Heineken Cup Round Five

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Pool One

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Scarlets vs. Gloucester
Sunny, 8 degrees, 4 mph winds.
Scarlets
Manager – Nigel Davies

01. Iestyn Thomas	09. Tavis Knoyle
02. Matthew Rees	10. Stephen Jones
03. Rhys M.Thomas
04. Dominic Day	11. Sean Lamont
05. Damian Welch	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Aaron Shingler	13. Scott Williams
07. Jonathan Edwards	14. George North
08. Ben Morgan	15. Liam Williams

16. Ken Owens 17. Phil John 18. Rhodri Jones 19. Sione Timani 20. Richie Pugh 21. Rhodri Williams 22. Rhys Priestland 23. Dan Evans

Tactics

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Rory Lawson
02. Joe Gray	10. Ryan Lamb
03. Nicole Mas
04. Bakkies	11. JSD
05. Richie Gray	12.Hape
06. Bonnaire	13. Rob Horne
07. Andy Saull (c)	14. Hosea Gear
08. Willem Alberts	15. Johnny May

16. Jamie George17. Nick Wood 18. Julian White 19. George Robson 20. Maure Fasivalu 21. Connor Murray 22. Stephen Donald 23 Charlie Sharples


Really simple game plan this week and that is to starve Scarlets of the ball and only attack with good front foot ball. We see ourselves as having the team to get an away bonus point win and this will be based on patience and winning the forward battle.

We have freshened up the side but have a huge scrummaging and lineout pack that is really mobile and packed with ball carriers. We dont see Scarlets pack as being able to live with us and this will give Lamb the chance to orchestrate attack after attack. Lamb has shown he is in great form and especially when he is on the front foot and he defitnitely will be in this game.

We have great lineout forwards and bonnaire is capable of dismantling their lineout further starving them of possession.

Hape offers the bosh up the middle and hrone the explosiveness and devestating outside break. both are rock solid defenders also.

We will be looking to get our back 3 of JSD, May and Gear into the game at any time. With scarlets living off scraps they will have to throw the ball around creating lots of opportunities for us in terms of intercepts and turnovers.

Basically we will

Starve scarlets of possesion
Use big ball carriers to generate front foot ball
Dismantle their lineout.
more dynamic bench to be used as necessary.
Momentum. We have not lost for a long time home or away and have won at places like saracens

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Munster vs. Castres Olympique

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Pool Two

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Sale Sharks vs. Cardiff Blues
Cloudy, 6 degrees, 5 mph winds.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Schuster	09. Care
02. Paice	10. Sexton
03. Tialata
04. Millo-Chluski	11. Strettle
05. Wyn-Jones	12. Turner-Hall
06. Vito	13. Freuen
07. Quedragao	14. Brady
08. Picamoles	15. Abendanoon

16. Ayerza 17. Sharman 18. Ducalcon 19. Jones 20. Palu 21. Spencer 22. Cruden 23. Rooney

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 boot of Sexton 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 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 the Blues 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 under and disrupt. 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.

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Cardiff Blues
Manager – Justin Burnell

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Lloyd Williams
02. T.Rhys Thomas	10. Dan Parks
03. Tau Filise
04. Bradley Davies	11. Tom James
05. James Down	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Michael Paterson	13. Casey Laulala
07. Sam Warburton	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Xavier Rush	15. Chris Czekaj

16. Marc Breeze 17. Yohn Yapp 18. Scott Andrews 19. Paul Tito 20. Andries Pretorius 21. Richie Rees 22. Ceri Sweeney 23. Gavin Evans

Tactics

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Racing Metro 92 vs. Edinburgh

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Pool Three

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Montpellier vs. Leicester Tigers
Sunny, 12 degrees, 8 mph winds.
Montpellier
Manager – xxx

01. Ma'ama Leleimalefaga	09. Benoit Paillaugue
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Maximiliano Bustos
04. Mickael De Marco	11. Yoan Audrin
05. Thibault Privat	12. Santiago Fernandez
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. Geoffrey Doumayrou
07. Mamuka Gorgodze	14. Timoci Nagusa
08. Masi Matadigo	15. Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino

16. Erasmus Van Vuuren 17. Mikheil Nariashvili 18. Giorgi Jgenti 19. Drikus Hancke 20. Remy Martin 21. Julien Tomas 22. Paul Bosch 23. Martin Bustos Moyano

Tactics

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Micky Young
02. Stephen Moore	10. Brock James
03. Ben Franks
04. Samu Manoa	11. Vincent Clerc
05. Pascal Pape	12. Billy Twelvetrees (k)
06. Magnus Lund	13. Casey Laulala
07. Johnathan Poff	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Ernst Joubert (c)	15. Clement Poitrenaud

16. Clarke Dermody 17. Lee Mears 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Alex Brown 20. Jordan Crane 21. Chris Cusiter 22. Rob Miller 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

- Game is built around our powerful setpiece, powerful midfield and flying back three. We will use the scrum and lineout as weapons.

- Attack the lineout as much as we can using the tactical kicking of B.James and Twelvetrees. Joubert to lead, supported by Pape, Manoa and Lund. Target all of Montpellier's throws looking for steals.

- Call for scrums when we can if we are getting the advantage we expect to. Joubert to control from the base.

- Look to Joubert, Manoa, Pape, Poff, Sheridan, Moore and Lund to give us real go-forward with their carrying.

- Use Manoa and Laulala off the shoulder of the half back's crashing down the 12 channel.

- We are playing with a left and right flanker - we will target the breakdown massively, with two players who can play openside on our flanks.

- B.James is given license to play the game as he sees it. We do ask that he uses our lineout ability to put pressure on Montpellier, so a kicking game can be employed, but if he sees an opportunity to attack out wide - that is his call.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. 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.

- Early on Twelvetrees to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Joubert to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.

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Glasgow Warriors vs. Leinster

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Pool Four

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Ulster Rugby vs. Newcastle Falcons
Cloudy, 8 degrees, 7 mph winds.
Ulster Rugby
Manager – xxx

01. Tom Court	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Rory Best	10. Iain Humphreys
03. John Afoa
04. Johann Muller	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Dan Tuohy	12. Paddy Wallace
06. Stephen Ferris	13. Darren Cave
07. Chris Henry	14. Andrew Trimble
08. Pedrie Wannenburg	15. Stefan Terblanche

16. Andy Kyriacou 17. Paddy McAllister 18. Declan Fitzpatrick 19. Lewis Stevenson 20. Willie Faloon 21. Paul Marshall 22. Nevin Spence 23. Adam D'Arcy

TACTICS:

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Rodrigo Roncero	09. Sarel Pretorious
02. William Servat	10. Toby Flood
03. Owen Franks
04. Ed Slater	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. Fran Steyn
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Conrad Smith
07. Heinrich Brussow	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Kieran Read(c)	15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Paul Doran-Jones 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Yoann Maestri 20. Toby Faletau 21. Ben Youngs 22. James O'Connor 23. Brad Barritt

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Aironi Rugby vs. ASM CLermont Auvergne

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Pool Five

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Saracens vs. Biarritz Olympique
Sunny, 5 degrees, 6 mph winds.

Saracens
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. George Chuter	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Adam Jones
04. Dave Attwood	11. Rene Ranger
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Tom Wood	13. Damien Traille
07. Thierry Dusautoir (c)	14. James Short
08. Alessandro Zanni	15. Alex Goode

16. Gary Botha 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brok James 19. Rynhardt Elstadt 20. Alex Gray 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Owen Farrell 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 Thierry Dusautoir 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.

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Biarritz Olympique
Manager – xxx

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Benoit August	10. Julien Peyrelongue
03. Sylvain Marconnet
04. Jerome Thion	11. Iain Balshaw
05. Erik Lund	12. Benoit Baby
06. Benoit Guyot	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Imanol Harinordoquy	14. Takudza Ngwenya
08. Florian Faure	15. Dane Haylett-Petty

16. Arnaud Heguy 17. Yvan Watremez 18. Francisco Gomez Kodela 19. Pelu Taele Pavihi 20. Wenceslas Lauret 21. Romain Terrain 22. Charles Giminez 23. Ilikena Bolakoro

Tactics

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Ospreys vs. Benetton Treviso

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Pool Six

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Harlequins vs. London Irish
Sunny, 6 degrees, 6 mph winds.
Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Karl Dickson
02. Schalk Brits (c)	10. Quade Cooper (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Jerome Thion	11.Joe Rokocoko
05. George Skivington	12. Anthony Faainga
06. Richie Vernon	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Luke Wallace	14. Zac Guildford
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Cedric Heymans

16. Rob Vickers 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Tom Donnelly 20. Jamie Gibson 20. Tomas O'Leary 21. Rory Clegg 22. Gonzalo Canale

Tactics

Very simple game plan this week. Play exciting rugby, looking to stretch London Irish all over the park and look to keep the ball in hand. We want London Irish to be scrambling in defence and for them to become disorganised. We have tried to pick player comfortable with the ball in hand and capable of adding speed to our game.

Quick ball and pace on everything we do. Looking to have our players carrying at pace and with aggression and look to keep the ball alive when its possible and look to put width on the ball. Look to get very quick ball from the breakdown and will commit numbers to this if required but when the ball goes into contact we will look to get the ball away from the breakdown as quick as possible.

If Irish look to spread the defence across the field then we will look for Dickson to snipe (See early season form (pre injury) to see how effective he can do this). Cooper will stand flat and look to put people into gaps with his passing (I consider him to be the best passing 10 in the World) and this can be a real weapon for us.

Set piece will be done similar to the Reds. We want the ball away from the scrum quick and at the lineout we will look to get the ball off the top and to the backs as quick as possible.

Our attacking game plan doesn't mean we will be weak defensively. In defence we will look to be disciplined and aggressive and will attempt to disrupt the patterns which Irish try to create. We will look to try and slow down their ball and attempt to get Wallace over the ball to get the turnover. Using Thion, Skivington, Vernon and Heaslip we will attempt to put huge pressure upon the Irish lineout.

Key Points

- We feel that we have picked a side which suits this style of play. We have plalyers who play that way in real life and players who we feel would really be suited to a quick paced game.

- We want tries. We get a Bonus point win and we have a sniff of the next round or at least the Amlin. We aren't giving up on Europe quite yet.

- As broken field runners come we feel we have some of the best. Roko, Guidlford, Heymans, Joseph and Cooper will all love it if Irish attempt to match our tempo.

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London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. James Buckland	10. Daniel Bowden
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Dean Mumm	11. Paul Sackey
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Keegan Daniel	13. Jaque Fourie
07. Hendrie Fourie	14. JP Pieterson
08. Xavier Rush	15. Delon Armitage

16. Soane Tonga'uhia 17. Neil Briggs 18. Darren Fearn 19. Mouritz Botha 20. David Sisi 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Matthew Tait 23. Juan Martin Hernandez

Look to use our power to dominate this game, both possession and territory. We are targetting the set piece and will look to scrum as much as possible to win penalties and create an attacking platform.

At the breakdown we will look to counter ruck and slow down Quins ball, legally, as much as possible. We will try to generate our own quick ball as much as possible to get Bowden on the front foot.

We will get SBW running down Coopers channel to test his defence. Fourie and Armitage etc will track his runs and look for offloads.

Pienaar will kick all pens for goal, If out or range go for lineout and use Kennedy as ou main jumper, with Mumm and Daniel as alternative options.

Overall we feel this game is here to be won, and will look to take the game by the scruff and dominate the territory and possession. WE know a win here could win us this group so the boys are fired up and ready.

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Toulouse vs. Connacht

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Saracens
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Morgan Parra
02. George Chuter	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Adam Jones
04. Dave Attwood	11. Rene Ranger
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Jonathon Davies
06. Tom Wood	13. Damien Traille
07. Thierry Dusautoir (c)	14. James Short
08. Alessandro Zanni	15. Alex Goode

16. Gary Botha 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brok James 19. Rynhardt Elstadt 20. Alex Gray 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Owen Farrell 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 Thierry Dusautoir 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.

Manager – Matt

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Rory Lawson
02. Joe Gray	10. Ryan Lamb
03. Nicole Mas
04. Bakkies	11. JSD
05. Richie Gray	12.Hape
06. Bonnaire	13. Rob Horne
07. Andy Saull (c)	14. Hosea Gear
08. Willem Alberts	15. Johnny May

16. Jamie George17. Nick Wood 18. Julian White 19. George Robson 20. Maure Fasivalu 21. Connor Murray 22. Stephen Donald 23 Charlie Sharples


Really simple game plan this week and that is to starve Scarlets of the ball and only attack with good front foot ball. We see ourselves as having the team to get an away bonus point win and this will be based on patience and winning the forward battle.

We have freshened up the side but have a huge scrummaging and lineout pack that is really mobile and packed with ball carriers. We dont see Scarlets pack as being able to live with us and this will give Lamb the chance to orchestrate attack after attack. Lamb has shown he is in great form and especially when he is on the front foot and he defitnitely will be in this game.

We have great lineout forwards and bonnaire is capable of dismantling their lineout further starving them of possession.

Hape offers the bosh up the middle and hrone the explosiveness and devestating outside break. both are rock solid defenders also.

We will be looking to get our back 3 of JSD, May and Gear into the game at any time. With scarlets living off scraps they will have to throw the ball around creating lots of opportunities for us in terms of intercepts and turnovers.

Basically we will

Starve scarlets of possesion
Use big ball carriers to generate front foot ball
Dismantle their lineout.
more dynamic bench to be used as necessary.
Momentum. We have not lost for a long time home or away and have won at places like saracens

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Karl Dickson
02. Schalk Brits (c)	10. Quade Cooper (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Jerome Thion	11.Joe Rokocoko
05. George Skivington	12. Anthony Faainga
06. Richie Vernon	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Luke Wallace	14. Zac Guildford
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Cedric Heymans

16. Rob Vickers 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Tom Donnelly 20. Jamie Gibson 20. Tomas O'Leary 21. Rory Clegg 22. Gonzalo Canale

Tactics

Very simple game plan this week. Play exciting rugby, looking to stretch London Irish all over the park and look to keep the ball in hand. We want London Irish to be scrambling in defence and for them to become disorganised. We have tried to pick player comfortable with the ball in hand and capable of adding speed to our game.

Quick ball and pace on everything we do. Looking to have our players carrying at pace and with aggression and look to keep the ball alive when its possible and look to put width on the ball. Look to get very quick ball from the breakdown and will commit numbers to this if required but when the ball goes into contact we will look to get the ball away from the breakdown as quick as possible.

If Irish look to spread the defence across the field then we will look for Dickson to snipe (See early season form (pre injury) to see how effective he can do this). Cooper will stand flat and look to put people into gaps with his passing (I consider him to be the best passing 10 in the World) and this can be a real weapon for us.

Set piece will be done similar to the Reds. We want the ball away from the scrum quick and at the lineout we will look to get the ball off the top and to the backs as quick as possible.

Our attacking game plan doesn't mean we will be weak defensively. In defence we will look to be disciplined and aggressive and will attempt to disrupt the patterns which Irish try to create. We will look to try and slow down their ball and attempt to get Wallace over the ball to get the turnover. Using Thion, Skivington, Vernon and Heaslip we will attempt to put huge pressure upon the Irish lineout.

Key Points

- We feel that we have picked a side which suits this style of play. We have plalyers who play that way in real life and players who we feel would really be suited to a quick paced game.

- We want tries. We get a Bonus point win and we have a sniff of the next round or at least the Amlin. We aren't giving up on Europe quite yet.

- As broken field runners come we feel we have some of the best. Roko, Guidlford, Heymans, Joseph and Cooper will all love it if Irish attempt to match our tempo.

It's not raining at Ravenhill!! First time this season

We name a strong side to travel to Ravenhill looking to come away with the win.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Rodrigo Roncero	09. Sarel Pretorious
02. William Servat	10. Toby Flood
03. Owen Franks
04. Ed Slater	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. Fran Steyn
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Conrad Smith
07. Heinrich Brussow	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Kieran Read(c)	15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Paul Doran-Jones 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Yoann Maestri 20. Toby Faletau 21. Ben Youngs 22. James O'Connor 23. Brad Barritt

Pooly you have Toby Flood down twice!!

Cheers mate

Heino gets interesting after these 2 rounds. All the games this week look mismatches. the only thing against both our teams is travelling away but even thats not that much of a factor when you look at the disparity in quality.

Montpelier away is probably the toughest on paper just because of their backrow but even so

Leicester Tigers have named a completely different XV to the one that comfortably beat Wasps at Welford Road last week.

Tigers are on a great run of form with 9 wins in their last 10 games as they prepare to tackle Montpellier in France. The last time the sides met in November, Tigers won 35 - 16.

Both Samu Manoa and Casey Laulala make their debuts for Tigers, after the club spent over £30m bringing in some fresh, and sizeable, new faces.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Micky Young
02. Stephen Moore	10. Brock James
03. Ben Franks
04. Samu Manoa	11. Vincent Clerc
05. Pascal Pape	12. Billy Twelvetrees (k)
06. Magnus Lund	13. Casey Laulala
07. Johnathan Poff	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Ernst Joubert (c)	15. Clement Poitrenaud

16. Clarke Dermody 17. Lee Mears 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Alex Brown 20. Jordan Crane 21. Chris Cusiter 22. Rob Miller 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

- Game is built around our powerful setpiece, powerful midfield and flying back three. We will use the scrum and lineout as weapons.

- Attack the lineout as much as we can using the tactical kicking of B.James and Twelvetrees. Joubert to lead, supported by Pape, Manoa and Lund. Target all of Montpellier's throws looking for steals.

- Call for scrums when we can if we are getting the advantage we expect to. Joubert to control from the base.

- Look to Joubert, Manoa, Pape, Poff, Sheridan, Moore and Lund to give us real go-forward with their carrying.

- Use Manoa and Laulala off the shoulder of the half back's crashing down the 12 channel.

- We are playing with a left and right flanker - we will target the breakdown massively, with two players who can play openside on our flanks.

- B.James is given license to play the game as he sees it. We do ask that he uses our lineout ability to put pressure on Montpellier, so a kicking game can be employed, but if he sees an opportunity to attack out wide - that is his call.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. 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.

- Early on Twelvetrees to kick all penalites within range, but we won't necessarily go for the 3 points as the game progresses. Joubert to make the call dependant on the success of the lineout.

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. James Buckland	10. Daniel Bowden
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Dean Mumm	11. Paul Sackey
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Keegan Daniel	13. Jaque Fourie
07. Hendrie Fourie	14. JP Pieterson
08. Xavier Rush	15. Delon Armitage

16. Soane Tonga'uhia 17. Neil Briggs 18. Darren Fearn 19. Mouritz Botha 20. David Sisi 21. Julien Dupuy 22. Matthew Tait 23. Juan Martin Hernandez

Look to use our power to dominate this game, both possession and territory. We are targetting the set piece and will look to scrum as much as possible to win penalties and create an attacking platform.

At the breakdown we will look to counter ruck and slow down Quins ball, legally, as much as possible. We will try to generate our own quick ball as much as possible to get Bowden on the front foot.

We will get SBW running down Coopers channel to test his defence. Fourie and Armitage etc will track his runs and look for offloads.

Pienaar will kick all pens for goal, If out or range go for lineout and use Kennedy as ou main jumper, with Mumm and Daniel as alternative options.

Overall we feel this game is here to be won, and will look to take the game by the scruff and dominate the territory and possession. WE know a win here could win us this group so the boys are fired up and ready.

Stowers has been banned for four weeks so comes out of my team for Rush, have edited my post.

keeping up the irish tradition whilst at ospreys hey nick!!

seems so matt!

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Schuster	09. Care
02. Paice	10. Sexton
03. Tialata
04. Millo-Chluski	11. Strettle
05. Wyn-Jones	12. Turner-Hall
06. Vito	13. Freuen
07. Quedragao	14. Brady
08. Picamoles	15. Abendanoon

16. Ayerza 17. Sharman 18. Ducalcon 19. Jones 20. Palu 21. Spencer 22. Cruden 23. Rooney

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 boot of Sexton 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 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 the Blues 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 under and disrupt. 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.

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tactics updated

Are Predos open??

Match thread isnt updated but you can predict away if you want to work my side and tactics and Nicks tactics from the comments

Normal Falcons tactics...high intensity and set tone in set piece. Use Brussow to get turnover ball and attack with pace out wide.

Thread is updated, predict away.

Scarlets 22 - 25 Gloucester

Gloucester's pack wins them this game, as I have the backs as pretty even. Not enough for the Scarlets to get enough ball to their 3/4s. Gloucester kill them off easily and late Scarlets score makes it closer than it was.

Sale 28 - 22 Cardiff

At Cardiff this could have been closer but there is enough here for Sale to get home. Strong backline here for Sale. Cardiff not a walkover here but fairly comfortable.

Montpellier 15 - 25 Leicester

Not pretty but effective from Leicester. Pack knows how to dog out a win and backs can put the finishing touches to a forward advantage. Good away win.

Ulster 22 - 20 Newcastle

Game of the week. Ulster are very very strong here and at home I see them snatching the win. Scrum a good battle with both TH's getting the advantage. Locks go to Ulster and back row goes to Falcons but massive fans of Ferris and Wannenburg and Henry is no mug but outclassed by Brussow. Half backs are one a piece with Pienaar are real class act and Humphreys very hit and miss. Backs go to Newcastle but there isn't a weakness for Ulster either. Tough call but I see Ulster getting the job done at Ravenhill.

Saracens 18 - 16 Biarittz

In France this goes to Biarittz but at home Saracens have enough here to get an important win. Biarittz know how to stop sides playing and just do enough for the win and it is the Saracens flankers give them that bit extra to get the victory.

Scarlets 16-22 Gloucester

Good battle in the backs but Glaws have the pack to really turn the screw here and should win away.

Montpellier 12 - 15 Leicester

Very tight here. Two even sides and the pack battle will be a serious arm wrestle. Telling difference is the extra quality Tigers can bring on so they take this by the skin of their teeth.

Ulster 17 - 20 Newcastle

Ulster a very good side particularly at Ravenhill but Newcastle have gone with a strong side themselves and have an edge in the pack and back lines overall and should see a win here.

Saracens 22 - 12 Biarittz

Biarittz have been atrocious this year in the Top 14 involved in a relegation battle and cant see them having their full attention on this game. Sarries should pick up a fairly comfortable win.

Can we get Stowers changed for Rush on the match thread please Pete


Harlequins 16-19 London Irish

Tight in the front 5s but Irish edge slightly. Quins with the better form in the back row though. In the backs Irish with better form at half back and the stronger midfield and should use the ball better. Cooper can seriously be got at defensively here with no tactics to protect him. (quite unusual for Steve)

Neither side get on top in the pack battle but with the world class midfield and better form at half back Irish will be do more damage particularly down the 10 channel.

Scarlets 22-36 Gloucester

Big fan of the Scarlets free flowing rugby but they'll see little ball with Gloucester pack dominating throughout giving the halfbacks an armchair ride. Saull as captain is an odd choice for me but the Gloucester juganaut just keeps on going.

Sale 27-20 Cardiff

Really good Cardiff side but they've struggled to perform away when I've seen them and Sale look very good throughout. I can't see any real weakness and Sale will ease in with a score win.

Montpellier 21-22 Leicester

Really tight affair this one. I'm a big fan of Montpellier and they play some gruelling stuff, can see them getting the edge in the backrow but Tigers just sneak in other areas. Good game and Tigers sneak it.

Saracens 25-15 Biarritz

Biarritz haven't been playing well and despite some good results recently will struggle against a strong Sarries side. Can actually see Biarritz getting edge in the set piece but not enough to back this up.

Quins 25-25 Irish

Think Irish will really get a push on in the scrum but Quins backed up by some grunt in the engine room. Lack of a bit of form hinders Irish in the backrow slightly and another good match up, been loving Wallace this season. Irish generally stronger in the backs and this is what sees them snatch the draw.

Scarlets 15-23 Gloucester
Think Jones would keep Scarlets close but Glaws just have more up front to take this

Sale 25-15 Cardiff
Sexton will give Parks a schooling tonight and think Sale's backs will run riot

Montpellier 10 - 30 Leicester
Too much class all over for Tigers, FTD can't do it all himself

Ulster 14 - 25 Newcastle
Massive battle here, Falcons back 3 get the win here

Saracens 20 - 12 Biarittz
Backs make the difference here

Quins 18-21 Irish
Little bit more up front and in form for Irish

Scarlets 17 - 20 Gloucester
Tough game, think Glaws have a bit too much upfront, but is going to be very close playing away and although Lamb is playing well I personally don't like him in the big games as much.

Sale 26 - 16 Cardiff
Going to be a massive battle up front and think Cardiff have got a very powerful midfield that is hard to breakdown, but Sale got far more attacking threat and with Sexton have a world class 10 to dictate the game.

Montpellier 18 - 20 Leicester
Tough place to go away from home, a few debuts in the match, which would take a little longer to settle into the squad, which could cause a bit of disjointed attacking play - but think Tigers have too much.

Ulster 25 - 24 Newcastle
Really close, but after watching Ulster tonight it is hard to see any team winning at Ravenhill. Is going to be incredibly close, but with Ulster's form at the moment their home ground is going to be very hard to win and to lose by one point isn't the worst result!

* guys wonder if it is worth doing something re predictions on a Friday when there are games, as influences results a bit? If I'm honest I would have given this to Newcastle by one point if I hadnt watched Ulster player their best game of the season tonight!

Saracens 23 - 16 Biarittz
Biarittz aren't playing well at all right now and travelling to Vicarage Road is a really tough place to go and play and try and get a win. Would like to see Sarries get a really electric back who is an out and out try scorer - think that is the one area they lack.

Quins 23 - 22 Irish
Very tough to call this one as both teams very good at different things - Irish have got a very powerful team that is hard to breakdown and defensively incredibly sound. With Cooper I think Steven has got a player that can unlock this defence and open them up a bit - think he is the match winner in this. Very tough contest though.

Sale 25-15 Cardiff
Sexton will give the game pace and control And sale
Front 5 provide platform

Montpellier 24-30 Leicester
Too much class all over for Tigers, mont backrow makes it difficult as does young and Manoa who do not fit

Ulster 21- 25 Newcastle
Massive battle here pack just to ulster due to 2nd row dominance and brussow neutral rating due to injury issues and no record of consistency. On his day great but often injured. Ferris gives robshaw a mare.

Half backs falcons and backs generally which gets them win.

Saracens 20 - 12 Biarittz
Backs make the difference and also Biarritz form dreadful apart from last 2 games

Quins 21- 21 Irish
How do
You split. Different styles and strengths. Can't split

Results

Scarlets 18-30 Gloucester

Tries: Morgan, S. Williams ~ Gray, Gear, May (2)
Conversations: Jones ~ Lamb (2)
Penalties: Jones (2) ~ Lamb (3)


Sale Sharks 31-18 Cardiff Blues

Tries: Vito, Picamoles, Brady (2), Sexton
Conversations: Sexton (3)
Penalties: ~ Parks (6)


Montpellier 17-30 Leicester Tigers

Tries: Fernandez ~ Joubert, Ojo (2), Manao
Conversations: ~ Twelvetrees (2)
Penalties: Fernandez (3) ~ Twelvetrees (2)


Ulster 22-26 Newcastle Falcons

Tries: Trimble ~ Read, Benjamin
Conversations: Pienaar ~ Flood (2)
Penalties: Pienaar (5) ~ Flood (2)


Saracens 27-14 Biarritz

Tries: Short, Wood ~ Balshaw, Ngwenya
Conversations: Parra ~ Yachvili (2)
Penalties: Parra (5) ~


Harlequins 22-24 London Irish

Tries: Guildord ~ Daniel, Castro
Conversations: Cooper ~ Pienaer
Penalties: Cooper (5) ~ Pienaer (5)

We gonna have to start punishing for no predos without a legit reason?

perhaps a 3 strikes then points reduction rule?

Averaged the Tigers and Sarries game over 5 instead of 6 so scores have had to be readjusted if Pete/Luke have already had a look at their results

Full bonuses for Steve, Me, Pooly, Prop, Chris and Matt. No bonus for everyone else.

Poor attempt at predo's this week guys. Agree with you Steve. I know some of us can be busy (Pete especially at the moment!!) but its not hard to at least get score predictions in

Sorry lads was in Bournemouth on the p iss so on phone and is hard to predict on here.

No excuses though and would be up or a strikes system

Scorers updated