AP Round 6

First topic message reminder :

Team Sheets and tactics due by COB Thur
Predictions open Fri. Results due Sun/Mon

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Sale Sharks v Gloucester Rugby
Light Rain, 14 Degrees, 18mph Winds

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Andy Goode
03. Neemia Tialata
04. Steven Sykes	11. David Strettle
05. Andries Bekker	12. Olly Barkley
06. Neil Best	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Matt Todd	14. Lelia Masaga
08. Jordan Crane	15. Luke Rooney

16. Imolek 17. Sharman 18. Kruger 19. Day 20. Horstmann 21. Bezy 22. JTH 23. Abendanoon


Key Points

Home Advantage
We are unbeaten at home since Season 2 having won every league game here in the last year. Edgeley Park is a fortress and Gloucester will need to be at their very best to breach it with a passionate crowd cheering us on

Momentum
We beat Gloucester both home and away in the league last year. Gloucester are yet to win at Edgeley Park during my time at Sale. We have a mental edge over Gloucester and if they find themselves behind as the game goes on heads will drop. With a great start to the season that sees us in the playoff zone our boys are flying! (Would love to know what Matt thinks of his own sides form if he considers us in a miserable run…)

Target Gloucesters Midfield
We will target the Gloucester midfield on both attack and defence. On attack our pacy runners will attack Vainokolo targeting the outside shoulder with decoy runners keeping the spare defenders occupied in order to ensure 1 on 1 match ups. Strettle and Masaga will come in from their wings to really target this. We will send our big carriers down Johnny May’s channel. He is still developing defensively. This midfield unit in real life has seen a lot of points shipped. On defence we will rush up in the blitz, with our big tacklers in this channel looking to put serious pressure on Vainokolo forcing mistakes and disjointed play for Glaws.

Setpiece
At scrum time we will be looking to really turn the screw. Schuster and Tialata are both strong scrummagers and will look to get at their man and really disrupt Glaws putting the nudge on and providing us with a solid platform all game. At the lineout, we will look to Bekker to be our talisman. He will call the line and will have Sykes, at the front, and our entire back row to support him as jumpers to mix things up. Our jumpers will look to either play the ball of the top quickly and look to our backline to move it or bring it down into a maul and make the hard yards through the pack, sucking in the Gloucester forwards to leave space out wide for our backs. On Gloucester ball we will look for Sykes to get up in the air at the front of the line and Bekker to follow Robson in the line and disrupt the Glaws lineout. If we really start to get on top of the lineout we will look to Cruden to kick for the corners a few times and really put the pressure on.

Breakdown
We have a very mobile and quick pack to really target the breakdown. On our own ball we will look to our forwards to get numbers to the breakdown quickly rucking past the ball and clearing out the Glaws boys looking to recycle clean fast ball. On defence, if we are first to the breakdown or the ball carrier is isolated we will look to seriously commit numbers and will look to Todd to secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit lighter numbers to the breakdown but look to counter ruck slowing down Gloucester ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.

General Attacking Play
We will look to play a strong carrying game using our big carriers to hit the gain line offloading in or just before the tackle (when it's on) to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. Masaga will look to come in field at different times tracking the runs of our midfield looking for the ball on the offload.

Danny Care will look to play around the fringes of the breakdown and make his usual snipping runs when it’s on, tying the Gloucester back row to the breakdown. Goode and Barkley will look to rotate at 1st receiver throughout the game. Barkley has been instructed to play it smart and if overlaps or gaps appear he will look to get the ball moving and take advantage. Goode provides us with a massive kicking game and an extra ball carrying option from fly half. He will look to give our forwards a target to hit. Rooney will look to come up from fullback from time to time and offer an extra ball carrying threat while looking to create these overlaps out wide.

Goode will look to kick for goal when in Gloucester territory and take the drop goal option when it’s available to keep the score board moving. Danny Care though will look for the quick tap when the Glaws defence is slow to organise.

General Defensive Play
In defence we will be using a blitz defence and will look to get up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any Gloucester momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. We will look to keep Glaws on the back foot forcing the kick. Danny Care will act as a sweeper and look to cover any chips in behind the line. Our wingers will look to sit deeper on defence then the rest of the line ready for any kicks. Our back three have been instructed to play to their strengths and look for the counter attack, running the ball back with serious pace.

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Wood	09. Lewis
02. Strauss	10. Donald
03. White
04. Schofield	11. Gear
05. Robson	12. Vainokolo
06. Deacon	13. May
07. Saull	14. JSD
08. Johnson	15. Sharples

16 Coonie 17 Fourie 18 Johnston 19 Hanks 20 Buxton 21 Lawson 22 Lamb 23 Hamilton

Tactics

Glos travel to sale looking to continue sales miserable run of late.

We have gone for a side able to execute a game plan and with a bench to change the match

Set piece

We have gone for a gnarly hard scrummaging mobile front 5 ( bar White). The aim is to smash sale early in the scrum and really put pressure on. There is a decent wind and light rain that could mean a lot of scrums and lonelier first half.

White is their to play the first half only and to give re loosehead and hooker a nightmare. Wood and Strauss are also tough scrummagers and we see our front 5 as a key advantage. They will allow us to launch our backrow and backs.

Lineout.

We have 5 jumpers and will use this to deliver quick ball and to enable us to maul the ball up field early doors to launch runners into the sale 10:12 channel.
We will look to challenge sale every lineout and put serious pressure on their hookers darts.

As we start to get in the ascendency as the game progresses we will look to go off the top and hit vainokolo and may flat and at pace.

We will look to bring on coonie at tighthead at 40 minutes and then shift him to loosehead on 60 and bring on Johnstone and Fourie to up the pace and ball carrying as sale start to tire.

Backs.

To start with Donald will keep it simple he will be looking to hit les short or kick for territory. He will be looking to send les in to the 10/12 channel. Goode has not played for sale this season so will be rusty and will not have his communication right with JTH so see this as an easy battle to win especially first half.

As it is raining the kicking for territory is important. We dont believe many of sales backs can kick well so see it as either a territory gain or a good way to get good counter attacking ball.

Donald will also be utilising the bomb to put pressure on the sale back 3 with our great chasing backs.

If rain continues to get heavier we
Will look to bring on lamb and move Donald to 12 so as we can dominate kicking battle.

If rain is light and the wind does not get any worse we will really up the pace second half and look to get the ball moving and taking quick lonelier
And look to get the best back 3 during the wc going.

Overall

see us having much better set piece
More ball carriers allowing us to keep ball
Back 3 to run riot.
More in form players playing in real life.

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Northampton Saints v Exeter Chiefs
Sunny, 14 Degrees, 18mph Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Charlie Davies
02. Rob Webber	10.Lionel Beauxis
03. Carl Hayman
04. Dave Attwood	11. Siti Siviatu
05. Calum Clark	12. Matt Giteau (k)
06. Liam Messam	13. Casey Lualala
07. Alexander Lapandy	14. Christian Wade
08. Ryan Kankowski	15. Eerie Claasens

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Henry Thomas 18. Mako Vunipola 19. Joe Launchberry 20. Simon Taylor 21. Tomassi Benvenutti 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Rory Lamont

Tactics:
Overview – we have picked a team that is ideal for the conditions and will look to play a high tempo, fast attacking game against an Exeter team that has not won this season and will be low on confidence if Saints can get an early try, so the floodgates could open.

Key points
*Target the set piece with a strong front row and try and put Neil Clark under pressure at lineout time.
* We’ve picked a team that will look to dominate the breakdown, players 4-8 are all mobile and apt at the dark arts and we have picked a bench that has Launchberry and Taylor in so we can keep targeting this area.
* Freshened up the pack with Webber and Kankowski with Clark, Lapandy being rested in previous weeks.
* Will make full use of our subs bench in the backline, will bring Lamont on at half time for Wade, so we have two powerful wingers, on the pitch and will bring on Benvenutti at 13 and Cipriani at 15 with 20 minutes to go to speed up the attack.
* Move the ball around the park at speed, look for an early try to dent Exeter’s confidence. We will allow Giteau to dictate the play and attack Exeter.

Forwards – Set Piece & Breakdown
We have a strong front row and set piece and will be looking for experienced heads like Domingo, Hayman, Messam and Kankowski to be a class above their Exeter counterparts.
We will look for our front row to pressurise the Exeter front row and get an advantage there for us. With a solid scrum we will look to alternative Kankowski and Messam at no8 to launch different attacks from the base.

At the lineout we will look to generate quick ball from the back of the lineout and have two jumpers in Clark and Kankowski to achieve this. When in our own half we will play safe ball to the front and build through the phases.
Defensively at the lineout we are going to try something a bit different when we are not defending in our 22 – we will get Davies to stand in the 5 metre channel (as a hooker would do) – and then bring Webber into the lineout itself and move Messam into the midfield to target Myler and put him under instant pressure. We want him to strip ball and just make Myler to kick away ball (or get smashed by the backrow!)

At the breakdown we will look to target this in force, we feel we have a quicker, fitter team than Exeter and will be able to get to the breakdown first, or in more numbers first. If the turnover is on then we will put numbers in, but if Exeter have secured the ball we will then use the backrow to guard the fringes and stop O’Leary snipping.

Backs
We will be playing a quick, expansive and high tempo game and get our world class players (Giteau, Siviatu) on the ball as much as possible. The team that attacks most will score more tries and get more points. We are going to attack and everything will be controlled by Giteau’s experience at 12.
We want Exeter to tackle for the 80 minutes and wear themselves out, so we will be looking to spread the ball and look for tries, but when it isnt on we will use our 10/12 kicking midfield to drill the ball deep into the Exeter half and keep our forwards going forward and make the Exeter pack head drop.

We will look to move the ball wide from the start, and will change the point of attack from Beauxis and Giteau and will use Lualala (great game for Cardiff last week btw) and Siviatu, and the backrow to crash the ball up the midfield and make line breaks. With Claasens and Wade to pick up any offloads from these linebreaks and look to use their speed to target Blair at the back.

Defence
Defensively we will look to play an aggressive game in the forwards and marshall the breakdown/ruck area extremely well to stop O’Leary snipping around the fringes. We will also look to get Messam at Myler at every opportunity to force his hand.
We will continue to pull Messam out of the lineout, play Davies in the 5m channel and bring Messam to mark Myler in the midfield.
The Saints midfield will look to try and hold King and Powell up in the tackle area and wait for support from the pack. By stopping them going to ground we will get the scrum put in and the turnover.

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Driver

01.Brett Sturgess	09.Tomas O'Leary
02.Neil Clark	10.Steven Myler
03.Hoani Tui
04.Peter Short	11.Luke Fitzgerald
05.Tommy Hayes (c)	12.Regan King
06.Ben Skirving	13.Adam Powell
07.Carl Fearns	14.Adam Thompstone
08.Johnnie Beattie	15.Ben Blair (k)

16.Ben Kayser 17.Efion Lewis-Roberts 18.Juan Orlandi 19.Ed Slater 20.Marty Holah 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Josh Matavista 23.Matt Smith

Tactics

OFFENSE

Exeter to play big and physical up front and really have a go at the Saints front 5 and cause a few upsets at scrum time with Chiefs looking to twist the Saints props and put them under extreme pressure. Sturgess and Tui are the form scrummagers in the AP and will target the off sorts Domingo and Hayman.

Hayes , Short , Skirving , Fearns and Beattie are all mobile and will get round the pitch and run at the 10/12 channel from the lineout and off Myler.

TOL will look to play the game at a high tempo through quick taps and taking the opposition back row through snipes round the sides of rucks keeping the saint’s defence honest.

Powell will look to hold the ball up in midfield as a pivot man preventing a choke tackle and allowing us to move the Saints pack around the pitch.


* Shift the ball using big runners in the back line to dent saints. Myler to play what's in front of him.

DEFENCE

We will employ a blitz defence with TOL sweeping behind to cover any kicks through and counter attack or putting the ball into the space behind.

When the tackle is made the first man to break down will look to steal the ball with the next 2 blitzing players out of the way and into the support players allowing the ball to stolen from the isolated man on the deck.

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Leicester Tigers v Harlequins
Sunny, 15 Degrees, 18mph Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Micky Young
02. Sebastien Bruno	10. Brock James (k)
03. Faan Rautenbach
04. Chris Jack (c)	11. Isa Nacewa
05. Alex Brown	12. Yannick Jauzion
06. Magnus Lund	13. Yann David
07. Andy Hazell	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Clement Poitrenaud

16. Clarke Dermody 17. Tom Youngs 18. Jonny Harris 19. Tom Denton 20. Johnathan Poff 21. Scott Mathie 22. Rob Miller 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

GENERAL:

- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible with a running game, and looking to get hold of the ball at the breakdown. We will look to get the likes of Jauzion, Y.David, Nacewa and Poitrenaud on the ball and causing Quins' back line problems defensively. We will be physical and relentless up front and pacey and clinical in attack.

- Defensively we will look to blitz, with Young sweeping behind the defensive line to deal with any short kicks.

- B.James to kick all penalties in range.

FORWARDS:

- We will look to target the set-piece to get us good ball, in particular the lineout. We have three specialists in Brown, Joubert and Jack, and believe we can get real joy in targeting Brits' throws. Brown, Joubert and Jack will rotate on our ball to keep Quins guessing where our throws will be going.

- Scrum-time we will look to Bruno to target Brits with some powerful scrummaging, and Crockett looking to get on top of Mujati. With Joubert marshalling the base, we will look to use attacking scrums as a platform to get us going forward at every opportunity.

- Our big carriers, led by the powerful Joubert, as well as Crockett, Lund and Jack, are encouraged to run straight to best utilise the carrying options they bring. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle. All players are to act as support runners when they can.

- We are playing with a left and right flanker - we will target the breakdown massively, with two players who can play openside on our flanks. Both Lund and Hazell are told to hit the breakdown area hard and fast looking to get their hands on turnover ball. We want to seriously disrupt the quality of the ball Quins can get, and steal as much as we can for our own backs to use.

- Lund and Hazell to really get after an off-form Burns early on and hit him hard.

BACKS:

- Young is tasked with simple instructions - quick ball for B.James to use. Working in tandem with Joubert and co, we want him to fire passes as quickly as he can to stop the opposition getting set defensively.

- With B.James at pivot we are looking for an expansive game. He is tasked with getting our strike runners into the game and getting our back line moving. He is given license to play what is in front of him - his long range passes and cross field kicks should keep Quins' defensive line guessing. If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, he will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Jauzion acts as our guide in midfield, and he is to look to feed those outside him to hit the line at pace. Nacewa is encouraged to come off his wing into midfield as well, to keep Quins' guessing. Poitrenaud, Ojo, Y.David and Nacewa provide us with explosive pace and this is a weapon we will look to use as much as possible.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what comes naturally to all of them - counter attacking and running the ball back. The weather is good for running rugby, and we hope to see some great breaks. All have good boots to rely on if it isn't on or they are isolated, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.


KEY POINTS:

- Home Advantage - Unbeaten at home since the start of last season. Welford Road is the fortress that we all know.

- Play attacking, running rugby from quick ball. The dry conditions suit our players, especially the likes of Crockett, Jack, Joubert, B.James, Jauzion, Y.David, Nacewa, Poitrenaud and Ojo.

- Target the breakdown and get after Burns - Both Lund and Hazell to do all they can to keep winning us ball for our backs to use, and get some hits on an off-form Burns early on.

- If the game is tight, B.James will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- Well rested players - 4 of our front 5 have all been rested so far this season, and only 5 of our starting XV have played every game.

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Lee Dickson (c)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Jerome Thion	11. Joe Rokocoko
05. Erik Lund	12. Riki Flutey
06. Phil Dowson	13. George Lowe
07. Beau Robinson	14. Jonathan Joseph
08. Chris Henry	15. Luke Morahan

16. Matthew Rees 17. Ceri Jones 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Tom Donnelly 20. James Gaskell 21. David Seymour 22. Jano Vermaak 23. Gareth Steenson

Tactics

We go to Leicester unbeaten and aim to come away unbeaten. We are going to alter our tactics somewhat from what has been our more cautious style in recent weeks. We are still building a game plan on putting pressure on Leicester in attack and in defence but we are going to play a more expansive game of rugby. We feel we have a large number of ‘gamebreakers’ in our side and if we click then these tactics will benefit us with the likes of Brits, Roko, Joseph et al looking to cause havoc in the pleasant conditions. We will be careful where we play this type of rugby. Anything in a position of danger will be kicked to safety as we are not going to gift points to Leicester.

Up front we have a pack which we feel will do well at the set piece whilst also being a presence in the loose. We are going to look for our pack to make the hard yards so we can get quick ball to our backline. We want our forwards to carry of 9, 10 and 12 and to carry in numbers, take the ball at pace and win the collisions. We will look to break the defensive line and then to offload if the support is there. We will look to attack at a high intensity but will remain patient. We know we will get very little reward from throwing the ball wide against an organised Leicester defence so we will wait until we have committed Leicester defenders before we send the ball really wide. When we get the quick ball which we desire we will look to find our strike runners in space so they can do what they do best and go straight through the opposition defence. We will look to attack the wide channels with this quick ball.

In the backs we will look to have the blindside winger come off his wing so that he can pick a line and join the line at pace a Morahan will be doing from full back. Burns will look to play very flat and will interchange at first receiver with Riki Flutey and they will look to put runners into gaps. They will both be willing to use their boot if Leicester are out of position or the kick will help us in an attacking sense.

At the rucks we will only look to commit as many men as we need to in both attack and in defence. Robinson will look to get as much turnover ball as possible along with the rest of our pack as our game plan of fast running rugby will be far more effective against as disorganised defence. We will use shortened lineouts as they are harder to steal if you add enough movement to them (which we will be doing) and it also allows us to put some back row men in the midfield to use as runners.

In defence we will look to be aggressive and to stop the Leicester runners in their tracks. Defence is when everybody has to be switched on and we will look to not let Leicester get any sort of momentum in their attacks if we can help it. We will look to have our back 3 players remain deep with Dickson covering the gaps in between so that if Leicester kick loosely we can launch counter attacks from any position.

Our subs will come on as and when we need them to and they will look to make an impact on the game and not just let it pass them by.

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London Irish v Worcester Warriors
Sunny, 16 Degrees, 16mph Winds

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London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Matias Aguero	09. Julien Dupuy
02. James Buckland	10. Daniel Bowden
03. WP Nel
04. Dean Mumm	11. Paul Sackey
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sireli Naqalevuki
06. Keegan Daniel	13. Matthew Tait
07. Hendrie Fourie	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Xavier Rush	15. Joe Maddock

16. Soane Tonga'uhia 17. Neil Briggs 18. Duncan Bell 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Joe Worsley 21. Neal De Kock 22. Juan Martin Hernandez 23. Marland Yarde


- Good conditions, hard ground, will suit our attacking style. We want to get on the front foot and let Bowden dictate play and carve Worcester open. We want to get Naqalevuki, Tait and Basson running in space. Dupuy and Bowden will play what's infront of them and look to control the game. Both provide good kicking options to get us in the right areas of the pitch. We will run back loose ball and not kick away loose ball.

- We are targetting the breakdown and tackle area as somewhere we can dominate. Fourie to go for the turnover when it's on, if not to legally slow down ball and stifle Warriors rhythm.

- Mumm, Nel, Rush, Fourie, Naqa used as main ball carriers. Look to get over the gainline and gain momentum before going wide.

- Kennedy main target in lineout, Mumm and Daniel other options. Kennedy to disrupt as much opposition ball as possible. We see this as another area we can dominate and really pressurise opposition ball. Any stolen ball we will look to quickly counter Worcester with and get Bowden running at a disorganised defence with Naqa and Tait looking to be put through gaps.

- Worcester have picked two hard running centres, which Fourie, Naqa and Rush will happily deal with all game with big tackles.

- We will look to disrupt all service to and from Peel. We see him as their dangerman and if we can disrupt his game, Worcester lack a bit of creativity in the backline to make things from nothing.

- Dupuy to kick all kickable pens, if not we will kick for touch.

- We have a lot of good impact subs. Botha will replace Mumm at 60 to add fresh legs and power to the pack. We will also bring on JMH late on to see out the game with Bowden switching to 12 and Naqa to 13. Tonga'uhia may come on for the last 10, depending on the game is going and whether his impact is required. If not we will keep him rested for next week.

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Sylvain Marconnet	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Tani Fuga	10. Sam Vesty (k)
03. John Andress
04. Ben Gulliver	11. Marcel Garvey
05. Kearnen Myall	12. Julien Malzieu
06. Craig Newby (c)	13. Anitelia Tuilagi
07. Julien Salvi	14. Jack Cuthbert
08. Ben Morgan	15. Olly Morgan

16. Chris Fortey 17. Chris Budgen 18. George Porter 19. Martyn Williams 20. Sebastian Chabal 21. Jordi Pasqualin 22. Nicky Robinson 23. Jon Clarke

Tactics

Forwards
We know it will have rained during the week so we have picked an 'up the jumper pack' who will look to sap the energy of the opposition pack with rolling mauls and picking from the base of rucks. We will also have players running off of 9 in pods of 4 looking to get over the gainline and make quick ball available. At the linouts we again have a good variety of options who can jump and we will target their lineout to try to disrupt or steal as much ball as possible.
Our flankers will be looking for turnovers all over the park by alternating the rucks they hit to ensure one is there to slow the opposition ball down.

Backs
When the backs have the ball we have hard running centres who will look to create the space for our wingers and supporting runners to hit the gaps. O.Morgan will be instructed to hit the gaps when he wants and to send a couple of testing high bombs for the centre pairing to chase and intimidate their back 3.
This match is going to be played physically by the backs as well and they will not shy away from rucks when required. Garvey and Cuthbert are instructed to go route A and power over or through the oppostion with support runners on hand for the offloads. Vesty will pick when to go for touch and will stand flat to Peel with the rest of the backs stood off to allow running with pace. When we kick for touch it will be deep into touch to prevent quick lineouts and allow us to put pressure on the throw.

Defence
Banana blitz defence with O.Morgan and Peel behind to collect any chips over. We will look to prevent the ball going outside of the 12 channel and have 2 big hitting centres capable of doing this and two natural flankers (and Myall) looking for the turnovers.

Overall
[list][*] We have just won our first league match and will look to keep the momentum going.
[*] Vesty to kick for goal when comfortable to keep a lead.
[*] Forward play mainly with heavy running centres.
[*] Our bench has many impact players who can change games and it will be utilised (Budgen will come on after 60 to add his weight to the scrums).
[*] We have ensured a rotation policy to make sure that very few of our players have played all the matches and key positions have been rested.
[*] We will go out with the mentality that no one can beat us....we've run many top teams close as of late and have been receiving praise for our balance and style of play.

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Saracens v Newcastle Falcons
Sunny, 15 degrees, 17mph Winds

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Saracens
Manager – LDCPete

01. Matt Mullan	09. Shaun Perry
02. Gary Botha	10. Iain Humphreys
03. Brok Harris
04. Rynhard Elstadt	11. Rene Ranger
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Owen Farrell
06. Joe van Niekerk (c)	13. Nevin Spence
07. George Smith	14. Tim Visser
08. Luke Narraway	15. Alex Goode

16. George Chuter 17. Alex Waller 18. Phil Swainston 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Will Fraser 21.Paul Hodgson 22. Henry Trinder 23. Tom Homer

Tactics

Our generic tactics centre around 4 key areas.

1. The Set Piece
Target the scrum as a weapon rather than a restart.
Off the lineout we will mix things up with Borthwick calling the shots, but utilizing all of our back 5 forwards as jumpers.

2. The Breakdown
Be smart. If it is on to win the contest we will get numbers there quickly and ruck hard and fast beyond the ball freeing it up to play quickly. If it is clearly not on to win the ball, we will look to slow it down legally and maintain a strong defensive line.

3. Defence
Blitz defence, ultilizing a quick line speed, with the scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line.

4. Attack
Play what is in front of us. Ball carriers to look for gaps as opposed to contact and look to keep the ball alive by offloading to supporting runners. Everything to be done at pace and with intensity.


Game specific tactics vs. Newcastle Falcons

• Running the ball.
  In great conditions we will look to run the ball at every opportunity. If isolated we will play the percentages and kick for territory, but so long as the player in possession of the ball has support, we will look to hit gaps in the defensive line and offload to support runners, and keep the ball alive as much as possible. Our mobile back row will look to really support the ball carrier and take offloads and drive forward staying on their feet allowing further support runners to get close to be offloaded to again.
  
  
• Control possession.
  This links in with the running rugby. We will happily go through the phases and keep the ball. If we have it, Newcastle can't score tries against us, and we are working on the theory of attack being the best form of defence. We will not kick to their back three. If we need to kick, we will kick for touch and get up quickly to stop the quick lineout.
  
  
• Target the scrum heavily.
  Mullan will look to be really attacking and disrupt PDJ by getting underneath him. If we get a nudge on we will look to really drive through and force Newcastle into conceding penalties.
  
  
• Stop Brad Barritt getting over the gainline.
  We will look to target Brad Barritt as their go to man for getting over the gainline. If we stop him from getting forward momentum for Newcastle it will force their half backs to try to run the ball and kick to us. When tackling Barritt we will look to go man and ball and stop the offload thereby cutting off the supply to the outside backs. If we force Newcastle to play close to the rucks then we feel that we can defend pretty comfortably and force them to kick back to us. Once we have the ball we will not give it back cheaply.
  

Key Points

• Real life form of the packs, in particular the front 5.
  All of our front 5 come in off good real life form. For Newcastle, Faure is the only one who can really say this in their front 5, and he only joined them this week from Wasps and is making his debut in this game. Lindsay can't get a start in a Wasps front row that is struggling and has had a total of 35 minutes off the bench this season and not been on the winning side once, and PDJ is playing at loosehead in rela life and is struggling for Saints. Likewise in the second row Parling has been out for so long I can't even remember what he looks like, whereas Borthwick has lead his team to the AP title last season and is leading them back that way again this year.
  
  
• Home advantage.
  We have not lost an AP or HC match at Vicarage Road for over 2 and half years. It is a narrow pitch and we know the dimensions of the playing area well and can execute perfectly on it. Away teams, particularly those who like to put width on the game will always struggle here. Also if you want to win here as an away side, you will need to really gain total dominance in the pack, and our pack has enough about it not to be completely dominated by anyone at the moment.
  
  
• Intensity.
  You heard it from Pooly. They come expecting to win. If teams expect to win that can lead to a drop in intensity and complacency setting it. We have put Pooly's comment on the dressing room wall in order to ensure that our boys are fired up and come out with the requisite intensity.
  
  
• Fatigue/Freshness.
  We have rotated in order to ensure that we remain fresh but battle hardened. Falcons have not rotated, instead prefering to go with continuity, which could see some tired limbs out there as the game wears on.
  
  
• Balance.
  We feel we have good balance in our backline. Experienced 9 for control, attacking 10 to play close to the gainline and get us moving forward. In from 12 who has shown he is a running threat and can pass as well as having a great kicking game to back up our 10 if required. Strong running 13 who is a very solid defender and then a back three with a full back who has a great kicking game as well as being a running threat, and two contrasting wingers, one being pace and power and the other a real talented footballer who can produce something from nothing. We have the ability to vary our gameplan according to how the match is going, and we have players who are showing excellent form in real life in the backs.
  

---

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Lionel Faure	09. Sarel Pretorious
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. Brad Barritt
06. Juan Smith(c)	13. Jared Payne
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Sean Maitland
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Ben Smith

16. Marius Tincu 17. Oliver Tomaszczyk 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Juandre Kruger 20. Kelly Brown 21. Jonny Arr 22. Tom Catterick 23. Dan Hipkiss

Tactics

General play - It's all about a high tempo and controlling the ball. Our team has self belief and attitude running through it's core. We'll be looking to intimidate up front and attack with pace and guile in the backs with Evans being key. If 3 point is on we'll look to take it and until we have a clear lead. Evans will pull the strings at 10 and keep us playing in the right areas of the pitch, controlling the tempo and looking for gaps in the Saracens backline. Our main area of dominanace this week is the centres and halfbacks. We’ll look for massive carries from our backrow and look to get Pretorious quick ball to attack with. We’ll look to get the ball out wide whenever possible and get at the Wasps back 3.

Forwards

Set Piece
We'll be looking to use the set piece as a platform to set up attacks during the summer especially. Our tactics during each game may change if we spot a weakness in the oppposition set piece during the 80mins. This is the role of the team captain.

Scrum - We'll be looking to set a platform and use the scrum to get fast ball to out 9/10 axis. PDJ and Faure are excellent technical scrummagers who will give us a sound foundation and look to get at their opposite numbers from the off. If a weakness is seen we’ll look to keep the push on and drive the opposition back, taking scrum options at pens if totally on top. If not we’ll be using the scrum as restart and getting the ball in and out so we can attack the opposition 9/10 axis.

Lineout - Lindsay has had a few up and down games in the past with his throwing but he's never had a target in a poor Wasps set piece. We've brought in some world class operators to secure our own ball and target opposition throw. Vermeulen and Smith give us massive options in the back row. If a weakness is seen in the opposition throw we'll look to hit some corners and test their lineout out. We’ll look to vary the options at the through with Parling calling the shots from the middle of the lineout. Flip will look to give us banker ball at the front when needed, whilst Juan Smith will marshall the rear of the lineout. Vermeulen will look to alternate middle/back depending on call.

If we target Borthwick and Elstadt we can really put pressure on Sarries throw. We have 5 good quality jumpers whilst Sarries have only 3. Borthwick will be the main man so we’ll look to put pressure on his front and back.

Target Breakdown & Rucks
Fast ball is key during the summer months and we'll look to commit to rucks to secure our own ball whilst targetting the opposition when it's on. With a huge back 5 we'll be look to get round the park and hits rucks hard, forcing the opposition back and giving us the chance of a takeover. Robshaw will look to make a nuisance of himself and slow down opposition ball on the floor. Flip & Smith will marshall the rucks, they will look to target any attempted slowing of our own ball and give Pretorious fast ball to feed Evans. Our big Boks will keep an eye on Smtih at the breakdown, as soon as he enters we’ll look to take him out.

ISOLATED RUNNERS –Our pack will look to get the contact area asap and join the tackle thus making a maul. With us in control of the tackle area or ruck as it is now, we’ll look to keep the runner up until the ref awards a scrum in out advantage. This is a system we used to success numerous times last season and deployed by the Irish (recently seen against Austrailia).

Huge carrying
We have huge carrying options in the pack and we'll look to use them throughout the game to wear the opposition down and give us a point of attack. We'll look to mix this up with Vermeulen coming off the scrum and Juan Smith, Robshaw, Lindsay, Vermeulen, Parling giving us numerous options in tight and loose. We’ll look to vary the angles of attack with Evans using the reverse ball now and again with Smith and Vermeulen coming in. The 9/10 axis will hit early on and if successful will be used to draw the Sarries defence in. We’ll look to draw in the Sarries pack as much as possible to exploit possible one on ones in the backline where we have some serious gas.

Backs

Halfbacks

Halfbacks win you games on the hard pitches and in Pretorious/Evans we have two of the best about. With a solid platform Sarel will look to snipe around and find gaps in the opposion defense, especially at 2/3rd phase attacks when defenses start to fray. Pretorious gives us a massive threat and will look to mix his game up throughgout the game. Evans will play his natural game and come into the line flat. He’ll look to mix the play up with varying passes and look to hit behind the back 3 if on. Pretorious will sweep up behind a blitz defense with Barritt leading the line.

If anything Saracens lack creativity in their midfield and we see Humphreys as their main playmaker. Our flanks will look to target Humps from the off. Payne will look to hold back and attack the line late with Evans attempting the grubber in behind the Irish centres. We’ll look to use this tactic to our advantage with Maitland/Smith being used also.

Backline balance

We have numerous running options and the option to mix things up in the backline. Barritt gives Evans go to ball if needed and we'll look to get Ben Smith in as second receiver to give us a different focal point. Payne will look to come off the shoulder of attacks (similar to Conrad) and inject pace into the midfield. He'll look to alternate at FB with Smith. Benjamin/Maitland give us pace and power on the flanks and we'll look to bring to bring them into the game whenever possible.

---

Points to target against opposition

After studying the opposition over a number of weeks we’ll be looking to specifically target these areas:

- SARRIES LINEOUT – Borthwick will be their main man….we’ll look to double up on him and keep an eye on Elstadt.
- NEW 8,9 & 10 axis – .This is Narraways first game with Perry. 8,9 10 axis vital to a teams success and we feel our flankers can get at this. Perry has only played a few games so we expect some serious rustiness.
- SARRIES MIDFIELD –. We expect Humps to provide much of the spark so will look to put pressure on the 10/12 axis and look to get up in Humps face at every opportunity…we’ll be looking for Juan Smith to smash him early.
- SCRUM – Our props could really get at their opposite numbers. PDJ is a much stronger scrummager than Mullan and will look to get the squeeze on (only 2 inches taller) Similar with Faure on Harris.
- HALFBACKS FOR CONDITIONS - Pretorious & Evans are supreme on the harder pitches, Pretorious was made for attacking the fringes and Evans is one of the best running flyhalfs about. We think our team is set out better to take advantage of glorious condtions and home advantage will be key. Perry is a quality SH but much more suited to the wet weather with his box kicking.
- RANGER – Evans will look to get the ball behind Ranger and target his defence/kicking
- IMPACT BENCH We’ll look to get Tincu/Brown/Kruger on early in the second…we feel this could be a big positive to having pack dominance and giving Evans & Pretorious quick, clean ball
- DECOY & OPTIONS at 2nd Receiver We’ll look to use Barritt as decoy as we have all season and also get Smith in as second receiver to keep Sarries on their toes.

MAJOR POINT

MOMENTUM – 5 wins from 5. This is a game for running rugby and we have gas in abundance in the backs and a world class FH to put us in the right areas.

---

London Wasps v Bath Rugby
Sunny, 15 Degrees, 16mph Winds

---

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Perry Freshwater	09. Michael Claassens
02. Joe Gray	10. Jimmy Gopperth
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Mark Chisholm	11. Noah Cato
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Luke McAlister
06. Tom Johnson	13. Stirling Mortlock (c)
07. Deon Stegmann	14. Tom Williams
08. Roger Wilson	15. Mike Brown

16. Andy Titterell 17. Benn Robinson 18. Juan Gomez 19. Stuart Hooper 20. Steve Mafi 21. Martin Roberts 22. Rory Clegg 23. Tom May


Tactics:

After narrowly missing out on a momentous victory last week away at Newcastle we return to Adams Park where we are yet to lose a game in the league so far. In good running conditions we will look to our pack to set out a solid platform for our backs to make use of. We notice that Euan Murray and Joe Ansboro both start for Bath having only returned from the World Cup a few days ago, it will be interesting to see how they both cope with the high intensity game plan we have in place.

Our game plan is based around using the power we have in our team to set out a platform for our backs to be able to attack from. We will look to use the set piece as a platform for attacks. Our front row is a very good scrummaging unit and we will hopefully be able to build attacks from there and earn some penalties for Gopperth to make use of. Our pack will be physical and relentless up front, we will play with controlled aggression. Early on we will look to our forwards to get us onto the front foot by attacking in groups with some grunt and powerful carrying, getting us over the gain line. We will start as we mean to go on with a high intensity, hitting the collision area hard and driving our players over the gain line. We will look to recycle the ball efficiently within the pack working Bath hard in defence in the early stages.

We have three excellent kicking options in Gopperth, McAlister and Mortlock, any slow ball we have we will look to kick in behind the Bath wingers and keep them pinned back where we will look to isolate and pressurise them into making mistakes in their own half. We will look to hit the rucks hard and compete when we can, Stegmann is our out and out fetcher and with his low centre of gravity he will be our main competitor at the breakdown area. Any turnovers we do make, we will look to get the ball out wide and attack the space available. At rucks on our own ball we will look to secure the ball by coming from low to high to present Claassens with clean, quick ball and get our forwards running onto the ball at different angles to pierce the Bath defence.

We will look to compete at the breakdown if we have the numbers there, however if the ball is clearly there’s we will not commit numbers to the ruck, instead we will look to organize our defence ready to deal with the next Bath carrier. In the forwards we will look to drive our carriers over the gain line and really look to win the collisions. We have plenty of dynamic carriers including the explosive Tom Johnson. Gopperth will look to bring in our strike runners in McAlister and Mortlock. If it is on we will look to offload the ball to the supporting players and keep Bath working off the ball in defence. We will look for Mortlock to stay strong in the contact area and either offload if he wins the collision, or the support players will keep driving him on, building up momentum and speed in our attacks. So long as our ball carriers have the support, we will look to pierce gaps in the Bath defensive line and offload to supporting players, keeping the ball alive as much as possible.

With the ball in hand we will look to our strike runners to attack gaps and half gaps in their defence targeting the outside shoulder of the Bath players and will look to attack the fly half channel in the Bath defence, hopefully opening them up. When possible we will look to get our offloading game going to alternate the point of attack and keep Bath working off the ball in defence and pierce the gaps we have created. With quick ball and offloading we will look to create and expose mismatches in the midfield. Our mobile and dynamic back row will look to support our ball carriers, taking offloads and powerfully driving forward. We will ensure our ball carriers have plenty of support in each phase, so they we can continue to play an offloading game. Any loose kicks our back three get will be returned with interest. We have plenty of pace in our back three and will look to use them when we can.

At lineouts we will look to exert as much pressure as possible on Baths throws with Wentzel looking to steal some opposition throws. On our own throw we will use Wentzel as our main go to man but will mix it up by using Chisholm, Johnson and Stegmann. From there we will look to slowly sap the energy out of Bath by using the rolling maul. We will look to suck in as many Bath defenders to open up spaces elsewhere for us to attack. We’ll look to create a platform from the scrum we feel that we can gain an advantage here, if we get a nudge on we will look to keep Bath going backwards. We will ensure our discipline is exemplary. We will play hard rugby but ensure we play by the rules, discipline will be key.

We will look to attack in numbers, we have plenty of powerful and dynamic carriers in our pack who will get us over the gain line and set us out a solid platform to build from. We have plenty of grit in our team and feel that if we can push Bath onto the back foot by winning the forward battle we will be able to unsettle them. We want to get back to winning ways and feel that if we can play at a high tempo and push Bath onto the back foot we will be able to do this. Our forwards will set the tone with huge carrying and from there we will look to get our offloading game going and bring our strike runners into the game.

---

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Jon Golding	09.Byron Kelleher
02. Joe Ward	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Euan Murray
04. Jarred Hoeata	11. Ugo Monye
05. Tim Swinson	12. Anthony Allen
06.Tom Guest	13. Joe Ansboro
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Gehard Van Der Heever
08. Gareth Delve	15. Tim Nanai Williams

16. Matt Thompson 17. Richard Skuse 18. Davit Kubrashvilli 19. Yoann Maestri 20. Guy Mercer 21. James Grindal 22. Steven Shingler 23. Wynard Oliver

Tactics:

Kubrashvilli started 2 of 4 World Cup games.
Murray started 2 of 4 World Cup games.
Sapolu started 1 of 4 World Cup games.
Ansboro started 2 of 4 World Cup games.
Attack
With the lovely conditions we will be looking to play a fast, expansive running game game. Charlie Hodgson will look to pull the strings at 10, being used to these conditions. Byron Kelleher will constantly look to snipe around the fringes, keeping Wasps players on their toes. Anthony Allen is going to look for gaps in midfield. We want to control possession and get our back three into the game, running at Wasps.

Breakdown
Turnovers will be key as we look to control possession. We will look for fast attacks with Stefon Armitage controlling the breakdown. We will look to put lots of men in the in order to secure turnovers.

Set Pieces
Look to take points if they are on offer. In the lineout both Hoeata can win banker ball while Swinson is a brilliant option. At scrum time we will look to retain our own ball. Euan Murray and Davit Kubrashvilli are both destructive scrummagers

---

Driver someone has to support Fulham!
off on my European tour soon, Krakow and FC Twente!

Can think of worse teams to support at the moment


Say Pete arn't you an Arsnel fan? I'd 8-2 to be you right now!



I'm here all week

Driver - RIP 606 wrote:
I'm here all week

Do you have to be?

Wait till week 14! You getting hammered boy!

Nothing better than beating your rivals 6-0 Driver!

Driver - RIP 606 wrote:Can think of worse teams to support at the moment


Say Pete arn't you an Arsnel fan? I'd 8-2 to be you right now!



I'm here all week

I knew you were slow driver, but didn't realise you were weeks behind!


You been on the Newcy Brown this morning or something?

I can drink all the Newcy brown i want now that my teams still unbeaten

Driver - RIP 606 wrote:Wait till week 14! You getting hammered boy!

Why? You taking me out for drinks??!!

I think you've been on the booze pete....coming onto driver at this time of day....

What has happenned on this page today? Have we all just gone insane at work?

prop,

today is dragging ridiculously. I am playing footy when I finish work and just want to go, but have another hour and a half to wait.

Roll on the weekend!!!

Same, i've got 5 mins left in the office before a 1-2-1 then off to play squash, then an evening 1-2-1 before going for food with the house!! Getting loads of toil at the moment.

I'm watching the big bang theory whilst doing my tactics so Chris expect some details about the cosmic forces coming into play!

same here, slow day!

I've got football in the amazing town of Slough tonight

can't stand that program driver, hasnt once made me laugh

I think it's great! best thing on E4 since Glee went to Sky!

Tactics Updated

London Wasps tactics

After narrowly missing out on a momentous victory last week away at Newcastle we return to Adams Park where we are yet to lose a game in the league so far. In good running conditions we will look to our pack to set out a solid platform for our backs to make use of. We notice that Euan Murray and Joe Ansboro both start for Bath having only returned from the World Cup a few days ago, it will be interesting to see how they both cope with the high intensity game plan we have in place.

Our game plan is based around using the power we have in our team to set out a platform for our backs to be able to attack from. We will look to use the set piece as a platform for attacks. Our front row is a very good scrummaging unit and we will hopefully be able to build attacks from there and earn some penalties for Gopperth to make use of. Our pack will be physical and relentless up front, we will play with controlled aggression. Early on we will look to our forwards to get us onto the front foot by attacking in groups with some grunt and powerful carrying, getting us over the gain line. We will start as we mean to go on with a high intensity, hitting the collision area hard and driving our players over the gain line. We will look to recycle the ball efficiently within the pack working Bath hard in defence in the early stages.

We have three excellent kicking options in Gopperth, McAlister and Mortlock, any slow ball we have we will look to kick in behind the Bath wingers and keep them pinned back where we will look to isolate and pressurise them into making mistakes in their own half. We will look to hit the rucks hard and compete when we can, Stegmann is our out and out fetcher and with his low centre of gravity he will be our main competitor at the breakdown area. Any turnovers we do make, we will look to get the ball out wide and attack the space available. At rucks on our own ball we will look to secure the ball by coming from low to high to present Claassens with clean, quick ball and get our forwards running onto the ball at different angles to pierce the Bath defence.

We will look to compete at the breakdown if we have the numbers there, however if the ball is clearly there’s we will not commit numbers to the ruck, instead we will look to organize our defence ready to deal with the next Bath carrier. In the forwards we will look to drive our carriers over the gain line and really look to win the collisions. We have plenty of dynamic carriers including the explosive Tom Johnson. Gopperth will look to bring in our strike runners in McAlister and Mortlock. If it is on we will look to offload the ball to the supporting players and keep Bath working off the ball in defence. We will look for Mortlock to stay strong in the contact area and either offload if he wins the collision, or the support players will keep driving him on, building up momentum and speed in our attacks. So long as our ball carriers have the support, we will look to pierce gaps in the Bath defensive line and offload to supporting players, keeping the ball alive as much as possible.

With the ball in hand we will look to our strike runners to attack gaps and half gaps in their defence targeting the outside shoulder of the Bath players and will look to attack the fly half channel in the Bath defence, hopefully opening them up. When possible we will look to get our offloading game going to alternate the point of attack and keep Bath working off the ball in defence and pierce the gaps we have created. With quick ball and offloading we will look to create and expose mismatches in the midfield. Our mobile and dynamic back row will look to support our ball carriers, taking offloads and powerfully driving forward. We will ensure our ball carriers have plenty of support in each phase, so they we can continue to play an offloading game. Any loose kicks our back three get will be returned with interest. We have plenty of pace in our back three and will look to use them when we can.

At lineouts we will look to exert as much pressure as possible on Baths throws with Wentzel looking to steal some opposition throws. On our own throw we will use Wentzel as our main go to man but will mix it up by using Chisholm, Johnson and Stegmann. From there we will look to slowly sap the energy out of Bath by using the rolling maul. We will look to suck in as many Bath defenders to open up spaces elsewhere for us to attack. We’ll look to create a platform from the scrum we feel that we can gain an advantage here, if we get a nudge on we will look to keep Bath going backwards. We will ensure our discipline is exemplary. We will play hard rugby but ensure we play by the rules, discipline will be key.

We will look to attack in numbers, we have plenty of powerful and dynamic carriers in our pack who will get us over the gain line and set us out a solid platform to build from. We have plenty of grit in our team and feel that if we can push Bath onto the back foot by winning the forward battle we will be able to unsettle them. We want to get back to winning ways and feel that if we can play at a high tempo and push Bath onto the back foot we will be able to do this. Our forwards will set the tone with huge carrying and from there we will look to get our offloading game going and bring our strike runners into the game.

1 wood
2 strauss
3 White
4 schofield
5 robson
6 Deacon
7 Saull
8 AJ
9 Lewis
10 Donald
11 Gear
12 Vainokolo
13 May
14 JSD
15 Sharples
16 Coonie
17 Fourie
18 Johnston
19 Hanks
20 Buxton
21 Lawson
22 Lamb
23 Hamilton

Glos travel to sale looking to continue sales miserable run of late.

We have gone for a side able to execute a game plan and with a bench to change the match

Set piece

We have gone for a gnarly hard scrummaging mobile front 5 ( bar White). The aim is to smash sale early in the scrum and really put pressure on. There is a decent wind and light rain that could mean a lot of scrums and lonelier first half.

White is their to play the first half only and to give re loosehead and hooker a nightmare. Wood and Strauss are also tough scrummagers and we see our front 5 as a key advantage. They will allow us to launch our backrow and backs.

Lineout.

We have 5 jumpers and will use this to deliver quick ball and to enable us to maul the ball up field early doors to launch runners into the sale 10:12 channel.
We will look to challenge sale every lineout and put serious pressure on their hookers darts.

As we start to get in the ascendency as the game progresses we will look to go off the top and hit vainokolo and may flat and at pace.

We will look to bring on coonie at tighthead at 40 minutes and then shift him to loosehead on 60 and bring on Johnstone and Fourie to up the pace and ball carrying as sale start to tire.

Backs.

To start with Donald will keep it simple he will be looking to hit les short or kick for territory. He will be looking to send les in to the 10/12 channel. Goode has not played for sale this season so will be rusty and will not have his communication right with JTH so see this as an easy battle to win especially first half.

As it is raining the kicking for territory is important. We dont believe many of sales backs can kick well so see it as either a territory gain or a good way to get good counter attacking ball.

Donald will also be utilising the bomb to put pressure on the sale back 3 with our great chasing backs.

If rain continues to get heavier we
Will look to bring on lamb and move Donald to 12 so as we can dominate kicking battle.

If rain is light and the wind does not get any worse we will really up the pace second half and look to get the ball moving and taking quick lonelier
And look to get the best back 3 during the wc going.

Overall

see us having much better set piece
More ball carriers allowing us to keep ball
Back 3 to run riot.
More in form players playing in real life.

Good luck SJE. May add to tactics when his are in. On phone so no format

1 wood
2 strauss
3 White
4 schofield
5 robson
6 Deacon
7 Saull
8 AJ
9 Lewis
10 Donald
11 Gear
12 Vainokolo
13 May
14 JSD
15 Sharples
16 Coonie
17 Fourie
18 Johnston
19 Hanks
20 Buxton
21 Lawson
22 Lamb
23 Hamilton

Glos travel to sale looking to continue sales miserable run of late.

We have gone for a side able to execute a game plan and with a bench to change the match

Set piece

We have gone for a gnarly hard scrummaging mobile front 5 ( bar White). The aim is to smash sale early in the scrum and really put pressure on. There is a decent wind and light rain that could mean a lot of scrums and lonelier first half.

White is their to play the first half only and to give re loosehead and hooker a nightmare. Wood and Strauss are also tough scrummagers and we see our front 5 as a key advantage. They will allow us to launch our backrow and backs.

Lineout.

We have 5 jumpers and will use this to deliver quick ball and to enable us to maul the ball up field early doors to launch runners into the sale 10:12 channel.
We will look to challenge sale every lineout and put serious pressure on their hookers darts.

As we start to get in the ascendency as the game progresses we will look to go off the top and hit vainokolo and may flat and at pace.

We will look to bring on coonie at tighthead at 40 minutes and then shift him to loosehead on 60 and bring on Johnstone and Fourie to up the pace and ball carrying as sale start to tire.

Backs.

To start with Donald will keep it simple he will be looking to hit les short or kick for territory. He will be looking to send les in to the 10/12 channel. Goode has not played for sale this season so will be rusty and will not have his communication right with JTH so see this as an easy battle to win especially first half.

As it is raining the kicking for territory is important. We dont believe many of sales backs can kick well so see it as either a territory gain or a good way to get good counter attacking ball.

Donald will also be utilising the bomb to put pressure on the sale back 3 with our great chasing backs.

If rain continues to get heavier we
Will look to bring on lamb and move Donald to 12 so as we can dominate kicking battle.

If rain is light and the wind does not get any worse we will really up the pace second half and look to get the ball moving and taking quick lonelier
And look to get the best back 3 during the wc going.

Overall

see us having much better set piece
More ball carriers allowing us to keep ball
Back 3 to run riot.
More in form players playing in real life.

Good luck SJE. May add to tactics when his are in. On phone so no format

Was expecting so Liz Bonnin inspired tactics there Driver - what happened?!?

Thought my tactics were pretty obvious there, going to spread the ball around, play some beautiful running rugby and get the ball to the tryline - will be sending Christian Wade on the crash ball too

I see that Newcastle have followed the Saints tactics in the midfield - my intellectual property lawyers will be writing to you in the morning, there must be some sort of copyright infringement there.

Great minds eh Chris

Oh that old saying "great minds think alike, unless the brilliant idea is stolen by someone who doesn't have the same tactical genius..." - i take it as a compliment - next week you'll be bringing your backrower into the backline at lineouts....

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Andy Goode
03. Neemia Tialata
04. Steven Sykes	11. David Strettle
05. Andries Bekker	12. Olly Barkley
06. Neil Best	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Matt Todd	14. Lelia Masaga
08. Jordan Crane	15. Luke Rooney

16. Imolek 17. Sharman 18. Kruger 19. Day 20. Horstmann 21. Bezy 22. JTH 23. Abendanoon


Key Points

Home Advantage
We are unbeaten at home since Season 2 having won every league game here in the last year. Edgeley Park is a fortress and Gloucester will need to be at their very best to breach it with a passionate crowd cheering us on

Momentum
We beat Gloucester both home and away in the league last year. Gloucester are yet to win at Edgeley Park during my time at Sale. We have a mental edge over Gloucester and if they find themselves behind as the game goes on heads will drop. With a great start to the season that sees us in the playoff zone our boys are flying! (Would love to know what Matt thinks of his own sides form if he considers us in a miserable run…)

Target Gloucesters Midfield
We will target the Gloucester midfield on both attack and defence. On attack our pacy runners will attack Vainokolo targeting the outside shoulder with decoy runners keeping the spare defenders occupied in order to ensure 1 on 1 match ups. Strettle and Masaga will come in from their wings to really target this. We will send our big carriers down Johnny May’s channel. He is still developing defensively. This midfield unit in real life has seen a lot of points shipped. On defence we will rush up in the blitz, with our big tacklers in this channel looking to put serious pressure on Vainokolo forcing mistakes and disjointed play for Glaws.

Setpiece
At scrum time we will be looking to really turn the screw. Schuster and Tialata are both strong scrummagers and will look to get at their man and really disrupt Glaws putting the nudge on and providing us with a solid platform all game. At the lineout, we will look to Bekker to be our talisman. He will call the line and will have Sykes, at the front, and our entire back row to support him as jumpers to mix things up. Our jumpers will look to either play the ball of the top quickly and look to our backline to move it or bring it down into a maul and make the hard yards through the pack, sucking in the Gloucester forwards to leave space out wide for our backs. On Gloucester ball we will look for Sykes to get up in the air at the front of the line and Bekker to follow Robson in the line and disrupt the Glaws lineout. If we really start to get on top of the lineout we will look to Cruden to kick for the corners a few times and really put the pressure on.

Breakdown
We have a very mobile and quick pack to really target the breakdown. On our own ball we will look to our forwards to get numbers to the breakdown quickly rucking past the ball and clearing out the Glaws boys looking to recycle clean fast ball. On defence, if we are first to the breakdown or the ball carrier is isolated we will look to seriously commit numbers and will look to Todd to secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit lighter numbers to the breakdown but look to counter ruck slowing down Gloucester ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.

General Attacking Play
We will look to play a strong carrying game using our big carriers to hit the gain line offloading in or just before the tackle (when it's on) to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. Masaga will look to come in field at different times tracking the runs of our midfield looking for the ball on the offload.

Danny Care will look to play around the fringes of the breakdown and make his usual snipping runs when it’s on, tying the Gloucester back row to the breakdown. Goode and Barkley will look to rotate at 1st receiver throughout the game. Barkley has been instructed to play it smart and if overlaps or gaps appear he will look to get the ball moving and take advantage. Goode provides us with a massive kicking game and an extra ball carrying option from fly half. He will look to give our forwards a target to hit. Rooney will look to come up from fullback from time to time and offer an extra ball carrying threat while looking to create these overlaps out wide.

Goode will look to kick for goal when in Gloucester territory and take the drop goal option when it’s available to keep the score board moving. Danny Care though will look for the quick tap when the Glaws defence is slow to organise.

General Defensive Play
In defence we will be using a blitz defence and will look to get up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any Gloucester momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. We will look to keep Glaws on the back foot forcing the kick. Danny Care will act as a sweeper and look to cover any chips in behind the line. Our wingers will look to sit deeper on defence then the rest of the line ready for any kicks. Our back three have been instructed to play to their strengths and look for the counter attack, running the ball back with serious pace.

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Best of luck Matt

Kubrashvilli started 2 of 4 World Cup games.
Murray started 2 of 4 World Cup games.
Sapolu started 1 of 4 World Cup games.
Ansboro started 2 of 4 World Cup games.
Attack
With the lovely conditions we will be looking to play a fast, expansive running game game. Charlie Hodgson will look to pull the strings at 10, being used to these conditions. Byron Kelleher will constantly look to snipe around the fringes, keeping Wasps players on their toes. Anthony Allen is going to look for gaps in midfield. We want to control possession and get our back three into the game, running at Wasps.

Breakdown
Turnovers will be key as we look to control possession. We will look for fast attacks with Stefon Armitage controlling the breakdown. We will look to put lots of men in the in order to secure turnovers.

Set Pieces
Look to take points if they are on offer. In the lineout both Hoeata can win banker ball while Swinson is a brilliant option. At scrum time we will look to retain our own ball. Euan Murray and Davit Kubrashvilli are both destructive scrummagers.

Just as an aside, and I know it is not officially part of this game, but have been reading on another forum that there is some sort of rule that players cannot play for their clubs for 10 days after the last World Cup match. So players whose last game was on Wednesday last week will be allowed to play this weekend, but the Scottish and Samoan lads wouldn't.

Not sure how true that is, as I'd not heard it before, but I know none of the Scottish players have been named for Edinburgh or Glasgow this weekend, so it may be true. I guess an indication may be if Castrogiovanni appears in the Tigers side to face Quins.

Think Sapolu is banned mate

I read on the Leicester page they have all WC players available Pete, don't know if they'll pick them though. They could certainly do with a TH

i know for a fact irish couldnt pick tagi or ansbro this weekend, but ion is available for selection. if that helps.

Yeah, I heard that from a Leicester fan as well, that Castro phoned Cockers before they played Ireland and said that if they lost he'd be available for Saturday.

Guess we'll see when they name their side. I'm pretty sure we have none of ours back at London Irish for this week. We could do with Ion as we only have one fit senior tighthead available as well. Ansbro will have a real fight to get the 13 shirt of JJ, Sinclair is still in Canada and is waiting for a work visa, and I'm not sure about Losi, although I did hear that all of the Samoa players are currently back in Samoa. stnick might be able to shed some light.

I really should read before I post. That would make sense as Romania played Wednesday I think.

Same with Romania I think too, I've named Brown as he didn't play against England

Good work luke, nice one.

Thought it'd take ages - but it makes such a difference with the format quoting, not too much work

I'll go first then, here are my predicitons...

Sale Sharks 17 Gloucester Rugby 14
I can see this being a fairly scrappy affair in truth. There is a little pressure on both teams having suffered a couple of losses and neither will want to make mistakes to lose the match. Sale want to play an attacking game, but not sure that Goode is the man to do that, and although the tactics state that Barkley will step into the first reciever role, he has no form to speak of, and with it being Goode's first game of the season, switching form 10-12 and back during the game might be a big ask. For Gloucester, Big Les will cary hard, but I question his hands at 12 and whether their talented outside backs will get huge amounts of ball. Breakdown battle will be important for quality of ball, and both teams have one backrower carrying no form in (Saull/Crane). This affects Gloucester slightly more for me as Saull is the 7, and I can see Todd getting some joy on the deck. With marginally better ball and at home I think Sale just edge it, but can see losts of disjointed play and a low scoring game.


Northampton Saints 30 Exeter Chiefs 18
In the pack, Cheifs will be very competitive here, but for me there are some real form issues in the backs which means I can't see them causing Saints massive problems. Both half backs are struggling for form, as is Fitzgerald, who has spent the early part of the season proving that Declan Kidney was right not to take him to the World Cup. I can also see them struggling defensively in midfield, and I think they will be defending a fair bit. This will tire their forwards as they are going to have to cover the midfield otherwise I can see King and Powell getting walked over. Overall I see the Chiefs pack keeping them in it for 60 minutes or so, but Saints to pull away in the final quarter. Sorry driver, think you've been unlucky with the form of some of your players.


Leicester Tigers 36 Harlequins 34
Can see this one being a real entertaining game with Quins looking to play a more expansive style than they have been and Tigers looking to get their backs into the game as much as possible. Looking at the tactics, it could well resemble a Super XV game with a massive battle at the breakdown and both teams going for it ball in hand with defences optional. I don't see much set piece advantage either way, and Tigers have the home advantage whereas Quins have built some momentum up early season. Some good form in both sets of outside backs, so the real question is who is going to get better ball to them and for me that comes down to the breakdown and how the halfbacks use it. I am not a huge Brock James fan, but he may have a little more control than Burns, although Dickson would provide better game management than Young. At the breakdown, there is not a huge amount in it, but I like the Tigers combination in the back row, and they have a solid enough front 5 to get away with two 7's, so at home I have them shading a very close, very entertaining, high scoring game.


London Irish 26 Worcester Warriors 24
Pretty even contest this one, with neither pack having a huge advantage and both sets of backs likely to have a similar standard of ball to wotk with. Bowden is in excellent form in real life, and at home and with the also in form Naqalevuki at 12 as a go to man, I can see Irish just edging this one, but Worcester pushing them all the way for a LBP with the in form Dwayne Peel marshalling them well.


London Wasps 27 Bath Rugby 27
Found this one actually the toughest to call this week. Arry's pack look solid, as does his midfield, although McAlister is pulling up trees at 10 for Toulouse at the moment, despite him not being a favourite of mine, and may be a better option there than midfield going forward. My slight issue with Wasps would be defensive weaknesses out wide, as neither Williams or Cato are great going backwards, and in reality neither are prolific finishers either. For Bath, the pack is ok and would compete, but their strneght is in the attacking prowess of their backs, with some inform players in there such as Hodgson (another one I am not a huge fan off but who is showing up well in real life) and Monye. I think that Wasps will have more of the game and causing problems for Bath, but I can see Hodgson creating chances and Monye and van der Heever finishing them off, so on that basis I am calling this one a draw. Sorry.

Sale Sharks 18 Gloucester Rugby 16

Really hard one to predict here, there will be absolutely no flow to the game as I think Sale were very dependent on Cruden at 10 and to move Goode around from 10-12 would backfire in my opinion, e.g. if Barkley gets the ball at 10 and then passes to Goode the move will pretty much stop. Goode's a kicking player and no team he plays in will attack in any force. With Gloucester the problem is with big Les at 12, and unleashing the backline, he will gobble Barkley up all day but covering defence will stop him. For me its a pack battle, with Goode's boot just about being the decisive factor along with home advantage.

Leicester Tigers 39 Harlequins 37
This is another tough game to call, would give Quins the pack and would see their backrow causing all sorts of problems for Tigers, but will they dominate them and stop the best backline during the WC from playing and running in these conditions? I'd probably say no, and that backline will score tries. Its a game of two battles really, Quins pack is better and has a great backrow and in Brits a hooker that will score and run the ball, but Leicester have a better backline and again will score tries. Am basing the prediction on the ability of the fly halves, and James' experience to seal the narrowest of wins, but both teams getting 4 tries easily.

London Irish 23 - 19 Worcester Warriors
Really hard game to call as should be an even contest with Worcester really being able to get at the Irish front row come scrum time, and I would give Worcester a slight edge in the dark arts. In saying that the conditions are so much more suited for the Irish team, and I'm not sure how much of a try scoring threat Tuilagi and the Worcester back three will be. If you compare that to the attacking threat that Irish have I think they will win the game. I'd always start Robinson ahead of Vesty and Clarke ahead of Tuilagi, gives more balanced team. Think Tait will hvae a field day, espec off the 10-12 channel that Nick has, passing skills and gain line breaking.

London Wasps 15 - 13 Bath Rugby
Wasps are going to struggle until the get some world class finishers outwide, and if teams can get the ball out quickly then I question whether they will cope defensively. (arry get some wingers!). In saying that the forward pack put out is a brute and is going to cause Bath some problems and I think they will have enough control from the 9-10 channel to win the game in a low scorer. No tries for Wasps though.

Saracens 25 - 22 Newcastle
Both teams go into this game on some great form, both set out their tactics really well and home advantage to me is a key factor. I think that with George Smith and JVN in the backrow this will give the Sarries team the experience they need and be really disruptive to the Newcastle team. I also like what Farrell brings to the 12 shirt and he will really give a great outlet to Humprheys, and has pushed Barritt to the 13 shirt for Sarries in real life. Score could have been different but Lindsay hardly any game time at Wasps this year (3rd choice for them), Parling has hardly played in 18 months and Doran Jones has started poorly at Saints. Home advantage sees Sarries win a really tough game.

Anyone else predicting today? Seen a load of people on main boards...

doing mine this afternoon when have bit of free time

Sale v Gloucester - Tough one to call, neither team strikes me as being particuarly stronger. No domination upfront but think at home Sale may just edge it. Donald would dominate Goode and Barkley has no form. Volcano and May is a decent combo but could be a little disjointed in defence. Plenty of gas in the back to score points for Glos.
18-20

Northampton v Exeter - Saints get the better ball upfront and control the setpiece. This gives them the platform for backs to run riot. Agree that Exeter just lacking some real life form.
32-25

Leicester v Quins - Tigers edge the scrum for me but more in the loose from Quins trio. Don't think either back row will dominate tbh. Tigers have more in the backs at home, not by much, but Ojo on great form and Jauzion at 12 playing well. Quins plenty of pace and will stay close but enough to win away.
27-24

Saracens v Newcastle - Scrum will be closely contested with a bit more power coming from Falcons locks. Great backrow battle, Smith no form but prefer JVN at 8. Robshaw playing superbly and will battle well with G.Smith. Can see both sides getting clean ball and comes down to who uses it better. This is where Falcons edge it, Evans playing fantastically and with good service from Pretorius, they will control game well. Perry is ok and iHumph is a good player but neither in Falcons class. Farrell on good form but him and Spence lacks a little experience which Barritt and Payne could exploit. Close backs 3,s Visser strong player and Ranger is dangerous, likewise Maitland. Think Evans is the difference here and one magic moment wins the game for Falcons.
24-26

Wasps v Bath - Arry sticking with the team that has done well so far, which i like too see, consistency. love the 10,12,13 combo and think will serve him well. Bath's team is strong and Hodgson will dictate well at 10. Scarily quick backline from Bath that will cause problems outwide. Not the best wingers from Wasps and that could limit their try scoring. No real winner upfront but think Wentzel will lead the lineout well for Wasps. Steff could spoil some Wasps ball at breakdown and Bath 8,9,10 will control game well for them. Almost an away win, but draw.
20-20

Sale 19 - 18 Gloucester

Not a lot of give up front, with Tialata and Wood battle being a tight one. Slight edge to Sale in the second row, but see Gloucester taking the back row battle. Edge to Gloucester in the HB's with Cruden going hurting Sale. Tight centre battle, maybe slight edge to Sale. Good back three battle with Gloucester slightly edging it. Really tight game all over, with not a lot of points, but home advantage sees Sale only just sneak it.


Saints 28 - 21 Exeter

Saints take the front row battle, with the second row seeing neither side gain a massive advantage. Tight in the back row as well in my eyes, maybe slight edge to Saints. Exeter really struggling for form in the HB's, although Saints are hardly flying at the minute here. Saints edge the centres, and also the back three for me. Think Saints are stronger/in better form over most areas of the pitch, and with home advantage, take the win.


Irish 24 - 19 Worcester

Worcester edge the front row for me, but I’d have Irish taking the second row. Back row's difficult to call, maybe slight edge to Worcester but neither side massively on top. Irish edge the HB's, but two good combos. I'd give them the centres too, and a much more dangerous back three. Worcester show up well in the pack, but Irish have the backs to take the win art home.


Saracens 23 - 22 Newcastle

Newcastle suffer in the front row with Faure just joining and Lindsay still playing. Tight second row battle, feel Pooly has been a bit keen to get Parling in. Back row is so tight, with Smith off from now, and JvN winning that battle, but Robshaw on top form. Newcastle take the HB's with a top pairing for nice weather, and I’d also give them the edge in the centres. Tough back three battle with two good units. Think Newcastle taking a risk with WC players on the bench too. I've got Sarries winning the pack, but the HB's can be so key. Sarries win by the smallest of margins.


Wasps 23 - 20 Bath

Edge to Wasps up front with Murray playing too soon, tight second row battle slight edge to Wasps. Back rows two good units, slight edge to Bath. HB battle is a good one, again, slight edge to Bath for me. Edge to Wasps in the centres, again with Ansbro playing too soon. Bath take the back threes. Difficult to call with Wasps taking the front 5, but Bath taking the back row and HB's. Home advantage and players playing too soon for Bath deciding factor.

I'll be doing mine tonight

It's getting harder and harder each week doing the predos, all of the teams are so close and there are games where you have to really pick in minute detail to get to a winner.

Really is Pete - especially during the Int periods when teams are at more of an even level IMO.

this period has been terrible for me.
hoping when I get int's back my form should drastically improve.
luckily have had Kaino, Spies, SBW, Best, Fourie playing very well at the WC.

Not sold on Spies having played that well stnick, but the others you mention have been in good form.

I think Spies has been outstanding, best 8 in comp so far imo

TBH, i haven't seen him enough to judge. am going on Greenwood and other's reviews saying he has been one of the best 8's if not the best this WC.

Sale 21 - 20 Gloucester

Front rows pretty even both in the loose and in the scrum and locks are about the same with George Robson in the form of his life. I see very little between the front 5's. Back rows pretty even with maybe a slight advantage to Sale. Its one a piece at half back with Care and Donald both streets ahead of their opposite number at this time. I see Les as a weakness but I think he would have a lot of joy down Barkley's channel. Fruean will also have too much for May whose pace will help him out defensively against Fruean. Gloucester's back three is a strong one and will score tries if the ball gets through them. Both sets of tactics are good. SJE has a adapted his tactics well with Goode at 10 instead of Cruden.

Northampton 27 - 25 Exeter

I can see Saints getting a good advantage at scrum time with Hayman and Domingo doing a job on their opposing men. Locks are a bit closer with perhaps a slight advanatage to Saints again. I prefer the Exeter back row and Half backs which is important. Saints have the better centres and Giteau for me is the game breaker in this game. Back 3's a re pretty even with Claasens being a revelation at Worcester this season. Close game but Saints take it.

London Irish 30 - 25 Worcester

Irish have the stronger pack here today and this gives them a good setpiece to unleash a exciting if inconsistant back line. Really like the Irish back row and they will give Worcester a bit of a lesson here. Really like Peel for Worcester and Half back is an area where Worcester are as strong as Irish are. Irish have the stronger out side backs and they will run in some tries today.

Saracens 22 - 22 Newcastle

Front rows go to the home side with Sarries having stronger props and a far superior hooker. Big fan of Faure though and he stops Newcastle going backwards very quickly at scrum time. Second row is closer with Parling back playing he can be rated as the good steady lock which he is. Borthwick is the man who will dominate the lineout and this will cause a minor issue for Newcastle. However the Newcastle backrow is stronger in every position which brings the battle of the packs closer but it is a slight edge to Sarries.
Half backs go to Newcastle in both positions and they will control the pace of the game very well. I see the outside backs as pretty even with Farrell in great form. Benches are strong and weak in the same areas whichleads them to nulify each other. Tactics what you'd expect from both sides and both highlight their sides strengths. Very tough game to call. has to be called a draw I'm afraid.

London Wasps 18 - 16 Bath

Front rows are pretty even but Wasps have the stronger 2nd row. Both back rows are strong with a slight edge to Wasps and I see the half backs as a dead heat. Prefer the Wasps centres and think they will work well. Bath have a stronger back 3 and both benches are decent. better pack and home advantage seens Wasps sneak it.

Think you mean wins it for Wasps there Prop

Will get my predos in soon

and a win for Leicester

Ah balls sorry guys....knackered typing it and half watching a film! Will edit now!!

Northampton Saints 27 20 Exeter Chiefs

At scrum time edge in class to Saints but Exeter with the better form. Slight edge to Chiefs currently but not a noticeable advantage. Lineout battle is fairly even and both sides should take their own ball. Edge to Saints around the park with more in the 2nd row. In the back row Saints with a strong set of flankers have the advantage.

Halfbacks are fairly even for me. Beaxuis the player who will provide the most spark but very inconsistent. In midfield, Saints with the edge. Back 3 shades to Saints as well with a lack of form in the Exeter line up. Fitzy back to his old ways and is justifying Kidneys WC selection. Benches are fairly even quality wise but no scrumhalf back up is an issue for Saints

Saints to get on top in the pack battle with a bit more in the back row and with a decent set of backs in good conditions will pick up the win here.

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Leicester Tigers 25 20 Harlequins

Edge at scrum time to the Tigers. Lineout time both sides will hold their own. Quins with the advantage around the park. Quins with a god balance on the flanks but Joubert is the best player on show in the back row. Tigers will get some joy at the breakdown as well.

In the half backs its one a piece. James still settling in at Tigers is a slight mark down though. Midfield goes to Tigers with a classy combo and they take the back 3 as well with a dangerous unit. Benches edge to Quins slightly with a bit more impact.

Think possession wise it will be fairly even but Tigers will get cleaner ball. James still settling in but offers enough threat to get Tigers backs going and will see the great home run continue.

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London Irish 26 17 Worcester Warriors

Slight edge at scrum time to Worcester but no real advantage here. Irish with an edge at the lineout. Kennedy could get some joy here. Around the park Irish with an edge with Mumm and Nel bringing some real emphasis. In the back row Worcester will see a few turnovers, with Salvi bang in form, but Irish have a touch more class and a better balance to it.

Halfbacks go to Irish with scrumhalfs even but Bowden in cracking form. In the backs Irish with a strong midfield combo have an edge. Both back 3s solid on defense and offer enough going forward. Benches are fairly even.

Irish with home advantage should see more of the ball here and have the backs to take advantage of the good conditions.

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Saracens 28 23 Newcastle Falcons

Sarries with an edge at the scrum. Lineout time both sides should hold their own ball. Around the park though I see an edge to Sarries. (Hard to rate Parling after 1 game back). Back row battle is very interesting. Just edging to Sarries as Smiths rating starts to fall a bit.

Halfbacks go to Newcastle. More about them and an extra step up in class. Sarries combo will work well though and get Sarries moving. In the backs Newcastle with a bit more to offer in midfield but no advantage in the back 3 either way with two very solid units. Falcons with more to offer from the bench.

Newcastle take the backs here but Sarries with an upper hand in the pack and have the backs to move the ball around and with home advantage should pick up the win against the champions.

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London Wasps 28 19 Bath Rugby

Wasps take the scrum battle here. Too soon for Murray after travelling half way across the world. Wasps should see some joy at the lineout too with Wentzal really causing a nuisance. No edge either way around the park in the front 5. Tight back row battle with neither side really getting on top of the other.

Halfback battle goes to Bath with more to offer in these conditions but the Wasps pairing is perfect to take advantage of their set piece dominance. Midfield goes to Wasps with Mac in great form and Ansbro looking jaded after his travels. Bath with an edge in the back 3 with more threat coming forward. Not alot of difference between what either side can bring of the bench.

Wasps will get control at the set piece and with the half backs on show will take real advantage of this and pick up another home win.