Aviva Premiership Round Eight

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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 Worcester Warriors
Location - Sandy Park
- Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind

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Exeter Chiefs

Manager – Luke

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Sam Harrison
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Loius Deacon	11. Gonzalo Camacho
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Steve Mafi	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Cory Jane
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Neil Clark 18. Hoani Tui 19. James Hanks 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Paul Sackey

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, Beast, 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, Jane and Nacewa on the ball when we can.

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

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

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Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Will Genia
02. Stephen Moore	10. Dan Carter
03. Tevita Taumeopeau
04. George Robson	11. David Strettle
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Matt Hopper
07. Michael Hooper	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Ed Shervington 17. George Porter 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Gerhard Mostert 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Shaun Perry 22. George Ford 23. Jordan Turner Hall

Look for lots of strong carries from the forwards, nothing to complex in the conditions. Look to drag away defenders and find holes to exploit

Carter and Genia will look to control the game and our tempo. Genia will look to mix it up with his sniping runs

Look to be strong in the line out and if we can get an advantage then look to aim for corners with the boot.

Look to put pressure on at the breakdown. Morgan and Haskell will look to clear out bodies so Hooper can get himself involved

Blitz defence with Will Genia chasing

Pressure on Sam Harrison who we feel will struggle with the pressure in such a big game

Look to get Kurtley Beale involved in the action and running at defenders

Nonu will look to back up the likes of Morgan and Marler with strong carries

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Harlequins v Gloucester
Location - Twickenham Stoop
- Light rain, 9 degrees, 12mph wind

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Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Marcos Ayerza	09.Luke Burguss
02.Joe Grey	10.Morne Steyn(k)
03.James Johnstone
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.George North
05.Mauritz Botha	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Tom Croft	13.Jared Payne
07.Chris Robshaw (c)	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendonan

16.Chris Budgen 17.Nathan Morris 18.John Smit 19.Alistair Hargreaves 20.Hienrich Brussouw 21.Richard Wrigglesworth 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Hudson Tonga'uhia


Big pack to get ontop the Gloucester front 5 and put them under the cosh at the Scrum and rucks with plenty of impact from the bench.

Scrummage for 80 minutes with strong scrummagers on the bench to come on if need

Steyn to test Glaws backs 3s position game with Kicks in behind with North and AAC chasing with neither being on the small side.

Fofana to take the ball flat and look to feed Payne by pulling defenders in.

Croft to run our lineout which Robshaw works hard in the tight.

Denton and Burguss to keep the tempo high with tap and goes and making Irish work hard in defense making tackles and tiring them out.

Blitz Defence to stop Gloucesters backs playing with Burguss sweeping behind

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Gloucester

Manager – prop_lyd

01.Nick Wood	09.Dimitri Yachvilli
02.Darren Dawiduk	10.Freddie Burns (k)
03.Adam Jones
04.Sam Whitelock	11.JSD
05.Jim Hamilton	12.Mike Tindall
06.Akapusi Qera	13.Henry Trinder
07.Sam Cane	14.Charlie Sharples
08.JVN (c)	15.Pat Lambie

16. Rory Best 17. Dan Murphy 18. Rupert Harden 19. Will James 20. Luke Narraway 21. Dan Robson 22. Jamie Roberts 23. Johnny May

Tactics

We have picked a big front 5 who are used to wet rugby to retain good ball and a quality backrow who bring a bit of everything to the game. Burns is in good form and will look to use Tindall as a pivotal player for his offloading and our back three can attack from any space given. One the bench we have 4 players who are already internationals and all can make a huge impact when brought on. We ran Leicester close and will take this frustration out on Quins.



Forwards

*Experienced front row who will look to dominate the set piece and Jones will be the anchor, we will go up on Jones' side and won't go backwards....we go up, forward and down but not backwards. Best coming on will bring extra quality to the team as he settles in.

*2nd rows are two strong players who will look to control the lineout and to put pressure on their back 5 in the scrum with confrontational play.

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



Backs

* Yachvilli to snipe when space but to release Burns and Tindall when possible, he will go for goal when in range,

* Tindall and Trinder to hit hard and will have a winger on his shoulder at all times and also look for JVN to break through the defence,

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

* A fast back 3 here who will always look for work and are strong in defence and under the high ball.



Defence

*Tindall to lead this,

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

*Contest at the breakdown and all set piece.

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Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
Location - Welford Road
- Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind

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Leicester Tigers

Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismark Du Plessis	10. Toby Flood
03. Dan Cole
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Digby Ioane
05. Geoff Parling	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willam Alberts	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Jamie George 17. Martin Castrogiovani 18. Alex Corbisiero 19. Ed Slater 20. Maurie Fa’saivalu 21. Karl Dickson 22. James O’Connor 23. Jordan Turner-Hall

Tactics:

SCRUM SAINTS OFF THE PARK WITH TOP DRAW STARTING AND BENCH TO GIVE 80MINS SCRUM POWER

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.

In the damp conditions look to target scrum and keep ball in so can get squeeze on opposition. See us having a big advantage here so will look to exploit.

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

Flood/Barnes 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
- 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/Alberts to marshal breakdown and slow/turnover opp ball
- Target scrum all game and take points on offer

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Northampton Saints

Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Aaron Smith
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Stephen Myler
03. Brian Mujati
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. JP Pietersen
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Samu Manoa 20. Calum Clarke 21. Lee Dickson 22. Ryan Lamb 23. Jamie Elliot

Key Points

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 key so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload when it’s on 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 Smith & Myler and force Tigers 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.

• We want to keep things simple and use Bekker, Wood and Read as banker ball at the lineout. We will look to bring the ball down into the maul and use the physicality of our pack to drive us 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 Tigers momentum before it can get going.

• Smith 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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London Welsh v Bath
Location - The Kassam Stadium
- Light rain, 8 degrees, 13mph wind

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London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans
03. Dave Wilson
04. Paul O'Connell (C)	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Dean Mumm	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Jamie Gibson	14. Horacio Agulla
08. Nick Easter	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Rhys Gill 17. Craig Mitchell 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Steve Borthwick 20. Ashley Johnson 21.Will Chudley 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics
The Kassam is our fortress, and we will never make it easy for any team to come and play here.
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

• James and Wilson are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possession for our backs. We have strong props on the bench as well, so we should not be outclassed throughout the game
  
  
• With a strong lineout, O'Connell will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Mumm jumping in the middle. If winning own ball POC will look to cut the lineout to five, to allow Easter to get a chance to run at the defence in open field.
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Bath' ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• The backrow will target the Bath halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball, which will lead to them rushing and making handling errors and mistakes.
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing Bath from setting any defensive lines and moving the point of attack. Pienaar will direct traffic with the forwards. Using quick pods systems outside the guards of the rucks.
  
  
• Off any first phase possession, the blindside winger will come in to create options off Evans so that it can keep Bath guessing to whether we will go wide, or cut against the grain.
  
  
• We will look to test the Bath back three with Pienaar's clever box kicking and Evans throwing the odd bomb in. Their back three can be got at here as they won't be the best defensively, and their urge to attack will find them short in most cases. All kicks will be chased.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game. To get an advantage in the scrum, and collisions with big impact players.
  
  
• Pienaar will kick all points, he can kick from within our ten, so this indicates that Bath should be wary of giving away penalties.
  
  
• We are in a good form and this will allow the whole team to act with confidence in everything they do. The Red steam roller won't stop all game.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens (c)
02. L.Mears	10. J.Hook (k)
03. O.Franks
04. S.Hooper	11. K.Eastmond
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (lk)
06. S.O'Brien	13. C.Laulala
07. F.Louw	14. T.Bowe
08. S.Kalamafoni	15. I.Dagg

16. A.Perenise 17. R.Batty 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20. C.Fearns 21. C.Cook 22. O.Barkley 23. T.Biggs

TACTICS TBC

General
- Key players back in the lineup, with Franks adding stability at the scrum and Dagg and Bowe adding real attacking threats in the back three. Biggs and Fearns to make a noticeable impact after 60 mins.

- 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 Hook 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 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

- Big impact bench, with the likes of Perenise, Catt, Fearns, Caldwell providing ball carrying options up front. Bowe and Fearns will wreak havoc in the last 20 minutes, as the space opens up. Real advantage over the opposition in terms of bench options

Forwards
* 2 World class scrummaging props on show, so we will look to pressurise the opposition scrum immensely and force penalties, substitutions and maybe sinbins
* Louw and SOB released to play as out and out flankers, linking play. Kalamafoni provides the physicality off the back of the scrum in defence and attack
* 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 as in real life and look to pressurise opposition hooker and compete at every throw.
* Use ball carriers of Franks, Attwood, O'Brien, Kalamafoni 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
* Dagg 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 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.

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Sale Sharks v London Irish
Location - Salford City Stadium
-Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind

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Sale Sharks

Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Aaron Cruden
03.Davit Kubriashvilli
04.Yoann Maestri	11.Charlie Amesbury
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.Nathan Charles 17.Logovoi Muliopla 18.Henry Thomas 19.Dean Schofield 20.Schalk Burger 21.Scott Mathie 22.Johan Goosen 23.Luther Burrell

Tactics
We are going to play a game that revolves around our big front 5. We beleive we can get an advantage at scrum time not only because of our front row but because of our bulky 2nd row which compared to their lightweight 2nd row will give us a big advantage.

When we have got some go forward ball we will release our exciting backline, with Davies being used as a mixture of a decoy runner and a big basher. JJ will look to utilise the space and take advantage of Hopper's defensive frailties.

Amesbury and Brady will both come of their wings on occasion and look to run supporting lines.

Lineout. Gaskell is our lineout leader, and will call the lineout. Other jumpers include Maestri, Garvey and Crane.

Defence - We are going to use a blitz defence to put Ford under as much pressure as possible. We will also use our big ball carriers to run at him early on to unsettle him.

Subs - We have some great impact from the bench most of which means we'll be able to really push on after the 60 mins mark.

Our big ball carriers will target Cooper's defence.

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London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Brock James
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Tom Palmer	12. Daniel Bowden
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Tom Homer (k)
08. Imanol Harinordoquy	15. Delon Armitage

16. James Buckland, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Leo Halavatau, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Liam Messam, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Quade Cooper, 23. Regan King

Tactics
- Few changes for today's rainy encounter. James gets the nod at 10, we're looking for him to dictate the game.

- Play in their half all day - there are few sides that can score against us from 60+ metres so it limits their threat straight away.

- Really have a go at Sale in the scrum. Set a decent platform to attack from and gain some confidence. 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.

- 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 Sale's tired legs.

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Saracens v London Wasps
Location - Vicarage Road
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Saracens

Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson (c.)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Charlie Matthews	11. Leigh Halfpenny
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Richie McCaw	14. Vereniki Goneva
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Alex Goode

16. Matt Mullan 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Carlos Nieto 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Will Fraser 21. Ben Spencer 22. Harry Leonard 23. Drew Mitchell

Tactics-

We welcome back McCaw amongst others today. Because Kelly and Richie will be away in the AIs, Hodgson will be captain today to get experience for that period whilst having experienced captains like McCaw and Brown here to support him and run the pack. We will approach the breakdown as a unit, with McCaw fetching, Vunipola clearing out and Brown doing whichever is necessary (mostly clearing). Weather depending we will play running rugby, spreading quick ball to Hodgson playing flat and getting the ball to Allen as prime attacker with Smith running support lines. We will also have Brits between 10 and 12 to run the crash ball pop at their FH. Goode to join the line as another option at first receiver and we won't be afraid to throw the occasional mis-pass to include the wingers or switches to keep the defence on their toes. If ball is slow, use drives and carries in pods of 3 with carriers like the Vunipolas, Kepu, Brits, Ryan and McCaw. Use the rolling maul and Parra can decide when kicking is appropriate. I want our back row all over Wasps' ball. If Billy V gets tired, move Richie to 8 and bring on Fraser and really target the breakdown even more with 3 quality potential 7s on the pitch. The weather's not great so if there are errors, tighten it up as we have a good pack with a wolf-pack mentality and plenty of class kickers to play a kicking game

Defence- blitz, led by Conrad Smith. Watch the fringes off rucks.

Run back kicks, there should be plenty, and chase down all of our own. We will look to compete for every ball in the air, McCaw is key there.

36 is on form so let's stop him getting the ball. We can do this by pressurising Farrell with the back row, and Parra will look to constantly be at Care's feet to stop him getting in the game. Watch out for quick taps and always have a man guarding the fringes of rucks. If need be, man-mark Care.

Take advantage of Fourie's lack of recent top level rugby by getting Smith, the best centre in the world, to run at him frequently. I'm looking for a dual effort from Richie and Kelly to keep Dus quiet

Lineout- mix up our options, Ryan to call, if they are doing well on their ball, stop competing in the air, let them take it then hit them hard, drive over the ball and steal it that way. Play smart.

Scrum- really put the pressure on here, we have class replacements if we need them so don't be afraid to put the effort in as we can cover for tiredness. Get Billy running off scrums to setup back row moves. We should really dominate here.

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London Wasps

Manager – CF

01. Tim Payne	09. Danny Care
02. Dimitri Swarzeski	10. Owen FArrell
03. Matt Stevens
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. Richard Haughton

16. Boris Stankovich 17. George Chuter 18. Nicolas Mas 19. Jacques Burger 20. Shane Geragthy 21. Jimmy Gopperth 22. Joe Ansbro 23. Mark Cueto

FARRELL RETURNS FROM INJURY!

Owen Farrell returns to the side after injury this week and slots back into the no10 jersey for this crucial game against sarries

We will look to run the ball this week, we have powerful ball carriers and people who can run quickly with the ball..Twelvetrees is in brilliant form and will look to carry that on...Danny Care is another player in sublime form and confidence will be high, he will be look to run with the ball at times, whilst also looking for quickball at the breakdown. At the lineout Swarzeski has had a couple of shaky weeks but he will look to regain form here, by being solid at the lineout..Forwards will look to carry the ball, but know that getting quick ball to the backs will also be vital here..

Farrell will play 60 mins as we step up his come back slowly with Geraghty replacing him...Chuter and Cueto will come on after 70 mins

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Marcos Ayerza	09.Luke Burguss
02.Joe Grey	10.Morne Steyn(k)
03.James Johnstone
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.George North
05.Mauritz Botha	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Tom Croft	13.Jared Payne
07.Chris Robshaw (c)	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Dave Denton	15.Nick Abendonan

16.Chris Budgen 17.Nathan Morris 18.John Smit 19.Alistair Hargreaves 20.Hienrich Brussouw 21.Richard Wrigglesworth 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Hudson Tonga'uhia


Big pack to get ontop the Gloucester front 5 and put them under the cosh at the Scrum and rucks with plenty of impact from the bench.

Scrummage for 80 minutes with strong scrummagers on the bench to come on if need

Steyn to test Glaws backs 3s position game with Kicks in behind with North and AAC chasing with neither being on the small side.

Fofana to take the ball flat and look to feed Payne by pulling defenders in.

Croft to run our lineout which Robshaw works hard in the tight.

Denton and Burguss to keep the tempo high with tap and goes and making Irish work hard in defense making tackles and tiring them out.

Blitz Defence to stop Gloucesters backs playing with Burguss sweeping behind

Worcester Warriors

Manager – InTheFastLane

01. Joe Marler	09. Will Genia
02. Stephen Moore	10. Dan Carter
03. Tevita Taumeopeau
04. George Robson	11. David Strettle
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Maa Nonu
06. James Haskell	13. Matt Hopper
07. Michael Hooper	14. Marcel Garvey
08. Ben Morgan	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Ed Shervington 17. George Porter 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Gerhard Mostert 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Shaun Perry 22. George Ford 23. Jordan Turner Hall

Look for lots of strong carries from the forwards, nothing to complex in the conditions. Look to drag away defenders and find holes to exploit

Carter and Genia will look to control the game and our tempo. Genia will look to mix it up with his sniping runs

Look to be strong in the line out and if we can get an advantage then look to aim for corners with the boot.

Look to put pressure on at the breakdown. Morgan and Haskell will look to clear out bodies so Hooper can get himself involved

Blitz defence with Will Genia chasing

Pressure on Sam Harrison who we feel will struggle with the pressure in such a big game

Look to get Kurtley Beale involved in the action and running at defenders

Nonu will look to back up the likes of Morgan and Marler with strong carries

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Charlie Hodgson (c.)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Charlie Matthews	11. Leigh Halfpenny
05. Donnacha Ryan	12. Anthony Allen
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Richie McCaw	14. Vereniki Goneva
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Alex Goode

16. Matt Mullan 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Carlos Nieto 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Will Fraser 21. Ben Spencer 22. Harry Leonard 23. Drew Mitchell

Tactics-

We welcome back McCaw amongst others today. Because Kelly and Richie will be away in the AIs, Hodgson will be captain today to get experience for that period whilst having experienced captains like McCaw and Brown here to support him and run the pack. We will approach the breakdown as a unit, with McCaw fetching, Vunipola clearing out and Brown doing whichever is necessary (mostly clearing). Weather depending we will play running rugby, spreading quick ball to Hodgson playing flat and getting the ball to Allen as prime attacker with Smith running support lines. We will also have Brits between 10 and 12 to run the crash ball pop at their FH. Goode to join the line as another option at first receiver and we won't be afraid to throw the occasional mis-pass to include the wingers or switches to keep the defence on their toes. If ball is slow, use drives and carries in pods of 3 with carriers like the Vunipolas, Kepu, Brits, Ryan and McCaw. Use the rolling maul and Parra can decide when kicking is appropriate. I want our back row all over Wasps' ball. If Billy V gets tired, move Richie to 8 and bring on Fraser and really target the breakdown even more with 3 quality potential 7s on the pitch. The weather's not great so if there are errors, tighten it up as we have a good pack with a wolf-pack mentality and plenty of class kickers to play a kicking game

Defence- blitz, led by Conrad Smith. Watch the fringes off rucks.

Run back kicks, there should be plenty, and chase down all of our own. We will look to compete for every ball in the air, McCaw is key there.

36 is on form so let's stop him getting the ball. We can do this by pressurising Farrell with the back row, and Parra will look to constantly be at Care's feet to stop him getting in the game. Watch out for quick taps and always have a man guarding the fringes of rucks. If need be, man-mark Care.

Take advantage of Fourie's lack of recent top level rugby by getting Smith, the best centre in the world, to run at him frequently. I'm looking for a dual effort from Richie and Kelly to keep Dus quiet

Lineout- mix up our options, Ryan to call, if they are doing well on their ball, stop competing in the air, let them take it then hit them hard, drive over the ball and steal it that way. Play smart.

Scrum- really put the pressure on here, we have class replacements if we need them so don't be afraid to put the effort in as we can cover for tiredness. Get Billy running off scrums to setup back row moves. We should really dominate here.

Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens (c)
02. L.Mears	10. J.Hook (k)
03. O.Franks
04. S.Hooper	11. K.Eastmond
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (lk)
06. S.O'Brien	13. C.Laulala
07. F.Louw	14. T.Bowe
08. S.Kalamafoni	15. I.Dagg

16. A.Perenise 17. R.Batty 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20. C.Fearns 21. C.Cook 22. O.Barkley 23. T.Biggs

TACTICS TBC

General
- Key players back in the lineup, with Franks adding stability at the scrum and Dagg and Bowe adding real attacking threats in the back three. Biggs and Fearns to make a noticeable impact after 60 mins.

- 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 Hook 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 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

- Big impact bench, with the likes of Perenise, Catt, Fearns, Caldwell providing ball carrying options up front. Bowe and Fearns will wreak havoc in the last 20 minutes, as the space opens up. Real advantage over the opposition in terms of bench options

Forwards
* 2 World class scrummaging props on show, so we will look to pressurise the opposition scrum immensely and force penalties, substitutions and maybe sinbins
* Louw and SOB released to play as out and out flankers, linking play. Kalamafoni provides the physicality off the back of the scrum in defence and attack
* 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 as in real life and look to pressurise opposition hooker and compete at every throw.
* Use ball carriers of Franks, Attwood, O'Brien, Kalamafoni 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
* Dagg 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 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.

Big one Johnny!!!

After the current purple patch in all competitions London Welsh now face one of the league favorites Bath. Director of Rugby Flux has named a virtually unchanged team from last week has he looks to maintain his teams impressive run of form intact. The changes in the pack are the experienced Paul James and England hopeful David Paice both come into the front row, also along with Jamie Gibson who comes into the side at openside. In the backs the only change is the return of Hugo Southwell for Ben Ransom at fullback.

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans
03. Dave Wilson
04. Paul O'Connell (C)	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Dean Mumm	12. Brad Barritt
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. Jamie Gibson	14. Horacio Agulla
08. Nick Easter	15. Hugo Southwell

16. Rhys Gill 17. Craig Mitchell 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Steve Borthwick 20. Ashley Johnson 21.Will Chudley 22. Dominic Waldlouck 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics
The Kassam is our fortress, and we will never make it easy for any team to come and play here.
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

• James and Wilson are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possession for our backs. We have strong props on the bench as well, so we should not be outclassed throughout the game
  
  
• With a strong lineout, O'Connell will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Mumm jumping in the middle. If winning own ball POC will look to cut the lineout to five, to allow Easter to get a chance to run at the defence in open field.
  
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. Collectively we will look to (legally!) slow down Bath' ball as much possible, only committing men to rucks if the turnover is on.
  
  
• The backrow will target the Bath halfbacks, allowing them no time on the ball, which will lead to them rushing and making handling errors and mistakes.
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing Bath from setting any defensive lines and moving the point of attack. Pienaar will direct traffic with the forwards. Using quick pods systems outside the guards of the rucks.
  
  
• Off any first phase possession, the blindside winger will come in to create options off Evans so that it can keep Bath guessing to whether we will go wide, or cut against the grain.
  
  
• We will look to test the Bath back three with Pienaar's clever box kicking and Evans throwing the odd bomb in. Their back three can be got at here as they won't be the best defensively, and their urge to attack will find them short in most cases. All kicks will be chased.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game. To get an advantage in the scrum, and collisions with big impact players.
  
  
• Pienaar will kick all points, he can kick from within our ten, so this indicates that Bath should be wary of giving away penalties.
  
  
• We are in a good form and this will allow the whole team to act with confidence in everything they do. The Red steam roller won't stop all game.

01.Nick Wood	09.Dimitri Yachvilli
02.Darren Dawiduk	10.Freddie Burns (k)
03.Adam Jones
04.Sam Whitelock	11.JSD
05.Jim Hamilton	12.Mike Tindall
06.Akapusi Qera	13.Henry Trinder
07.Sam Cane	14.Charlie Sharples
08.JVN (c)	15.Pat Lambie

16. Rory Best 17. Dan Murphy 18. Rupert Harden 19. Will James 20. Luke Narraway 21. Dan Robson 22. Jamie Roberts 23. Johnny May

Tactics

We have picked a big front 5 who are used to wet rugby to retain good ball and a quality backrow who bring a bit of everything to the game. Burns is in good form and will look to use Tindall as a pivotal player for his offloading and our back three can attack from any space given. One the bench we have 4 players who are already internationals and all can make a huge impact when brought on. We ran Leicester close and will take this frustration out on Quins.



Forwards

*Experienced front row who will look to dominate the set piece and Jones will be the anchor, we will go up on Jones' side and won't go backwards....we go up, forward and down but not backwards. Best coming on will bring extra quality to the team as he settles in.

*2nd rows are two strong players who will look to control the lineout and to put pressure on their back 5 in the scrum with confrontational play.

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



Backs

* Yachvilli to snipe when space but to release Burns and Tindall when possible, he will go for goal when in range,

* Tindall and Trinder to hit hard and will have a winger on his shoulder at all times and also look for JVN to break through the defence,

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

* A fast back 3 here who will always look for work and are strong in defence and under the high ball.



Defence

*Tindall to lead this,

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

*Contest at the breakdown and all set piece.

also along with Jamie Gibson who comes into the side at openside.

You have Will Welch listed fella.


Best of luck Prop , our games always seem to hinder some importance no matter what league we are in lol.

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Luke

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Sam Harrison
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Loius Deacon	11. Gonzalo Camacho
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Steve Mafi	13. Richard Kahui
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Cory Jane
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Neil Clark 18. Hoani Tui 19. James Hanks 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Paul Sackey

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, Beast, 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, Jane 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.

It's just because we dislike each other Driver

Cheers Driver

Conditions:

Sandy Park - Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind
Twickenham Stoop - Light rain, 9 degrees, 12mph wind
Welford Road - Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind
The Kassam Stadium - Light rain, 8 degrees, 13mph wind
Salford City Stadium - Light rain, 7 degrees, 14mph wind
Vicarage Road - Light rain, 8 degrees, 12mph wind

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Aaron Smith
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Stephen Myler
03. Brian Mujati
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. JP Pietersen
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. Steven Kitshoff 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Samu Manoa 20. Calum Clarke 21. Lee Dickson 22. Ryan Lamb 23. Jamie Elliot

Key Points

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 key so our carriers will be looking for support runners to hit on the offload when it’s on 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 Smith & Myler and force Tigers 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.

• We want to keep things simple and use Bekker, Wood and Read as banker ball at the lineout. We will look to bring the ball down into the maul and use the physicality of our pack to drive us 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 Tigers momentum before it can get going.

• Smith 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.

London Wasps

Manager – CF

01. Tim Payne 09. Danny Care
02. Dimitri Swarzeski 10. Owen Farrell
03.Matt Stevens
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. Richard Haughton

Replacements: 16.Chuter 17.Mas.18.Stankovich 19.Burger 20.Gopperth 21.Geraghty 22.Cueto 23.Ansbro

FARRELL RETURNS FROM INJURY!

Owen Farrell returns to the side after injury this week and slots back into the no10 jersey for this crucial game against sarries

We will look to run the ball this week, we have powerful ball carriers and people who can run quickly with the ball..Twelvetrees is in brilliant form and will look to carry that on...Danny Care is another player in sublime form and confidence will be high, he will be look to run with the ball at times, whilst also looking for quickball at the breakdown. At the lineout Swarzeski has had a couple of shaky weeks but he will look to regain form here, by being solid at the lineout..Forwards will look to carry the ball, but know that getting quick ball to the backs will also be vital here..

Farrell will play 60 mins as we step up his come back slowly with Geraghty replacing him...Chuter and Cueto will come on after 70 mins

Format CF????

Do we have to do this every week??

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismark Du Plessis	10. Toby Flood
03. Dan Cole
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Digby Ioane
05. Geoff Parling	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willam Alberts	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Warburton(c)	14. Christian Wade
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Jamie George 17. Martin Castrogiovani 18. Alex Corbisiero 19. Ed Slater 20. Maurie Fa’saivalu 21. Karl Dickson 22. James O’Connor 23. Jordan Turner-Hall

Tactics:

SCRUM SAINTS OFF THE PARK WITH TOP DRAW STARTING AND BENCH TO GIVE 80MINS SCRUM POWER

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.

In the damp conditions look to target scrum and keep ball in so can get squeeze on opposition. See us having a big advantage here so will look to exploit.

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

Flood/Barnes 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
- 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/Alberts to marshal breakdown and slow/turnover opp ball
- Target scrum all game and take points on offer

Sale Sharks

Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Aaron Cruden
03.Davit Kubriashvilli
04.Yoann Maestri	11.Charlie Amesbury
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.Nathan Charles 17.Logovoi Muliopla 18.Henry Thomas 19.Dean Schofield 20.Schalk Burger 21.Scott Mathie 22.Johan Goosen 23.Luther Burrell

Tactics
We are going to play a game that revolves around our big front 5. We beleive we can get an advantage at scrum time not only because of our front row but because of our bulky 2nd row which compared to their lightweight 2nd row will give us a big advantage.

When we have got some go forward ball we will release our exciting backline, with Davies being used as a mixture of a decoy runner and a big basher. JJ will look to utilise the space and take advantage of Hopper's defensive frailties.

Amesbury and Brady will both come of their wings on occasion and look to run supporting lines.

Lineout. Gaskell is our lineout leader, and will call the lineout. Other jumpers include Maestri, Garvey and Crane.

Defence - We are going to use a blitz defence to put Ford under as much pressure as possible. We will also use our big ball carriers to run at him early on to unsettle him.

Subs - We have some great impact from the bench most of which means we'll be able to really push on after the 60 mins mark.

Our big ball carriers will target Cooper's defence.

London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Brock James
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Tom Palmer	12. Daniel Bowden
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Tom Homer (k)
08. Imanol Harinordoquy	15. Delon Armitage

16. James Buckland, 17. Max Lahiff, 18. Leo Halavatau, 19. Simon Shaw, 20. Liam Messam, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Quade Cooper, 23. Regan King

Tactics
- Few changes for today's rainy encounter. James gets the nod at 10, we're looking for him to dictate the game.

- Play in their half all day - there are few sides that can score against us from 60+ metres so it limits their threat straight away.

- Really have a go at Sale in the scrum. Set a decent platform to attack from and gain some confidence. 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.

- 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 Sale's tired legs.

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Page Updated - Predos Open

Exeter Chiefs 18 Worcester Warriors 11

Front 5 is massive here and the chiefs will be dominate here with Moore and Taum not the greatest of scrummages and Afoa more than capable to keeping Marler quite. Kitchener and Robson on par with Chiefs purely on form with Horwill not playing since Super rugby round 2. Back rows are pretty close , Hooper is biggest name but Armitage more than capable of stealing the ball a few times. Mafi shades Haskell with Joubert and Morgan the same. 9/10 goes to Wuss but Genia lacks real world form and Wilko is on fire. Centres 1 a piece but Chiefs better back 3.

Leicester Tigers 21 Northampton Saints 19

Tigers better in front row but lack brute at 4 to really dominate this area , I'd play Alberts at 4 and Fasa at 6. back rows even but Wood not in best of form so loses out just to Warburton. 9/10 is a split one with Smith just above Youngs atm and Flood above Myler. Centres are a draw at 12 but SBW would get some joy running at barnes who is a ankle snapper which would let SBW offload a bit more. Tuilagi just above Pisi. Back 3 wings are a draw and Kearney above Foden. Strong tactics as always from SJE keeps them right in this game.

London Welsh 14 Bath Rugby 18

Welsh have a pretty grizzly front 5 but Bath pack plenty of muscle and will start to dominate as this game goes on. Back rows goes to Bath with SOB and Louw miles above TJ and Gibson. 9/10 is slightly in the Welsh favour but Classens and Hook are both playing well. Centres are a draw but back 3 can see Bath bagging a try or 2.

Sale Sharks 12 London Irish 12

Draw wrote all over this one for me , sides both have strong spines. Irish are set up for an away day. James at 10 will put them in some corkers of positon and a powerful front 5 will keep them there. Pocock could prove vital winning the ball on the deck. Too tough to call this one. Great scrum the sharks have though.


Will do Saracens later.

Driver Horwill got injured on the 26th May...

Hmmm , thought it was earlier than that.

Got injured vs Brumbies - week 14 or something.

Saracens 26 London Wasps 18

Saracens have a good pack and could dominate the scrum , Vunipola is on fire at 1 whilst Stevens can't get a look in at the moment. Szarweski is a poor scrummager aswell. Back rows goes to Sarries. Half backs go to Saracens with outside backs the same. Wasps do have tactics which arn't on thread. They're all about throwing the ball around and Farrell at 10 won't let them do this.

Chiefs 15 - 14 Worcs
Chiefs get a really good shove on at scrum time and have the edge in the second row as well. Back rows are pretty even, maybe edged to Worcs.

Half backs go to the away team, by quite a way. Centres about even, but prefer Exeter's back three.

Worcs really aren't far away from a win here and I think a big TH would make a huge difference to their side. Chiefs have enough at home and creep though via Wilko's boot

guys just to let you know, i have posted tactics but for some reason they arent at the top with the rest of my side.

I forgot to add them mate, will add them.

Exeter Chiefs 17-13 Worcester Warriors
Good front row from both with Chiefs getting a bit more. Evens in the 2nd row but Horwill's experience will help. 2 great backrows on show here but Chiefs will get more at the breakdown. 9-10 to Warriors but Wilko will do the job. Centres to Warriors. Back 3 to Chiefs. Think the Chiefs pack will win this.

Leicester Tigers 24-22 Northampton Saints
Front row just to Tigers. Prefer their 2nd row but Saints will hold their own here. Back rows are very good but Warburton's form hinders a bit for Tigers. 9-10 to Tigers with Myler the stand out. SBW is losing a bit of ratings now but Saints still have enough to draw even with Tigers here. 2 very good backrows. Feel Tigers have a bit more on the bench which will take it.

London Welsh 16-18 Bath Rugby
Bath will gain the edge come scrum time. 2nd rows to Welsh for their international quality, Attwood hitting good form though. Bit more in the backrow from Bath. 9-10 more quality from Welsh with more control. Prefer the Bath centres. 2 good back threes, not sure about playing Bowe right away mind. Overall I think Bath will just have too much.

Sale Sharks 12-10 London Irish
Front rows to Sharks here and they have more in the 2nd rows too. Backrow to Irish by quite a bit with a nice balance. Prefer the Irish 9-10 but centres to Sharks. Good from both back threes with no major stand outs here. 2 good impact benches with both substitute sh's stand out weaknesses. Think that the front 5 will take this low scoring game.

Saracens 22-18 Wasps
Sarries dominate the front row here. See the 2nd rows as even with Wentzel good at lineouts. Bit more in Sarries back row with Brown and Vunipola in good form but Wasps will hold their own here. 9 to Wasps but 10 to Sarries. Centres even in 12T in great form. Haughton the one weakness in the back three but both sets of wingers doing well. Bit more impact on bench from Sarries and they'll take a snatch and grab win here.

Exeter Chiefs 19-15 Worcester Warriors

Don’t see much of an edge at scrum time to either side but see Worcester getting at the lineout a bit. Bit more around the park from the Chiefs front 5. Cracking back row battle don’t see either side taking a backwards step in contact but Chiefs will pick up more from the breakdown. Worcester are a step up at halfback with Genia a class above Harrison. Worcester peerless in the league at 9-10-12. Outside of 12 though Chiefs a lot stronger. From the bench Chiefs to take control in the front 5 and keep up the good work at the breakdown. See Worcester doing a lot of good stuff with the ball but struggling a bit for clean possession and they haven’t the pack to win away against a strong Chiefs outfit.

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Harlequins 20-18 Gloucester Rugby

Great scrum battle but see Quins struggling at the lineout with no real leader on show. Quins front 5 will get through more graft around the park. In the back row Quins with a bit more carrying wise. Glaws will turn a bit more ball over though. Halfbacks to Glaws with Burns in cracking form. From 11-15 Quins with more on show with some great form in midfield in particular at the moment. Not much difference between the benches overall. Quins get just that bit more out of the pack battle and at home win a tight affair.

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London Welsh 19-24 Bath Rugby

Not an awful lot difference at the scrum but Welsh have a bit more at the lineout. Nothing between the front 5s around the park. Bath with the better balance in the back row and have the stronger carriers and should turn a bit more ball over. Halfbacks shade to Welsh with one of the best units in the league but Bath are no slouches here. Bath are stronger 11-15 for me. See Bath getting a bit more control from the bench in the backs but Welsh will get more of the set piece. See the Bath back row as the difference here and they will give their halfbacks the better platform.

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Sale Sharks 24-22 London Irish

Sale with a very powerful front 5 can get on top at the scrum in this one. Irish with a little more at the lineout but Sale should just about hold their own ball in the conditions. Neither back row has the greatest form. Irish have the bigger names but won’t get on top at the moment. More for Sale from 10-13 particularly in midfield with some good form. More in the back three for Irish. See Irish getting a bit more on the score board in the final quarter with a strong bench. Both sides should see some decent ball but Sale will use it that bit better with their 10-13 the difference in Salford.

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Saracens 20-14 London Wasps

Neither side are the strongest at the scrum but both have great jumping options at the lineout. On form there is a bit more to the Sarries back row with a strong flanker pairing but neither side is going to get on top here. Halfbacks go to Sarries. Care is the star man for me but can’t see a Care/Farrell combo working well in real life. 11-15 there is a bit more to Sarries overall with Fourie not holding much rating at the moment. Balance of the Wasps bench is questionable while Sarries give a better feel for the game plan in tactics. Better game plan at home sees Sarries win.

Exeter 19-20 Worcester

Not much in the set piece but form issues for Exeter in Webber & Horwill pull them back a bit. Worcester just edge backrow but two strong units on display. Amazing halfback combo for Worcester but some good form for Wilko for Exeter. Backs really close and two really good teams on display. This one is really close but I think Worcester have a little more form and will sneak this dispite Exeter strong at home.

Harlequins 24-22 Gloucester

Nothing in two strong front row units. Grizzly engine room from Quins with just enough to hold own lineout. Fantastic backrow units and again nothing between them. Little bit of form issues in the halfbacks in Yach & Steyn but not a lot between them. Quins just ramp it up a bit in the backs and with home advantage just seal the win.

Welsh 20-20 Bath

Again not a whole lot in the scrum with two good units although Bath have plenty about around the park in Franks & Healy. Big step up in the egine room for the home team with POC the standout dominating the lineout, Attwood has looked pretty tasty lately but not in same class. Backrows really tight too with TJ & Louw and Easter in fantastic form. SOB holds class but lost from and I just think this evens the battle out. Fanatstic halfback combo from Welsh and will really get that backline going. Steyn, Dagg and Bowe fantastic for Bath but Welsh are no mugs and will be really competitive. Great game this one and I just can't see past a draw.

Sale 19-18 Irish

Good scrum battle siding to the home side with some good form. Can see Irish getting some joy at the lineout though with no real quality jumper for Sale. Loads of carrying in the Sale engine room, really like the grunt. Irish 7/8 suffering slight from issues but a class above the Sale pair. Cruden will be massive for Sale and vital in a tight game although the backs battle is really tight with tow good units. Sale just edge centres and Irish back 3. Another really tight game with Crudne's boot just saving Sale.

Saracens 23-20- Wasps

Not much in the front 5's with Sarries just edging scrum, Mas would have swayed it to Wasps. Really strong backrows to both teams with Sarries looking much stronger with McCaw back. Sarries just have a little more in the backs, especially with Fourie hard to rate and will seal the win.

Quins 17 - 22 Glos
Quins have the edge up front, probably edging the LH and and hooker battle for me. Best will make a big difference later on and level this up though. Prefer the Glos second row, as Botha and Etzebeth lack some carrying and Whitelock in great form and him and big Jim have good lineout skills. Not much in the back rows. Glos half backs winning here with Burns great form. I thought that I was going to give this to Quins, but on reflection Glos win here. Glos backs in good form, JSD and Tindall especially. Don't rate Morne that much and think Payne should be at 15, AAC at 13 to get the best out of those players. Not a fan of AAC on the wing, would play Short there.

Tigers 16 - 16 Saints
Two great scrummaging units on show. In fact, four great scrummaging units if you include the bench. Not much in it for me, some suffering from injury, some not at the top of the game, so levels out. Prefer the Saints second row, two of my favourite locks. Tigers no slouches though. Back rows again pretty even, Read the standout based on consistent amazing form. Warbs quiet at the moment, but so is Ferris I guess. Half backs go to the Tigers, real shame Sexton/Smith hasn't happened yet (bet it there in time for when I play them! Sods law!)

Think that the Tigers back three can really be got at defensively, especially the wings, with Digby fresh in the team and not a great defender and neither is wade. Mind you, JP also new, but still think he has the experience. SBW will have some real fun with Barnes as well.

Really hard one to predict, massively even throughout. Bench maybe to Tigers just with home advantage, but good tactics from SJE.

Exeter vs Worcester- 20-20

Quins vs Gloucs-24-22

Tigers vs Saints- 20-21

Welsh vs Bath-20-20

Sale vs Irish-27-18

Chiefs 20 - Worcester 20
Evens up front and in the scrum, lineout goes to Exeter though. Pretty even at the breakdown. More carrying power in Worcester's pack, just about. Harrison means Worcester win at HB, with some ease, but the centres are fairly even too. Slight edge to Chiefs in the back 3. Carter and Wilko to have a grand kicking duel, which would be close, and a very physical contest which neither side can quite grab. A draw.
Quins 24- Gloucester 25
Little between the tight 5. Edge to Quins in the front row, so maybe they win the scrum. Glorious back rows if everyone were on form. However, Croft has been a medium term injury, and Denton is playing a tenth as well as last season, so despite Robshaw looking as reliably class as ever, Gloucester take this area and the breakdown. Quins get the lineout though. Burns is on fire and like his pairing with Yachvili, so this area goes to Gloucester too. Quins edge the outside backs though. Both sides playing tight and kicking, the right move, and both similarly good at it. Thought Quins would win this, but Gloucester's tactics are a bit more detailed and convince me they'd snatch the win.
Tigers 28- Saints 29
Big match, class front rows, think Tigers take the scrum though. Evens at the lineout. Warbs off form, Ferris constantly injured so evens in the backrow too, where Tigers have more power but maybe lose on the floor, just. Tigers edge the HBs as Smith is still new and Flood/Youngs is a known combo and better than Myler who isn't all that. Glorious outside backs, both sides fantastic pairings, but SBW and Pisi might expose the Tigers' defence and it's the slightly better defence from Saints that wins this one. Terrifying benches on both sides though.
Welsh 21- Bath 24
Front row goes to Bath. Second row to Welsh. Back rows even, but breakdown to Welsh, lineout yo Welsh too. HBs to Welsh too. Centres just to Bath (close) back 3 evens. Bath nick defence and just scrape tge win away, ESP with bench.
Sale 17- Irish 23
Front row to Sale who take second row too with a beastly tight 5. Back row easily to Irish ESP breakdown. HBs to Sale, Centres to Sale just, back 3 to Irish. Bench to Irish an with their attack they win it

Feedback potentially to follow depending on availability

Exeter Chiefs 22 - 17 Worcester Warriors

Set-pieces will edge towards the Chiefs, with Horwill leading the line. Collision wise, it will be a bit more even has Wuss are more handy in this department. However the form of Armitage in the Exeter will negate some of the ball carrying of Wuss. Halfbacks obviously Warriors have their first choice out, and will unnerve the young Harrison. However overall the Chiefs backline has a better balance to it and will score tries. Both good benches put I-Humph coming on will only secure a solid home win.

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Leicester Tigers 35 - 32 Northampton Saints

The tight battle will edge towards Tigers, with Tonga and Mujati waning in powers compared to the younger Tigers props. Through out Saints will match the physicality and I feel will have a bit more grizzled ball carrying around the rucks. But tigers are no slouches, but most of their carriers will carry outside the forwards guards. Lineout wise Parling helps rule the skies for Tigers, but Bekker is just as good if not better adding a bit more carrying. Outwdie, for this sort of pressure game I can only see the Tigers pair not falling foul to mistakes. Myler and Smith will play well, but will be prone to making a mistake under the pressure of Alberts and Warbs. Again outwide it is pretty much even, Manu will be stopped by SBW and Pisi. Only qualm is JP being thrown in so soon. On the benches Tigers will take the win, as at home against them, you're up against it through the 80 minutes.

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Harlequins 23 - 21 Gloucester

Great battle up front, with the spoils going to both sides. Lineout will go towards Quins with the ability of Eztebeth and Croft in there, it'd be difficult not to win any ball. Collision wise, again it'd be even. With probably the two best backrow units collectively on show they would just negate one an other. Halfbacks can see the edge towards Glos, with the form of Burns providing a cutting edge. However past that in the back line Quins get the upper hand with the form of Payne, North and Fofana. Bench wise, Glos are stronger, but are too late to make an impact as the Quins machine would already be in full flow.

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Sale Sharks 18 - 14 London Irish

Great physical front five goes to Sale, but they suffer slightly at the lineout, with the lack of a line out leader against Palmer. Back-row there is great balance in the Irish unit. The Sharks unit are solid, but will be underwhelmed by the Irish one. Halfbacks are edged towards Sale with the form of Cruden a pin point of the advantage. Irish have a solid combo, but can be got at quite easily. Centres just to Sharks, with the form of Bowden and Rougerie slightly down. Backthree to Irish, but Sale still handy here. Win goes to Sale though, at home with a physical pack, and a good half back combo.

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Saracens 29 - 18 London Wasps

Sarries have dominance up front, and will have some power in the lineout and at the breakdown. Wasps have a great backrow and will get some joy from the lineout, but the issue in the scrum, will put them out of place in some situations. The halfbacks are in Sarries favour with both in a rich vein of form, however Care and Farrell are not fairing to badly! But with most of the Sarries starters back in the team, I can't see past them at home.

Sharks 14 - 19 Irish
Front five again goes to Sharks, I love the hard edge to that pack, it's old school, no messing around! Lineout does lose out to a specialist like Palmer though, despite Gaskell at 6. Back row an area of weakness for Sale, especially with names of Pocock and Hari. Not much in the half backs. Outside backs go to Irish with more form and class. Irish will do more with the ball that they have.

Saracens 23 - 15 Wasps
Saracens stronger throughout the team. Centres would be great if Fourie playing S15 and back row of Wasps is close, but good form from Brown and Billy V also. Have serious concerns for the Wasps unit in the scrum and no huge brute in the second row for ballast. Parra / Hodgson my fave combo on here and I worry about Haughton at FB. Wasps not a bad side by a long way, but crying out for a scrummager or a dependable full time FB in my view.

Quins 28-27 Gloucester
Tigers 31-28 Saints With Sexton this game would be so so tough
Welsh 17-19 Bath
Sale 22-18 Irish
Sarries 26-20 Wasps

Exeter 19 Worcester 17
Quins 21 Gloucester 18
Tigers 26 Saints 25
Welsh 18 Bath 22
Sarries 22 Wasps 18

Results:

Exeter Chiefs 21-18 Worcester Warriors
Harlequins 26-23 Gloucester Rugby
Leicester Tigers 28-25 Northampton Saints
London Welsh 18-24 Bath Rugby
Sale Sharks 21-18 London Irish
Saracens 28-18 London Wasps

Bonuses:

Full: Driver, Bathite, Prop, SJE, Pooly, CJ & Fluxy
Half: CF, CJB & Ollie

I miss Sexton
I'll get you next time Pooly!

Haha....I'm sure you will mate

Bonus point, not bad! Didn't think I'd win against you Bathite!

another defeat...

Ah man...close Driver!!

CF: it does take time...I was getting hammered week in week out in the other game when I first took over and now, after building up a squad and getting tactics right I'm causing some upsets.....unless I'm playing Pooly who just seems to smash me in each game.

Poor loss for me..

Bonus point on the road is always a decent result Pull