Aviva Premiership Round Five (Rugby Championship)

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Team Sheets and tactics due by Saturday (20:00)
Predictions due till Tuesday (23:00)

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Bath Rugby v Sale Sharks
Location - The Rec
-Sunny, 14 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. K.Eastmond
05. D.Attwood	12. M.Banahan
06. S.O'Brien	13. C.Laulala
07. C.Fearns	14. T.Biggs
08. S.Taylor	15. R.Chisholm

16. K.P-Newport 17. C.Tolufua 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20. M.Lund 21. C.Cook 22. S.Donald 23. O.Woodburn

TACTICS

General
- 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 SOB/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. Classens sweeps up behind for counter attacks

Forwards
* Fearns plays as an openside, looking to secure the breakdown
* Picked a very physical pack to make sure that we defend strongly and smash over the gainline. Fearns to lead pack from base of scrum making hard yards and setting up the ruck for Louw and Fearns to clear out. Fearns 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
* 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 get free rein in attack, looking to pop up as second receiver. Can interchange with Banahan on the wing

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Sale Sharks

Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Nick McLeod
03.Davit Kubriashvilli
04.Yoann Maestri	11.Will Addison
05.Matt Garvey	12.Jonathan Davies
06.James Gaskell	13.Jonathan Joseph
07.Dave Seymour	14.Tom Brady
08.Jordan Crane	15.Rob Miller

Subs 16.Logovoi Mulipola 17.Marc Jones 18.Henry Thomas 19.Frazer McKenzie 20.Richie Vernon 21.Scott Mathie 22.Luther Burrell 23.Cameron Shephard
Tactics

Following struggles at lineout time last week, James Gaskell comes in at 6, with first starts being given to Jonathan Joseph and Matt Garvey after both featured from the bench last week.

Ball Carriers - Our pack is full of ball carriers, with a monster 2nd row combination and Mulipola and Crane also in the pack.

Centres - We feel our centres can create something special and can be our match winners.

Scrum Time - Our front 5 is massive, with two powerful 2nd rows and a destructive scrummaging front row we will look to put massive pressure on in this area.


Bench - We have players who can make a real impact. With Thomas, Mulipola and Burrell all in good form and will enjoy playing against a tired defence

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Harlequins v Saracens
Location - Twickenham Stoop
-Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds

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Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.John Smit	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.Joe Grey	10.Tom Heathcote (k)
03.James Johnstone
04.Mauritz Botha	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Tom Croft	13.Jared Payne
07.Chris Robshaw (c)	14.James Short
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendonan

16.Will Collier 17.Mark Lambert 18.Chris Budgen 19.George Merrick 20.Hienrich Brussouw 21.Luke Burgess 22.Henry Taylor 23.Ollie Lindsey Hague


Quins to play high intensity game based around hard runners and offloading the ball and having support runners. Wriggles and Heathcote to play what is in front of them looking to shift the ball with North/Short/Bendy looking to come into the line and find the gaps or make them with hard running.

- Shorten lineouts with Denton standing on Heathcote's shoulder looking to run down the 10 channell

- Look to dominate up front with a big physical front 5. Smit , Grey and JJ all great scrummaging players.

- HArgreaves to lead our lineout and call the shots with Croft standing at 2 on the Sarries throw to pressure them.

- Heathcote to build a early lead through penalties when they are in range.

- Payne to inject some magic into the midfield and test Wyles positioning with his wide range of skills.

- JJ and Grey to target brits at the scrum and really put him under pressure.

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Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Ollie Kohn	11. Vereniki Goneva
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Chris Wyles
07. Will Fraser	14. Leigh Halfpenny
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Alex Goode

16. Jared Saunders 17. Harry Allen 18. Carlos Nieto 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jackson Wray 21. Ben Spencer 22. Sam Stanley 23. Drew Mitchell

Tactics-

The weather for this week is sunny so we will play running rugby. Have the back row hitting breakdowns as a unit- Fraser looking for the ball and the other 2 clearing the man. If ball is too slow, keep it tight in the hands of the Vunipolas, Kohn and Kepu. Have Brits (or if he is unavailable, Billy V) waiting deep between 10 and 12 to hit the pop pass at pace and really test Fofana and Heathcote. Good ball will be spread out quickly, with Hodgson standing flat. Goode to be ready to come in as another first or second receiver. If he does this, switch play back inside - ie at second receiver pop inside to Brits or at first send it to the blind side winger so that the defence is wrong-footed. I want the back 3 running ball back off kicks.

In attack in the backs, Allen aim to break through with his lines and Wyles act as a third winger style OC in support

Lineouts- use the short lineout to the front lifter then pop inside when near the try line. On opposition ball don't try and spoil the lineout but be ready to immediately swamp the catcher or scrum half and look for a turnover that way.

Scrum- we have a good solid scrum so let's have Billy running at 10'off it occasionally with flankers in support. Heathcote isn't a metronomic kicker so I don't mind if we give away a few penalties here. Smit is a better hooker than a prop so I want Kepu and Nieto later to really get at him.

Breakdown- as above. Pick the rucks target for turnovers carefully

Defence- blitz lead by Allen. Halfpenny look out for North. Fraser to charge Heathcote and pressurise him, forwards to guard rucks at the fringes tightly.

Kicking- We have plenty of kickers so if there is pressure on get more time by passing to the next one. Halfpenny to take long kicks at goal, Parra the short ones.

subs- If it's going well bring on a couple of young guns. Nieto will come on to give Kepu a rest and once Billy V inevitably starts to tire bring on Wray and let Quins deal with a fresh rampaging 8

We know a lot of Quins' players from their time with us, so our players know how to counter Short, Smit, Botha and Wriggles. Use this to frustrate Quins and don't let friendships stop us being ruthless

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Leicester v Exeter Chiefs
Location - Welford Road
-Sunny, 13 Degrees, 14mph Winds

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Leicester Tigers

Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
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. Bismark du Plessis 17. Dan Cole 18. Luke Cowen-Dickie 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Tom Croft 21. Karl Dickson 22. Danny Cipriani 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. Parisse, 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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Exeter Chiefs

Manager – Luke

01. Brett Sturgess	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Simon Alcott	10. Ignacio Mieres (k)
03. Hoani Tui
04. Tom Hayes (c)	11. Matt Jess
05. James Hanks	12. Jason Shoemark
06. Steve Mafi	13. Sireli Naqelevuki
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Richard Kahui
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Luke Arscott

16. Ben Moon 17. Rob Webber 18. John Afoa 19. James Horwill 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Isa Nacewa

Tactics

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

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

- Use Mieres' boot to attack our strong lineout with Hanks, Joubert, Mafi and Hayes all massive jumpers. 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 Tui, Mafi, Scaysbrook, Hayes, Hanks, Joubert and Naqelevuki used off the shoulder crashing through the opposition defence.

- Scaysbrook 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 Mieres 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 Kahui, Jess and Arscott 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.

- Mieres to kick all penalites.

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London Welsh v Gloucester
Location - Kassam Stadium
-Sunny Intervals, 14 Degrees, 13mph Winds

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London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Rhys Gill	09. Paul Hodgson
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Craig Mitchell
04. Paul O'Connell (C)	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Dean Mumm	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Will Welch	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Nick Easter	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Paul James 17. Dave Wilson 18. David Paice 19. Tim Swinson 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Joel Hodgson 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics
We look to impose ourselves from the off and let the opposition 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 opportunity. 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. After last weeks god win, we will look to build some momentum and look to take another win at home.

Tactics

• Gill and Mitchell are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possession for our backs. Gill will look to put pressure on the Sharks feed. With James and Wilson to come on, our scrummaging should remain a threat throughout the game.
  
  
• Without a lineout leader in the Glos pack, O'Connell will target the lineout and use Mumm as a banker ball at the front of the line with POC jumping in the middle.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Glos' ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• The backrow will target the Glos halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball, which will lead to them rushing and making mistakes.
  
  
• Evans will look to angle runners either side of the Roberts who will be slow to turn, to get in behind the defensive line. Barritt running at their weak inside shoulders, to break gainline
  
  
• Off any first phase possession, there Barritt will run a straight line to get over the gainline to provide quick ball whilst the opposition defence is still organising itself.
  
  
• With the possibility of a greasy ball, we will look to keeping the passes simple and not to extravagant to keep handling errors down. If penned in our 22, we look kick and chase towards the Sharks back three, with pressure errors and possession could arise for us.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game.
  
  
• Evans will kick all points, unless POC dictates we have a dominate set piece at the moment in time.

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Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Scott Lawson	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Tom Savage	11. JSD
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Alisdair Strokosch	13. Henry Trinder
07. Akapusi Qera	14. Johnny May
08. JVN(c)	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Darren Dawiduk 17. Dan Murphy 18. Rupert Harden 19. Andy Hazell 20.Luke Narraway 21. Dimitri Yachvilli 22. Mike Tindall 23. Charlie Sharples

Forwards
*Heavy front row who will look to gain the edge at scrum time by going up on Jones' side. Wood'll lead the hit and we will challenge for their ball every time.

*2nd rows are there to cause problems at the breakdown and lineout. If we secure quick lineout ball we will release the backs if now, we have the forwards to maul it forwards.

*Back row'll be there to slow down the ball at the breakdown. Qera will look to impose himself on their 10 and put him off his game. Strong runners from the base of the scrum allowing Robson to take the ball at pace.

*Bench has players who have done well in the front row this season winning 2 penalty tries at scrum time and Hazell and Narraway will add the cool heads.

Backs
*9-10 to play on the front foot and put the ball in their territory to challenge at the lineouts. Burns will look to run quite a lot of it to release our centres and the back row running off of him.

*Centres are only going one way...forward and will be tough to bring down. Roberts will take up first phase ball and look for quick recylcing to release the backs against a stretched defence. Trinder to continue making inroads on the angle.

*Back 3 have a lot of pace and JSD has shown he has his moments of class when required! Balshaw has been doing well in France so gets a start today. They will all go looking for work and play at a high tempo.

*Bench has the experience of Yachvilli and Tindall and the sheer pace of Sharples to run at tired legs.

Defence
*Blitz banana led by Trinder and looking to go one low and one to wrap up the ball. We will challenge for turnover ball if it's on and if not look to slow their ball down.

*Robson will sweep.

Overall
We will play a fast paced game with our forwards looking to suck in their defence before releasing the backs. Robson and Burns know each other really well and will play to each other's strengths. If nothing is on we will clear our lines and put pressure on Welsh at lineout and by coming up as one solid line. Attack is our main weapon and on the counter attack we will look to run hard and straight to create the gaps and the overlaps. Burns will kick for goal when the option is there. We want 5 points from this match.

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Northampton Saints v London Wasps
Location - Franklin Gardens
-Sunny, 14 Degrees, 14mph Winds

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Northampton Saints

Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Manu Samoa	11. Chris Ashton
05. Christian Day	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. Dylan Hartley 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Mark Sorenson 20. Phil Dowson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. Jamie Elliot

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Key Points

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Attack The Midfield

• We will look to get our big carriers running directly at the Wasps midfield particularly Geraghty. Ashton will run off the shoulder of SBW as he runs at the midield and look for the offload in behind the Wasps defence.

Attack The Scrum

• It is no coincidence that we have selected Mujati at TH against Tim Payne following the game Friday night in real life. We will look to really turn the screw here particularly when the bench come into play with no specialist TH on the Wasps bench.

Win The Contact

• We will look to really impose ourselves on Wasps and win the contact battle with a pack full of ball carriers, particularly in the front 5. We feel Wasps are lacking carrying options outside of Waldrom and we will look to constantly keep them on the back foot with our blitz defence.

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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 Wasps 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 Wasps 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 Wasps 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 Strauss & Wood looking to get their 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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London Wasps

Manager – CF

01.Tim Payne	09.Danny Care
02.George Chuter	10. Owen Farrell
03.Nicholas Mas
04.George Skivington	11.Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Shane Geragty
06.Thierry Dusautoir	13. Billy Twelvetrees
07.Julien Salvi	14. Ugo Monye
08.Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

16. Boris Stankovich 17. Chris Brooker 18. Matt Stevens 19. James Cannon 20. Jacques Burger 21. Jimmy Gopperth 22. Jacque Fourie 23. Mark Cueto

We need to get some wins under our belts, to kick start our season!

Need to make sure we are solid at set pieces, nothing silly, and make sure we are difficult to take ball off. Make sure we get quick ball from the scrums and rucks etc, to get the ball to the backs so we can the northampton side ragged.

Make sure we stay disclipined at the breakdown and dont incur silly penatlies and giving away easy points. The backs can run the ball, and we can bring on the likes of the under rated Fourie and Cueto from the bench if needed..

if it goes wrong, we can revert to a kicking game, through Farell and Geraghty..

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Worcester Warriors v London Irish
Location - Sixways
-Sunny, 14 Degrees, 13mph Winds

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Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. George Porter	09. Will Genia
02. Stephen Moore	10. George Ford
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Gerhard Mostert	11. Luke Rooney
05. George Robson	12. Steven Shingler
06. Matt Kvesic	13. Alex Grove
07. Andy Saull	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Sam Betty	15. Eerie Claasens

16. Stephen Moore 17. Joe Marler 18. Tevita Taumoepeau 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Ben Morgan 21. Jonny Arr 22. Matt Hooper 23. David Strettle

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London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. James Buckland	10. Brock James
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Tom Homer (k)
05. Tom Palmer	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. Nick Kennedy, 20. Tom Guest, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Regan King, 23. Alesana Tuilagi

Tactics
- We need to crack on at the start of the season and win these games whilst the conditions suit our play, standing us in good stead for the Winter.

- Be solid at the set piece to create a decent platform to attack from. We have big players on the bench to ensure we keep solid 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. So many options. Opt for full lineouts mostly in their half to tie in their pack, leaving more space out wide. Compete for their ball.

- Play in their half initially. Look for territory and target their back three. When the game opens up a bit, we'll go from anyway if it's on.

- 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.

- Big efforts in defence, particularly from Bowden and Rougerie to deal with their big midfield. Pocock to work his socks off getting across and chopping them down before they get momentum.

- 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.

- 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 Baths tired legs.

Will do conditions at lunch time

Heathcote can give Quins backs the 'X' Factor

Quins boss Driver believes his young 10 is the man to get the best of Quin's backs in this weeks fixture vs Saracens. Heathcote is expected to don the 10 jersey after the depature of Owen Farrell to London Wasps.

Heathcote could give Quins a more attack minded option at 10 as he has a fantastic pass on him and great vision so he should bring our outside backs into the game a bit more than Owen did.

Quins will announce there team later this afternoon.

Game 1: Sunny, 14 Degrees, 7mph Winds
Game 2: Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds
Game 3: Sunny, 13 Degrees, 14mph Winds
Game 4: Sunny Intervals, 14 Degrees, 13mph Winds
Game 5: Sunny, 14 Degrees, 14mph Winds
Game 6: Sunny, 14 Degrees, 13mph Winds

Strange how it's done nothing but rain all week yet we still get glorious conditions.

I like it when SJE does the weather.

Thank the BBC Driver!

Sounds about right , what was the whole hurricane thing with Michael Fish? I'm sure that worked out well.

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.John Smit	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.Joe Grey	10.Tom Heathcote (k)
03.James Johnstone
04.Mauritz Botha	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Tom Croft	13.Jared Payne
07.Chris Robshaw (c)	14.James Short
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendonan

16.Will Collier 17.Mark Lambert 18.Chris Budgen 19.George Merrick 20.Hienrich Brussouw 21.Luke Burgess 22.Henry Taylor 23.Ollie Lindsey Hague


Quins to play high intensity game based around hard runners and offloading the ball and having support runners. Wriggles and Heathcote to play what is in front of them looking to shift the ball with North/Short/Bendy looking to come into the line and find the gaps or make them with hard running.

- Shorten lineouts with Denton standing on Heathcote's shoulder looking to run down the 10 channell

- Look to dominate up front with a big physical front 5. Smit , Grey and JJ all great scrummaging players.

- HArgreaves to lead our lineout and call the shots with Croft standing at 2 on the Sarries throw to pressure them.

- Heathcote to build a early lead through penalties when they are in range.

- Payne to inject some magic into the midfield and test Wyles positioning with his wide range of skills.

- JJ and Grey to target brits at the scrum and really put him under pressure.

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Ollie Kohn	11. Vereniki Goneva
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Chris Wyles
07. Will Fraser	14. Leigh Halfpenny
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Alex Goode

16. Jared Saunders 17. Harry Allen 18. Carlos Nieto 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jackson Wray 21. Ben Spencer 22. Sam Stanley 23. Drew Mitchell

Tactics-

The weather for this week is sunny so we will play running rugby. Have the back row hitting breakdowns as a unit- Fraser looking for the ball and the other 2 clearing the man. If ball is too slow, keep it tight in the hands of the Vunipolas, Kohn and Kepu. Have Brits (or if he is unavailable, Billy V) waiting deep between 10 and 12 to hit the pop pass at pace and really test Fofana and Heathcote. Good ball will be spread out quickly, with Hodgson standing flat. Goode to be ready to come in as another first or second receiver. If he does this, switch play back inside - ie at second receiver pop inside to Brits or at first send it to the blind side winger so that the defence is wrong-footed. I want the back 3 running ball back off kicks.

In attack in the backs, Allen aim to break through with his lines and Wyles act as a third winger style OC in support

Lineouts- use the short lineout to the front lifter then pop inside when near the try line. On opposition ball don't try and spoil the lineout but be ready to immediately swamp the catcher or scrum half and look for a turnover that way.

Scrum- we have a good solid scrum so let's have Billy running at 10'off it occasionally with flankers in support. Heathcote isn't a metronomic kicker so I don't mind if we give away a few penalties here. Smit is a better hooker than a prop so I want Kepu and Nieto later to really get at him.

Breakdown- as above. Pick the rucks target for turnovers carefully

Defence- blitz lead by Allen. Halfpenny look out for North. Fraser to charge Heathcote and pressurise him, forwards to guard rucks at the fringes tightly.

Kicking- We have plenty of kickers so if there is pressure on get more time by passing to the next one. Halfpenny to take long kicks at goal, Parra the short ones.

subs- If it's going well bring on a couple of young guns. Nieto will come on to give Kepu a rest and once Billy V inevitably starts to tire bring on Wray and let Quins deal with a fresh rampaging 8

We know a lot of Quins' players from their time with us, so our players know how to counter Short, Smit, Botha and Wriggles. Use this to frustrate Quins and don't let friendships stop us being ruthless

Isn't Matt Mullen on loan to me? and why do we both have Harry Allen?

Driver wrote:Isn't Matt Mullen on loan to me? and why do we both have Harry Allen?

You are correct, I had quite forgotten. As for Allen, I do not know...

He's at Quins in the real world isn't he?

Driver wrote:He's at Quins in the real world isn't he?

Yeah, but taken from us, this year!

And in this case, us means Sarries, not Quins

I added him from the Quins site a few weeks back.

I can see the problem!

I'll ammend the team sheet but Smit will cover 2 from 1.

After Welsh recorded their first win of the season Director of Rugby Flux named his match day squad to face Gloucester. Flux made five changes to the squad that were victorious the previous weekend. After various substitute appearances Flux has rotated his front row and brought the powerful Tom Lindsay and Craigh Mitchell. Also he added former wallaby Dean Mumm and England player Tom Johnson into the pack in the place of; Tim Swinson and Ashley Johnson both of whom drop to the bench. The last change comes in the outside centre channel where another full debut has been given to exciting prospect George Lowe.

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Rhys Gill	09. Paul Hodgson
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Craig Mitchell
04. Paul O'Connell (C)	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Dean Mumm	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Will Welch	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Nick Easter	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Paul James 17. Dave Wilson 18. David Paice 19. Tim Swinson 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Joel Hodgson 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics
We look to impose ourselves from the off and let the opposition 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 opportunity. 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. After last weeks god win, we will look to build some momentum and look to take another win at home.

Tactics

• Gill and Mitchell are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possession for our backs. Gill will look to put pressure on the Sharks feed. With James and Wilson to come on, our scrummaging should remain a threat throughout the game.
  
  
• Without a lineout leader in the Glos pack, O'Connell will target the lineout and use Mumm as a banker ball at the front of the line with POC jumping in the middle.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Glos' ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• The backrow will target the Glos halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball, which will lead to them rushing and making mistakes.
  
  
• Evans will look to angle runners either side of the Roberts who will be slow to turn, to get in behind the defensive line. Barritt running at their weak inside shoulders, to break gainline
  
  
• Off any first phase possession, there Barritt will run a straight line to get over the gainline to provide quick ball whilst the opposition defence is still organising itself.
  
  
• With the possibility of a greasy ball, we will look to keeping the passes simple and not to extravagant to keep handling errors down. If penned in our 22, we look kick and chase towards the Sharks back three, with pressure errors and possession could arise for us.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game.
  
  
• Evans will kick all points, unless POC dictates we have a dominate set piece at the moment in time.

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Luke

01. Brett Sturgess	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Simon Alcott	10. Ignacio Mieres (k)
03. Hoani Tui
04. Tom Hayes (c)	11. Matt Jess
05. James Hanks	12. Jason Shoemark
06. Steve Mafi	13. Sireli Naqelevuki
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Richard Kahui
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Luke Arscott

16. Ben Moon 17. Rob Webber 18. John Afoa 19. James Horwill 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Isa Nacewa

Tactics

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

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

- Use Mieres' boot to attack our strong lineout with Hanks, Joubert, Mafi and Hayes all massive jumpers. 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 Tui, Mafi, Scaysbrook, Hayes, Hanks, Joubert and Naqelevuki used off the shoulder crashing through the opposition defence.

- Scaysbrook 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 Mieres 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 Kahui, Jess and Arscott 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.

- Mieres to kick all penalites.

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Scott Lawson	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Tom Savage	11. JSD
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Alisdair Strokosch	13. Henry Trinder
07. Akapusi Qera	14. Johnny May
08. JVN(c)	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Darren Dawiduk 17. Dan Murphy 18. Rupert Harden 19. Andy Hazell 20.Luke Narraway 21. Dimitri Yachvilli 22. Mike Tindall 23. Charlie Sharples

Forwards
*Heavy front row who will look to gain the edge at scrum time by going up on Jones' side. Wood'll lead the hit and we will challenge for their ball every time.

*2nd rows are there to cause problems at the breakdown and lineout. If we secure quick lineout ball we will release the backs if now, we have the forwards to maul it forwards.

*Back row'll be there to slow down the ball at the breakdown. Qera will look to impose himself on their 10 and put him off his game. Strong runners from the base of the scrum allowing Robson to take the ball at pace.

*Bench has players who have done well in the front row this season winning 2 penalty tries at scrum time and Hazell and Narraway will add the cool heads.

Backs
*9-10 to play on the front foot and put the ball in their territory to challenge at the lineouts. Burns will look to run quite a lot of it to release our centres and the back row running off of him.

*Centres are only going one way...forward and will be tough to bring down. Roberts will take up first phase ball and look for quick recylcing to release the backs against a stretched defence. Trinder to continue making inroads on the angle.

*Back 3 have a lot of pace and JSD has shown he has his moments of class when required! Balshaw has been doing well in France so gets a start today. They will all go looking for work and play at a high tempo.

*Bench has the experience of Yachvilli and Tindall and the sheer pace of Sharples to run at tired legs.

Defence
*Blitz banana led by Trinder and looking to go one low and one to wrap up the ball. We will challenge for turnover ball if it's on and if not look to slow their ball down.

*Robson will sweep.

Overall
We will play a fast paced game with our forwards looking to suck in their defence before releasing the backs. Robson and Burns know each other really well and will play to each other's strengths. If nothing is on we will clear our lines and put pressure on Welsh at lineout and by coming up as one solid line. Attack is our main weapon and on the counter attack we will look to run hard and straight to create the gaps and the overlaps. Burns will kick for goal when the option is there. We want 5 points from this match.

Tactics on my iPhone, so can't measure length- are they too long? If so I'll cut them ASAP

Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. George Porter	09. Will Genia
02. Stephen Moore	10. George Ford
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Gerhard Mostert	11. Luke Rooney
05. George Robson	12. Steven Shingler
06. Matt Kvesic	13. Alex Grove
07. Andy Saull	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Sam Betty	15. Eerie Claasens

16. Stephen Moore 17. Joe Marler 18. Tevita Taumoepeau 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Ben Morgan 21. Jonny Arr 22. Matt Hooper 23. David Strettle

They are fine CJ come in under the limit

London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. James Buckland	10. Brock James
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Tom Homer (k)
05. Tom Palmer	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. Nick Kennedy, 20. Tom Guest, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Regan King, 23. Alesana Tuilagi

Tactics
- We need to crack on at the start of the season and win these games whilst the conditions suit our play, standing us in good stead for the Winter.

- Be solid at the set piece to create a decent platform to attack from. We have big players on the bench to ensure we keep solid 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. So many options. Opt for full lineouts mostly in their half to tie in their pack, leaving more space out wide. Compete for their ball.

- Play in their half initially. Look for territory and target their back three. When the game opens up a bit, we'll go from anyway if it's on.

- 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.

- Big efforts in defence, particularly from Bowden and Rougerie to deal with their big midfield. Pocock to work his socks off getting across and chopping them down before they get momentum.

- 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.

- 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 Baths tired legs.

---

1.Tim Payne 9.Danny Care
2.George Chuter 10.Owen Farrell
3.Nicolas Mas 11.Tom Varndell
4.Marco Wentzel 12.Shane Geraghty
5.George Skivington 13.Billy Twelvetrees
6.Thiery Dusatoir (c) 14.Ugo Monye
7.Julien Salvi 15.Mike Brown
8.Thomas Waldrom

Replacements: Stankovich,Stevens,Brooker,Cannon,Burger,Gopperth,Fourie,Cueto

We need to get some wins under our belts, to kick start our season!

Need to make sure we are solid at set pieces, nothing silly, and make sure we are difficult to take ball off. Make sure we get quick ball from the scrums and rucks etc, to get the ball to the backs so we can the northampton side ragged.

Make sure we stay disclipined at the breakdown and dont incur silly penatlies and giving away easy points. The backs can run the ball, and we can bring on the likes of the under rated Fourie and Cueto from the bench if needed..

if it goes wrong, we can revert to a kicking game, through Farell and Geraghty..

Sale Sharks

Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Nick McLeod
03.Davit Kubriashvilli
04.Yoann Maestri	11.Will Addison
05.Matt Garvey	12.Jonathan Davies
06.James Gaskell	13.Jonathan Joseph
07.Dave Seymour	14.Tom Brady
08.Jordan Crane	15.Rob Miller

Subs 16.Logovoi Mulipola 17.Marc Jones 18.Henry Thomas 19.Frazer McKenzie 20.Richie Vernon 21.Scott Mathie 22.Luther Burrell 23.Cameron Shephard
Tactics

Following struggles at lineout time last week, James Gaskell comes in at 6, with first starts being given to Jonathan Joseph and Matt Garvey after both featured from the bench last week.

Ball Carriers - Our pack is full of ball carriers, with a monster 2nd row combination and Mulipola and Crane also in the pack.

Centres - We feel our centres can create something special and can be our match winners.

Scrum Time - Our front 5 is massive, with two powerful 2nd rows and a destructive scrummaging front row we will look to put massive pressure on in this area.


Bench - We have players who can make a real impact. With Thomas, Mulipola and Burrell all in good form and will enjoy playing against a tired defence.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovani
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. Bismark du Plessis 17. Dan Cole 18. Luke Cowen-Dickie 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Tom Croft 21. Karl Dickson 22. Danny Cipriani 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. Parisse, 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

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Brian Mujati
04. Manu Samoa	11. Chris Ashton
05. Christian Day	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. Dylan Hartley 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Mark Sorenson 20. Phil Dowson 21. Martin Roberts 22. Stephen Myler 23. Jamie Elliot

---

Key Points

---

Attack The Midfield

• We will look to get our big carriers running directly at the Wasps midfield particularly Geraghty. Ashton will run off the shoulder of SBW as he runs at the midield and look for the offload in behind the Wasps defence.

Attack The Scrum

• It is no coincidence that we have selected Mujati at TH against Tim Payne following the game Friday night in real life. We will look to really turn the screw here particularly when the bench come into play with no specialist TH on the Wasps bench.

Win The Contact

• We will look to really impose ourselves on Wasps and win the contact battle with a pack full of ball carriers, particularly in the front 5. We feel Wasps are lacking carrying options outside of Waldrom and we will look to constantly keep them on the back foot with our blitz defence.

---

Game Plan

---

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 Wasps 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 Wasps 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 Wasps 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 Strauss & Wood looking to get their 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.

---

Will get tactics in tomorrow if ok

On drink with rugby lads

Back home with no Internet. Can someone post my teamsheet from last week and ill try and edit it tomorrow

No worries boys.

Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy
09. M.Classens (c)
02. L.Mears
10. J.Hook
03. A.Perenise

04. J.Muller
11. K.Eastmond
05. D.Attwood
12. M.Banahan
06. S.O'Brien
13. C.Laulala
07. C. Fearns
14. T.Biggs
08. S. Taylor
15. R.Chisholm


16. K.P-Newport 17. C.Tolufua 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20.M. Lund 21. C.Cook 22. S.Donald 23. O.Woodburn

TACTICS TBC

General
- 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 SOB/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. Classens sweeps up behind for counter attacks

Forwards
* Fearns plays as an openside, looking to secure the breakdown
* Picked a very physical pack to make sure that we defend strongly and smash over the gainline. Fearns to lead pack from base of scrum making hard yards and setting up the ruck for Louw and Fearns to clear out. Fearns 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
* Use ball carriers of Franks, 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 get free rein in attack, looking to pop up as second receiver. Can interchange with Banahan on the wing


Sorry about the lackof formatting! Don't know how to copy that from Bathite's post

Can you put fearns at 7 and Taylor 8 with Lund on bench please

Wrote tactics on phone so if too long I'm happy to shorten them

Tactics added.

Btw on a train at the moment. Will update page when I get later.

Tom Croft needs to come off your bench Pooly hes at Quins now?

Cheers mate....

Flux can you swap Croft for Sam Jones

Will do it later. In a lecture.

i will do my predos either tonight or tomorrow evening.

Bath 22-15 Sale

Edge at scrum time to Sale with a massive front 5 on show. See Bath poaching a few balls at the lineout. Not much difference around the park in this one. In the back row Crane the stronger 8 on show but Bath with more quality and form on the flanks edge the back row battle. Halfbacks are a step up to Bath with a bit more quality and Hook in good form in France. More quality on show in midfield for Sale but the combo will need to gel first so it evens out. Back 3s tight quality wise but Bath have a bit more form. Plus to Bath on the tactics front. Not sure how Sale are trying to play this one with no real game plan for me. Bath at home are stronger in the key areas and with a structured game plan in place should see this one out.

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Harlequins 21-20 Saracens

See the scrum being a mess in this one with both LHs struggling. Lineout battle is fairly even with good jumpers on both sides. Sarries front 5 gives them an edge around the park though. Cracking recruitment from Driver all round in the back row and they will get an edge here. Halfbacks are a step up in quality to Sarries. Midfield edges to Quins with a classy unit. Feel there is some defensive issues in the 10-12 channel though for Quins. Back threes on current form very very tight.. Little more detail in Sarries gameplan but can see how Quins will go about the game. See this being a very tight affair but that extra bit more class from the Quins backrow and home advantage sees them sneak this.

---

Leicester 33-24 Exeter Chiefs

See the scrum only going one way in this one. Real area of strength for Tigers in this one. Good battle at the lineout and neither side will get an edge. Tigers with plenty of carrying from the front 5. Slight edge to Tigers in the backrow. More quality all round but Warbs lacking a bit of form now. Through the backlines feel only Kahui would compete with the Tigers line up. Some cracking options on both benches! Tigers much more dangerous at home in this one.

---

London Welsh 19-17 Gloucester

No shift at scrum time but see Welsh really getting at the lineout. Nothing between the front 5s around the park. Backrow battle fairly even on current form overall. Halfbacks to Welsh. Good form for Gloucester but Evans is a class apart in this game. More flair from the Glaws back three but they aren’t as solid defensively. On current form midfield is fairly even perharps shading marginally to Glaws but not enough for any real advantage. Decent impact of both benches.Good game here but see Evans taking advantage of the lineout to give Welsh a good home win.

---

Worcester 18-28 London Irish

Pack battle is a mismatch here. Worcester look to be resting a lot of players and they will struggle here against a strong Irish side. Feel Irish are maybe lacking a few carrying options but its not the biggest of Worcester sides and it shouldn’t be a problem here. Defensive issues for both sides in the 10-12 channel but Irish on attack offer a lot more in the backs. Fairly comfortable win for Irish against a rudderless (no game plan) Worcester side.

Bath 20-16 Sale
Even in the front row with 2 good partnerships going on here. Sale have a massive 2nd row which ill edge the scrum however, even with Gaskell playing they'll struggle at the lineout against the Bath 2nd rows here. Back row to Bath giving them quick ball. Same at 9-10 so their outside backs'll get good ball so long as Hook runs straight! 2 heavy centre combinations coming here and think JD2 will cause Banahan some trouble. Back 3's are close but Bath have a little more form. Few mroe tactics and Sale'll have kept it closer.

Quins 24-22 Sarries
Sarries'll just get the scrum here with Vunipola in good form. Just a bit more in 2nd row from Sarries but the Quins back row is very very good and Sarries will struggle for quick ball here. More in the hb's to Sarries but I do rate Heathcote. Very strong Quins centres and good strike runners in the back 3 will take this but Sarries will score tries through their back 3 and keep the points ticking over.

Tigers 34- 26 Chiefs
Tigers have too much strength!! Pack does go to Tigers who have the strength although I do like the Hanks-Hayes combination and Scaysbrook is good but Warburton is a class above. A good 9-10 for both sides and this will get a bit of joy for Chiefs but outside of this Tigers will run riot. Chiefs have a good Premiership side, Tigers have a good international side and are at home.

Saints 24-17 Wasps
Good tactics from Saints, not enough from Wasps...need to be a bit more specific with your style of play. 2 strong front rows edged to the Saints combo. 2nd rows I'll give as even with more brute force for Saints but Wasps will have a good lineout. Backrow would be close just edged to Saints but Waldrom and Salvi are in very good form. 9 to Wasps but 10 to Saints who will release the backs better than Farrell. Not sure about 12t at 13 and Pisi will exploit this with SBW giving him the angles. Again 2 strong back 3's but the Saint's back 3 are scoring a bit more at the moment. If Wasps had started with Gopperth and put them into corners and pressure on lineouts this would have been closer.

Warriors 15-20 Irish
No Warriors tactics hampers them more here. Not a bad Irish front row and they will target the inexperienced Warriors props. 2 ok 2nd rows with Robson the pick of the bunch. Backrow to Irish. James is in great form in France and Simpson will work well with him, Butch will teach Ford a lesson here. Centres and back 3 to Irish. Warriors bench will claw back some points.

Scores for now, feedback will follow if I get time, sorry, hectic 4 weeks coming up!

Bath 20 - Sale 18- Sale look good in tight, Bath offer more in attack
Tigers 25- Exeter 21- Leicester bit better everywhere, except HBs
Welsh 26- Glaws 30- Evans had a poor game, Glaws look more complete
Saints 25 - Wasps 22- v close, good teams but Saints savvier ATM. Prefer 36 at 12 to 13
Wuss 24 - Irish 30- hard to separate- no tactics for Wuss though! looks high scoring though

All scores subject to change on closer analysis, sorry.

Quins 22 - 24 Sarries
Front row to Sarries, not sure about Smit at 1 and I have concerns about him lasting 80 mins. Nieto coming on at 60 odd will cause him real trouble as well
Second rows about even
Back row is a huge gain to the Quins unit, that's one of the best in the league and Sarries are suffering with inexperience at 7 and 8
Half backs go to Sarries by a way, I'm not a Wiggy fan and Heathcote is a talent but injured and thus has no form, can't rate him on 6/7 games last year compared to the likes of Hodgson.
Centres go to the Quins by a bit and they are right to target Wyles positionally.
Outside backs and benches are pretty even

Have Sarries winning this, as they have the gain at scrum and in the halfbacks, despite losing out at the breakdown a bit.

Tigers 20 - 12 Chiefs
Can't really see a combination where the chiefs can match or compete with the Tigers. I guess that only the halfbacks for Exeter can better their opponents, but this won't be enough on the day and away from home. Chiefs missing some star quality, but despite some Tigers players lacking form, it's an easy win.

Welsh 24 - 22 Glos
Front row - About evens here, maybe Glos to edge it. Props about even and hookers are the obvious weaknesses for both sides.
Second row - Hard to seperate once again, with Glos having a really tough pair. Haven't seen much of Mumm recently to rate, but not sure Savage or Hamilton will own the lineout (happy to be corrected if wrong)
Back row - Two back rows that don't have huge names but will go about their business quite nicely. Think Qera will do a job on Welch though and Glos have more physicality here so edge it.
Half backs - Burns recent form helps out nicely, but it's the battle of the 9s, who are both weaknesses I feel. Although Evans had a stinker, he's still awesome, so Welsh edge it.
Backs - Like the Welsh centres and outside backs, with a Thompstone hat trick helping them out no end!

A high scoring affair with some good backs and mobile forwards on show, but Welsh win through with a late Ashley Johnson try

Saints 21 - 26 Wasps
Tactics - Very detailed from Saints, but I don't really have time to read one that detailed each week, just a heads up
Front row - Saints have 2 class units on show here and are going to wreak havoc with the Wasps team in both halves of the game. I see yellow cards being issued and I'd bet it was Payne going!
Second row - Goes to Wasps by a fair bit, as I prefer both players and there's a good combination of leadership and lineout experience, although Day is good in this area.
Back row - Goes to the Wasps unit again. A great combo of all the skills and Burger brings a great physicality impact. Dowson offers little off the bench.
Inside backs - Halfbacks go to Saints by a distance, with Farrell and Care unproven combo. Having Geraghty and 36 in the centres doesn't work for me and it's a little samey with Farrell at 10, can't see anyone giving them go forward or using pace on the outside.
Outside backs - Wasps by a fair bit, some great form here and Brown/Monye is proven. One advantage of having so many passers in midfield is that the back three will feed off great ball.

Saints get a bit of a shock here and I was surprised myself, but when I looked back at my report, I had the back row and breakdown to Wasps. Wasps will get peppered for penalties, but manage to live off scraps and get a few great break away tries in true Wasps style

Worcs 11 - 19 Irish
Front, second and back rows go to Irish by a long distance, with star quality and experience throughout. Second row will be a battle, but front and back is a bit of a mismatch. Morgan and Kitchener will make a huge difference, but should have started in my book.
Halfbacks go to Worcs on paper, but Simpson's great form and Genia's injury mean Irish edge it.

Irish have too much up front and more quality in 11-15, with Simpson pulling the strings, they win easily enough

Bath vs Sale- 22-24
Quins vs Sarries-24-25
Tigers vs Chiefs-35-24
Welsh vs Gloucester-19-17
Worecster vs Irish-15-20

Bath 22-20 Sale

I think Bath would get a bit of a beasting in the scrum with Penerise a weak link, although they won't be too many in the conditions. Bath have more in the lineout and backrow although Sale have some serious bulk and carrying in the engine room.

Bath have more in the halfbacks but I love the Sale centre partnership who'll give the Bath pair a real game. No fan of Banahan, think his lack of mobility could be a real issue against the Sale pair.

Little bit more for Sale in the back 3 but I just think Bath have enough in the pack and halfbacks to see out a tight one.

Harlequins 23-21 Saracens

2 very strong packs at this level whilst the 4N on, think Quns have slight edge although both have 8 issues with just joining club. Sarries edge halfbacks and back 3 but Quins have enough to win at home.