About v2AP Round 10
+7
stnick88
Steven_Sharks
dammit_chris
Sgt_Pooly
Ozzy3213
Driver
SirJohnnyEnglish
11 posters
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AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sun 27 Nov - 20:33
First topic message reminder :
Team Sheets and tactics due by COB Thur
Predictions open Fri. Results due Sun/Mon
Exeter Chiefs v Worcester Warriors
Sunny, 9 Degrees, 15mph Winds
Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Driver
16.Neil Clark 17.Salvator Perugini 18.Dave Wilson 19.James Hudson 20.Declan Danahar 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Colin Slade 23.Adam Thompstone
Tactics
- Play the percentages and use the boot of ROG to put them under the cosh in there own 22 and using a big physical forward pack to really take them on and disrupt any ball.
- Use our big midfield to bash our way up the middle and pull defenders in to create gaps for Toeava , Fitzgerald and Byrne to pick there lines off.
- Phipps and ROG will mainly look to play the percentages but will keep an eye open for any overlaps half gaps our numbers outwide , changing our game plan.
- Our front 5 is packed with ball carrying forwards who will look to run hard at the fringes and tie the defenders up.
- At the breakdown we will target the ball carrier either holding him up in the choke tackle as we have the pack to stop any maul or double tapping the attacker with Jennings/Moody being allowed a stab at the ball
- We will look to scrum and keep the scrum up and John Smit will let the referee know this. On the opposition ball we will focus on a 8 man shove and take the opposition on with Phipps looking to really get stuck into there 8 and 9.
- We will look to move the ball in attack when it is kicked to us to attack any dog legs with our attack minded back 3.
- Blitz defense and really get up into the opposition faces and cut down there thinking time with Phipps sweeping behind for any kicks through.
Key Points
* Use Skirving to pressure the Worcester Lineout and really target the ball on the Worcester throw.
* Disipline will be key , Test Cowens by letting Phipps share some 'freindly' banter about his passing at the scrum
* Steyn must be feeling the pressure , The Bulls are bring Houghard back to play 10 can't have that much faith in him
Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd
16.Chris Fortey 17.Sylvain Marconnet 18.Yann Thomas 19.Danie Russouw 20.Kearnen Myall 21.Dwayne Peel 22.Sam Vesty 23.Greig Tonks
Tactics
Forwards
We have selected a strong pack who will be able to hold any shunt and hopefully look to steal more ball. In the lineouts we have strong jumpers and will look for quick ball to release our backs. Looking a tour back row we can get alot of turnover ball with Newby and Higginbotham snaffling at the ruck and aiming to be the 2nd player into a ruck to go over the ball and either slow it down or looking for turnover ball. Morgan has been playing tremendously in the past few matches and; with Hamilton will look to carry the ball up in midfield to suck in defenders and look for the quick offload.
Backs
We have selected a backline ready for the winter. Steyn will kick for territory making sure it's away from the Exeter back 3 and either reaches touch or gives our chasing pack time to put pressure on Exeter in their own half. Lamont is going to be our battering ram who will take crashball up and release our quick back 3 who have good try-scoring and line breaking records. Cowan will look for quick ball and when it's turnover ball we will look to Lamont to hit it up and then to Steyn to pin them back. We haven't been a try scoring team this season and this will not change much today with Steyn going for every penalty that is in his range and also looking for some cheeky drop goals. If the overlap is there we will take the try but we see winning as more important even if it is with ugly rugby.
Defence
Lead by Lamont and rushing up flat. We will put players on Steyn and Lamont's shoulders to look to steal or slow down their ball and prevent the ball getting to their backs. Cowan will sweep behind with Morgan standing deep to stop ROG's positional play.
Overall
*We have had enough of being called an improving team and want to win and stamp our mark,
*Forwards to slow down as much of their ball and look to take it up 2 phases to suck in their backs,
*Lamont to hit the ball up, or Hamilton/B.Morgan,
Wingers to use their pace,
*Steyn to pin them back kicking with the wind,
*Steyn to take the points when he can,
*To come back from Exeter with at least 4 points.
Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
Sunny, 6 Degrees, 12mph Winds
Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka
16. Ben Franks 17. Lee Mears 18. Census Johnstone 19. Alex Brown 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Vincent Clerc
Tactics
GENERAL:
- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible. We will attack the lineout and the breakdown as and when we can. With the ball in hand we have different options of how we can play - carrying forwards, tactical half-back's, intelligent midfield and elusive runners out wide.
- Defensively we will look to blitz, with Yachvili sweeping behind the defensive line to deal with any short kicks.
- Early on Yachvili to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Horwill to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.
FORWARDS:
- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson. Croft to be our go-to man - but we can and will use any of Horwill, Pape and Easter as well.
- Jenkins to look to really go after Stevens in the scrum, and Cole told to hold his bind and keep his body and back straight in an effort to stop them being done underneath by Domingo. Easter to be in control at the base of the scrum.
- Look to Easter, Horwill, Pocock, Jenkins, Pape, Croft and Moore to give us real go-forward with their carrying. 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.
- Pocock is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Saints. Our other forwards will look to ruck past the ball and clear out Saints players enabling us to effect turnovers. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.
BACKS:
- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili pulling the strings. Yachvili and Wilkinson to manage the tempo of the game, control where the game is to be played and to play the game as they see it.
- If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, Wilkinson will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.
- Fritz comes in to give us great running options in midfield. Both he and BOD are extremely powerful in defence, and won't allow Tuilagi's crash ball through.
- 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 once again the fortress that we all know.
- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson.
- Target the breakdown - Pocock is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Saints.
- Calm, mature heads at 8, 9 and 10 in Easter, Yachvili and Wilkinson - to make the right calls and control the tempo of the game and where it is being played.
- Confidence issues within the Saints squad:
Domingo, Hartley, Stevens, Davies, Elsom and Giteau are all off the boil completely.
Saints have won 2 games from a possible 9 in the league.
3 loanees brought in (on Thursday) as a sign of panic from the Saints management, 1 of which has staggeringly been named in the team (Qera) and another on the bench (Williams).
Is Welford Road against a Tigers team that hasn't lost at home in 2 years the place to stop the rot? We don't think so. We will start the game at a very high tempo and look to get those Saints heads dropping. Our half backs are great for this sort of unforgiving pressure.
Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris
16. Rob Webber 17. Matt Mullan 18. Carl Hayman 19. Ali Williams 20. Courtney Lawes 21. Joe Simpson 22. Max Evans 23. Christian Wade
Tactics
Tactics: Overview
The Saints gameplan revolves around winning the territory game and applying pressure on Tigers in key areas where we can force them into mistakes and keep the scorebarod ticking over. We have a strong ball carrying game in the pack and will work through the phases to recycle the ball and allow Beauxis and Giteau time to kick over the Tigers defensive line and keep Tigers going backwards. Wilkinson's kicking was questionable at best and he is still settling into the TIgers team, so this is a key area for us to win and why we selected a midfield that can kick us deep into opposition territory. Halfpenny will offer Foden support at the back to offer a kicking game and keep Tigers well away from the tryline and kicking penalties.
Set PieceWe have rested our front row options very well over the last few weeks with the Amlin Cup with a view to target the AP games and put pressure on players who have not rested since the WC - in a physical league where each game is effectively an international we hope that htis will be picked up on, especially when we can bring on Mullan, Webber and Hayman in the second half to provide a strong scrummaging unit. We have opted for Domingo and Stevens because the conditions allow for more of a running game, where there will be far less knock ons and need for scrums - we also believe that both are very good in hitting rucks and mauls and this advantage over their Tiger counterparts will play to our gameplan. We have Davies and Albacete to add some bulk to the scrum.
At the lineout we have Davies, Albacete and Parisse as our main lineout operators and plan to keep our lineouts simple and effective. With the view to secure slow ball, build through the phases and provide Beauxis and Giteau a platform to kick the ball into Tigers territory and keep our pack going forward. We have a better kciking game than Tigers and we will use this to build forward momentum - it wont be pretty but if used effectively it will be a key weapon.
Defensively at linouts that are outside out 10m line we will move Mike Phillips into the 5m channel, bring Hartley into the lineout as an extra lifting option to help challenge the Tigers throws and place either Qera or Elsom to mark Wilkinson and hammer staight into the Tieers backline to cut off their attacking channels and give us an extra man at the breakdown area. Again combating the threat of Pocock. On Tigers attacking ball we wont look to challenge thw throw, instead we will target the ball carrier or have the extra defender in the backs to punish quick ball. We want to slow Tigers down and stop their gameplan.
BreakdownIn training we have identified Pocock as a major threat - so have picked a pack that can get to breakdown in numbers and faster than their Tigers counterparts - Domingo, Stevens and Parisse are all very mobile and will look to shut off the breakdown and secure our own ball. We will also have Elsom and Qera taking it in turns to specifically target Pocock, pull him off his feet, target the man and play the referee as we look for penalties.
Mike Phillips can add his physicality in this area too, we have picked him because he can be used effectively as another flanker and this is where we have to challenge and force Tigers into commiting more players then they'd like into this area. We also had tactics above to ensure that we have an extra backrower in the backline on Tigers lineout ball, this can create 2 on 1's and allow us to compete at the breakdown before Pocock arrives on scene!
AttackOur attack has two approaches, the first is to put us into scoring opportunities through a kick and chase game and pressurising the Tigers team into mistakes, penalties and errors and to capitalise on these mistakes by giving the ball to our backs. When Tigers defensive line aligns itself to prepare for the kick we will run the ball at the space that this creates, with Giteau running the game and putting Tuilagi, and the back three into space. This will keep Tigers guessing where the ball is going to go and give our key decision makers that extra bit of time to take the right option.
When we secure ball in the Tigers half we will keep hold of the ball through the forwards, working our way through the phases (e.g. Munster v Saints) and not taking any risks, slowly edging forwards. Mike Phillips to control the tempo and direction of the game and we will look to drag Tigers players into the rucks and mauls and get them playing to our strengths. We do not mind slow ball, but when opportunities arise we will use Albacete, Davies, Elsom, Qera and Parisse to add pace into the ball carrying, cross the gainline and secure quick ball for our backs to attack. The more slow ball we have the more Tigers could get impatient and give away penalties and free kicks, which Beauxis will punish them with.
The point it to mix up the attack to keep Tigers defence guessing, changing the tempo to suit our gameplan - slowing things down in the forwards to tie up Pocock and remove his threat at the turnover. We wont depend on quick ball, but instead will keep the ball, go through the phases when we are in Tigers half (whether ball in hand or defensively) and take all points on offer. Every chance we have we will take points, whether it be through Beauxis and Halfpenny penalties or relying on Beauxis to drop into the hole and drop some goals. If he misses we get the ball back from the 22 restart and can start going through the phases again.
DefenceWe will play our usual aggressive defensive system, but a lot of our work will be on a great kick and chase game. Beauxis has one of the biggest boots in Europe and when supported by Giteau and Halfpenny we will look to pile on defensive pressure on Tigers and pressurise them into errors. We will target Wilkinson and put him under pressure and have a man on him straight away because if we stop him playing then the Tigers backline wont function or be able to release their backthree. We also make them attack from deep - with Phillips sweeping behind any attacks and relying on Ashton and Foden's great defensive play to stop any linebreaks.
In the second half we will look to introduce Lawes in the no6 shirt so that he can terrorise the Tigers midfield with huge hits and force them into errors. All about pressure and putting this on Leicester in their own half.
Game Specific Tactics• Learnt lessons from last week and look to dominate the kicking game, recalled Beauxis to achieve this and have Giteau and Halfpenny to support. Can beat an out of sorts Wilkinson at this.
• Control territory and apply pressure – The game is going to be played deeply in the Tigers half as Beauxis plays us into the areas where our aggressive defence can force errors and in the right areas those errors turn into points. Beauxis place kicking will punish all mistakes and penalties.
• Stop the Tigers halfbacks - Phillips will drag Yachvilli into a physical battle, which he does not relish and by doing so we stop the Tigers creative spark as Wilkinson wont offer this. Phillips is on top form and outplayed the Frenchman the last time they met and will enjoy the game again. Wilkinson will be pressurised off Tigers attacking lineouts with either Elsom or Qera marking him out like Betsen did for France 5-6 years ago. Stopping quality ball getting to the Tigers backline is key.
* Stop any flow developing and force Tigers into our game plan - our tactics are all about playing the game that suits us, slowing down phases and generally creating a disjointed game that we can force Tigers into mistakes and play to our strengths e.g. developed a new strategy for the breakdown and Beauxis kicking the ball deep.
• Keep Scoreboard Ticking – Beauxis to kick three points at every single opportunity
Key Points• Tactics have been designed to play to our strengths and stop Leicester playing the game they set out to achieve in their own tactics - they are looking to get the ball to their backs as much as possible, whilst we are happy to do this by kicking it deep into their own half and letting them come at us from deep. We will also keep the ball in our forwards and completely frustrate Tigers by going through phase by phase with slow ball and just completlely stopping Tigers from developing any flow or structure to their gameplan.
• Our kicking game completely changes the Tigers defensive patterns - if we keep kicking deep then their backthree will all need to play deeper, with Giteau at 12 he can take advantage of this by attacking BOD and offloading to Tuilagi or Foden to then create 2on1's with the Tigers defence. Ashton, Halfpenny some of best finsihes in Europe. We have some of the best attacking threats in world rugby at our disposal and Giteau is absolutely key for this.
• Have leaders throughout the team Hartley, Davies, Albacete, Elsom, Parisse, Phillips, Giteau etc and with Webber, Hayman, Williams all having leadership experience we have enough players who know how to win big games away from home.
• Powerful bench that we will use to change the game as and when we need to. Will look to slow down the Tigers attack, make the game broken up and disjointed, punish the Tigers with our better kicking game and win the terrirtory battle.
Saracens v London Irish
Sunny, 6 Degrees, 12mph Winds
Saracens
Manager – Ozzy3213
16. George Chuter 17. Tendai Mtwarira 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Dave Attwood 20. Luke Narraway 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Patric Lambie 23. Mark Cueto
Tactics
Our generic gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game.
In attack our primary gameplan is always to control possession and run the ball, utilising big carriers attacking gaps in the line, and looking to offload to support runners to continue getting over the gainline and keep the ball alive. If the offload is not on, we will take the contact and look to recycle quickly at the breakdown. If running the ball is not on we will uitilise the kicking game of one of our backs to take us into the right area of the pitch.
In defence we will look to blitz, with our scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line. Key for us is line speed, getting up to make the tackle before the ball carrier hits the gainline, and confidence and trust in the man next to you in the defensive line, meaning we will not jump out or get pulled to far away from the next defender leaving gaps that can be exploited.
At the breakdown, we will not overcommit players. If the ball is not there to be won, then we will commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow it down whilst maintaining a strong defensive line across the pitch. If the ball looks like it is there to be won, we will look to get more numbers there quickly, with the first 1 or 2 players immediately rucking past the ball to clear the opposition players who are trying to get hands on it, and the next man in will then look to get it out quickly for us to counter attack on turnover ball.
We will look to really attack the scrum, both in attack and defence. We will not be looking to drop the scrum at all, and Joe van Niekerk in his role as captain will be talking to the referee constantly to ensure that he is aware that we want to scrummage. We will look to be aggressive in this area throughout.
Game Specific Tactics
Key Points
N.B - Not a definite tactic to start, but if it looks as if Irish are going to try to throw big carriers down the 13 channel and target Trinder, we have the option of switching him and Ioane on defence, and having the powerful Australian line up inside with Trinder on the wing. If we do this an Irish still attempt to target Trinder in the outside channels by using big ball carrying forwards, we will really target the contact areas there for turnovers and look to strike quickly infield with the Irish forwards having to try to scramble back in on defence.
London Irish
Manager – stnick88
16. Jean Baptiste Poux 17. Neil Briggs 18. Duncan Bell 19. Mouritz Botha 20. David Sisi 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Jaque Fourie 23. Marland Yarde
Tactics
We travel to Vicarage Road full of confidence with 10 points from our last two games (BP wins over Wasps and Quins). We have picked a team to try and dominate the set piece and territory. We will look to play with ball in hand and not kick away loose ball, but build the phases using big ball carriers and force Sarries to make lots of tackles and commit men in defence before we spread the ball out and get the likes of SBW, Tait, J.P, Basson running.
We are targetting the scrum as an area to exploit. Castro gave Corbs all sorts of problems in real life a few weeks ago and will look to do the same again. With Tonga the other side, we have a powerful scrum that will look to drive Sarries backwards and win us some penalties for JMH to kick.
At the lineout we will have Kennedy calling the shots, supported by Garvey, Kaino and Spies. Kennedy will look to disrupt as much opposition ball as possible. In the opposition 22, we will look to secure the ball at the front and use the power of Castro, Tiny, Spies etc to maul the ball over the try line.
At the breakdown, we will use Kaino, Spies, Garvey etc to clear out the rucks quickly and allow Fourie in to secure good, quick ball and also to try and turnover oppositon ball. Any opposition ball will be counter attacked. We don't want to over commit to a ruck if the turnover is not on, but will try to legally slow down opposition ball. We have instructed Kaino to stop the hard running of Nonu. We have a lot of big tacklers like Kaino, Spies, Garvey, Fourie, SBW to stop Nonu building momentum which is where Saracens build a lot of their attacks off. We will also look to put big hits in on young Trinder and test his defence with SBW especially targetting him. Tait and J.P will track his runs and look to gather offloads, although similar to last week we have instructed SBW only to offload when it is on.
In attack, if our ball is slow, we will use the boots of Pienaar and JMH to kick in behind Sarries wingers as neither have good kicking games. Basson and JP will rush up on them and pressurise them.
Jaque Fourie will come on for Tait early in the 2nd half to bolster our midfield further and give us an extra dimension in attack and shore up our defence. JMH to kick all pens for goal if in range, if not go for touch.
Bath Rugby v Sale Sharks
Sunny Intervals, 7 Degrees, 4mph Winds
Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane
16 Jon Golding 17 Joe Ward 18 Petrus Du Plessis 19 Rob Simmons 20 Sean O’Brien 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Francois Steyn 23 Tom Varndell
Tactics
General
We'll look to use our big pack to build a base in order to get our backs into the game. We will play a backs based game. It will be really attacking, running rugby. We will look to be making good runs bringing our running back three into the game.
Set Piece
We have some of the on form scrummagers in the world and will look to use the scrum as a platform. We feel we can really use this to advantage . We feel a big part of our game will be the lineout. Lobbe and Whitelock are our main jumpers while Deacon offers a strong banker ball if needed. Simmons will maintain our dominance from the bench.
Other points
- Generate Quick Ball
- Look to slow Sale ball down with Armitage looking to create turnovers
- Look to get turnovers at the lineout
Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE
16. Lee Imolek 17. Brett Sharman 18. Neemia Tialata 19. Alun Wyn Jones 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Shaun Perry 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Nick Abendanoon
General Game Plan
On attack, we will look to control possession with our strong carrying game. We will look to our big carriers to get over the gain line and where possible offload to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. If running the ball is not on we will look to the boots of Sexton and Hook to put us in the right areas.
On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. Danny Care will act as a sweeper to cover any grubbers behind the line while our back three will sit deep ready to run back any loose kicks.
At the breakdown, if the ball looks available we will look to seriously commit numbers to clear the ruck allowing Thomson and Quedragao to come in and secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit 1 or 2 to the breakdown and look to counter ruck legally slowing down Bath ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.
We will look to use the set piece as a weapon throughout. We will target the scrum with a technically strong front row looking to get in under and win the scrum battle. With 5 jumping options and a reliable thrower at hook we will look to attack from the lineout. We will look to mix things up bringing the ball down into the maul or playing the ball of the top and spreading it through the backs.
Key Points
• In Game Form – We have lost just twice in our last 8 outings being bonus point defeats at Vicarage Road in the league and at Kingsholm in the LDC Pete Cup. We come to the Rec looking to continue our great form and leave with another away win.
•Play the game in the right areas – We will look to the boots of Sexton and Hook and play the game inside Bath territory forcing Bath to play from deep. We will look to our pack to disrupt the opposition set piece and our backrow in particular to attack the breakdown. We will harass Hodgson into making mistakes, giving us fantastic attacking platforms to work from.... Care, Sexton and Hook do however have the brains and spark to play from deep when it is really on.
• Target the Bath wingers - We will look to test the Bath wingers out today both aerially and positionally. Sexton and Hook will look to send some high hanging balls to the corners and really test the Bath back 3 none of whom are particularly good under the highball. We will look to execute kick and chases and crossfield kicks into the corners when we see any of these 3 out of position. We have picked a side packed with pace to really get up on the chase. Keith Earls has been lined up against Medard to use his GAA skills (Irish footballing) and beat him to the ball in the air.
London Wasps v Harlequins
Sunny, 6 Degrees, 12mph Winds
London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry
16. Andy Titterell 17. Charlie Beech 18. CJ Van Der Linde 19. Richard Birkett 20. Roger Wilson 21. Mike Blair 22. Rory Clegg 23. Mike Tindall
Tactics
After losing away from home to a very impressive London Irish side last week we return to Adams Park where we are yet to lose so far this season. We have picked a dynamic, powerful and physical forward pack which will work very hard at rucks and winning us set piece ball at scrum time and lineout. We feel that if we can assert ourselves physically and win the forward battle, providing our backs with a solid platform we will be able to beat Harlequins. 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 Quins onto the back foot by winning the forward battle and collisions we will be able to unsettle them.
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. 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 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 taking the ball through plenty of phases to wear Harlequins down.
We have two excellent kicking options in Gopperth and McAlister who will kick in behind the Harlequins wingers and keep them pinned back where we will look to isolate and pressurize them into making mistakes in their own half. We will look to hit the rucks hard and compete when we can, Deon Stegmann with his low centre of gravity will look to compete hard at the breakdown, 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 Burgess with clean, quick ball and get our forwards running onto the ball at different angles to pierce the Quins defence.
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 such as Polota-Nau, Haskell and Johnson. Gopperth will look to bring in our strike runners in McAlister and Roberts. If it is on we will look to offload the ball to the supporting players and keep Harlequins working off the ball in defence. We will look for the in form Roberts to target the lightweight centre partnership of Quins and run hard at them, staying strong in the contact area and either offloading if he wins the collision, or the support players will keep driving him on, building up momentum and speed in our attacks. With the ball in hand we will look to our strike runners such as McAlister to attack gaps and half gaps in their defence targeting the outside shoulder of the Quins players. We will also be sending our big carriers in Quade Cooper’s direction.
So long as our ball carriers have the support, we will look to pierce gaps in the Quins defensive line and offload to supporting players, keeping the ball alive as much as possible. We will look to get our offloading game going to alternate the point of attack and keep Quins 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 the Quins 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, Haskell and Johnson. From there we will look to slowly sap the energy out of Harlequins by using the rolling maul. We will look to suck in as many Quins defenders to open up spaces elsewhere for us to attack. We’ll look to really target the set piece and create a platform, we feel that we can gain an advantage here, if we get a nudge on we will look to keep them going backwards. Our back row will look to really get in Coopers face and put him off of his game. We will ensure our discipline is exemplary. We will play hard rugby but ensure we play by the rules, discipline will be key. We feel that if our forwards can get us onto the front foot we have the half backs who will keep their cool and manage our game.
Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks
16. Rob Vickers 17. Joe Marler 18. Brian Mujati 19. Nathan Sharpe 20. Carl Fearns 21. Karl Dickson 22. Felipe Contepomi 23. George Lowe
Tactics
We go to Wasps knowing what a formidable challenge we face against who have been one of the surprise package of the season so far along with ourselves. We know Wasps play a strong game organised around their half back pairing and they use there powerful carriers to punch holes in the midfield and then move to exploit an unorganised defence. We have set our game plan to try and move Wasps out of their comfort zone by putting big
pressure upon their half backs and midfield in defence and by moving the point of our attack around the field.
Game Plan
As usual we want to use our forwards to get us onto the front foot so we can throw the ball wide to our back 3 and we want to look to move the Wasps pack around the field as much as possible. We will look for our forwards to carry away from the breakdown of the shoulders of 10 and 12 far more often than we might usually. We will look to switch the point of attack constantly with Dickson, Cooper, Priestland and Flutey in control of this. We will be looking for our forwards to be running different angles and different depths to keep the Wasps defence guessing. Once we get quick ball we are going to unleash our backline into the game and look to get into spaces out wide where we can isolate the Wasps defenders. We want to maintain a high tempo in attack with players looking to carry the ball at pace and coming at different angles. Cooper is the perfect 10 to control our game and put other men into space and change our point of attack.
We will look to be patient in implementing this game plan but at the same time if we are going know where then we will look to use the cultured boots of Cooper, Priestland, Dickson and Flutey to put us into the right areas of the pitch. As usual we will not kick aimlessly and when kicking we will either clear to touch or kick into spaces. We are also going to look to kick in an attacking sense putting up and unders up and using crossfields and grubber kicks when we feel our attacking shape isn’t there and we are lacking momentum. We are going to look to keep the scoreboard ticking over with penalties to build pressure on Wasps. Our defensive game plan is to disrupt Wasps in every way. We want our pack to challenge every ruck and Set piece as well as having our defensive line coming up at pace.
Forwards
We have picked a big pack which I also consider to be quite mobile and this is important to our game plan as our forwards are going to be asked to carry the ball in wider areas than they might usually. We will look to carry in numbers and aim to win the collision and then keep driving our legs once we have reached contact. When we get the chance we will still look to offload to continue our attacks. We are going to look for our front 5 to carry of 10 and 12 with our back row looking to do the carrying off 12 and 13. We will look for our pack to be really aggressive and front up to Wasps and really try and knock them backwards from the word go. With our game plan of changing the point of attack we need to use 3 men in a ruck so secure quick ball. We are going to look to get Warburton and Louw to dominate the breakdown and secure us penalties and turnovers which we can turn into points.
Set Piece
At the scrum we are going to really look to get the shove on with our experienced and tough front row. We will look for both of our props to try to get underneath there opponent particularly John Afoa who will have the force of Jerome Thion behind him. If we do get a scrum advantage we will look to go up on the Tighthead side so Dowson can pick up and run at Wasps with more space available to him.
At the Lineout we will use 5 man lines inbetween both 22’s with the two props either end and Skivington, Thion and Dowson being the jumpers used inbetween them. This allows us to use Louw and Warburton in the midfield on the first phase if required. When in our own 22 or the opposition 22 we will look to use a full line so as we have the option to use a driving maul to gain us some ground. On the opposition ball we will look to compete with Skivington marking Wentzel to attempt to make Wasps look to other jumpers whom Thion, Louw and Dowson will then look to pressure.
Backs
In the backs we have our key decision makers at 9 10 and 12 and we will run our plays through them. A move we will look to use is for Faainga to cut lines back across the defence so Flutey can swing round and Cooper can pick Flutey out behind Faainga when we want to run wide. Using this we suck in defenders and it gives Flutey the chance to feed the back 3 in a bit more space. We can also give the ball to Faainga to make the hard yards as well as having floating forwards picking lines off Cooper and Flutey. From first phase ball we will look to bring Priestland and the blindside wing into play as runners who can be used to carry or be used as decoys. We will look to have Preistland in the line when we are attacking so we have another creative player involved unlocking the Wasps defence.
Defence
We have some really strong defensive players in this game and we will look for them to marshall our defence. Louw and Faainga will be in charge of our defence during the game and will rearrange our defensive line up if we are weak in a particular area. We will play with a quick line speed particularly looking to put pressure on the Wasps decision makers. We have reinforced our midfield defence with Flutey and Faiinga and I can’t see anybody making any headway through this channel so Wasps will have to re assess their strategy. We will look to try and smash Wasps runners backwards by adapting a low body position. This will give us a target for our forwards to hit to disrupt Wasps ball. We will have our back 3 sitting very deep to capitalise on loose kicks with Dickson sweeping behind the defensive line. In defence Priestland will move to 10 and Cooper will move to 15 as he does with the Reds. When the ball is kicked to Heymans, Cooper and Joseph we have one of the most exciting attacking units you could ask for to run the ball back to wasps with interest.
Subs
We have some great impact players on the bench who will be introduced into the second half. We also have the electric Karl Dickson to bring on if we need to up the tempo anymore as well as very powerful carriers in Marler, Mujati, Fearns and Lowe.
Key Points
• Constantly move the point of attack with both backs and forwards looking to move the point of attack. Cooper is key to this and will run the show for us.
• Move the Wasps pack around by using our forward s to carry in the midfield.
• Build pressure on Wasps in attack and defence. We want our forwards to disrupt wasps at every opportunity.
• Only kick when it gives us an obvious advantage or to clear our lines. Absolutely no loose kicking and when we do kick we chase as a line.
• Use Flutey coming behind Faainga to unleash our back line and Kearney who will join the line.
• Dominate the breakdown will Louw and Warburton looking to get on the ball and legally recover possession.
• Keep a high tempo to our game in attack and defence.
• Be very physical with wasps and play in their faces.
• Use our bench at the right time. Impact players galore.
• Kick the points when we can.
Opposition Specific Tactics
- We don't see a genuine breakdown specialist in the Wasps pack so we are going to really look to get on top in this area.
- Try to kick into the gaps behind the wasps back 3. We think we can gain territory by forcing the Wasps wingers into kicking which we don't see as their strength.
- Really target Charlie Beech if he comes off the bench. Afoa and Mujati will really cause him problems.
- Press onto Gopperth and McAllister and give them as little time as possible.
Team Sheets and tactics due by COB Thur
Predictions open Fri. Results due Sun/Mon
Exeter Chiefs v Worcester Warriors
Sunny, 9 Degrees, 15mph Winds
Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Driver
| 01. Andrew Sheridan | 09. Nick Phipps |
| 02. John Smit (c) | 10. Ronan O’Gara |
| 03. Davit Zirkashvilli | |
| 04. Simon Shaw | 11. Luke Fitzgerald |
| 05. Juillian Pierre | 12. Gordan D’Arcy |
| 06. Lewis Moody | 13. Chris Bell |
| 07. Shane Jennings | 14. Isia Toeava |
| 08. Ben Skirving | 15. Lee Byrne |
16.Neil Clark 17.Salvator Perugini 18.Dave Wilson 19.James Hudson 20.Declan Danahar 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Colin Slade 23.Adam Thompstone
Tactics
- Play the percentages and use the boot of ROG to put them under the cosh in there own 22 and using a big physical forward pack to really take them on and disrupt any ball.
- Use our big midfield to bash our way up the middle and pull defenders in to create gaps for Toeava , Fitzgerald and Byrne to pick there lines off.
- Phipps and ROG will mainly look to play the percentages but will keep an eye open for any overlaps half gaps our numbers outwide , changing our game plan.
- Our front 5 is packed with ball carrying forwards who will look to run hard at the fringes and tie the defenders up.
- At the breakdown we will target the ball carrier either holding him up in the choke tackle as we have the pack to stop any maul or double tapping the attacker with Jennings/Moody being allowed a stab at the ball
- We will look to scrum and keep the scrum up and John Smit will let the referee know this. On the opposition ball we will focus on a 8 man shove and take the opposition on with Phipps looking to really get stuck into there 8 and 9.
- We will look to move the ball in attack when it is kicked to us to attack any dog legs with our attack minded back 3.
- Blitz defense and really get up into the opposition faces and cut down there thinking time with Phipps sweeping behind for any kicks through.
Key Points
* Use Skirving to pressure the Worcester Lineout and really target the ball on the Worcester throw.
* Disipline will be key , Test Cowens by letting Phipps share some 'freindly' banter about his passing at the scrum
* Steyn must be feeling the pressure , The Bulls are bring Houghard back to play 10 can't have that much faith in him
Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd
| 01. David Flatman | 09. Jimmy Cowan |
| 02. Richardt Strauss | 10. Morne Steyn (k) |
| 03. BJ Botha | |
| 04. Jim Hamilton | 11. Shane Williams |
| 05. Ollie Kohn | 12. Sean Lamont |
| 06. Craig Newby (c) | 13. Jon Clarke |
| 07. Scott Higginbotham | 14. Bryan Habana |
| 08. Ben Morgan | 15. Ollie Morgan |
16.Chris Fortey 17.Sylvain Marconnet 18.Yann Thomas 19.Danie Russouw 20.Kearnen Myall 21.Dwayne Peel 22.Sam Vesty 23.Greig Tonks
Tactics
Forwards
We have selected a strong pack who will be able to hold any shunt and hopefully look to steal more ball. In the lineouts we have strong jumpers and will look for quick ball to release our backs. Looking a tour back row we can get alot of turnover ball with Newby and Higginbotham snaffling at the ruck and aiming to be the 2nd player into a ruck to go over the ball and either slow it down or looking for turnover ball. Morgan has been playing tremendously in the past few matches and; with Hamilton will look to carry the ball up in midfield to suck in defenders and look for the quick offload.
Backs
We have selected a backline ready for the winter. Steyn will kick for territory making sure it's away from the Exeter back 3 and either reaches touch or gives our chasing pack time to put pressure on Exeter in their own half. Lamont is going to be our battering ram who will take crashball up and release our quick back 3 who have good try-scoring and line breaking records. Cowan will look for quick ball and when it's turnover ball we will look to Lamont to hit it up and then to Steyn to pin them back. We haven't been a try scoring team this season and this will not change much today with Steyn going for every penalty that is in his range and also looking for some cheeky drop goals. If the overlap is there we will take the try but we see winning as more important even if it is with ugly rugby.
Defence
Lead by Lamont and rushing up flat. We will put players on Steyn and Lamont's shoulders to look to steal or slow down their ball and prevent the ball getting to their backs. Cowan will sweep behind with Morgan standing deep to stop ROG's positional play.
Overall
*We have had enough of being called an improving team and want to win and stamp our mark,
*Forwards to slow down as much of their ball and look to take it up 2 phases to suck in their backs,
*Lamont to hit the ball up, or Hamilton/B.Morgan,
Wingers to use their pace,
*Steyn to pin them back kicking with the wind,
*Steyn to take the points when he can,
*To come back from Exeter with at least 4 points.
Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
Sunny, 6 Degrees, 12mph Winds
Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka
| 01. Gethin Jenkins | 09. Dimitri Yachvili (k) |
| 02. Stephen Moore | 10. Jonny Wilkinson |
| 03. Dan Cole | |
| 04. Pascal Pape | 11. Topsy Ojo |
| 05. James Horwill (c) | 12. Florian Fritz |
| 06. Tom Croft | 13. Brian O'Driscoll |
| 07. David Pocock | 14. Cory Jane |
| 08. Nick Easter | 15. Clement Poitrenaud |
Tactics
GENERAL:
- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible. We will attack the lineout and the breakdown as and when we can. With the ball in hand we have different options of how we can play - carrying forwards, tactical half-back's, intelligent midfield and elusive runners out wide.
- Defensively we will look to blitz, with Yachvili sweeping behind the defensive line to deal with any short kicks.
- Early on Yachvili to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Horwill to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.
FORWARDS:
- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson. Croft to be our go-to man - but we can and will use any of Horwill, Pape and Easter as well.
- Jenkins to look to really go after Stevens in the scrum, and Cole told to hold his bind and keep his body and back straight in an effort to stop them being done underneath by Domingo. Easter to be in control at the base of the scrum.
- Look to Easter, Horwill, Pocock, Jenkins, Pape, Croft and Moore to give us real go-forward with their carrying. 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.
- Pocock is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Saints. Our other forwards will look to ruck past the ball and clear out Saints players enabling us to effect turnovers. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.
BACKS:
- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili pulling the strings. Yachvili and Wilkinson to manage the tempo of the game, control where the game is to be played and to play the game as they see it.
- If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, Wilkinson will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.
- Fritz comes in to give us great running options in midfield. Both he and BOD are extremely powerful in defence, and won't allow Tuilagi's crash ball through.
- 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 once again the fortress that we all know.
- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson.
- Target the breakdown - Pocock is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Saints.
- Calm, mature heads at 8, 9 and 10 in Easter, Yachvili and Wilkinson - to make the right calls and control the tempo of the game and where it is being played.
- Confidence issues within the Saints squad:
Domingo, Hartley, Stevens, Davies, Elsom and Giteau are all off the boil completely.
Saints have won 2 games from a possible 9 in the league.
3 loanees brought in (on Thursday) as a sign of panic from the Saints management, 1 of which has staggeringly been named in the team (Qera) and another on the bench (Williams).
Is Welford Road against a Tigers team that hasn't lost at home in 2 years the place to stop the rot? We don't think so. We will start the game at a very high tempo and look to get those Saints heads dropping. Our half backs are great for this sort of unforgiving pressure.
Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris
| 01. Thomas Domingo | 09. Mike Phillips |
| 02. Dylan Hartley | 10. Lionel Beauxis |
| 03. Matt Stevens | |
| 04. Bradley Davies | 11. Leigh Halfpenny |
| 05. Patricio Albacete | 12. Matt Giteau |
| 06. Rocky Elsom | 13. Manu Tuilagi |
| 07. Akapusi Qera | 14. Chris Ashton |
| 08. Sergio Parisse (c) | 15. Ben Foden |
16. Rob Webber 17. Matt Mullan 18. Carl Hayman 19. Ali Williams 20. Courtney Lawes 21. Joe Simpson 22. Max Evans 23. Christian Wade
Tactics
Tactics: Overview
The Saints gameplan revolves around winning the territory game and applying pressure on Tigers in key areas where we can force them into mistakes and keep the scorebarod ticking over. We have a strong ball carrying game in the pack and will work through the phases to recycle the ball and allow Beauxis and Giteau time to kick over the Tigers defensive line and keep Tigers going backwards. Wilkinson's kicking was questionable at best and he is still settling into the TIgers team, so this is a key area for us to win and why we selected a midfield that can kick us deep into opposition territory. Halfpenny will offer Foden support at the back to offer a kicking game and keep Tigers well away from the tryline and kicking penalties.
Set PieceWe have rested our front row options very well over the last few weeks with the Amlin Cup with a view to target the AP games and put pressure on players who have not rested since the WC - in a physical league where each game is effectively an international we hope that htis will be picked up on, especially when we can bring on Mullan, Webber and Hayman in the second half to provide a strong scrummaging unit. We have opted for Domingo and Stevens because the conditions allow for more of a running game, where there will be far less knock ons and need for scrums - we also believe that both are very good in hitting rucks and mauls and this advantage over their Tiger counterparts will play to our gameplan. We have Davies and Albacete to add some bulk to the scrum.
At the lineout we have Davies, Albacete and Parisse as our main lineout operators and plan to keep our lineouts simple and effective. With the view to secure slow ball, build through the phases and provide Beauxis and Giteau a platform to kick the ball into Tigers territory and keep our pack going forward. We have a better kciking game than Tigers and we will use this to build forward momentum - it wont be pretty but if used effectively it will be a key weapon.
Defensively at linouts that are outside out 10m line we will move Mike Phillips into the 5m channel, bring Hartley into the lineout as an extra lifting option to help challenge the Tigers throws and place either Qera or Elsom to mark Wilkinson and hammer staight into the Tieers backline to cut off their attacking channels and give us an extra man at the breakdown area. Again combating the threat of Pocock. On Tigers attacking ball we wont look to challenge thw throw, instead we will target the ball carrier or have the extra defender in the backs to punish quick ball. We want to slow Tigers down and stop their gameplan.
BreakdownIn training we have identified Pocock as a major threat - so have picked a pack that can get to breakdown in numbers and faster than their Tigers counterparts - Domingo, Stevens and Parisse are all very mobile and will look to shut off the breakdown and secure our own ball. We will also have Elsom and Qera taking it in turns to specifically target Pocock, pull him off his feet, target the man and play the referee as we look for penalties.
Mike Phillips can add his physicality in this area too, we have picked him because he can be used effectively as another flanker and this is where we have to challenge and force Tigers into commiting more players then they'd like into this area. We also had tactics above to ensure that we have an extra backrower in the backline on Tigers lineout ball, this can create 2 on 1's and allow us to compete at the breakdown before Pocock arrives on scene!
AttackOur attack has two approaches, the first is to put us into scoring opportunities through a kick and chase game and pressurising the Tigers team into mistakes, penalties and errors and to capitalise on these mistakes by giving the ball to our backs. When Tigers defensive line aligns itself to prepare for the kick we will run the ball at the space that this creates, with Giteau running the game and putting Tuilagi, and the back three into space. This will keep Tigers guessing where the ball is going to go and give our key decision makers that extra bit of time to take the right option.
When we secure ball in the Tigers half we will keep hold of the ball through the forwards, working our way through the phases (e.g. Munster v Saints) and not taking any risks, slowly edging forwards. Mike Phillips to control the tempo and direction of the game and we will look to drag Tigers players into the rucks and mauls and get them playing to our strengths. We do not mind slow ball, but when opportunities arise we will use Albacete, Davies, Elsom, Qera and Parisse to add pace into the ball carrying, cross the gainline and secure quick ball for our backs to attack. The more slow ball we have the more Tigers could get impatient and give away penalties and free kicks, which Beauxis will punish them with.
The point it to mix up the attack to keep Tigers defence guessing, changing the tempo to suit our gameplan - slowing things down in the forwards to tie up Pocock and remove his threat at the turnover. We wont depend on quick ball, but instead will keep the ball, go through the phases when we are in Tigers half (whether ball in hand or defensively) and take all points on offer. Every chance we have we will take points, whether it be through Beauxis and Halfpenny penalties or relying on Beauxis to drop into the hole and drop some goals. If he misses we get the ball back from the 22 restart and can start going through the phases again.
DefenceWe will play our usual aggressive defensive system, but a lot of our work will be on a great kick and chase game. Beauxis has one of the biggest boots in Europe and when supported by Giteau and Halfpenny we will look to pile on defensive pressure on Tigers and pressurise them into errors. We will target Wilkinson and put him under pressure and have a man on him straight away because if we stop him playing then the Tigers backline wont function or be able to release their backthree. We also make them attack from deep - with Phillips sweeping behind any attacks and relying on Ashton and Foden's great defensive play to stop any linebreaks.
In the second half we will look to introduce Lawes in the no6 shirt so that he can terrorise the Tigers midfield with huge hits and force them into errors. All about pressure and putting this on Leicester in their own half.
Game Specific Tactics• Learnt lessons from last week and look to dominate the kicking game, recalled Beauxis to achieve this and have Giteau and Halfpenny to support. Can beat an out of sorts Wilkinson at this.
• Control territory and apply pressure – The game is going to be played deeply in the Tigers half as Beauxis plays us into the areas where our aggressive defence can force errors and in the right areas those errors turn into points. Beauxis place kicking will punish all mistakes and penalties.
• Stop the Tigers halfbacks - Phillips will drag Yachvilli into a physical battle, which he does not relish and by doing so we stop the Tigers creative spark as Wilkinson wont offer this. Phillips is on top form and outplayed the Frenchman the last time they met and will enjoy the game again. Wilkinson will be pressurised off Tigers attacking lineouts with either Elsom or Qera marking him out like Betsen did for France 5-6 years ago. Stopping quality ball getting to the Tigers backline is key.
* Stop any flow developing and force Tigers into our game plan - our tactics are all about playing the game that suits us, slowing down phases and generally creating a disjointed game that we can force Tigers into mistakes and play to our strengths e.g. developed a new strategy for the breakdown and Beauxis kicking the ball deep.
• Keep Scoreboard Ticking – Beauxis to kick three points at every single opportunity
Key Points• Tactics have been designed to play to our strengths and stop Leicester playing the game they set out to achieve in their own tactics - they are looking to get the ball to their backs as much as possible, whilst we are happy to do this by kicking it deep into their own half and letting them come at us from deep. We will also keep the ball in our forwards and completely frustrate Tigers by going through phase by phase with slow ball and just completlely stopping Tigers from developing any flow or structure to their gameplan.
• Our kicking game completely changes the Tigers defensive patterns - if we keep kicking deep then their backthree will all need to play deeper, with Giteau at 12 he can take advantage of this by attacking BOD and offloading to Tuilagi or Foden to then create 2on1's with the Tigers defence. Ashton, Halfpenny some of best finsihes in Europe. We have some of the best attacking threats in world rugby at our disposal and Giteau is absolutely key for this.
• Have leaders throughout the team Hartley, Davies, Albacete, Elsom, Parisse, Phillips, Giteau etc and with Webber, Hayman, Williams all having leadership experience we have enough players who know how to win big games away from home.
• Powerful bench that we will use to change the game as and when we need to. Will look to slow down the Tigers attack, make the game broken up and disjointed, punish the Tigers with our better kicking game and win the terrirtory battle.
Saracens v London Irish
Sunny, 6 Degrees, 12mph Winds
Saracens
Manager – Ozzy3213
| 01. Alex Corbisiero | 09. Morgan Parra |
| 02. Bismarck du Plessis | 10. Francois Trinh-Duc |
| 03. Adam Jones | |
| 04. Lionel Nallet | 11. Digby Ioane |
| 05. Steve Borthwick | 12. Ma'a Nonu |
| 06. Thierry Dusautoir | 13. Henry Trinder |
| 07. Tom Wood | 14. Tim Visser |
| 08. Joe van Niekerk (c) | 15. Tom Homer |
16. George Chuter 17. Tendai Mtwarira 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Dave Attwood 20. Luke Narraway 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Patric Lambie 23. Mark Cueto
Tactics
Our generic gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game.
In attack our primary gameplan is always to control possession and run the ball, utilising big carriers attacking gaps in the line, and looking to offload to support runners to continue getting over the gainline and keep the ball alive. If the offload is not on, we will take the contact and look to recycle quickly at the breakdown. If running the ball is not on we will uitilise the kicking game of one of our backs to take us into the right area of the pitch.
In defence we will look to blitz, with our scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line. Key for us is line speed, getting up to make the tackle before the ball carrier hits the gainline, and confidence and trust in the man next to you in the defensive line, meaning we will not jump out or get pulled to far away from the next defender leaving gaps that can be exploited.
At the breakdown, we will not overcommit players. If the ball is not there to be won, then we will commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow it down whilst maintaining a strong defensive line across the pitch. If the ball looks like it is there to be won, we will look to get more numbers there quickly, with the first 1 or 2 players immediately rucking past the ball to clear the opposition players who are trying to get hands on it, and the next man in will then look to get it out quickly for us to counter attack on turnover ball.
We will look to really attack the scrum, both in attack and defence. We will not be looking to drop the scrum at all, and Joe van Niekerk in his role as captain will be talking to the referee constantly to ensure that he is aware that we want to scrummage. We will look to be aggressive in this area throughout.
Game Specific Tactics
- Bring Ioane and Visser in off their wings - We will look to get our wingers tracking the ball infield and supporting our big carriers looking for the offload and hitting the gaps created. We are looking at targetting the midfield area as we feel that for all SBW and Tait's attacking prowess, there are defensive weaknesses there with SBW in particular prone to jumping out of the line and leaving gaps that can be exploited.
- Kick for touch in behind the Irish wingers - We are not looking to play a kicking game as a general rule, but there will be occasions when we do need to. When this happens we will be kicking for touch in behind the Irish wingers and getting up quickly to stop the quick throw. We will then look to really contest the lineout and either win the ball or force Irish into kicking, which will either give us the ball infield and another chance to run it back, our a lineout on our throw, which we will look to secure and play again. We will not kick directly to JMH.
- Vary the point of attack and move the Irish pack around - Whilst our pack is not exactly light we consider the Irish pack to be quite a heavy one, and we will look to move them around the park to tire them more quickly. We will do this by varying our point of attack and utilising the pace and power in our backline to keep them having to make tackles, which is far more tiring than playing with ball in hand.
Key Points
- Home Advantage - We have not lost a home AP game since season 1. That is one defeat in nearly 40 matches. Vicarage Road is a fortress for us, and one that will take something special to breach.
- In Game Form - We come into this game off of the back of an away bonus point win at Franklins Gardens, an away win at Biarritz and a home mauling of Benetton Treviso. We are second in the table, and full of confidence for this one.
- Key Players - If you want to win the scrum and lineout battle and have a platform to play from then the hooker is a key man - 2. Bismarck du Plessis. In terms of controlling the game and dictating the tempo, you would look at the 8,9,10 axis - 8. Joe van Niekerk 9. Morgan Parra 10. Francois Trinh-Duc. We have real top quality in these positions which will allow us to control the game.
- Real Life Form/Injuries - None of the players in our starting XV are injured in real life, and all are in good form, with some in absolutely excellent form. Without getting into slating oppostion players, Fourie, Pienaar and Tait are all currently out injured, and I can't really remember when Fourie or Tait last completed 80 minutes. None of these are world class individuals (like Juan Smith) who would hold form for a while due to quality.
- Balance - We have good balance to our selections all across our team. A good blend of experience and youth throughout. A back three with two wingers who provide serious attacking threat, alongside a full back who is solid defensively and kicks well from hand. A midfield featuring the broadsword (Nonu) and the rapier (Trinder). A proven international class half back pairing. We also have 8 full internationals to bring off the bench if required.
N.B - Not a definite tactic to start, but if it looks as if Irish are going to try to throw big carriers down the 13 channel and target Trinder, we have the option of switching him and Ioane on defence, and having the powerful Australian line up inside with Trinder on the wing. If we do this an Irish still attempt to target Trinder in the outside channels by using big ball carrying forwards, we will really target the contact areas there for turnovers and look to strike quickly infield with the Irish forwards having to try to scramble back in on defence.
London Irish
Manager – stnick88
| 01. Soane Tonga'uhia | 09. Ruan Pienaar |
| 02. James Buckland | 10. Daniel Bowden |
| 03. Martin Castrogiovanni | |
| 04. Matt Garvey | 11. Bjorn Basson |
| 05. Nick Kennedy | 12. Sonny Bill Williams |
| 06. Jerome Kaino | 13. Matthew Tait |
| 07. Hendrie Fourie | 14. J.P Pieterson |
| 08. Pierre Spies | 15. Juan Martin Hernandez |
16. Jean Baptiste Poux 17. Neil Briggs 18. Duncan Bell 19. Mouritz Botha 20. David Sisi 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Jaque Fourie 23. Marland Yarde
Tactics
We travel to Vicarage Road full of confidence with 10 points from our last two games (BP wins over Wasps and Quins). We have picked a team to try and dominate the set piece and territory. We will look to play with ball in hand and not kick away loose ball, but build the phases using big ball carriers and force Sarries to make lots of tackles and commit men in defence before we spread the ball out and get the likes of SBW, Tait, J.P, Basson running.
We are targetting the scrum as an area to exploit. Castro gave Corbs all sorts of problems in real life a few weeks ago and will look to do the same again. With Tonga the other side, we have a powerful scrum that will look to drive Sarries backwards and win us some penalties for JMH to kick.
At the lineout we will have Kennedy calling the shots, supported by Garvey, Kaino and Spies. Kennedy will look to disrupt as much opposition ball as possible. In the opposition 22, we will look to secure the ball at the front and use the power of Castro, Tiny, Spies etc to maul the ball over the try line.
At the breakdown, we will use Kaino, Spies, Garvey etc to clear out the rucks quickly and allow Fourie in to secure good, quick ball and also to try and turnover oppositon ball. Any opposition ball will be counter attacked. We don't want to over commit to a ruck if the turnover is not on, but will try to legally slow down opposition ball. We have instructed Kaino to stop the hard running of Nonu. We have a lot of big tacklers like Kaino, Spies, Garvey, Fourie, SBW to stop Nonu building momentum which is where Saracens build a lot of their attacks off. We will also look to put big hits in on young Trinder and test his defence with SBW especially targetting him. Tait and J.P will track his runs and look to gather offloads, although similar to last week we have instructed SBW only to offload when it is on.
In attack, if our ball is slow, we will use the boots of Pienaar and JMH to kick in behind Sarries wingers as neither have good kicking games. Basson and JP will rush up on them and pressurise them.
Jaque Fourie will come on for Tait early in the 2nd half to bolster our midfield further and give us an extra dimension in attack and shore up our defence. JMH to kick all pens for goal if in range, if not go for touch.
Bath Rugby v Sale Sharks
Sunny Intervals, 7 Degrees, 4mph Winds
Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane
| 01. Cian Healy | 09. Fourie Du Preez |
| 02. Kevin Mealamu | 10. Charlie Hodgson |
| 03. Euan Murray | |
| 04. Louis Deacon | 11. Ugo Monye |
| 05.Sam Whitelock | 12. Anthony Allen |
| 06. Dan Lydiate | 13. Aurelien Rougerie |
| 07. Steffon Armitage | 14. Maxime Medard |
| 08. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe | 15. Kurtley Beale |
16 Jon Golding 17 Joe Ward 18 Petrus Du Plessis 19 Rob Simmons 20 Sean O’Brien 21 Richard Wigglesworth 22 Francois Steyn 23 Tom Varndell
Tactics
General
We'll look to use our big pack to build a base in order to get our backs into the game. We will play a backs based game. It will be really attacking, running rugby. We will look to be making good runs bringing our running back three into the game.
Set Piece
We have some of the on form scrummagers in the world and will look to use the scrum as a platform. We feel we can really use this to advantage . We feel a big part of our game will be the lineout. Lobbe and Whitelock are our main jumpers while Deacon offers a strong banker ball if needed. Simmons will maintain our dominance from the bench.
Other points
- Generate Quick Ball
- Look to slow Sale ball down with Armitage looking to create turnovers
- Look to get turnovers at the lineout
Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE
| 01. Marcos Ayerza | 09. Danny Care |
| 02. David Paice | 10. Johnny Sexton |
| 03. Luc Ducalcon | |
| 04. Romain Millo Chluski | 11. Keith Earls |
| 05. Christian Day | 12. James Hook |
| 06. Adam Thomson | 13. Robbie Freuen |
| 07. Fulgence Quedragao | 14. David Strettle |
| 08. Louis Picamoles | 15. Luke Rooney |
16. Lee Imolek 17. Brett Sharman 18. Neemia Tialata 19. Alun Wyn Jones 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Shaun Perry 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Nick Abendanoon
General Game Plan
On attack, we will look to control possession with our strong carrying game. We will look to our big carriers to get over the gain line and where possible offload to support runners breaking the defensive line and keeping our forward momentum going. If running the ball is not on we will look to the boots of Sexton and Hook to put us in the right areas.
On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the ball carrier before he gets to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown hard. Danny Care will act as a sweeper to cover any grubbers behind the line while our back three will sit deep ready to run back any loose kicks.
At the breakdown, if the ball looks available we will look to seriously commit numbers to clear the ruck allowing Thomson and Quedragao to come in and secure us turnover ball. At all other times we will commit 1 or 2 to the breakdown and look to counter ruck legally slowing down Bath ball allowing our defensive line more time to set.
We will look to use the set piece as a weapon throughout. We will target the scrum with a technically strong front row looking to get in under and win the scrum battle. With 5 jumping options and a reliable thrower at hook we will look to attack from the lineout. We will look to mix things up bringing the ball down into the maul or playing the ball of the top and spreading it through the backs.
Key Points
• In Game Form – We have lost just twice in our last 8 outings being bonus point defeats at Vicarage Road in the league and at Kingsholm in the LDC Pete Cup. We come to the Rec looking to continue our great form and leave with another away win.
•Play the game in the right areas – We will look to the boots of Sexton and Hook and play the game inside Bath territory forcing Bath to play from deep. We will look to our pack to disrupt the opposition set piece and our backrow in particular to attack the breakdown. We will harass Hodgson into making mistakes, giving us fantastic attacking platforms to work from.... Care, Sexton and Hook do however have the brains and spark to play from deep when it is really on.
• Target the Bath wingers - We will look to test the Bath wingers out today both aerially and positionally. Sexton and Hook will look to send some high hanging balls to the corners and really test the Bath back 3 none of whom are particularly good under the highball. We will look to execute kick and chases and crossfield kicks into the corners when we see any of these 3 out of position. We have picked a side packed with pace to really get up on the chase. Keith Earls has been lined up against Medard to use his GAA skills (Irish footballing) and beat him to the ball in the air.
London Wasps v Harlequins
Sunny, 6 Degrees, 12mph Winds
London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry
| 01. Perry Freshwater | 09. Luke Burgess |
| 02. Tatafu Polota-Nau | 10. Jimmy Gopperth |
| 03. Carlos Nieto | |
| 04. Mark Chisholm | 11. Lachie Turner |
| 05. Marco Wentzel (c) | 12. Luke McAlister |
| 06. Tom Johnson | 13. Jamie Roberts |
| 07. Deon Stegmann | 14. Tom Williams |
| 08. James Haskell | 15. Mike Brown |
16. Andy Titterell 17. Charlie Beech 18. CJ Van Der Linde 19. Richard Birkett 20. Roger Wilson 21. Mike Blair 22. Rory Clegg 23. Mike Tindall
Tactics
After losing away from home to a very impressive London Irish side last week we return to Adams Park where we are yet to lose so far this season. We have picked a dynamic, powerful and physical forward pack which will work very hard at rucks and winning us set piece ball at scrum time and lineout. We feel that if we can assert ourselves physically and win the forward battle, providing our backs with a solid platform we will be able to beat Harlequins. 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 Quins onto the back foot by winning the forward battle and collisions we will be able to unsettle them.
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. 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 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 taking the ball through plenty of phases to wear Harlequins down.
We have two excellent kicking options in Gopperth and McAlister who will kick in behind the Harlequins wingers and keep them pinned back where we will look to isolate and pressurize them into making mistakes in their own half. We will look to hit the rucks hard and compete when we can, Deon Stegmann with his low centre of gravity will look to compete hard at the breakdown, 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 Burgess with clean, quick ball and get our forwards running onto the ball at different angles to pierce the Quins defence.
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 such as Polota-Nau, Haskell and Johnson. Gopperth will look to bring in our strike runners in McAlister and Roberts. If it is on we will look to offload the ball to the supporting players and keep Harlequins working off the ball in defence. We will look for the in form Roberts to target the lightweight centre partnership of Quins and run hard at them, staying strong in the contact area and either offloading if he wins the collision, or the support players will keep driving him on, building up momentum and speed in our attacks. With the ball in hand we will look to our strike runners such as McAlister to attack gaps and half gaps in their defence targeting the outside shoulder of the Quins players. We will also be sending our big carriers in Quade Cooper’s direction.
So long as our ball carriers have the support, we will look to pierce gaps in the Quins defensive line and offload to supporting players, keeping the ball alive as much as possible. We will look to get our offloading game going to alternate the point of attack and keep Quins 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 the Quins 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, Haskell and Johnson. From there we will look to slowly sap the energy out of Harlequins by using the rolling maul. We will look to suck in as many Quins defenders to open up spaces elsewhere for us to attack. We’ll look to really target the set piece and create a platform, we feel that we can gain an advantage here, if we get a nudge on we will look to keep them going backwards. Our back row will look to really get in Coopers face and put him off of his game. We will ensure our discipline is exemplary. We will play hard rugby but ensure we play by the rules, discipline will be key. We feel that if our forwards can get us onto the front foot we have the half backs who will keep their cool and manage our game.
Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks
| 01. Tony Woodcock | 09. Lee Dickson |
| 02. Matthew Rees | 10. Quade Cooper |
| 03. John Afoa | |
| 04. Jerome Thion | 11. Cedric Heymans |
| 05. George Skivington | 12. Riki Flutey |
| 06. Francois Louw | 13. Anthony Faainga |
| 07. Sam Warburton (c) | 14. Jonathan Joseph |
| 08. Phil Dowson | 15. Rhys Priestland (k) |
16. Rob Vickers 17. Joe Marler 18. Brian Mujati 19. Nathan Sharpe 20. Carl Fearns 21. Karl Dickson 22. Felipe Contepomi 23. George Lowe
Tactics
We go to Wasps knowing what a formidable challenge we face against who have been one of the surprise package of the season so far along with ourselves. We know Wasps play a strong game organised around their half back pairing and they use there powerful carriers to punch holes in the midfield and then move to exploit an unorganised defence. We have set our game plan to try and move Wasps out of their comfort zone by putting big
pressure upon their half backs and midfield in defence and by moving the point of our attack around the field.
Game Plan
As usual we want to use our forwards to get us onto the front foot so we can throw the ball wide to our back 3 and we want to look to move the Wasps pack around the field as much as possible. We will look for our forwards to carry away from the breakdown of the shoulders of 10 and 12 far more often than we might usually. We will look to switch the point of attack constantly with Dickson, Cooper, Priestland and Flutey in control of this. We will be looking for our forwards to be running different angles and different depths to keep the Wasps defence guessing. Once we get quick ball we are going to unleash our backline into the game and look to get into spaces out wide where we can isolate the Wasps defenders. We want to maintain a high tempo in attack with players looking to carry the ball at pace and coming at different angles. Cooper is the perfect 10 to control our game and put other men into space and change our point of attack.
We will look to be patient in implementing this game plan but at the same time if we are going know where then we will look to use the cultured boots of Cooper, Priestland, Dickson and Flutey to put us into the right areas of the pitch. As usual we will not kick aimlessly and when kicking we will either clear to touch or kick into spaces. We are also going to look to kick in an attacking sense putting up and unders up and using crossfields and grubber kicks when we feel our attacking shape isn’t there and we are lacking momentum. We are going to look to keep the scoreboard ticking over with penalties to build pressure on Wasps. Our defensive game plan is to disrupt Wasps in every way. We want our pack to challenge every ruck and Set piece as well as having our defensive line coming up at pace.
Forwards
We have picked a big pack which I also consider to be quite mobile and this is important to our game plan as our forwards are going to be asked to carry the ball in wider areas than they might usually. We will look to carry in numbers and aim to win the collision and then keep driving our legs once we have reached contact. When we get the chance we will still look to offload to continue our attacks. We are going to look for our front 5 to carry of 10 and 12 with our back row looking to do the carrying off 12 and 13. We will look for our pack to be really aggressive and front up to Wasps and really try and knock them backwards from the word go. With our game plan of changing the point of attack we need to use 3 men in a ruck so secure quick ball. We are going to look to get Warburton and Louw to dominate the breakdown and secure us penalties and turnovers which we can turn into points.
Set Piece
At the scrum we are going to really look to get the shove on with our experienced and tough front row. We will look for both of our props to try to get underneath there opponent particularly John Afoa who will have the force of Jerome Thion behind him. If we do get a scrum advantage we will look to go up on the Tighthead side so Dowson can pick up and run at Wasps with more space available to him.
At the Lineout we will use 5 man lines inbetween both 22’s with the two props either end and Skivington, Thion and Dowson being the jumpers used inbetween them. This allows us to use Louw and Warburton in the midfield on the first phase if required. When in our own 22 or the opposition 22 we will look to use a full line so as we have the option to use a driving maul to gain us some ground. On the opposition ball we will look to compete with Skivington marking Wentzel to attempt to make Wasps look to other jumpers whom Thion, Louw and Dowson will then look to pressure.
Backs
In the backs we have our key decision makers at 9 10 and 12 and we will run our plays through them. A move we will look to use is for Faainga to cut lines back across the defence so Flutey can swing round and Cooper can pick Flutey out behind Faainga when we want to run wide. Using this we suck in defenders and it gives Flutey the chance to feed the back 3 in a bit more space. We can also give the ball to Faainga to make the hard yards as well as having floating forwards picking lines off Cooper and Flutey. From first phase ball we will look to bring Priestland and the blindside wing into play as runners who can be used to carry or be used as decoys. We will look to have Preistland in the line when we are attacking so we have another creative player involved unlocking the Wasps defence.
Defence
We have some really strong defensive players in this game and we will look for them to marshall our defence. Louw and Faainga will be in charge of our defence during the game and will rearrange our defensive line up if we are weak in a particular area. We will play with a quick line speed particularly looking to put pressure on the Wasps decision makers. We have reinforced our midfield defence with Flutey and Faiinga and I can’t see anybody making any headway through this channel so Wasps will have to re assess their strategy. We will look to try and smash Wasps runners backwards by adapting a low body position. This will give us a target for our forwards to hit to disrupt Wasps ball. We will have our back 3 sitting very deep to capitalise on loose kicks with Dickson sweeping behind the defensive line. In defence Priestland will move to 10 and Cooper will move to 15 as he does with the Reds. When the ball is kicked to Heymans, Cooper and Joseph we have one of the most exciting attacking units you could ask for to run the ball back to wasps with interest.
Subs
We have some great impact players on the bench who will be introduced into the second half. We also have the electric Karl Dickson to bring on if we need to up the tempo anymore as well as very powerful carriers in Marler, Mujati, Fearns and Lowe.
Key Points
• Constantly move the point of attack with both backs and forwards looking to move the point of attack. Cooper is key to this and will run the show for us.
• Move the Wasps pack around by using our forward s to carry in the midfield.
• Build pressure on Wasps in attack and defence. We want our forwards to disrupt wasps at every opportunity.
• Only kick when it gives us an obvious advantage or to clear our lines. Absolutely no loose kicking and when we do kick we chase as a line.
• Use Flutey coming behind Faainga to unleash our back line and Kearney who will join the line.
• Dominate the breakdown will Louw and Warburton looking to get on the ball and legally recover possession.
• Keep a high tempo to our game in attack and defence.
• Be very physical with wasps and play in their faces.
• Use our bench at the right time. Impact players galore.
• Kick the points when we can.
Opposition Specific Tactics
- We don't see a genuine breakdown specialist in the Wasps pack so we are going to really look to get on top in this area.
- Try to kick into the gaps behind the wasps back 3. We think we can gain territory by forcing the Wasps wingers into kicking which we don't see as their strength.
- Really target Charlie Beech if he comes off the bench. Afoa and Mujati will really cause him problems.
- Press onto Gopperth and McAllister and give them as little time as possible.
Last edited by SirJohnnyEnglish on Fri 2 Dec - 10:48; edited 3 times in total
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 11:42
fastlane and stnick the only ones not predicted by my reckoning???
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Re: AP Round 10
by prop_lyd Sat 3 Dec - 11:43
Argh!!!! With 3 still to go what happens, does it get kept open or not?
OOO and for a heads up, I may not be able to predict next week.
OOO and for a heads up, I may not be able to predict next week.
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Re: AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat 3 Dec - 11:45
Closes at 12 Prop if predictions arent in by then they dont stand 
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Re: AP Round 10
by prop_lyd Sat 3 Dec - 11:46
I'm too worried to try to work out my score think i'll sit in a dark corner for 15 mins!!
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 11:49
Sad as it may be I have been keeping track of my own score as the predictions have been coming in so know roughly what my score is.
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Re: AP Round 10
by stnick88 Sat 3 Dec - 11:59
New 22-20 glos
Exe 12-14 wor
Bath 24-20 sale
Wasps 20-18 qui
Lei 19-19 nor
Exe 12-14 wor
Bath 24-20 sale
Wasps 20-18 qui
Lei 19-19 nor
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Re: AP Round 10
by Guest Sat 3 Dec - 12:05
Happy with a bonus point away next wasps and sarries it does not get easier
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Re: AP Round 10
by Sgt_Pooly Sat 3 Dec - 12:09
I've been trying to post but was showing maintenance?!?!?!
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Re: AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat 3 Dec - 12:14
Results
Exeter Chiefs 18-23 Worcester Warriors
Tries:
Conversations:
Penalties: O'Gara (5)
Drop Goals: O'Gara
Tries: Williams (2)
Conversations: Steyn (2)
Penalties: Steyn (3)
Drop Goals:
Leicester Tigers 29-22 Northampton Saints
Tries: Pape, Fritz
Conversations: Yachvili (2)
Penalties: Wilkinson (3) Yachvili (2)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Tuilagi, Phillips, Ashton
Conversations: Beaxuis (2)
Penalties: Beaxuis
Drop Goals:
Saracens 33-22 London Irish
Tries: Ioane, Nonu, Wood, Visser (2)
Conversations: Parra
Penalties: Parra (2)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Basson, Garvey
Conversations:
Penalties: Hernadez (3)
Drop Goals: Hernadez
Bath Rugby 28-21 Sale Sharks
Tries: Monye (2), Allen
Conversations: Hodgson (2)
Penalties: Hodgson (3)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Freuen, Quedragao, Ayerza
Conversations: Sexton (3)
Penalties:
Drop Goals:
London Wasps 23-24 Harlequins
Tries: McAllister, Haskell
Conversations: Gopperth (2)
Penalties: Gopperth (3)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Joseph, Fearns
Conversations: Priestland
Penalties: Priestland (4)
Drop Goals:
Newcastle Falcons 29-23 Gloucester Rugby
Tries: Bowe, Ashley-Cooper
Conversations: Evans (2)
Penalties: Evans (4)
Drop Goals: Evans
Tries: Dagg
Conversations:
Penalties: Carter (6)
Drop Goals:
Exeter Chiefs 18-23 Worcester Warriors
Tries:
Conversations:
Penalties: O'Gara (5)
Drop Goals: O'Gara
Tries: Williams (2)
Conversations: Steyn (2)
Penalties: Steyn (3)
Drop Goals:
Leicester Tigers 29-22 Northampton Saints
Tries: Pape, Fritz
Conversations: Yachvili (2)
Penalties: Wilkinson (3) Yachvili (2)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Tuilagi, Phillips, Ashton
Conversations: Beaxuis (2)
Penalties: Beaxuis
Drop Goals:
Saracens 33-22 London Irish
Tries: Ioane, Nonu, Wood, Visser (2)
Conversations: Parra
Penalties: Parra (2)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Basson, Garvey
Conversations:
Penalties: Hernadez (3)
Drop Goals: Hernadez
Bath Rugby 28-21 Sale Sharks
Tries: Monye (2), Allen
Conversations: Hodgson (2)
Penalties: Hodgson (3)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Freuen, Quedragao, Ayerza
Conversations: Sexton (3)
Penalties:
Drop Goals:
London Wasps 23-24 Harlequins
Tries: McAllister, Haskell
Conversations: Gopperth (2)
Penalties: Gopperth (3)
Drop Goals:
Tries: Joseph, Fearns
Conversations: Priestland
Penalties: Priestland (4)
Drop Goals:
Newcastle Falcons 29-23 Gloucester Rugby
Tries: Bowe, Ashley-Cooper
Conversations: Evans (2)
Penalties: Evans (4)
Drop Goals: Evans
Tries: Dagg
Conversations:
Penalties: Carter (6)
Drop Goals:
Last edited by SirJohnnyEnglish on Sat 3 Dec - 18:39; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Scorers)
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Re: AP Round 10
by prop_lyd Sat 3 Dec - 12:16
The cider'll be flowing on the bus back from sandy park!!!!
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Re: AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat 3 Dec - 12:16
Im off out now but will be back for scorers later Pete
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 12:18
TBP two weeks running
Very, very happy with that. Just need to carve up the Ospreys home and away in the next two weeks and I'll be a happy chappy!!!
Very, very happy with that. Just need to carve up the Ospreys home and away in the next two weeks and I'll be a happy chappy!!!
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 12:18
SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:Im off out now but will be back for scorers later Pete
No worries bud, am going to be out all afternoon, so will update the league table tonight.
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 12:22
At a quick glance only positional changes in the league are Quins jumping above Sale into 3rd and Tigers going above Gloucester on points difference.
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Re: AP Round 10
by Sgt_Pooly Sat 3 Dec - 12:29
Lads I'm really sorry for not posting. Done a few games and have been trying to post them since 1130, site kept saying maintenance.
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 12:34
I was getting that a fair bit yesterday mate, well annoying.
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Re: AP Round 10
by Guest Sat 3 Dec - 12:40
That costs a million pounds. Expensive error. I had that maintenance thing the other day
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Re: AP Round 10
by Guest Sat 3 Dec - 12:44
We have the 12 cut off so have to adhere to it. I have been tripped up by it before
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Re: AP Round 10
by Sgt_Pooly Sat 3 Dec - 12:47
Drivers call I guess, was unforeseen circumstances! Feel like some of the games have been cheated 
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Re: AP Round 10
by Guest Sat 3 Dec - 12:51
Thing is i have been cut off for being late before and Was told tough luck so can't go changing things
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Re: AP Round 10
by Sgt_Pooly Sat 3 Dec - 12:55
Good game anyway matt looking through predo's, such small margins these days
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Re: AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat 3 Dec - 18:58
Scorers updated
Question for Matt/Luke were are you guys seeing this massive lack of form in my side?? You've mentioned it the last two weeks but I can see plenty of form in that side.
And a question in general how much emphasis do people put on tactics in their predictions? Particularly when there is a lack of any actual tactics...
Question for Matt/Luke were are you guys seeing this massive lack of form in my side?? You've mentioned it the last two weeks but I can see plenty of form in that side.
And a question in general how much emphasis do people put on tactics in their predictions? Particularly when there is a lack of any actual tactics...
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Re: AP Round 10
by LukeLovesLuka Sat 3 Dec - 19:50
SJE
For me a lot of your players haven't played many games in months, or been dropped from their national team.
Danny Care (starting to play well)
Johnny Sexton (starting to play well)
Luc Ducalcon
Romain Millo Chluski
James Hook (starting to play well)
Adam Thomson
Robbie Freuen
Fulgence Quedragao
David Strettle
Louis Picamoles
Personally not a lot of form there. Just my opinion
For me a lot of your players haven't played many games in months, or been dropped from their national team.
Danny Care (starting to play well)
Johnny Sexton (starting to play well)
Luc Ducalcon
Romain Millo Chluski
James Hook (starting to play well)
Adam Thomson
Robbie Freuen
Fulgence Quedragao
David Strettle
Louis Picamoles
Personally not a lot of form there. Just my opinion
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Re: AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat 3 Dec - 20:08
Id give you Ducalcon, injured since the world cup but played when Mas was injured at the world cup hes only made his comeback briefly over the last 2 weeks, and possibly Millo Chluski who didnt play at the world cup but has played alright at Toulouse since. But the rest of the NH players are all playing well for their clubs at the moment? Sexton, Quedragao and Hook in particular have been immense. Cant understand Thomson as he played most of the world cup for New Zealand either covering Read and McCaw when injured and played from the bench when they were fit. He was one of the best players through the early rounds. He had a fairly active role. While Freuen wasnt selected for the world cup he was immense in the Super 15. If your not rating Thomson or Freuen I assume your not rating any SH players who played active but not 1st choice roles at the world cup or any who didnt play at the world cup at all then??
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Re: AP Round 10
by Steven_Sharks Sat 3 Dec - 20:10
SJE I thought you were unfortunate with regards to the tactics. There wasn't enough from ITFL and I penalised him for it. I think the Bath team was stronger than yours and with Home advantage also against you I decided against giving Bath the loss and bottled it with a draw.
With regards to the form of your players I don't think there are that many players in good form which tends to lead people to think they are in bad form, when they are in real life just ticking along at their usual level. It's just an issue of this game.
With regards to the form of your players I don't think there are that many players in good form which tends to lead people to think they are in bad form, when they are in real life just ticking along at their usual level. It's just an issue of this game.
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Re: AP Round 10
by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat 3 Dec - 20:32
Cheers Steve to be honest I would have given the game a draw this week as well thought it was the fair result. ITFL has a cracking side and at home but with what is really 6 lines of tactics, 2 or 3 lines of which only gave any game plan which actually contradicts itself (Really attacking running rugby... but looking to completly dominate the lineout would need an awful lot of kicking no??)
A good set of tactics from ITFL and I wouldnt have had a problem not getting any points this weekend he has a cracking side but there was no real game plan on show and what was contradicted itself. We all saw with England at the world cup what happens when you havent a game plan in place!
A good set of tactics from ITFL and I wouldnt have had a problem not getting any points this weekend he has a cracking side but there was no real game plan on show and what was contradicted itself. We all saw with England at the world cup what happens when you havent a game plan in place!
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Re: AP Round 10
by Sgt_Pooly Sat 3 Dec - 20:40
I think it's 50/50 on tactics having an effect on results.
I personally think its gone a little OTT (I'm a big culprit). I'd like to stick to 10 or so one line bullet points indicating targets/style
I personally think its gone a little OTT (I'm a big culprit). I'd like to stick to 10 or so one line bullet points indicating targets/style
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Re: AP Round 10
by LukeLovesLuka Sat 3 Dec - 21:00
Just my opinion SJE, I don't think the majority of those listed have played that great in the last 3 months. I'll concede to Thomson, I think he's a great player. I said your backrow was good in predos. Hook has looke good for a couple of games, but lost his place for Wales. Sexton will always hold a good rating - you know I'm a fan, ive tried to sign him off you lol. ITFL has quietly built an amazing team.
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Re: AP Round 10
by prop_lyd Sat 3 Dec - 21:01
For me pooly, i'd agree with tactics going very ott....ok i've only been here for about a season but some of the tactics are a tad too long
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Re: AP Round 10
by LukeLovesLuka Sat 3 Dec - 21:02
Id be I'm favour of a word limit / bullet point limit.
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Re: AP Round 10
by Sgt_Pooly Sat 3 Dec - 21:06
It's gets a bit stupid. I put in how McCaw will play at breakdown and POC lineout....really?!?!
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Re: AP Round 10
by Ozzy3213 Sat 3 Dec - 21:16
I've cut mine down this season. Some are very long and it does make predicting an arduous task sometimes.
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Re: AP Round 10
by stnick88 Sat 3 Dec - 21:57
Bullet points would be so much better. Long paragraphs get very boring
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