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First topic message reminder :

Second win of the season for Saracens and defeats for Welsh, Wasps and Worcester mean there is just 3 points between the bottom four.

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Waiting List
1. pullthestrings
2. Bathite

Welcome to Season 5 of the Aviva Premiership fantasty rugby game. Below are the rules of the game which must be adhered to. If there are any situations that arise in the course of the game which are not covered by the rules, a final decision will be made by the RFU (Ozzy3213) as to how the situation will be resolved.

Senior Squads wrote:
The maximum squad size is 40 senior players. If a team has more than 40 players in their squad then they will be fined £1 million per player over the permitted amounts per day for the first seven days. If after 7 consecutive days a team still has more than the permitted number of players then the team will be fined £2 million per player per day, and fined 1 league point per player per day for the next seven days. If after this time a team still has more than the permitted number of players in their squad, the RFU (me) will remove players at it’s discretion to bring them back under the permitted numbers. There will be no right of appeal to players being removed.

Be aware that all tier one international matches which are played during the season will count in the game, and players selected in the matchday 22's for those matches will not be eligible to play for their clubs on that weekend, therefore you must give due consideration to the make up of your squad.

Academy Rules wrote:
Each team will be allowed to have a listed senior academy squad of 20 players. Players who are in the senior academy must be under 22 years of age as of 1st September 2012 (therefore must have been born on or after 1st Septmber 1990). Players who are under the age of 20 (so born after 1st September 1992) AND are in the academy of the club that you are managing in real life, DO NOT need to be listed as senior academy players as part of your 20, but are available to you in this game and cannot be poached by other clubs without paying you a fee.

Should a player not listed in your 20 senior academy players, but part of the clubs academy in real life move clubs in real life, then you will have first option of promoting him to your listed senior academy. If you choose not to take this option he will become property of the club that he moves to in real life in this game.

Transfers wrote:

• Domestic (other AP Teams)
  Each team has a budget to use in the purchase of players. Domestic transfers between AP clubs, regardless of nationality of player, should be negotiated between the respective managers, and then confirmed on the Domestic Transfer Confirmation Page.
  
  
• Domestic (Championship and below)
  Each team may during the season purchase no more than 3 players from the Championship or the National Leagues. These players must be bid for on the Championship/National League bidding page, and each bid will be considered by me on it's own merits before being accepted or rejected. No bid will be accepted until a minimum of 24 hours has elapsed from the time the bid was made, in order to afford other managers the opportunity to make a counter bid.
  
  
• Foreign
  To make a foreign transfer (i.e from any club outside of the AP, regardless of whether the player is English) a bid should be made on the Foreign Transfers Page, which will be considered by me against the posted guidelines for purchase prices before being accepted or rejected. No bid will be accepted until a minimum of 24 hours has elapsed from the time the bid was made, in order to afford other managers the opportunity to make a counter bid.
  
  Foreign transfers will unlimited during the off season and 2 during the season. The exact dates of the two transfer windows during the season is to be confirmed.
  

Player Releases wrote:
Managers may choose to release players from their clubs, for which they will be offered compensation

Compensation will be paid as follows

£2 million – current international (must have played international rugby in the previous 12 months)
£1.5 million – former international
£1m – top flight experience
£0.5m – other

If a released player plays in real life for a team outside of this game he will be deemed to have returned to that team. If not then he will be deemed to have signed for a Championship side. If another manager wants to pick a released player up, they will have to bid for him in the same way as for a foreign or Championship/National League player.

Retirements wrote:
There will be no compensation for retiring players. Should a player who retires decide to come out of retirement and play again, then he will automatically go back to the club who he was playing for in the game when he retired.

Fixtures wrote:
There will be 22 Aviva Premiership games per season, plus the play offs. There will also be Heineken Cup, Amlin Challenge Cup and Anglo Welsh Cup matches. These games will take place once a week. A thread will be put up for managers to name their teams on Thursdays, then on Fridays, managers will post the scores that they think will happen from these games (apart from games in which they are involved). An average of all predictions will be taken, and then 0.5 points added to each teams score for each prediction that had them as the winner, and that will then be the final score.

Teams wrote:
When naming your team, not only should you put the starting XV and replacements, but also tactics that your team will employ. Results will be affected by the tactics described.

In addition, each team must have the following:-

At least 10 England qualified players in your matchday 23, and at least 5 of those must be in your starting XV.

At least 2 props and 1 hooker on the bench.

All players must be eligible (not injured or banned).

Failure to comply with these rules will result in forfeiting the match and a 1 league point deduction.

If you fail to submit a team for a match, then the other team will be automatically awarded a 30-0 bonus point win. If both teams fail to submit a team, then it will be scored as a 0-0 draw.

Injuries and Suspensions wrote:
Injuries in this game do NOT reflect real life, they will be generated by me.

Players banned in real life will be ineligible for selection in this game for the duration of the ban.

Inclusion of injured/banned players will result in them being replaced by players on the bench, and the bench not having eight players, which may result in punishment if it concerns the front-row.

Punishment for fielding an ineligible player will be loss of one match point for a first offence, two for a second offence and so on.

Financial Rewards wrote:
There will be no rewards for the result of an individual match, instead the managers will receive cash for predicting.

£1.5m for descriptive predictions
£0.25m for scores on the doors predictions
If you fail to predict without first advising me that you are unable to do so that week, you will be fined £1m for a first offence, £2m for a second offence, £3m for a third offence etc.

AP finishing positions.

Champions: 8m
Runners Up: 6m
Playoff Semi Finalist Losers: 5m
5th: 4m
6th: 3.5m
7th: 3m
8th: 2.5m
9th: 2m
10th: 1.5m
11th: 1m
12th: 0.5m

Heineken Cup

Losing Quarter Finalists - £2 million each
Losing Semi Finalists - £3 million each
Runners Up - £4 million
Champions - £5 million

Amlin Challenge Cup

Losing Quarter Finalists - £1 million each
Losing Semi Finalists - £2 million each
Runners Up - £3 million
Champions - £4 million

Anglo-Welsh Cup

Losing Semi Finalisst - £1 million each
Runners Up - £2 million
Champions - £3 million


If your budgets falls below minus £10 million for any reason, the administrators (ozzy3213) will step in and players from within your squad will be released for the relevant financial compensation in order to bring your budget back above minus £10 million.

Luke Burgess or Jimmy Cowan available for a similar quality backrower

Ashton cited for tackle on Artimiev......£100 says the RFU don't ban him.

Prop I will take you up on that bet mate...

(you know he's been banned for the Fiji match right?)

Has he been banned already thern?!

no he hasnt officially yet.

Ah right ok then, so will the RFU 'pull' him out of the Fiji match so he technically serves a ban?

Just me being cynical tbh

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/20154449 just adding fuel to already made fire!!

If Clark gets his temperament under control he could become a very good player for Saints and England. Has that aggressive streak that a lot of our current players dont have. Not sure playing him against Tigers is the smartest move mind...cant remember the last game between those where there hasnt been a mass punch up or incident!

Will be a bit of a stupid move from Mallinder if he involves Clark imo

He is more than a speed
Merchant watch how glos use him coming off his wing in to first receiver against Leicester. Glos are all about fluidity so
You cannot be just a gas man. He goes looking for work regularly

Mallinder would be stupid if he did play him in that game, would add to the atmosphere - though quite happy myself as I didnt realise that he would be back so soon in November. Not sure what his best position is, England could really do with him not being picked as a no6 for Saints though!

He's a definite 6. If he can kick on:

6. Clark
7. Robshaw
8. Morgan

Is a pretty fearsome backrow.

Trouble is though we have Robshaw, Croft, Wood, Haskell who are all genuine no6s - think Robshaw has surpassed expectations of himself as an openside, but his game is still very much of a no6.

A shame that we just produce good players in certain positions but can't find a top class no7 from anywhere.

How's Morgan been playing? Lancaster told him he has to be more consistent with his performances, seen him play a few times this season and he seems to drift out of games a little at times.

I don't think Robshaw is a genuine 6, his game is more of a 7 or 6.5 these days, a bit like how McCaw plays for NZ.

Interestingly he got the most turnovers of any 7 in the summer so must be doing something right.

I wouldn't say Croft or Wood are genuine 6's either tbh. We don't need to pigeon hole players into positions, just need our best combo.

We have the form 7 in Europe right now just plays in the wrong county. Dewi Morris calling for him to be pIcked and to play robshaw at 6.

With armitage I think they are reluctant to play him because he has not done well when picked before.

He is sensational in France. To be fair he does play in a ridiculous pack but is often the standout member of that pack,

He played one or two games in a dire England side. Has massively improved since Toulon. True Matt he has a great pack but like u say stands out and often dominates his opponent 7 and gets alot of motm

Do you think he's improved Nick?

I wouldn't take Armitage at the minute , sends out the wrong message to all the guys currently vying for the 7 shirt to pull someone in from outside and just start them.

Really don't see Lancaster going that way , i deffo wouldn't in his position.

Isn't Armitage the only non-French player to win the Top14 player of the season? Or maybe first Englishman.

He's definitely improved from when I've seen him play in France and has looked good in the HC. Guess he wouldnt be with them training now due to France commitments, so next to impossible to pick him really.

Would like to see some of the young English talent going and training with the main England squad, like Ford, involved in the setup. Will be a big month for Ford I think.

I don't think Armitage won player of the season did he? I know he got an award from one of their sports papers.

Think Wilko has won similar

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/rugby/steffon-armitage-is-best-player-in-france-7753524.html

No Wilko has never won it. Only know about it as know quite a few people who live by Toulon (don't ever go there is a shi t hole) and they are obsessed with the rugby.

"Armitage, who made the switch from London Irish to French rugby’s top flight last summer, edged out Castres’ Chris Masoe and Clermont Auvergne’s Gerhard Vosloo for the honour of the league’s best performer by influential rugby newspaper Midi Olympique"

Close enough for me!

So he got an award from one of the papers not player of the season. I think you need to have a word with your Toulon contacts

I'm sure I've heard he got Players player at some stage. Think it was on sky

He came 2nd, masoe got first. Masoe
Is awesome.

Rugby World's 5 to watch for the HC...

Does anyone have O'Mahony?

IN A competition packed full of Europe’s finest players, certain talents will always stand out. Here are five stars set to make a big impression in this season’s Heineken Cup:

Peter O’Mahony

Ireland’s young blindside, cum lock, followed up an impressive breakthrough season with Munster by going on tour to New Zealand and holding his against the world’s best side, the All Blacks. Hugely competitive when it comes to the contact area, his prowess at the breakdown has won him plenty of plaudits throughout last year and O’Mahony will be at the core of Munster’s assault on Europe this term.

George North

Dubbed the “Welsh Jonah Lomu” North has a lot to live up to after cementing himself as one of the world’s biggest stars. Last season his reputation was enhanced by several star turns during the Rugby World Cup and Six Nations. In simple terms, his imposing 6″4, 17 stone frame will always cause damage to opposition defences, yet he has soft hands and a remarkable agility for his size. With five tries in as many games in the Pro 12, the wing will surely make a big impact if the Scarlets pack can provide him with enough ball.

Steffon Armitage

The Top 14 Player of the Year last season according to respected rugby bible Midi Olympique, Armitage’s move to the Côte d’Azur has been an unqualified success. Toulon are desperate to be part of Europe’s elite and having lost both the Top 14 and Amlin Challenge Cup Finals last season, they will be hungrier than ever for some silverware to line flamboyant owner, Mourad Boudjellal’s trophy cabinet. An outside bet for a spot on the 2013 Lions tour, Armitage’s stellar form has so far been ignored by England but performing on the big stage can only boost his chances.

Stuart Hogg

Undoubtedly Scotland’s find of the Six Nations last season, Hogg is an exciting talent either at full-back or on the wing. Seen by man as the long-term option in the No 15 shirt, the 20-year old has returned ahead of schedule after an ankle operation in August and dazzled last season with his excellent footwork, pace and ability to find space. Part of a Glasgow side looking to emulate Edinburgh’s achievements in last season’s Heineken Cup, expect to find him regularly crossing the whitewash.

Dylan Hartley

Just named the Aviva Premiership Player of the Month, Hartley has had made an explosive start to the new season leading Northampton to the top of the league. Such have been his inspirational displays as captain of the Saints that he’s being talked about as a candidate for the England captaincy. His bravery has come at a cost, however, as he recovers from a hairline fracture of the eye socket picked up against Wasps. Once back fit and firing, expect Castres, Glasgow and Ulster to be sick of the sight of him by the end of the Pool stages.

http://www.espnscrum.com/lions-tour-2013/rugby/story/171947.html

its very unlikely but say Sheridan and the Armitages play and star for the Lions and we win, and have been overlooked by England for the year, does that make Lancaster and co look a bit stupid?

Hi Chaps

What would people think of me playing Deon fourie at 7. he has been outstanding in super 15 and currie cup there?

Interested in feedback

Think Sheridan should have been considered due to issues in the front row - he's looked good in France

wouldnt mark you down for it but depends who else plays in the backrow. needs to be in a unit that works.

That Hartley write up is a joke.

Seen as he's made no impression they've really missed the mark.

No issue with Fourie at 7 Matt, he looks better there than hooker tbh. I don't think he was outstanding in S15 though, more he got by. Done well in CC but its not a high standard of rugby really.

How do you think our game (Sale v Irish) tomorrow night Nick/Pete?

I'm a little concerned with our side. We are sacrificing our attacking talent (Miller and Brady on bench) for a much less enterprising side. Pack is a risky one as well with Harrison and Buckley as props.

I'm not massively confident mate, we always seem to struggle with Friday night games.

I think if we play like we did v Quins and Saints we should win but anything less it will be a very close game.

Our scrum has been immense recently, we've had the better of Saints, Quins and both French sides so reckon we can get on top there. Your backrow is decent though. Also depends what kind of a game Cipriani has.

Its a massive game for us. We can't afford to let you win as then its a considerable gap to haul back.

Diamond likely on his last life now. Never his fault for what happens.

Its must win for you.

Wont be the end of the world if we lost it as imagine we can get a lot of home wins against sides like Exeter, Wasps, Worcester and Welsh.

Still think Welsh will struggle to win many more. Couple of injuries to key players and they will be up against it. Couple of wasps mates said Henson was terrible on the weekend.

I didnt realise it was already 8 points. You take a 5- 0 win and I suspect we wont be able to reclaim that gap unless somebody implodes

To be honest mate the way we have been playing we wont finish 11th. Top 6 may be too much of a stretch but 8th is realistic.

Think Welsh will be the team you catch, maybe Worcester.

Irish look pretty good lately, seem to have turned a corner.

Hope Sale fight back and Welsh, Worcester or Wasps implode.

good news for me that Quins have re-signed Evans.

Seen that, great news.

Told you he's stay lol

Steve, I think if our pack get on top then our backline will possuibly cut you to ribbons, whereas I am not certain your backline carries as much attacking threat.

I am nervous though, as nick has said, we don't do Friday night games very well, and if our pack slip below the level they've performed at in recent weeks then we will get beat.

Defensively our backs are okay untill you start creating gaps. Tagi and Armitage aren't going to knock our centres backwards but they could quite easily dance round them.

Our pack needs a huge performance. Not worried by your pack but slightly by the scrum.

yeh we dont have a particuarly daunting pack, but we have had a very good set piece this season especially in recent weeks.

Shame for us that o'Leary is injured as he has been brilliant and his combo with iHumph was starting to look quality.

Humph has looked tasty the last few weeks.

Was really surprised with your scrum, tortured Quins.

I was expecting Aulika to give Marler a hard time as he has been on fire in recent weeks but what suprised me was Lahiff causing JJ trouble.

Lahiff was a terrible scrummager last year, his positioning was all over the place and even playing for Welsh in the championship he was getting battered. Glenn Delaney has completely sorted him out. he is freakishly strong so now he has improved his technique and positiong he has massively improved. could be in line for a saxons call up.

cant wait to have corbs back as well, will make our scrum even better.

Delaney has improved Lahiff's technique massively. His body position is a lot better. He is getting both his hips and shoulders lower than he was last season. He used to be very upright and just tried to rely on his strength, but now he is starting from a better position he is finding it a lot easier to get the upper hand. Really impressed with what Delaney has done with our scrum.

If we get parity up front I think our backs have more points in them than Sale's do. My main concern in our backs is in defence, where we are lacking a real defensive organiser/leader.

we havent had that since Mapusua left Pete.
Sa might be able to do that if he ever arrives.

Hape was a decent defender but hardly played any games.
Anyone know how he is getting on in France??