Aviva Premiership - Round Two (Rugby Championship)

First topic message reminder :

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Team Sheets and tactics due by Saturday (20:00)
Predictions due till Wednesday (20:00)

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Bath vs London Wasps
Location - The Rec
Sunny, 23 Degrees, 7mph Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens (c)
02. L.Mears	10. J.Hook
03. A.Perenise
04. J.Muller	11. O.Woodburn
05. D.Attwood	12. M.Banahan
06. S.O'Brien	13. C.Laulala
07. M.Lund	14. T.Biggs
08. C.Fearns	15. R.Chisholm

16. K.P-Newport 17. C.Tolufua 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20. S.Taylor 21. C.Cook 22. S.Donald 23. K.Eastmond

TACTICS TBC

General
- XX
- We want to make sure that we play rugby in the opposition half and force handling errors, where we can attack the scrum. Use the physicality of our pack to our advantage, keeping the ball tight in the middle section of the pitch to retain possession and build a platform to attack from. In our third clear to touch and challenge for the ball at lineout.
- With slow ball, use Banahan on the switch off Hook to tie up and fix defenders, looking to get Laulala and Hook half a yard
- Hook to ensure we play sensible rugby in the right areas, kicking long for touch in our 22, using the up and under in the centre of the pitch and delicate grubbers in behind centres to chase and force kickable penalties.
- Banahan leads the rush defence, with Louw/Fearns flying up to cramp 10 for time and space and ensuring he takes the ball deep behind the gainline and starving their outside backs of ball.

Forwards
* XX
* Picked a very physical pack to make sure that we defend strongly and smash over the gainline. O'Brien to lead pack from base of scrum making hard yards and setting up the ruck for Louw and Fearns to clear out. SOB to mark opposite 8 in defence to prevent charges from base of scrum
* At the lineout, Muller will lead the calls and look to pressurise oppoistion hooker and compete at every throw
* Louw is a breakdown specialist and will look to stay on his feet at the ruck and slow opposition ball down. Fearns and Lund to guard to the fringes of the ruck
* Use ball carriers of Franks, Louw, Tolufua, O'Brien, Fearns to make hard yards up the pitch and draw defenders into the ruck area, looking to create space around the fringes for Laulala to exploit

Backs
* Chisholm given free rein in attack, looking to come into the line either side of Laulala. Laulala to look for the half gap with power and offload (only if on), with the pace of Biggs and Woodburn on their shoulder to make the break
* Hook to take the ball flat on the gainline, drawing defenders and buying time and space for Banahan. Banahan often used as dummy runner to keep it unpredictable
* Use the inside pass with forward runners of SOB, Louw, Fearns to keep the inside shoulder honest and force the 10 to make tackles.
* Get Laulala on the ball early on and encourage a very pacy back three to run off his shoulder. Only offload if it is on, otherwise, crash it up and use SOB, Fearns, Caldwell to clear out and Louw to secure.
* Eastmond to come on for last 30 mins in a free role, acting as 2nd receiver, popping up wherever to use his pace, step and get more experience

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London Wasps

Manager – GeordieFalcon

01.Boris Stankovich	09.Danny Care
02. Andy Titterell.	10.Jimmy Gopperth
03.Nicholas Mas
04.Matt Garvey	11.Jonathan Joseph
05. George Skivington	12. Luke McAlister
06.Thierry Dusautoir	13.Billy Twelvetrees
07.Julien Salvi	14. Ugo Monye
08.Thomas Waldrum	15. Mike Brown

16. Tom Varndell 17. Billy Vunipola 18.Micky Young 19. Morne Steyn 20. Tim Payne 21. Marco Wentzel 22. Ben Broster 23. Chris Brooker
Tactics

Looking to play a high impact, high physicality) quick release game from the forwards...utilising a very strong set of backs.,....

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Harlequins v London Welsh
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Sunny, 25 Degrees, 7mph Winds

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Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Alex Corbisero	09.Luke Burguss
02.Joe Grey	10.Owen Farrell (K)
03.James Johnstone
04.Mouritz Botha	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Chris Robshaw(c)	13.Jared Payne
07.Heinrich Brussouw	14.James Short
08.Craig Newby	15.Nick Abendanon

16.John Smith 17.Mark Lambert 18.Chris Budgen 19.Tom Denton 20.Will Skinner 21.Richard Wrigglesworth 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Hudson Tonga'uhia


In fine rugby playing conditions Quins will look to play the game at a high tempo shift the ball wide and keeping a high intensity through out. We have gone for a physical front 5 to allow us to gain a solid attacking platform to allow our backs to come into the game. A powerful scrummaging front row will really see us attack the Welsh front row and look to separate the tighthead from the rest of his front row with Smit focusing his hit more on the 3 and test his patience. Robshaw will look to get around the field linking play up , offloading and hitting rucks whilst Newby will play his strengths and get through plenty of graft in the tight and carry from the base with Brussouw targetting the breakdown to steal ball. North , Short and Bendy to come into the line and look for the ball in gaps and counter any kicks with interest.


Farrell to use his wide range of kicking skills to stretch the Wasps defense and put the ball in behind the wingers with plenty of pressure from a on rushing Quins chase

Blitz defense putting pressure on the Welsh back line using line speed and keeping disciplined with our penalty count , Burguss to sweep behind and cover any kicks through and line breaks

Hargreaves to put pressure on the Welsh lineout with jumpers throughout our pack from 4-8.

Impact players on the bench , Wrigglesworth will let us play the game in there half whilst Tonga will make plenty of head way at 12 or 13.

MOMENTUM - We had a good win last week and aim to build on it again this week , our side is confident and ready for battle.

KEY POINTS

• Balance in Welsh back row should see us win the battle on the deck with ease with no specialist OS in the Welsh pack.
  
  
• Target Wilson in the scrum , Corbs will know him inside out and will look to take him to the cleaners early doors
  
  
• Fofana will look to hit Henson early doors and rattle him in the midfield and put plenty of runners into the 12 channel and look for the offload.

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London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Paul Hodgson
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. David Wilson
04. Paul O'Connell (C)	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Ollie Kohn	12. Gavin Henson
06. Steve Mafi	13. Dominic Waldlouck
07. Jamie Gibson	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Nick Easter	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Rhys Gill 17. Phil Swainston 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Jonathon Mills 20. Chris Hala'ufia 21. Joel Hodgson 22. Brad Barritt 23. Ben Ransom

We look to impose ourselves from the off and let the oppisition know how we are going to play the game and how we want to dictate the pace of the game. Our brand of rugby is physical and fast, however we won't just run the ball at every oppurtunity. We will only play in the right areas of the paddock, and Evans knows when to attack and when we need to clear the lines. We will look to go through simple phases to reproduce quick ball to cut the defence open. We have brilliant leaders all other the pitch in POC, Easter, Hodgson and Evans, and they know what will be required to get we want from the game - a win. Nothing will be left in the changing room from our boys, they want to put the rest of the league on high alert with a strong display of effective and efficient attacking rugby from the set pieces.

Tactics

• James and Wilson are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possesion for our backs. James will look to put pressure on the Tigers feed.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, O'Connell will lead the lineout and use Mafi as a banker ball at the front of the line with POC jumping in the middle. If winning own ball POC will look to cut the lineout to five, to allow Easter to get a chance to run at the defence in open field.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Tigers' ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• Evans will look to angle runners either side of Fofana to get in behind him, as he prone to rushing up from 12.
  
  
• Off any first phase possesion, there will be a strike runner to get over the gainline to provide quick ball whilst the opposition defence is still organising itself.
  
  
• Evans will direct traffic and marshall the attacking forces, looking for the runs of Henson off his shoulder or to allow Wald to release our dangerous roaming back three.
  
  
• Evans will kick all points, unless POC dictates we have a dominate set piece at the moment in time.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game, and to bed in Barritt

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Leicester Tigers v Worcester Warriors
Location - Welford Road
Sunny, 24 Degrees, 8mph Winds

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Leicester Tigers

Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismark du Plessis	10. Toby Flood
03. Dan Cole
04. Richie Gray	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. James O’Connor
06. Maurie Fa'asalavu	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Tom Youngs 17. Martin Castrogiovani 18. Luke Cowen-Dickie 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Tom Croft 21. Karl Dickson 22. George Ford 23. Jordan Turner-Hall

Tactics

We will base our game around high tempo, high intensity rugby. We’ll look to use the set piece as a foundation to work from and turn the screw on the opposition if a weakness is seen. We’ll look for big carries from our pack to give us go forward ball which Youngs thrives upon.

We’ll look to target the lineout throughout with 5 top draw options. Croft, Parling and Gray will look to mark the front, middle and back and put intense pressure on throughout the game.

Flood/JOC will dictate tempo and look to get Manu running angles to either punch holes in the opposition midfield or draw the decoy and allow our back 3 into the game.

When the 3 is on in front of the posts we’ll take and the captain will make the call on set piece if an advantage is seen.



- Turn screw in set piece if weakness seen
- High intensity & keep the ball alive
- Youngs to attack the gaps and allow Flood time to hit the line
- Manu to be used as crash and decoy with back 3 coming into the line
- Target lineout with world class operators
- Warburton/Fasa to marshal breakdown and slow/turnover opp ball

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Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Shaun Perry
02. Ed Shervington	10. Joe Carlisle
03. Tevita Taumoepeau
04. Gerhard Mostert	11. David Strettle
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Steven Shingler
06. James Haskell	13. Matt Hopper
07. Andy Saull	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Andy Goode

16. Will Radburn 17. George Porter 18. James Currie 19. George Robson 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Jonny Arr 22. Luke Rooney 23. Ernie Claasens

We are going to play a territory based game. We have plenty of kickers in the backrow; Perry, Carlisle, Shingler and Goode all have big boots and will be looking to get the ball behind any Tigers defenders. Either we will use a kick chase, led by Haskell or we will look to hit the ball out of touch.

We are looking to really hit the breakdown hard with Haskell and Saull trying to slow the Leicester ball down

If we can get the ball in the Tigers half we will look to use our carries such as Morgan, Marler and Haskell to run at the defence. They will look to pierce holes in the Tigers defence for our backs to exploits.

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London Irish v Gloucester
Location - Madeski Stadium
Sunny, 24 Degrees, 7mph Winds

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London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. James Buckland	10. Brock James
03. Euan Murray
04. Tom Palmer	11. Tom Homer (k)
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Daniel Bowden
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Sailosi Tagicakibau
08. Imanol Harinordoquy	15. Delon Armitage

16. Rob Herring, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Leo Halavatau, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Tom Guest, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Regan King, 23. Alesana Tuilagi

Tactics
- Use the set piece as a weapon to dictate the game. We have big players on the bench to ensure we keep the dominate for the full game.

- Look to really gain confidence and stability at scrum time. Quick ball to James if we're stable, Harinordoquy to pick and go if it's messy

- In the lineout, we'll dominate. Opt for full lineouts in their half to tie in their pack and try to initiate a rolling maul to give the backs more time. Compete for their ball.

- Target the breakdown for possible turnovers, with Pocock staying strong on his feet. When they arise, lets use them to our advantage. If the back three are sparse, look to kick for territory. If there are mis-matches, lets have a go.

- Be disciplined at the breakdown, with a guard and bodyguard at every breakdown to stop those easy yards around the fringes. No excuses here.

- Simpson to keep the tempo high, getting the ball quickly away from the breakdown and releasing the backs. The back three to be hungry and look to get involved.

- Use the piston system Irish have developed so well. Big runners off James to give us real go forward, inside and outside runs.

- For slow ball, look to get outside their guards and bodyguards to suck in more and more forwards at each breakdown. This will give more time to the backs.

- Key emphasis on defence in midfield, looking for the big tackles in there is the opportunity. Rush up fast and close down their space, forcing errors and playing into our set piece advantage

- Homer to go for points at every opportunity.We can have a pop from anywhere in their half. Make them scared to give away penalties in their half, thus giving us more time at the breakdown.

- Bench is full of impact players to keep the intensity high and have a run at Gloucester's tired legs.

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Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01. Nick Wood ©	09. Dimitri Yachvilli
02. Darren Dawiduk	10. Freddie Burns
03. Adam Jones
04. Tom Savage	11. Johnny May
05. Alex Brown	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Alisdair Strokosch	13. Henry Trinder
07. Akapusi Qera	14. Charlie Sharples
08. JVN	15. Ollie Morgan

16. Scott Lawson 17. Dan Murphy/TBA 18. Sean Knight 19. Phil Burgess 20. Luke Narraway 21. Dan Robson 22. EFS 23. Ryan Mills



Tactics

We are aiming to hit the ground running this season with a new and exciting brand of confrontational forwards with pace and flair in the backs. Wood will lead the side from the front. Our game will want to get the ball to a set of backs who can make a lot of inroads. And our back row will get a lot of turnover ball.



Forwards

*Experienced front row who will look to dominate the set piece and Jones will be the anchor,

*2^nd rows will look to control the lineout and Savage can act as another back-rower at the breakdown,

*Backrow are breakdown specialists with Strokosch and Qera both terrorising here and JVN providing brute strength off the back of the scrum and off the backs, again the bench provides more go forward with Narraway.



Backs

* Yachvilli to marshall and Burns to release Roberts when possible, he will go for goal when in range,

* Roberts to make inroads then offload to Trinder who will have a winger on his shoulder at all times and also look for JVN to break through the defence,

* Exciting backs here who will link well and look to constantly run at and through the Saints defence,

* A fast back 3 here who will always look for work and are strong in defence and under the high ball, on the bench we have flair in Robson, EFS and Mills



Defence

*Yachvilli to lead this,

*Strokosch/Qera to be on 10’s shoulder looking to wrap the ball up,

*Contest at the breakdown and all set piece.

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Northampton Saints v Exeter Chiefs
Location - Franklin Gardens
Sunny, 24 Degrees, 8mph Winds

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Northampton Saints

Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Samu Manoa	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Vasily Artemiev
08. Roger Wilson	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. James Craig 20. Phil Dowson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. Scott Armstrong

Game Plan

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Attack

• We will look to play a fast paced attacking game using big carriers running of the 9/10/12 axis to get us over the gain line and generate quick ball.

• Keeping the ball alive is crucial so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload to keep the ball moving and get us further over the gain line.

• Our back three will look to get involved as much as possible running support lines of the halfbacks and midfield looking for the inside ball or offload.

• If for whatever reason we aren’t getting quick ball, we will look to take control of territory with the boots of Dickson & Sexton and force Chiefs to come at us from deep.

Set Piece

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much more room as possible to attack from.

• In Exeter territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs.

• In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

Defense

• We will look to blitz aggressively, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Chiefs momentum before it can get going.

• Dickson will act as a sweeper and cover any chips or grubbers behind the defensive line.

• We will leave two players sitting deep to cover any kicks and they will look to counter attack of any loose kicks.

Breakdown

• With the blitz in operation, we will look to be at the breakdown first hitting it hard and fast. If the ball looks available we will flood the breakdown with Wood looking to get his hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1 or 2 players to legally slow the ball down and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

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Exeter Chiefs

Manager – Luke

01. Brett Sturgess	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Loius Deacon	11. Paul Sackey
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Richard Kahui
08. Richard Baxter	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Ben Moon 17. Neil Clark 18. Hoani Tui 19. James Hanks 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Gonzalo Camacho

Tactics

We will play a structured game built around our massive ball carriers, the strength of our set piece and getting our lightning backline into space.

- Attack the scrum as a weapon - and call when we can. Look to really get the shove on.

- Use Wilkinson's boot to attack our strong lineout with Horwill, Deacon and Johnson. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down the opposition defence. We will use our big carriers consistently to tire down the opposition.
The likes of Afoa, Baxter, Armitage, Horwill, Johnson and Naqelevuki used off the shoulder crashing through the opposition defence.

- Armitage is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.

- Box kicks from Peel and up and unders from Wilkinson to give the opposition problems in the air.
Lightning back line to really get the chase on.

- Look to play attacking rugby in the backs, getting the likes of Lowe, Kahui and Nacewa on the ball when we can.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

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Sale Shark vs Saracens
Location - Salford City Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 22 Degrees, 8mph Winds

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Sale Sharks

Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Logovoi Mulipola	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Nick McLeod (k)
03.Davit Kubriashvili
04.Yoann Maestri	11.Mark Cueto
05.Dean Schofield	12.Sam Tuitupou
06.Schalk Burger	13.Jonothan Davies
07.Dave Seymour (C)	14.Tom Brady
08.Richie Vernon	15.Rob Miller

Subs
16.Andrew Sheridan 17.Marc Jones 18.Henry Thomas 19.James Gaskell 20.Andy Powell 21.Scott Mathie 22.Jaque Fourie 23.Cameron Shepherd

Tactics
Welcoming Sarries to the first competitive game at our new ground, we will look to play a high intesitty game, with a pack with big ball carriers, a half back partnership who can contorl territory and outside backs who have the perfect combination of strong direct runners and players who can make things happen.

Attack
We will look to use Tuitupou and Davies to carry the ball, however sometimes they will be used as dummies and the back 3 will be given licence to utilise the space created by the centres hoding the Sarries defence.

Pack is full of ball carriers, who will tire the Sarries defence such as Maestri, Mulipola, Schofield and Burger.

Defence - A blitz defence will be used.
Set piece - We will look to target their tighthead at scrum time.
Use range of jumpers. On their ball offer them front of lineout without challenge.
All kicks within range will be taken.

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Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullan	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Sekope Kepu
04. George Kruis	11. Vereneki Goneva
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Chris Wyles
07. Jonathan Poff	14. Leigh Halfpenny
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Alex Goode

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jackson Wray 21. Ben Spencer 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Joel Tomkins

Tactics

Target the breakdown with the back row working as a unit- Poff goes for the ball and Brown and Joubert clear. Ryan and Brits to guard the fringes when possible (or Brown if he is free) and be ready to make some carries on attack. The overall game plan is to get the ball out the the back three as quickly as possible off quick ball, so as usual Parra will keep it tight (or kick if appropriate) when it's slow then when the service is good, get the ball straight to Hodgson and we will spin it through the backs. We will use Wyles in the Antipodean method as almost an extra winger and he will switch with Goneva occasionally when on that side of the field to mix it up on attack. Goode to join the line when possible and I would like Joubert and Kepu and Brits occasinally running at Cruden- he is a good defender but small so let's make him (or Burger) tackle all day. If you give Cruden space he will use it, so the defence will be blitz led by Allen. Look out for offloads

- Attack, as above, but also utilising our strong carries in the pack with some driving mauls and pick and drives when it is slow.

- Don't be afraid to go blindside

- Setpiece- same pack as last week gelled and dealt with Irish well, so we will look to pressurise Sale in the scrum and get Joubert running blind today, where he will be supported by Parra and Brown.

-Breakdown- act as a group, and use the likes of Ryan and Kruis too as we have a good rucking pack

-Defence- blitz with Poff looking for Cruden. Aforementioned players to guard ruck fringes.

-back 3- Mix up running and kicking as all 3 are capable fullbacks and we have better kickers there than Sale. Keep them guessing

-Subs- bring on Matthews and Vunipola at 60. If we are ahead, let some players on to get them used to playing as a team. If we are behind, let Geraghty go full out in attack in the last 20.

Bath 20-15 Wasps
No game plan from Wasps really hinders them for me. I probably prefer the Wasps forwards overall. Not a huge amount in it though. Half backs are one apiece. Love the Wasps backs, both have a good set of backs. Proper tactics for me probably would have won it for me

Quins 28-21 Welsh
Like the Quins front row feel it is really strong. Slight edge to them in the second row as well, POC at full form could be huge for Welsh in that front five. Like the Welsh back row but Quins are really strong here. Not much in the half backs, one each although a slight edge for Quins. Feel the Quins backs are really dangerous and can do damage.

Irish 26-25 Gloucester
Really good front rows on show, slight edge to Gloucester, think Buckland is the weakness. Irish have a strong back row although Kaino is perhaps a bit risky to start. Edge to Gloucester half backs with Yachvilli controlling the game. Both back fives are strong and its really tough to call. At home I will give the edge to Irish.

Saints 23-16 Exeter
Saints front row is very strong and will come out on top here. Second rows about equal. Both have strong flankers, once again slight edge to Northampton. Both also have strong half backs, neither get the edge. Saints have a real strong set of backs and the superstar factor with SBW. Home advantage and slightly stronger side gives it to Saints.

Sale 19-20 Saracens
Decent front fives from both teams. Prefer the Saracens front row but Sale have a stronger set of locks. The Sale backrow should give them an advantage. Saracens have a deadly set of backs and the control from the half backs could be just enough to nick it away.

Quins 22 - 15 Welsh
Have front rows as about even here, all players at similar levels with no obvious mismatches. Second rows are again difficult to seperate, with both having some nice balance. Maybe Quins lacking some lineout leadership? Back row goes to Quins as they have a proper 6 and proper 7 which means they will do some real damage at the breakdown. Welsh have a lot of carrying in the back row, but not sure that their own can do all the subtle work.

Half backs again hard to seperate. Although Farrell will choke a backline a bit, I think I have to detract something from Evans' effect as he has Henson outside him who I struggle to rate. Waldouck has been playing 12 recently and I really rate Fofana and Payne, so the home team win here. With the form of Bendy at the back and the extra class of North, Quins win this quite convincingly in the end.

Tigers 25 - 12 Worcs
Despite the injuries to BDP and Domingo, Tigers have way too much up front here. Marler is a great prospect but the gap in quality is too much, especially with Castro and Youngs on the bench. Second row and back rows are much more even in my opinion. Still think Parling/Gray lacks a bit a grunt in the tight, but Faas at 6 makes up for it, along with BDP. Nice balance to the Worcs back row.

Halfbacks easily goes to the Tigers, despite Youngs injury, the step in class is huge. Sadly it is much the same in the outside backs, with Goode at 15 going to have a absolute nightmare against the pace of the Tigers out wide!

Irish 22 - 20 Glos
Front rows about even I'd say, 4 big props and 2 lower profile hookers. Jones will certainly get a shove on Jenkins, but Murray will hold Wood ok. Not much at scrum time. Hard to see if the second rows will give advantage at scrum time as well, as I see all 4 locks as a bit lightweight and no real enforcer or huge shunter. Back row again goes to Irish, although Kaino has slipped down the rankings, with others now pushing his top spot close.

Halfbacks about even again, with a combo of experience and flair in both pairs. Outside backs really hard to seperate, with a lot of class in there and some exciting youth as well.

Finding this game really tricky to seperate, as no real big gains in any obvious area for either team. I think with home advantage and a slightly better bench (Shaw, Tuilagi, Lahiff will all make an impact)Irish edge this

Saints 19-17 Exeter
Front row goes to Saints, with a proven combo and some good impact coming off the bench. However, second row goes to Exeter, with nous and leadership outweighing the raw power and one dimensional Saints pair. Back rows about even, due to continued form of Steffon and TJ.

Exeter edge the halfback battle, with Wilko still a ledge. Saints combo no slouchs, just prefer the away side as a pair. Centres have to edge towards the Saints, as Lowe is slightly costing Exeter here, especially after playing wing a lot recently. Maybe have Kahui at 13? Really rate him there. Saints just edge the back three with some great Ashton form.

A bit too much upfront for the away team to get a sturdy platform

Sale 19-16 Saracens
Sarries win the front row here with some big units, but the Sale locks will do some serious damage. Sarries lack some grunt in the second row definitely. Have the back rows at about even, Powell is a nice option off the bench.

Halfbacks go to Sarries by a long way and will be a real area of joy for the away side. Think JD will have a lot of joy against Wyles at 13. BAck three about the same here as well i think

Homeside have a great bench to use with Sheridan and Thomas securing the scrum for the second half and the impact of Fourie and Shephard off the bench.

Bath 21 Wasps 11
Irish 23 Gloucester 21
Leicester Tigers 28 Worcester 24
Northampton Saints 9 Exeter Chiefs 6
Sale Sharks 12 Saracens 15


Sorry for lateness been super busy at work and home.

Ollie, our game is gonna be a close one!

By my maths, Sale just win though

Results:

Bath Rugby 27-16 London Wasps
Harlequins 30-20 London Welsh
Leicester Tigers 35-21 Worcester Warriors
London Irish 26-22 Gloucester Rugby
Northampton Saints 24-19 Exeter Chiefs
Sale Sharks 19-19 Saracens

Prediction Bonus:

Full: Bathite, Prop, Pooly, Fluxy, SJE, Ollie, CJ, CJB
Scores only: Driver, Pull

Scores don't reflect how close these games actually are , delighted to take the TBP from a very good Welsh side.

ChequeredJersey wrote:By my maths, Sale just win though

We should have used your maths!!!

Eh, I'm glad to be wrong

Is it 30 for a WBP?

Yeah mate

rats, I keep getting 27/28s