Anglo-Welsh Cup Round One

First topic message reminder :

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Worcester Warriors vs Bristol Rugby
Sixways Stadium
Sunny, 8 degrees, 14mph North Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Ali Dickinson	09. Sam Harrison
02. Ross Batty	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. WP Nel
04. Leone Nakawara	11. Adam Thompstone
05. Yohann Maestri	12. David Havili
06. Mike Williams	13. Mark Bennett
07. Sam Warburton ©	14. Sergeal Petersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Val Ruskin 18. Henry Thomas 19. Kieran Tredwell 20. Jackson Wray 21. Rory Kockott 22. Jules Plisson 23. Jonah Placid

Season's Attributes-
Offloading in the Tackle
Breakdown (Turnovers)
Blitz Defence
Choke Tackle

*Looking to use the balance of back row to disrupt opposition ball and have strong carrys off of 10 and 12.
*Mix up first receivers to keep them guessing.
*Heads up rugby with strike moves when on with wingers coming off their wing and Dulin looking to run onto offloads.
*Bench to make an impact with control for the backs and the form of Petersen
*Bennett to lead the defence with one of back 5 alongside Williams in the 10 channel to implement the choke tackle.

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Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Ben Spencer
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Rhys Patchell (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Sam Carter	11. Rene Ranger (c)
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Mitch Eadie	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Judicaël Cancoriet	14. Jordan Williams
08. Lawrence Pearce	15. Jesse Mogg

:-
16. Tom West 17. Rob Buchanan  18. James Johnston 19. Jordan Ononaife 20  Max Deegan, 21. Andy Uren 22. Callum Sheedy 23. Sione Tuipolutu

Tactics:

Attributes:

Attacking:
1) Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
2)  Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Defending:
1) Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set. 
2) Breakdown - Organised Ruck defence: with guards and body guards set, allowing the rest of the line to set off them.

Tactics 

1) Twin playmakers with Godwin helping out Patchell to keep a playmaker always available
2) look to Spoil Harrison as a weak link in the Worcester line using Cancoriet
3) as Worcester focus on the offloading game usually, look to tackle 2 on 1 in the backs with increased coverage from the pack
4) heavy focus on te breakdown as a whole pack unit
5) Blitz defence led by Godwin

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Bath Rugby vs Leicester Tigers
The Rec
Sunny, 8 degrees, 13mph North Westerly Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Finn Russell
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Will Skelton	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. James Gaskell	13. Sam Hill
07. Josh Beaumont	14. Christian Wade
08. Toby Falateu	15. Andy Goode

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16. Ellis Genge 17. Leni Apisai 18. Scott Wilson 19. Mitch Lees 20. - 21. Takera Kerr Barlow 22. - 23. Liam Williams

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Fluxy

01. Max Lahiff	09. Antoine Dupont
02. Dave Ward	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Pascal Pape (c)	11. Henry Purdy
05. Stan South	12. Ben Te'o
06. Sam Jones	13. Damien Penaud
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Calum Chick	15. Jack Maddocks

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Subs: 16. Neale Farthing 17. Hika Elliott 18. Lasha Tibadze 19. Tom Wells 20. Don Armand 21. Micky Young 22. James Lang 23. Billy Twelvetrees

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Sale Sharks vs Wasps
AJ Bell Stadium
Sunny, 7 degrees, 14mph North Westerly Winds

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Ross Harrison	09. Faf De Klerk
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Otere Black
03. Atu Moli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Tevita Li
05. Christian Day	12. Jonathan Danty
06. Matt Garvey	13. Joe Marchant
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Ratu Joe Cokanasiga
08. Rob Leota	15. Nick Abendanon

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Subs:16. Julien Marchand 17. Tau Koloamatangi 18. Martin Moore 19. Iain Henderson 20. Lewis Ludlam 21. James Mitchell 22. Curwin Bosch 23. Jacob Stockdale

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Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Sebatien Tillous-Borde
02. Harry Thacker	10. Rhys Preistland (k)
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Sebastian Vahaamahina	11. Marland Yarde
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Wood	13. Henry Slade
07. Fulgence Quedraogo	14. Bryan Habana
08.  Sean O'Brien	15. Anthony Watson

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16. Bismark Du Plessis, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Dave Wilson, 19. Dom Barrow, 20. Louis Picamoles, 21. Mitchell Drummond, 22. Luther Burrell, 23. Tim Nanai-Williams

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Gloucester Rugby vs Saracens
Kingsholm Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 8 degrees, 13mph North Westerly Winds

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Gloucester 
Manager – Matt

01. Coenie Oosthuizen	09. Will Genia
02. Andries Strauss	10. Billy Burns (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Elliott Stooke	11. Jonny May
05. Tomas Lavanini	12. Matt Scott
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Cyle Brink	14. Will Addison
08. Ruan Ackermann	15. Johan Goosen

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Subs: 16. Rob Evans , 17. Joe Grey, 18. Uini Atonio, 19. Sam Dickinson, 20. Ben Curry, 21. Dan Robson, 22. Handre Pollard, 23. Charlie Walker

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Simon McIntyre	09. Brad Weber
02. Scott Spurling	10. Tom Taylor
03. Paul Hill
04. Marcos Kremer	11. Teddy Thomas
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ollie Devoto
06. Thierry Dusatoir	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Hosea Gear
08. Dave Denton	15. Delon Armitage

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Alex Waller 18. Ben Franks 19. Ed Slater 20. Sam Underhill 21. Lee Dickson 22. Pat Lambie 23. Lionel Mapoe

Tactics:

Defensive:
Blitz Defence - Get in the face of the opposition and allow them very little time on the ball.
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Attacking:
Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch
Offloading in the tackle: Moving the point of attack preventing a defence to set and keeping play fluid

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Harlequins vs Exeter Chiefs
Twickenham Stoop
Light Cloud, 8 degrees, 10mph North Westerly Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ethan Waller	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Rob Webber (c)	10. Ihaia West (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Lukhan Tui	11. Leolin Zas
05. Luke Romano	12. Stuart Olding
06. Jean Luc Du Preez	13. Bundee Aki
07. Jamie Gibson	14. Keelan Giles
08. James Chisholm	15. Mike Haley

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16. Scott Baldwin 17. Richard Barrington 18. Billy Walker 19. Will Witty 20. Dan Leavy 21. Stuart Townsend 22. Dan Jones 23. Alex Lewington

Attributes

Phase Attack - Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Counter Attack - Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces. 

Breakdown (Turnover Possession) -  Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line. 

Game Plan

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Nathan Catt	09. Nic White
02. Jack Yeandle (c)	10. Richie Mo'unga (k)
03. Harry Williams
04. Jake Ball	11. Andrew Trimble
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Stuart McCloskey
06. Brad Shields	13. Francis Saili
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Olly Woodburn
08. Fritz Lee	15. Maxime Medard

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Subs: 16. Thomas Domingo, 17. Tom Youngs, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. Courtney Lawes, 20. Teimana Harrison, 21. Chris Cook, 22. Colin Slade, 23. James Lowe

Offloading in the tackle: Moving the point of attack preventing a defence to set and keeping play fluid.
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line.

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Newcastle Falcons vs Northampton Saints
Kingston Park
Light Rain Shower, 7 degrees, 18mph North Westerly Winds

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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Alec Hepburn	09. Will Chudley
02. George McGuigan	10. Ian Madigan
03. Davit Kubriashvili
04. Flip Van Der Merwe	11. Luke Morahan
05. Matt Symons	12. Vince Aso
06. Callum Clark	13. Luke Marshall
07. Will Evans	14. Zac Kibirige
08. Jack O'Donaghue	15. Rob Miller

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16.Ricky Riccitelli 17. Nic Auterac 18. Dillon Lewis 19. Rory Thornton 20. Ellis Jenkins 21. Sam Hidalgo Clyne 22. Sam James 23. Gabriel Ibitoye

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Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Logi Mulipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Patricio Fernandez (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Paul Jedrasiak	11. Matt Banahan
05. Michael Paterson	12. Harry Mallinder
06. Jack Lam	13. Tyler Morgan
07. James Davies	14. Paolo Odogwu
08. Luke Wallace (c)	15. Ben Foden

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Replacements
16. Ashley Johnson 17. - 18. Conan O'Donnell 19. Vaea Fifita 20. Ollie Griffiths 21. Jamie Shillcock 22. Adam Hastings 23. Owen Watkin

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Can i please swap Scott Baldwin for Jack Singleton? Just noticed he's in the wales swuad2

And can I put Wyatt Crockett on the bench - just got back in from a trip and haven't had any time to come on here to change the Argie prop.

Thanks!

Pooly lambie
Is playing for
South Africa may want to change him

Bah's don't count I think Matt as it's non capped

Keep the predictions coming in lads, will try and get this done this evening. Will leave a deadline of midday. 

Thread for this weeks fixtures up to avoid a back log.

Worcester Warriors 31 - 24 Bristol Rugby
Worcester have gone with a very strong pack, close to first choice. I can see them dominating up front, and this will set a platform for a set of talented backs to get a few tries. Bristol compete well but having rotated plenty they'll come up short

Worcester Warriors 30 - 22 Bristol Rugby
Theres a step up in quality in the backrow for Worc and similar on the bench in key areas. Tomkins and Spencer going very well and useful options for Bris. Havilli had a good S15 but would have issues defensively in this league. 

Worcester Warriors 25 - 24 Bristol Rugby

Worcester Warriors 28 - 24 Bristol Rugby
Worcester have a little more about them in the pack and a step up in physicality which will trouble Bristol. Backlines are pretty close, no real advantage so the better platform and home advantage takes it. 

Worcester Warriors 24 - 23 Bristol Rugby

Worcester Warriors 29 - 26 Bristol Rugby
Beastly pack for Warriors in this, combined with home advantage gets them the win. Could be very strong contenders for this competition if they keep putting out sides like that.

Worcester Warriors 28 - 27 Bristol Rugby

Bath Rugby 13 - 24 Leicester Tigers
With the team as it stands, I can't really rate Bath with 5 players needing to be swapped. Leicester a solid LV Cup side and will win comfortably away

Bath Rugby 20 - 30 Leicester Tigers 
Bath yet to update for internationals and will be running on fumes late on with no bench options! Haven't seen much of Chick but Dupont looking very good so far for Tigers. 

Bath Rugby 26 - 25 Leicester Tigers

Bath Rugby 30 - 27 Leicester Tigers
Bath set out a little stronger with Tigers perhaps having the stronger flank options. Similar story in the backs with Bath just a touch strong across the board.

Bath Rugby 32 - 31 Leicester Tigers

Bath Rugby 33 - 30 Leicester Tigers
Two strong sides, having Falateau is huge for Bath and can see them getting a lot of front foot ball. Not sure why Andy Goode keeps playing for them, but that backline is going to score tries. Tigers strong too, Teo'o looking some signing. 

Bath Rugby 25 - 26 Leicester Tigers

Bath Rugby 13 - 12 Leicester Tigers

Sale Sharks 22 - 26 Wasps
Sale gone with a rotated pack, and as such i think this Wasps side can really push them, with both sides missing tactics. Wasps have a strong set of backs, and think they'll take this on the road

Sale Sharks 24 - 25 Wasps

Sale Sharks 21 - 21 Wasps

Sale Sharks 26 - 28 Wasps
Wasps set out strongly for Pulls first game in charge. Bar SOB, who's hard to rate, it's pretty much a Wasps pack as a unit. Almost full strength in the Wasps backs gives them a good away win. 

Sale Sharks 25 - 26 Wasps

Sale Sharks 25 - 28 Wasps
Wasps gone in with more experience and will have a lot of power for the home side to deal with in the pack. New manager wanting to get off to a winning start! 

Sale Sharks 22 - 23 Wasps

Gloucester Rugby 34 - 30 Saracens
Plenty of rotation again, but Glos look to have a bit more bite to their pack, with a big front 5 setting the tone. There will be loose play on both sides with weak halfbacks, but think both will get tries with their backs in a high scoring home win

Gloucester Rugby 19 - 24 Saracens
Glaws edge scrum battle but Sarries can get on top at the breakdown which will be more useful in these conditions.

Gloucester Rugby 23 - 22 Saracens

Gloucester Rugby 28 - 29 Saracens

Gloucester Rugby 25 - 25 Saracens

Gloucester Rugby 26 - 22 Saracens
Quite a big advantage in starting packs for Gloucester, Spurling against Strauss is a bit of a mismatch, mixed with home advantage and two exciting wingers can see a decent win for the home side. 

Gloucester Rugby 24 - 23 Saracens

Gloucester Rugby 23 - 24 Saracens

Harlequins 20 - 23 Exeter Chiefs
Chiefs pack looks a lot stronger to me, with plenty rotated for Quins. Backs closer, but think the stranglehold the Chiefs pack put on the game will let them squeeze home

Harlequins 22 - 23 Exeter Chiefs


Harlequins 25 - 30 Exeter Chiefs
Tight old affair in most areas but Chiefs have more quality in the backrow and have gone with a much more experienced bench in most places. Tui getting good reports from the NRC & Giles ripping up the Pro 12 for Quins. 

Harlequins 19 - 18 Exeter Chiefs

Harlequins 24 - 25 Exeter Chiefs
Exeter looking very solid in the pack and a step up in the backrow. Good backlines from both sides and very little in it, I just think Exeter have the edge to take a narrow win.

Harlequins 33 - 29 Exeter Chiefs
Another strong side, Quins have one of the best academies in the game and look strong contenders for this competition. Much stronger bench from Chiefs though, so brings them back strong towards the end.

Harlequins 25 - 24 Exeter Chiefs

Harlequins 25 - 24 Exeter Chiefs

Newcastle Falcons 22 - 21 Northampton Saints

Newcastle Falcons 23 - 20 Northampton Saints

Better balance to the Falcons backrow although Saints will see some dangerous turnover ball. Madigan at 10 and a decent midfield give Falcons good go forward though. Aso an option for league games but JOD not there yet for Falcons. For Saints Morgan useful, Mallinder an exciting prospect but not there yet for our league.

Newcastle Falcons 22 - 23 Northampton Saints

Newcastle Falcons 29 - 25 Northampton Saints
Both sides rotating with Falcons just coming in a little stronger in the front 5 and and again in the backrow. Little in the halfbacks but Falcons better in the centres and back 3. Enough to take the win.

Newcastle Falcons 23 - 24 Northampton Saints


Newcastle Falcons 22 - 23 Northampton Saints



Newcastle Falcons 18 - 17 Northampton Saints