Aviva Premiership Round Six (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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Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Location - Sandy Park
-Sunny, 15 Degrees, 8mph Winds

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Exeter Chiefs

Manager – Luke

01. Brett Sturgess	09. Sam Harrison
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Loius Deacon	11. Paul Sackey
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Steve Mafi	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Matt Jess
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Ben Moon 17. Neil Clark 18. Hoani Tui 19. James Hanks 20. James Scaysbrook 21. James Lightfoot-Brown 22. Ignacio Mieres 23. Luke Arscott

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, Joubert, Mafi and Deacon 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 Afoa, Mafi, Armitage, Horwill, Joubert 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 Harrison 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 Kahui, Sackey 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 penalties.

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Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Matt Mullen	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.John Smit	10.Morne Steyn
03.James Johnstone
04.Mauritz Botha	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Hudson Tonga'uhia
06.Tom Croft	13.Jared Payne
07.Chris Robshaw	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendonan

16.Joe Grey 17.Will Collier 18.Mark Lambert 19.Tom Denton 20.Hienrich Brussouw 21.Henry Taylor 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Ollie Lindsey-Hague


Tactics

Quins will look to play a high tempo , territory based game with Wrigglesworth and Steyn putting the ball into the right areas of the field. Solid platform up front to let us get on top at set piece securing our own ball and disrupting the opposition feed. When playing with the ball we will look to get over the gainline and offload to a support runner to punch holes into the opposition line

- Hargreaves and Croft to target Chiefs line out and look to pressure Horwill who has no real life form whilst Hargreaves has been great for Sarries.

- Steyn to drop high balls on Matt Jess with George North chasing to ensure it's a long afternoon for the Chief's winger.

- Aggressive and dynamic at the ruck aim to clear out instead of settling for parity at the ruck and take away the chance for turnover for the opposition.

- run off each other always look to give the option for the offload.

- Tonga'uhia to hit the ball flat and at pace to ensure he get's on the gainline or over and look to tie defenders in.

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Gloucester v Bath
Location - Kingsholm Stadium
-Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds

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Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01.Dan Murphy	09.Dimitri Yachvilli
02.Darren Dawiduk	10.Freddie Burns (k)
03.Adam Jones
04.Jim Hamilton	11.JSD
05.Alex Brown	12.Jamie Roberts
06.JVN (c)	13.Henry Trinder
07.Andy Hazell	14.Ian Clark
08.Luke Narraway	15.Jonny May

16.Korree Britton 17.Rupert Harden 18.Tom Heard 19.Akapusi Qera 20.Alasdair Strokosch 21.Dan Robson 22.Mike Tindall 23.Ryan Mills

Tactics

Massive game today and we are all fired up for the local derby in great running rugby conditions. We have made a couple of changes from the shambles at Welsh and also with the injuries recently suffered. Looking for forwards to hold their own ball and to release our dangerous backs. This is the game which decides how our season is going to go and how I feel about leading the Glos side.

*Front row to hold their own and be available in the breakdown to gain us the valuable metres. Good bench coming on with Harden strong at present.
*2nd rows will see Brown controlling our lineout and look to steal some of theirs, Hamilton'll look to wind up the opposition and legally fly into rucks.
*Backrow looking to cause issues at the breakdown with the old heads here all focused on slowing down Bath ball and giving us quick ball, JVN to offer himself with Hamilton as a runner.
*Qera and Narraway will look to bring some abrasiveness and big hits to the game.

*Exciting half back pairing with Yach looking to control the game and the pace of it, Burns to go for corners if nothing is on but to look to release our backs when possible.
*Centres will run straight and Roberts'll look for runners on each shoulder when he breaks through the first tackle. Trinder'll look to weave through and get on the end of Roberts' crashes, Tindall to bring the calm influence.
*Pacy back 3 who all like to run. JSD will control here with his weaving running and Clark and May's sheer pace will see them through the gaps the forwards and centres create, they will always look for work.
*Robson and Mills'll bring on more pace and youthfullness.

*Burns to kick anything in range.
*Defence to be a blitz with Yach sweeping and look to contest at the breakdown when it's on, defending inside out. Strong, exciting runners on show today who'll go looking for gaps and tries.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens (c)
02. R.Batty	10. O.Barkley (k)
03. A.Perenise
04. S.Hooper	11. K.Eastmond
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (lk)
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, look to mix up first receiver between Steyn and Barkley and then look for back row runners on inside shoulder
- Steyn 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.
- Steyn 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.
* At the lineout, Hooper will lead the calls and look to pressurise oppoistion hooker and compete at every throw. Taylor brought in as another jumping option at the base, for quick off the top ball.
* Use ball carriers of Perenise, Attwood, 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
* Barkley to take the ball flat on the gainline, drawing defenders and buying time and space for Steyn. Steyn often used as dummy runner to keep it unpredictable
* Use the inside pass with forward runners of SOB, Attwood, 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 and Healy to clear out and Fearns 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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London Irish v Northampton Saints
Location - Madejski Stadium
-Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds

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London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Max Lahiff	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. Tom Guest	15. Delon Armitage

16. Rob Herring, 17. Paulica Ion, 18. Leo Halavatau, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Declan Danaher, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Regan King, 23. Alesana Tuilagi

Tactics
- Good win last week. We're bang up for this game against Northampton and will go for the win.

- Be solid at the set piece to create a decent platform to attack from. Quick ball to James if we're stable, Harinordoquy to pick and go if it's messy. Have confidence in our handling to avoid constant scrummaging.

- 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. 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 the Saints tired legs.

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Northampton Saints

Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Stephen Myler
03. Paul Doran-Jones
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. Danny Herriot 19. Christian Day 20. James Craig 21. Martin Roberts 22. Ryan Lamb 23. Jamie Elliot

Key Points

• Hit the lineout hard. Lawes, Manoa and Woods took apart Palmer (with Wentzel in assistance) last week in real life. With no out and out jumpers in the backrow to support him we will look to do the same in this game

• Plenty of real life form throughout the side. There are however question marks over a few of the Irish players particularly in the pack and we will look to gain the ascendary here.

Tactics

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 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 & Myler and force Irish to come at us from deep.

• 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 room as possible to attack from.

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

• We will play an aggressive blitz on defence, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Irish momentum before it can get going.

• Lee 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 ball.

• 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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Sale Sharks v Leicester Tigers
Location - Salford City Stadium
-Sunny Intervals, 13 Degrees, 12mph Winds

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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.Schalk Burger	14.Charlie Amesbury
08.Richie Vernon	15.Rob Miller

Subs 16.Logovoi Mulipola 17.Nathan Charles 18.Henry Thomas 19.Frazer McKenzie 20.Andy Powell 21.Scott Mathie 22.Luther Burrell 23.Dave Seymour

Tactics
-Play a set piece orientated game. We have a strong scrum and lineout and we will use this too our advantage.

-McLeod and Thomas will look to get us in the right areas of the pitch.

Jonathan Davies will target Leicester's 10 and look to put them under pressure while they are defending.

-McLeod will take all points on offer.
-If any of our players are struggling we will replace them as soon as it is apparent. If not we will make subs at the normal times.

We will operate a blitz defence. This will limit their 10's time or mean he is playing very deep.

If will look to put their lineout underpressure by putting a jumper up at 2, as well as where we think the ball is going to cause their hookers to make mistakes.

Addidson and Amesbury will come off their wings and look for work from the offloads of our centres.

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Dan Cole
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. James O’Connor
06. Maurie Fa'asalavu	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. Matt Smith
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Jamie George 17. Martin Castrogiovani 18. Thomas Domingo 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 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. Launchbury, Parling and Parisse 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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Saracens v London Welsh
Location - Vicarage Road
-Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds

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Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Carlos Nieto
04. George Kruis	11. Sam Smith
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Vereniki Goneva
07. Will Fraser	14. Chris Wyles
08. Jackson Wray	15. Alex Goode

16. Jared Saunders 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Sekope Kepu 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Chris York 21. Jordan Burns 22. Jonathan Poff 23. Joel Tomkins

Tactics-
Sub cover- - Goode to 10, Wyles to 15, Goneva or Burns Wing. Bring on our pack subs to keep fresh and knowing this use the forwards a lot to grind early on. If we don't make much ground it doesn't matter, mauling and hard yards will tire their pack and the extra forward sub should give us an edge in the last 20. Burns and Tomkins are great running in a broken field so they can expose tired legs late on.
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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 Wray, Vunipola, Kohn and Kepu. Sent Brits off the pop pass at Nev to shake him up a bit. Good ball will be spread out quickly, with Hodgson standing flat. We have some very exciting backs so get them the ball and let them improvise as this is what the likes of Goneva does best. 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 Goneva act as a third winger style OC in support. Try and keep the ball alive where possible. Both wingers join the line off their wing on the switch.

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. Mix up our options up as much as we can.

Scrum- Get a solid foundation here with our technical front row and use back row moves to test Chudley who is new to this team.

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

Defence- blitz lead by Allen. Fraser to charge Evans and pressurise him, with Brown making Chudley's life hell, 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. Parra kick at goal. Ransom talented but inexperienced so Parra and Charlie test him with the up and under, well chased.

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London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Rhys Gill	09. Will Chudley
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. Ben Ransom

16. Paul James 17. Dave Wilson 18. David Paice 19. Steve Borthwick 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Joel Hodgson 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Seb Stegman

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 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 for the season.

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.
  
  
• POC will look to get a line out dominance over the Saracens jumpers. He will look to use himself at the front of the line, as well as Mumm, Johnson, Easter and Borthwick off the bench to maintain dominance in the area.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Saracen ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• The backrow will target the Saracens halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball. The impetus and control will come through this unit, shutting them down quickly will lead to them rushing and making mistakes.
  
  
• Evans will look to have forward runners of his outside shoulder to puncture the Saracens defensive line and tie in numbers, so we can maintain numbers in our backline to exploit short missing defenders.
  
  
• We will target the relatively new partnership in the Saracens midfield.
  
  
• Chudley coming we will keep the game plan simple; he was a player under my management last season and will know the game plan from his time previously under my coaching. He will allow Evans to control the attack or to look for forwards standing in pods for slow ball.
  
  
• 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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London Wasps v Worcester Warriors
Location - Adams Park
-Sunny, 14 Degrees, 8mph Winds

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London Wasps

Manager – CF

01. Tim Payne	09. Danny Care
02. Dimitri Swarzeski	10. Shane Geraghty
03.Nicholas Mas
04.George Skivington	11.Tom Varndell
05. Marco Wentzel	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Thierry Dusautoir	13. Jacque Fourie
07. Julien Salvi	14. Ugo Monye
08.Thomas Waldrom	15. Mark Cueto

16. Boris Stankovich 17. George Chuter 18. Ben Broster 19. James Cannon 20. Micky Young 21. Jimmy Gopperth 22. Joe Ansbro 23. Richard Haughton

Tactics

We are strengthened this week, in the pack with Swarzeski in the side and should be much stronger at the lineout with him in the side. We should be more than competitive at the line out and in the scrum..Early on we will look to get our forwards to carry the ball, while trying to get some quick ball going. if this doesn't work then the backs will get involved and we have some good ball carriers in our side...Geragthy will look to get some kicks in behind the defence to get the runners going after the ball. He will also look for some drop goals on occasions. We don't have a lot of strength in depth however Gopperth can come on for Fourie with Geraghty moving to centre. Chuter will come on after 70 mins for Swarzeski

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Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. George Porter	09. Will Genia
02. Stephen Moore	10. George Ford
03. Tevita Taumoepeau
04. Graham Kitchener	11. David Strettle
05. George Robson	12. Steven Shingler
06. James Haskell	13. Matt Hooper
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Luke Rooney

16. Ed Shervington 17. Louis Padian 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Gerhard Mostert 20. Jake Abbott 21. Shaun Perry 22. Alex Grove 23. Eerie Claasens

Look to play a strong, basic game with a high work rate and lots of big carries.

Look to our lineout as a source of dominance. If we can establish some control here we will look to exploit this.

Our back row will be key today. We will be expecting big carries, strong work on the ground and big tackling.

Will Genia and George Ford will look to control the tempo of the game. Genia will be looking to make his sniping runs and look to get at the Wasps defence.

All our main players are rested. Morgan, Haskell, Hooper, Strettle, Kitchener, Taumoepeau all sat out last week. Other key players such as Kvesic, Ford and Moore have had rests at other points.

Look to get our back three and Hooper playing fast attacking rugby

Target Geraghty with some big tackles early to shake him up

Swarveski has been in training a week. Will he fit in the team and will the lineout be perfect yet. I don't think they will work well as a unit yet. Target this

Mas and all three back row members have played every game this season, will they feel the effects?

Might struggle later in the week, so its here now, but subject to change if I get a chance

Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens (c)
02. R.Batty	10. O.Barkley (k)
03. A.Perenise
04. S.Hooper	11. K.Eastmond
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (lk)
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, look to mix up first receiver between Steyn and Barkley and then look for back row runners on inside shoulder
- Steyn 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.
- Steyn 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.
* At the lineout, Hooper will lead the calls and look to pressurise oppoistion hooker and compete at every throw. Taylor brought in as another jumping option at the base, for quick off the top ball.
* Use ball carriers of Perenise, Attwood, 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
* Barkley to take the ball flat on the gainline, drawing defenders and buying time and space for Steyn. Steyn often used as dummy runner to keep it unpredictable
* Use the inside pass with forward runners of SOB, Attwood, 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 and Healy to clear out and Fearns to secure.
* Eastmond to get free rein in attack, looking to pop up as second receiver. Can interchange with Banahan on the wing

I'll get conditions up at lunch time

Cheers, that what I need to make changes probably

Game 1: Sunny, 15 Degrees, 8mph Winds
Game 2: Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds
Game 3: Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds
Game 4: Sunny Intervals, 13 Degrees, 12mph Winds
Game 5: Sunny, 15 Degrees, 10mph Winds
Game 6: Sunny, 14 Degrees, 8mph Winds

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Carlos Nieto
04. George Kruis	11. Sam Smith
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown (c.)	13. Vereniki Goneva
07. Will Fraser	14. Chris Wyles
08. Jackson Wray	15. Alex Goode

16. Jared Saunders 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Sekope Kepu 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Chris York 21. Jordan Burns 22. Jonathan Poff 23. Joel Tomkins

Tactics-
Sub cover- - Goode to 10, Wyles to 15, Goneva or Burns Wing. Bring on our pack subs to keep fresh and knowing this use the forwards a lot to grind early on. If we don't make much ground it doesn't matter, mauling and hard yards will tire their pack and the extra forward sub should give us an edge in the last 20. Burns and Tomkins are great running in a broken field so they can expose tired legs late on.
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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 Wray, Vunipola, Kohn and Kepu. Sent Brits off the pop pass at Nev to shake him up a bit. Good ball will be spread out quickly, with Hodgson standing flat. We have some very exciting backs so get them the ball and let them improvise as this is what the likes of Goneva does best. 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 Goneva act as a third winger style OC in support. Try and keep the ball alive where possible. Both wingers join the line off their wing on the switch.

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. Mix up our options up as much as we can.

Scrum- Get a solid foundation here with our technical front row and use back row moves to test Chudley who is new to this team.

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

Defence- blitz lead by Allen. Fraser to charge Evans and pressurise him, with Brown making Chudley's life hell, 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. Parra kick at goal. Ransom talented but inexperienced so Parra and Charlie test him with the up and under, well chased.

Lucky Barkley has been playing well Bathite, slots in well

Yeah, I thought so. Was tempted to put him in last week based on form. Grateful its only 3 injuries!

Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. George Porter	09. Will Genia
02. Stephen Moore	10. George Ford
03. Tevita Taumoepeau
04. Graham Kitchener	11. David Strettle
05. George Robson	12. Steven Shingler
06. James Haskell	13. Matt Hooper
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Luke Rooney

16. Ed Shervington 17. Louis Padian 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Gerhard Mostert 20. Jake Abbott 21. Shaun Perry 22. Alex Grove 23. Eerie Claasens

Look to play a strong, basic game with a high work rate and lots of big carries.

Look to our lineout as a source of dominance. If we can establish some control here we will look to exploit this.

Our back row will be key today. We will be expecting big carries, strong work on the ground and big tackling.

Will Genia and George Ford will look to control the tempo of the game. Genia will be looking to make his sniping runs and look to get at the Wasps defence.

All our main players are rested. Morgan, Haskell, Hooper, Strettle, Kitchener, Taumoepeau all sat out last week. Other key players such as Kvesic, Ford and Moore have had rests at other points.

Look to get our back three and Hooper playing fast attacking rugby

Target Geraghty with some big tackles early to shake him up

Swarveski has been in training a week. Will he fit in the team and will the lineout be perfect yet. I don't think they will work well as a unit yet. Target this

Mas and all three back row members have played every game this season, will they feel the effects?

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Luke

01. Brett Sturgess	09. Sam Harrison
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Loius Deacon	11. Paul Sackey
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Steve Mafi	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Matt Jess
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Ben Moon 17. Neil Clark 18. Hoani Tui 19. James Hanks 20. James Scaysbrook 21. James Lightfoot-Brown 22. Ignacio Mieres 23. Luke Arscott

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, Joubert, Mafi and Deacon 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 Afoa, Mafi, Armitage, Horwill, Joubert 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 Harrison 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 Kahui, Sackey 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.

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Matt Mullen	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.John Smit	10.Morne Steyn
03.James Johnstone
04.Mauritz Botha	11.George North
05.Alistair Hargreaves	12.Hudson Tonga'uhia
06.Tom Croft	13.Jared Payne
07.Chris Robshaw	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendonan

16.Joe Grey 17.Will Collier 18.Mark Lambert 19.Tom Denton 20.Hienrich Brussouw 21.Henry Taylor 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Ollie Lindsey-Hague


Tactics

Quins will look to play a high tempo , territory based game with Wrigglesworth and Steyn putting the ball into the right areas of the field. Solid platform up front to let us get on top at set piece securing our own ball and disrupting the opposition feed. When playing with the ball we will look to get over the gainline and offload to a support runner to punch holes into the opposition line

- Hargreaves and Croft to target Chiefs line out and look to pressure Horwill who has no real life form whilst Hargreaves has been great for Sarries.

- Steyn to drop high balls on Matt Jess with George North chasing to ensure it's a long afternoon for the Chief's winger.

- Aggresive and dynamic at the ruck aim to clear out instead of settleing for parity at the ruck and take away the chance for turnover for the opposition.

- run off each other always look to give the option for the offload.

- Tonga'uhia to hit the ball flat and at pace to ensure he get's on the gainline or over and look to tie defenders in.

01.Dan Murphy	09.Dimitri Yachvilli
02.Darren Dawiduk	10.Freddie Burns (k)
03.Adam Jones
04.Jim Hamilton	11.JSD
05.Alex Brown	12.Jamie Roberts
06.JVN (c)	13.Henry Trinder
07.Andy Hazell	14.Ian Clark
08.Luke Narraway	15.Jonny May

16.Korree Britton 17.Rupert Harden 18.Tom Heard 19.Akapusi Qera 20.Alasdair Strokosch 21.Dan Robson 22.Mike Tindall 23.Ryan Mills

Tactics

Massive game today and we are all fired up for the local derby in great running rugby conditions. We have made a couple of changes from the shambles at Welsh and also with the injuries recently suffered. Looking for forwards to hold their own ball and to release our dangerous backs. This is the game which decides how our season is going to go and how I feel about leading the Glos side.

*Front row to hold their own and be available in the breakdown to gain us the valuable metres. Good bench coming on with Harden strong at present.
*2nd rows will see Brown controlling our lineout and look to steal some of theirs, Hamilton'll look to wind up the opposition and legally fly into rucks.
*Backrow looking to cause issues at the breakdown with the old heads here all focused on slowing down Bath ball and giving us quick ball, JVN to offer himself with Hamilton as a runner.
*Qera and Narraway will look to bring some abrasiveness and big hits to the game.

*Exciting half back pairing with Yach looking to control the game and the pace of it, Burns to go for corners if nothing is on but to look to release our backs when possible.
*Centres will run straight and Roberts'll look for runners on each shoulder when he breaks through the first tackle. Trinder'll look to weave through and get on the end of Roberts' crashes, Tindall to bring the calm influence.
*Pacy back 3 who all like to run. JSD will control here with his weaving running and Clark and May's sheer pace will see them through the gaps the forwards and centres create, they will always look for work.
*Robson and Mills'll bring on more pace and youthfullness.

*Burns to kick anything in range.
*Defence to be a blitz with Yach sweeping and look to contest at the breakdown when it's on, defending inside out. Strong, exciting runners on show today who'll go looking for gaps and tries.

Driver you've got Smit twice mate

Updated.

Following their success last weekend, Director of Rugby Sam Flux has announced an almost unchanged side. He has been forced to make three changes to the match day squad. Emergency signing Will Chudley comes in at scrum half for the injured Paul Hodgson and Ruan Pienaar who is away on international duty. Also it's an opportunity for young fullback Ben Ransom to shine against his former club. On the bench another former Saracen, Steve Borthwick takes the place of the injured Tim Swinson

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Rhys Gill	09. Will Chudley
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. Ben Ransom

16. Paul James 17. Dave Wilson 18. David Paice 19. Steve Borthwick 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Joel Hodgson 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Seb Stegman

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 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 for the season.

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.
  
  
• POC will look to get a line out dominance over the Saracens jumpers. He will look to use himself at the front of the line, as well as Mumm, Johnson, Easter and Borthwick off the bench to maintain dominance in the area.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Saracen ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• The backrow will target the Saracens halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball. The impetus and control will come through this unit, shutting them down quickly will lead to them rushing and making mistakes.
  
  
• Evans will look to have forward runners of his outside shoulder to puncture the Saracens defensive line and tie in numbers, so we can maintain numbers in our backline to exploit short missing defenders.
  
  
• We will target the relatively new partnership in the Saracens midfield.
  
  
• With Chudley coming into the team so soon, he will keep his game plan simple. He will either look to provide Evans with ball to control the attack or to look for forwards standing in pods for slow ball. If under pressure in 22 he will box to clear the lines.
  
  
• 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.

London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Max Lahiff	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. Tom Guest	15. Delon Armitage

16. Rob Herring, 17. Paulica Ion, 18. Leo Halavatau, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Declan Danaher, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Regan King, 23. Alesana Tuilagi

Tactics
- Good win last week. We're bang up for this game against Northampton and will go for the win.

- Be solid at the set piece to create a decent platform to attack from. Quick ball to James if we're stable, Harinordoquy to pick and go if it's messy. Have confidence in our handling to avoid constant scrummaging.

- 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. 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 the Saints tired legs.

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Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Stephen Myler
03. Paul Doran-Jones
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. Danny Herriot 19. Christian Day 20. James Craig 21. Martin Roberts 22. Ryan Lamb 23. Jamie Elliot

Key Points

• Hit the lineout hard. Lawes, Manoa and Woods took apart Palmer (with Wentzel in assistance) last week in real life. With no out and out jumpers in the backrow to support him we will look to do the same in this game

• Plenty of real life form throughout the side. There are however question marks over a few of the Irish players particularly in the pack and we will look to gain the ascendary here.

Tactics

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 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 & Myler and force Irish to come at us from deep.

• 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 room as possible to attack from.

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

• We will play an aggressive blitz on defence, playing on the edge of the offside line and coming up at pace, looking to isolate the ball carrier and stop any Irish momentum before it can get going.

• Lee 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 ball.

• 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.

WASPS TACTICS:

1.Payne 9.Care
2.Swarzeski 10.Geraghty
3.Mas 11.Varndell
4.Wenztel 12.Twelvetrees
5.Skivvington 13.Fourie
6.Dusatoir (c) 14.Monye
7.Salvi 15.Cueto
8.Waldrom

Team news: Swarzeski makes his debut at hooker. Farrell, Burger and Brown are injured.

Replacements: Chuter,Broster,Stankovich,Cannon,Young,Gopperth,Ansbro,Haughton

We are strengthened this week, in the pack with Swarzeski in the side and should be much stronger at the lineout with him in the side. We should be more than compeitive at the line out and in the scrum..Early on we will look to get our forwards to carry the ball, while trying to get some quick ball going. if this dosent work then the backs will get invovled and we have some good ball carriers in our side...Geragthy will look to get some kicks in behind the defence to get the runners going after the ball. He will also look for some drop goals on occasions. We dont have a lot of strength in depth however Gopperth can come on for Fourie with Geraghty moving to centre. Chuter will come on after 70 mins for Swarzneski

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.Schalk Burger	14.Charlie Amesbury
08.Richie Vernon	15.Rob Miller

Subs 16.Logovoi Mulipola 17.Nathan Charles 18.Henry Thomas 19.Frazer McKenzie 20.Andy Powell 21.Scott Mathie 22.Luther Burrell 23.Dave Seymour

Tactics
-Play a set piece orientated game. We have a strong scrum and lineout and we will use this too our advantage.

-McLeod and Thomas will look to get us in the right areas of the pitch.

Jonathan Davies will target Leicester's 10 and look to put them under pressure while they are defending.

-McLeod will take all points on offer.
-If any of our players are struggling we will replace them as soon as it is apparent. If not we will make subs at the normal times.

We will operate a blitz defence. This will limit their 10's time or mean he is playing very deep.

If will look to put their lineout underpressure by putting a jumper up at 2, as well as where we think the ball is going to cause their hookers to make mistakes.

Addidson and Amesbury will come off their wings and look for work from the offloads of our centres.

CF...need to put it in right formate mate

London Wasps
Manager – CF

01.	09.
02.	10.
03.
04.	11.
05.	12.
06.	13.
07.	14.
08.	15.

Tactics

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Theres the format fella, just quote and delete quote marks. Save it somewhere obviously for future use

ive already put my squad and tactics up, can you remove the post you have just made please.....

It's not in the correct format.

You need to put your team and tactics in the format I've just put up for you

ffs i done that for the past weeks but fine i shall do it that way!

CF.....

If you don't put it in the format Flux has to. If everybody had that attitude Flux would need to 12 teams each week.

Not quite sure what your issue is here

01.Payne 09.Care
02.Swarzeski 10.Geraghty
03. Mas
04.Wentzel 11.Varndell
05.Skivvington 12.Twelvetrees
06.Dustotar C 13.Fourie
07.Salvi 14.Monye
08.Waldrom 15.Cueto

Team news: Swarzeski makes his debut at hooker. Farrell, Burger and Brown are injured.

Replacements: Chuter,Broster,Stankovich,Cannon,Young,Gopperth,Ansbro,Haughton

We are strengthened this week, in the pack with Swarzeski in the side and should be much stronger at the lineout with him in the side. We should be more than compeitive at the line out and in the scrum..Early on we will look to get our forwards to carry the ball, while trying to get some quick ball going. if this dosent work then the backs will get invovled and we have some good ball carriers in our side...Geragthy will look to get some kicks in behind the defence to get the runners going after the ball. He will also look for some drop goals on occasions. We dont have a lot of strength in depth however Gopperth can come on for Fourie with Geraghty moving to centre. Chuter will come on after 70 mins for Swarzneski

just tried it doing your way and your quote, and its gone the same way again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You need to add each player into the above format, pain the first time but easy after

i did that!

You just remove the first little but that says Pooly in brackets so basically ] after Pooly and the very end quote bit

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Toby Flood
03. Dan Cole
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Miles Benjamin
05. Geoff Parling	12. James O’Connor
06. Maurie Fa'asalavu	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. Matt Smith
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Jamie George 17. Martin Castrogiovani 18. Thomas Domingo 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 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. Launchbury, Parling and Parisse 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

Tactics in ,

another crazy satuurday night in bed for Driver..... mintage.

Exeter Chiefs 23 - 26 Harlequins

A good fight up front in the tight, with a slight edge to the quins unit. Lineout will go to Chiefs with Horwill and Deacon being prominent. However Quins will dominate the breakdown and collisions with their star backrow and physical pack overall. Out wide, the inclusion of Harrison will stutter play a bit but its a good halfback pairing. Steyn has been sorely lacking form but Wriggles evens the halfback battle. Slight edging to Chiefs centres, but Quins backthree are seriously good. In the end I think a rare Steyn penalty on target will win it.

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Gloucester 17 - 16 Bath

A good battle between Jones and Healy will see a pretty even fight up front. Front fives are about even, with the lineout just going to Bath. Backrows again a slight edge to Bath due to their physicality. Halfbacks go to Glos, with Yach getting the best out of an in form Burns, Bath unit is solid and brings out a good backline in attack. Glos backline however is more dangerous in my mind. What separates the two will be the boot of Yachvili.

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London Wasps 12 - 15 Worcester Warriors

A solid front row unit for Wasps would get the better of the wuss unit if Swarz was thrown in at the deep end. Front five will go to Wasps however due to a greater physicality. The lack of that for Wuss is made up by the great backrow unit, but Wasps have a brilliant unit too. Lineout will go to Worcester with Robson running a good lineout. Out wide the Worcester halfbacks will enjoy possession off the lineout, but won't enjoy the attention of the back of a scrum. Wasps halfbacks Care will be his dangerous self and Farrell will prompt some play, however he will stunt some play for a good wasps backline. Worcester suffer out wide due to lack of form in some players. Wuss to sneak it at the death by the boot of Ford

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Sale Sharks 22 - 25 Leicester Tigers

At home Sale will have some serious fight but they come up against probably the best team in the league right now. Up front scrums and lineouts are close but just edged to tigers. However I think the Sale pack have a big physical threat which will be a thorn in the side of Leicester. Halfbacks and backline is a complete step up to Tiggers, a shining light for Sale is their centre partnership. But they struggle against the sheer class of the Tigers backline. I think Sale will push Leicester close, but the backs will win it for them.

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London Irish 25 - 22 Northampton Saints

A good battle up front with the scrums edging to Saints, lineouts will move towards Irish with Palmer being capable of calling a line out. Physically both will be even, but at the breakdown Kaino and Pocock will impose themselves on Wood and Ferris. Halfbacks, Dickson will marshal his forwards well, but won't have the attacking threat of Simpson. Myler is a solid option, but James is just more complete and gets the best out his backline and positioning his forward pack. Out wide in my mind Irish are a cohesive unit that has everything. Saints are very similar as well, but what will win this one is the boot of Homer at home.

Exeter 19 - 13 Quins
Front row - Quins by quite a bit
Second row - Exeter edge it
Back row - Quins edge it
HBs - Exeter
Centres - Exeter by quite a way
Back three - Exeter on form.

Exeter win this at home, despite losing out slightly in front row. Steffon at 7 does enough at the breakdown, Wilko's form at 10 is huge for them and the centres have enough quality

Exeter 21-23 Quins

Nothing in front 5's but Exeter suffering from lack of form in engine room gives edge to Quins. Two good backrows but just that little bit more for Quins, although Croft losing rating a little Robshaw has been sublime.

I can see both halfbacks suffering a bit of rustiness with new signings but think Quins just edge a little here. Exeter step up in the centres but great Quins back 3 and would really get at the Exeter trio a tough game. Exeter strong at home but Quins just have a little bit more throughout.

Gloucester 26-24 Bath

Battle of the crap props with Penerise & Murphy cancelling each other out. Nothing in engine rooms but Gloucester just shade backrow with Narraway & JVN a little stronger than opposite numbers and Fearns/Hazell pretty level.

Good halfback combo for Bath with Barkley playing well but class up for Gloucester, Burns has been great this season. Nothing in two great centre units and again back 3's close with Chislom & Clarke being got at. Gloucester enough in pack and control at halfback to beat local rivals.

Irish 24-24 Saints

Good edge for Saints in the front 5 in the scrum and around the park, not much in lineouts with no standout op for either team. Not much in backrows but Kaino little for Irish hinders them.

Really close halfback battles with Irish a bit more flair throughout backs but Saints a bit more defensive and power. Saints would win at home and poor conditions but think Irish at home get draw.

Saracens 19-21 Welsh

Two steady front row units that will be steady on own ball. Little bit more class for Welsh in the engine room and backrow and will see them edge pack.

Sarries edge halfbacks with more fluidity but Welsh have great little centre combo and a touch more in the back 3. Impressive Welsh bench sees them home for a surprise win. Sarries will look to welcome big guns back asap!

Wasps 20-20 Worcester

Better scrum unit for Wasps by a fair bit but can see lineout creaking with new hooker and Robson playing well. Worcester edge engine room but great backrow contest I can't split.

Worcester halfbacks up a level but Wasps have control in centres but Fourie lacks form. Not much in back 3's with slight edge to Wasps. Really hard game to call, I think Worcester would win at home but enough in Wasps pack to sneak draw. Wasps just a bit more continuity but CF has built a good side.

Chiefs 19-17 Quins

Think Chiefs will get the nudge come scrum time. 2^nd rows to Quins but Chiefs have good carriers here. 2 good backrows with Armitage still playing well but I like the Quins balance and they will slow down ball. 9 to Quins but 10 to Chiefs with Wilko in good form, the tactics of Steyn’s boot will help here. Little bit more in Chiefs centre pairing but Quins take the outside backs and the impact bench. It’ll be close but I think Chiefs will just take it. Hard to decide but I didn’t want to plump for a draw.

Irish 20-21 Saints

Just to Saints in front row with Hartley the decider, not sure what’s up with Tiny at the moment! Big hitting 2^nd rows for Saints who’ll do the job. Two great back rows who I’d say are pretty even. Half backs to Irish with both in great form. SBW’s ratings have dropped a little but I’ll still say Saints have the edge here. Two good back rows but can see Saints scoring more. I feel that Saints do have a little bit more here but James’ form will give Saints a scare and there won’t be much in it.

Sharks 15-20 Tigers

Big battle up front edged just in the front row by Tigers, Cole and Sheridan in good form (never thought I’d say that about Sheridan!). Physical 2^nd row from Sharks which will cause problems but Tigers again in good form here. Back row to Tigers. Half backs a big step up for Tigers and they will control the game well, Sharks pack may slow some ball down but overall there’ll be enough for them to dictate. Good, even centre battle. Back 3 to Tigers as they’ll get more ball and will shore this game up.

Sarries 9-12 Welsh

2 good front rows but Welsh have more to offer and on the bench. 2nd rows heads Welsh's way too but Sarries won't be destroyed here. Back row to Welsh with Sarries struggling with injuries. Prefer the Sarries 9-10 with a bit more control although Evans can always pull something out of the bag. Centres to Sarries if Goneva is put into good space. Back 3 in form for Welsh but Goode may help Sarries here. Just feel the Welsh pack will control this low scoring game.

Wasps 18-17 Warriors
Front row to Wasps even with Szar in at the deep end. Am a fan of Porter still (captaining the Warriors A team now). Good 2nd row for Wasps and Warriors and can see Robson causing lineout issues here. Even in the back row. Prefer Care at 9 atm and not really much between the 2 10's. Better centre partnership from Wasps but Warriors will get a bit more from Shingler putting them into positions. Back 3 to Wasps so they edge the win.

Exeter 25- Quins 28
Very close in scrum, Quins edge lineout and offer more in the pack with the ball in hand. A little more grunt for Ex though. Really like Quins' back row. Uninspired by the HBs as partnerships- could be a boring game, but I've given them the benefit of the doubt in my scoring as both back 3s can score plenty. Edge to Quins there but big advantage to Ex in centres. Backrow scrape it for Quins, just.

Gloucester 20- Bath 20
Big packs but Gloucester win at the scrum. I think Bath just about take the breakdown and their back row looks a little better to me, Fearns in great form when I've seen him. Very different HB combos but edge to Glos with Burns. Lots of spark out wide and big powerful 12s but Laulala can power through Trinder and has a beautiful step that I think could show him up. Bath have the edge on the pitch but Glos the better bench so draw.

Irish 22- Saints 23
Saints have a great pack and this overpowers Irish, and Kaino has been out a little long now, whcih just lets Saints get advantage there. Irish have the better HBs but the lineout is equal. I think SBW and Pisi will make a few holes in the Irish Midfield and the back 3 are similar quality. Better Irish bench for me but Saints have enough up front and in the centres to take an away victory by the skin of their teeth.
Sharks 18- Tigers 24
Sale gives the Tigers' scrum as much of a challenge as any other side and this is close. Fairly even lineout too actually but Tigers rule at the breakdown and in the loose with the pack. Then Tigers ahve an edge in every area outside this, particularly 9 and 10 (less so at centre with JOC out in real life). This means they will do more with more ball and though Sale will score a try or two and I prefer their tactics here, Tigers have too much firepower
Wasps 22- Wuss 20
Better tactics from Wuss but Wasps' though short and simple could still cause some problems. Wasps have home advantage and a better tight 5 for me as well as a very good back row but though not quite as good, Wuss' back row will do plenty. Edge to Wuss in HBs because Ford's form vs Geraghty getting back into LI's team, but Care outdoes Genia on current form. Hard to rate Fourie, but I'd rather have him and 36 than Shingler and Hopper (good in attack but could be exploited in defence). Advantage to Wasps in the back 3 too, but Wuss take subs (just). Wasps better team, would win by more with more tactics

Exeter vs Quins: 35-30
Gloucester vs Bath: 20-6
Irish vs Saints: 18-24
Sharks vs Tigers: 18-30
Sarries vs Welsh: 19-21

CF, can I just confirm the score: Gloucester vs Bath: 20-6

no that was a typo my mistake

Gloucester vs Bath: 21-20

Haha....I was thinking it might have been 16.

No probs mate, cheers.

yet again appears im gonna lose!

I think it's on a knife edge at the minute CF. Plenty of predictions to come in yet

Fluxy wrote:Exeter Chiefs 23 - 26 Harlequins

A good fight up front in the tight, with a slight edge to the quins unit. Lineout will go to Chiefs with Horwill and Deacon being prominent. However Quins will dominate the breakdown and collisions with their star backrow and physical pack overall. Out wide, the inclusion of Harrison will stutter play a bit but its a good halfback pairing. Steyn has been sorely lacking form but Wriggles evens the halfback battle. Slight edging to Chiefs centres, but Quins backthree are seriously good. In the end I think a rare Steyn penalty on target will win it.

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Gloucester 17 - 16 Bath

A good battle between Jones and Healy will see a pretty even fight up front. Front fives are about even, with the lineout just going to Bath. Backrows again a slight edge to Bath due to their physicality. Halfbacks go to Glos, with Yach getting the best out of an in form Burns, Bath unit is solid and brings out a good backline in attack. Glos backline however is more dangerous in my mind. What separates the two will be the boot of Yachvili.

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London Wasps 12 - 15 Worcester Warriors

A solid front row unit for Wasps would get the better of the wuss unit if Swarz was thrown in at the deep end. Front five will go to Wasps however due to a greater physicality. The lack of that for Wuss is made up by the great backrow unit, but Wasps have a brilliant unit too. Lineout will go to Worcester with Robson running a good lineout. Out wide the Worcester halfbacks will enjoy possession off the lineout, but won't enjoy the attention of the back of a scrum. Wasps halfbacks Care will be his dangerous self and Farrell will prompt some play, however he will stunt some play for a good wasps backline. Worcester suffer out wide due to lack of form in some players. Wuss to sneak it at the death by the boot of Ford

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Sale Sharks 22 - 25 Leicester Tigers

At home Sale will have some serious fight but they come up against probably the best team in the league right now. Up front scrums and lineouts are close but just edged to tigers. However I think the Sale pack have a big physical threat which will be a thorn in the side of Leicester. Halfbacks and backline is a complete step up to Tiggers, a shining light for Sale is their centre partnership. But they struggle against the sheer class of the Tigers backline. I think Sale will push Leicester close, but the backs will win it for them.

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London Irish 25 - 22 Northampton Saints

A good battle up front with the scrums edging to Saints, lineouts will move towards Irish with Palmer being capable of calling a line out. Physically both will be even, but at the breakdown Kaino and Pocock will impose themselves on Wood and Ferris. Halfbacks, Dickson will marshal his forwards well, but won't have the attacking threat of Simpson. Myler is a solid option, but James is just more complete and gets the best out his backline and positioning his forward pack. Out wide in my mind Irish are a cohesive unit that has everything. Saints are very similar as well, but what will win this one is the boot of Homer at home.

farrell isnt playing...is someone not reading my teamsheet?