Aviva Premiership Round Twelve

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Exeter Chiefs v Gloucester Rugby
Location - Sandy Park
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Connor Murray
02. Sean Cronin	10. Camille Lopez
03. Jamie Johnston
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. Tom Varndell
05. Paul O'Connell (c)	12. Luther Burrell
06. Carl Fearns	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. David Strettle
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O'Connor

16. Dimitri Szarzewski 17. Richard Barrington 18. Mike Ross 19. Michael Paterson 20. Yannick Nyanga 21. Chris Cook 22. Toby Flood 23. Alex Dunbar

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. We will play a high paced counter punch style of rugby away from home.
When we gain possession our plan is to control attack with quick clean ball be it from set piece or turnover. After that look to control the pace of the game and go through the phases. Lopez will look to play flat and look to get our back line into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play. Looking to control the ball for periods will result in frustrating the Sale side giving away penalties for us to capitalise on. 

Set piece - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. POC to marshal the line-out and get quick ball from our dynamic jumpers. Big emphasis on controlling set piece possession, pressuring Cowan-Dickie at both line-out and scrum time. With the lack of a distinguished line out leader POC will get up at the front to steal Cowan-Dickie's iffy throwing. Also target Cowan-Dickie at scrum with little protection from Beast, with JJ and Cronin pressuring and splintering the pack. 

Pack & Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition defence to create overlaps for our backs. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our back-row will target the breakdown and look to blow through the ruck and past the ball. Clean ball will be generated either by blowing through the ruck and past the ball and a long presentation of the ball to keep it away from opposition defenders. With the Glos pack on the retreat, Murray will look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot. We’ll look to win the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence - Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow our back-row to dominate affairs. Using the defensive banana drift defence to push the attackers towards our inside defence, with Murray sweeping in behind to guide defenders to plug holes and covers any kicks in behind. If an oppo player gets held or brought down this allows the second man to get over the ball quickly to at least compete and slow opposition possession. Tipuric will look to target the opposition fly half early on and pressure his kicking. 

Backs - Look to get the ball in hands of the backs and the back three especially, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of Burrell\AAC to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. AAC/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Toomua's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration and agility of Kurindrani in defence. Or even generate a two on one with JOC joining the back line and providing the extra man to either put a winger away or go himself. Look to exploit the defensive deficiencies in the Gloucester back three, with the wings not great positionally and Masi not exactly the quickest.

Key Points

Home Advantage - Sandy Park is one of the hardest places to come and play. We won't want to kick the ball away, and Wasps can't score any points without the ball. 
Lack of Carrying and defending- A number of Glos forwards are renowned for hanging out in the wide channels, creating more work for the hard working forwards. This will allow us to tire out the hard working lads and exploits holes in defences.
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. LCD to be put under constant throughout the game. Cronin & POC had a strong period together over the AI's and proved that his darts are more than capable at this level
Quick Rucks - with their big pack we will look to set rucks quickly and keep their pack on the move to tire them out. As well as to keep moving the point if attack with ball in hand with clever offloads and pops to keep Gloucester guessing. 
Physicality & Dynamism – Win the collision and target rucks to drive through opposition. We have a big physical, but also mobile pack. Supported by some high energy forwards off the bench.
Targets in Defence - Kurindrani is not a renowned defender and small in comparison to our centres, therefore Lopez will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line. Likewise their back three are targets for us in attack, so look for two on ones and good kick chases to force mistakes.
Breakdown – The back five to be a nuisance in in the breakdown and either get over the ball or get past the ball and make the opposition cleaners a nightmare by having to make them drive our forwards even further off their ball, or steal if the are limited numbers competing. 
Backs – Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in the AP in Strettle & Varndell, so they we will get the ball in their hands and they will take any opportunity. Especially targetting May and Folau who can get lost positionally and aren't known for their defending. 
Build a Score - Lopez and JOC to share kicking at goal responsibilities with JOC taking the longer ones. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out.

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 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01.  Beast	09.  TJ Perenera
02.  Luke Cowan Dickie	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Nicolas Mas
04.  Eben Etzbeth	11.  Johnny May
05. Richie Gray	12.  Matt Toomua
06. Tom Croft	13.  Tevita Kurindrani
07. Julien Salvi	14. Israel Folau
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Andrea Masi

16. Nick Wood  17. Joe Grey 18. Juan Figallo 19. Roman taofufina 20. Willem Alberts 21. Dan Robson 22. Dan Carter 23. Charlie Walker

TARGET BREAKDOWN– We have a big mobile physically strong bunch and will hit rucks with impact.
We will Send numbers in and try and effect turnovers or Disrupt ball.we believe the likes of beast  Heaslip Etzbeth Gray Salvi and Have the physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our front 5 and this is an area we will flood. We
Will look to target the exeter Backrow throughout with faletau tips and fearns all having difficult seasons

TARGET 9 10 channel- Get our big runners in to the channel and look to get in behind. We also want pressure here in defence and force them to move it from this channel as we feel they lack playmakers further out.

Half backs- perenara will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to cips who will dictate. Cips Will challenge line and kick When necessary. We want to play high tempo and Off front foot vl. We will do this by using runners off ten to smash holes and look to flood.

General- We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We want to use our carriers in the pack and will use this to dominate and get front foot ball. We believe this will give is the upper hand. We will use this to sap Exeter.We see them struggling with our power. When its on we will play an offloading game. When in behind We will Flood through with our quick Backs targeting mismatches

Tempo- we
Will be playing high tempo and to
Do that you have to have playmakers to allow
Continuity and also to attack off
Turnovers.

In ,Folau, Cips and toomua we have people who can step in to first receiver and allow us to play the high tempo interchanging game we are aiming to play.

Line out– We have options galore in Etzbeth Gray Croft  heaslip etc and will use this to disrupt. On our ball we will mix It but as game progresses go Off The top more To Get in to there backline. Exeter appear to be very reliant on POC as their source of lineout ball so we will be looking to
Target their lack of jumpers

Kicking options - with Cips , tj and toomua we have great options to dominate kicking game when needed and also have fantastic options for exiting when under pressure.

Defence- Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Bench- Game changing bench with More ball carriers and attacking backs. Our intention is to use it as required

Ps Fluxy kurindrani is huge he is a stone and a half  heavier than AAC and 4 inches taller. One of the reasons he is renowned for his defence is his physicality !!

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Leicester Tigers v Bath
Location - Welford Road
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Tusi Pisi (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Nathan Hines (c)	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

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16. Stephen Moore 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Tom Johnson 21. Micky Young 22. Brock James 23. Rene Ranger


Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, throughout our XV, big line breakers to make the hard yards and tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Pisi to exploit.

- Big focus to attack at all lineouts. Use Hines or Lobbe at the front and Matfield off the top as our three key options. Shortened lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.
Matfield and Hines to look to steal and really give Haywood problems.

- Play an offloading game. We see the offload as our big weapon and our carriers will all be looking to offload in contact, continuing our forward momentum.

- Attack all scrums - Front row of Franks, Creevy and Jenkins to look to really get the shove on, particularly targeting the Bath Haywood/Faumaunia channel.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Bath defence. Primarily using Waldrom, Basteraud and Creevy, plus the likes of Louw, Franks, Lobbe and Banahan to get us over the gainline. Add to that the likes of Moore, Corbs and Ranger off the bench.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Lobbe and Louw, supported by the likes of Bastareaud and Jenkins, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Bath problems.

- Fotuali'i to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Pisi and Twelvetrees.
We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack consistently.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Pisi to kick all penalties.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. James Slipper	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Charlie Faumaunia
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Alexandre Flanquardt	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Liam Gill	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Liam Messam	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Tom Dunn 17. Benn Robinson 18. Jake Cooper Wooley 19. Luke Romano 20. Liam Squire 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Alex Goode 23. Damian De Allende

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Tigers in the loose. We will play a high tempo and really look to get some big carries in. We feel we have a real advantage in the set piece so look to real attack of this.

Scrum: Look for our unit to set a strong platform. Our props have been well rotated so will be fresh. We will try to set a base, controlled by Messam which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Kitchener, Messam, Kolisi and Flanquardt  options in the lineout. Flanquardt will run the lineout with Kitchen offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Look to compete on the opposition throw as we have a great number of options. Try and starve them of quality ball from the lineout.

Breakdown: The breakdown is an area we really see ourselves as able to dominate. We will look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Luke Wallace and Liam Messam can try and disrupt opposition ball.

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Exeter decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Focus on gain line collisions and driving back in the tackle. FDP to sweep in behind.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. FDP and Hodgson can play what they see and put the rest of the back line in strong positions. Lealifano can act as an extra playmaker from the 12. We have strong runners who can get over the gainline throughout the side with a very dynamic pack and a big back line. Look to get the big carriers involved as much as possible. The likes of Faumuania, Slipper, Kolisi, Hibbard and Messam will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Wade, Nalaga and Campagnaro will be looking for gaps created that they can exploit. Look to counter attack kicks if possible. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Look for chances to offload.

Kicking: Hodgson will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards their back three. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. LLF, Hogg and Hodgson all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo.

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Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons
Location - Franklins Garden
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Rob Webber	10. George Ford
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Samu Manoa	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Matt Giteau
06. Schalk Burger	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

16. Elliot Dee 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Ramiro Herrera 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Niko Matawulu 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Ben Foden

Tactics:
We've put a strong run together and will look to start 2015 off with a home win. Our game plan is around generating quick ball to get our backline attacking Falcons, we've got some strong carriers in the pack and back line and aim to get ourselves over the gain line. We will play at a high intensity/tempo and keep the ball moving around the park to tire the away team's defence before rolling off the impact sub bench in the final 25/30mins of the game.

Pack/Setpiece:
We've picked a really strong scummaging unit to take the game to falcons, and use it as a platform for Parisse The lineout is the area we will look to control, we have four excellent jumping options and on our own ball will look to generate quick ball to attack off of. We have a lot of experience in the pack with Webber, Robshaw, Burger and Parisse all leaders.

Attack/Kicking Game:
We've kept Giteau in the starting XV as we want to really beat Falcons on the tactical kicking front, early on we will look for the corners and seek to test their line out  both defensively and offensively. With our jumping options we see this as a great attacking platform. Our midfleld is full of creativity and off quick ball will look to find ways of bringing our strike runners from the back three into the game, by attacking at speed and bringing both Savea and Bowe off their wings.

Breakdown:
We will look for Robshaw and Burger to control this area, supported by a very mobile and aggressive pack. We will make this area a real battle, looking for turnovers and isolating any Falcons attacker, we will also look to take advantage of no McCaw and Read this week.

Defence:
As always a really aggressive defence with fast line speed and closing down the falcons halfbacks. We want to force them into mistakes and handling errors. We will have Simpson sweep in behind the defensive line but will have Manoa lining up a big hit on the slender figure of Andy Goode whenever possible.

Key Points:
* Full of confidence after putting a strong run together and to continue against Falcons
* A strong pack that can target the set piece, the lineout is an area we can especially go for in both attack and defence, putting pressure on the Falcons ball.
* Target the break down with Robshaw and Burger in an area we feel we can get the upper hand.
* Aim to dominate the territorial kicking battle with Ford/Giteau axis, make sure we are in the right areas to pressurise Falcons and force the errors - if we get joy in the lineout we will just keep this tactic going.
* Strong impact bench we've had to finish extremely strongly, we will have played expansive rugby and will look to have tired Falcons and then bring on our big ball carriers.

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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Soana Tongahuia	09. Dave Lewis
02. Rory Best	10. Andy Goode (k)
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Brad Thorn	12. Brad Barritt
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Francis Saili
07. Will Fraser	14. Cory Jane
08. Imanol Harinordoquoy	15. Rob Miller

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16.George Mcguigan 17.Matt Mullan 18.Matt Stevens 19.Juandre Kruger 20. David Ewers 21.Greig Laidlaw 22.Gareth Anscombe 23. Max Evans

Set piece - We have picked a strong set of scrummagers up front, backed up by a strong second row. Particular focus on Mulipola. Plenty of ball off the top of the lineout going straight to Big runners to run at Ford. Look to compete on their ball with Our varied jumpers

Breakdown - Lydiate is in the team to make his chop tackles, we aim to chop there big runners down behind the gain line with Fraser immediately going over the ball, similar to how Lydiate and Warburton work for Wales. Denton doesn't tend to offload, so we think he is an ideal target for this tactic. Backed up by The pack we think we can get an edge at the ruck.

Kicking - primarily look to play territory. Use grubbers in behind the wings, as well as high balls to test their back 3 with our excellent chasers putting pressure on.

Attack - Lewis to look to snipe whenever the defence over commits, to keep them honest. We will look to keep ball in hand and go through phases tying in their pack before going wide

Bench - a load of carrying options and pace off the bench. Laidlaw on to help control the game if we are up

Apologies for lack of detail am struggling for time this week

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Saracens v London Irish
Location - Allianz Park
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Bernard Foley
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Patricio Albacete	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Thierry Dusatoir	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Dave Denton	15. Matt Tait

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16. Jamie George 17. Nick Auterac 18. Tom Francis 19. Julian Pierre 20.  Brad Shields 21. Henry Taylor 22. Lee Byrne 23. Tom Taylor

Tactics:

TARGET BREAKDOWN – We're strong in this area we’ll look to target turnover ball and slowing opposition attacks.

TARGET SET PIECE Look to target scrum, keep ball in if see weakness. Look to pressure line out with strong jumpers, look to compete on opposition throw.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to move the opposition pack around and then use big carrying options to punch holes through the opposition defence.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for quick ball off the top with the world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors, Shields the expert here. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfiels to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of little offloads in contact. Back 3 to keep things honest and come looking for work.

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London Irish
Manager - Prop

01. Ben Franks	09. Lee Dickson
02. Marc Jones	10. Dan Biggar
03. Henry Thomas
04. Dean Mumm	11. JP Pieterson
05. Jacques Potgeiter	12. Jaime Roberts
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19. Tom Savage 20. Scott Higginbotham 21. Rory Kockott 22. Owen Williams 23. Rob Cook

Set piece: We have picked a strong scrummaging front 5 who all bring carrying bulk to the game. From kick offs we will look to go 2 passes in before hitting our direct runners. We will look to scrummage low (which all of our props are known for doing) and scrum straight to prevent the wheel. Our lineouts will be simple and we will look to bring the ball down before feeding 9.

Backrow: We feel we have a well balanced back row with a tackler, a carrier and a jackler and all 3 will be used for their main attributes. We have confidence in them all to do their jobs with Brown looking to get in their 10’s face.

Breakdown: We will look to be controlled here with the tackler and 1 more player committing initially to the breakdown. Warburton will play the McCaw role and sweep behind the breakdowns picking and choosing when he will attack for a penalty or a turnover. We will use the call “fire ball” which will be when Wasps under commit to their ruck and we will look to blitz past the ball for the turnover. We will adopt the hold and roll technique to take them off their feet at the breakdown and ‘tactically’ hold them down to slow them getting to the next ruck.

Half Backs: Biggar will stand flat initially to give Roberts and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. Dickson has shown how well he can control a game and he will use these skills to control the tempo and slow the ball down if needed.

Outside Backs: We look at Biggar and Smith to pull the strings and find the gaps for our strong runners, if it is not on and the wind is blowing in our advantage then we will look for deep kicks to go off  the field and put pressure on their lineouts.. If it is on we will look to ship it wide to our speedsters. We will look to have a lot of movement off the ball to prevent us being easily read. There will be runners off of 12 and 13 when available and the ball will be shipped to the wings quickly to allow them to get the advantage in the race to the line. We have international experience in the back 3 and will look to exploit this with angled running and confusing the oppositions defence.

Bench: Impact in all areas especially being able to bring on Higginbotham and Court who will all make an impact against tired defences and with Kockott and Williams be able to pull the strings to make the gaps available.

Defence: Smith, Warburton, Brown, Morgan, Biggar and Roberts have all shown recently how strong they are in defence and making the intiial big impact hit. We also know how good the Sarries centres are so will look to prevent tem offloading the ball by double tackling them. We will look to blitz with Brown in their 10’s allowing Biggar the opportunity to drop back and cover with Cook for any kicks ahead. We will defend inside-out and spread the line. Smith is a strong defender and we will use this to our advantage to prevent anything going out wide.

Overall: This will be a controlled performance. We will look to hit the ball up twice and suck in defenders by going the same way till we run out of space, we will then flash across and look for quick hands against their pack who will be stuck defending the centre channels. Our carriers will come round the corner in 3’s to prevent the opposition knowing where the ball is going. We have a strong team on show and backs who are able to control a game well and defend strongly without allowing any gaps to appear. We have confidence coming into this game after running Wasps close  and then picking up a bp win against Welsh.

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Wasps v Sale Sharks
Location - Ricoh Arena
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

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 Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213    

01. Paul James	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Dave Wilson
04. Alun-Wyn Jones (c)	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Marcell Coetzee	13. Robbie Freuan
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Jerome Kaino	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

16. Tom Youngs 17. Ben Moon 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Romain Millo-Chluski 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde 22. Henry Slade 23. JJ Engelbrecht


Basic Game Plan
In dry conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Youngs will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics 

• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure our ball.  We will also mix it up, shortening the lineout and using our back row as crash ball options off the top.  On Sale ball put pressure on through AWJ and Vahaamahina, who are athletic lineout jumpers.  
  
• Scrum.  Target Rabah Slimani.  Paul James and Bismarck du Plessis to look to get low and underneath the Sale tighthead to attack him, whilst Wilson anchors on the other side.  To assist that process Vahaamahina and Kaino will pack down on the tighthead side to add bulk, with Armitage packing down at 8.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not overcommit, but will maintain a strong defensive line.  If we win the collision and knock the carrier back we will look to get the second man in hard over the ball to turn it over.  Key for us is being selective.
  
• Attacking Play.  We will be looking to play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.  We will constantly look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps.  Youngs to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
• Tactical Kicking.  If we kick, we will look to kick in behind Rokoduguni and get him on the turn going back towards his own line, with Habana on the kick chase to really target him defensively.
  

Key Points 

• Form/Momentum  In game we have hit form post AI's and have loads of momentum coming into the game.  We also have players in form in real life right across the team.
  
• Lineout.  Whilst we don't have a Matfield or POC type leader, we have a fully international pack and in AWJ a player who calls for club and country.  We may not be able target oppo ball as well as some, we certainly have enough to secure our own ball 90%+ of the time.
  
• Combinations.  We have combinations that we know work.  James/Wilson (club combo) as props, but with the best hooker in the world between them.  Cruden/Nonu at 10/12 which we know works for the best team in the world.
  
• Decision making positions.  In the 2,8,9,10 jerseys we have world class operators, who bring with them over 200 test caps, meaning they have played in all conditions and seen whatever situations the game brings.
  

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Willie Le Roux
05. Dave Attwood	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Jared Payne

16. Ross Harrison 17. David Paice 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Johnny Sexton 23. Kyle Eastmond

We will play an expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to create space and break the defensive line. Mobility, physicality and handling is key to our approach.

- Fast ball is crucial. Mobile pack and physical midfield to clear out rucks and ensure quick ball. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to make it easier to do so.

- Commit the defence. Barrett will play flat on the gain line to pull in defenders before releasing runners while Care will look for opportunities to snipe around the base always committing defenders.

- Change the point of attack. Numerous playmakers across the backline comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and leave the opposition guessing.

- Back three always involved. Wingers to track the ball off their wings looking for the inside ball or offload. Payne to join the line from fullback looking for mismatches and to create overlaps.

- Attack from the scrum. Strong technical front row backed up by a powerful second row will look to build a platform for Pickles, Care & Barrett. An area we will look to target if winning.

- Mix it up at the lineout. Five genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking platform. Look to use both the rolling maul and ball off the top to keep the defence guessing.

- Straight line blitz defence. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with POM & Kvesic fetching for the ball, supported by the rest of the pack when needed. We will always look to turn the ball over.

---

---

London Welsh v Harlequins
Location - Kassam Stadium
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 15mph SW Winds

---

 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francois Trinh-Duc(k)
03. BJ Botha
04. George Skivington	11. Napoliono Nadolo
05. Sitaleki Timani	12. Kyle Godwin
06.  James Haskell c.	13. Rob Horne
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. Eli Walker
08. Ashley Johnson	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Dave Ward 17. Nathan Catt 18. Sepoke Kepu   19.  Jamie Cudmore    20. Victor Vito  21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow  22. Nick Tompkins 23. Ross Chisholm

Attack:

Keep slow ball in the hands of the pack, taking it on in drives with groups of 3 forwards. If opportunities appear, 9 and back row to attack the fringes

Quicker ball to be popped onto carriers off 9 or to FTH attacking the line and passing the ball onto hard runners inside or out, utilising on this first attack our power runners like Haskell, AJ, Horne, Timani, Strauss and Nadolo off his wing to beat the gain line and commit defenders. These runs to be well supported, and keep the ball fast, recycling the ball into our ball players like Pennell, Godwin and FTD who will keep changing the direction of attack until  gap appears, the flood it.

Chip over the line and look for te kick outside when the blitz rushes up and leaves a gap behind, using our kicking options at 9, 10, 12 and 15

Defence:

Blitz led by Horne, Spencer sweeping. AJ looking to physically dominate Cooper, and the pack pressurising Pienaar to cut the 9-10 axis and leave Cooper with poor ball and his weaknesses exposed.

Breakdown:

Work as a unit, led by Haskell and Lapandry. AJ and Haskell look to use physicality to bully Hooper off the ball. Keep men out of the ruck to commit in defence and attack.

Scrum:

Keep it solid in the scrum on our ball and run off 8. We should be able to challenge them on their ball

Lineout:

Mix up our options with Skivington calling and liking for quick ball off the top to attack with. Challenge every opposition throw and use Lapandry as an option.

Kicking:

use all our options at 9, 10, 12 and 15 in attacking and defensive kicking. Kick for territory and aim for the lines and space rather than the players. Run back kicks and don't kick to back 3, and get the likes of Horne and AJ running kicks back as well

Press hard for turnovers and penalties in their 22 but give nothing away in our half, being more careful.

Subs:

Use Vito, Kepu and Cudmore for impact, and Ward if breakdown and loose work needs help.

Targets:

Target Cooper with big carriers, and Hopper at contact area

---

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Ruan Pienaar (k)
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Damien Chouly	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Tony Woodcock 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Mamuka Gorgodze 21. Karl Dickson 22. Steven Myler 23. Robbie Henshaw

Tactics

Usual tactics in the opposition half where we play a patient attacking game and look to create spaces out wide for Cooper and his outside backs to exploit. Key to this is for our pack to get us quick ball so Cooper can play with quick ball and get his backs going. To get this quick ball we need the hard yards from our pack and honest work at the ruck to get the ball recycled quickly. Really look to get Chouly, Hooper, JJ and Serfontein running lines off Cooper so keep the defence guessing.

In our own half look to play the percentage game. We have confidence in ourselves to keep the ball if the kick isn't on but if their is a territorial advantage to be gained then we will look to take it.

In defence we will aim defend from out to in and force Welsh to play back inside where our defence in theory is at its strongest. JJ to lead the line speed in a effort to stop the ball getting out wide.

Use Wood and Hooper at the breakdown to pilfer or slow down Welsh. Look to commit to the breakdown when the turnover is on but leave it alone when it isn't.

Look to use a 5 mine line out with Chouly anf Hooper offering themselves as carriers off Coopers shouider.

---

I've cheated on conditions. They are the same across all games this week based on the Chiefs game as first fixture. 

Team sheet deadlines can be ignored this week! I do ask can you have teams and tactics in by Friday evening at the latest please as will only be leaving predictions open over the weekend to get back into the proper routine next week

Mark, good work Johnny

Team subject to change




 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francois Trinh-Duc(k)
03. BJ Botha
04. George Skivington	11. Napoliono Nadolo
05. Sitaleki Timani	12. Kyle Godwin
06.  James Haskell c.	13. Rob Horne
07. Alexandre Lapandry	14. Eli Walker
08. Ashley Johnson	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Dave Ward 17. Nathan Catt 18. Sepoke Kepu   19.  Jamie Cudmore    20. Victor Vito  21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow  22. Nick Tompkins 23. Ross Chisholm

Strauss?

Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213    

01. Paul James	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Dave Wilson
04. Alun-Wyn Jones (c)	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Marcell Coetzee	13. Robbie Freuan
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Jerome Kaino	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

16. Tom Youngs 17. Ben Moon 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Romain Millo-Chluski 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde 22. Henry Slade 23. JJ Engelbrecht


Basic Game Plan
In dry conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Youngs will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics 

• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure our ball.  We will also mix it up, shortening the lineout and using our back row as crash ball options off the top.  On Sale ball put pressure on through AWJ and Vahaamahina, who are athletic lineout jumpers.  
  
• Scrum.  Target Rabah Slimani.  Paul James and Bismarck du Plessis to look to get low and underneath the Sale tighthead to attack him, whilst Wilson anchors on the other side.  To assist that process Vahaamahina and Kaino will pack down on the tighthead side to add bulk, with Armitage packing down at 8.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not overcommit, but will maintain a strong defensive line.  If we win the collision and knock the carrier back we will look to get the second man in hard over the ball to turn it over.  Key for us is being selective.
  
• Attacking Play.  We will be looking to play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.  We will constantly look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps.  Youngs to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
• Tactical Kicking.  If we kick, we will look to kick in behind Rokoduguni and get him on the turn going back towards his own line, with Habana on the kick chase to really target him defensively.
  

Key Points 

• Form/Momentum  In game we have hit form post AI's and have loads of momentum coming into the game.  We also have players in form in real life right across the team.
  
• Lineout.  Whilst we don't have a Matfield or POC type leader, we have a fully international pack and in AWJ a player who calls for club and country.  We may not be able target oppo ball as well as some, we certainly have enough to secure our own ball 90%+ of the time.
  
• Combinations.  We have combinations that we know work.  James/Wilson (club combo) as props, but with the best hooker in the world between them.  Cruden/Nonu at 10/12 which we know works for the best team in the world.
  
• Decision making positions.  In the 2,8,9,10 jerseys we have world class operators, who bring with them over 200 test caps, meaning they have played in all conditions and seen whatever situations the game brings.
  

Are injuries due this week?

Possibly. SJE said it would be a round between 10 and 13.

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Connor Murray
02. Sean Cronin	10. Camille Lopez
03. Jamie Johnston
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. Tom Varndell
05. Paul O'Connell (c)	12. Luther Burrell
06. Carl Fearns	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. David Strettle
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O'Connor

16. Dimitri Szarzewski 17. Richard Barrington 18. Mike Ross 19. Michael Paterson 20. Yannick Nyanga 21. Chris Cook 22. Toby Flood 23. Alex Dunbar

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. We will play a high paced counter punch style of rugby away from home.
When we gain possession our plan is to control attack with quick clean ball be it from set piece or turnover. After that look to control the pace of the game and go through the phases. Lopez will look to play flat and look to get our back line into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play. Looking to control the ball for periods will result in frustrating the Sale side giving away penalties for us to capitalise on. 

Set piece - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. POC to marshal the line-out and get quick ball from our dynamic jumpers. Big emphasis on controlling set piece possession, pressuring Cowan-Dickie at both line-out and scrum time. With the lack of a distinguished line out leader POC will get up at the front to steal Cowan-Dickie's iffy throwing. Also target Cowan-Dickie at scrum with little protection from Beast, with JJ and Cronin pressuring and splintering the pack. 

Pack & Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition defence to create overlaps for our backs. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our back-row will target the breakdown and look to blow through the ruck and past the ball. Clean ball will be generated either by blowing through the ruck and past the ball and a long presentation of the ball to keep it away from opposition defenders. With the Glos pack on the retreat, Murray will look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot. We’ll look to win the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence - Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow our back-row to dominate affairs. Using the defensive banana drift defence to push the attackers towards our inside defence, with Murray sweeping in behind to guide defenders to plug holes and covers any kicks in behind. If an oppo player gets held or brought down this allows the second man to get over the ball quickly to at least compete and slow opposition possession. Tipuric will look to target the opposition fly half early on and pressure his kicking. 

Backs - Look to get the ball in hands of the backs and the back three especially, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of Burrell\AAC to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. AAC/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Toomua's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration and agility of Kurindrani in defence. Or even generate a two on one with JOC joining the back line and providing the extra man to either put a winger away or go himself. Look to exploit the defensive deficiencies in the Gloucester back three, with the wings not great positionally and Masi not exactly the quickest.

Key Points


Home Advantage - Sandy Park is one of the hardest places to come and play. We won't want to kick the ball away, and Wasps can't score any points without the ball. 
Lack of Carrying and defending- A number of Glos forwards are renowned for hanging out in the wide channels, creating more work for the hard working forwards. This will allow us to tire out the hard working lads and exploits holes in defences.
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. LCD to be put under constant throughout the game. Cronin & POC had a strong period together over the AI's and proved that his darts are more than capable at this level
Quick Rucks - with their big pack we will look to set rucks quickly and keep their pack on the move to tire them out. As well as to keep moving the point if attack with ball in hand with clever offloads and pops to keep Gloucester guessing. 
Physicality & Dynamism – Win the collision and target rucks to drive through opposition. We have a big physical, but also mobile pack. Supported by some high energy forwards off the bench.
Targets in Defence - Kurindrani is not a renowned defender and small in comparison to our centres, therefore Lopez will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line. Likewise their back three are targets for us in attack, so look for two on ones and good kick chases to force mistakes.
Breakdown – The back five to be a nuisance in in the breakdown and either get over the ball or get past the ball and make the opposition cleaners a nightmare by having to make them drive our forwards even further off their ball, or steal if the are limited numbers competing. 
Backs – Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in the AP in Strettle & Varndell, so they we will get the ball in their hands and they will take any opportunity. Especially targetting May and Folau who can get lost positionally and aren't known for their defending. 
Build a Score - Lopez and JOC to share kicking at goal responsibilities with JOC taking the longer ones. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Willie Le Roux
05. Dave Attwood	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Jared Payne

16. Ross Harrison 17. David Paice 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Johnny Sexton 23. Kyle Eastmond

We will play an expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to create space and break the defensive line. Mobility, physicality and handling is key to our approach.

- Fast ball is crucial. Mobile pack and physical midfield to clear out rucks and ensure quick ball. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to make it easier to do so.

- Commit the defence. Barrett will play flat on the gain line to pull in defenders before releasing runners while Care will look for opportunities to snipe around the base always committing defenders.

- Change the point of attack. Numerous playmakers across the backline comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and leave the opposition guessing.

- Back three always involved. Wingers to track the ball off their wings looking for the inside ball or offload. Payne to join the line from fullback looking for mismatches and to create overlaps.

- Attack from the scrum. Strong technical front row backed up by a powerful second row will look to build a platform for Pickles, Care & Barrett. An area we will look to target if winning.

- Mix it up at the lineout. Five genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking platform. Look to use both the rolling maul and ball off the top to keep the defence guessing.

- Straight line blitz defence. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with POM & Kvesic fetching for the ball, supported by the rest of the pack when needed. We will always look to turn the ball over.

Interesting 9/10 battle SJE, Youngs/Cruden vs. Care/Barrett. Playing for their national starting jerseys I reckon!

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Rob Webber	10. George Ford
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Samu Manoa	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Matt Giteau
06. Schalk Burger	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

16. Elliot Dee 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Ramiro Herrera 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Niko Matawulu 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Ben Foden

Tactics:
We've put a strong run together and will look to start 2015 off with a home win. Our game plan is around generating quick ball to get our backline attacking Falcons, we've got some strong carriers in the pack and back line and aim to get ourselves over the gain line. We will play at a high intensity/tempo and keep the ball moving around the park to tire the away team's defence before rolling off the impact sub bench in the final 25/30mins of the game.

Pack/Setpiece:
We've picked a really strong scummaging unit to take the game to falcons, and use it as a platform for Parisse The lineout is the area we will look to control, we have four excellent jumping options and on our own ball will look to generate quick ball to attack off of. We have a lot of experience in the pack with Webber, Robshaw, Burger and Parisse all leaders.

Attack/Kicking Game:
We've kept Giteau in the starting XV as we want to really beat Falcons on the tactical kicking front, early on we will look for the corners and seek to test their line out both defensively and offensively. With our jumping options we see this as a great attacking platform. Our midfleld is full of creativity and off quick ball will look to find ways of bringing our strike runners from the back three into the game, by attacking at speed and bringing both Savea and Bowe off their wings.

Breakdown:
We will look for Robshaw and Burger to control this area, supported by a very mobile and aggressive pack. We will make this area a real battle, looking for turnovers and isolating any Falcons attacker, we will also look to take advantage of no McCaw and Read this week.

Defence:
As always a really aggressive defence with fast line speed and closing down the falcons halfbacks. We want to force them into mistakes and handling errors. We will have Simpson sweep in behind the defensive line but will have Manoa lining up a big hit on the slender figure of Andy Goode whenever possible.

Key Points:
* Full of confidence after putting a strong run together and to continue against Falcons
* A strong pack that can target the set piece, the lineout is an area we can especially go for in both attack and defence, putting pressure on the Falcons ball.
* Target the break down with Robshaw and Burger in an area we feel we can get the upper hand.
* Aim to dominate the territorial kicking battle with Ford/Giteau axis, make sure we are in the right areas to pressurise Falcons and force the errors - if we get joy in the lineout we will just keep this tactic going.
* Strong impact bench we've had to finish extremely strongly, we will have played expansive rugby and will look to have tired Falcons and then bring on our big ball carriers.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Tusi Pisi (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Nathan Hines (c)	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Stephen Moore 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Tom Johnson 21. Micky Young 22. Brock James 23. Rene Ranger


Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, throughout our XV, big line breakers to make the hard yards and tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Pisi to exploit.

- Big focus to attack at all lineouts. Use Hines or Lobbe at the front and Matfield off the top as our three key options. Shortened lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.
Matfield and Hines to look to steal and really give Haywood problems.

- Play an offloading game. We see the offload as our big weapon and our carriers will all be looking to offload in contact, continuing our forward momentum.

- Attack all scrums - Front row of Franks, Creevy and Jenkins to look to really get the shove on, particularly targeting the Bath Haywood/Faumaunia channel.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Bath defence. Primarily using Waldrom, Basteraud and Creevy, plus the likes of Louw, Franks, Lobbe and Banahan to get us over the gainline. Add to that the likes of Moore, Corbs and Ranger off the bench.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Lobbe and Louw, supported by the likes of Bastareaud and Jenkins, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Bath problems.

- Fotuali'i to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Pisi and Twelvetrees.
We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack consistently.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Pisi to kick all penalties.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Ruan Pienaar (k)
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Damien Chouly	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Tony Woodcock 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Mamuka Gorgodze 21. Karl Dickson 22. Steven Myler 23. Robbie Henshaw

Tactics

Usual tactics in the opposition half where we play a patient attacking game and look to create spaces out wide for Cooper and his outside backs to exploit. Key to this is for our pack to get us quick ball so Cooper can play with quick ball and get his backs going. To get this quick ball we need the hard yards from our pack and honest work at the ruck to get the ball recycled quickly. Really look to get Chouly, Hooper, JJ and Serfontein running lines off Cooper so keep the defence guessing.

In our own half look to play the percentage game. We have confidence in ourselves to keep the ball if the kick isn't on but if their is a territorial advantage to be gained then we will look to take it.

In defence we will aim defend from out to in and force Welsh to play back inside where our defence in theory is at its strongest. JJ to lead the line speed in a effort to stop the ball getting out wide.

Use Wood and Hooper at the breakdown to pilfer or slow down Welsh. Look to commit to the breakdown when the turnover is on but leave it alone when it isn't.

Look to use a 5 mine line out with Chouly anf Hooper offering themselves as carriers off Coopers shouider.

01. Ben Franks	09. Lee Dickson
02. Marc Jones	10. Dan Biggar
03. Henry Thomas
04. Dean Mumm	11. JP Pieterson
05. Jacques Potgeiter	12. Jaime Roberts
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19. Tom Savage 20. Scott Higginbotham 21. Rory Kockott 22. Owen Williams 23. Rob Cook

Set piece: We have picked a strong scrummaging front 5 who all bring carrying bulk to the game. From kick offs we will look to go 2 passes in before hitting our direct runners. We will look to scrummage low (which all of our props are known for doing) and scrum straight to prevent the wheel. Our lineouts will be simple and we will look to bring the ball down before feeding 9.

Backrow: We feel we have a well balanced back row with a tackler, a carrier and a jackler and all 3 will be used for their main attributes. We have confidence in them all to do their jobs with Brown looking to get in their 10’s face.

Breakdown: We will look to be controlled here with the tackler and 1 more player committing initially to the breakdown. Warburton will play the McCaw role and sweep behind the breakdowns picking and choosing when he will attack for a penalty or a turnover. We will use the call “fire ball” which will be when Wasps under commit to their ruck and we will look to blitz past the ball for the turnover. We will adopt the hold and roll technique to take them off their feet at the breakdown and ‘tactically’ hold them down to slow them getting to the next ruck.

Half Backs: Biggar will stand flat initially to give Roberts and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. Dickson has shown how well he can control a game and he will use these skills to control the tempo and slow the ball down if needed.

Outside Backs: We look at Biggar and Smith to pull the strings and find the gaps for our strong runners, if it is not on and the wind is blowing in our advantage then we will look for deep kicks to go off the field and put pressure on their lineouts.. If it is on we will look to ship it wide to our speedsters. We will look to have a lot of movement off the ball to prevent us being easily read. There will be runners off of 12 and 13 when available and the ball will be shipped to the wings quickly to allow them to get the advantage in the race to the line. We have international experience in the back 3 and will look to exploit this with angled running and confusing the oppositions defence.

Bench: Impact in all areas especially being able to bring on Higginbotham and Court who will all make an impact against tired defences and with Kockott and Williams be able to pull the strings to make the gaps available.

Defence: Smith, Warburton, Brown, Morgan, Biggar and Roberts have all shown recently how strong they are in defence and making the intiial big impact hit. We also know how good the Sarries centres are so will look to prevent tem offloading the ball by double tackling them. We will look to blitz with Brown in their 10’s allowing Biggar the opportunity to drop back and cover with Cook for any kicks ahead. We will defend inside-out and spread the line. Smith is a strong defender and we will use this to our advantage to prevent anything going out wide.

Overall: This will be a controlled performance. We will look to hit the ball up twice and suck in defenders by going the same way till we run out of space, we will then flash across and look for quick hands against their pack who will be stuck defending the centre channels. Our carriers will come round the corner in 3’s to prevent the opposition knowing where the ball is going. We have a strong team on show and backs who are able to control a game well and defend strongly without allowing any gaps to appear. We have confidence coming into this game after running Wasps close and then picking up a bp win against Welsh.

01. Beast [/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]09. TJ Perenara [/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]02. Luke Cowan Dickie[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]10. Danny Cipriani [/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]03. Nicola Mas[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"][/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]04. Eben Etzbeth[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]11. johnny May[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]05. Richie Grey[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]12. Matt Toomua[/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]06. Tom Croft[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]13. Tevita Kurindrani [/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]07. Julian Salvi[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]14. israel Folau/td]
[/tr]
[tr][td height="undefined" width="undefined"]08. Jamie Heaslip[/td]
[td height="undefined" width="undefined"]15. Andrea Masi[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]

16. Nick Wood  17. Joe Grey 18. Juan Figallo 19. Roman taofufina 20. Willem Alberts 21. Dan Robson 22. Dan Carter 23. Charlie Walker [/quote]

Another great coding effort by myself

At least you try Mat!

Probably the best yet

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. James Slipper	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Charlie Faumaunia
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Alexandre Flanquardt	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Liam Gill	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Liam Messam	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Tom Dunn 17. Benn Robinson 18. Jake Cooper Wooley 19. Luke Romano 20. Liam Squire 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Alex Goode 23. Damian De Allende

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Tigers in the loose. We will play a high tempo and really look to get some big carries in. We feel we have a real advantage in the set piece so look to real attack of this.

Scrum: Look for our unit to set a strong platform. Our props have been well rotated so will be fresh. We will try to set a base, controlled by Messam which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Kitchener, Messam, Kolisi and Flanquardt options in the lineout. Flanquardt will run the lineout with Kitchen offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Look to compete on the opposition throw as we have a great number of options. Try and starve them of quality ball from the lineout.

Breakdown: The breakdown is an area we really see ourselves as able to dominate. We will look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Luke Wallace and Liam Messam can try and disrupt opposition ball.

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Exeter decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Focus on gain line collisions and driving back in the tackle. FDP to sweep in behind.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. FDP and Hodgson can play what they see and put the rest of the back line in strong positions. Lealifano can act as an extra playmaker from the 12. We have strong runners who can get over the gainline throughout the side with a very dynamic pack and a big back line. Look to get the big carriers involved as much as possible. The likes of Faumuania, Slipper, Kolisi, Hibbard and Messam will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Wade, Nalaga and Campagnaro will be looking for gaps created that they can exploit. Look to counter attack kicks if possible. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Look for chances to offload.

Kicking: Hodgson will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards their back three. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. LLF, Hogg and Hodgson all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Soana Tongahuia	09. Dave Lewis
02. Rory Best	10. Andy Goode (k)
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Brad Thorn	12. Brad Barritt
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Francis Saili
07. Will Fraser	14. Cory Jane
08. Imanol Harinordoquoy	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George Mcguigan 17.Matt Mullan 18.Matt Stevens 19.Juandre Kruger 20. David Ewers 21.Greig Laidlaw 22.Gareth Anscombe 23. Max Evans

Set piece - We have picked a strong set of scrummagers up front, backed up by a strong second row. Particular focus on Mulipola. Plenty of ball off the top of the lineout going straight to Big runners to run at Ford. Look to compete on their ball with Our varied jumpers

Breakdown - Lydiate is in the team to make his chop tackles, we aim to chop there big runners down behind the gain line with Fraser immediately going over the ball, similar to how Lydiate and Warburton work for Wales. Denton doesn't tend to offload, so we think he is an ideal target for this tactic. Backed up by The pack we think we can get an edge at the ruck.

Kicking - primarily look to play territory. Use grubbers in behind the wings, as well as high balls to test their back 3 with our excellent chasers putting pressure on.

Attack - Lewis to look to snipe whenever the defence over commits, to keep them honest. We will look to keep ball in hand and go through phases tying in their pack before going wide

Bench - a load of carrying options and pace off the bench. Laidlaw on to help control the game if we are up

Apologies for lack of detail am struggling for time this week

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Bernard Foley
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Patricio Albacete	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Thierry Dusatoir	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Dave Denton	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Nick Auterac 18. Tom Francis 19. Julian Pierre 20.  Brad Shields 21. Henry Taylor 22. Lee Byrne 23. Tom Taylor

Tactics:

TARGET BREAKDOWN – We're strong in this area we’ll look to target turnover ball and slowing opposition attacks.

TARGET SET PIECE Look to target scrum, keep ball in if see weakness. Look to pressure line out with strong jumpers, look to compete on opposition throw.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to move the opposition pack around and then use big carrying options to punch holes through the opposition defence.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for quick ball off the top with the world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors, Shields the expert here. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfiels to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of little offloads in contact. Back 3 to keep things honest and come looking for work.[/b]

Tactics:

Attack:

Keep slow ball in the hands of the pack, taking it on in drives with groups of 3 forwards. If opportunities appear, 9 and back row to attack the fringes

Quicker ball to be popped onto carriers off 9 or to FTH attacking the line and passing the ball onto hard runners inside or out, utilising on this first attack our power runners like Haskell, AJ, Horne, Timani, Strauss and Nadolo off his wing to beat the gain line and commit defenders. These runs to be well supported, and keep the ball fast, recycling the ball into our ball players like Pennell, Godwin and FTD who will keep changing the direction of attack until gap appears, the flood it.

Chip over the line and look for te kick outside when the blitz rushes up and leaves a gap behind, using our kicking options at 9, 10, 12 and 15

Defence:

Blitz led by Horne, Spencer sweeping. AJ looking to physically dominate Cooper, and the pack pressurising Pienaar to cut the 9-10 axis and leave Cooper with poor ball and his weaknesses exposed.

Breakdown:

Work as a unit, led by Haskell and Lapandry. AJ and Haskell look to use physicality to bully Hooper off the ball. Keep men out of the ruck to commit in defence and attack.

Scrum:

Keep it solid in the scrum on our ball and run off 8. We should be able to challenge them on their ball

Lineout:

Mix up our options with Skivington calling and liking for quick ball off the top to attack with. Challenge every opposition throw and use Lapandry as an option.

Kicking:

use all our options at 9, 10, 12 and 15 in attacking and defensive kicking. Kick for territory and aim for the lines and space rather than the players. Run back kicks and don't kick to back 3, and get the likes of Horne and AJ running kicks back as well

Press hard for turnovers and penalties in their 22 but give nothing away in our half, being more careful.

Subs:

Use Vito, Kepu and Cudmore for impact, and Ward if breakdown and loose work needs help.

Targets:

Target Cooper with big carriers, and Hopper at contact area

Is their a limit to length of tactics ?

Will get mine in by morning

TARGET BREAKDOWN– We have a big mobile physically strong bunch and will hit rucks with impact.
We will Send numbers in and try and effect turnovers or Disrupt ball.we believe the likes of beast  Heaslip Etzbeth Gray Salvi and Have the physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our front 5 and this is an area we will flood. We
Will look to target the exeter Backrow throughout with faletau tips and fearns all having difficult seasons

TARGET 9 10 channel- Get our big runners in to the channel and look to get in behind. We also want pressure here in defence and force them to move it from this channel as we feel they lack playmakers further out.

Half backs- perenara will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to cips who will dictate. Cips Will challenge line and kick When necessary. We want to play high tempo and Off front foot vl. We will do this by using runners off ten to smash holes and look to flood.

General- We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We want to use our carriers in the pack and will use this to dominate and get front foot ball. We believe this will give is the upper hand. We will use this to sap Exeter.We see them struggling with our power. When its on we will play an offloading game. When in behind We will Flood through with our quick Backs targeting mismatches

Tempo- we
Will be playing high tempo and to
Do that you have to have playmakers to allow
Continuity and also to attack off
Turnovers.

In ,Folau, Cips and toomua we have people who can step in to first receiver and allow us to play the high tempo interchanging game we are aiming to play.

Line out– We have options galore in Etzbeth Gray Croft  heaslip etc and will use this to disrupt. On our ball we will mix It but as game progresses go Off The top more To Get in to there backline. Exeter appear to be very reliant on POC as their source of lineout ball so we will be looking to
Target their lack of jumpers

Kicking options - with Cips , tj and toomua we have great options to dominate kicking game when needed and also have fantastic options for exiting when under pressure.

Defence- Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Bench- Game changing bench with More ball carriers and attacking backs. Our intention is to use it as required

Ps Fluxy kurindrani is huge he is a stone and a half  heavier than AAC and 4 inches taller. One of the reasons he is renowned for his defence is his physicality !!

Not really mate. Brevity for me is best as it keeps you interested.

Having issues with my home internet, will try and get tactics in first thing - will be the usual sort of thing.

Are predictions open?

Yes. Just writing mine out.

Chiefs 25-26 Glos
Quite even in front 5 but feel that Glos have a  bit more in the back row to make a difference. One a piece at half backs with Murray and Cips playing well. Two exciting backlines so not a lot between these. Bench will make a difference for  Glos. Exeter targeting Glos forwards positioning well but Glos have slightly more physicality but not a lot between it.

Tigers 24-21 Bath
Good pack battle which I feel Tigers will edge. Half backs a bit closer and one a piece in the centres. Not much between them out wide but feel Tigers have the edge with the impact bench. Tigers using their strong carriers well and Bath don't have tactics (will alter this if they have got tactics up somewhere) which does hinder them and loses them a couple of points.

Saints 25-23 Falcons
Webber  the difference in the front row, good real life pairing for Falcons here but Saints do have good form. Backrow close but possible a small edge to Saints. Simpson better form than Lewis but fly half even. More for  Saints outwide even with Tuilagi tough to rate too highly this season. Impact from Saints bench is scary with Dee doing well as of late. Good backrow set up tactics for Falcons and targeting Mulipola well. Not tactics from Saints makes this game closer (I have noticed that Chris will put them in this morning so may alter the score tomorrow if I see them).

Wasps 25-22 Sale
Great form for Wasps in the pack but Sale set up well as normal, think Wasps will slightly edge this battle up front. Can't split half backs with Barrett impressing me when I've seen him but Cruden is Cruden! Outwide not a lot to split the teams again sorry and on the bench Wasps have the forwards impact but Sale have the backs. Wasps using simple tactics and playing real life combinations. No tactics from  Sale (keeping to what I've said  I will change  if I see them up) and this is detrimental in their battle so loses them a couple of points.

Welsh 22-25 Quins
Front 5 and set piece edged to  Quins I feel but back row battle is massive and can't see much of a split with Welsh bringing good form but Quins bringing Hooper and Chouly into the battle. Bit more for Quins at half back and outwide I feel Quins can be a bit more dangerous especially with  JJ's form. On the bench Quins have the impact and I feel they suit their carrying game off of 10 and 12. Welsh nullifying Hooper and targeting Cooper well but think with the carrying battle that Quins will nick this game.

Depending on if/when tactics come in some scores may change, I am using a policy of deducting 2 points for no tactics.[/b]

Sale tactics added 

Annoyingly this site will not allow me to copy results typed from iphone notes and paste them. Keeps coming up with error with page.

This site is getting progressively worse

Exeter Chiefs 22-19 Gloucester

Not a lot between the packs. Glaws shade the scrum but neither side really gets on top. Glaws edge 11-15 but Chiefs not far off in midfield. Chiefs half backs a step up though particularly at scrum half. Chiefs have enough to win at home. 


Leicester Tigers 26-24 Bath

Tigers pack can get on top here. Bath halfbacks edge it but don't see as much as the ball and Tigers midfield can get some good momentum going. 


Northampton Saints 30-22 Newcastle Falcons

Slight lineout advantage to Saints but Falcons can get at the scrum. Saints backrow edge the breakdown. Saints with more through the back line and win well. 


Saracens 22-21 London Irish

Scrum edge Sarries but not much else between the packs. Half backs one a piece but Irish midfield with more quality about it. Tight game and home advantage decides it.


London Welsh 22-24 Harlequins

Slight scrum edge to Quins and see them edging the breakdown. Pienaar a class above at 9 and Quins midfield with a bit more about it. Good away win.

Find it fine matt, what phone are you on?

IPhone 5s. Does same on ipad

Same phone mate, got a surface pro and that can be a pain to highlight text. It not really the website just the highlight function.

I can highlight but minute I touch screen to paste there is an issue with web page

Was fine in my iPhone 5, now fine on 6. And fine on iPad. You doing it wrong...?

IOS8 is a nightmare

Sgt_Pooly wrote:IOS8 is a nightmare

Agree think that is the problem. There is an update available but reluctant to do it

Do it I'd say

Exeter Chiefs 22 -24 Gloucester
Agree with Prop on this game, will be a close run thing as Exeter is a tough place to go. Just see Gloucester having a bit more in the backline in terms of WC players, which makes a difference. Cronin can possibly get at LCD a bit, but good form from other players in away pack makes up for that.

Leicester Tigers 22 - 20 Bath
That is a brutal Tigers pack again and will be really difficult for any away team to challenge. Don't think Bath will get enough quality ball, but do prefer their backline and again few form issues with Tigers midfield stop them breaking away on the scoreboard.

Saracens 23-23 London Irish
Closest game of the round for me - can't really find a way of separating the two - breakdown battle will be very close and Sarries better moving Clark to no6. Much prefer the Irish backline, but can see the Sarries halfbacks getting them a draw.

Wasps 26 - 23 Sale
Pete's team has really started to build up some momentum and that's one of the best starting XV's around. Forward battle still relatively even, but slight edge to the home team. SJE get it back a bit in the final 20 mins with the impact they can bring off the bench.

London Welsh 27-30 Harlequins
Agree with SJE in this game, the Quins pack are really well suited to the conditions - if it was raining then the home side would have won. Quins backs are electric. Great away win.

All typed out, sent, internet messed up. Here's a brief overview.

Exeter 25 - 25 Gloucester

Toughest league game I remember predicting. So evenly matched it can't be seperated.

Leicester 24 - 21 Bath

Leicester should control this upfront and get good home win. Stronger throughout the 8 and the backs good enough to take advantage.

Northampton 32 - 22 Newcastle

Some very good players missing for Newcastle and it costs them. Saints will run riot (by this games standard at least)

Saracens 24 - 24 Irish

Another too close to call. Irish's back row and control offered by half backs gets them the draw.

Wasps 27 - 26 Sale

It's the Wasps back row which sways me. They offer so much around the park. Two strong sides. Sale midfield could do with someone really getting into form.

Exeter Chiefs 25 Gloucester 25
Leicester Tigers 23 Bath Rugby 22
Northampton Saints 28 Newcastle Falcons 27
Saracens 23 London Irish 23
London Welsh 23 Harlequins 24

Exeter 30 - 30 Gloucester
Tigers 27 - 26 Bath
Saints 28 - 27 Falcons
Saracens 25 - 24 Irish
Wasps 28 - 28 Sale

Sorry for the lack of proper predos, been busy

Exeter 24-23 Gloucester

Scrum evens, but Exeter right to target the lineout and will have some success there. Think Exeter back row is a touch more physical, and will edge it. One a piece at halfback, Glos centres are stronger but I prefer chiefs back 3. With home advantage has to be a narrow Exeter win

Leicester 26-23 Bath

Massive Tigers pack will have control of the game, and even though Bath's back line is dangerous, I don't think they will get enough ball to really challenge away from home. Tigers halfbacks prevent them getting the bonus

Saracens 26-24 Irish

Think Waller can get an edge against Thomas, but rest of battle is equal. Lineout to Sarries, but back row battle is going to be very tough to call. One each at halfback, Irish centres and Sarries back 3 have the advantage. Sarries to pull it out late on

Wasps 25-23 sale

Can't pick a winner at scrum or lineout, very even. Wasps back row has the advantage round the park, great unit, and will give the half backs plenty of ball. Equal at halfback, just slightly prefer the Wasps outside backs. Great game, at home has to be Wasps


Welsh 22-23 Quins

Quins have a stronger pack overall, and I think they can get the halfbacks good ball, which in these conditions will result in points. Welsh ball carriers will make it tough though, and it will be settled late on, with the Quins bench making the difference.

With tactics added my score goes to
Wasps 25-24 Sale

Leicester 22-21 Bath

Not much in front rows with Tigers a LH away from a top unit. Tigers edge the back 5 with more quality, Bath need an 8 and Messem to 6 I think. Not much in the 9's on current form but Hodgson the better 10. Centres pretty even, Bath slightly better back 3. Tightest of games with only home advantage between the sides.

Northampton 20-18 Falcons

Slight form issues for all props on show bar Ducalon gives small edge to Falcons. Nice back 5 battle on show, some real quality bit more to Saints but Falcons squeeze the line out with no leader for Saints. Little in the halfbacks with some nice form from the 10's. Prefer Saints centres but Manu marked down on form. Saints good back 3. Another tight one but enough on show to get the win for Saints.

Wasps 23-22 Sale

Slight scrum edge to Sale with James a little off lately and engine room stronger also. Nice flanks for Wasps but not sure of Kaino at 8, Sale strong at 6/8 but Kvesic out of his depth a little. Wasps shade the half backs/centres and back 3 really close. Another top game, Sale may have snuck a draw starting Sexton but Wasps just sneak.