ACC, Pool 4 - Round 6: Dragons vs Prato, Chiefs vs USAP

It's a winner takes all from this group as the Exeter Chiefs meet USAP in the final game of the pool at Sandy Park, with the hosts just a point above the visitors after 5 rounds. USAP won by 3 points in the first encounter of the pool, but the Chiefs will be hoping o make home advantage count to progress to the quarterfinals of the Amlin in only their second season in Europe. Meanwhile in the other fixture, the Dragons welcome I Cavlieri Prato (poss my favourite name for a rugby team) to Dave Parade.

USAP squad: Kisi Pulu, Jerome Schuster, FRESHWATER Perry, BOURRUST Benedict, THIART Daniel, GELI Charles, GUIRADO Guilhem, Marius Tincu, OLIBEAU Olivier, TCHALA Watchou Robins, TAOFIFENUA Roman, BRITZ Gerrie, CHOULY Damien, BEZIAN Roman, Perez Jean-Pierre, Florian Cazenave, mingled David, James Hook, Nicolas Laharrague, SID Farid, PLANTED Adrian, Gavin Hume, David Marty, PORICAL Jerome, Joffrey Michel - they're bringing the big guns

Go Chiefs

If you feel like scalping a few of them please feel free - they'll be missing at least one player due to citings

Do you have any links on citings made, munkian? Cheers

I haven't to hand - I know Battle (sp?) has his hearing today for the spear tackle - try ESPN maybe ?

Here you go AsLongAs

http://www.ercrugby.com/eng/news/15979.php

Good luck for the last game! I'm sure your boys can take it if you all start banging those steel stands. The perp players will all go down with migraines!

Lovely, thanks Standards He's not named in their match-day squad - admission of guilt? Yeah, hopefully we'll get the chop going big-time

I really hope that the Chiefs win this. I would wish them the best because of you As, but after hearing about USAP's antics last week, I hope they go out.

As for Dragons, well it's got to be a BP win to end our campaign really hasn't it.

Risca Rev wrote:I really hope that the Chiefs win this. I would wish them the best because of you As, but after hearing about USAP's antics last week, I hope they go out.

As for Dragons, well it's got to be a BP win to end our campaign really hasn't it.

Yer a fine man, Rev We'll get you down to Sandy Park one of these days, not long to go now, bud

Not long at all. Yeah I look forward to a trip to Sandy Park asap.

The Exeter team:

15 Luke Arscott
14 Gonzalo Camacho
13 Nic Sestaret
12 Jason Shoemark
11 Matt Jess
10 Ignacio Mieres
9 Haydn Thomas
1 Brett Sturgess
2 Neil Clark
3 John Andress
4 Tom Hayes (capt)
5 Aly Muldowney
6 Tom Johnson
7 James Scaysbrook
8 Richard Baxter

16 Simon Alcott
17 Hoani Tui
18 Craig Mitchell
19 Ben White
20 James Phillips
21 Kevin Barrett
22 Gareth Steenson
23 Phil Dollman

Strongest available team, and a familiar one with 7 of the pack have played for Exe in the Championship, and more than half the squad. It's slightly surreal that effectively a second tier scrum will be going up against the mighty USAP pack - they struggled a bit in France but overall earned the LBP.

Not considered through injury:
Ben Moon, Chris Whitehead, Peter Short, James Hanks, Chad Slade, Sireli Naqelevuki, Josh Tatupu.

Two big names missing from the Perpignan squad - Mas and Mermoz. Not sure if they're injured or rested, but the noises coming from them is that they're taking this seriously, targetting the Amlin as a way into next season's HC.

Massive game at Sandy Park, and, with a 16 knot NWN wind forecast, hopefully it's going to be enough to blow away USAP.

Dragons team:

Martyn Thomas, Will Harries, Adam Hughes, Andy Tuilagi, Aled Brew, Jason Tovey, Joe Bedford, Phil Price, Rhys Buckley, Dan Way, Adam Jones, Rob Sidoli, Danny Lydiate (c), Lewis Evans, Toby Faletau

Replacements:
Steve Jones, Nathan Williams, Nathan Buck, Sam Parry, Tom Brown, Jonathan Evans, Lewis Robling, Jamie Smith

Basically our hand is forced into playing the same back 5 forwards, all change in the front row and Joe Bedford at 9.

The team is kind of what I would've picked for what should a BP win, but I would like to have seen Lewis Robling have a go at 12 again (though I can Tuilagi having some joy running at Prato if the rumours of his strong running against USAP are true). I would also have loved to have seen Jon Evans play 9 instead of blinking Joe Bedford.

USAP team :
Joffrey Michel ; Farid Sid, David Marty, Gavin Hume, Adrien Plante ; James Hook, David Mele ; Jean-Pierre Perez, Romain Bezian, Gerrie Britz ; Robins Tchale Watchou, Romain Taofifenua ; Benoit Bourrust, Charles Geli, Perry Freshwater

no MAS, CHOULY, MERMOZ.

other big names on the bench :Marius Tincu, Jérôme Schuster, Kisi Pulu, Olivier Olibeau, Guilhem Guirado, Florian Cazenave, Nicolas Laharrague, Jérôme Porical

Battle only got 4 weeks for that spear, no other citings, seems pretty light

Would have been nice to give Faletau a rest, though I wouldn't have wanted to tell him he's not playing lol.

Agree about Evans as well instead of Bedford.

bedfordwelsh wrote:Would have been nice to give Faletau a rest, though I wouldn't have wanted to tell him he's not playing lol.

Agree about Evans as well instead of Bedford.

Lydiate too, especially as he had to be taken off again. He needs to rest his ankle up really, even if it is a different one.

Still good win for Dragons to finish off the pool. Yeah it's only Prato, but tries haven't been too forthcoming recently.

Absolutely delighted for the Chiefs and Aslongas. That man is a top bloke and I am delighted for him

what was the final score, Risca?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/live_scores/4795889.stm?refresh

Any more info on Lydiate ? Fan at game said he limped off on his own , BBC say he was helped off with dodgy knee. The BBC are gash mind

45-16 Dreamer.

Knee was it. I thought I saw ankle. That's what I get for not reading properly. Can't give any other info as I couldn't attend.

No Rev, I was just saying I've read two different reports , the BBC one looks cut and paste though

ah nice tidy score then, good for the Dragons to get some confidence back in runnin in tries.

How Lydiates injury is not too bad!

Game of two halves. Great first half but so boring for the fans in the second. We needed to really turn the screw but just sat back and let them come at us.

Good to win obviously, but we won't win any fans shutting up shop like that in the second half.

that is all

completely chuffed for you Asbo!

Great minds Dreamer!

Fantastic result!

So pleased!

Did you get a good view from the tub Asbo?

Well done As, great win over Perp. Hopefully you'll go all the way now and show them that this was the toughest group!

Brilliant game played in a strong gusty crosswind. 0-14 after 10 minutes, 16-14 at halftime, 31-14 at the final whistle. 1-2 in yellow cards and some very battered bodies.

Have to wait for Wasps game later today to learn our fate - a bonus point win will mean Springtime in Paris for Exe, away to Stade Francais. Anything else will mean a Sandy Park reception for, by my reckoning, one of Ospreys, Biarritz, Cardiff, Edinburgh or Quins.

It's going to be fun.

Great win for the Chiefs as well good luck in rest of competition.

Just noticed on the HC web page that the Chiefs are down as 8th seed despite being pool winners.

I thought the 3 teams that dropped down were seeded 6, 7 and 8th. Is this wrong or did I understand it wrong.

They rank the top 4 pool winners 1-4, then the 3 Heino second placed teams that drop down 5-7, with the last Amlin pool winner as 8 - not really sure why tho

AsLongAsBut100ofUs wrote:They rank the top 4 pool winners 1-4, then the 3 Heino second placed teams that drop down 5-7, with the last Amlin pool winner as 8 - not really sure why tho

Seems bit strange would have thoygh Amlin winners be 1-5 then last 3, still an away fixture I guess whatever way.