Aviva Premiership Round 6

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Gloucester v Sale Sharks
Kingsholm Stadium
Heavy Rain, 12 Degrees, 23mph Winds

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1. Beast
2 Strauss
3 Mas
4 Etzbeth
5 Robson
6 Matera
7 Salvi
8 Dickinson
9 Robson
10 Carter
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Crotty
14 Talebula
15 Folau
16 Wood
17 LcD
18 Ousthuizen
19 Croft
20 Savea
21 Genia
22 Cips
23 Dagg

Forwards to carry hard - Half backs to control - Outside backs to attack

In the opposition half we are looking to get our strong-carrying pack on the front foot to create space for our outside backs who all have form and the ability to beat their man.
The job of our half backs is to run the game with Carter being the worlds best. Get him the ball and he makes decisions.He is there to make the right decisions which will enable us to get our outstanding attackers into the game. Front 5 will look to carry off 9 and 10 taking the ball at pace and looking to attack spaces.

Play the game in the right areas

We will look to play the game in the opposition half and pressurise their lineout with a lack of jumpers. Etzbeth and robson brings the old dog in the weather. all took the most lineouts for their country in the World Cup and robson will run the lineout. Add in Matera  and we have a great way to pressure sale.jumper

Decision-making in Defence

Key to our defence is identifying when the big hit and turnover is on. We will look to get our line set and look to put pressure upon the ball-carrier but will need to decide between the Blitz and the drift depending on the numbers in attack and defence. We will look to target the breakdowns in the wide channels using the pace of Matera and Salvi in . All other breakdowns we will make the decision based on each ruck and our defenisive organisation as to whether to compete.

Set Piece

we will look to target  their lack of a jumper at 5. We will target the lineout continuously with Robson Matera  and etzbeth contesting every lineout. Saints want quick ball for sexton and we see this as key to disrupting sale and putting them on the back foot.


Game Specific

- Look to stay on our feet for as long as possible in the contact in order to ensure we are not isolated when tackled. Look for our tight 5 to work in pods so we can clear out Kvesic who is maybe out
Of his depth against salvi. from the breakdown immediately as a ruck is formed.

- Pepper rokadunguni  with kicks early on. Look to vary between high balls, grubbers and kicks for the corners to keep him guessing with his positioning. Folau and may are excellent kick chasers and will be used to pressure
- pressure every lineout. Sale have rookies on the bench as a hooker and we feel if he comes on then they can disintegrate in this area.
- Kayser is 3 rd choice for France and  has been not 100% and we will aim to get after him and rock his confidence with his darts.

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Simon Zebo
05. Dave Attwood	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Willie Le Roux

Subs:
16. Tommy Taylor 17. Jack McGrath 18. Marty Moore 19. Maro Itoje 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Bernard Foley 23. Nick Abendanon

Kicking: We will look to adopt a territory first approach today with kickers throughout the backline in Sexton, Steyn, Zebo & Le Roux. We want to exploit the lack of a kicking game in the Gloucester back three and force them to either rush clearances or play from deep. Look to catch Talebula on the turn and take advantage of the space behind. Steyn offers a long drop goal option.

Attack: When in the right areas look to use our regular rugby league shape with pods of forwards on the gain line and runners out the backdoor to force the opposition into making early defensive decisions. Numerous play makers in the backs allows us to keep the point of attack moving. Care to keep the fringes honest with snipes.

Decision Making: Neither Gloucester centre is a regular defensive leader at Super 15 level and with the selective approach they have taken to defence communication will be key. Use our rugby league shape and playmakers off both sides of the ruck to really test their structures in their own half.

Breakdown: An area we will look to target with Zirka, Retalick, O'Mahony, Kvesic, Fekitoa & Roko all strong over the ball. Defensively we will look to commit to the ruck trying to get over the ball really looking to make a mess of it for Robson and disrupt the service to Carter.

Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Zebo will look to defend deep with WLR covering the backfield and any high kicks. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. We will look to put a slight wheel on where possible to take the opposition backrow out of play and then attack the space available and look for one on ones in the backline.

Lineout: Four mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to play to the front and middle to get the ball down and the maul rolling with Picamoles at the back looking to break off. Back Taylor to hit his man late on as one of the most accurate throwers in the AP this year to date.

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Harlequins v London Irish
Twickenham Stoop
Light Rain, 13 Degrees, 17mph Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cian Healy	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Scott Baldwin	10. Colin Slade (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Luke Romano	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Juan Martin Hernandez
06. Damien Chouly	13. Robbie Henshaw
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. John Afoa 19. Pieter Steph Du Toit 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. James O'Connor 23. Luther Burrell

Tactics

In slippery conditions were looking to play sensible percentage rugby. We will look to use the boots of Pienaar, Slade, JMH, Henshaw and Kearney to play the game in London Irish territory. We will mix between kicks for territory, open spaces and into touch as well as using our excellent operators under a high ball to chase down up and unders to gain territory and retain possession. 

In the Irish half we are going to play a patient game where we use our forwards to get us quick ball and tie in Irish defenders before we pass the ball into wider channels and let our backs attack. We will use either Hernandez and Henshaw as crash ball operators with another back offering an option out the back. Initially we will work in a round the corner pod system before looking to spread our forwards across the pitch so we can use Slade and JMH as pivots across the pitch. 

In defence we are going to look to Blitz and force Slade to try to force the pass in slippery conditions if he wants to play wide. We are going to look to chop tackle and get the first man on the ball to slow the ball down, turn it over or win the penalty. We will only look to commit one man to the breakdown with the rest setting the defensive line.

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London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213  
                  

01. Joe Marler	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Henry Slade
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Matt Symons (c)	11. Tim Nanai-Williams
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Brad Barritt
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Anthony Watson
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Delon Armitage

16. Tatafu polota-Nau 17. Scott Sio 18. David Wilson 19. James Broadhurst 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Marland Yarde

Basic Game Plan
In wet conditions we will be looking to play a mixed game, and have picked a side enabling us to do so.  When in Quins 22 we will look to trust in our ability and put the ball through the hands when it is on to do so.  Further out than that and we will utilise the kicking games of our entire backline to take us into the right areas of the pitch

In defence, in poor conditions, we will employ a drift defence, leaving our wingers slightly deeper in anticipation of a primarily kick focussed game plan from Quins.  No dog-legs will be a key component for us.  Aaron Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  In wet conditions we will look primarily to hit font and middle, and use our mauling game.  Defensively we will look to compete for the ball and disrupt wherever possible, making any ball secured by Quins as scrappy as we can.
  
  
• Scrum.  Hit channel one on our ball.  If we're on top, keep it in and drive to either gain ground or win the penalty.  If we're not going forward, get it out and play dependant on where we are on the pitch.  On their ball, 8 man shove and look to drive them off as their hooker lifts his foot to hook the ball.  Malherbe to stay tight and straight.  Flanker on that side to stay bound and keep Malherbe straight.
  
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry into contact, if we are taken to ground, we will flood the breakdown.  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.  In the Quins 22 we will go through the phases, mixing up carrying in tight and getting it through the hands as appropriate.  We will also If the ball is slow and Quins are blitzing we will also utilise the pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out.  Further out from the Quins line we will again carry in tight where appropriate, but also use the boots of backline to kick.  We will use the up and under sparingly, in the main kicking deep and with a lowish trajectory to get the wet ball skidding on and being difficult to handle.  We will also use little grubbers in behind the blitzing Quins defensive line, and Smith will also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards.  
  
  

Key Point

• Team for the conditions.  Our 11,13,14 and 15 have all played fullback at the top level and are excellent under the high ball.  They also all have good kicking games and positional awareness as a result of playing 15.  Our pack is huge and well suited to the conditions.
  

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Worcester Warriors v Leicester Tigers
Sixways Stadium
Light Rain Rain, 12 Degrees, 22mph Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Joe Moody	09. Gareth Davies
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Waisake Naholo
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Sam Warburton	13. Mark Bennett
07. George Smith	14. Venriki Goneva
08. Ben Morgan	15. Mathew Tait

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16. Codie Taylor 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Noguera-Paz 19. Tom Savage 20. Mike Williams 21. Lee Dickson 22. Owen Williams 23. Nehe Milner-Skudder

Tactics
In wet and windy conditions we will be looking for a controlled game and play positionally with Biggar and Davies putting us in strong areas.

Set Piece-We have gone for bulk and hard workers here who will all look to control our set piece and put pressure on the opposition's set piece (Nel sent 2 opposite numbers to the sin bin last weekend). The ball will look to go in and out pretty quickly to prevent any major mistakes/slips in the conditons. And Smith/Warbs will look to fly off the back of the line to put pressure on 10.

Breakdown-In these conditions good ball is crucial and we haev gone for 2 opensides to split the work but also to target any weak breakdowns from the Tigers. Both will work in tandem and both can carry if required so we aren't losing alot of balance here. Morgan will do the hard graft carrying with Hooper and Maestri alongside him. We want clean ball and will look to attack any gaps on the fringes if they are obvious.

Half-Backs-A controlled game today mainly looking for position, Biggar will look to use his up and unders when appropriate and compete for the ball here. They will have options of the blindside winger or a forward running off their's and Roberts' shoulders for the pop ball.

Outside Backs-When it's on we will look to go wide, we have two big wingers suited for the conditions and they will look to run over their opponents rather than round them in what is likely to be a tight game. Bennett will pull the strings at 13 releasing the back three.

Bench-A strong scrummaging bench and Wray there as a carrying option. Milner-Skudder will look to exploit the tired defences.

Defence-Controlled defence here and we won't look to rush up, backrow to put pressure on 10 intiially with Davies sweeping behind. Main impeotus is on no gaps and defending inside-out today.

Overall-Looking for a fairly tight game with quick breakdown ball, going for position and put pressure on the opposition's set piece.

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Steve Mafi	11. Matt Banahan
05. Pascal Pape	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Kurtley Beale

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16. Schalk Brits 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brian Mujati 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Juan Smith 21. Liam Messam 22. Micky Young 23. Henry Purdy

Tactics:

In wet conditions we will play sensibly, looking to play a structured game built around Du Preez and Burns moving us into the right areas. 6/2 split on the bench to help hard-working forwards in tough conditions.

- Use the rolling maul - Moore to lead from the back guided by Du Preez, and use a regular weapon off lineouts won.

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Du preez our general pulling the strings. We want to control of the tempo of the game as much as we can through our 9/10/12/15.

- Consistently test Worcester's back three with kicks in wet conditions. Box kicks from Du Preez and up and unders from Burns to give the opposition problems in the air. We will really test Naholo with these kicks, and look to Mitchell to be on him as quickly as possible.

- At the lineout use Myall as our banker ball and Pape and Lobbe as alternative jumpers - we will rotate the target.
With the boots of Du Preez, Burns, Twelvetrees and Beale, we will look to get the ball deep in Worcester territory and then contest all lineouts. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Lots of scrums - which we want to attack as a weapon if winning - and call when we can, only if we are getting an advantage. Franks and Moore to look to target Moody and to look to really get the shove on.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers right throughout the side, that will look to tire down Worcester defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud, Mafi, Banahan and Moore used consistently to get us over the gainline.

- Burger, Lobbe, Bastareaud and Moore are the men charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off any turnover ball.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- 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. Du Preez to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Burns to kick all penalites.

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Bath v Northampton Saints
The Rec
Heavy Rain, 12 Degrees, 23mph Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Rory Best	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. James Gaskell	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Toby Falateu	15. Liam Williams

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16. Mikey Haywood 17. Richard Barrington 18. Samson Lee 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Josh Beaumont  21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Christian Lealifano 23. Hallan Amos

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Saints under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries at a high pace looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Big Ben will look to cause Mako trouble and we will hope to get a shove on. Gaskell will add a lot of power to the scrum and we will look to get more power from our back five. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Falateu, Gaskell and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitchener will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Gaskell will offer quick ball option at the front.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tipuric  is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out. Pick our moments and choose when to go into the breakdown

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Lydiate will look to target Ford. His aggressive tackling will help us stifle his creativity and stop the Saints playing. Wiggles to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempo and play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Barrett will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. He will be given a freedom to be creative. Look to bring in the rest of the back line, especially De Allende who we would like to get running at defenders. Imhoff and Wade are very skilful and if the ball gets to them will look to draw in defenders. The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of Kitchoff, Gaskell and Falateu in order to break the line and make yards. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Saints which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Barrett will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Barrett. Wiggles and Williams all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo. We have a strong, in-form front row coming on with Samson Lee looking to take advantage of a tired team. Matthews and Beaumont can keep our momentum going. Machenaud is an experienced international who can control the game late on. LLF and Amos give us numerous options. LLF can use his intelligence to control the game whilst Amos offers a try threat.

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1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley (c)
3. Ramiro Herrera
4. Samu Manoa
5. Jonny Gray
6. Schalk Burger
7. David Pocock
8. Billy Vunipola
9. Joe Simpson
10. George Ford (k)
11. Niko Matawalu
12. Matt Giteau
13. Alex Dunbar
14. Adam Ashley Cooper
15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Ashley Johnson 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Adam Jones 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Sam Hildago Cline 22. Manu Tuilagi 23. Leigh Halfpenny

Tactics
Conditions mean that it is going to be a hard physical game, where we are going to be looking to use the power of our pack and setpiece to gain secure ball for our halfbacks and Giteau to control the kicking and territory game. We've selected a big pack and bolstered this with a strong bench - in the conditions we want to win the collisions and the kicking game.

Set Piece
We've gone for a strong pack, with players picked on form in real life. We are going to look at putting the home teams scrum under pressure as feel we can get at their second rows here. With the lineout we are sticking to simple calls to secure our own ball, get a maul going to then give good ball to Ford or Giteau who will look to dominate the territory battle with the boot.

Gainline/Physical Battle
In the atrocious conditions we've made sure we've got a lot of carriers in our pack who can make the hard yards and get us over the gainline, We want to get the go forward momentum as that will mean more chances of securing penalties that we will either get Ford to kick for goal or into the corners for territory.

Breakdown
Quick ball not that essential with such bad conditions, so we'll be looking for Burger and Pocock to be as disruptive as possible to provide the Bath no9 with really bad ball and latch onto any turnovers. For our own ball we are looking to secure the ball and give Simpson a great opportunity to put up some box kicks that go deep into the Bath half of the pitch.

Attack - kicking & territory.
Again the conditions dictate our approach, we've selected Simpson, Ford and Giteau for their kicking games and will look to really dominate this aspect of the game so we play the game largely in Bath's half and force mistakes. We'll target Wade's wing and positioning especially. Will provide Ford with good running options through our pack and Dunbar to make hard yards and keep the momentum going forward.

Defence
Similar style defence to that which Saracens play in real life, putting a lot of pressure on the attacking team and force them into mistakes. Want to get the penalty count going high and really pressurise the home side. Will make sure that we drop AAC and one of Ford and Giteau back to deal with Bath's kicking game.

Subs
This is an area we really want to exploit going into the final 20-30 minutes. Again will look to win the game on the strength of our bench, which has a lot of experience and ideal for the conditions.

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Wasps v Exeter Chiefs
Ricoh Arena
Heavy Rain, 11 Degrees, 23mph Winds

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London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Ben Spencer
02. Cory Flynn	10. Russell Finn
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Luke Charteris	11. Frank Halai
05. George Skivington	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Sekou Macalau	13. George Lowe
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Jesse Mogg
08.  Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. David Kilcoyne 17. Richardt Strauss, 18. James Johnston 19. Sam Twomey  , 20 Carl Fearns , 21. Rhodri Williams , 22. Charlie Hodgson, 23. Nick Tompkins

Tactics:

Breakdown:

Look to use our two flankers to spoil and target opposition ball, with otherwise few numbers committed unless the turnover and counterruck are on. In attack, Barclay and Macalou will be chasing the ball to quickly get over it and then we will commit numbers to neutralise Wood and Armitage. However, on the whole we will try to keep attacking ball in hand with offloads when the ball is in Steffon's range to take his strength out of the game, and look to run at him as a target to take him out of the breakdown. Make him work haaaaaard.

Attack

As above, looking to keep slow ball up with mauls and staying up in the tackle to pop back to the supporting forwards and 9, using pods when we need to but with the 2 extra men in the pod immediately securing ball.

Quick ball will be spun wide and the focus of attack kept moving with Godwin and Pennell as extra playmakers, keeping the inside crash ball with Vito etc as an option but predominantly looking to manipulate space for our outside players to run in and keep the ball alive.

Defence

Blitz led by Lowe, Spencer sweeping and very tight ruck defence. Evans struggles against a very good blitz and flankers targetting him and his 9, so Macalou and Barclay looking to really pressure the halfbacks

Scrum

They have a strong scrum but in form we should be able to challenge on their ball and get some momentum off ours for Vito to run down the openside, commit Armitage with the flankers backing him and then allow for speedy attack off second phase ball.

Lineout

Let them win their ball in the air then compete on the ground in the maul and pressurise Murray- their lineout is strong in the air but Charteris is an expert maul defender. On our ball, take it quick off the top and use as an attacking platform

Kicks

Take on kicks at goal, and use our strong options at 9, 10, 12 and 15 to take pressure off Russell. Mix up kicking high (with our bac 3 strong under the high ball) and behind the back 3 to keep them on their toes and tire them with no real back 3 cover for Exeter. Similarly, when under pressure, Nev has fewer kicking options than us to help him out and can kick loosely out of hand in recent years - punish these by returning kicks with boots into space and a hard chase or running hard back at Exeter

Discipline 

Hard in their 22 to force errors and penalties, conservative in our half

Subs

Lowe covering wing, Tompkins to come on against tiring legs, Hodgson for experience


Overall


Keep ball alive and changing direction
Tire Armitage and make him a burden
Hound their halfbacks
Defend their lineouts on the ground
Dominate the kicking duel

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Connor Murray
02. Rob Webber	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Woolley
04. Jake Ball	11. Andrew Trimble
05. Lood De Jager	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Tom Wood	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pietersen
08. Fritz Lee	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Vincent Koch 19. James Horwill 20. Brad Shields 21. Yannick Nyanga 22. Nic White 23. Toby Flood

Game plan this week is focused on ball retention based around high intensity; dynamic carrying, rucking and defence. Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases and starve Wasps of any possession. We will look to play off our ten, with either forward pods running of his shoulder or through the hands of our backs. This is to tie in the Wasps defence and then look to capitalise on the overlaps with two play makers in the back line capable of spotting opportunities. 

Scrum - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. Domingo and Webber to work in tandem to split Kepu away from his pack. Big front five will hold our own ball and a full eight drive in defence, looking to isolate the opposition 8 and scrum-half for our back-row to engulf. 

Line out – POC to lead the line-out, and obtain quick, clean possession. Look to drive possession with full line out numbers in their 22. If they are giving us front ball which is prime and easy possession we will take it, with Webber hitting the maul at the angle and ensuring it moves in field. 

Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on, to keep moving the point of attack against the likes of Hooper. Rule the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence – Utilise an 'up & out' defence, where the line comes up flat and then pushes the attackers towards the touch line, Murray sweeping up the scraps behind. Look to chop attackers down early. If there is an opportunity to compete for the ball we flood the breakdown with Armitage leading the way. If not look to maintain the integrity of the defensive line and get numbers out. Get up off the line and cut down the time on the ball, especially in the wide channels with their elusive runners. Win the battle of the gain line and cut them down before it. 

Backs – Heads up rugby from the halfbacks. Murray to look to test Mogg with box kicks with two of the best kick chasers in world rugby JP & Trimble. Then look to release the outside backs into the space generated by forwards tying in the Wasps defence. Nonu look to slot in at first receiver with Nev shifting to keep the Wasps defence guessing.

Build a Score - Evans to convert any penalty within their ten metre to keep scoreboard ticking. 

Impact Bench - Use the bench late on to shift momentum and up the energy levels late on against a tired defence. An all action EQ bench front tow that has been lauded in recent games.

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Newcastle Falcons v Saracens
Kingston Park
Light Rain, 11 Degrees, 26mph Winds

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Davit Kubriashvili
04. Jacques Potgeiter	11.Charles Piutau
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Jean De Villiers
06. David Ewers	13. Scott Williams
07. Chris Henry	14. David Strettle
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Ben Smith

:-
16.Jamie George 17.Alec Hepburn 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Luke Jones 20. Callum Clark 21. Rhys Webb 22. Jonathan Davies 23. Charlie Sharples

Game plan - Our game plan is going to be focused on playing to the conditions and trying to use the threats in our backline to take advantage of their defence out wide where we think they could be exploited. Laidlaw and JDV to offer their experience and control the game alongside Farrell

Set piece - Rock solid scrummage needed up against a good set of props, look to put pressure on the props but if no weakness seen use as a restart. On our ball, Coles is one of the best at hooking, get it out the back to Read and get going forwards. At the lineout, we'll look to mark Whitelock and Davies with our second row pairing, force Guirado to make the more difficult throws towards the back where Read will be waiting. On our ball, get ball off the top with Flip, use Read often as a second option with Potgeiter the safe ball

Breakdown - Use the experience of Henry and Read to know when to pick their spots and go in for the steal. We'll use our big front 5 and Ewers to clear the breakdown quickly, with Read/Henry focusing on getting turnovers, first man in to focus on clearing him and second to secure the ball. Coles has licence to play the wider channels as he does for the ABs, and can come up with the steal and get us countering quickly.

Kicking - We'll use the kicking game to put ourselves in the right areas of the field in the rain, kick in behind North and Ashton and get them turning, we've got a great back 3 for the aerial chase, and will make sure to cut off the easy pass to Hogg for the clearing kick, force the wings to make the kicks, but make sure we're there to bring them down before they get moving forward too quickly. Smash Ashton every time, see if he fancies the battle. Laidlaw, Davies and Smith to offer kicking options

Attack - Use misdirection and Smith/Piutau coming into the line to try and pull their backline around. Strettle to primarily stay out wide to look to finish off chances, but Smith and Piutau to offer options at first receiver to confuse the defence. We want to target their wings, so get the ball out quickly with good distribution, and challenge their wings defence. Big carrying pack to get us on the front foot in the conditions

Defence - no weak links in the back line, big hitters throughout the pack to force them backwards. JDV to lead the defensive line, we'll blitz in their territory but employ a drift to change it up

Bench - impact front row to get us on the front foot in the last 20, while we have the breakdown ability of Clark late on, and Webb, JD2 and Sharples offer game breaking attacking play late on, with Laidlaw covering 10 if needed

---

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Bradley Davies	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. James Haskell	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. John Hardie	14. Chris Ashton
08. Dave Denton	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Ben Franks 18. Paul Hill 19. Geoff Parling 20. Theirry Dusatoir 21. Sam Harrison 22. Pat Lambie 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics:

TARGET LINE OUT ALL GAME - With Potgeiter new to the Falcons lineout, a lot of pressure will be put on Flip to secure ball. We'll look to get Whitelock (most steals in World Cup) to marshal Flip and attack the Falcons throw. If we see a weakness as expected, we'll look to ramp up the tactical kicking and put pressure in their own half.

CONTROL TERRITORY/KICK FOR CORNERS WITH HALFBACKS - Quality kicking options at HB giving us field position. Look to target corners and play the lineout.

IMPACT BENCH & TARGET BREAKDOWN - International caps galore on the bench and plenty of impact to put the squeeze on in the game. Numerous breakdown options, will use to slow down and steal opposition ball.


General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. 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 bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their 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 safe ball with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

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. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield 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.

Not likely to be around much this week.

(didnt see the injuries so had to make a few tweaks and the weather!!!).

1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley (c)
3. Ramiro Herrera
4. Samu Manoa
5. Jonny Gray
6. Schalk Burger
7. David Pocock
8. Billy Vunipola
9. Sam Hildago Cline
10. George Ford (k)
11. Leigh Halfpenny
12. Matt Giteau
13. Alex Dunbar
14. Adam Ashley Cooper
15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Ashley Johnson 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Adam Jones 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Joe Simpson 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Sam Jones.

Roll out the long studs.......it's going to be a wet one.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cian Healy	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Scott Baldwin	10. Colin Slade (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Luke Romano	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Juan Martin Hernandez
06. Damien Chouly	13. Robbie Henshaw
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. John Afoa 19. Pieter Steph Du Toit 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. James O'Connor 23. Luther Burrell

Tactics

In slippery conditions were looking to play sensible percentage rugby. We will look to use the boots of Pienaar, Slade, JMH, Henshaw and Kearney to play the game in London Irish territory. We will mix between kicks for territory, open spaces and into touch as well as using our excellent operators under a high ball to chase down up and unders to gain territory and retain possession. 

In the Irish half we are going to play a patient game where we use our forwards to get us quick ball and tie in Irish defenders before we pass the ball into wider channels and let our backs attack. We will use either Hernandez and Henshaw as crash ball operators with another back offering an option out the back. Initially we will work in a round the corner pod system before looking to spread our forwards across the pitch so we can use Slade and JMH as pivots across the pitch. 

In defence we are going to look to Blitz and force Slade to try to force the pass in slippery conditions if he wants to play wide. We are going to look to chop tackle and get the first man on the ball to slow the ball down, turn it over or win the penalty. We will only look to commit one man to the breakdown with the rest setting the defensive line.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Davit Kubriashvili
04. Jacques Potgeiter	11.Charles Piutau
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Jean De Villiers
06. David Ewers	13. Scott Williams
07. Chris Henry	14. David Strettle
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Ben Smith

:-
16.Jamie George 17.Alec Hepburn 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Luke Jones 20. Callum Clark 21. Rhys Webb 22. Jonathan Davies 23. Charlie Sharples

Game plan - Our game plan is going to be focused on playing to the conditions and trying to use the threats in our backline to take advantage of their defence out wide where we think they could be exploited. Laidlaw and JDV to offer their experience and control the game alongside Farrell

Set piece - Rock solid scrummage needed up against a good set of props, look to put pressure on the props but if no weakness seen use as a restart. On our ball, Coles is one of the best at hooking, get it out the back to Read and get going forwards. At the lineout, we'll look to mark Whitelock and Davies with our second row pairing, force Guirado to make the more difficult throws towards the back where Read will be waiting. On our ball, get ball off the top with Flip, use Read often as a second option with Potgeiter the safe ball

Breakdown - Use the experience of Henry and Read to know when to pick their spots and go in for the steal. We'll use our big front 5 and Ewers to clear the breakdown quickly, with Read/Henry focusing on getting turnovers, first man in to focus on clearing him and second to secure the ball. Coles has licence to play the wider channels as he does for the ABs, and can come up with the steal and get us countering quickly.

Kicking - We'll use the kicking game to put ourselves in the right areas of the field in the rain, kick in behind North and Ashton and get them turning, we've got a great back 3 for the aerial chase, and will make sure to cut off the easy pass to Hogg for the clearing kick, force the wings to make the kicks, but make sure we're there to bring them down before they get moving forward too quickly. Smash Ashton every time, see if he fancies the battle. Laidlaw, Davies and Smith to offer kicking options

Attack - Use misdirection and Smith/Piutau coming into the line to try and pull their backline around. Strettle to primarily stay out wide to look to finish off chances, but Smith and Piutau to offer options at first receiver to confuse the defence. We want to target their wings, so get the ball out quickly with good distribution, and challenge their wings defence. Big carrying pack to get us on the front foot in the conditions

Defence - no weak links in the back line, big hitters throughout the pack to force them backwards. JDV to lead the defensive line, we'll blitz in their territory but employ a drift to change it up

Bench - impact front row to get us on the front foot in the last 20, while we have the breakdown ability of Clark late on, and Webb, JD2 and Sharples offer game breaking attacking play late on, with Laidlaw covering 10 if needed

I'm not sure you're allowed to change your side once named Chris

Pretty sure you can for injuries but not for weather.

Hard to say which is which when your changing a side for injuries as it might bring about positional changes.

I thought you could change your side up until your deadline? Not that I've intended to do so.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Steve Mafi	11. Matt Banahan
05. Pascal Pape	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Kurtley Beale

.
16. Schalk Brits 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brian Mujati 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Juan Smith 21. Liam Messam 22. Micky Young 23. Henry Purdy

Tactics

In wet conditions we will play sensibly, looking to play a structured game built around Du Preez and Burns moving us into the right areas. 6/2 split on the bench to help hard-working forwards in tough conditions.

- Use the rolling maul - Moore to lead from the back guided by Du Preez, and use a regular weapon off lineouts won.

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Du preez our general pulling the strings. We want to control of the tempo of the game as much as we can through our 9/10/12/15.

- Consistently test Worcester's back three with kicks in wet conditions. Box kicks from Du Preez and up and unders from Burns to give the opposition problems in the air. We will really test Naholo with these kicks, and look to Mitchell to be on him as quickly as possible.

- At the lineout use Myall as our banker ball and Pape and Lobbe as alternative jumpers - we will rotate the target.
With the boots of Du Preez, Burns, Twelvetrees and Beale, we will look to get the ball deep in Worcester territory and then contest all lineouts. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Lots of scrums - which we want to attack as a weapon if winning - and call when we can, only if we are getting an advantage. Franks and Moore to look to target Moody and to look to really get the shove on.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers right throughout the side, that will look to tire down Worcester defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud, Mafi, Banahan and Moore used consistently to get us over the gainline.

- Burger, Lobbe, Bastareaud and Moore are the men charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off any turnover ball.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- 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. Du Preez to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Burns to kick all penalites.

I'll let Johnny decide. I only know because I got pinged a few weeks back. I can't see a huge drama as nobody else had a team sheet in I don't think.

Pooly - I'm struggling with time at the moment, hence why I put a team in yesterday when I don't need to until Wednesday, Bath haven't put a team in yet and they are the home side. I looked at injuries this morning and had to change my team with Daly going out and then had to change my EQ.

Would be very surprised if there was any form of issue around that. Can't quite remember the side I put out, but Daly, Savea and Mulipola were involved and all taken out now.

Side can't usually be changed after being named. But I thought injuries and suspensions etc would change that. And if you have injured players it might change the balance of your whole team.

London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Ben Spencer
02. Cory Flynn	10. Russell Finn
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Luke Charteris	11. Frank Halai
05. George Skivington	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Sekou Macalau	13. George Lowe
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Jesse Mogg
08.  Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. David Kilcoyne 17. Richardt Strauss, 18. James Johnston 19. Sam Twomey  , 20 Carl Fearns , 21. Rhodri Williams , 22. Charlie Hodgson, 23. Nick Tompkins

Tactics:

Breakdown:

Look to use our two flankers to spoil and target opposition ball, with otherwise few numbers committed unless the turnover and counterruck are on. In attack, Barclay and Macalou will be chasing the ball to quickly get over it and then we will commit numbers to neutralise Wood and Armitage. However, on the whole we will try to keep attacking ball in hand with offloads when the ball is in Steffon's range to take his strength out of the game, and look to run at him as a target to take him out of the breakdown. Make him work haaaaaard.

Attack

As above, looking to keep slow ball up with mauls and staying up in the tackle to pop back to the supporting forwards and 9, using pods when we need to but with the 2 extra men in the pod immediately securing ball.

Quick ball will be spun wide and the focus of attack kept moving with Godwin and Pennell as extra playmakers, keeping the inside crash ball with Vito etc as an option but predominantly looking to manipulate space for our outside players to run in and keep the ball alive.

Defence

Blitz led by Lowe, Spencer sweeping and very tight ruck defence. Evans struggles against a very good blitz and flankers targetting him and his 9, so Macalou and Barclay looking to really pressure the halfbacks

Scrum

They have a strong scrum but in form we should be able to challenge on their ball and get some momentum off ours for Vito to run down the openside, commit Armitage with the flankers backing him and then allow for speedy attack off second phase ball.

Lineout

Let them win their ball in the air then compete on the ground in the maul and pressurise Murray- their lineout is strong in the air but Charteris is an expert maul defender. On our ball, take it quick off the top and use as an attacking platform

Kicks

Take on kicks at goal, and use our strong options at 9, 10, 12 and 15 to take pressure off Russell. Mix up kicking high (with our bac 3 strong under the high ball) and behind the back 3 to keep them on their toes and tire them with no real back 3 cover for Exeter. Similarly, when under pressure, Nev has fewer kicking options than us to help him out and can kick loosely out of hand in recent years - punish these by returning kicks with boots into space and a hard chase or running hard back at Exeter

Discipline 

Hard in their 22 to force errors and penalties, conservative in our half

Subs

Lowe covering wing, Tompkins to come on against tiring legs, Hodgson for experience


Overall


Keep ball alive and changing direction
Tire Armitage and make him a burden
Hound their halfbacks
Defend their lineouts on the ground
Dominate the kicking duel

sorry forgot we could have only 8 EQs in 23

Teams can be changed for injuries/suspensions. Putting Halfpenny in for Matawulu on the wing is not an injury change though and should be swapped back Chris

Minimum 8 EQ CJ, not max

Lol sorry didnt realise there would be an issue as normally have until Weds to do this and Bath haven't put a team in. Can't remember what team I put out originally. Wont be on again until Thursday now at the earliest, will try and get tactics in.

I can change it for you Chris, it was Simpson & Matawulu you took out that I spotted.

1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley (c)
3. Ramiro Herrera
4. Samu Manoa
5. Jonny Gray
6. Schalk Burger
7. David Pocock
8. Billy Vunipola
9. Joe Simpson
10. George Ford (k)
11. Niko Matawalu
12. Matt Giteau
13. Alex Dunbar
14. Adam Ashley Cooper
15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Ashley Johnson 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Adam Jones 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Sam Hildago Cline 22. Manu Tuilagi 23. Leigh Halfpenny

I've missed an EQ from your bench....can you remember who it was?

As you will see that is why I made the changes I did Pooly because I had to make changes for my EQ.

Bath team hasn't even been done. Find this a bit silly if I'm honest. I can't remember who it was, but thanks for posting the team.

Will try and get tactics done on Thursday but most likely Friday morning, unless that will get similar response lol.

It's just the rule Chris, no need to make something out of it. I got collared a few weeks back, totally forgot about the posting thing.

Do you want me to pick an EQ for your bench or do you want to do it?

Afternoon last weeks tight result against Harlequins, Head Coach of the Exeter Chiefs Fluxy announced his side to face Wasps away this coming Saturday. 
"Unfortunately in a tough game on Saturday we have picked up a few knocks and casualties, but that was to be expected in such a physical affair against Steve's well coached Quins side. We've lost Mike [Ross], Paulie [O'Connell] and George [Pisi], who are all well respected and importantly leaders in the dressing room. However I have no doubt that the young lads coming into the side will see this as an opportunity to stake a claim for that starting birth on a regular occasion. Jake [Cooper-Woolley] has been magnificent as of late, and I'm sure he, like Jan, and Jake will use this chance to up the intensity in the side to get that starting shirt. 
We also decided this week, after looking at the weather forecast, to make a 6-2 split on the bench. This is just a clear indication of how we respect the Wasps pack, as well as how dire the forecast is for the weekend!"
Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Connor Murray
02. Rob Webber	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Woolley
04. Jake Ball	11. Andrew Trimble
05. Lood De Jager	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Tom Wood	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pietersen
08. Fritz Lee	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Vincent Koch 19. James Horwill 20. Brad Shields 21. Yannick Nyanga 22. Nic White 23. Toby Flood

Game plan this week is focused on ball retention based around high intensity; dynamic carrying, rucking and defence. Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases and starve Wasps of any possession. We will look to play off our ten, with either forward pods running of his shoulder or through the hands of our backs. This is to tie in the Wasps defence and then look to capitalise on the overlaps with two play makers in the back line capable of spotting opportunities. 

Scrum - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. Domingo and Webber to work in tandem to split Kepu away from his pack. Big front five will hold our own ball and a full eight drive in defence, looking to isolate the opposition 8 and scrum-half for our back-row to engulf. 

Line out – POC to lead the line-out, and obtain quick, clean possession. Look to drive possession with full line out numbers in their 22. If they are giving us front ball which is prime and easy possession we will take it, with Webber hitting the maul at the angle and ensuring it moves in field. 

Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on, to keep moving the point of attack against the likes of Hooper. Rule the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence – Utilise an 'up & out' defence, where the line comes up flat and then pushes the attackers towards the touch line, Murray sweeping up the scraps behind. Look to chop attackers down early. If there is an opportunity to compete for the ball we flood the breakdown with Armitage leading the way. If not look to maintain the integrity of the defensive line and get numbers out. Get up off the line and cut down the time on the ball, especially in the wide channels with their elusive runners. Win the battle of the gain line and cut them down before it. 

Backs – Heads up rugby from the halfbacks. Murray to look to test Mogg with box kicks with two of the best kick chasers in world rugby JP & Trimble. Then look to release the outside backs into the space generated by forwards tying in the Wasps defence. Nonu look to slot in at first receiver with Nev shifting to keep the Wasps defence guessing.

Build a Score - Evans to convert any penalty within their ten metre to keep scoreboard ticking. 

Impact Bench - Use the bench late on to shift momentum and up the energy levels late on against a tired defence. An all action EQ bench front tow that has been lauded in recent games.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Bradley Davies	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. James Haskell	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. John Hardie	14. Chris Ashton
08. Dave Denton	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Ben Franks 18. Paul Hill 19. Geoff Parling 20. Theirry Dusatoir 21. Sam Harrison 22. Pat Lambie 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics:

In uni this weekend so unlikely I'll be able to predict.

Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Joe Moody	09. Gareth Davies
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Waisake Naholo
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Sam Warburton	13. Mark Bennett
07. George Smith	14. Venriki Goneva
08. Ben Morgan	15. Mathew Tait

:-
16. Codie Taylor 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Noguera-Paz 19. Tom Savage 20. Mike Williams 21. Lee Dickson 22. Owen Williams 23. Nehe Milner-Skudder

Tactics
In wet and windy conditions we will be looking for a controlled game and play positionally with Biggar and Davies putting us in strong areas.

Set Piece-We have gone for bulk and hard workers here who will all look to control our set piece and put pressure on the opposition's set piece (Nel sent 2 opposite numbers to the sin bin last weekend). The ball will look to go in and out pretty quickly to prevent any major mistakes/slips in the conditons. And Smith/Warbs will look to fly off the back of the line to put pressure on 10.

Breakdown-In these conditions good ball is crucial and we haev gone for 2 opensides to split the work but also to target any weak breakdowns from the Tigers. Both will work in tandem and both can carry if required so we aren't losing alot of balance here. Morgan will do the hard graft carrying with Hooper and Maestri alongside him. We want clean ball and will look to attack any gaps on the fringes if they are obvious.

Half-Backs-A controlled game today mainly looking for position, Biggar will look to use his up and unders when appropriate and compete for the ball here. They will have options of the blindside winger or a forward running off their's and Roberts' shoulders for the pop ball.

Outside Backs-When it's on we will look to go wide, we have two big wingers suited for the conditions and they will look to run over their opponents rather than round them in what is likely to be a tight game. Bennett will pull the strings at 13 releasing the back three.

Bench-A strong scrummaging bench and Wray there as a carrying option. Milner-Skudder will look to exploit the tired defences.

Defence-Controlled defence here and we won't look to rush up, backrow to put pressure on 10 intiially with Davies sweeping behind. Main impeotus is on no gaps and defending inside-out today.

Overall-Looking for a fairly tight game with quick breakdown ball, going for position and put pressure on the opposition's set piece.

Injuries up prop

Hadn't even looked into that! Cheers

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Rory Best	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. James Gaskell	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Toby Falateu	15. Liam Williams

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Richard Barrington 18. Samson Lee 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Josh Beaumont  21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Christian Lealifano 23. Hallan Amos

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Saints under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries at a high pace looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Big Ben will look to cause Mako trouble and we will hope to get a shove on. Gaskell will add a lot of power to the scrum and we will look to get more power from our back five. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Falateu, Gaskell and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitchener will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Gaskell will offer quick ball option at the front.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tipuric is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out. Pick our moments and choose when to go into the breakdown

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Lydiate will look to target Ford. His aggressive tackling will help us stifle his creativity and stop the Saints playing. Wiggles to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempo and play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Barrett will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. He will be given a freedom to be creative. Look to bring in the rest of the back line, especially De Allende who we would like to get running at defenders. Imhoff and Wade are very skilful and if the ball gets to them will look to draw in defenders. The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of Kitchoff, Gaskell and Falateu in order to break the line and make yards. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Saints which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Barrett will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Barrett. Wiggles and Williams all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo. We have a strong, in-form front row coming on with Samson Lee looking to take advantage of a tired team. Matthews and Beaumont can keep our momentum going. Machenaud is an experienced international who can control the game late on. LLF and Amos give us numerous options. LLF can use his intelligence to control the game whilst Amos offers a try threat.

1. Beast
2 Strauss
3 Mas
4 Etzbeth
5 Robson
6 Matera
7 Salvi
8 Dickinson
9 Robson
10 Carter
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Crotty
14 Talebula
15 Folau
16 Wood
17 LcD
18 Ousthuizen
19 Croft
20 Savea
21 Genia
22 Cips
23 Dagg




Forwards to carry hard - Half backs to control - Outside backs to attack


In the opposition half we are looking to get our strong-carrying pack on the front foot to create space for our outside backs who all have form and the ability to beat their man.
The job of our half backs is to run the game with Carter being the worlds best. Get him the ball and he makes decisions.He is there to make the right decisions which will enable us to get our outstanding attackers into the game. Front 5 will look to carry off 9 and 10 taking the ball at pace and looking to attack spaces.


Play the game in the right areas


We will look to play the game in the opposition half and pressurise their lineout with a lack of jumpers. Etzbeth and robson brings the old dog in the weather. all took the most lineouts for their country in the World Cup and robson will run the lineout. Add in Matera  and we have a great way to pressure sale.jumper


Decision-making in Defence


Key to our defence is identifying when the big hit and turnover is on. We will look to get our line set and look to put pressure upon the ball-carrier but will need to decide between the Blitz and the drift depending on the numbers in attack and defence. We will look to target the breakdowns in the wide channels using the pace of Matera and Salvi in . All other breakdowns we will make the decision based on each ruck and our defenisive organisation as to whether to compete.


Set Piece


we will look to target  their lack of a jumper at
5

We will target the lineout continuously with Robson Matera  and etzbeth contesting every lineout. Saints want quick ball for sexton and we see this as key to disrupting sale and putting them on the back foot.


Game Specific


- Look to stay on our feet for as long as possible in the contact in order to ensure we are not isolated when tackled. Look for our tight 5 to work in pods so we can clear out Kvesic who is maybe out
Of his depth against salvi. from the breakdown immediately as a ruck is formed.

- Pepper rokadunguni  with kicks early on. Look to vary between high balls, grubbers and kicks for the corners to keep him guessing with his positioning. Folau and may are excellent kick chasers and will be used to pressure
- pressure every lineout. Sale have rookies on the bench as a hooker and we feel if he comes on then they can disintegrate in this area.
- Kayser is 3 rd choice for France and  has been not 100% and we will aim to get after him and rock his confidence with his darts.


Last edited by anonmattyt on Fri Nov 27, 2015 10:20 am; edited 1 time in total

anonmattyt

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Tkb injured cjb

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Simon Zebo
05. Dave Attwood	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Willie Le Roux

Subs:
16. Tommy Taylor 17. Jack McGrath 18. Marty Moore19. Maro Itoje 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Bernard Foley 23. Nick Abendanon

Kicking: We will look to adopt a territory first approach today with kickers throughout the backline in Sexton, Steyn, Zebo & Le Roux. We want to exploit the lack of a kicking game in the Gloucester back three and force them to either rush clearances or play from deep. Look to catch Talebula on the turn and take advantage of the space behind. Steyn offers a long drop goal option.

Attack: When in the right areas look to use our regular rugby league shape with pods of forwards on the gain line and runners out the backdoor to force the opposition into making early defensive decisions. Numerous play makers in the backs allows us to keep the point of attack moving. Care to keep the fringes honest with snipes.

Decision Making: Neither Gloucester centre is a regular defensive leader at Super 15 level and with the selective approach they have taken to defence communication will be key. Use our rugby league shape and playmakers off both sides of the ruck to really test their structures in their own half.

Breakdown: An area we will look to target with Zirka, Retalick, O'Mahony, Kvesic, Fekitoa & Roko all strong over the ball. Defensively we will look to commit to the ruck trying to get over the ball really looking to make a mess of it for Robson and disrupt the service to Carter.

Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Zebo will look to defend deep with WLR covering the backfield and any high kicks. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. We will look to put a slight wheel on where possible to take the opposition backrow out of play and then attack the space available and look for one on ones in the backline.

Lineout: Four mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to play to the front and middle to get the ball down and the maul rolling with Picamoles at the back looking to break off. Back Taylor to hit his man late on as one of the most accurate throwers in the AP this year to date.

Chris, I've checked your EQ and put Tuilagi on the bench

London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213  
                  

01. Joe Marler	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Henry Slade
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Matt Symons (c)	11. Tim Nanai-Williams
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Brad Barritt
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Anthony Watson
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Delon Armitage

16. Tatafu polota-Nau 17. Scott Sio 18. David Wilson 19. James Broadhurst 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Marland Yarde

Basic Game Plan
In wet conditions we will be looking to play a mixed game, and have picked a side enabling us to do so.  When in Quins 22 we will look to trust in our ability and put the ball through the hands when it is on to do so.  Further out than that and we will utilise the kicking games of our entire backline to take us into the right areas of the pitch

In defence, in poor conditions, we will employ a drift defence, leaving our wingers slightly deeper in anticipation of a primarily kick focussed game plan from Quins.  No dog-legs will be a key component for us.  Aaron Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  In wet conditions we will look primarily to hit font and middle, and use our mauling game.  Defensively we will look to compete for the ball and disrupt wherever possible, making any ball secured by Quins as scrappy as we can.
  
  
• Scrum.  Hit channel one on our ball.  If we're on top, keep it in and drive to either gain ground or win the penalty.  If we're not going forward, get it out and play dependant on where we are on the pitch.  On their ball, 8 man shove and look to drive them off as their hooker lifts his foot to hook the ball.  Malherbe to stay tight and straight.  Flanker on that side to stay bound and keep Malherbe straight.
  
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry into contact, if we are taken to ground, we will flood the breakdown.  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.  In the Quins 22 we will go through the phases, mixing up carrying in tight and getting it through the hands as appropriate.  We will also If the ball is slow and Quins are blitzing we will also utilise the pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out.  Further out from the Quins line we will again carry in tight where appropriate, but also use the boots of backline to kick.  We will use the up and under sparingly, in the main kicking deep and with a lowish trajectory to get the wet ball skidding on and being difficult to handle.  We will also use little grubbers in behind the blitzing Quins defensive line, and Smith will also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards.  
  
  

Key Point

• Team for the conditions.  Our 11,13,14 and 15 have all played fullback at the top level and are excellent under the high ball.  They also all have good kicking games and positional awareness as a result of playing 15.  Our pack is huge and well suited to the conditions.
  
  

Ross Harrison is injured so I've replaced him with McGrath and swapped Garvey in for Stander for EQ limits

Steve's tactics added.

I won't be on till tomorrow and I'll be rather hungover so Johnny may need to add. Hopefully be ok for 9/10am UK time.

Team formatted and tactics added.

1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley (c)
3. Ramiro Herrera
4. Samu Manoa
5. Jonny Gray
6. Schalk Burger
7. David Pocock
8. Billy Vunipola
9. Joe Simpson
10. George Ford (k)
11. Niko Matawalu
12. Matt Giteau
13. Alex Dunbar
14. Adam Ashley Cooper
15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Ashley Johnson 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Adam Jones 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Sam Hildago Cline 22. Manu Tuilagi 23. Leigh Halfpenny

Tactics
Conditions mean that it is going to be a hard physical game, where we are going to be looking to use the power of our pack and setpiece to gain secure ball for our halfbacks and Giteau to control the kicking and territory game. We've selected a big pack and bolstered this with a strong bench - in the conditions we want to win the collisions and the kicking game.

Set Piece
We've gone for a strong pack, with players picked on form in real life. We are going to look at putting the home teams scrum under pressure as feel we can get at their second rows here. With the lineout we are sticking to simple calls to secure our own ball, get a maul going to then give good ball to Ford or Giteau who will look to dominate the territory battle with the boot.

Gainline/Physical Battle
In the atrocious conditions we've made sure we've got a lot of carriers in our pack who can make the hard yards and get us over the gainline, We want to get the go forward momentum as that will mean more chances of securing penalties that we will either get Ford to kick for goal or into the corners for territory.

Breakdown
Quick ball not that essential with such bad conditions, so we'll be looking for Burger and Pocock to be as disruptive as possible to provide the Bath no9 with really bad ball and latch onto any turnovers. For our own ball we are looking to secure the ball and give Simpson a great opportunity to put up some box kicks that go deep into the Bath half of the pitch.

Attack - kicking & territory.
Again the conditions dictate our approach, we've selected Simpson, Ford and Giteau for their kicking games and will look to really dominate this aspect of the game so we play the game largely in Bath's half and force mistakes. We'll target Wade's wing and positioning especially. Will provide Ford with good running options through our pack and Dunbar to make hard yards and keep the momentum going forward.

Defence
Similar style defence to that which Saracens play in real life, putting a lot of pressure on the attacking team and force them into mistakes. Want to get the penalty count going high and really pressurise the home side. Will make sure that we drop AAC and one of Ford and Giteau back to deal with Bath's kicking game.

Subs
This is an area we really want to exploit going into the final 20-30 minutes. Again will look to win the game on the strength of our bench, which has a lot of experience and ideal for the conditions.

Pms to Pooly please again this week

PREDICTIONS CLOSED

I'll get results up in 5mins

RESULTS:

Gloucester 20 (T:1 P:5)
Sale 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Harlequins 25 (T:1 C:1 P:6)
London Irish 21 (P:7)

Worcester 26 (T:2 C:2 P:4)
Leicester 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Bath 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)
Northampton 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Wasps 20 (T:1 P:5)
Exeter 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Newcastle 25 (T:1 C:1 P:6)
Saracens 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)


Full predo: CJB, Steve, Bam, Chris, SJE, Pooly, CJ
Scores: Luke

No predo: Flux, Matt, Prop, Ozzy

Gloucester 16 - 17 Sale

Sale win the scrum, no real advantage at the lineout though Gloucester's tactics may pay off in defence on occasion. 2 sets of flankers that are both strong at the breakdown, think that's an even battle. Sale better at carrying, and just have the edge overall at HB (1 apiece but Care is MORE better than Robson than Carter is than Sexton, both pairings work well). One centre a piece, and very close in the back 3, rain making these less key than usual, but overall Sale with their tactics have just enough to steal a win. Just

Gloucester 19 - 23 Sale

Gloucester's front 5 looks like its lacking a bit of set piece prowess and physicality up against a top notch Sale unit. Back row close on the flanks but think Dickinson is a bit of a weak spot up against Pickles. One a piece at halfback on form, but the gap between the 10s is much closer than the one between the 9s, and gives Sale the advantage. Sale's backs look better equipped to play the conditions to me, with Glos lacking kicking ability in the back 3. Its close, but the conditions and advantage up front give this to Sale on the road

Gloucester 23 - 20 Sale

I really like the balance of the Gloucester pack. I think it has a good mix of carriers, breakdown specialists and workhorses. Don't see a whole lot between the set pieces nor do either pack look better suited to the conditions. Care isn't the man I want at 9 in the rain and Carter is in better recent form than Sexton so prefer the Robson/Carter combo. Toomua is the stand out centre and his cultured kicking and game management will really give Gloucester the advantage I feel in terms of controlling the game as Steyn has a big boot but I don't think him as a tactically astute kicker. Not a whole lot between the back threes with 2 excellent full backs both lacking for form. I don't see it being a high scorer but the conditions suit Gloucester more than Sale I feel and they get a valuable and much needed win.

Gloucester 23-25 Sale
Slight edge to Sale in the front fives. Gloucester may get a slight edge st breakdown but lose out elsewhere. Better half backs from Sale. Think Sale outside backs can get at Gloucester. Prefer Sale in the conditions.


Gloucester 15-18 Sale

See Sale just getting on top in the front 5 with a touch more about them although a good contest. Solid Gloucester outfit but not quite at the same level and Robson perhaps the odd one out in a top unit. Good flank contest but again Picamoles a few levels up on Dickinson at 8. One a piece in the halfbacks but Sale unit a bit stronger. Again one a piece in the centres but Sale a little more form in the back 3. Gloucester some top quality on show but let down a little with their EQ options.

Gloucester 13 - 10 Sale
Not sure Sale have the right tactics with the conditions in what could be a very brutal pack battle and favour the home side, especially with the bench. Can see the Carter/Toomua combination being key and edging the contest (just).

Gloucester 24 - 24 Sale

Harlequins 24 - 23 London Irish

London Irish have some form back in front row and just take the scrum. Quins have more lineout options and can attack the Exiles lineout and have a very good linking and loose carrying game in their pack, but Irish will win the breakdown. Like the back setups for both sides, both adapted well for light rain, and the Quins 9-10-12 will need to kick very well to avoid giving London Irish back 3 opportunity to run back. Not much between benches either, I think that at home Irish would win but Quins just hold on at their home ground

Harlequins 20 - 20 London Irish

Pretty close in the set piece, I'd fancy both tightheads to be on top while its pretty evens in the lineout too. Irish have a stronger back row out, with Quins not far behind. Smith is the class act at halfback, with the 10s pretty even. Outside backs both set up well for the conditions, and game plans both make sense focusing on playing in the right areas and using the big packs. Too close to call, I'll sit on the fence


Quins 20-19 Irish
Prefer the Quins front five. Irish back row has more all round ability. Not hugely sold on either fly half here but think the scrum halfs can control the rugby. Outside backs slight edge to Quins. Hardly anything in it throughout.


Quins 20-18 Irish
Not an awful lot between the sides at the set piece but more quality to Irish in the backrow and they will edge the breakdown. 1 a piece at halfback but Quins shade as a combo with Slade unproven at 10 somewhat. Midfield edges to Quins on attack but Irish more solid defensively. Hard to separate and home advantage shades.

Harlequins 22-22 Irish

Slight edge to Irish in the front row with Healy struggling of late for Quins. Prefer the Quins engine room and see them getting on top in the lineout. Little in the 7's but Irish a class up up at 6/8 and they get the better of the breakdown. One a piece in the halfbacks but prefer Quins as a combo, not sure of Slade at 10 at this level. Not much in the centre contest but prefer the Quins back 3 as a unit. A better 10-13 would have seen Irish take this but just not enough to get that elusive away win.

Quins 23 - 19 London Irish

Conditions a bit better than other games, a lot of players for Quins are coming into great form in real life, espc Brookes and can see them getting an edge in the set piece. Can see Quins getting more people over the gainline in the backs, while Irish have a lot of great runners but not as much balance, would start Yarde with that backline for that.

Harlequins 26 - 25 Irish

Worcester 20 - 15 Tigers

Worcester can just about edge scrum targeting Jenkins, though shouldn't mention Nel who isn't playing. Thomas in good form. I think the lineouts are both safe for each side, breakdown to Worcester by a fair margin. Like the carrying mix on both sides, both strong here. On form, Worcester HBs ahead, both back lines full of power in the rain, with Beale adding much needed flair, think both are appropriate with finishers to complete any chances formed. Think Worcester look to use bench well too and win at home

Worcester 24 - 23 Leicester

Pretty even in the front row, while I favour Wuss' second row pairing. Contrasting approaches on the flanks, no outright turnover specialist for Tigers, while Worcester has gone with 2, and it'll show in the turnover column. The converse to this is the carrying of the Tigers pack is stronger than their opposition, always a factor in the wet. FDP is a big help to Leicester, but up against a form real life half back pairing its tough to see Burns competing too well. Worcester's backs don't seem as though they'll be the best in the wet, and Tigers are set up well to attack this. Its very close to call, but with the impact of the backs off the bench, I'll go with the narrowest of Wuss wins

Worcester 22 - 22 Leicester

Two well-selected sides I feel. Worcester get away with two genuine 7s due to the carrying provided by their front row, midfield and Morgan. I suspect that the Worcester wings will struggle with the ball being kicked behind them and this will provide a good territory for Leicester to use their driving maul. Up front I don't see a whole amount of difference between the sides whilst I certainly prefer the Worcester half back combo but feel FDP is a real weapon in this sort of game. Maybe a lack of kicking options in the Worcester backs but that is made up for by powerful carrying options throughout. I can't call this one.

Warriors 22-23 Tigers

Prefer the Tigers front five. Not much in the back rows. One each in the half backs. Probably slight edge to Warriors outside backs. The forwards on the Tigers bench help them edge an away victory.

Worc 22-18 Tigers

Dual 7s see Worc cause a few issues at the breakdown and can see them slowing Tigers up. Great midfield battle. Tigers stronger defensively in the back three but serious running threat from Worc. Halfbacks one a piece but Worc shade as a combo currently.

Worcester 25-21 Leicester

Worcester could possibly get on top a little in the scrum with Jenkins struggling of late. Good contest in the engine room with no real winner, Maestri helps Wuss out, good signing. Some good form on the flanks for Worcester but I think Waldroum has been better than Morgan lately. Bigger's recent form helps Worcester take the halfbacks and they have a little more in the centres too. Slight edge to Worcester in the back 3, Banahan not quite at this level.

Worcester Warriors 28 - 25 Leicester Tigers

Even pack battle across the park, some great battles there - but that is a brilliant backline from the homeside and a few players really clicking for form as well. Biggar is best no10 in Europe right now and wills steer Warriors home.

Bath 17 - 18 Saints

Interesting scrum battle that I can't really call, Mako's good form helping Saints in what I would otherwise give to Bath. Equally, a close battle at the lineout, can see both sides securing own ball in both set pieces. However, with Burger able to help Pocock, I do expect Saints to win the breakdown battle. Saints have more carrying from 4-8 but Bath have a bit too, and their front row just helps a bit more than Saints one. Very tight in the pack, breakdown aside. With Barrett's time in real life split between 10 and 15 and Simpson in such great form and improved basics, Saints take 9-10, and then also te centres but Bath edge back 3. Backs are used sparingly in this awful weather. Saints probably have a bit more but Bath would draw due to home support. I do think that they'll make one error too many trying to play high tempo in the heavy rain though, so I've changed to a Saints narrow win

Bath 22 - 26 Saints

Bath could suffer in the scrum with Big Ben up against an in form Mako, and Herrera on the other side, the power of the second rows also a factor here. I'd expect Bath to be stronger in the lineout though. Pocock will rule the breakdown, and think Tips is a bit lightweight and won't be as effective in the conditions. Pretty even at halfback, while two of the best backlines in the league will pretty much match each other. Saints have more quality off the bench, and think this will just get them home after the early pack dominance

Bath 19 - 18 Northampton

Poor weather ruins what could have been an excellent spectacle. Neither pack overly suited to the conditions but the Welsh back row combo looks strong against two world class flankers and a the powerful Billy V. One a piece at half back and with both sets of outside backs not suited to the weather I can see the game becoming quite stop start. At home Bath sneak it.

Bath 22-21 Saints

Nothing between the front 5s but Saints shade the backrow. Bath stronger at halfback and will play the conditions better. Can see Wade and Matawalu having hard days at the office. Home advantage just shades this.

Bath 20-18 Northampton

Good scrum contest with Saints possibly taking although lineout will go with the home side. More quality in the Saints backrow but Bath perhaps set out a little better for the conditions, just prefer Saints pack though. Bath halfbacks better for the conditions with Ford struggling a bit of late. Similar in the centres and back 3 with Bath just looking more ready for the rain. Would fancy Saints by a few points in better conditions.

Bath 23 - 24 Saints

Wasps 23 - 25 Exeter

Pretty evens in the front 5s without much to pick between the sides. Robshaw a big miss for Wasps, and Exeter will have a good advantage in the back row with a big unit. The halfbacks are pretty even, possibly the experience and quality of Murray swings it to Exeter. The Exeter backline also looks massive, with plenty of power from 11-14, and will really test the defence of the Wasps backs. Tough to call, but think the back row advantage and the power game in the outside backs takes this for Exeter

Wasps 20 - 18 Exeter

A key aspect of this game is the scrum which I think, at least until the benches are used, goes in the favour of Wasps with two props in top form. De Jager the standout lock and I struggle to call the back rows as units. Half backs edge to Exeter with a solid combo with experience which is key. Outside backs close but probably just prefer the Exeter set. Hard game to call for me with the pack going to Wasps but the backs to Exeter. Conditions and home advantage give the game to Wasps.

Wasps 24-25 Exeter

Very tight in the front five maybe slight edge to Wasps. Back row to Exeter. One each in the half backs, tough for Spencer here. Edge in outside backs and on bench to Exeter.

Wasps 15-20 Exeter

Scrum advantage Wasps but Chiefs pack has more at the breakdown and carrying wise. More about Chiefs through the backs.

Wasps 15-16 Exeter

See a slight edge in the scrum for Wasps with some form issues for Exeter. Good lock combo's with not too much in it and both pretty solid on their own ball. Exeter step it up in the backrow and have a bit of control here despite Wood not fully firing of late. One a piece in the halfbacks but Exeter better as a combo. Exeter a step up in the centres but Serfontein not a 13 by a long shot, much better suited to 12 but see Exeter getting away with that here. I prefer the Wasps back 3 and they'll run it close.

Wasps 11 - 11 Exeter Chiefs

Purely on tactics Wasps get the draw - the home side set themselves out for the conditions that little bit better. I like their front five, the conditions really nullify the attacking options - can see Nonu having an important game and Chiefs do have better players but I like how Wasps are set up.

Wasps 26 - 26 Exeter

Newcastle 21 - 20 Saracens

Good scrum battle, Falcons in form LH vs an invigorated Cole. Can see a few pens both ways. Just give Saracens lineout edge, and MAYBE edge at breakdown. Newcastle have Ewers carrying and tackling as a counter though. Probably prefer Falcons HBs in the rain, though not much in it. Backs are similar balance with power there and good finishing. Both tactics very well set out, just think that at home and with control from 9-10 in the rain, Falcons take this

Newcastle 19 - 17 Saracens

Good physical packs on show which will prove an excellent battle in the tough conditions. Strong carriers in both packs and nothing between the set piece for each side. Nothing between the half backs with two excellent pairings for the conditions. Form lies with Laidlaw and Sanchez keeping things even. Prefer the Newcastle back three in the conditions with the centres both solid pairings which will have some seismic collisions. Just not enough for Saracens to take the win away from home.

Newcastle 27-24 Saracens

Newcastle have the better front row, Sarries stronger in the second row. Slight edge to Newcastle back row. Prefer the Newcastle half backs and Sarries outside backs

Falcons 20-21 Sarries

Lineout edge Sarries but hard to split the packs elsewhere. More about the Sarries halfbacks and the power of the midfield works well.

Newcastle 27 - 25 Saracens.

In heavy rain it is an away win, but the quality and form of some of the Falcons backs really sets this up for the home side in a really close game. The two starting lineups are incredibly even, Sarries miss the impact of Hughes who is up there as probably the best carrier in the league, but prefer the quality of the Falcons bench who sneak it.

Newcastle 23 - 22 Saracens

Argh! So close

Well played CJ, I think I got lucky a little there mate!

Well done sje very close game:

Hard to call in real life. Would be a cracker