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AP Round 16

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Sgt_Pooly
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dammit_chris
Steven_Sharks
stnick88
Ozzy3213
SirJohnnyEnglish
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AP Round 16 Empty AP Round 16

Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:12 pm

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



Sale Sharks v London Wasps
White Cloud, 9 Degrees, 10mph Winds


Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza 09. Ben Spencer
02. Guilleme Guirado 10. Aaron Cruden
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Romain Millo Chluski 11. Tom Brady
05. Andries Bekker 12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Adam Thomson 13. Robbie Freuen
07. Fulgence Quedragao 14. Sam Smith
08. Wycliffe Palu 15. Luke Rooney

16. Schuster 17. Paice 18. Tialata 19. Day 20. Vito 21. Care 22. Barkley 23. Abendanoon



General Game Plan:

We will use our strong carriers to attack the gaps in the Wasps line, looking to offload in contact to support runners thus changing the point of attack and keeping our forward momentum going. Spencer will look to use his intelligent kicking game and target the Wasps back 3 when out of position. Cruden will look to attack from fly half and inject pace to the proceedings committing the Wasps defence and leaving space in wider channels to exploit.

At scrum time we will look to contest each and 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. While on Wasps feeds we will disrupt the put in looking for penalties or to create rushed, poor ball for the Wasps halfbacks. With 5 jumping options and a reliable thrower at hooker we will look to attack from the lineout mixing things up by bringing the ball down into the maul and using the physicality of our pack or else playing the ball of the top and injecting serious pace into the play.

On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the Wasps ball carriers before they can get to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown harder. Spencer 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 defence 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 Wasps players providing quick counter attacking ball to be cleared and used against a disorganised defensive line. If the ball does not look available we will commit less to the ruck and look to strengthen the defensive line instead.



Key Points:

* Use kicking game of Spencer & Cruden to target the Wasps wingers. Both can be suspect both positionally and under the highball and we want to test them out.

* Myler isnt a flyhalf to play flat and on the gain line and instucting him to do so against our blitz defence should see Wasps struggle to build real momentum with his lack of creativity.



London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Perry Freshwater 09. Luke Burgess
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau 10. Stephen Myler (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Steve Mafi 11. Christian Wade
05. Marco Wentzel (c) 12. Luke McAlister
06. Rocky Elsom 13. Matt Banahan
07. Jacques Burger 14. Ugo Monye
08. Luke Narraway 15. Geordan Murphy

16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Charlie Beech 18. CJ Van Der Linde 19. Stuart Hooper 20. John Hart 21. Nick Phipps 22. George Ford 23. Noah Cato

Tactics
We have picked a gritty, dynamic and physical forward pack which will hopefully get us over the gain line and onto the front foot. We feel that if we can assert ourselves physically and win the forward battle, providing our backs with a solid platform we will be able to beat Sale. We will look to push Sale onto the back foot and keep them there. We will look to tire their pack by making them work hard in defence with our dynamic and relentless carrying all game.

In the early stages, we will look to our dynamic forwards to get us onto the front foot by attacking in groups with some grunt and powerful carrying, getting us over the gain line. Hopefully our carriers will suck in Sale defenders, so we can spread the ball out wide to our dangerous runners to make use of the space on offer. We will start as we mean to go on with a high intensity, hitting the collision area hard and driving our players over the gain line. We will look to wear the Sale pack out and create mismatches in midfield to exploit.

In attack, Myler will play flat in attack, we will use McAlister as a second playmaker option with Banahan running plenty of hard lines at the fly half channel in the Sale defence. We will look to win the collisions and get our offloading game going if it’s on. We will look to attack gaps and half gaps in the Sale defence and target the outside shoulder. We will support our carriers and drive them over the gain line and get quick ball to keep the momentum in our attacks.

At the breakdown we will come from low to high in clearing out Sale players to ensure Burgess has clean ball. We will look to the kicking games of Myler and McAlister to put the ball in behind the Sale wingers and keep them pinned back in their own half where we can pressurize them. We will hopefully be able to build attacks from the scrum and earn some penalties for Myler to make use of.

We will look to the scrum to provide us with a platform to build attacks from and keep Sale on the back foot. We will use a shortened line out, and launch our dynamic forwards, who are not in the lineout into midfield. Our experienced half back combination will look to manage and control our game plan. We will look to frustrate the young Ben Spencer, by making a real nuisance of ourselves at rucks doing our best to not allow him quick ball.




Exeter Chiefs v Bath Rugby
Sunny Intervals, 9 Degrees, 5mph Winds


Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Driver

01. Wyatt Crockett09. Jimmy Cowen
02. Damian Varley10. Colin Slade
03. Ben Alexander
04. Flip Van Der Merwe11. Luke Fitzgerald
05. James Hudson 12. Mike Tindall
06. Declan Danahar 13. George Pisi
07. Shane Jennings 14. Vasily Artymyev
08. Nick Easter 15. Lee Byrne

16. Neil Clark 17.Brett Sturgess 18.Davit Zirkashvilli 19.Juilian Pierre 20.Lewis Moody 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Henry Slade 23.Matt Smith

Tactics

- Keep the ball in the tight and grind Bath down using the boots of Slade , Tindall and Pisi to ping Wasps in there half.

- Use our scrummaging front row to keep the scrum up and driving on when it's Bath's feed.

- Slade will look to take the ball at pace and attack the defensive line and bring our backs into play.

- Cowen to dictate the tempo and test the Bath line with snipes , service and high hanging box kicks.

- Cowen and Slade will play what is in front of them and use what they have outside them with Tindall making the headway in the backs and Fitz, Arty and Byrne running into the wide channels.

- Slade to tick the board over with penalties and drop goals when in the opposition half.

- Big physical players in our pack will see plenty of big hits to put the pressure on the bath runners early doors.

- Run first , kick second on kick returns.

Key points


*TARGET SKRELA WITH BIG HITS FROM THE OFF AND TRY AND GET HIM OFF THE PITCH AND FORCE BEALE INTO 10 TO LIMIT THERE WIDTH

*MIX LINEOUT JUMPERS ABOUT WITH HUDSON , FLIP , Danahar AND EASTER ALL OFFERING OPTIONS WITH NO OUT AND OUT JUMPER IN BATH PACK

* Wrigglesworth has been injured for months and has no real world form so Cowen will look to cause him problems




Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane
01. Jon Golding 09.Richard Wigglesworth
02. Kevin Mealamu10. David Skrela
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Louis Deacon11. Isiah Toeava
05.Sam Whitelock12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell13. David Marty
07. Beau Robinson 14.Sean Maitland
08. JMF Lobbe15. Kurtley Beale
16. Dave Wilson 17. Joe Ward 18. Euan Murray 19. Rob Simmons 20. Tom Guest 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Luke Fielden
Tactics

Psychological
13 wins in 15 games is a brilliant record to have and our players are all brimming with confidence.

Overall
In this weather we will look to use the set piece as a platform and really play a backs orientated game.

Set Piece
Our formidable front row has been picked to win scrums. Golding, Kubrashvilli and Mealamu will be looking to get in a big hit first. Lobbe will control it at the back. We will be using the scrum as an option as much as possible as we feel we can really dominate here. We feel the lineout is an area we can really put pressure on. At the lineout we have options with Whitelock and Lobbe capable of taking opposition ball. At the front we have Deacon offering the banker ball. Deacon and Whitelock leads lineouts internationally….do Exeter have such experience in leading lineouts?

Kicking
We will look to put the ball behind the Exeter back three and put pressure on them in their own 22 with Lobbe leading the chase. We shall only use this sparingly though. More often we will look to put the ball out of touch in the Exeter 22 and pressure their lineout. Beale will be our main kicker looking to take on anything in range. When FDP comes on he offers another box kicking option which we can use. Skrela also has a decent boot which we will use as a secondary option.

Ball in Hand
We will be looking for quick service from Wigglesworth getting the ball out to our backs who have been encouraged to play adventurous attacking rugby really looking for gaps. We will also look to give the ball to our forwards to switch up the play and they will be looking for carries.

Defence
We will look for a quick defensive line to put pressure on the key Exeter decision makers. Our defense will leave Beale trailing to get any deep kicks. He will be able to either return with interest or able to make a good run.

We will be looking to isolate runners and force a turnover by getting bodies into the breakdown when we see an opportunity and use Robinson skill in the ground.




Leicester Tigers v Newcastle Falcons
White Cloud, 8 Degrees, 9mph Winds


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan09. Dimitri Yachvili (k)
02. Stephen Moore10. Jonny Wilkinson
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Samu Manoa11. Topsy Ojo
05. James Horwill (c)12. Yannick Jauzion
06. Nathan Hines13. Florian Fritz
07. David Pocock14. Cory Jane
08. Thomas Waldrom15. Rob Miller
16. Clarke Dermody 17. Lee Mears 18. Ben Franks 19. Alex Brown 20. Jordan Crane 21. Michael Claassens 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

GENERAL:

- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible by attacking the scrum and the lineout, and our massive carrying pack that will look to open up gaps.

- We will look to get our back three on the ball causing Newcastle problems defensively. We will be physical and relentless up front and pacey and clinical in attack.

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

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

FORWARDS:

- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson. Horwill, Manoa and Hines to rotate the target. We will relentlessly target Newcastle's throws.

- At the scrum look to Johnston and Moore to really get the shove on and target the Lindsay/Stank channel.

- Pack full of carriers, led by Waldrom, and with Horwill, Manoa, Pocock, Sheridan, Hines and Moore look to get real go-forward with our carrying. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle.

- Pocock is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Wasps. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.

BACKS:

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili our general pulling the strings.

- If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, Wilkinson will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- We have selected Jauzion and Fritz to give us creativity in midfield, and to keep us solid in defence.

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


KEY POINTS:

- Home Advantage - Unbeaten at Welford Road in 2 years.

- Form and Momentum - we have won 16 of our last 19 games, and are flying right now. Confidence is high right throughout the squad, with competition for places extremely high.

- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson.

- Huge carrying pack - led by Waldrom, Manoa, Horwill and Moore, we want to punch holes in Newcastle's pack.

- Get our backs into the game as much aspossible and look to get our back three into space.



Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Boris Stankovich09. Sarel Pretorious
02. Tom Lindsay10. Nick Evans
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn 11. Miles Benjamin
05. Dean Schofield12. Fran Steyn
06. Richie McCaw(c)13. Jaque Fourie
07. Heinrich Brussow14. James O’Connor
08. Kieran Read15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

16. Marius Tincu 17. Owen Franks 18. Fabien Barcella 19. Ed Slater 20. Chris York 21. Jonny Arr 22. Ben Williams 23. Dan Hipkiss

Tactics

Overall - In the great conditions we'll be looking to run the ball and get out backs into play at every oppertunity. High tempo pack play and look to use the set piece as restart rather than a weapon. Look to slow opposition ball down with all backrow players offering a breakdown threat. Use a simple drift defence to force Leicester out wide and give them little space to work in. Look to take points on offer and Steyn to give long range option.

Scrum – use scrum as restart as look for quick ball for Read to pop up and feed Pretorious, if weakness seen in opposition we will look to exploit

Lineout – quick ball off the top using Schofield as primary caller, also look to use Read at the tail and McCaw, Thorn to offer front ball.

Breakdown – Our big game plan….look to dominate breakdown with all backrow options excellent in this area. Look to slow/turnover opposition at every possible opportunity. McCaw to play more 6 role but will play breakdown as he see’s fit. Thorn to give us massive clearing out option around the park.

Backline – We've looked to partner Fourie with Steyn as they know each others game inside out. Both give a huge physical threat around the park ane we'll look to play a simple game plan to keep Fouire involved. JOC will look to step up as second reciever and bring some silky running into play. Evans has numerous options to look to punch through the opposion line and set up quick ball options which Pretorious thrives in.

Franks & Barcella to come after halftime to increase pressure in set piece and give us added work rate around the park. JOC to cover 10 if needed.




London Irish v Northampton Saints
Sunny Intervals, 9 Degrees, 7mph Winds


London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Soane Tonga'uhia 09. Ruan Pienaar
02. James Buckland 10. Butch James
03. WP Nel
04. Matt Garvey 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy 12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Jerome Kaino 13. Conrad Smith
07. Steffon Armitage 14. J.P Pieterson
08. Pierre Spies 15. Delon Armitage

16. Duncan Bell 17. Neil Briggs 18. Darren Fearn 19. Dean Mumm 20. Hendrie Fourie 21. Warren Fury 22. Matthew Tait 23. Juan Martin Hernandez

Tactics

- In good conditions, play an attacking, running game.
- We will look to win the contact area and the collisions. With Tonga'uhia, Nel, Garvey, Kaino, Spies, Steffon, SBW in the side, we have some big, powerful units who will look to smash over the gain line and put Saints on the backfoot. We will look for quick ball for Pienaar to use and create opportunities with.
- Kennedy will be our main lineout target and we willl look for quick ball off the top on most occasions, if not use Garvey at the front to create a maul.
- We willl look to dominate possession and tire the Saints defence. Tonga'uhia, Spies, Kaino, Garvey will carry hard and look to make inroads. We will look for Pienaar and Butch to play what is infront of them and put SBW and co into gaps and space. Our wingers, especially Tagicakibau, will come inside and along with Smith, look to gather the offloads from SBW, which he will only do when it is on.
- At the breakdown, we will look to use our powerful flankers and the breakdown skills of Steffon to secure quick ball and slow down opposition ball. Any turnover ball will be counter attacked.
- Pienaar will kick all pens for goal in range. If not we will go for touch and use the lineout as a platform to attack.
- We will look to exploit the back 3 of Saints, especially Savea and Cipriani who are not known for their great defence.
- Smith is making his debut, but after being in the All Blacks with SBW for a year, training and playing with him, they know each other very well and fluidity wont be a problem.



Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris

01. Matt Mullan09. Joe Simpson
02. Chris Whitehead10. Matt Giteau(c)(k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Patricio Albacete11. Siti Siviatu
05. Calum Clark12. Jean de Villiers
06. Liam Messam13. Matt Hopper
07. Alexander Lapandy 14. Julian Savea
08. Ryan Kankowski15. Danny Cipriani

16. Mike Haywood 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Juan Pablo Orlandi 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Jake Abbott 21. Sam Harrison 22. Elliot Daly 23. Jamie Elliott

Tactics

Tactics
After the comprehensive victory at home to Sale Sharks last week Saints have refound their confidence and will be looking to attack London Irish from the outset and play the game at a high tempo, spreading the ball wide and attacking Irish at speed. We will be looking to score tries and have picked a team that has a lot of dynamism and interlinking play.

We have Simpson, Cipriani, Hopper, Siviatu and Savea who are all players capable from scoring from 80metres plus - so will be looking to attack and use this advantage whenever possible.

Attack
We have picked an attacking team that will look to spread play across the pitch and make London Irish really work for the ball. We have opted to play a similar style to how Wales play in the backline by fielding three large backs (de Villiers, Siviatu and Savea) and they will look to straighten up the attack and draw in defenders - we will then look to get the ball for Simpson, Giteau, Hopper and Cipriani to attack with.

We will take chances, look to play a high-tempo offloading game and run the ball from distance - this is primarily to look at how we can take advantage of Conrad Smith being thrown straight into the starting lineup after only just signing. He wont have the defensive patterns e.g. with backthree, so with a quick attack and offloading game we will score tries here.

Cipriani to join the backline and offer a second option as receiver - will ask Giteau to run with the ball as per his game for Toulon last week (see rugbydump for highlights), suck in defenders and give the ball to the backline.

When Irish playing into the sun Giteau will launch some aerial bombs on the Irish backthree with Siviatu and Savea chasing down the catcher, putting them under pressure and forcing mistakes with big hits.

Supplement attack with getting Clark, Kankowski and Messam running with the ball and getting us over the gainline.

Set Piece
Base game around a solid set piece, we have a very strong front five at scrum time that will more than challenge London Irish, espc as we can bring on Domingo and Orlandi as second half replacements. We will look to use the scrum as an attacking weapon and we will interchange MEssam and Kankowksi as no8's who can both add a lot of dynamism from the base of the scrum. Will also attack and put pressure on Irish put ins and see if we can cause Buckland some issues.

Lineout - we've opted to bring in Clark in the second row for his lineout options, alongside Alabcete, Messam and Kankowski we have four good lineout operators and will look to secure a lot of quick ball from the lineout to attack from.

Breakdown
The breakdown is an area we are looking to target and have opted to pick both Calum Clark and Alexandre Lapandy as two breakdown specialiss who are there to slow down Irish ball and seek turnovers - we have also picked Messam and Kankowski because of their ability to clear out rucks with their power - we will try and use them to take Steffon Armitage out of the equation at the breakdown and clear him out. We want quick ball and are confident we can secure this from Irish by using this approach.

We are also going to make sure we get the best out of Joe Simpson and use his pace and attacking threat around the fringes to make sure that IRish have to commit a lot of people to the breakdown - if they don't Simpson will attack and is capable of scoring from anywhere on the pitch.

Defence
We will play a blitz defence that will look to place pressure on Conrad Smith who will not be used to the Irish attack/defence systems, so they will not be as fluid from the 13 shirt to backthree as normal.

Picked Clark as second row because of his tackling ability - he will be asked to play a Joe Worsley type role and make sure he is around Kaino whenever he looks to carry the ball - if we stop him running then Irish lose a big part of their ability to get over the gainline. De Villiers will be asked to do a simialr job on SBW.

Simpson to act as sweeper behind and clear up any linebreaks.


Key Points:
* Attack at speed, play an expansive game and look to score tries - make the game as open as possible.
* Simpson, Cipriani, Hopper, Siviatu, Savea all have the pace to score from anywhere on the pitch.
* Look to take advantage of Conrad Smith making his debut, he's hasnt played much alongside SBW for NZ and he's never played with the other players before. Will be attack and defence opportunities down this channel.
* Play similar attack pattern to Wales, two big wings and de Villiers in midfield to do a Jamie Roberts role.
* Use de Villiers, Messam, KAnkowski and Clark to get us over the gainline - quick ball and spread out wide.
* Will look to outscore IRish on the try front and rely on Giteau and Cipriani being better GK's than James.




Gloucester Rugby v Harlequins
Sunny Intervals, 9 Degrees, 6mph Winds


Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Guthro Steenkamp09.Will Genia
02. Joe Gray10. Dan Carter
03. Julian White
04. Bakkies Botha11.Charlie Sharples
05.Ali Williams12. Berrick Barnes
06. Schalk Burger13. Richard Kahui
07. Andy Saull 14.Johnny May
08. Willem Alberts15. Israel Dagg

16. Nick Wood 17. Jamie George 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Dave Lewis 22. Stephen Donald 23. Hosea Gear


Tactics

Glaws welcome quins to fortress Kingsholm. We are in a superb run of form and will be glad to have the chance to avenge last weeks controversial defeat at Bath.

Conditions are superb for a game of running rugby so we are keen to target a bonus point win here.

SET PIECE
Scrum we are obviously looking to get on the front foot and looking to launch our backrow at the Quins 10 to get quick ball to attack with. white and steenkamp are destructive props and will be looking to get on top. Julian white is there to last 40 minutes max before bringing on Harden and is there purely to give the quins loosehead a torrid time and to give gloucester a rock steady platform.

On their ball we will be looking to nudge and disrupt and try and get our back row to pour through and put pressure on to quins 9.


Lineout. We see this as one of our key advantages and have jumpers in all the back 5. We will be targetting their throw with Williams, Saull, burger, and Bakkies all being top draw lineout operators. We will be aiming to poach or at least disrupt their ball

having the control of the lineout will make our own ball easier and will give us great foundations to attack with. we will look to vary whether we go or the top or drive to keep them honest. in the first half we will be driving a lot more to wear them down and also to set the correct field position to align our attacks from. We will also be looking to pop burger, Alberts and co off the back of these to get them in to the quins midfield. Saull will be our link betweeen the pack and backs and will be either getting over the ball or looking to get on the shoulder of the bigger runners for continuity.


General forward play. As ever gloucester are about control and ball carrying. we have a team full of ball carriers and will really look to keep it in hand and control the ball. we will look to offload when safe and try and get in behind to target quins backs and create quick ball for our dynamite back 3

We will also be really looking to attack the break down and dominate the collision. we see back row as a big advantage and feel we can really get at quins here with so many of their stars missing. losing Heaslip and Warbs is huge for quins.. we see this as the area to control the game and to control tempo of the game from. Gloucester are all about controlling games and attaching on our own terms and we see our pack as offering us the chance to do this with our superior breakdown and lineout abilities.


Backs.

Gloucester are going to play a High Intensity attacking game and are all about raising the tempo in the right places and slowing it in others.

The way you control the game is through your back row and half backs.

Genia and Carter are the premium pair in world rugby and will look to exert their influence over the quins half backs.

Genia will be marshalling the forwards and only giving the ball to carter when the time is right. he will also be attacking the fringes when necessary to keep the back row honest and stop them from fringing.

Carter will be looking to exploit the Quins backlines by sending Kahui up short or on the slider. May and Sharples will also be popping up all over the place trying to find holes or running support lines off runners.

Barnes alongside him gives option for first receiver and another kicking option for us to pin back their back 3

Carter will be looking to kick in our half and push quins back to win territory battle. he will also employ the up and under and generally vary the game.

When we attack we will look to create mismatches and utilise our serious gas. We have a back 3 who have it all and know how to attack as a unit. MAy sharples and Dagg will look to counter loose kicks and kicks not chased correctly as the game starts to break up. they will also look to take quick throw ins and gernerally break up the game to come to the fore attacking wise. these guys have gas to burn and will be looking to use it

With DC and Barnes interchainging we have the distribution to hit our dangerous back 3 and kahui to put them through holes.
Bench

We see ourselves as being able to continue our domination with the bench. Harden on for white by 40 at latest and Wood and George will bring dyanmism from the bench.

With Palmer coming on we will be able to continue lineout dominance. The rest of the bench as necessary. we are targetting the BP and so will keep the intensity and look to attack attack attack once we have won gritty stuff



Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock09. Karl Dickson
02. Matthew Rees10. Felipe Contepomi (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Jerome Thion11. Peter Hynes
05. Nathan Sharpe (c)12. Riki Flutey
06. Francois Louw13. Anthony Faainga
07. David Seymour14. Jonathan Joseph
08. Chris Henry15. Freddie Burns

16. Schalk Brits 17. Joe Marler 18. Brian Mujati 19. George Skivington 20. Luke Wallace. 21. Tomas O'Leary 22. Rory Clegg 23. George Lowe

Tactics

Game Plan

We are going out of our usual patterns today and are simply going to spoil Gloucester’s play and try and get the win through a dogged game which disrupts Gloucester’s play continually. In attack we will look to either keep the ball for long periods with the forwards carrying hard and the ball then being recycled. We will only look to get it wide when we have very quick ball. When we aren’t looking to recycle the ball we will look kick it long and into spaces behind the back 3 with one of our very strong kickers. When we get into good position we will look for the drop goal as we want to take 3 points at every single opportunity to keep piling on the pressure onto Gloucester.

We will really look to put Gloucester onto the back foot and pile them under pressure. I see the Gloucester pack as very vunerable to the yellow card and we will look to continually wind them up and look for the reaction. If the go down to 14 men then we will look to keep the ball for 10 minutes to wear out the Gloucester side.

We will look to put some kicks onto the Gloucester wingers and have Hynes and Joseph pressure them big time and test their ability under the high ball. Make sure they are under pressure when we kick the ball to them, not give them a second of time.

Forwards

We have picked a pack to ruin Gloucester’s patterns and to tackle everything that moves. We have picked a front 5 which will have its presence felt both in the loose and at the set piece. We want our backrow to really run the show in the breakdown area with 3 players very capable of slowing down and stealing Gloucester ball. When we carry we carry in numbers and aim to win the collisions and break the gain line.

We think we can get a real advantage on the Gloucester scrum and will look to keep the scrum up and send them backwards with Joe Grey not adding much to the Gloucester scrum effort. At the lineout we will look to put the pressure on Ali Williams and Botha at the front whilst on our own ball we
will look to shorten the lineout.

Backs

We’ve gone for a back line which is extremely solid in defence and will stick to our game plan of keeping the ball or kicking it in to space. We will look to have Flutey and Faainga picking lines off Contepomi and looking to cross the gainline.

Defence

Aggressive with a quick line speed at all times, targeting the Gloucester decision makers with big tackles and pressure. Aiming to knock back the man in the tackle and double up when necessary, with one man looking to get onto the ball straight away looking for the turnover.

Key Points

- Ruin Gloucester’s game with hard tackling and a high workrate. Disruption at the breakdown and the set piece will also help us to ruin Gloucester’s game.

- Wind up the Gloucester pack. White, Williams, Botha and Burger are yellow cards waiting to happen.

- Keep the ball for long periods or kick into spaces. Forwards to carry hard and in numbers.

- Take the points at every opportunity whether it be drop goals or penalties. This add’s to pressure on Gloucester.

- Defensively we are very strong with some of the best defenders around in our side. Gloucester will have to work very hard to through us.

- Having Julian White on is like playing with 7 forwards everywhere except the scrum. We will look to exploit him in the Gloucester defensive line.




Worcester Warriors v Saracens
White Cloud, 9 Degrees, 7mph Winds


Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. David Flatman09. Dwayne Peel
02. Richardt Strauss10. Morne Steyn(k)
03. BJ Botha
04. Ollie Kohn11. Shane Williams
05. Danie Russouw12. Pat McCabe
06. Kearnen Myall13. Jon Clarke
07. Craig Newby (c) 14. Bryan Habana
08. Mamuka Gorgodze15. Ollie Morgan


16. Michael Mayhew 17. Chris Budgen 18. George Porter 19. Dom Barrow 20. Scott Higginbotham 21. Byron Kelleher 22. Tom Heathcote 23. Regan King

Tactics

We come into this match desparately needing a confidence boost so have picked a bery big pack who we feel will be able to provide us with this, add in the spark in our back line and running rugby is the main aim of the match.

Forwards

*Front row to contest every ball and add pressure on the opposition scrum, we have a replacement front row who will look to turn the screw on tired legs,

*2nd rows to contest all lineout balls and put us in good positions when setting up driving mauls from our lineouts sucking in the defenders,

*Back row to go looking for the ball continuously and seek to be the 2nd person to breakdowns to look for the turnovers,

*We will look for runners off McCabe and Clarke to stretch the opposition's defence,

*Gorgodze to pick from some scrums to get us over the gain line when required and Higginbotham is a strong carrier and a nusiance to bring on later.

Backs

*Peel to get quick ball and Steyn to make the decision as to whether we pin them back with kicks or look to unleash our back line,

*McCabe to be instrumental in releasing supporting runners and Clarke who will look to make ground continuously or offload to our back 3 all who have pace and can make something out of nothing,

*Habana and Williams to go hunting for the ball,

*Steyn to take the points if on offer,

*Use all back replacements to bring a bit of experience, youth and flair.

Defense

*Hard Hitting,

*Blitz Banana,

*Look for turnover ball or to slow them down and gain penalties.



Saracens
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Tendai Mtwarira09. Francois Hougaard
02. Bismarck du Plessis10. Patric Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Dave Attwood11. Digby Ioane
05. Steve Borthwick12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Tom Johnson13. Henry Trinder
07. Tom Wood14. Tim Visser
08. Joe van Niekerk (c)15. Alex Goode

16. Gary Botha 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brok Harris 19. Graham Kitchener 20. George Smith 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Damien Traille 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. However, if the offload is not on, we will take the contact and look to recycle quickly at the breakdown. If running the ball is not on we will uitilise the kicking game of one of our backs to take us into the right area of the pitch.

In defence we will look to blitz, with our scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line. Key for us is line speed, getting up to make the tackle before the ball carrier hits the gainline, and confidence and trust in the man next to you in the defensive line, meaning we will not jump out or get pulled to far away from the next defender leaving gaps that can be exploited.

At the breakdown, we will not overcommit players. If the ball is not there to be won, then we will commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow it down whilst maintaining a strong defensive line across the pitch. If the ball looks like it is there to be won, we will look to get more numbers there quickly, with the first 1 or 2 players immediately rucking past the ball to clear the opposition players who are trying to get hands on it, and the next man in will then look to get it out quickly for us to counter attack on turnover ball.

We will look to really attack the scrum, both in attack and defence. We will not be looking to drop the scrum at all, and Joe van Niekerk in his role as captain will be talking to the referee constantly to ensure that he is aware that we want to scrummage. We will look to be aggressive in this area throughout.


Game Specific Tactics

  • Target Shane Williams defensively - We will look to isolate Williams on his wing and get Visser running at him, or use crossfield kicks to Visser and let him use his power.

  • Target Clarkes outside shoulder - We will look to get Ioane coming off his wing and supporting the ball carrier in the 13 channel, looking for the popped offload to then be able to gas Clarke on the outside.



Key Points

  • In Game Form and Momentum - We have both with some big wins in recent weeks and go into this game full of confidence.

  • Try Scoring Ability - Conditions are good and we have the players who can exploit this, with the likes of the front row, Johnson, JvN, Hougaard, Ioane, Nonu, Trinder and Visser all good hard ground runners who can get themselves on the scoresheet.






Last edited by SirJohnnyEnglish on Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:10 pm; edited 6 times in total

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:12 pm

Conditions will be up at lunch time

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:33 pm

Conditions up to date

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Post by Ozzy3213 Tue Feb 21, 2012 11:34 pm

Looks like decent conditions to play some rugby in Worcester.
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Post by Ozzy3213 Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:07 am

Two massive games in terms of play off places this week, Tigers v Falcons and Gloucester v Quins.
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Post by stnick88 Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:10 am

my season is over if I dont win this weekend!

need to get into that top 6! I'm coming for you Arry.

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Post by Steven_Sharks Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:26 am

A win this week will be my best since these leagues began

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Post by Guest Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:06 am

its tight at the bottom of the league also.

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Post by dammit_chris Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:17 am

Going all guns blazing for Amlin and LV Cup this year - think I need a few more southern hem players to compete properly during the 6Nations

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Post by stnick88 Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:40 am

disappointed i didnt quality for LV semi's, wanted to win it 2 years in a row.
I have a tough away QF in Heineken cup and am low in the league so not greatest season! all gone downhill since winning league in first season!

luckily hernandez and steffon have hit good form which is helpful, just need spies, conrad smith, JP etc to do the same in the S15.

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Post by dammit_chris Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:41 am

I could do with having 90% of my starting lineup available during the 6Nations!

Though have got a very attacking lineup ready for you this week!

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Post by Ozzy3213 Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:47 am

Super XV form will be massive for people in the run in here.
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Post by Driver Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:08 am

Exeter Chiefs Side

1.Wyatt Crockett
2.Damian Varley
3.Ben Alexander
4.Flip Van Der Merwe
5.James Hudson
6.Declan Danahar
7.Shane Jennings
8.Nick Easter
9.Jimmy Cowen
10.Colin Slade
11.Luke Fitzgerald
12.Mike Tindall
13.George Pisi
14.Vasily Artymyev
15.Lee Byrne

16. Neil Clark 17.Brett Sturgess 18.Davit Zirkashvilli 19.Juilian Pierre 20.Lewis Moody 21.Haydn Thomas 22.Henry Slade 23.Matt Smith


- Keep the ball in the tight and grind Bath down using the boots of Slade , Tindall and Pisi to ping Wasps in there half.

- Use our scrummaging front row to keep the scrum up and driving on when it's Bath's feed.

- Slade will look to take the ball at pace and attack the defensive line and bring our backs into play.

- Cowen to dictate the tempo and test the Bath line with snipes , service and high hanging box kicks.

- Cowen and Slade will play what is in front of them and use what they have outside them with Tindall making the headway in the backs and Fitz, Arty and Byrne running into the wide channels.

- Slade to tick the board over with penalties and drop goals when in the opposition half.

- Big physical players in our pack will see plenty of big hits to put the pressure on the bath runners early doors.

- Run first , kick second on kick returns.

Key points

*

*TARGET SKRELA WITH BIG HITS FROM THE OFF AND TRY AND GET HIM OFF THE PITCH AND FORCE BEALE INTO 10 TO LIMIT THERE WIDTH

*MIX LINEOUT JUMPERS ABOUT WITH HUDSON , FLIP , Danahar AND EASTER ALL OFFERING OPTIONS WITH NO OUT AND OUT JUMPER IN BATH PACK

* Wrigglesworth has been injured for months and has no real world form so Cowen will look to cause him problems


Last edited by Driver - RIP 606 on Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:53 am; edited 2 times in total
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Post by Driver Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:13 am

Meant Danahar at 6 not Skirving censored
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Post by Sgt_Pooly Wed Feb 22, 2012 4:05 am

Some good games, England lineup will be huge

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Post by Ozzy3213 Wed Feb 22, 2012 7:18 am

Saracens make 4 changes to the starting XV that secured a try bonus point win against Leicester Tigers last week for this weekends visit to Sixways. Tom Johnson steps up from the bench to replace Thierry Dusautoir at blindside for his first start for the club. In the backs Francois Hougaard and Patric Lambie replace French half backs Morgan Parra and Francois Trinh-Duc, with fit again Tim Visser starting on the wing in place of Andrew Trimble.

Head coach Ozzy3213 had this to say.

"Last weeks result is history. The boys played well, but that will count for nothing if we don't go out with the right mindset and level of intensity this week. Worcester Warriors are scrapping for their Premiership survival and will come at us hard, which means we have selected the strongest side available to us this weekend. We are approaching the home stretch in the season now, and have rotated well to keep players fresh, and at this stage continuity and momentum are massive impact factors and we are fortunate to be able to come into the game with plenty of both."

Saracens
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Tendai Mtwarira09. Francois Hougaard
02. Bismarck du Plessis10. Patric Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Dave Attwood11. Digby Ioane
05. Steve Borthwick12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Tom Johnson13. Henry Trinder
07. Tom Wood14. Tim Visser
08. Joe van Niekerk (c)15. Alex Goode

16. Gary Botha 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brok Harris 19. Graham Kitchener 20. George Smith 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Damien Traille 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. However, if the offload is not on, we will take the contact and look to recycle quickly at the breakdown. If running the ball is not on we will uitilise the kicking game of one of our backs to take us into the right area of the pitch.

In defence we will look to blitz, with our scrum half sweeping behind the defensive line. Key for us is line speed, getting up to make the tackle before the ball carrier hits the gainline, and confidence and trust in the man next to you in the defensive line, meaning we will not jump out or get pulled to far away from the next defender leaving gaps that can be exploited.

At the breakdown, we will not overcommit players. If the ball is not there to be won, then we will commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow it down whilst maintaining a strong defensive line across the pitch. If the ball looks like it is there to be won, we will look to get more numbers there quickly, with the first 1 or 2 players immediately rucking past the ball to clear the opposition players who are trying to get hands on it, and the next man in will then look to get it out quickly for us to counter attack on turnover ball.

We will look to really attack the scrum, both in attack and defence. We will not be looking to drop the scrum at all, and Joe van Niekerk in his role as captain will be talking to the referee constantly to ensure that he is aware that we want to scrummage. We will look to be aggressive in this area throughout.


Game Specific Tactics

  • Target Shane Williams defensively - We will look to isolate Williams on his wing and get Visser running at him, or use crossfield kicks to Visser and let him use his power.

  • Target Clarkes outside shoulder - We will look to get Ioane coming off his wing and supporting the ball carrier in the 13 channel, looking for the popped offload to then be able to gas Clarke on the outside.



Key Points (to follow)

  • In Game Form and Momentum - We have both with some big wins in recent weeks and go into this game full of confidence.

  • Try Scoring Ability - Conditions are good and we have the players who can exploit this, with the likes of the front row, Johnson, JvN, Hougaard, Ioane, Nonu, Trinder and Visser all good hard ground runners who can get themselves on the scoresheet.



Last edited by Ozzy3213 on Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:00 am; edited 1 time in total
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Post by dammit_chris Wed Feb 22, 2012 8:07 am

Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris

01. Matt Mullan09. Joe Simpson
02. Chris Whitehead10. Matt Giteau(c)(k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Patricio Albacete11. Siti Siviatu
05. Calum Clark12. Jean de Villiers
06. Liam Messam13. Matt Hopper
07. Alexander Lapandy 14. Julian Savea
08. Ryan Kankowski15. Danny Cipriani

16. Mike Haywood 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Juan Pablo Orlandi 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Jake Abbott 21. Sam Harrison 22. Elliot Daly 23. Jamie Elliott

Tactics

Tactics
After the comprehensive victory at home to Sale Sharks last week Saints have refound their confidence and will be looking to attack London Irish from the outset and play the game at a high tempo, spreading the ball wide and attacking Irish at speed. We will be looking to score tries and have picked a team that has a lot of dynamism and interlinking play.

We have Simpson, Cipriani, Hopper, Siviatu and Savea who are all players capable from scoring from 80metres plus - so will be looking to attack and use this advantage whenever possible.

Attack
We have picked an attacking team that will look to spread play across the pitch and make London Irish really work for the ball. We have opted to play a similar style to how Wales play in the backline by fielding three large backs (de Villiers, Siviatu and Savea) and they will look to straighten up the attack and draw in defenders - we will then look to get the ball for Simpson, Giteau, Hopper and Cipriani to attack with.

We will take chances, look to play a high-tempo offloading game and run the ball from distance - this is primarily to look at how we can take advantage of Conrad Smith being thrown straight into the starting lineup after only just signing. He wont have the defensive patterns e.g. with backthree, so with a quick attack and offloading game we will score tries here.

Cipriani to join the backline and offer a second option as receiver - will ask Giteau to run with the ball as per his game for Toulon last week (see rugbydump for highlights), suck in defenders and give the ball to the backline.

When Irish playing into the sun Giteau will launch some aerial bombs on the Irish backthree with Siviatu and Savea chasing down the catcher, putting them under pressure and forcing mistakes with big hits.

Supplement attack with getting Clark, Kankowski and Messam running with the ball and getting us over the gainline.

Set Piece
Base game around a solid set piece, we have a very strong front five at scrum time that will more than challenge London Irish, espc as we can bring on Domingo and Orlandi as second half replacements. We will look to use the scrum as an attacking weapon and we will interchange MEssam and Kankowksi as no8's who can both add a lot of dynamism from the base of the scrum. Will also attack and put pressure on Irish put ins and see if we can cause Buckland some issues.

Lineout - we've opted to bring in Clark in the second row for his lineout options, alongside Alabcete, Messam and Kankowski we have four good lineout operators and will look to secure a lot of quick ball from the lineout to attack from.

Breakdown
The breakdown is an area we are looking to target and have opted to pick both Calum Clark and Alexandre Lapandy as two breakdown specialiss who are there to slow down Irish ball and seek turnovers - we have also picked Messam and Kankowski because of their ability to clear out rucks with their power - we will try and use them to take Steffon Armitage out of the equation at the breakdown and clear him out. We want quick ball and are confident we can secure this from Irish by using this approach.

We are also going to make sure we get the best out of Joe Simpson and use his pace and attacking threat around the fringes to make sure that IRish have to commit a lot of people to the breakdown - if they don't Simpson will attack and is capable of scoring from anywhere on the pitch.

Defence
We will play a blitz defence that will look to place pressure on Conrad Smith who will not be used to the Irish attack/defence systems, so they will not be as fluid from the 13 shirt to backthree as normal.

Picked Clark as second row because of his tackling ability - he will be asked to play a Joe Worsley type role and make sure he is around Kaino whenever he looks to carry the ball - if we stop him running then Irish lose a big part of their ability to get over the gainline. De Villiers will be asked to do a simialr job on SBW.

Simpson to act as sweeper behind and clear up any linebreaks.


Key Points:
* Attack at speed, play an expansive game and look to score tries - make the game as open as possible.
* Simpson, Cipriani, Hopper, Siviatu, Savea all have the pace to score from anywhere on the pitch.
* Look to take advantage of Conrad Smith making his debut, he's hasnt played much alongside SBW for NZ and he's never played with the other players before. Will be attack and defence opportunities down this channel.
* Play similar attack pattern to Wales, two big wings and de Villiers in midfield to do a Jamie Roberts role.
* Use de Villiers, Messam, KAnkowski and Clark to get us over the gainline - quick ball and spread out wide.
* Will look to outscore IRish on the try front and rely on Giteau and Cipriani being better GK's than James.


Last edited by dammit_chris on Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:32 am; edited 1 time in total

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Post by prop_lyd Thu Feb 23, 2012 1:21 am

Worcester

01. David Flatman09. Dwayne Peel
02. Richardt Strauss10. Morne Steyn(k)
03. BJ Botha
04. Ollie Kohn11. Shane Williams
05. Danie Russouw12. Pat McCabe
06. Kearnen Myall13. Jon Clarke
07. Craig Newby (c) 14. Bryan Habana
08. Mamuka Gorgodze15. Ollie Morgan


16. Michael Mayhew 17. Chris Budgen 18. George Porter 19. Dom Barrow 20. Scott Higginbotham 21. Byron Kelleher 22. Tom Heathcote 23. Regan King

Tactics

We come into this match desparately needing a confidence boost so have picked a bery big pack who we feel will be able to provide us with this, add in the spark in our back line and running rugby is the main aim of the match.

Forwards

*Front row to contest every ball and add pressure on the opposition scrum, we have a replacement front row who will look to turn the screw on tired legs,

*2nd rows to contest all lineout balls and put us in good positions when setting up driving mauls from our lineouts sucking in the defenders,

*Back row to go looking for the ball continuously and seek to be the 2nd person to breakdowns to look for the turnovers,

*We will look for runners off McCabe and Clarke to stretch the opposition's defence,

*Gorgodze to pick from some scrums to get us over the gain line when required and Higginbotham is a strong carrier and a nusiance to bring on later.

Backs

*Peel to get quick ball and Steyn to make the decision as to whether we pin them back with kicks or look to unleash our back line,

*McCabe to be instrumental in releasing supporting runners and Clarke who will look to make ground continuously or offload to our back 3 all who have pace and can make something out of nothing,

*Habana and Williams to go hunting for the ball,

*Steyn to take the points if on offer,

*Use all back replacements to bring a bit of experience, youth and flair.

Defense

*Hard Hitting,

*Blitz Banana,

*Look for turnover ball or to slow them down and gain penalties.


Last edited by prop_lyd on Fri Feb 24, 2012 5:29 am; edited 1 time in total
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Post by stnick88 Thu Feb 23, 2012 2:12 am

London Irish
Manager – stnick88

01. Soane Tonga'uhia 09. Ruan Pienaar
02. James Buckland 10. Butch James
03. WP Nel
04. Matt Garvey 11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy 12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Jerome Kaino 13. Conrad Smith
07. Steffon Armitage 14. J.P Pieterson
08. Pierre Spies 15. Delon Armitage

16. Duncan Bell 17. Neil Briggs 18. Darren Fearn 19. Dean Mumm 20. Hendrie Fourie 21. Warren Fury 22. Matthew Tait 23. Juan Martin Hernandez

Tactics

- In good conditions, play an attacking, running game.
- We will look to win the contact area and the collisions. With Tonga'uhia, Nel, Garvey, Kaino, Spies, Steffon, SBW in the side, we have some big, powerful units who will look to smash over the gain line and put Saints on the backfoot. We will look for quick ball for Pienaar to use and create opportunities with.
- Kennedy will be our main lineout target and we willl look for quick ball off the top on most occasions, if not use Garvey at the front to create a maul.
- We willl look to dominate possession and tire the Saints defence. Tonga'uhia, Spies, Kaino, Garvey will carry hard and look to make inroads. We will look for Pienaar and Butch to play what is infront of them and put SBW and co into gaps and space. Our wingers, especially Tagicakibau, will come inside and along with Smith, look to gather the offloads from SBW, which he will only do when it is on.
- At the breakdown, we will look to use our powerful flankers and the breakdown skills of Steffon to secure quick ball and slow down opposition ball. Any turnover ball will be counter attacked.
- Pienaar will kick all pens for goal in range. If not we will go for touch and use the lineout as a platform to attack.
- We will look to exploit the back 3 of Saints, especially Savea and Cipriani who are not known for their great defence.
- Smith is making his debut, but after being in the All Blacks with SBW for a year, training and playing with him, they know each other very well and fluidity wont be a problem.



Last edited by stnick88 on Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:54 am; edited 1 time in total

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Post by CJB Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:55 am

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane
01. Jon Golding 09.Richard Wigglesworth
02. Kevin Mealamu10. David Skrela
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Louis Deacon11. Isiah Toeava
05.Sam Whitelock12. Anthony Allen
06. James Haskell13. David Marty
07. Beau Robinson 14.Sean Maitland
08. JMF Lobbe15. Kurtley Beale
16. Dave Wilson 17. Joe Ward 18. Euan Murray 19. Rob Simmons 20. Tom Guest 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Luke Fielden
Tactics

Psychological
13 wins in 15 games is a brilliant record to have and our players are all brimming with confidence.

Overall
In this weather we will look to use the set piece as a platform and really play a backs orientated game.

Set Piece
Our formidable front row has been picked to win scrums. Golding, Kubrashvilli and Mealamu will be looking to get in a big hit first. Lobbe will control it at the back. We will be using the scrum as an option as much as possible as we feel we can really dominate here. We feel the lineout is an area we can really put pressure on. At the lineout we have options with Whitelock and Lobbe capable of taking opposition ball. At the front we have Deacon offering the banker ball. Deacon and Whitelock leads lineouts internationally….do Exeter have such experience in leading lineouts?

Kicking
We will look to put the ball behind the Exeter back three and put pressure on them in their own 22 with Lobbe leading the chase. We shall only use this sparingly though. More often we will look to put the ball out of touch in the Exeter 22 and pressure their lineout. Beale will be our main kicker looking to take on anything in range. When FDP comes on he offers another box kicking option which we can use. Skrela also has a decent boot which we will use as a secondary option.

Ball in Hand
We will be looking for quick service from Wigglesworth getting the ball out to our backs who have been encouraged to play adventurous attacking rugby really looking for gaps. We will also look to give the ball to our forwards to switch up the play and they will be looking for carries.

Defence
We will look for a quick defensive line to put pressure on the key Exeter decision makers. Our defense will leave Beale trailing to get any deep kicks. He will be able to either return with interest or able to make a good run.

We will be looking to isolate runners and force a turnover by getting bodies into the breakdown when we see an opportunity and use Robinson skill in the ground.


Last edited by InTheFastLane on Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:14 am; edited 1 time in total

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Post by Guest Thu Feb 23, 2012 8:06 pm

Mat wrote:

Manager – Mat
01. Guthro Steenkamp09.Will Genia
02. Joe Gray10. Dan Carter
03. Julian White
04. Bakkies Botha11.Charlie Sharples
05.Ali Williams12. Berrick Barnes
06. Schalk Burger13. Richard Kahui
07. Andy Saull 14.Johnny May
08. Willem Alberts15. Israel Dagg
16. Nick Wood 17. Jamie George 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Dave Lewis 22. Stephen Donald 23. Hosea Gear

Tactics

Glaws welcome quins to fortress Kingsholm. We are in a superb run of form and will be glad to have the chance to avenge last weeks controversial defeat at Bath.

Conditions are superb for a game of running rugby so we are keen to target a bonus point win here.

SET PIECE
Scrum we are obviously looking to get on the front foot and looking to launch our backrow at the Quins 10 to get quick ball to attack with. white and steenkamp are destructive props and will be looking to get on top. Julian white is there to last 40 minutes max before bringing on Harden and is there purely to give the quins loosehead a torrid time and to give gloucester a rock steady platform.

On their ball we will be looking to nudge and disrupt and try and get our back row to pour through and put pressure on to quins 9.


Lineout. We see this as one of our key advantages and have jumpers in all the back 5. We will be targetting their throw with Williams, Saull, burger, and Bakkies all being top draw lineout operators. We will be aiming to poach or at least disrupt their ball

having the control of the lineout will make our own ball easier and will give us great foundations to attack with. we will look to vary whether we go or the top or drive to keep them honest. in the first half we will be driving a lot more to wear them down and also to set the correct field position to align our attacks from. We will also be looking to pop burger, Alberts and co off the back of these to get them in to the quins midfield. Saull will be our link betweeen the pack and backs and will be either getting over the ball or looking to get on the shoulder of the bigger runners for continuity.


General forward play. As ever gloucester are about control and ball carrying. we have a team full of ball carriers and will really look to keep it in hand and control the ball. we will look to offload when safe and try and get in behind to target quins backs and create quick ball for our dynamite back 3

We will also be really looking to attack the break down and dominate the collision. we see back row as a big advantage and feel we can really get at quins here with so many of their stars missing. losing Heaslip and Warbs is huge for quins.. we see this as the area to control the game and to control tempo of the game from. Gloucester are all about controlling games and attaching on our own terms and we see our pack as offering us the chance to do this with our superior breakdown and lineout abilities.


Backs.

Gloucester are going to play a High Intensity attacking game and are all about raising the tempo in the right places and slowing it in others.

The way you control the game is through your back row and half backs.

Genia and Carter are the premium pair in world rugby and will look to exert their influence over the quins half backs.

Genia will be marshalling the forwards and only giving the ball to carter when the time is right. he will also be attacking the fringes when necessary to keep the back row honest and stop them from fringing.

Carter will be looking to exploit the Quins backlines by sending Kahui up short or on the slider. May and Sharples will also be popping up all over the place trying to find holes or running support lines off runners.

Barnes alongside him gives option for first receiver and another kicking option for us to pin back their back 3

Carter will be looking to kick in our half and push quins back to win territory battle. he will also employ the up and under and generally vary the game.

When we attack we will look to create mismatches and utilise our serious gas. We have a back 3 who have it all and know how to attack as a unit. MAy sharples and Dagg will look to counter loose kicks and kicks not chased correctly as the game starts to break up. they will also look to take quick throw ins and gernerally break up the game to come to the fore attacking wise. these guys have gas to burn and will be looking to use it

With DC and Barnes interchainging we have the distribution to hit our dangerous back 3 and kahui to put them through holes.
Bench

We see ourselves as being able to continue our domination with the bench. Harden on for white by 40 at latest and Wood and George will bring dyanmism from the bench.

With Palmer coming on we will be able to continue lineout dominance.
The rest of the bench as necessary. we are targetting the BP and so will keep the intensity and look to attack attack attack once we have won gritty stuff

Match Specific Points

1. Exploit the amount of players playing out of position. Burns, henry, JJ, Contempomi etc. Burns in particular has not played there for a year and is very shaky under the high ball
2. Really look to pressure 9 and 10. dickson not been there that long and Contepomi not a 10. compare to Genia and DC
3. Look to seriously pressure their lineout with them only having 2 recognised jumpers and Rees throwing in who has not played for a long time.
4. Exploit the advantage in the backs Carter, barnes, Kahui May, sharples and Dagg carry much more attacking threat.
5. Lots more ball carriers in the Gloucester pack.


Last edited by anonmattyt on Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:56 am; edited 1 time in total

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Post by Steven_Sharks Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:13 pm

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock09. Karl Dickson
02. Matthew Rees10. Felipe Contepomi (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Jerome Thion11. Peter Hynes
05. Nathan Sharpe (c)12. Riki Flutey
06. Francois Louw13. Anthony Faainga
07. David Seymour14. Jonathan Joseph
08. Chris Henry15. Freddie Burns

16. Schalk Brits 17. Joe Marler 18. Brian Mujati 19. George Skivington 20. Luke Wallace. 21. Tomas O'Leary 22. Rory Clegg 23. George Lowe

Tactics

Game Plan

We are going out of our usual patterns today and are simply going to spoil Gloucester’s play and try and get the win through a dogged game which disrupts Gloucester’s play continually. In attack we will look to either keep the ball for long periods with the forwards carrying hard and the ball then being recycled. We will only look to get it wide when we have very quick ball. When we aren’t looking to recycle the ball we will look kick it long and into spaces behind the back 3 with one of our very strong kickers. When we get into good position we will look for the drop goal as we want to take 3 points at every single opportunity to keep piling on the pressure onto Gloucester.

We will really look to put Gloucester onto the back foot and pile them under pressure. I see the Gloucester pack as very vunerable to the yellow card and we will look to continually wind them up and look for the reaction. If the go down to 14 men then we will look to keep the ball for 10 minutes to wear out the Gloucester side.

We will look to put some kicks onto the Gloucester wingers and have Hynes and Joseph pressure them big time and test their ability under the high ball. Make sure they are under pressure when we kick the ball to them, not give them a second of time.

Forwards

We have picked a pack to ruin Gloucester’s patterns and to tackle everything that moves. We have picked a front 5 which will have its presence felt both in the loose and at the set piece. We want our backrow to really run the show in the breakdown area with 3 players very capable of slowing down and stealing Gloucester ball. When we carry we carry in numbers and aim to win the collisions and break the gain line.

We think we can get a real advantage on the Gloucester scrum and will look to keep the scrum up and send them backwards with Joe Grey not adding much to the Gloucester scrum effort. At the lineout we will look to put the pressure on Ali Williams and Botha at the front whilst on our own ball we
will look to shorten the lineout.

Backs

We’ve gone for a back line which is extremely solid in defence and will stick to our game plan of keeping the ball or kicking it in to space. We will look to have Flutey and Faainga picking lines off Contepomi and looking to cross the gainline.

Defence

Aggressive with a quick line speed at all times, targeting the Gloucester decision makers with big tackles and pressure. Aiming to knock back the man in the tackle and double up when necessary, with one man looking to get onto the ball straight away looking for the turnover.

Key Points

- Ruin Gloucester’s game with hard tackling and a high workrate. Disruption at the breakdown and the set piece will also help us to ruin Gloucester’s game.

- Wind up the Gloucester pack. White, Williams, Botha and Burger are yellow cards waiting to happen.

- Keep the ball for long periods or kick into spaces. Forwards to carry hard and in numbers.

- Take the points at every opportunity whether it be drop goals or penalties. This add’s to pressure on Gloucester.

- Defensively we are very strong with some of the best defenders around in our side. Gloucester will have to work very hard to through us.

- Having Julian White on is like playing with 7 forwards everywhere except the scrum. We will look to exploit him in the Gloucester defensive line.

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Post by Sgt_Pooly Thu Feb 23, 2012 11:56 pm

Off mountain biking this afternoon, have team up later Luke. Some tough choices this week.

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:40 am

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza 09. Ben Spencer
02. Guilleme Guirado 10. Aaron Cruden
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Romain Millo Chluski 11. Tom Brady
05. Andries Bekker 12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Adam Thomson 13. Robbie Freuen
07. Fulgence Quedragao 14. Sam Smith
08. Wycliffe Palu 15. Luke Rooney

16. Schuster 17. Paice 18. Tialata 19. Day 20. Vito 21. Care 22. Barkley 23. Abendanoon



General Game Plan:

We will use our strong carriers to attack the gaps in the Wasps line, looking to offload in contact to support runners thus changing the point of attack and keeping our forward momentum going. Spencer will look to use his intelligent kicking game and target the Wasps back 3 when out of position. Cruden will look to attack from fly half and inject pace to the proceedings committing the Wasps defence and leaving space in wider channels to exploit.

At scrum time we will look to contest each and 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. While on Wasps feeds we will disrupt the put in looking for penalties or to create rushed, poor ball for the Wasps halfbacks. With 5 jumping options and a reliable thrower at hooker we will look to attack from the lineout mixing things up by bringing the ball down into the maul and using the physicality of our pack or else playing the ball of the top and injecting serious pace into the play.

On defence, we will use a blitz defence coming up at pace looking to isolate the Wasps ball carriers before they can get to the gain line stopping any momentum and allowing us to hit the breakdown harder. Spencer 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 defence 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 Wasps players providing quick counter attacking ball to be cleared and used against a disorganised defensive line. If the ball does not look available we will commit less to the ruck and look to strengthen the defensive line instead.



Key Points:

* Use kicking game of Spencer & Cruden to target the Wasps wingers. Both can be suspect both positionally and under the highball and we want to test them out.

* Myler isnt a flyhalf to play flat and on the gain line and instucting him to do so against our blitz defence should see Wasps struggle to build real momentum with his lack of creativity.




Last edited by SirJohnnyEnglish on Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:33 am; edited 1 time in total

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Fri Feb 24, 2012 12:54 am

Just a reminder guys late tactics will not be accepted. Cut off is 12 tonight...

Pete,
If you add specific points etc just leave a comment so I know as knowing me I'll forget to update you!

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Post by Sgt_Pooly Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:02 am

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Boris Stankovich09. Sarel Pretorious
02. Tom Lindsay10. Nick Evans
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn 11. Miles Benjamin
05. Dean Schofield12. Fran Steyn
06. Richie McCaw(c)13. Jaque Fourie
07. Heinrich Brussow14. James O’Connor
08. Kieran Read15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

16. Marius Tincu 17. Owen Franks 18. Fabien Barcella 19. Ed Slater 20. Chris York 21. Jonny Arr 22. Ben Williams 23. Dan Hipkiss

Tactics

Overall - In the great conditions we'll be looking to run the ball and get out backs into play at every oppertunity. High tempo pack play and look to use the set piece as restart rather than a weapon. Look to slow opposition ball down with all backrow players offering a breakdown threat. Use a simple drift defence to force Leicester out wide and give them little space to work in. Look to take points on offer and Steyn to give long range option.

Scrum – use scrum as restart as look for quick ball for Read to pop up and feed Pretorious, if weakness seen in opposition we will look to exploit

Lineout – quick ball off the top using Schofield as primary caller, also look to use Read at the tail and McCaw, Thorn to offer front ball.

Breakdown – Our big game plan….look to dominate breakdown with all backrow options excellent in this area. Look to slow/turnover opposition at every possible opportunity. McCaw to play more 6 role but will play breakdown as he see’s fit. Thorn to give us massive clearing out option around the park.

Backline – We've looked to partner Fourie with Steyn as they know each others game inside out. Both give a huge physical threat around the park ane we'll look to play a simple game plan to keep Fouire involved. JOC will look to step up as second reciever and bring some silky running into play. Evans has numerous options to look to punch through the opposion line and set up quick ball options which Pretorious thrives in.

Franks & Barcella to come after halftime to increase pressure in set piece and give us added work rate around the park. JOC to cover 10 if needed.



Last edited by Sgt_Pooly on Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:18 am; edited 1 time in total

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Post by Ozzy3213 Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:03 am

Cheers for the reminder SJE, had completely forgotten that I needed to do them. OK

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Post by Driver Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:13 am

Do you mean Dean Schofield pooly?
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Post by Steven_Sharks Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:14 am

Hopefully he means the Surrey and ex England and lancashire Leg Spin Bowler and is planning to play him against me next week!

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Post by Sgt_Pooly Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:16 am

Wtf did Chris come from?!?!

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Post by Steven_Sharks Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:17 am

Chris Schofield is a cricketer to me Pooly so might have got it from there. I'm continually calling my loosehead Trevor Woodcock

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Post by Sgt_Pooly Fri Feb 24, 2012 1:19 am

Think I'm cracking up....

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Post by LukeLovesLuka Fri Feb 24, 2012 2:56 am

Leicester Tigers have named their side to face Newcastle at Welford Road this week.

Tigers have made 3 changes to the side that lost away to Saracens last week, and they are all in the pack.

Andrew Sheridan comes into the front row with Gethin Jenkins on Six Nations duty, Samu Manoa replaces Alex Brown in the second row to give Tigers some serious grunt, and Nathan Hines returns to the back row where he comes in for Johnathan Poff.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan09. Dimitri Yachvili (k)
02. Stephen Moore10. Jonny Wilkinson
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Samu Manoa11. Topsy Ojo
05. James Horwill (c)12. Yannick Jauzion
06. Nathan Hines13. Florian Fritz
07. David Pocock14. Cory Jane
08. Thomas Waldrom15. Rob Miller
16. Clarke Dermody 17. Lee Mears 18. Ben Franks 19. Alex Brown 20. Jordan Crane 21. Michael Claassens 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Tom Biggs

Tactics

GENERAL:

- We are looking to get our backs into the game as much as possible by attacking the scrum and the lineout, and our massive carrying pack that will look to open up gaps.

- We will look to get our back three on the ball causing Newcastle problems defensively. We will be physical and relentless up front and pacey and clinical in attack.

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

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

FORWARDS:

- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson. Horwill, Manoa and Hines to rotate the target. We will relentlessly target Newcastle's throws.

- At the scrum look to Johnston and Moore to really get the shove on and target the Lindsay/Stank channel.

- Pack full of carriers, led by Waldrom, and with Horwill, Manoa, Pocock, Sheridan, Hines and Moore look to get real go-forward with our carrying. With the ball in hand we want to attack together in groups so as not to become isolated, and if it is on we will look to offload in or just before the tackle.

- Pocock is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first, securing first phase possession for us and pilfering the possession of Wasps. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.

BACKS:

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Yachvili our general pulling the strings.

- If the game is tight and the ball isn't coming quickly, Wilkinson will look to drop into the pocket and keep the scoreboard ticking over with drop goals.

- We have selected Jauzion and Fritz to give us creativity in midfield, and to keep us solid in defence.

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


KEY POINTS:

- Home Advantage - Unbeaten at Welford Road in 2 years.

- Form and Momentum - we have won 16 of our last 19 games, and are flying right now. Confidence is high right throughout the squad, with competition for places extremely high.

- Attack the lineout as a weapon using the tactical kicking of Yachvili and Wilkinson.

- Huge carrying pack - led by Waldrom, Manoa, Horwill and Moore, we want to punch holes in Newcastle's pack.

- Get our backs into the game as much aspossible and look to get our back three into space.

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Post by 'Arry Spurs Fri Feb 24, 2012 3:10 am

London Wasps
Manager – ‘Arry

01. Perry Freshwater 09. Luke Burgess
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau 10. Stephen Jones (k)
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Steve Mafi 11. Christian Wade
05. Marco Wentzel (c) 12. Luke McAlister
06. Rocky Elsom 13. Matt Banahan
07. Jacques Burger 14. Ugo Monye
08. Luke Narraway 15. Geordan Murphy

16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Charlie Beech 18. CJ Van Der Linde 19. Stuart Hooper 20. John Hart 21. Nick Phipps 22. Steven Myler 23. Noah Cato

Tactics
We have picked a gritty, dynamic and physical forward pack which will hopefully get us over the gain line and onto the front foot. We feel that if we can assert ourselves physically and win the forward battle, providing our backs with a solid platform we will be able to beat Sale. We will look to push Sale onto the back foot and keep them there. We will look to tire their pack by making them work hard in defence with our dynamic and relentless carrying all game.

In the early stages, we will look to our dynamic forwards to get us onto the front foot by attacking in groups with some grunt and powerful carrying, getting us over the gain line. Hopefully our carriers will suck in Sale defenders, so we can spread the ball out wide to our dangerous runners to make use of the space on offer. We will start as we mean to go on with a high intensity, hitting the collision area hard and driving our players over the gain line. We will look to wear the Sale pack out and create mismatches in midfield to exploit.

In attack, Jones will play flat in attack, we will use McAlister as a second playmaker option with Banahan running plenty of hard lines at the fly half channel in the Sale defence. We will look to win the collisions and get our offloading game going if it’s on. We will look to attack gaps and half gaps in the Sale defence and target the outside shoulder. We will support our carriers and drive them over the gain line and get quick ball to keep the momentum in our attacks.

At the breakdown we will come from low to high in clearing out Sale players to ensure Burgess has clean ball. We will look to the kicking games of Jones and McAlister to put the ball in behind the Sale wingers and keep them pinned back in their own half where we can pressurize them. We will hopefully be able to build attacks from the scrum and earn some penalties for Jones to make use of.

We will look to the scrum to provide us with a platform to build attacks from and keep Sale on the back foot. We will use a shortened line out, and launch our dynamic forwards, who are not in the lineout into midfield. Our experienced half back combination will look to manage and control our game plan. We will look to frustrate the young Ben Spencer, by making a real nuisance of ourselves at rucks doing our best to not allow him quick ball.


Last edited by 'Arry Spurs on Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:57 am; edited 2 times in total

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Post by CJB Fri Feb 24, 2012 6:04 am

Driver this is up to you...Can I put Hodgson + TNW on the bench for Fielden + Waldouck

Your decision

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Post by Ozzy3213 Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:00 am

Tactics updated OK
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Post by 'Arry Spurs Fri Feb 24, 2012 7:54 am

Tactics updated

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Post by 'Arry Spurs Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:13 am

Just seen the news that Stephen Jones has now been called up to replace James Hook on the Wales bench because Hook is unwell. What do I do? I named my team before it was announced...

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:18 am

Just name a new flyhalf Arry. If you want to go with Myler name a replacement for the bench

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Post by 'Arry Spurs Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:20 am

Ok, I'm off now as I have to go and do an essay wont be back on till tomorrow evening.

Myler plays instead of Jones and Ford comes onto the bench.

Wherever Jones is mentioned in my tactics just imagine it says Myler Wink

Cheers

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:25 am

Updated and changed the references to Jones in your tactics too Arry thumbsup

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Fri Feb 24, 2012 8:10 pm

Match thread updated

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Post by Steven_Sharks Sat Feb 25, 2012 12:39 am

Sale 23 - 21 Wasps

Very tough game with some big collisions and battles everywhere and a real war of attrition. Packs are fairly even as are the backs, but I just feel there is a little more across the Sale side. Important win for Sale.

Exeter 23 - 26 Bath

Good battle upfront with no real winners. Prefer Bath back row and see the halfbacks as even. I think that Bath's outside backs will thrive in the conditions and score some tries. Really close but I see Bath coming out on top.

Leicester 32 - 25 Newcastle

Big advantage to Leicester in the front 5. Prefer the Newcastle back row (I don't rate Hines as a 6 at all!) but I don't think McCaw is as effective as a 6. Half backs go to Leicester (just) and the outside backs are pretty even. The front 5 advantage and a much stronger set piece gets them a very decent win.

London Irish 35 - 28 Northampton

I think this is quite comfortable for Irish. I think they have the stronger pack and the stronger backline and will get a Bonus Point win. Midfield looks very strong and with two wingers to exploit the spaces which the midfield will create it looks a winning partnership.

Worcester 26 - 25 Saracens

Toughest match to call for me. Up front I don't see much give either way and it's similar in the back rows. I think the experience in the Worcester pack is vital to them. I prefer the Worcester half backs as I think the will control the game very well. The outside backs are very exciting and will provide great entertainment. Worcester can snatch this I think and it's a vital win.

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Post by SirJohnnyEnglish Sat Feb 25, 2012 1:18 am

Exeter Chiefs 23-19 Bath Rugby


Competitive pack battle here. Lineout could be a real weapon for Bath here. Jennings may steal a bit more ball but neither side will dominate the breakdown area. Wiggles is a big mark down for Bath at scrum half with no form. Bit more name value to the Bath back line but some quality form in the Chiefs back 3 and Pisi makes them very dangerous.

Although Bath have a bit more quality in the back line Wiggles no form sees them struggle a bit especially with an evenish pack battle and Chiefs pick up a home win.



Leicester Tigers 25-24 Newcastle Falcons


Tigers edge the front 5 at both the set piece and around the park for me. They can get some great go forward. Quality backrow from Falcons but the Tigers line up won’t make it easy. Halfbacks are tight but Newcastle with a ridiculous set of out side backs can get some real go forward to match the Tigers pack.

Game of the week and very difficult to separate the sides. Both sides will get some quality ball either through the set piece (Tigers) or breakdown (Falcons) and both sides can get good go forward. Home advantage is the only real difference overall for me.



London Irish 32-27 Northampton Saints


Neither side will boss the set piece here but there’s a better balance to the Irish back row and an extra bit of quality that should see them really get on top here. In the backs Irish could be caught defensively with Smith thrown straight in but offer more coming forward through the midfield and Pieneer in particular.

Irish can get on top in the back row and have the backs to do the damage. Saints keep it tight though targeting Smith’s channel.



Gloucester Rugby 19-12 Harlequins


Good front 5 battle but Gloucester have a real edge in the back row with some top quality. Stronger throughout the backline in this one as well. Have to say I’m now marking Carter down though. Been injured 5/6 months and not likely to be back for another month.

Gloucester have an extra bit of quality on show and see out a good home iwn.



Worcester Warriors 25-29 Saracens


Interesting back row battle but Sarries really get on top in the front 5. In the backs good control from Worcester and great defensive game but Sarries just have more attacking intent from the halfbacks and midfield

With a good platform from the front 5 the Sarries backs should get a few good scores here.



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Post by prop_lyd Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:14 am

Sale 18-16 Wasps
Very close match here, can't really separate both teams with packs and backs even here. Think home advantage will come into play here and see Sale nicking this with the pressure on Myler through the blitz defence.

Exeter 20-21 Bath
Bath sprint into a lead with front row dominance but the home advantage and sheer grit of Exeter's kicking game and I love their physical centre's brings them back into the match but a bit too late.

Leicester 24-22 Newcastle
Massive match here and struggle to separate both teams. Not a fan of the 2 6's in those positions really. Advantage to Tigers in the front 5 but to Falcons in the backs. It's the unbeaten home advantage that nicks it.

London Irish 28-24 Northampton
Think he Irish pack will get them on the front foot at set pieces and also disrupt the Saints lineout causing issues with Giteau then being on the back foot and under pressure.

Gloucester 30-25 Quins
Big scores here with gaps coming in defence. Like SirJ Carter needs to play some good rugby and raise his ratings again. I think Quins will gain advantage in the front row but can see the Glos back 5 in the pack adding pressure onto the lineouts and steadying the scrums. Can see the Glos back 3 dominating with Burns not playing at 15 for a while (I believe).
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Post by stnick88 Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:34 am

Sale v Wasps - Prefer Sales forwards and can see them getting on top and getting good ball. Wasps have bit more danger in backline but Cruden will give Sale the spark needed. Don't see a huge amount of threat in Sales backline apart from Freuan, and Wasps will rely on Mac for spark.
20-17

Exeter v Bath - Bath are flying right now and I think in good conditions they have a bit more than the Chiefs. I think if this was bad conditons I would of gone home win, but the sunny clear skies and dry ground suits Bath a bit better.
20-23

Leicester v Falcons - Prefer the tigers front five and at welford they will get some joy. dont like mccaw or hines at 6, but brussow v pocock is huge. i dont think yachvili and wilko is the perfect combo for a running game but they are solid and will get tigers in good areas where jauzion, ojo etc can do damage. falcons back line is quality but tigers have enough power upfront at home to win.
32-28

Glos v Quins - White in the team is never nice to see, especially on a sunny day! Despite that, Glos have a very powerful and mobile front 8 and see them getting some good ball for halfbacks. They have the better backs to see off a close game.
34-30

Worcester v Saracens - Another game where poor conditions would have favoured Warriors, but the good conditions give Sarries the edge. Both good HB combos but Sarries backline has a little extra in Nonu.
20-21

stnick88

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AP Round 16 Empty Re: AP Round 16

Post by 'Arry Spurs Sat Feb 25, 2012 2:56 am

Exeter Chiefs 23 – 20 Bath Rugby
Think the pack battle is very even, can see Bath gaining the upper hand in the scrum. Jennings will win some crucial turnovers at the breakdown for Exeter and generally disrupt the quality of Bath’s ball. Prefer the Exeter half back combination, can see them working well as a pair. Although Bath have more spark and flair in their backline I think the quality of ball Bath get will be pretty scrappy and they won’t be unleashed properly. Good physical pair in the centres for Exeter which will get them over the gain line and create space for the in form back three of there’s to score some tries.

Leicester Tigers 28 – 24 Newcastle Falcons
Big advantage to the Tigers in the front five, real power there for them that will set out a good platform for them to build from. Close battle in the back row, don’t rate Hines at 6 and prefer McCaw at 7, the breakdown will be a close contest with plenty of needling going on. Can see the Tigers winning the forward battle and getting plenty of ball, I think Newcastle have the advantage in the backline with some serious quality and pace there that will keep them in the game. Better front five and home advantage gives the Tigers the victory here.

London Irish 30 – 24 Northampton Saints
Think London Irish will win quite comfortably here, their pack has plenty of carriers to get them over the gain line and can see them winning the collisions. Think Saints will get outmuscled at the breakdown, for me they lack any physical presence in the pack, but having said that with the good conditions I can see their dynamic forwards carrying well for them and being threatening in broken field running. In the backs London Irish have some real quality and with the good management of Pienaar I can see them scoring some tries. Saints have some flair but can see London Irish coming away with a convincing victory.

Gloucester Rugby 28 – 24 Harlequins
Think Gloucester have the advantage in the forwards, plenty of big, physical presences who will get them over the gain line. Feel that Gloucester have that extra quality in the back line to see them to victory here. Quins have some very dangerous runners that will cause Gloucester problems. Very impressive bench for Quins that will bring them back into the game late on, too much power and quality for Gloucester here at home, which sees them come win well.

Worcester Warriors 25 – 25 Saracens
Close battle in the pack, I prefer the Worcester front five but the Saracens back row is very impressive and will carry well for them. Worcester have real quality and experience in their backline and under the management of Steyn I can see their runners in the backline being brought into life. Very impressive bench from Saracens to call upon, but I think it’s too tight and Worcester will be scrapping for everything they’re worth.

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AP Round 16 Empty Re: AP Round 16

Post by Sgt_Pooly Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:01 am

Sale 25-24 Wasps

Tight game, little edge around the park for the Sale front 5 but can't see much move in the set piece. Similar in the backrows, so hard to separate. I prefer the Wasps halfbacks with Burgess getting at young Spencer a little. Little in centres with 2 cracking aggressive combo's. Class above back 3 for Wasos that will get at the Sale combo. I'd have Wasps by 5 at home but Sale strong at home and will sneak.

Exeter 21-21 Bath

Bath generally stronger but Exeter are a force at home and hard to break down. Think Exeter will get nudge in scrum but not major in the conditions. I think Bath will get at Exeter's lineout a little but again not game breaking. Bath with edge in backs but Exeter grind out draw.

Irish 23-19 Saints

See scrum & lineout tight with Irish front giving a little more in the loose, think Whitehead can be got at a bit and Irish may get some joy here. Past here I think Irish have a little edge all the way through, especially in the centres where the Irish combo would really get at Hopper. Home advantage and a touch more quality throughout see them through.

Gloucester 25-12 Harlequins

Prefer Quins front row although Rees hard to rate. Don't see scrum as a major problem in conditions and see lineout edging to Gloucester with better quality jumpers. Past the front 5 it's a massive step up in quality for Gloucester and in the great conditions they'll run riot. Quins lose every battle in the backs and I struggle to see where they'll get a try from. Big win for Gloucester.

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AP Round 16 Empty Re: AP Round 16

Post by Sgt_Pooly Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:04 am

Worcester 15-15 Saracens

See a scruffy one with Worcester hard to break down. Think Sarries edge front 5 but Worcester stronger backrow and half backs. Strong defensive unit from Worcesters backs see battle of the boots and home advantage sees Worcester sneak draw.

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AP Round 16 Empty Re: AP Round 16

Post by Driver Sat Feb 25, 2012 4:00 am

Sale Sharks 24 London Wasps 18
Sale can dominate up front with a mean grizzled front row and should be able to take the game to Wasps with some powerful runners. Spencer and Cruden should be able to control the game and play it in the right areas. Myler is a clog at 10 and will just tick things over but having Mc outside him gives Wasps a bit more in attack. All in all I see home advantage and a bit more ball allowing Sale to see this one through.

Tigers 20 Falcons 17
Leicester have the edge in the front 5 and will get on the front foot through some big carries but McCaw and Brussouw will cause Tigers problems. Can see Tigers sneaking it late on with Penalty. Both teams are even but home advantage splits it above all else.

London Irish 28 Northampton 21


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