Anglo-Welsh Cup Round Two

 

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Gloucester vs Newcastle Falcons
Location - Kingsholm
Dark Clouds, 9 Degrees, 6 mph South Westerly Winds

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Gloucester

01. Nick Wood	09. TJ Perenara
02. Joe Grey	10. Berrick Barnes
03. Juan Figallo
04. Dominic Bird	11. Johnny May
05. Tom Palmer	12. Matt Scott
06. Tom Croft	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Julian Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. Sam Dickinson	15. Juan Imhoff

16 Harden 17 George 18 tufungisi 19 G Robson 20 Botha  21 D Robson 22 goosen 23 Rhule

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Newcastle Falcons

01. Alex Waller	09. Francois Houghaard
02. Darren Dawiduik	10. James O'Connor
03. Paul Doran Jones
04. Ed Slater	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Ali Williams	12. Brad Barritt
06. Juan Smith	13. Rene Ranger
07. Hienrich Brussouw	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Chris Masoe (c)	15. Jared Payne

16.Goerge McGuigan 17.Luke Cowan Dickie18.Scotty Wilson 19.Juandre Kruger 20.Joel Coelan 21.Sam Harrison 22.Joel Hodgson 23.Chris Farrell


Falcons travel to gloucester with a smash and grab game plan. Using a strong set piece and punishing backline to put points on the board.

Keep the ball even if it means grinding the phases out in the tight or stuffing it up the jumper.

Frans and JOC to play on the gainline and use the pace of Sharples , RR and Cuthbert to open the game up

Take quick lineouts to use our broken field runners to full effect.

Ali to call the line and challange Glaws throw and Barritt to marshall our defence.

Counter kicks in good conditionss.

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London Irish vs Northampton Saints
Location - Madjeski Stadium
Mist, 8 Degrees, 6 mph South Westerly Winds

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London Irish

01. Tom Smallbone	09. Neil De Kock
02. Andrew Hore	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11.JSD
05. Matt Garvey	12. Sireli Naqaveluki
06. Scott Higginbotham	13. Henry Trinder
07. Will Fraser	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Ed Jackson	15. Niall Morris

Subs: 16. Hika Elliott 17. Jerome Schuster 18. Matt Stevens 19. Craig Clarke 20. David Sisi 21. Jack Moates 22. Shane Gerghaty 23. Conrad Smith

Key Points

Balanced Backrow
We have picked a big backrow who are well balanced. Jackson will look to be abrasive and run at 10 looking to put him off his game. Fraser will look to dismantle the breakdown. Higginbotham will look to carry the ball all day and be the link man.

8-9-10-12-13
We want quick ball for our half-backs to tactically put us into territory (off the pitch). Our 8-9-10-12-13 will look to be influential and all have played together in this game alot so know each other well. These can all be standout playmakers who will look to control the game at our tempo in the light rain we will not expect attractive rugby.

International Quality
We have international quality players in key positions and impact off the bench.

Impact Bench
With the likes of Elliott, Gorgodze, Moates and Smith coming off the bench we feel that the last 20 minutes we will be able to open up Saints here.

Positional Play
Strong pack who will look to be abrasive but defend inside-out and not have any gaps in midfield here. Our back three will look to use their power to get through tackles and run off their oppositions shoulders.

Halfbacks
We have selected experience and youth here with De Kock looking to snipe, Naqa will use his power to make the gaps for the runners off of his shoulder. This will allow our pacy back line to hit gaps at pace and look for the quick offloads.

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Northampton Saints

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. George Ford
03. Carl Hayman
04. Dean Mumm	11. Siti Siviatu
05. James Gaskell	12. Matt Giteau (c)(k)
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Elliot Daly
07. Calum Clark	14. Christian Wade
08. Samo Manoa	15. Jordan Williams

Subs: 16. Mike Haywood 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Henry Thomas 19. CJ Stander 20. Same Cane 21. Alex Day 22. Jamie Elliott 23. Tyler Bleyendaal

Tactics:Saints will play a high intensity/tempo'd game from the outset and take the game to Irish. We will look to place them under pressure with a really physical, aggressive approach and defence to force errors and mistakes to exploit. We will look to generate quick ball from the set piece and get the ball to our backline that will make the most of the perfect conditions to attack Irish. 

Setpiece: We are going to target the lineout to give us a platform with Bonnaire standout jumper and options of Gaskell, Manoa and Clark to give us options.tions. Will look for a lot of quick ball. Very strong scrum, all international frontrow, will look to use this as an attacking platform and place Irish under pressure. 

Breakdown/Backrow: Mobile pack to clear out Irish at the breakdown, look to target Fraser and keep him from slowing down our ball, will look to clear him out in numbers and attack the fringes at the breakdown. Look to hit Irish back in the tackle area and stop their forward momentum and give us the advantage of hitting the rucks going forward. 

Possession/Territory: Selected Ford at no10 for his kicking game and ability to unlock defences with his passing - especially to get our backthree into play. Ford and Giteau's kicking game can get us into key areas to pressurise Irish in key areas where we can keep scoreboard ticking over. 

Attack the Gainline/Win Collisions: Again look to win the collisions and get over the gainline to provide our backs with the platform to attack, big ball carriers in the pack - Mumm, Manoa, Clark and Vunipola can all get us over the gainline. We have an attacking platform from both setpieces and will use Giteua and Siviatu as players to get us over the gainline and then look to get Daly, Wade and Williams into space - all can score from anywhere on the pitch. 

Defence: Aggressive blitz defence, putting pressure onto Williams at no 10 and making it hard for Irish to get over the gainline and generate quick ball. Simpson to sweep behind. Giteau to do a job on his opposite number and Daly to watch Trinder's lines. Back three to counter any loose kicks

Key selection points:
Target the set piece and collisions as key areas of the gain.
In good form
Get big ball carriers on the ball early on and build momentum. 
Perfect condition for our backs and will look to outscore Irish on the try front. 

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Newport Gwent Dragons vs London Wasps
Location - Rodney Parade
Dark Clouds, 9 Degrees, 7 mph South Westerly Winds

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Newport Gwent Dragons 

01. Aaron Coundley	09. Wayne Evans
02. Elliott Dee	10. Kris Burton
03. Francisco Chaparro
04. Joe Davies (c)	11. Matthew Pewtner
05. Adam Jones	12. Ashley Smith
06. Jevon Groves	13. Tyler Morgan
07. Scott Matthews	14. Will Harries
08. Ieuan Jones	15. Dan Evans

Replacements: 16 Hugh Gustafson, 17 Nathan Williams, 18 Nathan Buck, 19 Rob Sidoli, 20 Netani Talei, 21 Luc Jones, 22 Rhys Jones, 23 Ashton Hewitt.

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London Wasps
Manager  Ozzy3213

01. Steven Kitschoff	09. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde
02. Deon Fourie	10. Camille Lopez
03. Tom Mercey
04. Paul Willemse	11. Tom Collins
05. Ruan Botha	12. Michelle Campagnaro
06. Tom Johnson	13. Tim Nanai-Williams
07. Luke Wallace	14. Jack Nowell
08. Blair Cowan	15. Anthony Watson

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Scott Sio 18. Fraser Balmain 19. James Hanks 20. Rynhardt Esltadt 21. Nathan Fowles 22. Gareth Anscombe 23. Tom Fowlie

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Saracens vs Scarlets 
Location - Allianz Park
Mist, 7 Degrees, 5 mph South Westerly Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly
 

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Luke Burgess
02. Chris Whitehead	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Clement Ric
04. Joe van Niekerk(c)	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Julian Pierre	12. Nick Tomkins
06. Brad Shields	13. George Lowe
07. Andy Saull	14. Tim Visser
08. Tom Guest	15. Gio Aplon

 
 
16. Tiaan Liebenberg  17. Max Lahiff  18. Biyi Alo  19. Matt Hankin 20. Dave Ewers  21. Chris Cook  22. Josh Sharp 23. George Lowe

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Scarlets

01. Shaun Hopkins	09. Aled Davies
02. Kirby Myhill	10. Aled Thomas
03. Rhodri Jones
04. Johan Snyman	11. Chris Knight
05. Richard Kelly	12. Adam Warren
06. Craig Price	13. Gareth Maule
07. Dan Thomas	14. Jordan Williams
08. Rob McCusker (c)	15. Gareth Owen

Replacements: 16 Darran Harris, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Ben Leung, 19 Carwyn Jones, 20 James Davies, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Josh Lewis, 23 Kristian Phillips.

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Bath Rugby vs Exeter Chiefs
Location - The Rec
Dark Clouds, 9 Degrees, 5 mph South Westerly Winds

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No bath side

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Charlie Beech	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Stephen Myler (k)
03. Will Collier
04. Brad Thorn	11. Tom Varndell
05. Al Kellock	12. Francis Saili
06. Maurie Fa'asavalu	13. Alex Dunbar
07. Kelly Brown	14. Zac Guildford
08. Sam Jones (c)	15. Matt Tait

16. Rhys Marshall 17. Alec Hepburn 18. Ben Afeaki 19. Alistair Hargreaves 20. Semisi Taulava 21. Bryn Hall 22. Tom Heathcote 23. Dom Shipperly

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Harlequins vs Sale Sharks
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Mist, 8 Degrees, 5 mph South Westerly Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ben Franks	09. Karl Dickson
02. Gary Botha	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Gjorji Jgenti
04. George Kruis	11. Tom Biggs
05. Hugh Pyle	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Lappies Labushagne	13. Ben Tapuai
07. Luke Braid	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Pierre Spies (c)	15. Andre Taylor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Kieran Brookes 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Steve Borthwick 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Luke McGrath 22. Dan Bowden 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

- Use a our big physical pack and midfield to get us over the gain line and with Dickson testing the fringes and Burns standing flat to keep the defence honest. 

- In the opposition half we will look to retain possession and build phases to tire out Sale and disorganise their defence.

- Our carriers will carry at pace and in numbers so we can offload or recycle quick ball to go again. Quick ball is key to our game plan.

- At the set piece we will look to control the scrum and the line out. If we getting an advantage we will look to exploit this.

- Look to get the ball wide when the we have quick ball and gaps appear outwide. Look to get our back three into wide open spaces. 

- Look for our back row to control the breakdown and slow down Sale ball.

- In defence we will employ a quick line speed and will look to win the collisions and when its possible get two man in the tackle to force the turnover.

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Phil Swainston
04. Christian Day	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Victor Vito	13. Robbie Fruean
07. Matt Todd	14. Keith Earls
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Jean Marcellin-Buttin

16. Jefferson Poiret 17. Guilleme Guirado 18. Ross Harrison 19. Tom Savage 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. Timo Swiel 23. Will Addison

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Worcester Warriors vs Leicester Tigers
Location - Sixways Stadium
Dark Clouds, 9 Degrees, 6 mph South Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors

01. Nathan Catt	09. Michael Claasens
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francois trinh-Duc
03. BJ Botha
04. Mouritz Botha	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Johann Muller	12. Olly Barkley (k)
06. Ashley Johnson	13. Casey Laulala
07. Shane Jennings	14. Mark Cueto
08. Johnie Beattie	15. Delon Armitage

16 Brett Sturgess 17 Dave Ward 18 Halani Aulika 19 James Percival 20 Phil Dowson 21 Dimitri Yachvili 22 Tom Casson 23 David Strettle

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dwayne Peel (c)
02. Chiliboy Ralepelle	10. Brock James (k)
03. Craig Mitchell
04. Romain Taofifenua	11. Josh Bassett
05. Ian Evans	12. Clement Poitrenaud
06. Steve Mafi	13. Tamati Ellison
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Edwin Maka	15. Ugo Monye

16. Charlie Clare 17. Harry Rudkin 18. Neale Farthing 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Micky Young 22. Paul Jordaan 23. Kurtley Beale

Tactics:

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Mark

London Wasps
Manager Ozzy3213

01. Steven Kitschoff	09. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde
02. Deon Fourie	10. Camille Lopez
03. Tom Mercey
04. Paul Willemse	11. Tom Collins
05. Ruan Botha	12. Michelle Campagnaro
06. Tom Johnson	13. Tim Nanai-Williams
07. Luke Wallace ©	14. Jack Nowell
08. Blair Cowan	15. Anthony Watson

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Scott Sio 18. Fraser Balmain 19. James Hanks 20. Rynhardt Esltadt 21. Nathan Fowles 22. Gareth Anscombe 23. Tom Fowlie

Northampton Saints team to play someone
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. George Ford
03. Carl Hayman
04. Dean Mumm	11. Siti Siviatu
05. James Gaskell	12. Matt Giteau (c)(k)
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Elliot Daly
07. Calum Clark	14. Christian Wade
08. Samo Manoa	15. Jordan Williams

Subs: 16. Mike Haywood 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Henry Thomas 19. CJ Stander 20. Same Cane 21. Alex Day 22. Jamie Elliott 23. Tyler Bleyendaal

Tactics:Saints will play a high intensity/tempo'd game from the outset and take the game to Irish. We will look to place them under pressure with a really physical, aggressive approach and defence to force errors and mistakes to exploit. We will look to generate quick ball from the set piece and get the ball to our backline that will make the most of the perfect conditions to attack Irish.

Setpiece: We are going to target the lineout to give us a platform with Bonnaire standout jumper and options of Gaskell, Manoa and Clark to give us options.tions. Will look for a lot of quick ball. Very strong scrum, all international frontrow, will look to use this as an attacking platform and place Irish under pressure.

Breakdown/Backrow: Mobile pack to clear out Irish at the breakdown, look to target Fraser and keep him from slowing down our ball, will look to clear him out in numbers and attack the fringes at the breakdown. Look to hit Irish back in the tackle area and stop their forward momentum and give us the advantage of hitting the rucks going forward.

Possession/Territory: Selected Ford at no10 for his kicking game and ability to unlock defences with his passing - especially to get our backthree into play. Ford and Giteau's kicking game can get us into key areas to pressurise Irish in key areas where we can keep scoreboard ticking over.

Attack the Gainline/Win Collisions: Again look to win the collisions and get over the gainline to provide our backs with the platform to attack, big ball carriers in the pack - Mumm, Manoa, Clark and Vunipola can all get us over the gainline. We have an attacking platform from both setpieces and will use Giteua and Siviatu as players to get us over the gainline and then look to get Daly, Wade and Williams into space - all can score from anywhere on the pitch.

Defence: Aggressive blitz defence, putting pressure onto Williams at no 10 and making it hard for Irish to get over the gainline and generate quick ball. Simpson to sweep behind. Giteau to do a job on his opposite number and Daly to watch Trinder's lines. Back three to counter any loose kicks

Key selection points:
Target the set piece and collisions as key areas of the gain.
In good form
Get big ball carriers on the ball early on and build momentum.
Perfect condition for our backs and will look to outscore Irish on the try front.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly
 

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Luke Burgess
02. Chris Whitehead	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Clement Ric
04. Joe van Niekerk(c)	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Julian Pierre	12. Nick Tomkins
06. Brad Shields	13. George Lowe
07. Andy Saull	14. Tim Visser
08. Tom Guest	15. Gio Aplon

 
 
 
16. Tiaan Liebenberg  17. Max Lahiff  18. Biyi Alo  19. Matt Hankin 20. Dave Ewers  21. Chris Cook  22. Josh Sharp 23. George Lowe

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dwayne Peel (c)
02. Chiliboy Ralepelle	10. Brock James (k)
03. Craig Mitchell
04. Romain Taofifenua	11. Josh Bassett
05. Ian Evans	12. Clement Poitrenaud
06. Steve Mafi	13. Tamati Ellison
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Edwin Maka	15. Ugo Monye

16. Charlie Clare 17. Harry Rudkin 18. Neale Farthing 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Ernst Joubert 21. Micky Young 22. Paul Jordaan 23. Kurtley Beale

Tactics:

TBC

Newcastle Falcons to play Gloucester

01. Alex Waller	09. Francois Houghaard
02. Darren Dawiduik	10. James O'Connor
03. Paul Doran Jones
04. Ed Slater	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Ali Williams	12. Brad Barritt
06. Juan Smith	13. Rene Ranger
07. Hienrich Brussouw	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Chris Masoe (c)	15. Jared Payne

16.Goerge McGuigan 17.Ben Alexander 18.Scotty Wilson 19.Juandre Kruger 20.Joel Coelan 21.Sam Harrison 22.Joel Hodgson 23.Chris Farrell


Falcons travel to gloucester with a smash and grab game plan. Using a strong set piece and punishing backline to put points on the board.

Keep the ball even if it means grinding the phases out in the tight or stuffing it up the jumper.

Frans and JOC to play on the gainline and use the pace of Sharples , RR and Cuthbert to open the game up

Take quick lineouts to use our broken field runners to full effect.

Ali to call the line and challange Glaws throw and Barritt to marshall our defence.

Counter kicks in good conditionss.

01. Tom Smallbone	09. Neil De Kock
02. Andrew Hore	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11.JSD
05. Matt Garvey	12. Sireli Naqaveluki
06. Scott Higginbotham	13. Henry Trinder
07. Will Fraser	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Ed Jackson	15. Robbie Henshaw

Subs: 16. Hika Elliott 17. Jerome Schuster 18. Matt Stevens 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. David Sisi 21. Jack Moates 22. Shane Gerghaty 23. Conrad Smith

Key Points

Balanced Backrow
We have picked a big backrow who are well balanced. Jackson will look to be abrasive and run at 10 looking to put him off his game. Fraser will look to dismantle the breakdown. Higginbotham will look to carry the ball all day and be the link man.

8-9-10-12-13
We want quick ball for our half-backs to tactically put us into territory (off the pitch). Our 8-9-10-12-13 will look to be influential and all have played together in this game alot so know each other well. These can all be standout playmakers who will look to control the game at our tempo in the light rain we will not expect attractive rugby.

International Quality
We have international quality players in key positions and impact off the bench.

Impact Bench
With the likes of Elliott, Gorgodze, Moates and Smith coming off the bench we feel that the last 20 minutes we will be able to open up Saints here.

Positional Play
Strong pack who will look to be abrasive but defend inside-out and not have any gaps in midfield here. Our back three will look to use their power to get through tackles and run off their oppositions shoulders.

Halfbacks
We have selected experience and youth here with De Kock looking to snipe, Naqa will use his power to make the gaps for the runners off of his shoulder. This will allow our pacy back line to hit gaps at pace and look for the quick offloads.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

Side to be completed once international sides are announced.

01. Ben Franks	09. Karl Dickson
02. Gary Botha	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Gjorji Jgenti
04. George Kruis	11. Tom Biggs
05. Hugh Pyle	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Lappies Labushagne	13. Ben Tapuai
07. Luke Braid	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Pierre Spies (c)	15. Andre Taylor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Kieran Brookes 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Steve Borthwick 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Luke McGrath 22. Dan Bowden 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

- Use a our big physical pack and midfield to get us over the gain line and with Dickson testing the fringes and Burns standing flat to keep the defence honest.

- In the opposition half we will look to retain possession and build phases to tire out Sale and disorganise their defence.

- Our carriers will carry at pace and in numbers so we can offload or recycle quick ball to go again. Quick ball is key to our game plan.

- At the set piece we will look to control the scrum and the line out. If we getting an advantage we will look to exploit this.

- Look to get the ball wide when the we have quick ball and gaps appear outwide. Look to get our back three into wide open spaces.

- Look for our back row to control the breakdown and slow down Sale ball.

- In defence we will employ a quick line speed and will look to win the collisions and when its possible get two man in the tackle to force the turnover.

1wood
2grey
3figallo
4 Palmer
5 bird
6 Croft
7 salvi
8 Dickinson
9 Pernara
10 Barnes
11 may
12 Scott
13 JDJ
14 gear
15 Imhoff
16 Harden
17 George
18 tufungisi
19 Robson
20 Botha
21 Robson
22 goosen
23 Rhule

Weather updated, and welsh sides added

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Charlie Beech	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Stephen Myler (k)
03. Will Collier
04. Brad Thorn	11. Tom Varndell
05. Al Kellock	12. Francis Saili
06. Maurie Fa'asavalu	13. Alex Dunbar
07. Kelly Brown	14. Zac Guildford
08. Sam Jones (c)	15. Matt Tait

16. Rhys Marshall 17. Alec Hepburn 18. Ben Afeaki 19. Alistair Hargreaves 20. Semisi Taulava 21. Bryn Hall 22. Tom Heathcote 23. Dom Shipperly

1 Nathan Catt
2 Richardt Strauss
3 BJ Botha
4 Mouritz Botha
5 Johann Muller
6 Ashley Johnson
7 Shane Jennings
8 Johnnie Beattie
9 Michael Classens
10 Francois Trinh-Duc
11 Sailosi Tagicakibau
12 Olly Barkley
13 Casey Laulala
14 Mark Cueto
15 Delon Armitage

16 Brett Sturgess
17 Dave Ward
18 Halani Aulika
19 James Percival
20 Phil Dowson
21 Dimitri Yachvili
22 Tom Casson
23 David Strettle

Driver Rhodri jones is in Wales squad and will start or
Bench so
You need to change him
Mate

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Phil Swainston
04. Christian Day	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Victor Vito	13. Robbie Fruean
07. Matt Todd	14. Keith Earls
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Jean Marcellin-Buttin

16. Jefferson Poiret 17. Guilleme Guirado 18. Ross Harrison 19. Tom Savage 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. Timo Swiel 23. Will Addison

Remember to check your sides for call ups. TBCs need to be in the team sheet by close of play today or you're down a man 

Has the Ireland side been named? I know Jennings got called up but not sure if selected

Can anyone loan me a loosehead or else i can't fufill the fixture

Prop I think Henshaw is on the bench for Ireland?

Driver you may be better getting an academy prop Loan players
Take you over squad limits as they count.

Otherwise you have to release players

Luke Cowen Dickie replaces Alexander

Is it too late for Morris to replace Henshaw and Clark to replace Gorgodze?

Stick em in quick before Flux updates the page 

I'm doing it now, so hurry!

Prop - happy for you to make the changes mate, shame you've lost Gorgodze

All sides in. haven't had a chance to check them but I have made your changes as well prop

Glos tactics


Look to play high tempo game and use front 5 to get on top. Have gone for a quick dynamic side to
Try and win quick ball and move it.

Target line out with croft bird etc.

Look to keep ball alive with offloads and run Newcastle off their feet.

Blitz defence and look to get at Newcastle scrum particularly when they use their bench.

Driver wrote:Luke Cowen Dickie replaces Alexander

Fluxy you still have Alexander in falcons side mate

Gloucester 26-23 Newcastle
 
Scrum: Neither side the strongest here. Woods lack of form and no meat in the 2^nd row hurts Glaws while Dawdiuk & Waller would struggle against Figallo.
Lineout: Edge to Glaws with some decent jumpers through the back five poaching some ball.
Breakdown: Real ding dong affair neither side edges overall.
HB's: No fan of either 10 but Barnes the more capable of managing the play from there.
Attack: Bit more of an edge to Falcons carrying game and they should find it easier to make the gainline at times.
Defence: Both sets of wingers questionable positionally.
Bench: Glaws halfbacks capable of dictating the tempo in the last quarter.
Tactics: Little bit of tactics from Falcons is a plus but looking to win the set piece battle won’t work here and not sure the halfbacks will give them the platform the backs need at times in such a tight game.
 
Irish 18-21 Saints
 
Scrum: Edge to Saints. Jones hasn’t really taken to the new laws so wont punish Mako while Smallbone will be under a lot of pressure.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball but Saints with more attacking options.
Breakdown: Edge to Irish. Balance of the Saints back row all wrong and Fraiser can make an impact.
HB's: Edge to Saints with both in good form. Same can’t be said for the Irish combo.
Attack: Saints will need the pack to take up the slack for the carrying game but are more dangerous in wider channels.
Defence: Saints wingers questionable positionally.
Bench: Sam Cane can turn the tide at the breakdown battle somewhat.
Tactics: Saints high tempo game works well as the Irish halfbacks will struggle to turn the tide. Targetting the wings is a smart ploy from Irish but they haven’t the set piece to get the ball back.
 
NGD 17-28 Wasps
 
Fairly routine win here for Wasps with the back five of the pack and Lopez impressing.
 
Saracens 25-9 Scarlets
 
Sarries pack gets on top throughout for a comfortable win. 10-12 channel prevents the bonus point though.
 
Bath 0-30 Chiefs
 
No Bath side.
 
Worc 23-18 Tigers
 
Scrum: Nothing between the sides overall.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball well.
Breakdown: Bit more quality to the Worc backrow and see their front 5 helping out more.
HB's: Edge to Worc with Trinc Duc offering more then James.
Attack: Both sides with some threat outwide and good carrying games. Barkley as a 2^nd playmaker adds a little more to Worc though.
Defence: Both 12s could be susceptible here.
Bench: Haven’t seen anything of the Tigers front rowers and they struggle for it. Form issues for both sides best impact players.
Tactics: N/A. Worcs better work at the breakdown makes this an easier affair for their halfbacks and at home they win out.
Tax deadline is over!!! 

Done the LCD/Alexander swap

Gloucester 33-30 Newcastle
Prefer the balance of the GLoucester pack, but some serious try scoring power there for Driver's team. Thing that sways it for me is more options for Mat on the bench. Can see a fair few tries though.

Dragons 9-29 Wasps
Only home advantage saves Dragons here from a bigger score.

Saracens 23-5 Scarlets
Easy win but Sarries midfield stops a bp win.

Quins 25 - 23 Sale
Just a bit too much upfront for Quins, can see their front five getting on top of Sale at the setpiece, getting a few penalties come scrum time and that gives the home team the win.

Bath 0-30 Chiefs
No Bath side again - is CJB still around?

Worcester 27-25 Tigers
Really close game, havent seen tactics from either so going for power of the Worcester pack and home advantage to edge the game here.

Gloucester 18-21 Newcastle

FR - Wood and PDJ lacking a bit of form, nothing in hookers and can see Waller coping with Figallo after his form this season in the set piece.
SR - bit more for Falcons, good combo.
BR - both 6's lack form but Falcons class up at 7/8 and have more in the pack as a whole.
HB - pretty equal here, both have a few form issues
CE - best combo I've seen from Gloucester all season, Falcons edge though with a bit more in each position
B3 - 2 strong combo's with Imhoff slightly a weak link for Gloucester

Overall - Falcons set a bit of a tone in the pack and slightly edge backline in a good contest, do enough for a close win.

Irish 23-22 Saints

FR - Edge to Saints with Smallbone a bit of a weakness for Irish, solid combo for Saints
SR - not much in it here, not the strongest combo's but pretty equal
BR - stronger flanks for Irish, Manoe better at lock but shades 8 here
HB - nothing in it here, think Simpson/Ford can be got at defensively a bit
CE - good runners for Saints but no physical option against balanced Irish combo. Saints 9-13 need a strong defender to hold together.
B3 - saints stronger on wing, Irish 15

Overall - good contest. Saints get a good scrum platform but a bit flimsy 9-13 where Irish can make ground. Irish just sneak.

Newport 13-23 Wasps

Routine win, Wasps line out could struggle but dominant elsewhere

Cheers for swapping the players and approving that Chris

Glos 22-23 Falcons
Not a lot in tactics from either side really. Falcons quite solid up front but Glos have some spark there. Good outside backs from both, both looking very strong here but Falcons a tiny bit more settled. Power on the bench really helps Glos to pull it close.

Dragons 9-25 Wasps
Wasps stronger all over.

Scarlets 7-26 Sarries
Routine win, Tompkins had a good game last week but not overly sure if he is ready yet. Not sold on JVN in 2nd row sorry.

Bath 0-30 Chiefs

Quins 18-15 Sale
Having some tactics is an advantage to Quins. In the pack I feel that Quins could get the upper hand in the front row, back row a bit more even. 2 good half back pairings with Mairmon in good form for Connacht at the moment. Outside that not a lot to split them with Roberts a standout name but not played for a bit. If Sale had held their own in the front row they could have sneaked it but feel Quins have a bit more pressure here to take the penalties.

Warriors 23-21 Tigers
Upfront feel that Warriors may have a bit of an edge but Tigers not looking too bad. Think Warriors back row could help here. In the backs I feel having an extra playmaker at 12 helps Warriors enough and a good bench, don't know about some on Tigers bench.

Glos 25-27 falcons
Quins 24-22 salle
Sccarlets 9-18 sarries
Dragons 15-27 wasps
Irish 24-21 saints

Quins 23 Sale 24
Scarlets 9 Sarries 10
Dargons 5 Wasps 6
Irish 20 Saints 19
Worcester 17 Tigers 16

Harlequins 25-23 Sharks
Close contest. I think Quins take the front 5 but the backrow is a very tight affair probably shading to Sale. Barrett a class above Burns but Quins just enough in most of other back positions to take this one.

Worcester 19-19 Leicester

Tigers with the front 5 control in this one with Worcester the better backrow. Not much in the backs but Worcester a stronger back 3. Worcester get the nod at home but not enogh for the win.

Gloucester 24 - 23 Newcastle
London Irish 21 - 22 Saints
NGD 21 - 28 Wasps
Saracens 24 - 23 Scarlets
Worcester 28 - 27 Leicester

Gloucester 25 - 27 Newcastle

Really interesting front five contest, with neither side dominating. Tough to rate some form in the back rows, packs in general looks a good battle. Newcastle slightly edging overall. Both 10's prefer to play elsewhere, and both sides have the ability to score tries here in dry weather. Struggling to pick a winner here, think Newcastle might edge it on quality.


Irish 22 - 25 Saints

Slight edge to Saints up front, with the second rows a good battle. Prefer Saints in the back row and at HB. Really strong centres on display, with Saints look more dangerous in the backs overall. Strong side from Saints that sees them pick up the win.


Dragons 18 - 24 Wasps



Saracens 27 - 19 Scarlets



Bath 0 - 30 Chiefs



Harlequins 22 - 19 Sale

Quins look stronger up front, but Sale take the second row with a stronger duo. Good back row battle - the packs are fairly even overall for me. As a pair prefer Quins at HB, but beyond that are two good sets of backs that look dangerous. At home think Quins can take this.

Quins 22-21 sale
London Irish 21 - 22 Saints
NGD 21 - 28 Wasps
Saracens 16-15Scarlets
Worcester 23-22 Leicester

Gloucester 25 - 24 Falcons
Quins 22 - 20 Sharks
Irish 22 - 23 Saints
Dragons 8 - 32 Wasps
Sarries 18 - 16 Scarlets
Warriors 19 - 16 Tigers