9 Zebre
Gloucester 29 - 21 Edinburgh
Northampton Saints 23 - 24 Toulouse
Glasgow Warriors 15 - 25 Bath
London Wasps 16 - 28 Leinster
Cardiff Blues 17 - 24 London Irish

Gloucester 34 - Edinburgh 10
Saints 24 - Toulouse 20
Tigers 49 - Zebre 8
Glasgow 18 - Bath 30
Wasps 15 - Leinster 18
Blues 9 - Irish 19

Tigers 48- 9 Zebre
Gloucester 29- Edinbrugh 12
Saints 23- Toulouse 40
Glasgow 15- Bath 25
Cardiff 17- Irish 7

CF wrote:Saints 23- Toulouse 40

Can I have the reasoning on that score please?

typo

Gloucester 37-20 Edimburgh
Saints 22-21 Toulouse
Tigers 54-3 Zebre
Glasgow 15-18 Bath
Wasps 19-22 Leinster

on a side note, i'd appreciate any feedback of my tactics, selection, etc. this being my first game

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:

CF wrote:Saints 23- Toulouse 40

Can I have the reasoning on that score please?

He doesn't like you

Looks good mate, like the line up and fair tactics. Going forward I think you might need to look at 2 areas though; scrummaging and defence in the backline.

Think the front row might need some improvements though. Although they are all internationals, they're not the best in my opinion. Murray used to be a solid scrummager, but is on the wane and Gethin has never been the most powerful scummager either. Jenkins and TPN great in the loose though.

Great team going forward, but Hape is a weak defender, Cooper is awful and Rougerie can be caught out leaving the line early. I'd think about getting some improvements in defence in the 10/12 channels.

So whats the actual score then CF?

should have been the other way round lol

Saints 40-23 Toulouse

Mad for Chelsea wrote:Gloucester 37-20 Edimburgh
Saints 22-21 Toulouse
Tigers 54-3 Zebre
Glasgow 15-18 Bath
Wasps 19-22 Leinster

on a side note, i'd appreciate any feedback of my tactics, selection, etc. this being my first game

Decent front row, not the best technical unit in the League but not a weak one by any means. Again decent 2nd rows though Palmer's form seems to have dropped a bit. Nice balance to back row, though Hari is a bit off form at Biarritz he should do better with Poccock helping. Very strong lineout, ok scrum and good breakdown, just a few forwards a bit off form. Simpson and Cooper is as good an attacking HB combo as exists but could be exploited defensively, back 3 are all playing pretty well and has a nice feel, I'm not a fan of either centre individually but think it would be an effective partnership. Nice option son the bench to stabilise (James, Shaw) or change the game (Yarde, also Shaw). Tactics fine for the HEC but may have to write longer ones against the big boys. All in all good, and I wouldn't change much except starting Shaw and maybe James but that's a hard call tbh

Gloucester 28 Edinburgh 13
Saints 23 Toulouse 12
Leicester 45 Zebre 6
Glasgow 19 Bath 33
Wasps 24 Leinster 26
Cardiff 11 Irish 24

I would say that Hari at 8 and Guest at 6 would be more benefical in terms of predictions but not alot in it.

Also not convinced having Delon as your first choice kicker. Good for the odd long range one, but not a front line kicker.

But overall a very good side, which will come into its own in the latter part of the season as it is a team that will enjoy the hard grounds

Glos 26-12 Edinburgh
Saints 22-13 Toulouse
Tigers 59-6 Zebre
Glasgow 15-26 Bath
Wasps 23-27 Leinster
Cardiff 15-22 Irish

RESULTS:

Glos 37-12 Edinburgh
Saints 28-19 Toulouse
Tigers 53-6 Zebre
Glasgow 16-28 Bath
Wasps 18-28 Leinster
Cardiff 15-25 Irish

I think I've got it right...

Did that quicker than me!! Fair play fella!!

Predo bonus:

CJB, Ollie, Chelsea, CF, CJ, Flux SJE, Bathite, Driver, Prop, Pooly