Premiership Round 1

Team Sheets and tactics due by Saturday (18:00)
Predictions due till Monday (18:00)

---

Newcastle Falcons v Northampton Saints
Mild Winds, Sunny With Cloud

---

Newcastle Falcons

Manager – Fluxy

01. Graham Shiells	09. Jordi Pasqualin
02. William Servat	10. Jimmy Gopperth (K)
03. Euan Murray
04. James Hudson (C)	11. Jack Cuthbert (K)
05. Tom Palmer	12. James Fitzpatrick
06. Magnus Lund	13. Tom May
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Suka Hufanga
08. Tom Guest	15. Alex Tait

16. Tom Mercey 17. Joe Graham 18. Tim Swinson 19. Will Welch 20. Joel Hodgson 21. Paul Diggin 22. Luke Fielden 23. Jon Golding

tactics

• Playing the right areas and using our strengths - Using the boots of; Hodgson, Gopperth and May to get the forwards in the oppositions half. We have a very dominant front row at the scrum and at lineout time.
  
  
• Compete at the breakdown - Look to give the opposition no time to settle in to plays or not to take any ruck lightly, as this will lead to mistakes from the forwards an panicked kicks and decisions from the backs. Brussow and Lund should be first to rucks.
  
  
• Defensive line - We shall look to get up as the fast as the slowest man, and then drift the line man on man, in the direction of the play. Scrum-half covers behind as a pendulum.
  
• Defensive line - We shall look to get up as the fast as the slowest man, and then drift the line man on man, in the direction of the play. Scrum-half covers behind as a pendulum.
  
  
• Penalties - When the oppurtunity arises Gopperth shall take all kickable points within his rage.
  
  
• Substitutions - Euan Murray on for Tom Mercey at 60 minutes, likewise Golding on for Shiells at the same time. Welch on for Guest if we were losing in the second half. And finally Fielden on for Stegmann at 65 minutes.
  

---

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Jamie Elliot
05. Samu Manoa	12. James Downey
06. Phil Dowson	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Chris Ashton
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Alex Waller 17. Mike Haywood 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Calum Clark 20. Roger Wilson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. John Clarke

General Game Plan:

We will use our strong carriers to attack gaps and half gaps in the Newcastle line, looking to offload in contact to support runners thus changing the point of attack and keeping our forward momentum going. Sexton will look to attack from first receiver and inject pace to the proceedings committing the Newcastle defence and leaving space in wider channels for our runners to exploit. If running the ball is not on our halfbacks will look to the boot to put us in the right areas.

On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the Newcastle ball carriers before they can get to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown harder. Lee Dickson will act as a sweeper to cover any grubbers or chips behind the line while our back three will sit deep ready to cover any kicks down the touch lines and counter attack at pace.

With the blitz in operation we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it fast and hard. The first two players on the scene will look to ruck past the ball and clear out the Falcons players providing quick counter attacking ball to be used against a disorganised defensive line. If the ball does not look available we will not commit to the ruck and look to strengthen the defensive line instead.

Key Points:

•Scrum

We will contest every engagement! On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and create extra room for our 8-9-10 axis to work in. On Newcastle ball we will disrupt the put in looking for penalties or to create rushed poor ball for the Falcons halfbacks.

•Lineout

With 5 jumpers on our ball, we want to really use the lineout as an attacking platform like South Africa in recent years. We will use a full compliment and play the ball off the top allowing our halfbacks to get on the ball at pace with room outside.

•Ball Carrying

On the blitz we want to take advantage of the lack of real ball carriers in the Newcastle pack and force the Falcons to play on the back foot and kick the ball to our danger men in the back 3. We will use the gang tackle on isolated carriers, slowing ball down and forcing the turnover

---

---

Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Moderate Winds, Sunny With Cloud

---

Exeter Chiefs

Head Coach – Ozzy3213

01. Perry Freshwater	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Ignacio Mieres
03. Hoani Tui
04. James Horwill (c)	11. Gonzalo Camacho
05. James Hanks	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Tom Johnson	13. Josh Tatupu
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Paul Sackey
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Luke Arscott

16. Simon Alcott 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Tommy Hayes 20. James Phillips 21. Junior Poluleuigaga 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Jason Shoemark

Tactics

Our gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game. We will work as units and play a structured game (as the Chiefs and Saracens do in real life). We will put a lot of emphasis on the set piece, and look to use both as a real platform to play from, whilst not allowing our opponents to do the same. We will also look to use our big ball carriers to attack the gainline whilst having support runners on their shoulders to either take the offload or hit the ruck quickly as appropriate.

Specifics

• Attacking
  
  
• Play in the right areas - Mieres to use his boot to ensure we play in the right half of the pitch (kicking for touch and contesting the lineout, not to the Quins back 3).
  
  
• Control Possession - When in the right areas our pack, centres and full back to all carry hard and straight and look to get over the gainline and recycle.
  
  
• Use driving mauls - Support runners to hit the ball carrier in contact and keep him up and drive forward turning it into a maul. Also use driving mauls off of lineouts.
  
  
• Take all points on offer - Mieres to take every kickable penalty at goal.
  
  
  
• Defensive
  
  
• Slow opposition ball down - Look to legally (do not give penalties away) slow the ball at the breakdown by getting our back row over it to deny Quins any momentum.
  
  
• Do not overcommit to rucks - If the ball is not there to be won, do not overcommit but maintain a solid defensive line and control gainline momentum.
  
  
• Blitz Defence - Get up to the gainline quickly as a unit and stop Quins getting any forward momentum. Haydn Thomas to sweep in behind.
  
  
• Gang tackle isolated runners - If the Quins ball carrier is isolated we will look to keep him up at the tackle and wrap the ball up creating a maul and eventual turnover if the ball does not come out.
  
  
  
• Key Points
  
  
• Home Advantage - Very few teams go to Sandy Park and get a result, however many big names they have in the side.
  
  
• Set Piece - Quins state they want to keep the scrum up and scrummage legally. IMO that plays to our strengths and will give us a platform to play from.
  

---

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Joe Marler	09.Danny Care
02.Joe Grey	10.Nick Evans
03.James Johnston
04.Ollie Kohn	11.Miles Benjiman
05.George Robson	12.Jordan Turner-Hall
06.Chris Robshaw(c)	13.George Lowe
07.Will Skinner	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Nick Easter	15.Mike Brown

16.Chris Brooker 17.Mark Lambert 18.Tim Fairbrother 19.Charlie Matthews 20.Matt Kvesic 21.Karl Dickson 22.Rory Clegg 23.Tom Casson

Tactics

In ideal conditions we will look to move the ball and play at a high tempo whilst remember that possession is key to an away win. we have selected a mobile pack which has been picked to secure the set piece firstly and then do the flashy off loading game. We have tried to give our back line a balance through out with a controlling set of half backs hard running 12 and a pacy 13 to take his man on the outside. Our back 3 contains a out and out finisher (Benjiman) a well rounded linking a winger (AAC) and a solid all rounder at the back (Brown). Our bench is aimed at seeing a game out with powerful additions to the front 5 and a clever back row who can play all 3 positions well.

- Keep the ball and grind out the phases in the tight putting Care/Evans in a position to ping Chiefs back or spread the ball along the line and use AAC as a extra midfielder to link play up.

- Robson will look to keep the lineout solid on our own ball limiting to the 5 slots at the lineout in our own half and expanding to full lineout in the opposition 22 to tie defenders in and allow our backs to utilise there strike moves.

- Skinner and Robshaw will look to make a mess of Exeter's ruck and disrupt there ball with in the limitations of the rule book.

- We will use Easter as a linking 8 looking to free his upper body in the tackle and offload to his supporting players which he should have no trouble finding in our pack.

- Benjiman , Brown and Cooper have been given instructions to keep the ball alive on kick returns and look to shift the point of attack if there is nothing on then Kicking will be resorted to.

-Keep the scrum up , with referees struggling to control the set piece in real life we know that if we hold our binds and stay up at the scrum the ref will see us as getting on top and in a away game you have to control the set piece.

---

---

Saracens v Gloucester Rugby
Moderate to Strong Winds, Sunny With Clouds

---

SARCENS
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Matt Stevens	09. Morgan Parra (k)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Steve Borthwick (c)	11. David Strettle
05. Mouritz Botha	12. Brad Barritt
06. Kelly Brown	13. Owen Farrell
07. Jacques Burger	14. James Short
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Alex Goode

16. Rhys Gill 17. Jamie George 18. John Smit 19. Hugh Vyvyan 20. Andy Saull 21. Jackson Wray 22. Richard Wigglesworth 23. Joe Maddock

Tactics

We will work as units and play a structured game. We will use the scrum and lineout as weapons.

- Attack the lineout as much as we can using the tactical kicking of Parra, Hodgson and Farrell. Borthwick to lead, supported by Joubert, Botha and Brown.

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

- Look to all of our forwards to give us real go-forward with their carrying.

- Mix-up the first reciever options between Hodgson, Barritt and Farrell. All of our midfield are interchangable.

- At the breakdown, if the ball looks available we will look to seriously commit numbers to clear the ruck allowing Burger and Brown to come in and secure us turnover ball.

- Hodgson is given license to play the game as he sees it. We do ask that he uses our lineout ability to put pressure on the opposition, so a kicking game will 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.

- Test the Gloucester back three with high kicks in the strong wind. If they are struggling keep bombarding them, forcing the mistakes.

- 6/2 bench split, with massive pack replacements to keep set piece and carrying game up till 80 mins.

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

---

Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01. Nick Wood	09. Dave Lewis
02. Darren Dawiduk	10. Patrick Lambie (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Alex Brown	12. EFS
06.Alasdair Strokosch	13. Henry Trinder
07. Akapusi Q'era	14. JSD
08. Luke Narraway (c)	15. Olly Morgan

16. Matais Cortese 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Will James 20. Andy Hazell 21. Rory Lawson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Johnny May

Tactics
*We have a pack that will look to gain the up at scrum time and are mobile,
*Our lineout will be able to steal ball and Hamilton and Brown will look to put pressure on their throw,
*Backrow to look for turnovers or to slow the ball down and cause general disruption,
*Lambie to look to get our backs running but if ball is slow to pin Sarries back,
*Trinder to run close to EFS for the gaps and a backrower on their shoulder,
*Back 3 to look for the ball as often as possible and continue our exciting brand of rugby,
*Look to neutralise their attack with a banana blitz defence with a back rower looking for turnover ball at the tackle,
*Use bench as and when with Burns and May adding more pace and Harden, James and Hazell adding the power,
*We have won both warm up matches so confidence is high,
*Exciting, fast rugby, big hitting pack, gunning to make an instant impact on the league with Lambie pulling the strings and taking the points when required.

---

---

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks
Mild to Moderate Winds, Sunny With Clouds

---

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Marco Ayerza	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rob Webber	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Lewis Deacon	11. Christian Wade
05. Geoff Parling	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Croft	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. James O’Connor
08. Thomas Waldroum	15. Geordan Murphy

16. Tom Youngs 17. Dan Cole 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jeremy Staunton 23. Scott Hamilton

Tactics
In the great conditions we'll be looking to play at a high tempo and intensity from the off and move the opposition around the park.

We will look to set a tone in the set piece with our big scrummaging front 5 and will target this all game. Parling will lead the line and we will look to target the opposition's throw with Croft/Parling marshalling the front/middle of the line. We'll use big carries from our pack to draw in the Sale defence with Youngs marshalling and looking for gaps to exploit around the fringes.

Warburton will target the breakdown with Youngs sniping around and playing flat to the line to allow 36 & Manu space to run into. JOC will come looking for the ball in midfield and link up with Manu causing problems in the opposition midfield. We'll look to refresh pack around 60mins + and keep up the intensity.

LINEOUT - Deacon/Croft/Parling to target opposition throw and make a mess of the set piece

SCRUM - Target all game, Castro to put squeeze on Dickinson who's not renowned as big scrummager, Cole to continue pressure in the second backed by strong engine room

CARRYING - Target lack of carrying options in Sale pack, expect Powell to take up brunt of work so will get Warburton to hit him on 1st phase and attempt slowing/turnover

BREAKDOWN - Warburton to play the breakdown, we'll look to drive over the tackle area with physical front 5 and allow Warburton to get hands on the ball

KICKING OPTIONS - We'll look to kick for touch rather than territory and put pressure on Sale throw with numerous jumpers, We'll look to put 3 markers on Gaskell/Schofield and force them to hit backrow options.

WILKINSON - Use Croft's pace off the back of dominant scrum to put pressure on Wilkinson's distribution and force him to kick from hand or to play to midfield where Sale lack kicking options

HOME ADVANTAGE - Fortress Welford Road

JOC - Will look to get hands on the ball as much as possible and look for work in midfield, he'll also look to target Cueto on the outside

---

Sale Sharks
Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01. Alisdair Dickinson	09. Dwayne Peel
02.Marc Jones	10.Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Davit Kubriashvili
04.Dean Schofield	11.Mark Cueto
05.James Gaskell (c)	12.Sam Tuitupou
06.Richie Vernon	13.Jaque Fourie
07.Dave Seymour	14.Tom Brady
08.Andy Powell	15.Rob Miller

16.Joe Ward 17.Lee Imoliek 18.Henry Thomas 19.Kearnan Myall 20.Onosa'i Auva'a 21.Jordan Crane 22.Scott Mathie 23.Jonny Leota

Tactics

Our game revolves around playing the percentages, and playing the game in the right area of the park, and with Wilkinson and Peel starting this should not be a problem.

We will not look to go too wide too early, we will make sure we are getting some go forward ball before we do this, if we are not getting over the gainline Wilko, Peel and Miller who are all accomplished kickers from hands will ensure we are down in Leicesters 22.

Tuitupou and Fourie are both very good defenders and will look to nullify 36 and Tuilagi, however when we have the ball, we will targtet their centres, Tuilagi has the tendency to jump out the line and leave a massive hole exposed, and with only the inexpereinced 36 inside him, he will have no one to marshall him.


Scrum - Dickinson is not a destructive scrummager but he holds his own against whoever he is against. Kubriashvili will be able to target Ayerza, and this should lead to many penalties.

Lienout - Gaskell is our lineout caller, if he sees him and Schofield are bing makred out of it, he will call it to Vernon who is 6 ft 5 and has a spring or Andy Powell who is 6 ft 4 and will easily be able to win ball if no one is challenging him due to their marking of our locks

Lineout - Each of their lineouts we will put Schofield up at 2, to put the throwing of Webster underpressure, especially as he is known to go wayward when under pressure.

Breakdown - Seymour is the form 7 in the AP. Our pack is one that is very experienced and hardworking and we will use them to ruck over and past the ball.

Experience - Our team is full of experience all over the park, whereas Leicester's backline is very inexpereinced, and when Youngs gets frustrated, we all know he can lose his head. This is the same for Manu. So we will really look to wind them up and frustrate them.

Kicking - Wilkinson we take any points that are within range.

Subs - Imoliek for Dickinson after 55 mins. Thomas for Kubriashvili after 65 mins. Others as and when needed. Hooker change after 60 mins unless, due to circumstances it would be better if we didn't.

---

---

Bath Rugby v London Irish
Moderate Winds, Sunny With Clouds

---

Bath Rugby
Manager - Bathite

01.D.Flatman	09.M.Claassens
02.L.Mears	10.S.Donald
03.O.Franks
04.D.Attwood	11.M.Banahan
05.S.Shaw	12.F.Steyn(k)
06.L.Moody (c)	13.M.Carraro
07.F.Louw	14.T.Biggs
08.C.Fearns	15.N.Abendanon

16.D.Wilson 17.R.Batty 18.N.Catt 19.R.Caldwell 20.S.Taylor 21.C.Cook 22.T.Heathcote 23.O.Woodburn

General gameplan
A sell out Recreation game pays host to the first game of the premiership and the home crowd will look to get behind the team, boosted by the signings of world class players, Steyn, Shaw and Franks. Bath have picked a team with strength and dynamism up front and some tactical nous in the backs to allow finishers out wide to propogate.

Picked a backline with a very varied skill set, so we can change the gameplan, depending on the circumstances and to remain unpredictable. Steyn and Donald can kick long, high and low. Bendy & Biggs counter attack with pace, Banahan and Carraro have the physical ability to draw defenders and smash over the gainline.

Have picked big ball carriers in Franks, Attwood, Shaw and Louw to punch holes in midfield and to keep opposition back row busy, trying to tire legs and encourage mistakes. Look to force Irish to keep the ball tight and go through the phases in the middle third of pitch

Backs play
* Classens, Donald and Steyn to dominate the midfield and tight kicking game, an area where Irish might be lacking other than Bowden
* Look for short grubbers in behind Hape and Ansbro, who might lack out and out pace and kicking game to respond
* Earn the right to go wide, drawing in fringe defence with Classens sniping and Louw, Franks & Fearns running off him
* Donald to play flat on the gain line, looking for a size mismatch against his opposite number and to draw Hape and make him make a decision
* Use up and under in middle third from Steyn/Donald to allow back three to challenge, an area they are very strong in real life
* Carraro picked for his defensive leadership, he will look to lead the blitz and force the ball inside, where we feel our back row can slow ball and prevent quick ball out wide

Forwards play
* Use bulk of the front five at scrumtime to create a solid set piece in good ground conditions. Look to use strength advantage to apply pressure on opposing scrums, so backrow must deal with scrappy ball
* Fight at the breakdown in opposition third, not afraid of giving away the odd penalty
* Jump at 1/2 on opposition lineout, pressurising the hooker's throw. Always compete for throw to discourage and impeded off the top ball
* Caldwell comes on after 50mins for Shaw, allowing both to give everything. Caldwell brings fresh carrying legs and try scoring form to the game for the second half

---

London Irish
Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Clarke Dermody (c)	09. Joe Simpson
02. David Paice	10. Daniel Bowden
03. Paulică Ion
04. Bryn Evans	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Declan Danaher	13. Joe Ansbro
07. David Pocock	14. Tom Homer (k)
08. Imanol Hariordoquy	15. Delon Armitage

16. James Buckland, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Faan Rautenbach, 19. Steve Mafi, 20. Jamie Gibson, 21. Paul Hodgson, 22. Shane Geraghty, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau

Tactics
We've picked a strong side to travel down to Bath this week. The conditions are ripe for running rugby and we feel this is where we are superior, with ball in hand. We'll be looking for big runners throughout the game to crashing it up and getting us over the gain line. We'll play heads up rugby and look to go where we see mismatches in the opposition defence.

- We'll compete at the set piece and look to make Bath's ball as messy as possible. We won't get hung up on this however, as we know our strengths lie away from the set piece, in open play.

- Kennedy to be our primary option at the lineout, with Harinordoquy and Pocock great options too. In general, play off the top ball unless the situation calls for a catch and drive to set a platform (ie in our 22)

- Our main focus is the breakdown. Look to use the energy saved from the set piece to get around the park and disrupt their ball at every opportunity (legally). Pocock to make a nuisance of himself and look for turnovers.

- Use strong carriers in the loose off 9 and 10 to gain hard yards. Use the piston system of bashing it up, with Bowden behind patroling matters.

- Put pressure on their fly half all game. Make it difficult for him.

- Play rugby in their half. Bowden to pick his marks and put us in the right places.

- Look for big runs through their midfield, with an arguably suspect defence. Hape and Ansbro to be strong in defence and look for the opportunity to make big tackles and put them on the back foot.

- Homer to go for points at every opportunity. Make them scared to give away penalties in their half, thus giving us more time at the breakdown.

- Simpson to put tempo on the game, quickly getting the ball away from the breakdown and into the hands of Bowden. Look to snipe to keep them guessing.

---

---

London Wasps v Worcester Warriors
Moderate to Strong Winds, Sunny With Clouds

---

London Wasps
Manager – Stnick88

01. Tim Payne	09. Micky Young
02. George Chuter	10. Nicky Robinson
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Matt Garvey	11. Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Riki Flutey
06. Jonathan Poff	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Julien Salvi	14. Alesana Tuilagi
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Zak Taulafo 17. Ben Broster 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Richard Birkett 20. Tinus Du Plessis 21. Nic Berry 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Dominic Waldouck

Tactics

- In dry conditions, play a high tempo game and with pace.
- Young to snipe around the fringes and control the game with Robinson.
- Look to get Joseph to run on the outside of opposition defenders and get him 1 on 1.
- Tuilagi to come off his wing on the crash ball from attacking scrums and lineout.
- Poff and Salvi to do the breakdown work and secure as much turnover ball as possible. Warriors dont have a natural openside and we will look to exploit this at the breakdown. We want to disrupt Warriors as much as possible to give Carter scrappy and slow ball to work off. We will look to secure our own quick ball and get Robinson, Flutey, JJ running at Worcester.
- Look to stop Nonu gaining any momentum, Parisse, Salvi, Garvey etc to put the big hits in to stop him getting over the gain line.
- Wentzel as our main lineout option, Garvey and Parisse other options. In attacking lineouts look to mix up, sometimes playing the ball off the top for Young to work with, other times secure it at the front and maul forward.
- Cipriani to come on at 60 to add attacking spark to our back line.

---

WorcesterWarriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Matt Mullan	09. Will Genia
02. Aleki Lutui	10. Dan Carter
03. Tevita Taumoepeau
04. James Percival	11. Ugo Monye
05. Chris Jones	12. Ma’a Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Anthony Allen
07. Maurie Fa’asavalu	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Luke Rooney

16. Ed Shervington 17. Ceri Jones 18. George Porter 19. Ben Gulliver 20. Jake Abbott 21. Johnny Arr 22. Andy Goode 23. Matt Hopper

• We have a strong 8-9-10-12 axis and will look to control the game using these positions.

• Our dynamic backrow will be looking to really pressure the opposition on the ground a put in some big carries

• Dan Carter is the best Fly Half in the world and will look to control our game making changes as he sees fit

• Will Genia will be looking to snipe around the fringes and will use his running game to pressure Wasps

• We will look to getting Nonu into the game and creating mismatches so he can run at Wasps defenders

• Look to get our dangerous back three involved so they can cause trouble.

• We feel our bench is very strong. Hopper, Goode and Arr are players we can bring on to change the game.

---

---

Hashtag buzzin'!

That was bloody fast!

My excel files always help!

SARCENS
Manager –  LukeLovesLuka

01. Matt Stevens	09. Morgan Parra (k)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Steve Borthwick (c)	11. David Strettle
05. Mouritz Botha	12. Brad Barritt
06. Kelly Brown	13. Owen Farrell
07. Jacques Burger	14. James Short
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Alex Goode

16. Rhys Gill 17. Jamie George 18. John Smit 19. Hugh Vyvyan 20. Andy Saull 21. Jackson Wray 22. Richard Wigglesworth 23. Joe Maddock

Tactics

We will work as units and play a structured game. We will use the scrum and lineout as weapons.

- Attack the lineout as much as we can using the tactical kicking of Parra, Hodgson and Farrell. Borthwick to lead, supported by Joubert, Botha and Brown.

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

- Look to all of our forwards to give us real go-forward with their carrying.

- Mix-up the first reciever options between Hodgson, Barritt and Farrell. All of our midfield are interchangable.

- At the breakdown, if the ball looks available we will look to seriously commit numbers to clear the ruck allowing Burger and Brown to come in and secure us turnover ball.

- Hodgson is given license to play the game as he sees it. We do ask that he uses our lineout ability to put pressure on the opposition, so a kicking game will 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.

- Test the Gloucester back three with high kicks in the strong wind. If they are struggling keep bombarding them, forcing the mistakes.

- 6/2 bench split, with massive pack replacements to keep set piece and carrying game up till 80 mins. 

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

Will get my team in tonight

Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01. Nick Wood	09. Dave Lewis
02. Darren Dawiduk	10. Patrick Lambie (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Alex Brown	12. EFS
06.Alasdair Strokosch	13. Henry Trinder
07. Akapusi Q'era	14. JSD
08. Luke Narraway (c)	15. Olly Morgan

16. Matais Cortese 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Will James 20. Andy Hazell 21. Rory Lawson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Johnny May

Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01. Nick Wood	09. Dave Lewis
02. Darren Dawiduk	10. Patrick Lambie (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Alex Brown	12. EFS
06.Alasdair Strokosch	13. Henry Trinder
07. Akapusi Q'era	14. JSD
08. Luke Narraway (c)	15. Olly Morgan

16. Matais Cortese 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Will James 20. Andy Hazell 21. Rory Lawson 22. Freddie Burns 23. Johnny May

Tactics
*We have a pack that will look to gain the up at scrum time and are mobile,
*Our lineout will be able to steal ball and Hamilton and Brown will look to put pressure on their throw,
*Backrow to look for turnovers or to slow the ball down and cause general disruption,
*Lambie to look to get our backs running but if ball is slow to pin Sarries back,
*Trinder to run close to EFS for the gaps and a backrower on their shoulder,
*Back 3 to look for the ball as often as possible and continue our exciting brand of rugby,
*Look to neutralise their attack with a banana blitz defence with a back rower looking for turnover ball at the tackle,
*Use bench as and when with Burns and May adding more pace and Harden, James and Hazell adding the power,
*We have won both warm up matches so confidence is high,
*Exciting, fast rugby, big hitting pack, gunning to make an instant impact on the league with Lambie pulling the strings and taking the points when required.

So you reckon putting out 2 side might help you beat Sarries?

Good tactics, hadn't thought of that!

Haha didn't even notice I did that!!

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Marco Ayerza	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rob Webber	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Lewis Deacon	11. Christian Wade
05. Geoff Parling	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Croft	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. James O’Connor
08. Thomas Waldroum	15. Geordan Murphy

16. Tom Youngs 17. Dan Cole 18. Boris Stankovich 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jeremy Staunton 23. Scott Hamilton

Tactics
In the great conditions we'll be looking to play at a high tempo and intensity from the off and move the opposition around the park.

We will look to set a tone in the set piece with our big scrummaging front 5 and will target this all game. Parling will lead the line and we will look to target the opposition's throw with Croft/Parling marshalling the front/middle of the line. We'll use big carries from our pack to draw in the Sale defence with Youngs marshalling and looking for gaps to exploit around the fringes.

Warburton will target the breakdown with Youngs sniping around and playing flat to the line to allow 36 & Manu space to run into. JOC will come looking for the ball in midfield and link up with Manu causing problems in the opposition midfield. We'll look to refresh pack around 60mins + and keep up the intensity.

LINEOUT - Deacon/Croft/Parling to target opposition throw and make a mess of the set piece

SCRUM - Target all game, Castro to put squeeze on Dickinson who's not renowned as big scrummager, Cole to continue pressure in the second backed by strong engine room

CARRYING - Target lack of carrying options in Sale pack, expect Powell to take up brunt of work so will get Warburton to hit him on 1st phase and attempt slowing/turnover

BREAKDOWN - Warburton to play the breakdown, we'll look to drive over the tackle area with physical front 5 and allow Warburton to get hands on the ball

KICKING OPTIONS - We'll look to kick for touch rather than territory and put pressure on Sale throw with numerous jumpers, We'll look to put 3 markers on Gaskell/Schofield and force them to hit backrow options.

WILKINSON - Use Croft's pace off the back of dominant scrum to put pressure on Wilkinson's distribution and force him to kick from hand or to play to midfield where Sale lack kicking options

HOME ADVANTAGE - Fortress Welford Road

JOC - Will look to get hands on the ball as much as possible and look for work in midfield, he'll also look to target Cueto on the outside

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Joe Marler	09.Danny Care
02.Joe Grey	10.Nick Evans
03.James Johnston
04.Ollie Kohn	11.Miles Benjiman
05.George Robson	12.Jordan Turner-Hall
06.Chris Robshaw(c)	13.George Lowe
07.Will Skinner	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Nick Easter	15.Mike Brown

16.Chris Brooker 17.Mark Lambert 18.Tim Fairbrother 19.Charlie Matthews 20.Matt Kvesic 21.Karl Dickson 22.Rory Clegg 23.Tom Casson

Tactics

In ideal conditions we will look to move the ball and play at a high tempo whilst remember that possession is key to an away win. we have selected a mobile pack which has been picked to secure the set piece firstly and then do the flashy off loading game. We have tried to give our back line a balance through out with a controlling set of half backs hard running 12 and a pacy 13 to take his man on the outside. Our back 3 contains a out and out finisher (Benjiman) a well rounded linking a winger (AAC) and a solid all rounder at the back (Brown). Our bench is aimed at seeing a game out with powerful additions to the front 5 and a clever back row who can play all 3 positions well.

- Keep the ball and grind out the phases in the tight putting Care/Evans in a position to ping Chiefs back or spread the ball along the line and use AAC as a extra midfielder to link play up.

- Robson will look to keep the lineout solid on our own ball limiting to the 5 slots at the lineout in our own half and expanding to full lineout in the opposition 22 to tie defenders in and allow our backs to utilise there strike moves.

- Skinner and Robshaw will look to make a mess of Exeter's ruck and disrupt there ball with in the limitations of the rule book.

- We will use Easter as a linking 8 looking to free his upper body in the tackle and offload to his supporting players which he should have no trouble finding in our pack.

- Benjiman , Brown and Cooper have been given instructions to keep the ball alive on kick returns and look to shift the point of attack if there is nothing on then Kicking will be resorted to.

-Keep the scrum up , with referees struggling to control the set piece in real life we know that if we hold our binds and stay up at the scrum the ref will see us as getting on top and in a away game you have to control the set piece.

---

Sale Sharks
Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01. Alisdair Dickinson	09. Dwayne Peel
02.Marc Jones	10.Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Davit Kubriashvili
04.Dean Schofield	11.Mark Cueto
05.James Gaskell (c)	12.Sam Tuitupou
06.Richie Vernon	13.Jaque Fourie
07.Dave Seymour	14.Tom Brady
08.Andy Powell	15.Rob Miller

16.Joe Ward 17.Lee Imoliek 18.Henry Thomas 19.Kearnan Myall 20.Onosa'i Auva'a 21.Jordan Crane 22.Scott Mathie 23.Jonny Leota

Tactics

---

Bath Rugby
Manager - Bathite

01.D.Flatman	09.M.Claassens
02.L.Mears	10.S.Donald
03.O.Franks
04.D.Attwood	11.M.Banahan
05.S.Shaw	12.F.Steyn(k)
06.L.Moody (c)	13.M.Carraro
07.F.Louw	14.T.Biggs
08.C.Fearns	15.N.Abendanon

16.D.Wilson 17.R.Batty 18.N.Catt 19.R.Caldwell 20.S.Taylor 21.C.Cook 22.T.Heathcote 23.O.Woodburn

General gameplan
A sell out Recreation game pays host to the first game of the premiership and the home crowd will look to get behind the team, boosted by the signings of world class players, Steyn, Shaw and Franks. Bath have picked a team with strength and dynamism up front and some tactical nous in the backs to allow finishers out wide to propogate.

Picked a backline with a very varied skill set, so we can change the gameplan, depending on the circumstances and to remain unpredictable. Steyn and Donald can kick long, high and low. Bendy & Biggs counter attack with pace, Banahan and Carraro have the physical ability to draw defenders and smash over the gainline.

Have picked big ball carriers in Franks, Attwood, Shaw and Louw to punch holes in midfield and to keep opposition back row busy, trying to tire legs and encourage mistakes. Look to force Irish to keep the ball tight and go through the phases in the middle third of pitch

Backs play
* Classens, Donald and Steyn to dominate the midfield and tight kicking game, an area where Irish might be lacking other than Bowden
* Look for short grubbers in behind Hape and Ansbro, who might lack out and out pace and kicking game to respond
* Earn the right to go wide, drawing in fringe defence with Classens sniping and Louw, Franks & Fearns running off him
* Donald to play flat on the gain line, looking for a size mismatch against his opposite number and to draw Hape and make him make a decision
* Use up and under in middle third from Steyn/Donald to allow back three to challenge, an area they are very strong in real life
* Carraro picked for his defensive leadership, he will look to lead the blitz and force the ball inside, where we feel our back row can slow ball and prevent quick ball out wide

Forwards play
* Use bulk of the front five at scrumtime to create a solid set piece in good ground conditions. Look to use strength advantage to apply pressure on opposing scrums, so backrow must deal with scrappy ball
* Fight at the breakdown in opposition third, not afraid of giving away the odd penalty
* Jump at 1/2 on opposition lineout, pressurising the hooker's throw. Always compete for throw to discourage and impeded off the top ball
* Caldwell comes on after 50mins for Shaw, allowing both to give everything. Caldwell brings fresh carrying legs and try scoring form to the game for the second half

London Wasps
Manager – Stnick88

01. Tim Payne	09. Micky Young
02. George Chuter	10. Nicky Robinson
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Matt Garvey	11. Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Riki Flutey
06. Jonathan Poff	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Julien Salvi	14. Alesana Tuilagi
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Zak Taulafo 17. Ben Broster 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Richard Birkett 20. Tinus Du Plessis 21. Nic Berry 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Dominic Waldouck

Tactics

- In dry conditions, play a high tempo game and with pace.
- Young to snipe around the fringes and control the game with Robinson.
- Look to get Joseph to run on the outside of opposition defenders and get him 1 on 1.
- Tuilagi to come off his wing on the crash ball from attacking scrums and lineout.
- Poff and Salvi to do the breakdown work and secure as much turnover ball as possible. Warriors dont have a natural openside and we will look to exploit this at the breakdown. We want to disrupt Warriors as much as possible to give Carter scrappy and slow ball to work off. We will look to secure our own quick ball and get Robinson, Flutey, JJ running at Worcester.
- Look to stop Nonu gaining any momentum, Parisse, Salvi, Garvey etc to put the big hits in to stop him getting over the gain line.
- Wentzel as our main lineout option, Garvey and Parisse other options. In attacking lineouts look to mix up, sometimes playing the ball off the top for Young to work with, other times secure it at the front and maul forward.
- Cipriani to come on at 60 to add attacking spark to our back line.

WorcesterWarriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Matt Mullan	09. Will Genia
02. Aleki Lutui	10. Dan Carter
03. Tevita Taumoepeau
04. James Percival	11. Ugo Monye
05. Chris Jones	12. Ma’a Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Anthony Allen
07. Maurie Fa’asavalu	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Luke Rooney

16. Ed Shervington 17. Ceri Jones 18. George Porter 19. Ben Gulliver 20. Jake Abbott 21. Johnny Arr 22. Andy Goode 23. Matt Hopper

• We have a strong 8-9-10-12 axis and will look to control the game using these positions.

• Our dynamic backrow will be looking to really pressure the opposition on the ground a put in some big carries

• Dan Carter is the best Fly Half in the world and will look to control our game making changes as he sees fit

• Will Genia will be looking to snipe around the fringes and will use his running game to pressure Wasps

• We will look to getting Nonu into the game and creating mismatches so he can run at Wasps defenders

• Look to get our dangerous back three involved so they can cause trouble.

• We feel our bench is very strong. Hopper, Goode and Arr are players we can bring on to change the game.

Exeter Chiefs welcome Harlequins to a sold out Sandy Park for what new head coach Ozzy3213 has called a massively challenging but exciting fixture.

"We look forward to welcoming Quins to Sandy Park, and know that they bring with them some real quality and a desire to do well here. We don't have a lot of big names in our side, but games are not won by big names, they are won by a great work ethic and players doing their job within the system. That is our strength, and the boys are very fired up for this and keen to show what they can do. We also have the The Tribe behind us at home, and they are like a 16th man fo rus, so hopefully we can go out and give them something to really shout about."

Exeter Chiefs

Head Coach – Ozzy3213

01. Perry Freshwater	09. Haydn Thomas
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Ignacio Mieres
03. Hoani Tui
04. James Horwill (c)	11. Gonzalo Camacho
05. James Hanks	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Tom Johnson	13. Josh Tatupu
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Paul Sackey
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Luke Arscott

16. Simon Alcott 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Tommy Hayes 20. James Phillips 21. Junior Poluleuigaga 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Jason Shoemark

Tactics

Our gameplan revolves around a high intensity attacking and defensive game. We will work as units and play a structured game (as the Chiefs and Saracens do in real life). We will put a lot of emphasis on the set piece, and look to use both as a real platform to play from, whilst not allowing our opponents to do the same. We will also look to use our big ball carriers to attack the gainline whilst having support runners on their shoulders to either take the offload or hit the ruck quickly as appropriate.

Specifics

• Attacking
  
  
• Play in the right areas - Mieres to use his boot to ensure we play in the right half of the pitch (kicking for touch and contesting the lineout, not to the Quins back 3).
  
  
• Control Possession - When in the right areas our pack, centres and full back to all carry hard and straight and look to get over the gainline and recycle.
  
  
• Use driving mauls - Support runners to hit the ball carrier in contact and keep him up and drive forward turning it into a maul. Also use driving mauls off of lineouts.
  
  
• Take all points on offer - Mieres to take every kickable penalty at goal.
  
  
  
• Defensive
  
  
• Slow opposition ball down - Look to legally (do not give penalties away) slow the ball at the breakdown by getting our back row over it to deny Quins any momentum.
  
  
• Do not overcommit to rucks - If the ball is not there to be won, do not overcommit but maintain a solid defensive line and control gainline momentum.
  
  
• Blitz Defence - Get up to the gainline quickly as a unit and stop Quins getting any forward momentum. Haydn Thomas to sweep in behind.
  
  
• Gang tackle isolated runners - If the Quins ball carrier is isolated we will look to keep him up at the tackle and wrap the ball up creating a maul and eventual turnover if the ball does not come out.
  
  
  
• Key Points
  
  
• Home Advantage - Very few teams go to Sandy Park and get a result, however many big names they have in the side.
  
  
• Set Piece - Quins state they want to keep the scrum up and scrummage legally. IMO that plays to our strengths and will give us a platform to play from.
  

London Irish
Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Clarke Dermody (c)	09. Joe Simpson
02. David Paice	10. Daniel Bowden
03. Paulică Ion
04. Bryn Evans	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Shontayne Hape
06. Declan Danaher	13. Joe Ansbro
07. David Pocock	14. Tom Homer (k)
08. Imanol Hariordoquy	15. Delon Armitage

16. James Buckland, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Faan Rautenbach, 19. Steve Mafi, 20. Jamie Gibson, 21. Paul Hodgson, 22. Shane Geraghty, 23 Sailosi Tagicakibau

Tactics
We've picked a strong side to travel down to Bath this week. The conditions are ripe for running rugby and we feel this is where we are superior, with ball in hand. We'll be looking for big runners throughout the game to crashing it up and getting us over the gain line. We'll play heads up rugby and look to go where we see mismatches in the opposition defence.

- We'll compete at the set piece and look to make Bath's ball as messy as possible. We won't get hung up on this however, as we know our strengths lie away from the set piece, in open play.

- Kennedy to be our primary option at the lineout, with Harinordoquy and Pocock great options too. In general, play off the top ball unless the situation calls for a catch and drive to set a platform (ie in our 22)

- Our main focus is the breakdown. Look to use the energy saved from the set piece to get around the park and disrupt their ball at every opportunity (legally). Pocock to make a nuisance of himself and look for turnovers.

- Use strong carriers in the loose off 9 and 10 to gain hard yards. Use the piston system of bashing it up, with Bowden behind patroling matters.

- Put pressure on their fly half all game. Make it difficult for him.

- Play rugby in their half. Bowden to pick his marks and put us in the right places.

- Look for big runs through their midfield, with an arguably suspect defence. Hape and Ansbro to be strong in defence and look for the opportunity to make big tackles and put them on the back foot.

- Homer to go for points at every opportunity. Make them scared to give away penalties in their half, thus giving us more time at the breakdown.

- Simpson to put tempo on the game, quickly getting the ball away from the breakdown and into the hands of Bowden. Look to snipe to keep them guessing.

---

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Jamie Elliot
05. Samu Manoa	12. James Downey
06. Phil Dowson	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Chris Ashton
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Alex Waller 17. Mike Haywood 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Calum Clark 20. Roger Wilson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. John Clarke

General Game Plan:

We will use our strong carriers to attack gaps and half gaps in the Newcastle line, looking to offload in contact to support runners thus changing the point of attack and keeping our forward momentum going. Sexton will look to attack from first receiver and inject pace to the proceedings committing the Newcastle defence and leaving space in wider channels for our runners to exploit. If running the ball is not on our halfbacks will look to the boot to put us in the right areas.

On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the Newcastle ball carriers before they can get to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown harder. Lee Dickson will act as a sweeper to cover any grubbers or chips behind the line while our back three will sit deep ready to cover any kicks down the touch lines and counter attack at pace.

With the blitz in operation we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it fast and hard. The first two players on the scene will look to ruck past the ball and clear out the Falcons players providing quick counter attacking ball to be used against a disorganised defensive line. If the ball does not look available we will not commit to the ruck and look to strengthen the defensive line instead.

Key Points:

•Scrum

We will contest every engagement! On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and create extra room for our 8-9-10 axis to work in. On Newcastle ball we will disrupt the put in looking for penalties or to create rushed poor ball for the Falcons halfbacks.

•Lineout

With 5 jumpers on our ball, we want to really use the lineout as an attacking platform like South Africa in recent years. We will use a full compliment and play the ball off the top allowing our halfbacks to get on the ball at pace with room outside.

•Ball Carrying

On the blitz we want to take advantage of the lack of real ball carriers in the Newcastle pack and force the Falcons to play on the back foot and kick the ball to our danger men in the back 3. We will use the gang tackle on isolated carriers, slowing ball down and forcing the turnover

---

Easy Pull!

"Look for big runs through their midfield, with an arguably suspect defence."

A. Thought we weren't commenting on others defincies
B. Steyn and Carraro, both great defenders, obviously haven't seen Carraro play much!

Can point things like that Bathite if you think it's relevant, just individual slating of players ie:

Player A is a dire player and will target his poor defence all game etc etc

Ok, fair enough, only messing around.........in that case, Pull is a dire manager and I'll target that! haha

Sale Tactics

Our game revolves around playing the percentages, and playing the game in the right area of the park, and with Wilkinson and Peel starting this should not be a problem.

We will not look to go too wide too early, we will make sure we are getting some go forward ball before we do this, if we are not getting over the gainline Wilko, Peel and Miller who are all accomplished kickers from hands will ensure we are down in Leicesters 22.

Tuitupou and Fourie are both very good defenders and will look to nullify 36 and Tuilagi, however when we have the ball, we will targtet their centres, Tuilagi has the tendency to jump out the line and leave a massive hole exposed, and with only the inexpereinced 36 inside him, he will have no one to marshall him.


Scrum - Dickinson is not a destructive scrummager but he holds his own against whoever he is against. Kubriashvili will be able to target Ayerza, and this should lead to many penalties.

Lienout - Gaskell is our lineout caller, if he sees him and Schofield are bing makred out of it, he will call it to Vernon who is 6 ft 5 and has a spring or Andy Powell who is 6 ft 4 and will easily be able to win ball if no one is challenging him due to their marking of our locks

Lineout - Each of their lineouts we will put Schofield up at 2, to put the throwing of Webster underpressure, especially as he is known to go wayward when under pressure.

Breakdown - Seymour is the form 7 in the AP. Our pack is one that is very experienced and hardworking and we will use them to ruck over and past the ball.

Experience - Our team is full of experience all over the park, whereas Leicester's backline is very inexpereinced, and when Youngs gets frustrated, we all know he can lose his head. This is the same for Manu. So we will really look to wind them up and frustrate them.

Kicking - Wilkinson we take any points that are within range.

Subs - Imoliek for Dickinson after 55 mins. Thomas for Kubriashvili after 65 mins. Others as and when needed. Hooker change after 60 mins unless, due to circumstances it would be better if we didn't.

Newcastle Falcons

Manager – Fluxy

01. Graham Shiells	09. Jordi Pasqualin
02. William Servat	10. Jimmy Gopperth (K)
03. Euan Murray
04. James Hudson (C)	11. Jack Cuthbert (K)
05. Tom Palmer	12. James Fitzpatrick
06. Magnus Lund	13. Tom May
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Suka Hufanga
08. Tom Guest	15. Alex Tait

16. Tom Mercey 17. Joe Graham 18. Tim Swinson 19. Will Welch 20. Joel Hodgson 21. Paul Diggin 22. Luke Fielden 23. Jon Golding

tactics

• Playing the right areas and using our strengths - Using the boots of; Hodgson, Gopperth and May to get the forwards in the oppositions half. We have a very dominant front row at the scrum and at lineout time.
  
  
• Compete at the breakdown - Look to give the opposition no time to settle in to plays or not to take any ruck lightly, as this will lead to mistakes from the forwards an panicked kicks and decisions from the backs. Brussow and Lund should be first to rucks.
  
  
• Defensive line - We shall look to get up as the fast as the slowest man, and then drift the line man on man, in the direction of the play. Scrum-half covers behind as a pendulum.
  
• Defensive line - We shall look to get up as the fast as the slowest man, and then drift the line man on man, in the direction of the play. Scrum-half covers behind as a pendulum.
  
  
• Penalties - When the oppurtunity arises Gopperth shall take all kickable points within his rage.
  
  
• Substitutions - Euan Murray on for Tom Mercey at 60 minutes, likewise Golding on for Shiells at the same time. Welch on for Guest if we were losing in the second half. And finally Fielden on for Stegmann at 65 minutes.
  

---

Kept that bloody late Flux lol

Predictions open once page is updated

Yeah the subs are a mess. Need to change them. I've had a nightmare of few days. My laptop isnt playing ball and I've been very busy.

Exeter Chiefs 15-13 Harlequins

---

At the set piece the Exeter front 5 can get an advantage particularly at the scrum for me with Quins playing into their hands. Around the park Quins will get through more work though with a very mobile front row on show. Backrow battle is tight with Quins maybe shading on names but can’t see them getting any advantage against Chiefs with a great flank combo and expect Armitage to pip a few turnovers.

Halfbacks are a step up for Quins with one of the best units in the league. Midfield is tight although Lowe at 13 sees Quins shade for quality. Quins back three more dangerous overall but Chiefs unit is no weakness. More attacking spark for Quins to come in from the bench but Chiefs can keep the set piece under control.

Quins have the attacking threat to beat Exeter but Sandy Park is a very tough place to play, similar to the sports ground for Connacht, and to win there Quins would need at least parity in the pack battle to really bring the backs in to play and I can’t see this with Chiefs controlling the set piece.

---

Saracens 23-16 Gloucester Rugby

---

Can see a very evenly contested lineout battle between Brown and Borthwick but can see Glaws getting some joy at the scrum with Jones v Stevens and Hamilton in support in the row. Front 5s even around the park. Backrow battle is close with good carriers on both sides but Sarries have a bit more at the breakdown.

Two good 10s on show Parra will provide better service and control from scrumhalf though. Midfield battle is a real toss up with 2 quality combos but the Glaws back 3 with a bit more attacking threat. On the bench Sarries can look to get on top in the pack in the final quarter but May and Burns provide great spark

Great pack battle with neither side getting on top for a sustained period and for me it comes down to better control from Parra at 9 and home advantage and Sarries start the season with a good win.

---

Leicester Tigers 26-17 Sale Sharks

---

Both TH’s should see some joy at the scrum but Castro should cause more damage. Tigers should poach a few lineouts but more importantly will pose a serious threat on their own ball in Sale territory. Around the park not an awful lot in it though Tigers do shade. Decent back row unit for Sale but Tigers with some real quality on show.

Halfbacks go to Sale. Not much in at flyhalf but Youngs on current form loses out to Peel who has had a very good season. Midfield battle is quality. Can’t see anything getting through the Sale combo but 36 provides an extra playmaking option for Tigers. In the back 3 JOC is the star man on show but some good form for the Sale unit sees it even. Tigers can close out the game with a quality bench on show.

Tigers can control the pack battle and with some great playmakers and the Welford Road factor pick up a good win.

---

Bath Rugby 19-13 London Irish

---

Well you two have taken to the tactics side of things very well!

Set piece wise Bath can get an upper hand at the the scrum time with a seriously powerful 2nd row supporting. Baths front 5 will get through more work as well particularly the 2nd row. Serious back row from Irish! They will see some turnovers with Pocock doing alot but the Bath unit can put in a serious defensive shift and still provide decent ball for their backs.

Halfbacks go to Bath for me. Not sure Simpson can provide the service Bowden needs here. Not much will get through either midfield but Steyn brings more to the Bath attack then Hape will for Irish. Back 3s are tight with both good attacking but Irish stronger defensively. Bit more to come into the game for Irish here.

Think Bath should have the better of the pack battle overall with a strong front 5 and with better control from 9/10/12 should see this one out at home.

---

London Wasps 19-15 Worcester Warriors

---

Think Wasps can control the set piece here and get a very good platform from there. Around the park Mullan and Garvey are the main workers and can’t see an edge to either side. In the back row Worcester with the better carrying options overall but they will struggle at the breakdown and ball will be rough for them.

In the backs Worcester are unparalled in the league at 9/10/12 but Wasps have some decent ball players and both sides have a threat from the outside backs. Both sets of wingers could be got at with a good kicking game but neither side has really targeted this. Bit more control from the bench for Worcester with Arr and Goode to come in.

Worcester have the best 9/10/12 axis in the world but for me struggle in the pack battle particularly the front 5 and won’t see a lot of ball. Wasps at home with the lion’s share of possession and decent playmakers should see a win although some magic from Worcester will keep it tight.

---

Falcons 15 - 19 Saints
See this was as the battle of the packs, as both teams set out to own the set piece and breakdown. Not much between the packs, but I thinks Falcons having an out and out 7 is very helpful for turnovers. Saints have less possesion and territory in this one, but have the magic out wide to be clinical. Although the Falcons get points with each red zone visit, they can't breach the defence to score a try. Sexton is the difference here today in a very tight game.

Exeter 15 - 12 Quins
Althought the harlequins have a lot more firepower and magic in the backs, I see the Chiefs winning a lot of ball at the breakdown and slowing down opposition ball by packing the defence. Some good tactical play by the home team sees them use their biggest strengths (set piece, defensive organisation) against quins biggest weakness, which is their front 5 i think.

Sarries 22 - 17 Gloucester
Two interesting front rows, with Nieto gaining on Wood, but Jones destroys Stevens on the LH. Packs are pretty even for me, good blend of experience and nice balance in both back rows. This game is one with 8 9 10 axis for me. Joubert is great at securing quick ball and this provides an armchair ride for Parra, who is World class and takes pressure of HOdgson with his tactical kicking and nous.

Tigers 24 - 13 Sale
Can't really see a combo where Sale can get a big advantage here, especially at Welford Road. Tigers have a great set of forwards on the bench to ensure they win the breakdown and set piece for most of the match. Sale had a valiant effort, but didn't quite have the legs to play at this intensity for 80 mins. Fourie enjoyed pulling Tuilagi out of the defensive line and released the back three on numerous occasions, but Murphy defended well, with Warburton securing some crucial turnover ball. The main joy that Sale had was in the centres, with the experienced pair proving to be a great complimenting combo, supplied by beautiful passes from God Wilkinson

Guys, i've been pretty busy so if anyone wants explanations the please inbox me!!

Yeah, I heard you had a date last night prop. Good work on being busy!

That was fri night pete but cheers haha!!

Feck me, you must have been busy then, even better work!!!

haha rugby yesterday thankyou very much!!!!

Wasps 20 - 19 Worcester
A scrappy and tight game here, as both teams battle for the ball up front. Wasps big name signings prove the difference here though, as they now have the power to provide go forward ball, which takes the pressure off Robinson at 10. I like Flutey/Joseph partnership, a clever footballer runs across Nonu, who looks for the hit, with Joseph ready to use his pace on the pop. Worcester's much celebrated 9 10 12 axis is beautiful to watch, but their back row can't supply enough ball to grab a win here.

I preface my predictions with saying that in all cases I attach more weight to the pack than the backs when making my decisions, that players form in real life counts for more than reputations (big names) with me, and that given that the teams in this game are still very close to real life and these fixtures have recently taken place, I have considered individual battles from those games.


Newcastle Falcons 22 Northampton Saints 27

Like the look of the Falcons pack, Fluxy has recruited well there and they will compete strongly in the set piece and at the breakdown. Saints pack have a little bit more in the loose though and SJE is right tactically to focus on using their stronger ball carriers to gain momentum. Saints marginal edge in the the pack is enough to give their backs decent enough ball to get the scores that see them clear of the home side.


Saracens 20 Gloucester 20

Real contrast in styles, with the power and forward dominance of Saracens against the cutting edge of the Gloucester backs. Gloucester pack is reinforced with the addition of Adam Jones, and this brings them a lot nearer to Saracens up front than they are in real life. Saracens in real life tend to get a lot fo scrum penalties, which they repeatedly take three points from, but I don't see that so much in this match as I would back Jones to dominate Stevens in the scrum and we could see penalties going the other way. Defensively Saracens backs are solid, and Gloucesters backs have real cutting edge. Tactically both teams are playing to their strengths. Really struggling to call this as I can put forward good arguments either way, but I think home advantage could be the deciding factor and therefore give it to Sracens by the smallest of margins.


Leicester Tigers 18 Sale Sharks 15

The Tigers side is strong here and plays to it's strengths generally. There are one or two slight form issues with individual players, but it is a well balanced side. Sale have a very tough outfit and are strong defensively in the backs, but I think could get out battled in the pack a little. Tigers will win the scrum battle though with Dickinson the weak link there for me, and that will give them enough of a platform to take the win at home.


Bath Rugby 23 London Irish 22

Really tough call this one with both sides having quality in different areas and therefore getting the advantage in different areas of the game. Mears is an issue in the scrum for me, and I can see Irish dominating there, but I can also see them failing to totally exploit that dominance through a lack of creativity in the centres. I also think Bath have the steadier half backs, with Claassens and Donald seasoned campaigners, whereas Simpson and Bowden could be brilliant or could completely implode. I have Bath with a little bit more dynamism around the park, but they also have a few players who give away penalties to easily, which Homer would punish. Another really tough one to call for me, but at home I see Bath sneaking it late on with continued pressure through the excellent ball cariers they have in their team.


London Wasps 22 Worcester Warriors 22

This game finished 0-6 in real life a few weeks ago, I don't see any danger of a similar scoreline here. Wasps only have three of the real life Wasps pack in there, and have also added Young, Joseph and Tuilagi in the backs and this makes them a lot stronger all round. Worcester Warriors have the real life front 5 which is a strong one, and have strengthened the back row with three dynamic carriers. They have also added three world class backs to the mix and if given any ball by the pack they will be a danger. ITFL has let himself down a little bit tactically as "look to get out back three involved so they can cause trouble" doesn't tell me enough about how they will do that. Are they coming in off the wing looking for work, or are you spreading the play wide early to try to draw defenders out of the midfield? Wasps are clearer that Tuilagi will come looking for work on the crash ball, and that is a good tactic as they lack a big carrier in the centres. Again struggling to call it. Overall I prefer the Worcester side, but tactically they are let down, and Wasps are also at home so I have to call this one a draw. Sorry.

Newcastle Falcons 12-15 Northampton Saints

Real interesting game this one. I think Flux has recruited really well and his pack looks awesome. I think the scrum would be titanic and totally even till round 60 when Saints subs come on with PDJ taking Saints to another level. I prefer Falcons engine room and they would dominate lineout if not for 2 very good backrow options in Wood & Read for Saints.

Brussow would terrorise the breakdown and see Gopperth upsetting the flow of Saints by just plumping it back into their half. Read adds some serious go forward for Saints though. Falcons are set up really well and will take some getting through but Saints will just have too much. I see plenty of packs struggling at Kingston and if Flux nails his tactics he'll turn over some very good teams. Saints just have too much and will sneak a low scoring affair.

Exeter Chiefs 18-24 Harlequins

You're not playing Bath Pete .

Total contrast of styles in this one. Strong front row that will really dominate the scrum with Quins possibly the worst scrummaging unit in the AP. See Quins getting good ball from the lineout though with more options and Robson very solid on own ball. Easter is a good call at 8 and will control with Quins going backwards, stronger backrow unit for Quins though that will suit their high tempo game.

With the pack battle pretty equal Quins extra quality in the backs shine through. Evans in sparkling form will set Quins fantastic back 3 alight and will bang in plenty of scores. Good game that will see Quins come through despite Exeter being really tough to beat at home.

Saracens 20-17 Gloucester

Again a total contrast in styles with Gloucesters pacey backs against the strength of Sarries. Jones is a really great signing for Gloucester and I see a fantastic scrum battle. Saints control the rest of the pack though with Gloucester lacking a little bit of go forward (Qera aside).

I really like the Parra/Hodgson axis and they'll control affairs for Sarries, Lambie is great addition for Gloucester but I think Lawson would be a better partner with Lewis a little raw against Parra. Great back 3 for Gloucester but Sarries a little too much control and kicking options to squeeze the life out of them.

Bath Rugby 25-25 London Irish

Great tactics from both sides and they're really taking to the banter. Franks is a fantastic addition to Bath and gives them a real cornerstone to work off, their front 5 is scary and will dominate scrum. Irish get the edge in the lineout though with Attwood not quite at the level of Kennedy in the set piece and Hari probably the best backrow option in world rugby. Awesome backrow from Irish that will have a little more round the park and Pocock having an influence at the breakdown.

I'm loving the kicking/physicality axis of Bath's 10/12 and I'm at loss to the defensive frailties Pull suggests. Saying that the Irish are a solid unit and Bowden is a good call at 10 with the ginger blade pinging points from all over although adding not much else to the game. Really tight game and with a controlling bench I see Irish snatching the draw.

London Wasps 21-22 Worcester Warriors

Two outside bets for the top 4 and some great dealing from managers. A little edge for Wasps in the set piece(won't write that much in real life) but Worcester have an underrated front 5 unit I think and will hold own in scrum. Cracking backrows on show, such physicality from the Worcester unit and Parisse will enjoy being at the back of the Wasps pack.

Wasps have a great 9/10 axis and backs in general but Worcester have the best players in the world from 9-12, amazing coup really that will win them games through the season. I really rate the Wasps team but with Carter pulling the strings and Worcester not really struggling too much in the pack they'll sneak the win. Cracking game and a front 5 addition of class will see Worcester as outside challengers for the title.

Newcastle 15-22 Saints
Brussow will be a key player this season for Newcastle but see Saints dominating the scrum and then have the carriers and finishers to make this comfortable. Newcastle should look to get a player in the backs! Need some spark out there!

Exeter 18-19 Quins
This was a tough game to call. Exeter at home are hard to beat and they have a brilliant scrum. But I think Quins have the more on-form players with a brilliant half back combination and some great backs they will be hard to beat and will just get the edge over Exeter here. Nice bench from Quins as well can see them making the play offs.

Saracens 25-19 Gloucester
Saracens look brilliant in every position and I think the tactic of pressuring the Gloucester line out will work with them getting a few steals. Gloucester do have some deadly backs but I just do not see them getting the required amount of ball to be dangerous.

Leiccester 28-21 Sale
Tigers have a bit more in every area and at home I see them getting the win. Sale do have some quality in certain positions but they are coming up against one of the best teams in the league and I just don't see them having enough. Such as great set of young explosive backs from Pooly.

Bath 22–24 Irish
Really had no idea how to call this. Think Bath win the scrum battle and have home advantage. However I think Irish will win the battle at breakdown and will do well at lineout. Don’t like Bath’s tactic of not minding giving away a few penalties, Homer will punish this. Irish also have more winners/influential players in the team which could see em home in a close match.

This was an explanation of my tactics, but I got told off, sorry!

No commenting on other peoples predo's Bathite you bad lad

ok, was only xplaining it, i'll delete it now

Bathite wrote:Fastlane, not looking to give away penalties, looking to fight for ball in opposition third, not afraid of giving away the odd penalty for trying, in the hope that I might win a few turnovers in a dangerous place. Homer can't kick goals in his 22!

The ginger nuggets does have some boot!

Feel free to ask managers on their page if you have an issue

Don't have an issue, just think my tactic was misread, but in the future, I'll do that, cheers.

Is the scoring system the same as for the ERL? Average + number of wins? Whats the system for wininng and losing bonus points?

Same system, 30pts for bonus point, within 7 for LBP

Just to reiterate cash for predo's:

2m for minimum 3 lines for each game (will allow average)

0.5m for less than 3 lines or just scores