Fantasy Heineken Cup Round Five

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P1 Racing Métro 92 vs. Gloucester

Racing Metro 92

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Sebastien Descons
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Olly Barkley
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Karim Ghezal	11. Juan Imhoff
05. francois van der Merwe	12. Alexandre Dumoulin
06. Antoine Batut	13. Guillaume Bousses
07. Bernard Le Roux	14. Sireli Bobo
08. Jacques Cronje (c)	15. Gaetan Germain

16. Thomas Bianchin 17. Julien Brugnaut 18. Juan Pablo Orlandi 19. Jone qovu Nailiko 20. Mathieu Belie 21. Juan Martin Hernandez 22. Camille Gerondeau 23. Alvaro Galindo


Gloucester
Manager - Mat

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Adrian Strauss	10. Dan Carter
03. Rupert Harden
04. Tom Palmer	11. Jonny May
05. Richie Grey	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Andy Saull	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Iain Balshaw

Subs: 16. Guthro Steenkamp 17. Jamie Johnstone 18. Joe Gray 19. George Robson 20. Stephen Ferris 21. Conor Murray 22. RyanLlamb 23. Israel Dagg

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P1 Edinburgh vs. Munster

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P2 Ospreys vs. Saracens

Ospreys

01. Ryan Bevington	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Dan Biggar
03. Campbell Johnstone
04. Ian Gough	11. Eli Walker
05. James King	12. Ashley Beck
06. Ryan Jones	13. Andrew Bishop
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Ross Jones
08. Joe Bearman	15. Richard Fussell

16. Scott Baldwin 17. Duncan Jones 18. Adam Jones 19. Lloyd Peers 20. George Stowers 21. Rhys Webb 22. Matthew Morgan 23. Tom Issacs


Saracens Football Club
Manager – DHLS07

01. Matt Mullan	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit (c)	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Mark Cueto
05. Louis Deacon	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Joe van Niekerk	13. Jean de Villiers
07. Liam Gill	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Elliott Daly

16. George Chuter 17. Max Lahiff 18. Werner Kruger 19. Rob Simmons 20. Phil Dowson 21. Jean-Marc Doussain 22. Francois Trinh-Duc 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics

- Very much a traditional South African game plan as adopted by Heyneke Meyer.

- Big emphasis on the forwards dominating their opponents with their physicality. Be abrasive and niggly and get under the skin of the Ospreys forwards.

- Tight forward dominated game with big carriers punching holes in the Ospreys defence.

- Kick/Chase game using our wingers to hunt the ball as it drops and if the opposition winger takes it to wrap him up in the tackle and isolate him to either win us the turnover or the penalty.

- Really go for it on turnover ball and get the ball through the hands and exploit the disorganised defence.

- Use Daly's cannon of a boot to play in the Ospreys half of the pitch.

- Solid defensive line with Liam Gill either stealing or slowing the ball at the breakdown.

- If we are going through the phases and getting nowhere near to the Ospreys twenty-two then take the drop goal and the three points.

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P2 Toulouse v Benetton Treviso

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P3 Newcastle Falcons vs. Northampton Saints

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. Lee Mears	10. Toby Flood
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Lowe
07. Richie McCaw©	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Kieran Read	15. Alex Goode

16. Augustin Creevy 17. Owen Franks 18. Soane Tonga’uiha 19. Ed Slater 20. Tom Croft 21. Luke Burgess 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Miles Benjamin

TACTICS:

HOME ADVANTAGE - WON EVERY GAME IN OVER 2 YEARS. LOOKING to BEAT SAINTS FOR 2ND TIME IN 2 WEEKS AFTER BONUS POINT WIN LAST WEEK

Game plan...Fast paced, high intensity, offloading, dynamic rugby. We’ll be aiming to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will play flat and look to get our backline into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.

Set piece:

In the good conditions look to get the ball in and out for Youngs/Flood to attack with. Look for fast ball off the top of the lineout with Kruger making the calls. If weakness seen in either set piece we’ll look to exploit. Look to exploit the Saints props throughout game. Barcella will look to work Munipola over from the off.

Pack & Breakdown:

Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our backrow will target the breakdown and look to get in a second tackler to tie up the opposition carriers. Youngs will wait for the call and look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot.

DEFENCE:

Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow out backrow to dominate affairs. Thorn/Robshaw in particular will look to hit the ruck hard and remove attempted turnovers from the equation allowing us to ruck over the ball and control the breakdown. Robshaw/McCaw will look to target the opposition scrum half early on and pressure his ditribution. Youngs to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Backs:

Basically get the backs into play whenever possible with halfbacks the spark. Goode will act as second playmaker and come into the line to mix things up. Look to get Bowe & Cuthbert into the game whenever possible. Youngs to play on instinct around the fringes and look to get SBW in on the draw and release to use his power through the middle.


POINTS:

PHYSICAL PACK – Win the collosion and target rucks to drive through opposition
8/9/10 combo – All world class players who can dictate tempo of game
BREAKDOWN – Backrow to work their magic and Youngs to monitor to attack on turnover ball
FORM – We are in great form in the league with a great bonus point win over Saints lack week
ROLLING MAUL – With our big front 5 look to get the rolling maul going off selected lineouts and eat up the ground
TARGET SAINTS HALFBACKS – Look for McCaw and backrow to rough Simpson up. He likes to go himself so we’ll look for this and tie him causing slow ball and no scrum half or the turnover
HARTLEY & SCRUM – Look to wind him up throughout. With two props that can be get at will look to drive Saints up and make Hartley pop out of scrum. Thorn to lock down behind PDJ and steady the TH allowing Barcella to work on Munipola who’s not a strong scrummager.
SAINTS 9-13 There is little in terms of distribution in the Saints 9-13 line up. If we target them quickly in defence we can stifle any attack as there is no playermaker in the backs.


Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Loti Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Chris Ashton
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Cane	14. Julian Savea
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

Subs: 16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Ben Tameifuna 19. Calum Clark 20. Liam Messam 21. Mike Phillips 22. Matt Giteau 23. Christian Wade

Tactics: Will play a fast paced, high intensity game based on power and a focus on getting over the gainline and securing front foot ball to attack with.

• Attack: We have a team of gainline breakers and our tactics are about being patient, going through the phases and working the Falcons defence, which has not changed from last week. Fofana. Tuilagi and Savea will be the go to men and Lowe stands out as an obvious weaklink to attack (espc as SBW hasn’t been playing top class rugby).

Inform Simpson to add spark around the fringes. Will be playing the Clermont style of power rugby in the backline and attack off turnover ball.

Take points when they are on offer.

• Defence: We’ve picked a very solid defensive team – two top class defensive and mobile locks and will look to get them hitting rucks before Kruger/Thorn reach them. Cause Newcastle issues around the fringes of any breakdown&disrupt Youngs service.

Rock solid defensive unit in midfield and will play a blitz defence and force Falcons into mistakes/turnovers. Simpson sweeping behind defensive line.

• Set piece: Targeting Mears as a weak link in the Falcons setpiece, have two fresh props in the front row having been rested from last week. And two strong scrummagers to come on early in second half. Lineout have chance to assert some dominance with the world class Bonnaire calling the shots and generating fast ball with 4 great jumpers. Launch and Lawes to attack the Falcons lineout, which has lost Parling who had been calling the shots for most of the season.

• Breakdown: Cane starts to provide Saints with a genuine openside to attack the breakdown. Will use more dynamic second row as a way of getting numbers to breakdown early and clearing out Falcons, have selected Fofana and Tuilagi at 12/13 due to their work&power at the breakdown too. Look to challenge at every opportunity and force Falcons into committing numbers into this area if they want the ball.

• Power: Will be playing a game based on power, keeping hold of the ball and getting ourselves over the gainline – Vunipola, Mulipola, Launchbury, Lawes&Parisse are the go to men in the pack, with Hernandez feeding Fofana, Tuilagi&Savea – Ashton/Halfpenny to live off any linebreaks&important clearing out the breakdown.

Key Points:
• Clermont Style: Will copy Clermont style, based on power and getting over the gainline.
• Physical/Mobile Pack: Look to get to breakdowns/rucks faster than Falcons.
• Mears in scrum: Will aim a lot of pressure at Mears at scrum time - bring Domingo&Tameifuna on early in second half, top scrummaging props who can add to the game – keeping our pack fresh.
• Impact bench: All impact players and can change games.
• Fresher players: Rested key players from last weeks game to really target the HC this week – 4 new faces in the pack and two power runners in the backs.
• Target Youngs/Flood/Lowe: Will look to get at Youngs, his form has been very hit and miss and if we disrupt him then impacts whole Newcastle game. Flood been sidelined for 4 weeks, thrown straight back into action with no gametime, put pressure on him. Also aim attacks at Lowe.
• Unbeaten in Europe: Targeting HC glory, just one point shy of maximum points.
• Real life form: Most Saints players are in great form real life – all but one English in EPS.

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P3 Zebre vs. Biarritz Olympique

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P4 Leicester Tigers v Castres Olympique

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Michael Claasens
02. Tom Youngs	10. Frederic Michalak (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Simon Shaw	11. Isa Nacewa
05. Geoff Parling	12. Dominic Waldouck
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Rene Ranger
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert (c)	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Stephen Moore 18. Brian Mujati 19. Pascal Pape 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Micky Young 22. Jonny Wilkinson 23. Maxime Mermoz


Castres Olympique

01. Mihaita Lazar	09. Thierry Lacrampe
02. Mathieu Bonello	10. Remi Tales
03. Michael Coetzee
04. Matthias Rolland (c)	11. Marcel Garvey
05. Iosefa Tekori	12. Remi Lamerat
06. Jannie Bornman	13. Romain Cabannes
07. Yannick Caballero	14. Paul Bonnefond
08. Pedrie Wannenburg	15. Romain Teulet

16. Brice Mach 17. Karena Wihingi 18. Saimone Taumoepeau 19. Christophe Samson 20. Ibrahim Diarra 21. Thomas Sanchou 22. Daniel Kirkpatrick 23. Brice Dulin

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P4 Ulster Rugby v Glasgow Warriors

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P5 ASM Clermont Auvergne v London Irish

ASM Clermont Auvergne

01. Raphael Chaume	09. Morgan Parra
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Brock James
03. Davit Zirakashvili
04. Jamie Cudmore	11. Napolioni Nalaga
05. Nathan HInes	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Julien Bonnaire	13. Aurelien Rougerie (c)
07. Julien Bardy	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Damien Chouly	15. Lee Byrne

16. Ti'i Paulo 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Daniel Kotze 19. Loic Jacquet 20. Alexandre Lapandry 21. Ludovic Radoslavjevic 22. David Skrela 23. Regan King


London Irish
Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Jean-Baptiste Poux	09. Julien Dupuy
02. Andrew Hore	10. Lionel Beauxis
03. WP Nel
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marlande Yarde
05. Dean Mumm	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Marcel Coetzee	13. Conrad Smith
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Tom Homer
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Delon Armitage

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Adam Jones 18. Grant Shiells 19. Nick Kennedy 20. Alex Grey 21. Niel De Kock 22. Shane Geraghty 23. JP Pieterson

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P5 Leinster Rugby v Scarlets

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P6 Harlequins v Montpellier

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Francois Houghard
02. Matthew Rees	10. Greg Laidlaw (k)
03. Ben Franks
04. George Kruis	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Andre Taylor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Jerome Thion 20. Carl Fearns 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Luke Morahan

Tactics

usual stuff really. Keep possession, carry hard up front and tie in defenders. When we get quick ball we look to get the ball wider. Looking for the TBP against a French side which doesn't travel well and is without its big stars. Going for 5 pointers from the start.


Montpellier

01. Yvan Watremez	09. Julien Tomas (c)
02. Rassie van Vuuren	10. Sanitago Fernandez
03. Juan Figallo
04. Mickael Demarco	11. Yoan Audrin
05. Aliki Fakate	12. Paul Bosch
06. Alexandre Bias	13. Matt Carraro
07. Kelian Galletier	14. Timoci Nagusa
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Martin Bustos Moyano

16. Mickael Ladhuie 17. Na'ama Leleimalefaga 18. Barry Fa'amausili 19. Thibault Privat 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Eric Escande 22. Shontayne Hape 23. Benjamin Thiery

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P6 Toulon v Cardiff Blues

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Round 2 Chris

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Joe Marler	09. Francois Houghard
02. Matthew Rees	10. Greg Laidlaw (k)
03. Ben Franks
04. George Kruis	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Andre Taylor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Jerome Thion 20. Carl Fearns 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Luke Morahan

Tactics

usual stuff really. Keep possession, carry hard up front and tie in defenders. When we get quick ball we look to get the ball wider. Looking for the TBP against a French side which doesn't travel well and is without its big stars. Going for 5 pointers from the start.

Leicester Tigers have made 8 changes to the side that beat Worcester 28-23 last week.

Tigers currently occupy 2nd position in their Heineken Cup Group behind in-form Ulster, and will be looking to gain maximum points from their two remaining fixtures against Castres and Glasgow Warriors.

Ernst Joubert skippers the side in the absence of James Horwill and Brian O'Driscoll.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Michael Claasens
02. Tom Youngs	10. Frederic Michalak (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Simon Shaw	11. Isa Nacewa
05. Geoff Parling	12. Dominic Waldouck
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Rene Ranger
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert (c)	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Gethin Jenkins 17. Stephen Moore 18. Brian Mujati 19. Pascal Pape 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Micky Young 22. Jonny Wilkinson 23. Maxime Mermoz

Saracens Football Club
Manager – DHLS07

01. Matt Mullan	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit (c)	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Mark Cueto
05. Louis Deacon	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Joe van Niekerk	13. Jean de Villiers
07. Liam Gill	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Elliott Daly

16. George Chuter 17. Max Lahiff 18. Werner Kruger 19. Rob Simmons 20. Phil Dowson 21. Jean-Marc Doussain 22. Francois Trinh-Duc 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics

- Very much a traditional South African game plan as adopted by Heyneke Meyer.

- Big emphasis on the forwards dominating their opponents with their physicality. Be abrasive and niggly and get under the skin of the Ospreys forwards.

- Tight forward dominated game with big carriers punching holes in the Ospreys defence.

- Kick/Chase game using our wingers to hunt the ball as it drops and if the opposition winger takes it to wrap him up in the tackle and isolate him to either win us the turnover or the penalty.

- Really go for it on turnover ball and get the ball through the hands and exploit the disorganised defence.

- Use Daly's cannon of a boot to play in the Ospreys half of the pitch.

- Solid defensive line with Liam Gill either stealing or slowing the ball at the breakdown.

- If we are going through the phases and getting nowhere near to the Ospreys twenty-two then take the drop goal and the three points.

Northampton Saints team to play Newcastle
Manager – Dammit Chris

The Saints lineup sees two new props, the return of Launchbury and playing Sam Cane at openside to reinvigorate the pack with Fofana and Savea into the backline a move that adds some great gainline breakers into the Saints attacking arsenal.

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Juan Martin Hernandez
03. Loti Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Chris Ashton
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Cane	14. Julian Savea
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

Subs: 16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Ben Tameifuna 19. Calum Clark 20. Liam Messam 21. Mike Phillips 22. Matt Giteau 23. Christian Wade

Tactics: Will play a fast paced, high intensity game based on power and a focus on getting over the gainline and securing front foot ball to attack with.

• Attack: We have a team of gainline breakers and our tactics are about being patient, going through the phases and working the Falcons defence, which has not changed from last week. Fofana. Tuilagi and Savea will be the go to men and Lowe stands out as an obvious weaklink to attack (espc as SBW hasn’t been playing top class rugby).

Inform Simpson to add spark around the fringes. Will be playing the Clermont style of power rugby in the backline and attack off turnover ball.

Take points when they are on offer.

• Defence: We’ve picked a very solid defensive team – two top class defensive and mobile locks and will look to get them hitting rucks before Kruger/Thorn reach them. Cause Newcastle issues around the fringes of any breakdown&disrupt Youngs service.

Rock solid defensive unit in midfield and will play a blitz defence and force Falcons into mistakes/turnovers. Simpson sweeping behind defensive line.

• Set piece: Targeting Mears as a weak link in the Falcons setpiece, have two fresh props in the front row having been rested from last week. And two strong scrummagers to come on early in second half. Lineout have chance to assert some dominance with the world class Bonnaire calling the shots and generating fast ball with 4 great jumpers. Launch and Lawes to attack the Falcons lineout, which has lost Parling who had been calling the shots for most of the season.

• Breakdown: Cane starts to provide Saints with a genuine openside to attack the breakdown. Will use more dynamic second row as a way of getting numbers to breakdown early and clearing out Falcons, have selected Fofana and Tuilagi at 12/13 due to their work&power at the breakdown too. Look to challenge at every opportunity and force Falcons into committing numbers into this area if they want the ball.

• Power: Will be playing a game based on power, keeping hold of the ball and getting ourselves over the gainline – Vunipola, Mulipola, Launchbury, Lawes&Parisse are the go to men in the pack, with Hernandez feeding Fofana, Tuilagi&Savea – Ashton/Halfpenny to live off any linebreaks&important clearing out the breakdown.

Key Points:
• Clermont Style: Will copy Clermont style, based on power and getting over the gainline.
• Physical/Mobile Pack: Look to get to breakdowns/rucks faster than Falcons.
• Mears in scrum: Will aim a lot of pressure at Mears at scrum time - bring Domingo&Tameifuna on early in second half, top scrummaging props who can add to the game – keeping our pack fresh.
• Impact bench: All impact players and can change games.
• Fresher players: Rested key players from last weeks game to really target the HC this week – 4 new faces in the pack and two power runners in the backs.
• Target Youngs/Flood/Lowe: Will look to get at Youngs, his form has been very hit and miss and if we disrupt him then impacts whole Newcastle game. Flood been sidelined for 4 weeks, thrown straight back into action with no gametime, put pressure on him. Also aim attacks at Lowe.
• Unbeaten in Europe: Targeting HC glory, just one point shy of maximum points.
• Real life form: Most Saints players are in great form real life – all but one English in EPS.

Glaws name a strong side to play against a racing metro side who have gone with a second string team
We will target the tbp win

01. Nick wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Adrian Strauss	10. Dan Carter
03. Rupert Harden
04. Tom Palmer	11. Johnny May
05. Richie Grey	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Andy Saull	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jamie heaslip	15. Iain Balshaw

Subs: 16. Guthro steenkamp 17. Jamie johnstone18. Joe Grey19. George Robson 20. Stephen Ferris 21. Connor Murray 22. Ryan lamb 23. Israel Dagg [/quote]

London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Jean-Baptiste Poux	09. Julien Dupuy
02. Andrew Hore	10. Lionel Beauxis
03. WP Nel
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marlande Yarde
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Marcel Coetzee	13. Conrad Smith
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Tom Homer
08. Alex Grey	15. Delon Armitage

16. Tom Lindsay, 17. Adam Jones, 18. Grant Shiells, 19. Dean Mumm, 20. Keegan Daniel, 21. Niel De Kock, 22. Shane Geraghty, 23. JP Pieterson

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Will do my tactics tomorrow morning as haven't seen Pooly's team and as per last week can't do tactics without seeing a team. Hope to get them in for 10am, but seeing clients first thing so might be a little later - hope that is ok!

A few too many tonight, just made it!

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Sgt Pooly

01. Fabien Barcella	09. Ben Youngs
02. Lee Mears	10. Toby Flood
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Brad Thorn	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Lowe
07. Richie McCaw©	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Kieran Read	15. Alex Goode

16. Augustin Creevy 17. Owen Franks 18. Soane Tonga’uiha 19. Ed Slater 20. Tom Croft 21. Luke Burgess 22. Aaron Cruden 23. Miles Benjamin

TACTICS:

HOME ADVANTAGE - WON EVERY GAME IN OVER 2 YEARS. LOOKING to BEAT SAINTS FOR 2ND TIME IN 2 WEEKS AFTER BONUS POINT WIN LAST WEEK

Game plan...Fast paced, high intensity, offloading, dynamic rugby. We’ll be aiming to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will play flat and look to get our backline into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.

Set piece:

In the good conditions look to get the ball in and out for Youngs/Flood to attack with. Look for fast ball off the top of the lineout with Kruger making the calls. If weakness seen in either set piece we’ll look to exploit. Look to exploit the Saints props throughout game. Barcella will look to work Munipola over from the off.

Pack & Breakdown:

Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our backrow will target the breakdown and look to get in a second tackler to tie up the opposition carriers. Youngs will wait for the call and look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot.

DEFENCE:

Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow out backrow to dominate affairs. Thorn/Robshaw in particular will look to hit the ruck hard and remove attempted turnovers from the equation allowing us to ruck over the ball and control the breakdown. Robshaw/McCaw will look to target the opposition scrum half early on and pressure his ditribution. Youngs to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Backs:

Basically get the backs into play whenever possible with halfbacks the spark. Goode will act as second playmaker and come into the line to mix things up. Look to get Bowe & Cuthbert into the game whenever possible. Youngs to play on instinct around the fringes and look to get SBW in on the draw and release to use his power through the middle.


POINTS:

PHYSICAL PACK – Win the collosion and target rucks to drive through opposition
8/9/10 combo – All world class players who can dictate tempo of game
BREAKDOWN – Backrow to work their magic and Youngs to monitor to attack on turnover ball
FORM – We are in great form in the league with a great bonus point win over Saints lack week
ROLLING MAUL – With our big front 5 look to get the rolling maul going off selected lineouts and eat up the ground
TARGET SAINTS HALFBACKS – Look for McCaw and backrow to rough Simpson up. He likes to go himself so we’ll look for this and tie him causing slow ball and no scrum half or the turnover
HARTLEY & SCRUM – Look to wind him up throughout. With two props that can be get at will look to drive Saints up and make Hartley pop out of scrum. Thorn to lock down behind PDJ and steady the TH allowing Barcella to work on Munipola who’s not a strong scrummager.
SAINTS 9-13 There is little in terms of distribution in the Saints 9-13 line up. If we target them quickly in defence we can stifle any attack as there is no playermaker in the backs.

Racing 15-16 Gloucester

Racing tough to break down and have an edge in the pack but Gloucester have some spark in backs and will steal a tough win.

Ospreys 23-27 Saracens

Sarries have went in strong and they'll need it against a decent O's outfit. Probably a bit of try fest.

Tigers 26-18 Castres

Great outfit Castres but Tigers have enough through side to get a good win.

ASM 25-23 Irish

Clermont probabaly the best side in Europe on form and will be a tough game for Irish.

Harlequins 24-17 Montpellier

Another good French outfit but Quins strong at home and enough for win.

Have got tactics up now.

Updated.

Cheers Pete!

Metro 15-23 Glos

Glos’ very strong bench and their backline are a step up of Metro’s. Metro won’t make it easy for Glos though.



Ospreys 15-16 Sarries

Front 5 Sarries will take but it will be a good battle in the back row. Strong forwards bench from O’s too. More quality outside 9-10 to Sarries but O’s have the form h.b’s. Sarries have better backs on bench. Will be a good game but Sarries to get a snatch and grab job.



Tigers 24-10 Castre

That Tigers bench is scary and will put a rather weak looking Castre to the sword.



Clermont 24-21 Irish

Irish come up against and incredibly strong Clermont side who have a fantastic home record. Up front they will match their opponents but it’s from 11-15 that Clermont wills tart to find the gaps, Smith will hold his own but Fofana-Rougerie is a potent attack. Irish go down fighting.



Quins 20-14 Montpellier

Quins win against a rather weakened Montpellier side. Can see Montpellier’s bench having a good impact though.

Falcons 22-22 Saints

Set Piece: Both Loosehead’s will get the edge. Mears will win come scrumtime but Hartley more effective at the breakdown. 2 strong lineout options.

Breakdown: Both teams are incredibly strong here, think McCaw will just edge it against his successor but neither will get much joy and this will be a good but even contest.

HB’s: 9 to Saints and 10 to Falcons.

Attack: Prefer the centres from Saints with Tuilagi up against Lowe. World class finishers from both teams.

Defence: Will be hard to break through either defence, this game will come down to capitalising on errors.

Bench: 2 extremely strong benches here which will benefit both team’s.

Tactics: Both sets are written very well and suit the play, Falcons have the perfect players for an offloading game, not sure Saints targeting Mears will work but they will get joy at targeting Lowe and using their power players.



Personally I really feel this is a hard game to split and both teams have set out fantastic sides. Falcons will get a bit more at the set piece and could get some useful penalties. Saints will have an edge in the backs but Falcons defence hard to break down. Saint shave great form in the cup but Falcons home advantage can’t be sniffed at. I’m going to have to be that annoying person who gives a draw, hope you guys don’t mind and this is why I’ve written an extra explanation for this.

Racing Metro 20-26 Gloucester
There are some good players in the Metro side and they'll be tough up front, especially as they are at home. There isn't really that much between the packs, but it's in the 10-12-13 combination that Gloucester have a big advantage with three world class players. Metro will keep it tight and get a losing bonus point, but those three guys give Gloucester the edge and a good win.

Newcastle Falcons 20-23 Northampton Saints
I won't bother commenting on Mears and Hartley as my comments would be the same as last week, but I will say that there's nothing in the scrum or lineout battle, with Bonnaire and Kruger leading the lineout for both teams, and both having a number of good jumpers, I see a cracking battle with no side really getting a huge edge. I am a massive fan of Brad Thorn, but equally am hugely impressed with Joe Launchbury, especially his work clearing out at the breakdown, and am really struggling to split the teams in this area. Both have sixes who can and have played at sevens, sevens who are great on the deck, and world class eights. As I am typing this I am thinking I would love to see this pack battle in real life. In the half backs the Newcastle pair work well together in style terms and can have some real inspired performances as a pair, but equally have both struggled to reproduce their best form consistently at international level over the last two years. Simpson is in excellent form and a constant threat around the fringes, although I do have a bit of a question mark over Hernandez, who although undoubtedly having the ability to produce world class performances, has rarely done so in recent times. If I was compiling a composite backline from the two teams, based on ability and form, right now it would be Simpson, Flood/Hernandez, Cuthbert, Fofana, Tuilagi, Savea, Halfpenny, so five Northampton players, one from Newcastle and a toss up at 10. On the benches there's nothing between the sides really other than I'd have Wade ahead of Benjamin on current form, although I do like Benjamin as a player. Tactically both teams are sound, but I disagree with the assessment of Newcastle having a world class eight, nine, ten combination to control things as of those players only Read is world class. Looking back over what I am typing it's clear to me that I am edging towards Northampton in a few areas and on that basis I think they can pull of a really good away win here.

Leicester Tigers 30-16 Castres Olympique
Castres are no mugs and always tough to play against, but moreso at home, whereas they are away in this game. I like the Leicester pack which has a bit of everything in it, and I think they can control the game, especially with two very experienced half backs. They possibly lack a powerful carrying option in the backs, but they have some quality players in there and will take this game at home.

ASM Clermont Auvergne 28-22 London Irish
It's very tough to win away at Clermont, and I don't think that Irish have quite enough to do it. There pack is very good and would see them compete and maybe come away with a losing bonus point, but in the backs Clermont have real threat from everywhere, whereas London Irish have Naqalevuki, who although a good player is a little predictable and can be stopped by good teams, and Tom Homer who carries very little threat on one of the wings.

Harlequins 22-17 Montpellier
The scrum battle between Marler and Figallo could be entertaining in this one, but overall Harlequins have more up front and can get on top of Montpellier. I don't know about Laidlaw at ten and think this and a little bit of poor form from the centres means that they'll struggle to get a try bonus point, but the they are a better side than Montpellier here and get the win.

Metro 12 - 20 Glos
Really good forward battle, Gloucester have got good control all the way through in the pack and although they have a few inexperienced players in their team the influence of guys like Carter will be enormous. Great impact bench will see the game out.

Ospreys 15 - 22 Sarries
Ospreys looked a poor side the few times I've seen them and I am sure it was Adam Jones who came out absolutely slating them recently. With world class players in the Sarries side I can see them winning this by a score.

Tigers 28 - 6 Castre
Easy win, Welford Road an absolute fortress, best form in the league and Castre known not to travel well. Then looking at the Tigers bench and it is routine.

Clermont 23-18 Irish
Hardest place to go in Europe now, so great players lining up for Clermont, but Irish will be competitive - just hard to go and win in France and no tactics from Irish make it hard to know how they would play.

Quins 27 - 15 Montpellier
Montpellier haven't put out their best team and you need that to compete with Quins away from home - Quins team has a lot of good try scorers, could do with JJ having a bit more form in midfield, but more than enough in the pack to win at a bit of a canter in Europe.

Metro 22 - 30 Gloucester

Easy really. Gloucester have the stronger side and will show in the score line.

Ospreys 22 - 24 Saracens

Packs to Sarries but they lack jumpers massively at the lineout. Half backs to Ospreys in both positions. Outside backs go to Saracens. Overall they have enough to win the game but its close as Liberty a tough place to win.

Newcastle 24 - 25 Northampton

Scrum goes to Newcastle, lineout is even. As combos I prefer the Saints front 5 in the loose but the Newcastle back row. Parisse v Read worth admission alone and Cane v McCaw just as good. No advantage either way up front. Half backs even with it being one a piece and Simpson in electric form, and the outside backs go to Saints in each position. It is a very tight one, but think Saints have more tries in them and will win the game.

Leicester 23 - 18 Castres

Not easy for Leicester as Castres are a more than capable side but Luke has gone strong enough to win. Teulet's boot gets Castres a LBP with final kick.

Clermont 34 - 23 London Irish

Back row goes to Irish, everywhere else the combos go to Clermont. SOme class in the Irish team but at Clermont you need something special to get the win and I don't think Irish have it here.

Metro 17-28 Glos
Metro missing a few 1st teamers against a strong Glaws side


Ospreys 16-15 Sarries
Sarries midfield will get them over the gain line but Ospreys have the pack to win at home


Tigers 32-15 Castres
Tigers stronger throughout really and at home seal the bonus point


Clermont 19-14 Irish
Irish have the pack to stand toe to toe with Clermont but the french side are a class up at halfback on current form.


Quins 30-15 Montpellier
Montpeiller missing a host of 1st team players struggle at the Stoop

Falcons 22-18 Saints

Scrum: Slight edge to Falcons with more powerful props & Thorn backing up
Lineout: Evens. Both sides should hold their own ball
Breakdown: Slight edge to Falcons. There backrow as a unit gives more here
HB's: Fairly even on current form
Attack: Plenty of carriers on both sides. No creativity from Saints 10/12/13 though
Defence: Both sides more then capable but Tuilagi can get some change out of Lowe at times
Bench: Bit more impact from Tigers and they see some joy at scrum time
Tactics: Both game plans are solid. Saints will become predictable with Simpson taken out of the game though and feel Falcons have enough of an edge at the breakdown to slow down the ball Fofanna/Tuilagi receive

Ospreys 21-26 Saracens

Form players for sarries. Question to win away Is will they win ball? Sarries will. Front row tight and lumpy 2nd row. Great Backrow balance also.

Think ospreys take 9,10 fotuali is in sensational form.

Sarries tactics ruin o's. walker is a talent but defends like matunouve from Toulouse gets bullied. O's back 3 will cough up so much ball sarries win easily

Falcons 18-23 saints

Falcons try and play fast paced game but for me this kills them. Every saints pack member mobile and will relish pace.

Edge saints scrum. Hartley will do mears. Other positions balance out. Saints dynamic second row. Kruger good thorn given some rating although he may be shot.

Great Backrow match up. Parisse vs read immense.bonnaire much better than Robshaw but mccaw better than cane by more.

Simpson form causes problems ten to falcons.

Outside backs is where saints win. Falcons lack creativity. Can see flood passing laterally and backline easy to defend. Falcons like Wales backs huge but easy to defend.

Saints pure balance and variety.

Falcons should have played more compact game

Leicester 38-11 castres

Routine win. Weak castres side. Tbp In 30 mins and tigers may slip off
Intensity but will win easily.

Clermont 22-17 Irish

Confused one Irish team has grey 8 the other has Daniel ?

Clermont a top team but Irish make it difficult
Think Irish win Backrow and also have a solid set up. Great midfield battle and back 3 of clermont deadly.

Parra and a decent platform win it. Closer than on paper as Irish have some real dog and drive

Racing Metro 18 Gloucester 28

Gloucester just have a bit more about them and it's a good away win.


Ospreys 16 Saracens 22

That's a powerful old front 5 for Saracens who will give them a platform, with Steenson keeping them playing in the right areas. Good away win.


Leicester Tigers 30 Castres Olympique 16

Castres showed last night against Saints that they are a tough nut to crack, but Tigers are in form in this game and too strong at home. Bonus point win.


ASM Clermont Auvergne 32 London Irish 22

This is a decent Irish pack that will fight all the way, but to win against ASM on their own patch I am going to need to see either an almost fully world class side or some real well thought out tactics, and Irish fall short in both regards in this one. Tough defeat.


Harlequins 27 Montpellier 20

Enough quality in the side for a win at home for Quins.


I'll predict Falcons vs. Saints in a bit when I have time to sit and read through properly, as I've got to nip out shortly to collect one of the littlies form theatre school.

Racing Metro 18 - 25 Gloucester

Ospreys 22 - 26 Saracens

Clermont 30 - 25 Irish

Harlequins 27 - 18 Montpellier

Newcastle 24 - 23 Saints

Excellent, first win for me. Happy with that.