Summer Tournament Round One

POOL A
 
Newcastle Falcons v Worcester Warriors
 
 
Newcastle Falcons
 
1.Ryan Grant
2.Dane Coles
3.Paul Doran Jones
4.Yoann Maestri
5.Paul O'Connell (c)
6.Chris Robshaw
7.Kelly Brown
8.Toby Falatau
 
9.Ben Youngs
10.Aaron Cruden
11.Charlie Sharples
12.Francis Saillia
13.Adam Ashley Cooper
14.Chris Ashton
15.Charles Pitatau
 
16.Rory Best 17.Alex Waller 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Joel Conlon 21.Sam Harrison 22.James O'Connor 23.George Lowe
 
Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88
 

01. Tendai Mtawrira	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Matthew Rees	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Halani Aulika
04. James Percival	11. David Strettle
05. Alun Wyn-Jones(c)	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Danie Russouw	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Ross Rennie	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Nathan Catt 17. Koree Britton 18. Brian Mujati 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Phil Dowson 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow 22. Olly Barkley 23. Tom Williams

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Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby
 
 
 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE
 

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Gael Fickou
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Simon Zebo
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Ross Harrison 17. David Paice 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tom Savage 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison
 
 
Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane
01. Cian Healy09. Morgen Parra02. Richard Hibbard10. Charlie Hodgson03. Davit Kubrashvilli04. Graham Kitchener11. George North05. Andries Bekker12. Anthony Allen06. James Haskell13. Jonathan Davies07. Chris Henry14. Nopolini Nalaga08. Tom Guest15. Stuart Hogg16. Charlie Faumuania 17. Chris Brooker 18. Euan Murray 19. George Merrick 20. Rhys Ruddock 21.  Richard Wigglesworth 22.  Luther Burrell 23. Rob Miller

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Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
 
 
Leicester TigersManager – LukeLovesLuka
 

01. Benn Robinson	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Tom Youngs	10. Pat Lambie (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Nathan Hines	11. Henry Speight
05. Ian Evans	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Jacques Burger	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ryan Jones	15. Mike Brown

16. Stephen Moore 17. Andrew Sheridan 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Micky Young 22. Jonny Wilkinson 23. Ugo Monye
 
 
Northampton SaintsManager: Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Ian Madigan (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Tommy Bowe
05. Samo Manoa	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Julian Savea
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Henry Thomas 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Calum Clark 21. Mike Phillips 22. Matt Toomua 23. Elliot Daly

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POOL B
Exeter Chiefs v London Welsh
 
 
Exeter Chiefs Manager – Fluxy

01. Logovii Mulipola	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber	10. Toby Flood
03. Mike Ross
04. Brad Thorn	11. Rene Ranger
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Ben Mowen	13. Aurelien Rougerie (C)
07. Sam Jones	14. Maxime Medard
08. Carl Fearns	15. Matt Tait

16. Jack Yeadle 17. Yannick Forestier 18. Rhodri Jones 19. Bradley Davies 20. Nick Williams 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Stephen Myler 23. Luke Arscott
 
 
London Welsh
 
15. Gareth Anscombe14. Bryan Habana13. Tim Nanai-Williams12. Christian Leali'ifano11. Marland Yarde10. Owen Farrell9. Aaron Smith1. Alex Corbisiero2. Bismarck du Plessis3. Dave Wilson4. Sitaleki Timani5. Jim Hamilton (c)6. Marcel Coetzee7. Siya Kolisi8. Duane Vermeulen16. Rob Hawkins   17. Paul James   18. Martin Castrogiovanni   19. George Skivington   20. Tom Johnson   21. Steffon Armitage   22. Paul Hodgson   23. Jack Nowell
 
We will be playing at pace ball in hand rugby, looking to offload and shift the point of attack.  Backs to attack much like Australia, pack to hit hard and carry like South Africa.

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Harlequins v Saracens
 
 
HarlequinsManager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ben Franks	09. Greig Laidlaw (k)
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Quade Cooper
03. John Afoa
04. Hugh Pyle	11. Luke Morahan
05. Pieter-Steph Du Toit	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Pieter Labushagne	13. Ben Tapuai
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Frank Halai
08. Pierre Spies	15. Yoann Huget

16. Gary Botha 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Luke Braid 21. Lee Dickson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Jonathan JosephTactics

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London Irish v Gloucester
 
 
London Irish01. Wyatt Crockett 09. Rory Kockott (k)02. Andrew Hore10. Nick Evans03. Adam Jones04. Mamuka Gorgodze 11. JP Pieterson05. Nick Kennedy 12. Luke McAlister06. Scott Higginbotham (c) 13. Henry Trinder  07. Will Fraser     14. Nick Cummins08. Ben Morgan 15. Brice Dulin16. Tom Lindsay 17. Matt Stevens 18. Jerome Schuster 19. Matt Garvey 20. Theirry Dusatoir 21. Jack Moates 22. Shane Geraghty 23. JSD
 
 
Gloucester1. Wood2. Strauss3 Johnston4 Etzbeth5 Robson6 Alberts7 Qera8 Heaslip9 Robson10 carter11 may12 Ebersohn13 Kudrani14 folau15 Dagg16 Coonie17 gray18 harden19 palmer20 saull21 Genia22 mills23 banahan

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When Does this start ? Not sure i can play due to work and no broadband when moving

This week mate. No pressure if you can't stick a team in, I can stick one in on your behalf so that your opponent can get some feedback on their team and how they would do.

I can do this week but struggle following weeks. Have 12 days without broadband.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ben Franks	09. Greig Laidlaw (k)
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Quade Cooper
03. John Afoa
04. Hugh Pyle	11. Luke Morahan
05. Pieter-Steph Du Toit	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Pieter Labushagne	13. Ben Tapuai
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Frank Halai
08. Pierre Spies	15. Yoann Huget

16. Gary Botha 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Luke Braid 21. Lee Dickson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Logovii Mulipola	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber	10. Toby Flood
03. Mike Ross
04. Brad Thorn	11. Rene Ranger
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Ben Mowen	13. Aurelien Rougerie (C)
07. Sam Jones	14. Maxime Medard
08. Carl Fearns	15. Matt Tait

16. Jack Yeadle 17. Yannick Forestier 18. Rhodri Jones 19. Bradley Davies 20. Nick Williams 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Stephen Myler 23. Luke Arscott

Looking a lot stronger than last season there fluxy mate.

London Welsh (will put into proper format later in the week).

15. Gareth Anscombe
14. Bryan Habana
13. Tim Nanai-Williams
12. Christian Leali'ifano
11. Marland Yarde
10. Owen Farrell
9. Aaron Smith

1. Alex Corbisiero
2. Bismarck du Plessis
3. Dave Wilson
4. Sitaleki Timani
5. Jim Hamilton (c)
6. Marcel Coetzee
7. Siya Kolisi
8. Duane Vermeulen

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Paul James 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. George Skivington 20. Tom Johnson 21. Steffon Armitage 22. Paul Hodgson 23. Jack Nowell

Glos
1. Wood
2. Strauss
3 Johnston
4 Etzbeth
5 Robson
6 Alberts
7 Qera
8 Heaslip
9 Robson
10 carter
11 may
12 Ebersohn
13 Kudrani
14 folau
15 Dagg
16 Coonie
17 gray
18 harden
19 palmer
20 saull
21 Genia
22 mills
23 banahan

Cheers mate! Our game is going be a good 'un I reckon! Was trying to put out a side that would resemble my European side somewhen down the line.

Wouldn't mind someone like Steffon in my side though!

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Ian Madigan (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Tommy Bowe
05. Samo Manoa	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Julian Savea
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Henry Thomas 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Calum Clark 21. Mike Phillips 22. Matt Toomua 23. Elliot Daly

1.Ryan Grant
2.Dane Coles
3.Paul Doran Jones
4.Yoann Maestri
5.Paul O'Connell (c)
6.Chris Robshaw
7.Kelly Brown
8.Toby Falatau

9.Ben Youngs
10.Aaron Cruden
11.Charlie Sharples
12.Francis Saillia
13.Adam Ashley Cooper
14.Chris Ashton
15.Charles Pitatau

16.Rory Best 17.Alex Waller 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Joel Conlon 21.Sam Harrison 22.James O'Connor 23.George Lowe

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Benn Robinson	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Tom Youngs	10. Pat Lambie (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Nathan Hines	11. Henry Speight
05. Ian Evans	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Jacques Burger	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ryan Jones	15. Mike Brown

16. Stephen Moore 17. Andrew Sheridan 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Micky Young 22. Jonny Wilkinson 23. Ugo Monye

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawrira	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Matthew Rees	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Halani Aulika
04. James Percival	11. David Strettle
05. Alun Wyn-Jones(c)	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Danie Russouw	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Ross Rennie	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Nathan Catt 17. Koree Britton 18. Brian Mujati 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Phil Dowson 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow 22. Olly Barkley 23. Tom Williams

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane
[table class="userTable" cellspacing="4"]
01. Cian Healy
09. Morgen Parra
02. Richard Hibbard
10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli

04. Graham Kitchener
11. George North
05. Andries Bekker
12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell
13. Jonathan Davies
07. Chris Henry
14. Nopolini Nalaga

08. Tom Guest
15. Stuart Hogg
16. Charlie Faumuania 17. Chris Brooker 18. Euan Murray 19. George Merrick 20. Rhys Ruddock 21.  Richard Wigglesworth 22.  Luther Burrell 23. Rob Miller

01. Wyatt Crockett 09. Rory Kockott (k)
02. Andrew Hore10. Nick Evans
03. Adam Jones
04. Mamuka Gorgodze 11. JP Pieterson
05. Nick Kennedy 12. Luke McAlister
06. Scott Higginbotham (c) 13. Henry Trinder
07. Will Fraser 14. Nick Cummins
08. Ben Morgan 15. Brice Dulin

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Matt Stevens 18. Jerome Schuster 19. Matt Garvey 20. Theirry Dusatoir 21. Jack Moates 22. Shane Geraghty 23. JSD

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Gael Fickou
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Simon Zebo
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Ross Harrison 17. David Paice 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tom Savage 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison

Predictions are OPEN


Will leave them open all weekend and do results on Monday.

Before I start looking at predictions, are there any particular areas that people are looking for feedback on?

I imagine its strengths, weaknesses, combinations etc.

Having to do this quite quick, as away for the weekend
Pool A

Newcastle 24 - 23 Worcester
Interesting game to call - very strong Falcons team, but when the game comes down to the final 20 minutes and benches empty I think that momentum will shift in the Warriors favour. A very exciting backline for Falcons too, but all quite young and possibly able to bully them a bit. Like Worcester halfbacks, but Falcons starting pack just sways it for me as should get a good attacking platform.

Sale 27 - 29 Bath
Very strong pack by Sale, who have two of the best half backs in this league, but with the backline I think they need a powerful ball runner to get them over the gainline there. Got a lot of spark and pace. Bath very well balanced team, probably just lose the pack battle, but really like their backline, which can cause a lot of damage.

Expect Pisi to have a very good season for Saints in real life this year, so expect that as soon as he hits form it will solve the issue for you SJE.

Pool B

Exeter 30 - 31 Welsh
Incredibly tight game to call, massive improvements from Fluxy all over the pitch. Midfield is going to be a really good contest and Flood right flyhalf to get best from Nonu and Rougerie. Pete has some great finishers outwide. Thing that just sways the match for me though is a bit more in backrow for Welsh. Both managers really improved their squads again though.

Quins X Sarries
Haven't seen a Sarries team. Steve think you have a really good squad, but as I don't watch a great deal of s15 I find it hard to rate 5/6 13/14 as I haven't really seen them play.

Irish 32 - 34 Gloucester
Good conditions should suit both teams - Irish have some bruising ball carriers in the pack and will make some good yards. When Genia comes off the bench it sways the game towards Gloucester - Mat has best 9/10 combo in the game and that has a big impact on results. Prop's team again has really improved, very good scrum and with Kennedy's lineout they will get quick ball to attack.

Pete what did I wrong with team sheet codes

Not sure mate.  I had loads of issues when pasting them to the OP.  The site formatting has changed and there appear to be some teething problems.

Newcastle Falcons 20-23 Worcester Warriors

Scrum: Not much between either front 5 here and don’t see either getting a push on.
Lineout: POC will be a menace to Worcester here and pick a lot of ball off.
Breakdown: Don’t see much here between either pack really.
HB's:  Slightly shading to Falcons but this isn’t a game winner.  Both units well suited.
Attack: Nothing between the back threes but Worcester with a little more in midfield.
Defence: Neither side with major weaknesses. Feel the Falcons back row will get through a bit more work though.
Bench: Bit more quality overall on the Worc bench and see them shading the last 15/20 minutes.


Leicester Tigers 28-25 Northampton Saints

Scrum: Edge to Saints here with a good technical front row on show.
Lineout: Both sides hold their own ball well. Against better readers though both could struggle.
Breakdown: Edge to Tigers here with their front 5 and midfield helping out more.
HB's: Halfbacks edge to Tigers. Fotuali gives them someone capable of setting the tempo of the game.
Attack: Saints won’t have any struggle getting over the gain line with a monster backline. Bit more inventiveness to the Tigers midfield unit though.
Defence: Both sides fairly solid overall. Some big tacklers in the Saints side will see them do well against bigger sides in the winter.
Bench:  Tigers can dominate the scrum and capable of tightening things up late on.


Exeter Chiefs 14-18 London Welsh

Scrum: See Welsh getting a slight edge on the scrum with a big front 5 on show.
Lineout: Both sides should be holding their own ball in this one.
Breakdown: Not much between the sides here. Coetzee and Kolisi hadn’t the best of times for the Boks.
HB's: Chiefs better suited of these conditions. Farrell needs pack dominance, to play the game Pete is looking for, which I don’t see.
Attack: Welsh lacking a go to man in the backline and won’t always get over the gain line.
Defence: Chiefs wings would struggle in the wet while Welshs midfield would struggle against the bigger sides.
Bench: See Welsh really getting on top in the forwards battle in the last quarter. Don’t see Chiefs getting any platform late on.


London Irish 28-29 Gloucester

Scrum: Not much give either way. Glaws with a slight edge.
Lineout: Glaws capable of poaching the odd ball with a little more quality jumping wise.
Breakdown: Don’t see either side slowing the opposition down for any sustained period.
HB's: Slight edge to Irish. Slight gap between 10s but Kockett a class above at 9.
Attack: Trinder is a slight weakness looking at the backlines quality wise. Serious threat from the Glaws out wide.
Defence: Ground can be made down Ebersohns channel with defence a big weakness for him
Bench: See Glaws getting a slight edge at the scrum and Genia more than capable of upping the tempo.

Worcester 19-18 Newcastle

Tough game. Nick improved team out of
Sight.packs pretty even but think wuss have more carriers. Roussow great signing would have had him if not having a million 6s. Sledge hammer player who can be a problem penalty wise but a force
Of nature and world class in every way.

Yach controls well and both backlines attack well. Mermoz been poor for a while and has failed at international level. But bast in form.

Think wuss defend better in backs and sneak win

Sale 28-28 bath

Fence sitting sorry. Bath have ability galore but Backrow not right. Sale halfbacks better. Hodgson would get murdered in this league with some combos but ficou and pisi a new partnership and fickou not shown anything for a while. Dynamite talent but needs games.

Worries by sales wide defence abendanon, Zebo and eastmond weak links. zebo in particular awful in defence but genius in attack. think he will be irish legend. love to watch him. although dangerous going forward bath also have issues
At back. Nalaga struggles when kicked in behind and north like all big men slow on turn and learning defence.
Hogg also not a stellar defender. Such ability both back 3s with ball. Love to watch this

Have just typed out predos then deleted them some how. can't face doing them again fully.

Newcastle 25 - 23 Worcester

Falcons massively lack kickers which hurts them hugely. Worcester struggle at scrum with Aulika and Britton a poor reserve hook for this level.

Tigers 24 - 29 Saints

Both sides might struggle at lineout. Tigers lack gainline breakers in backs. Saints outside backs superb. Half backs struggle in wet and controlling games.

Sale 23 - 24 Bath

Bath good all over but back row balance wrong. Half backs a great blend and outside backs dangerous ball in hand. Nalaga struggles defensively but wingers so destructive. Sale have great carriers. Back 3 vulnerable positionally and defensively. Kilcoyne might struggle in scrum.

Exeter 21 - 24 Welsh

Welsh brilliant throughout. Side well set up to be physical and backs exciting with good kickers. Very hard to beat. Lineout options perhaps limited. Exeter much improved but back row limited with Jones and Fearns not an 8. Good experienced backs who will score tries.


Irish 26 - 23 Gloucester

Not sure of Gorgodze at 4 prefer him freed up in the back row. Irish tremendously physical upfront. Unsure on Trinder at 13. Gloucester also physical and have very exciting wings. Don't think the centres work.

sale 20-22 bath - like the bath front row. sale take the backrow good unit. sale great half backs but bath more in the backs some great runners.

tigers 26-30 saints - saints backline is excellent and will cause tigers real trouble. packs close, saints get enough ball to the backs to win.

Exeter 24-26 welsh - chiefs massively improved but welsh edge the backrow and have quality in the backs to sneak it. good wingers. Farrell showed for lions he can play flat and attack but will need to show that for sarries and England to convince me 100%.

irish 30-30 glos - both good attacking sides. not sure on robson at 9 at this level but he is exciting. not sure on the mcalister/trinder combo.

anonmattyt wrote:Worcester 19-18 Newcastle

Tough game. Nick improved team out of
Sight.packs pretty even but think wuss have more carriers. Roussow great signing would have had him if not having a million 6s. Sledge hammer player who can be a problem penalty wise but a force
Of nature and world class in every way.

Yach controls well and both backlines attack well. Mermoz been poor for a while and has failed at international level. But bast in form.

Think wuss defend better in backs and sneak win

Though wuss were
Home sorry.
Would reverse the result if
Falcons at home

Neutral venues.


Will leave predos open until tomorrow to get as many as possible in.

Falcons 24-22 Worcester

Falcons: Strong side with only PDJ who can be got at.

Warriors: Russouw needs to come back strong, maybe a different eq instead of Percival?

Sale 25-24 Bath

Sale: Great backline, Kilcoyne good but a bit thrown in at deep end.

Bath: Great backline, maybe look at Kitchener and Guest.

Tigers 28-24 Saints

Tigers: Very strong, maybe a back up eq scrum half?

Saints: Madigan could be got at by strong players.

Chiefs 20-22 Welsh

Chiefs: Loosehead and 8 maybe need a bit of work but a great improvement.

Welsh: Very strong, not sure about the 7 as don’t know him. Maybe a back up eq scrum half?

Will result these later.  Next weeks match thread up shortly.

Results

Newcastle Falcons 24 Worcester Warriors 23
Sale Sharks 25 Bath Rugby 27
Leicester Tigers 28 Northampton Saints 28

Exeter Chiefs 22 London Welsh 27
Harlequins 30 Saracens 0
London Irish 30 Gloucester 30

I'll take a draw from Matt's h.b combo

Sorry for no predos. Wedding all weekend and now hectic at work before I go away next week.

I thought our game was a bit closer Pete!

SJE can I pick your mind on why you thought the Welsh front five were bigger? They were only something like two kilos heavier than my front five in total. Thats getting on the borders of being negligible I would think?

Haven't said they were bigger mate. Just said Welsh have a big front 5 on show. For me they are a better scrummaging unit and would get an edge there. It was the bench that hurt you in that game for me