Fantasy Aviva Premiership Round Seventeen

Ouch some tasty tasty games here.

Business end of season for sure. I have bath sale, welsh Quins and newcastle all to come

Worcester v Wasps, big game!

Pretty much every game has something riding on it now, which is how I wanted it to be coming towards the end of the season. Everyone has something to play for.

Every game is big this week. This is when tactics come in

Targetting winning at least 4 out of 6 last league games. Think that would get me a playoff spot.

Trying to weigh up whether to go full tilt for both heino and league or not. Been picked up for fatigue when targetting double before

I'm not seeing fatigue as massive for most teams this season as everyone has been rotating a fair amount.

Getting these academy players in who can play 1xv really helps build depth. Players like Etzbeth been huge for me and allowed me to keep other players in squad for depth

Points totals needed to get into the play offs over the last 4 seasons -

2011/12 - 61
2010/11 - 67
2009/10 - 65
2008/09 - 55 (only 20 league games played as we had no Bristol team, pro rated works out at 61 points for a 22 game season).

Average works out as 63.5 points to qualify.

30 points available to teams with 6 bonus point wins from hereon in. I am on 40 points, so statistically I need to either win all six or win 5 and pick up some bonus points to have a chance of the top 4.

4 wins without BP would give me 62 which is in the ball park then. Think it will need maybe less this year as its so tight

Saracens Football Club
Manager – DHLS07

01. Matt Mullan	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit (c)	10. Morne Steyn
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Lachie Turner
05. Louis Deacon	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Joe van Niekerk	13. Jean de Villiers
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Smith

16. George Chuter 17. Max Lahiff 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Rob Simmons 20. Kevin McLaughlin 21. Chris Cook 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Matt Hopper

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.

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

- Play in the right areas, territory over possession.

- Solid defensive line with Steffon Armitage either stealing or slowing the ball at the breakdown.

Newcastle Falcons

Manager – Driver

01.Soane Tonga'uhia	09.Jimmy Cowen
02.Agustin Creevey	10.Toby Flood (K)
03.Paul Doran Jones
04.Ed Slater	11.Dom Shipperly
05.Juandre Kruger	12.James O'Connor
06.Tom Croft	13.George Lowe
07.Richie McCaw	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Kieran Read	15.Jared Payne

16.Jamie George 17.Alex Waller 18.Owen Franks 19.Will Carrick Smith 20.Chris Masoe 21.Luke Burguss 22.Alex Goode 23.Miles Benjiman

Newcastle travel to Twickenham Stoop knowing a win is vital if there are to secure a home semi final in the AP.

Falcons will play a wide high tempo game based on moving the ball and putting our back three and pacey centres into space through securing quick ball at the rucks and moving the point of contact with Pivot men and dummy runners and putting the ball behind players into a deep runner.

First and formost we must secure our own ball and have gone for a big pack capable to holding there own and securing clean ball for Jimmy Cowen to use. We have one of the top lineout operators in world rugby playing 5 for us in Juandre Kruger who will run our lineout from 4 with Tom Croft putting pressure on the Quins throw from 2.

We will look to get the ball out of the scrum as quickly as possible with Jimmy Cowen having this firmly in his mind at the put in.

Turn over ball is key for us and Richie McCaw is a keen practicer of this and will target the break down looking to stay on his feet here.


Key Points of our game plan

• Retain possession - They can't play rugby without the ball. Keep the ball even if it means grinding the phases out in the tight.
  
• Intelligent kicking - Kick the ball when the space is behind there wings when there is space to exploit.
  
• Line Chase - Have a solid line , everyone in our team is a good defender and even on the kick chase keeping a line is vital. No Gaps.
  
• Strong set piece - Kruger/Croft/Read/McCaw give us plenty of options on our throw and can attack the Quins throw.
  

Specifics

• Stay on our feet in the contact , let your support get to you and give you the option to maul or go to ground and generate quick ball.
  
• Defence at a high tempo - put them under pressure around the fringes , straight back onto your feet after a tackle go for the ball , it's there to be taken
  
• Mistakes to a minimum - No silly passes , no stupid kicks. If your not sure run to a defender and recycle the ball.
  
• Patient in defense - Keep a line , no silly penalties.
  
• Take the points - pressure Quins by building the lead
  
• Adam Ashley Cooper to defend at 12 with JOC dropping to 15.
  

01. Jean Baptiste-Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Hika Elliot	10. Nick Evans (K)
03. Matt Stevens
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Nick Kennedy (c)	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Conrad Smith
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. J.P Pietersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Tom Homer (LK)

16. Tom Lindsay 17. W.P Nel 18. Grant Shiells 19. Mike McCarthy 20. Will Fraser 21. Jack Moates 22. Luke McCalister 23. Henry Trinder

Key Points

Backrow and Back Three
Our backrow has a bit of everything with carrying, aggressiveness and work on the floor. We will look for them to use all of their attributes to slow down Saints ball and make the hard yards. Our back three has exciting pace with Yarde seemingly scoring freely and Piestersen bringing international quality and can pick a gap from a mile off. Homer will be able to clear any danger.

Playmakers
Conrad Smith is a hugely respected playmaker here and we will use him to call our moves and exploit any weaknesses when we have quick ball. Evans and Pienaar can put us in the places we want to be and McCalister can make a huge impact in this role. Off the back of the scrum Morgan will make the hard yards and look for offloads if on.

Slow down their Pack
We will look to spread the ball and exploit the Saint's defensive weaknesses. Cane and Samu Manoa are both players we know can cause huge damage and we will look to target them both early on by sending strong runners/clearing them out in 2's, and look to stop them getting turnovers or quick yards for Saints.

Attacking

• We want to force errors from Saints and will target Giteau (who hasn't played 10 irl for a while) by sending big runners down his channel.

• Pienaar and Evans to play what's in front of them and look to release Naqa (who will smash up first phase ball) or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Kennedy, Gorgodze and Garvey we have the number jumpers to gain the ball back, we know Bonnaire will be dangerous here so will look to avoid his area and mix up our lineouts.

• Look for runners off of 10 and 12 channel to make the initial break before sending the ball out wide to Pieterson and Yarde.

• We will look to use our big pack to carry alot of ball and, if it isn't on then run off of 9 and take a couple of 'up the jumper' phases to drag defenders in.

• Our back three will look to come off their wings and hit the right angles.

• Youthful energy to come off the bench in Moates, Fraser and McCarthy to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Trinder and McCalister can continue to control the game and bring further excitement and pace..

Set Piece

• Strong scrum which will get the edge up on the tighthead side and a good bench to come on as well to continue the pressure, 8-9-10 is a move we will use alot.

• We will use the maul to get ourselves up the pitch quickly and power over from short distance.

• Lineout has been mentioned previously where we have many strong jumpers here who will look to control attacking and defensive ones.

Defending

• Banana blitz defence targetting Myler and Bowden led by Smith so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres (we will have a backrower on Evans' shoulder to look for quick turnover ball, we will protect the channels to stop Thomas sniping.

• Pienaar will look to sweep and counter attack off any kick through's.

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Coetzee time to get over the ball and obliterate any protection they have in place.

• If the turnover isn't on we won't commit and will fan out defending inside-out.

Prop you only have 8 EQ.

Grant Shiells is Scottish and Jack Moates is in Wales U20s.

I have 9 in there, will make a change tomorrow

Leicester Tigers have named their side to play Sale this week.

Tigers make just 1 change to the side that beat Sarries 25 - 17 last week. Billy Twelvetrees comes in for Dom Waldouck in the back line, with Maxime Mermoz shifting to outside centre. It's on the bench that Tigers see the reinforcements though; with Tom Youngs, Thomas waldrom and Vincent Clerc all returning from Six Nations duty.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Pascal Pape (c)	11. Ugo Monye
05. Nathan Hines	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Steve Mafi	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Francois Louw	14. Isa Nacewa
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Tom Youngs 17. Lee Imiolek 18. Brian Mujati 19. Simon Shaw 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Michael Claasens 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Vincent Clerc

Tactics:

Play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game, the power of our pack and look to get our lightning quick backline into space.

Key Points:

Control at 8, 9, 10
Huge amounts of experience and we will aim to really control the game. Joubert to control the base of the scrum, and Yach and Wilko to control the tempo of the game and where it is played. Fotuali'i is a new signing for Sale and is still learning the ropes at his new side, and we will target this.

Impact off the Bench
Look to utilise our bench in the 2nd half to dominate Sale. Youngs and Waldrom to add serious carrying options to the pack, and Mujati and Shaw to keep the set piece on track. Three backs who can add something to our back line too.

Target Sale's Back Three
If its the right option, use excellent kicking game of Yach, Wilko, Twelvetrees and Beale to target Sale's back three - in particular Eastmond - with a mixture of kicks. Lightning back line to chase high balls to pressure every single catch Sale have to make.

General Tactics:

- Yachvili and Wilko to control proceedings - but we're not here to kick the ball away. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first recievers in Wilko and Beale. Gives us the options of a controller and an off-the-cuff player. Keep Sale guessing with our attacking options.

- Different style of runners in the backline. With the likes of Beale, Mermoz and Nacewa we have exciting runners, and in Monye and Twelvetrees some big crash runners.

- Attack all scrums with our huge pack - Two out-and-out scrummaging props in Johnston and Sheridan - look to really get the shove on.

- Attack all lineouts. Use safe option of Mafi/Joubert at the front, and also use Hines/Pape in the middle or at the back.
Shortened lineouts with Louw in midfield as crash/decoy option.

- Physical, abrasive pack made up of massive line-breakers. The likes of Mafi, Louw, Hines, Pape and Moore to be used to win the collisions in attack. Play an offloading game.

- Look to win battle at 7 with Louw vs Kvesic - Kvesic is a good up and coming player, but Louw has been one of the top 7's on the planet over the last 12 months.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Yachvili to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

01. Sona Taumalolo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Matt Giteau
03. Ben Tameifuna
04. Mano Samoa	11. Christian Wade
05. Calum Clark	12. Ashley Beck
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Elliot Daly
07. Sam Cane	14. Julian Savea
08. Liam Messam	15. Juan Martin Hernandez (k)

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Carl Hayman 18. Henry Thomas 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Sam Harrison 22. George Ford 23. Ben Foden

Tactics: We have picked a strong forward pack to take on Irish up front and we will be looking to get on the front foot and generate good ball for our backline. We have home advantage, have picked up some good form and will get our strong ball carriers in both the pack (Samoa, Taumalolo, Tameifuna) and the backline (Savea, Beck). But our main advantage in this game is our speed and try scoring ability out wide. We will be looking to play a powerful forward game and then use our backline to inject real pace, with Giteau dictating the midfield.

Attack: We have pace throughout our backline and will look to secure quick ball from our pack and use our big ball carriers to get on the front foot. Will look to use Giteau's passing ability to pull holes in the Irish defence and put Wade, Savea and Daly into space and have Beck in to straighten the line. We will look to get Wade the ball to attack Yarde and Homer and give him some opportunities to score tries.

In form Simpson to snipe around the fringes. Will also counter any kicks from Irish when it is on - open play we can be very dangerous.

Take points when they are on offer - Daly from long range.

Defence: We've picked a powerful front five and will look to play very physical defence with big hits coming in from the likes of Taumalolo, Tameifuna, Samoa and Messam. Try and force Irish into mistakes and attack from any turnovers.

Will be playing a blitz defence to put pressure on the Irish midfield and will have Simpson sweeping behind defensive line.

Hernandez at fb due to his experience and the need to pin Irish back in their own half (kicking game of Giteau, Daly and Hernandez to clear the ball and win the territory battle).

Set piece: Strong set piece and will look to attack the scrum and generate quick ball off Bonnaire in the lineout. Have Clark, Messam, Bonnaire, Manoa as options and will bring on Lawes in the second half (at lock!!!).

Breakdown: Essential part of our gameplan, have selected Cane as our fetcher and will look to win the turnover battle here. When the ball is there to be won we will send numbers in and make sure we get turnovers as very dangerous on the counter.

Key Points:
• Get powerful ball runners on the ball early on to test Irish defence.
• Want to use out pack to get us front foot ball and then use the pace of our backline to score tries.
• Setpiece: Use as an attacking platform
• Target the breakdown for full 80minutes - turnovers and open play we can score tries.
• Form players (espc Cane, Wade and Daly) and very strong bench to see out the game (Foden, Lawes, TFN, Hayman, AJ - impact)

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Charlie Faumuania	09. Aaron Smith
02. Kevin Mealamu	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Cory Jane
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Jon Golding 17. Chris Brooker 18. Carl Rimmer 19. Luke Romano 20. James Haskell 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Rob Horne 23. George North

Overall: Look to play flowing rugby with Hodgson pulling the strings. We will be looking for big carries all over to get over the gainline.

Scrum: Expecting to have an advantage at scrum time with 3 big scrummagers and look to really get at the scrum whenever possible. We will look to be competitive at scrum time with Lobbe controlling it from the back. Lobbe will control the scrum from number eight. Apply pressure and look to get nudge on throughout. Look to play the ref.

Lineout: Our second row partnership is somewhere we feel confident.We have Whitelock and Lobbe leading our lineout whilst Kitch offers a good banker ball. We will look to actively pressure the opposition throw. If we see any weakness we will look to slightly alter the game plan, looking for corners in order to put more pressure on the throw.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Faumuania, Mealamu, Lobbe and Guest dangerous runners who can really create gaps for our backs. We will be looking for lots of energy from our forwards to open up holes to be exploited. Our carrying is somewhere we feel we have a distinct advantage.

Breakdown: Look to clear hard and fast with Pocock and Lobbe looking to make a real nuisance of themselves and get their hands on the ball

Backs: We will be looking to use the backs in order to create or go through holes. Smith and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. Smith will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with Allen, Rougerie, Jane and Nalaga seeing lots of the ball. We shall look to target Daly, Beck and Wade with our carries all of whom have suspect defence.

Defence: Use a blitz defence in order to put pressure on Saints key decision makers and prevent them from playing. Aaron Smith to sweep in behind.

Kicking: Charlie Hodgson will look to take on any chances we have to keep the scoreboard ticking. Hodgson, Miller and Jane will also look to test May under the high ball with Lobbe looking to lead a run chase.

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo. Golding, Brooker and Rimmer will look to keep the scrum strong. Romano will look to add grit late as well as another quality lineout operator. Haskell will look to put really put in some punishing carries and tackles. Wigglesworth will prove a composed head to control tempo late. Horne + North will come on early in the second half and will look to get their hands on the ball for big carries against tired legs.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Fulgence Quedragao	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Matt Kvesic	14. David Strettle
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Alex Tulou 21. Danny Care 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison

Key Points

Play away from the fringes
Tigers strengths are based in the front 5 playing tight around the fringes. We will look to play the game in wider channels taking advantage of the pace in our backline and looking to tie the Tigers front 5 faster.

Lack of continuity from Tigers
36 thrown straight in will need time to settle back in and will most likely have his mind on England’s prospects. We expect a lack of cohesion in Tigers attacks at times.

Attack the breakdown
Two specialists picked in the back row and with the assistance of a very mobile 2nd row they will look to really slow Tigers ball down forcing the Tigers halfbacks to revert to type and continuously kick the ball to us.

Attacking

• Look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. Ball in hand, look to use our big line breakers running off 10 & 12 to tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Sexton to exploit.

• We see the offload as a crucial weapon and our carriers will all be looking to offload in contact, continuing our forward momentum and breaking the defensive line.

• Sexton will look to play flat on the gain line and bring our dangerous runners in to the game or find mismatches for himself to hit on the wrap around.

• 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.

Set Piece

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much room as possible to attack from.

• In Tigers territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs. In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

• On Tigers lineouts Bekker will stand at the front and challenge. At 6ft 10" Tigers will need to have their darts spot on.

Defending

• 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.

• Fotuali'I 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 Quedragao & Kvesic looking to get their hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1/2 players to slow down ball and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Francois Houghard
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick (c)	12. Anthony Faainga
06. Chris Henry	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper	14. Luke Morahan
08. Nick Easter	15. Andre Taylor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Ben Franks 19. George Kruis 20. Carl Fearns 21. Lee Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Matt Smith

Tactics

Game Plan

Retain Possesion when in the opposition half, use our strong carriers upfront to tie in defenders and then send the ball into the wider channels where our quick outside backs can enjoy the space. Burns will look to stand flat and put others into space. Key that we ruck effectively so that we can get quick ball to our backs and not allow the Newcastle defence to reorganise. Having two opensides on the pitch as well and Brits and Easter means we have players very comfotable with ball in hand and they will be able to link the play for us.

Forwards

They will look to carry off 9 and 10. They will take the ball at pace, carry in numbers and look to offload when it is on and this is why supporting the ball carrier is crucial. The Ball carrier will look to win the collisions and keep the legs pumping to gain forward momentum and give our forwards a re target to hit. Either to continue the attack with and offload or to recycle the ball quickly. At the scrum we will look to put huge pressure on the Newcastle pack and same at the lineout. Borthwick will control our line with Henry, Easter and Botha other options. We will look to shorten the line between the two 22m lines and use Easter and Hooper as carrying options in the midfield.

Backs

Burns to stand flat and will look to feed Faainga who will look to run at AAC and test he defensive positioning. He will have forward options on his shoulder or can hit behind Faainga looking for JJ, Taylor or the blindside wing. Houghard to test the fringes to keep the Newcastle defence honest. We have ver good open field runners in our side and will look to get the ball in their hands once our forwards have tied up the Newcastle defenders.

Defence
Quick line speed and doubling up on the man when we can. In Hooper and Henry we have two 7's to target the breakdown and make McCaw's job twice as hard. Faainga to captain up in defence.

Key Points

AAC at 12 in defence - Has he defended here much before? really look to test his positioning with multiple options running down his channel. This will either force defensive errors from him or tie in the defenders outside and create gaps for us.

Two Opensides - In a game where we want to play open and fluid attacking rugby, having two opensies to link the play is crucial. Add this to Easter and Brits who are both sutied to open games we feel we have a good formula to attack Newcastkle with. Also they can look to get us turnovers from which we can launch counter attacks from.

Defensive discipline - we aren't looking to gift Newcastle points. We will defend within the laws of the game both at the breakdown and the offside line.

Quick Ball and Offloads - Both are key to our attacking game plan. Our forwards know the importance of effectvie rucking and Houghard will be quick to each breakdown. This will mean elss time for Newcastle to organise their defence.

Goode and Flood - half a mind on a grand slam. Goode inparticular will be tired. Neither released by England this week IRL.

01. Nick Wood 09. Will Genia
02. Joe Grey 10. Dan Carter
03. Jamie Johnstone
04. Eben Etzebeth 11. Hosea Gear
05. George Robson 12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts 13. Richard Kahui
07. Akapusi Qera 14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordoquoy 15. Jonny May

16. Dan Murphy 17 Strauss 18 Harden 19 Palmer 20 Ferris 21 Robson 22 Israel Dagg 23 Ryan Mills

+ Form/Momentum We are on a great run and are coming off the back of 2 wins away against saints and wasps and a BP win. We are top of form league and have a momentum
+ Bath lack carriers and a 4.
+ fauminia is a 3 and playing at 1 against Jj. You cannot play out of position at this level against a player of Jj level. Like playing lawes at 6 !

+ Pressure Is all on BathThey are in mid table and mid
Form

+ Mobile, Dynamic Pack We have selected a pack that can hold their own in the set piece, but who offer a huge amount of carrying and impact.

+Impact Bench We have players to bring on who can make a real difference in the scrum and loose. Proven internationals and young dynamic talent

Game plan

We are targetting the Away win and know we have to win the battle and right to play our quick brand of rugby. We will be looking to get our big runners on the front foot and get over the gain line to produce quick ball for Genia to hit carter to play wide and direct.

Our pack is huge and mobile but great in set piece and we will be targetting the lineouts and mealamu arrows relentlessly to affect quality of their ball. We will be looking to drive a lot of lineouts to start with to suck them in and looking to pop runners off the back and try and get into the Hodgson channel. Alberts Kahui and co will be targetting this channel throughout the game.

Backrow and 9& 10
To pressure bath halfbacks. No other kicking options allow us to press in defence.

As ever we look to keep the ball and force Bath in to mistakes to start with and will look to build tempo as we start to get on top. Once we have won the battles and rights to play we will open up and start to really increase the tempo with our bench contributing and keeping the foot on the pedal.

We will be targeting lack of game time for kubrashvili and guest. Kubrasvili has had a poor season and started 4 games for Toulon and will be targeted by us.

Specifics

- send Kahui gear Alberts etc at Hodgson Allen channel
- take all points on offer with carter
- look to use the bomb early on to target miller and nalagas Achilles heel
- Territory early doors and pressure their lineout
- kick in behind back 3 and pressure
Lack of kicking to build pressure
- put pressure on Hodgson. Bath have no
Kicking game apart from Hodgson can be targeted and pressure built
- may at fb to counter the errant kicking. May on fire and we want him to have ball to attack space. He has X factor
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping
- look to send in numbers to breakdown to disrupt and turnover.
- get into bath scrum forcing them to have Bench on who are out of depth. We can bring on proven talent at front row to win battle necessary away

Gents, I am massively tucked up a job that broke here on Tuesday morning and I am struggling to get this updated. I might get it done tonight. If not I might have to put predictions back for 24 hours.

I can knock it up in a comment first thing in the morning if people are happy to work off that Pete?

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Patrick Lambie
03. BJ Botha
04. Dean Schofield	11. Julien Malzieu
05. Ali Williams	12. Olly Barkley
06. Phil Dowson	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Ross Rennie	14. James Short
08. Pierre Spies (c)	15. Rob Cook

16. Nathan Catt 17. Dave Ward 18. Werner Kruger 19. Tom Savage 20. Kearnan Myall 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow 22. Francois Trinh-Duc 23. Olly Morgan

Tactics

- Look to boss the forwards and get on the front foot with big ball carries and power in the contact. Get Rennie in at the breakdown ASAP to win turnovers or slow down opposition ball.

- Play a tight game, use Spies, Dowson, Strauss, Beast to carry and tire Wasps.

- Lambie and Barkley to dictate play, get us in the right areas of the pitch.

- If Bowden is at 12 we will look to target him in defence and get Spies running at/through him.

- Peel to look for sniping runs around the ruck to catch Wasps out.

- Barkley to kick all pens for goal.

- Williams to lead the lineout and disrupt opposition ball. Schofield, Dowson and Spies also options.

- We will look to get Malzieu 1 on 1 with his opposition winger as he is a powerful runner and a great finisher.

Pete wont have laptop till sunday so might not be able to predict

My tactics will be in late tonight or first thing in morning. Forgot charger and in central London.

Why did they change the charger for iPhone 5 I had tons of leads for the others!

Really annoying. Got car charger and so many for the 4.

SJE, if you could do that I'd really appreciate it mate. Could you please just stick in 2the side I putnoutn last week for me as I've no time to to put a team in. Slight tactical change of looking to play a bit wider and move Saracens big side around.

Predos can stay open until 8pm on Sunday.

Staying open till 8pm Sunday works perfectly for me as I'm helping out at a night shelter tomorrow night!! Aiming to get most done by tomorrow lunchtime but if I don't can someone p.m me Sunday morning to remind me!!

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Bath Rugby vs. Gloucester
Sunny Intervals, 5 degrees, 5 mph wind.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Charlie Faumuania	09. Aaron Smith
02. Kevin Mealamu	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Cory Jane
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. Tom Guest	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Rob Miller

16. Jon Golding 17. Chris Brooker 18. Carl Rimmer 19. Luke Romano 20. James Haskell 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Rob Horne 23. George North

Overall: Look to play flowing rugby with Hodgson pulling the strings. We will be looking for big carries all over to get over the gainline.

Scrum: Expecting to have an advantage at scrum time with 3 big scrummagers and look to really get at the scrum whenever possible. We will look to be competitive at scrum time with Lobbe controlling it from the back. Lobbe will control the scrum from number eight. Apply pressure and look to get nudge on throughout. Look to play the ref.

Lineout: Our second row partnership is somewhere we feel confident.We have Whitelock and Lobbe leading our lineout whilst Kitch offers a good banker ball. We will look to actively pressure the opposition throw. If we see any weakness we will look to slightly alter the game plan, looking for corners in order to put more pressure on the throw.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Faumuania, Mealamu, Lobbe and Guest dangerous runners who can really create gaps for our backs. We will be looking for lots of energy from our forwards to open up holes to be exploited. Our carrying is somewhere we feel we have a distinct advantage.

Breakdown: Look to clear hard and fast with Pocock and Lobbe looking to make a real nuisance of themselves and get their hands on the ball

Backs: We will be looking to use the backs in order to create or go through holes. Smith and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. Smith will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with Allen, Rougerie, Jane and Nalaga seeing lots of the ball. We shall look to target Daly, Beck and Wade with our carries all of whom have suspect defence.

Defence: Use a blitz defence in order to put pressure on Saints key decision makers and prevent them from playing. Aaron Smith to sweep in behind.

Kicking: Charlie Hodgson will look to take on any chances we have to keep the scoreboard ticking. Hodgson, Miller and Jane will also look to test May under the high ball with Lobbe looking to lead a run chase.

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo. Golding, Brooker and Rimmer will look to keep the scrum strong. Romano will look to add grit late as well as another quality lineout operator. Haskell will look to put really put in some punishing carries and tackles. Wigglesworth will prove a composed head to control tempo late. Horne + North will come on early in the second half and will look to get their hands on the ball for big carries against tired legs.


Gloucester
Manager - Mat

01. Nick Wood 09. Will Genia
02. Joe Grey 10. Dan Carter
03. Jamie Johnstone
04. Eben Etzebeth 11. Hosea Gear
05. George Robson 12. Berrick Barnes
06. Willem Alberts 13. Richard Kahui
07. Akapusi Qera 14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordoquoy 15. Jonny May

16. Dan Murphy 17 Strauss 18 Harden 19 Palmer 20 Ferris 21 Robson 22 Israel Dagg 23 Ryan Mills

+ Form/Momentum We are on a great run and are coming off the back of 2 wins away against saints and wasps and a BP win. We are top of form league and have a momentum
+ Bath lack carriers and a 4.
+ fauminia is a 3 and playing at 1 against Jj. You cannot play out of position at this level against a player of Jj level. Like playing lawes at 6 !

+ Pressure Is all on BathThey are in mid table and mid
Form

+ Mobile, Dynamic Pack We have selected a pack that can hold their own in the set piece, but who offer a huge amount of carrying and impact.

+Impact Bench We have players to bring on who can make a real difference in the scrum and loose. Proven internationals and young dynamic talent

Game plan

We are targetting the Away win and know we have to win the battle and right to play our quick brand of rugby. We will be looking to get our big runners on the front foot and get over the gain line to produce quick ball for Genia to hit carter to play wide and direct.

Our pack is huge and mobile but great in set piece and we will be targetting the lineouts and mealamu arrows relentlessly to affect quality of their ball. We will be looking to drive a lot of lineouts to start with to suck them in and looking to pop runners off the back and try and get into the Hodgson channel. Alberts Kahui and co will be targetting this channel throughout the game.

Backrow and 9& 10
To pressure bath halfbacks. No other kicking options allow us to press in defence.

As ever we look to keep the ball and force Bath in to mistakes to start with and will look to build tempo as we start to get on top. Once we have won the battles and rights to play we will open up and start to really increase the tempo with our bench contributing and keeping the foot on the pedal.

We will be targeting lack of game time for kubrashvili and guest. Kubrasvili has had a poor season and started 4 games for Toulon and will be targeted by us.

Specifics

- send Kahui gear Alberts etc at Hodgson Allen channel
- take all points on offer with carter
- look to use the bomb early on to target miller and nalagas Achilles heel
- Territory early doors and pressure their lineout
- kick in behind back 3 and pressure
Lack of kicking to build pressure
- put pressure on Hodgson. Bath have no
Kicking game apart from Hodgson can be targeted and pressure built
- may at fb to counter the errant kicking. May on fire and we want him to have ball to attack space. He has X factor
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping
- look to send in numbers to breakdown to disrupt and turnover.
- get into bath scrum forcing them to have Bench on who are out of depth. We can bring on proven talent at front row to win battle necessary away

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Harlequins vs. Newcastle Falcons
White Cloud, 5 degrees, 2 mph wind.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Francois Houghard
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Tom Biggs
05. Steve Borthwick (c)	12. Anthony Faainga
06. Chris Henry	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper	14. Luke Morahan
08. Nick Easter	15. Andre Taylor

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Ben Franks 19. George Kruis 20. Carl Fearns 21. Lee Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Matt Smith

Tactics

Game Plan

Retain Possesion when in the opposition half, use our strong carriers upfront to tie in defenders and then send the ball into the wider channels where our quick outside backs can enjoy the space. Burns will look to stand flat and put others into space. Key that we ruck effectively so that we can get quick ball to our backs and not allow the Newcastle defence to reorganise. Having two opensides on the pitch as well and Brits and Easter means we have players very comfotable with ball in hand and they will be able to link the play for us.

Forwards

They will look to carry off 9 and 10. They will take the ball at pace, carry in numbers and look to offload when it is on and this is why supporting the ball carrier is crucial. The Ball carrier will look to win the collisions and keep the legs pumping to gain forward momentum and give our forwards a re target to hit. Either to continue the attack with and offload or to recycle the ball quickly. At the scrum we will look to put huge pressure on the Newcastle pack and same at the lineout. Borthwick will control our line with Henry, Easter and Botha other options. We will look to shorten the line between the two 22m lines and use Easter and Hooper as carrying options in the midfield.

Backs

Burns to stand flat and will look to feed Faainga who will look to run at AAC and test he defensive positioning. He will have forward options on his shoulder or can hit behind Faainga looking for JJ, Taylor or the blindside wing. Houghard to test the fringes to keep the Newcastle defence honest. We have ver good open field runners in our side and will look to get the ball in their hands once our forwards have tied up the Newcastle defenders.

Defence
Quick line speed and doubling up on the man when we can. In Hooper and Henry we have two 7's to target the breakdown and make McCaw's job twice as hard. Faainga to captain up in defence.

Key Points

AAC at 12 in defence - Has he defended here much before? really look to test his positioning with multiple options running down his channel. This will either force defensive errors from him or tie in the defenders outside and create gaps for us.

Two Opensides - In a game where we want to play open and fluid attacking rugby, having two opensies to link the play is crucial. Add this to Easter and Brits who are both sutied to open games we feel we have a good formula to attack Newcastkle with. Also they can look to get us turnovers from which we can launch counter attacks from.

Defensive discipline - we aren't looking to gift Newcastle points. We will defend within the laws of the game both at the breakdown and the offside line.

Quick Ball and Offloads - Both are key to our attacking game plan. Our forwards know the importance of effectvie rucking and Houghard will be quick to each breakdown. This will mean elss time for Newcastle to organise their defence.

Goode and Flood - half a mind on a grand slam. Goode inparticular will be tired. Neither released by England this week IRL.


Newcastle Falcons

Manager – Driver

01.Soane Tonga'uhia	09.Jimmy Cowen
02.Agustin Creevey	10.Toby Flood (K)
03.Paul Doran Jones
04.Ed Slater	11.Dom Shipperly
05.Juandre Kruger	12.James O'Connor
06.Tom Croft	13.George Lowe
07.Richie McCaw	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Kieran Read	15.Jared Payne

16.Jamie George 17.Alex Waller 18.Owen Franks 19.Will Carrick Smith 20.Chris Masoe 21.Luke Burguss 22.Alex Goode 23.Miles Benjiman

Newcastle travel to Twickenham Stoop knowing a win is vital if there are to secure a home semi final in the AP.

Falcons will play a wide high tempo game based on moving the ball and putting our back three and pacey centres into space through securing quick ball at the rucks and moving the point of contact with Pivot men and dummy runners and putting the ball behind players into a deep runner.

First and formost we must secure our own ball and have gone for a big pack capable to holding there own and securing clean ball for Jimmy Cowen to use. We have one of the top lineout operators in world rugby playing 5 for us in Juandre Kruger who will run our lineout from 4 with Tom Croft putting pressure on the Quins throw from 2.

We will look to get the ball out of the scrum as quickly as possible with Jimmy Cowen having this firmly in his mind at the put in.

Turn over ball is key for us and Richie McCaw is a keen practicer of this and will target the break down looking to stay on his feet here.


Key Points of our game plan

• Retain possession - They can't play rugby without the ball. Keep the ball even if it means grinding the phases out in the tight.
  
• Intelligent kicking - Kick the ball when the space is behind there wings when there is space to exploit.
  
• Line Chase - Have a solid line , everyone in our team is a good defender and even on the kick chase keeping a line is vital. No Gaps.
  
• Strong set piece - Kruger/Croft/Read/McCaw give us plenty of options on our throw and can attack the Quins throw.
  

Specifics

• Stay on our feet in the contact , let your support get to you and give you the option to maul or go to ground and generate quick ball.
  
• Defence at a high tempo - put them under pressure around the fringes , straight back onto your feet after a tackle go for the ball , it's there to be taken
  
• Mistakes to a minimum - No silly passes , no stupid kicks. If your not sure run to a defender and recycle the ball.
  
• Patient in defense - Keep a line , no silly penalties.
  
• Take the points - pressure Quins by building the lead
  
• Adam Ashley Cooper to defend at 12 with JOC dropping to 15.
  

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Leicester Tigers vs. Sale Sharks
Sunny, 8 degrees, 4 mph wind.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Pascal Pape (c)	11. Ugo Monye
05. Nathan Hines	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Steve Mafi	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Francois Louw	14. Isa Nacewa
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Kurtley Beale

16. Tom Youngs 17. Lee Imiolek 18. Brian Mujati 19. Simon Shaw 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Michael Claasens 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Vincent Clerc

Tactics:

Play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game, the power of our pack and look to get our lightning quick backline into space.

Key Points:

Control at 8, 9, 10
Huge amounts of experience and we will aim to really control the game. Joubert to control the base of the scrum, and Yach and Wilko to control the tempo of the game and where it is played. Fotuali'i is a new signing for Sale and is still learning the ropes at his new side, and we will target this.

Impact off the Bench
Look to utilise our bench in the 2nd half to dominate Sale. Youngs and Waldrom to add serious carrying options to the pack, and Mujati and Shaw to keep the set piece on track. Three backs who can add something to our back line too.

Target Sale's Back Three
If its the right option, use excellent kicking game of Yach, Wilko, Twelvetrees and Beale to target Sale's back three - in particular Eastmond - with a mixture of kicks. Lightning back line to chase high balls to pressure every single catch Sale have to make.

General Tactics:

- Yachvili and Wilko to control proceedings - but we're not here to kick the ball away. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first recievers in Wilko and Beale. Gives us the options of a controller and an off-the-cuff player. Keep Sale guessing with our attacking options.

- Different style of runners in the backline. With the likes of Beale, Mermoz and Nacewa we have exciting runners, and in Monye and Twelvetrees some big crash runners.

- Attack all scrums with our huge pack - Two out-and-out scrummaging props in Johnston and Sheridan - look to really get the shove on.

- Attack all lineouts. Use safe option of Mafi/Joubert at the front, and also use Hines/Pape in the middle or at the back.
Shortened lineouts with Louw in midfield as crash/decoy option.

- Physical, abrasive pack made up of massive line-breakers. The likes of Mafi, Louw, Hines, Pape and Moore to be used to win the collisions in attack. Play an offloading game.

- Look to win battle at 7 with Louw vs Kvesic - Kvesic is a good up and coming player, but Louw has been one of the top 7's on the planet over the last 12 months.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Yachvili to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.


Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Fulgence Quedragao	13. Robbie Freuen
07. Matt Kvesic	14. David Strettle
08. Wycliffe Palu	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Alex Tulou 21. Danny Care 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison

Key Points

Play away from the fringes
Tigers strengths are based in the front 5 playing tight around the fringes. We will look to play the game in wider channels taking advantage of the pace in our backline and looking to tie the Tigers front 5 faster.

Lack of continuity from Tigers
36 thrown straight in will need time to settle back in and will most likely have his mind on England’s prospects. We expect a lack of cohesion in Tigers attacks at times.

Attack the breakdown
Two specialists picked in the back row and with the assistance of a very mobile 2nd row they will look to really slow Tigers ball down forcing the Tigers halfbacks to revert to type and continuously kick the ball to us.

Attacking

• Look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. Ball in hand, look to use our big line breakers running off 10 & 12 to tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Sexton to exploit.

• We see the offload as a crucial weapon and our carriers will all be looking to offload in contact, continuing our forward momentum and breaking the defensive line.

• Sexton will look to play flat on the gain line and bring our dangerous runners in to the game or find mismatches for himself to hit on the wrap around.

• 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.

Set Piece

• With a powerful front 5 on show we will look to keep the scrum up and use it as a weapon. On our own feed we will look to get the wheel on and give our 8-9-10 axis as much room as possible to attack from.

• In Tigers territory, with 5 jumping options to use, we will look to play off the top and move the ball out to Sexton and the backs. In our own territory, we will look to take the ball down into the maul and drive ourselves into the right areas.

• On Tigers lineouts Bekker will stand at the front and challenge. At 6ft 10" Tigers will need to have their darts spot on.

Defending

• 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.

• Fotuali'I 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 Quedragao & Kvesic looking to get their hands on the ball.

• If the ball is not immediately available we will only commit 1/2 players to slow down ball and instead look to strengthen the defensive line.

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London Welsh vs. Saracens
Sunny Intervals, 5 degrees, 3 mph wind.

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Paul Hodgson
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Elton Jantjies
03. Ben Alexander
04. Sitaleki Timani	11. James Simpson-Daniel
05. George Skivington	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. Digby Ioane
07. Maurie Fa'asavalu	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen (c)	15. Jaco Taute

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Steven Kitschoff 18. Phil Swainston 19. James Hanks 20. Luke Wallace 21. Nicolas Bezy 22. Butch James 23. Joel Tomkins

Tactics

Key Points

• Form/Momentum We are unbeaten in 14 matches, and that includes away games at Saints, Tigers & Falcons..
  
• Defensive Strength Solid defenders throughout the team mean that it will take something special to score points against us.
• Mobile, Dynamic Pack We have selected a pack that can hold their own in the set piece, but will be good in open play, as the conditions are set to allow decent running rugby.
  
• Impact Bench We have players to bring on who can make a real difference in the game.
  
• Play Wide Game We will look to play the game in wider channels looking to move the big Saracens side around the park and tire them out.

Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. Focus will be on winning the gainline collisions in both attack and defence. In order to do this we have picked a dynamic, physical and mobile pack to dominate this area of the game. We will however be looking for gaps rather than contact and looking to offload to support runners. We will look to apply pressure to Falcons by keeping the ball for long periods and wearing them down defensively, and also by maintaining a solid defence and denying them opportunities to get on the score board. Pressure forces mistakes, and we will look to capitalise on any that Falcons make.

Specifics

• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• Possession over territory. We will look to keep the ball alive and play, but will go through the phases if taken to ground.
  
• Keep the scoreboard ticking over by taking all penalties on offer.
  
• We will look to play a blitz defence with quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline and knock him back even further. Hodgson will sweep in behind.
  
• We will not overcommit to the breakdown. If a turnover is on, we will go for it, counter rucking and hitting on the break. If it is not on to win the ball, we will send in a couple of players to legally slow it, and get our defensive line set quickly and strongly a la France in the World Cup. We want to control the gainline in defence and attack.
  
• Look to play quick from the scrum and lineout, going off the top and quickly into midfield as our default option. We will mix it up dependant on the situation though. If on take quick lineouts and use our back three to attack Falcons in broken field.
  

Saracens Football Club
Manager – DHLS07

01. Matt Mullan	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit (c)	10. Morne Steyn
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Lachie Turner
05. Louis Deacon	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Joe van Niekerk	13. Jean de Villiers
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Smith

16. George Chuter 17. Max Lahiff 18. Jannie du Plessis 19. Rob Simmons 20. Kevin McLaughlin 21. Chris Cook 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Matt Hopper

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.

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

- Play in the right areas, territory over possession.

- Solid defensive line with Steffon Armitage either stealing or slowing the ball at the breakdown.

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Northampton Saints vs. London Irish
Sunny, 6 degrees, 4 mph wind.

Northampton Saints
Manager - dammit_chris

01. Sona Taumalolo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Matt Giteau
03. Ben Tameifuna
04. Mano Samoa	11. Christian Wade
05. Calum Clark	12. Ashley Beck
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Elliot Daly
07. Sam Cane	14. Julian Savea
08. Liam Messam	15. Juan Martin Hernandez (k)

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Carl Hayman 18. Henry Thomas 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Ashley Johnson 21. Sam Harrison 22. George Ford 23. Ben Foden

Tactics: We have picked a strong forward pack to take on Irish up front and we will be looking to get on the front foot and generate good ball for our backline. We have home advantage, have picked up some good form and will get our strong ball carriers in both the pack (Samoa, Taumalolo, Tameifuna) and the backline (Savea, Beck). But our main advantage in this game is our speed and try scoring ability out wide. We will be looking to play a powerful forward game and then use our backline to inject real pace, with Giteau dictating the midfield.

Attack: We have pace throughout our backline and will look to secure quick ball from our pack and use our big ball carriers to get on the front foot. Will look to use Giteau's passing ability to pull holes in the Irish defence and put Wade, Savea and Daly into space and have Beck in to straighten the line. We will look to get Wade the ball to attack Yarde and Homer and give him some opportunities to score tries.

In form Simpson to snipe around the fringes. Will also counter any kicks from Irish when it is on - open play we can be very dangerous.

Take points when they are on offer - Daly from long range.

Defence: We've picked a powerful front five and will look to play very physical defence with big hits coming in from the likes of Taumalolo, Tameifuna, Samoa and Messam. Try and force Irish into mistakes and attack from any turnovers.

Will be playing a blitz defence to put pressure on the Irish midfield and will have Simpson sweeping behind defensive line.

Hernandez at fb due to his experience and the need to pin Irish back in their own half (kicking game of Giteau, Daly and Hernandez to clear the ball and win the territory battle).

Set piece: Strong set piece and will look to attack the scrum and generate quick ball off Bonnaire in the lineout. Have Clark, Messam, Bonnaire, Manoa as options and will bring on Lawes in the second half (at lock!!!).

Breakdown: Essential part of our gameplan, have selected Cane as our fetcher and will look to win the turnover battle here. When the ball is there to be won we will send numbers in and make sure we get turnovers as very dangerous on the counter.

Key Points:
• Get powerful ball runners on the ball early on to test Irish defence.
• Want to use out pack to get us front foot ball and then use the pace of our backline to score tries.
• Setpiece: Use as an attacking platform
• Target the breakdown for full 80minutes - turnovers and open play we can score tries.
• Form players (espc Cane, Wade and Daly) and very strong bench to see out the game (Foden, Lawes, TFN, Hayman, AJ - impact)


London Irish
Manager - prop_lyd

01. Jean Baptiste-Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Hika Elliot	10. Nick Evans (K)
03. Matt Stevens
04. Matt Garvey	11. Marland Yarde
05. Nick Kennedy (c)	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Conrad Smith
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. J.P Pietersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Tom Homer (LK)

16. Tom Lindsay 17. W.P Nel 18. Grant Shiells 19. Mike McCarthy 20. Will Fraser 21. Jack Moates 22. Luke McCalister 23. Henry Trinder

Key Points

Backrow and Back Three
Our backrow has a bit of everything with carrying, aggressiveness and work on the floor. We will look for them to use all of their attributes to slow down Saints ball and make the hard yards. Our back three has exciting pace with Yarde seemingly scoring freely and Piestersen bringing international quality and can pick a gap from a mile off. Homer will be able to clear any danger.

Playmakers
Conrad Smith is a hugely respected playmaker here and we will use him to call our moves and exploit any weaknesses when we have quick ball. Evans and Pienaar can put us in the places we want to be and McCalister can make a huge impact in this role. Off the back of the scrum Morgan will make the hard yards and look for offloads if on.

Slow down their Pack
We will look to spread the ball and exploit the Saint's defensive weaknesses. Cane and Samu Manoa are both players we know can cause huge damage and we will look to target them both early on by sending strong runners/clearing them out in 2's, and look to stop them getting turnovers or quick yards for Saints.

Attacking

• We want to force errors from Saints and will target Giteau (who hasn't played 10 irl for a while) by sending big runners down his channel.

• Pienaar and Evans to play what's in front of them and look to release Naqa (who will smash up first phase ball) or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Kennedy, Gorgodze and Garvey we have the number jumpers to gain the ball back, we know Bonnaire will be dangerous here so will look to avoid his area and mix up our lineouts.

• Look for runners off of 10 and 12 channel to make the initial break before sending the ball out wide to Pieterson and Yarde.

• We will look to use our big pack to carry alot of ball and, if it isn't on then run off of 9 and take a couple of 'up the jumper' phases to drag defenders in.

• Our back three will look to come off their wings and hit the right angles.

• Youthful energy to come off the bench in Moates, Fraser and McCarthy to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Trinder and McCalister can continue to control the game and bring further excitement and pace..

Set Piece

• Strong scrum which will get the edge up on the tighthead side and a good bench to come on as well to continue the pressure, 8-9-10 is a move we will use alot.

• We will use the maul to get ourselves up the pitch quickly and power over from short distance.

• Lineout has been mentioned previously where we have many strong jumpers here who will look to control attacking and defensive ones.

Defending

• Banana blitz defence targetting Myler and Bowden led by Smith so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres (we will have a backrower on Evans' shoulder to look for quick turnover ball, we will protect the channels to stop Thomas sniping.

• Pienaar will look to sweep and counter attack off any kick through's.

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Coetzee time to get over the ball and obliterate any protection they have in place.

• If the turnover isn't on we won't commit and will fan out defending inside-out.

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Worcester Warriors vs. London Wasps
Sunny, 7 degrees, 4 mph wind.

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Patrick Lambie
03. BJ Botha
04. Dean Schofield	11. Julien Malzieu
05. Ali Williams	12. Olly Barkley
06. Phil Dowson	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Ross Rennie	14. James Short
08. Pierre Spies (c)	15. Rob Cook

16. Nathan Catt 17. Dave Ward 18. Werner Kruger 19. Tom Savage 20. Kearnan Myall 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow 22. Francois Trinh-Duc 23. Olly Morgan

Tactics

- Look to boss the forwards and get on the front foot with big ball carries and power in the contact. Get Rennie in at the breakdown ASAP to win turnovers or slow down opposition ball.

- Play a tight game, use Spies, Dowson, Strauss, Beast to carry and tire Wasps.

- Lambie and Barkley to dictate play, get us in the right areas of the pitch.

- If Bowden is at 12 we will look to target him in defence and get Spies running at/through him.

- Peel to look for sniping runs around the ruck to catch Wasps out.

- Barkley to kick all pens for goal.

- Williams to lead the lineout and disrupt opposition ball. Schofield, Dowson and Spies also options.

- We will look to get Malzieu 1 on 1 with his opposition winger as he is a powerful runner and a great finisher.

I'll add the conditions in when I get into work

Fluxy if your around you can still get your team in before people starting predicting

Predictions Open

Top man SJE, thanks for sorting this.

Bath 16-21 Glos
SP: Glos front up here in the front 5 but Bath will get good lineout ball.
BK: Pocock in good form but so is Qera. Think Glos have a little more in Hari and Alberts.
HB: 9 to Bath with Genia having no form atm, 10 to Glos with Carter back and jut a step up.
AT: Glos have more dangerous runners here.
BE: 2 good benches with impact from both sides here.
TA: With Glos' 2nd rows I can't see Bath getting the forward dominance they think they'll get and their tactics target Saints?! Glos keep it simple aiming for the 10-12 channel.

Quins 22-19 Falcons
SP: Can see the Quins props getting under Falcons come scrum time.
BK: Hooper playing very well and will slow down some ball, Read and McCaw will ease some pressure.
HB: 9 to Falcons, 10 to Quins.
AT: Falcons do have some strong runners here but Quins will match them with the try scorers.
BE: More from Quins.
TA: 2 7's and Brits is a good tactic to nullify the Falcons come the breakdown. Falcons will pressure Quins lineout but think Quins have just enough


Tigers 24-23 Sharks
SP: Good scrummaging front 5 from Tigers, Sharks have set out a strong lineout challenge here.
BK: Both 7's playing very well here and will nullify each other, bit more in carrying from Sharks.
HB: 2 very good pairings here with control for Tigers and energy for Sharks.
AT: Not sure about throwing 36 into the deep end although he will be a bit recovered by now. Sharks have control and pace out wide.
BE: Tigers much strong and this will change the game when used.
TA: Tigers set out well to keep controlled until gaps are spotted. Sharks do well targetting weaknesses and using their lineout as a driving force. Going to have to be 'that guy' and give it to home advantage, if at home, Sharks would have a win, sorry guys.

Welsh 25-23 Sarries
SP: Like Genia earlier BDP needs to play soon. Think it'll be evens at scrum time and Sarries look good at lineout.
BK: Stronger from Sarries but Johnson and Vermulen will carry strongly.
HB: 2 good hb's, Steyn will get position, Jantjies will get the backline moving.
AT: Both dangerous but can see Jantjies getting the Welsh backline moving a bit more.
BE: Not fantastic benches on show here, Sarries have impact in JDP and Simmons, Welsh in Kitschoff and James.
TA: Not sure the kick-chase will work for Sarries today, Armitage will enjoy the breakdown. Form and moving Sarries wide will edge it to Welsh but Sarries give them a very big scare with Steyn's boot.

Worcester 30-0 Wasps
Why couldn't this happen when I was in charge at Sixways?!

Bath 28 - 26 Gloucester

Bath to get the upper hand here, although both THs should get a shove on. One apiece in the 2nd row, not much give here, whilst the back row is tough to call. Prefer Bath at 7 and 8, so give them the upper hand, and think they take the pack overall. Better class from Gloucs but better form for Bath at HB. Prefer Gloucs at centre, although Bath's unit is decent. Two good back threes. At home, with a stronger pack, Bath have enough here.


Harlequins 26 - 25 Newcastle

Quins should get the advantage up front, and its one apiece in the 2nd row with both sides securing good line out ball. Newcastle take the back row though, although Croft's form counts against them. Think Quins edge both HB battles, and they win that contest. JOC best on show in the centres, but neither side flying in that area right now. Newcastle take the back threes. Really tight game this one that have found tough to call. Narrowest of wins for the home side.


Welsh 22 - 24 Saracens

Welsh struggling form wise up front but have more class - therefore no clear winner in my eyes. Really not much in it in the 2nd rows, 2 decent units. Two really good back rows - but I prefer Sarries' unit - it's excellent. A great pack battle overall. I prefer Sarries HB combo and think they control the game better. Centres a re fascinating, but I think Ioane is out of position and McCabe not done it at highest level, so advantage Sarries. Prefer the Welsah back three. I'm going with a Sarries win here, and think DHL deserves credit for the job he has done.


Saints 24 - 25 Irish

Fairly even front row contest for me, and its a similar story in the 2nd rows with 2 decent combos, but neither side having enough to dominate their opponent. Really fascinating back row contest, Irish have all the power, but great mobility from Saints with the likes of Messam. Not much in the packs at all for me, great viewing.All about Irish at HB though, and they really dominate here. Same story at centre, though Daly could provide some good things for Saints. Saints stronger in the back threes. For me Irish have the better backs, and at HB the game is won, by the tightest of margins.


Worcester 30 - 0 Wasps

Shame.

Can I have a bit of feedback on my side please lads as there is no prediction to make? Strenghts / weaknesses etc.

No worries will do nick going to do mine in a few hours

Bath Rugby 16-20 Gloucester

Scrum: Decent battle but Johnstone should draw some penalties from Faumuania.
Lineout: Good battle decent options for both. Both sides will be strong off attacking ball.
Breakdown: Not much leeway here but Baths midfield is also capable of slowing ball down.
HB's: Edge to Glaws. Genia on a similar level to Smith now and beginning to struggle for form.
Attack: Great runners on both sides but Glaws have more carrying options through the pack.
Defence: 1 on 1 tackling a slight issue for Sharples and May.
Bench: Good options for both sides. Bath can up their carrying game but Dagg gives Glaws another option to control territory.
Tactics: Not sure how Glaws target the lineout with a possession based game but Bath play into Glaws hands a bit this week emphasising the scrum and contact/carrying battle two areas I feel they lose out on.


Harlequins 27-24 Newcastle Falcons

Scrum: Slight edge to Quins but nothing major between the sides really.
Lineout: Edge to Newcastle. Quality options in the back row led by Kruger see them out number Quins a bit here.
Breakdown: Edge to Quins. See their front 5 doing more work here and two decent 7s in the back row combined and get an edge over McCaw without much help from his BS.
HB's: More danger from the Quins combo but feel Burns works better with someone providing quick clean service. Not a forte of Houghards game.
Attack: Edge to Falcons who have more players capable of carving up the defence in the backline.
Defence: JJ on this seasons form can be caught out at 13. JOC doesn’t seem to have got the hang of defence yet either.
Bench: Don’t think Goode should be involved here. Quins can get on top of at the scrum.
Tactics: Two solid game plans that would work well. Bit of confusion in the Falcons defensive tactics. Surely it would be easier for JOC to do a straight swap with AAC rather then having to shift Payne around as well? Will see some space out wide for Quins at times. Tough game to call but Quins at home can slow Falcons down at times and blunt their attack somewhat.


London Welsh 18-15 Saracens

Scrum: Evens. Welsh struggling for a bit of form in the front row but hold of Sarries for now.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball but Welsh look to be more dangerous in attacking positions.
Breakdown: Slight edge to Sarries. In form Welsh front 5 offers more then most in the league but lacking a bit atm. Sarries will slow a bit of ball down but Welsh still capable of getting good ball.
HB's: Sarries can control territory better but Jantjies much more capable of getting his backs into play.
Attack: Great carrying game for Sarries but they lack try scoring threat out wide somewhat which Welsh have in abundance.
Defence: Not sure on Digby positionally at13. Nothing getting through the Sarries midfield.
Bench: Nothing between the benches but feel Sarries need to find someone to allow them change the game plan up at times.
Tactics: Sarries tactics suit them to a tee but Welsh gone about it the right way with a wide game plan. Tight game to call but home advantage swings it.


Northampton Saints 29-30 London Irish

Scrum: Good battle here no real edge.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball with good options.
Breakdown: Saints more capable of poaching a turnover but don’t see them slowing ball down against an Irish flank combo fantastic at clearing out.
HB's: Step up to Irish.
Attack: Tremendous battle in contact but Irish just shade. Irish have more in playmaking capabilities.
Defence: Big runners may make some ground down Daly’s channel but no glaring weaknesses to either side.
Bench: Lawes needed a break after last weeks performance. Saints can up the ante on their carrying game.
Tactics: If Saints are looking to play territory first they need to mention it in their tactics/attack section. Game plan reads as building the phases but then territory comes in near the end? Tough game to call but Irish can get an edge in contact and have a bit more about their attack.


Worcester Warriors 30-0 London Wasps

Scrum: Good strong scrum. BJ is struggling a bit for form though. Not been as good at Munster as he was at Ulster.
Lineout: Think you could struggle here against the top lineouts in the league but should hold your own ball against most.
Breakdown: Lack of form for Rennie hurts. You should secure your own ball but won’t slow anyone down till Rennie picks up.
HB's: No complaints. Good strong combo. Even better with Kerr-Barlow in.
Attack: Lacking a few carriers in the packs could be a problem against the likes of Irish, Glaws etc.
Defence: Cook struggling at this level.
Bench: Not sure on Dave Ward but him aside you have decent bench options that should hold up against anyone in the league.
Tactics: Not sure the power game is the right way to go in the forwards

Can someone delete one of my predo's please? Think it's only Ozzy who can! Don't know why they went in twice!!

Bath 25 - 26 Gloucester

Not much at all in the front 5's. Two good tightheads who should get on top at scrum. Lineouts should be even. Prefer the Gloucester backrow in the loose but Bath at the breakdown. In the backs I think Gloucester have the edge across the board but not by much and there is probably better balance for Bath. Don't think May has the all round game for full back. Nothing in it tactics wide. Gloucester take the advantage on the benches. Don't think Haskell or North should be there for Bath. Very close game which Gloucester take by the slightest edge.

Leicester 22 - 21 Sale

Leicester have gone for a massive pack and I think it is important at home, particularly with such a good pair of half backs for controlling the game and territory. I think Leicester will have the better at scrum time but think perhaps Sale have the better lineout. Half backs are pretty level with both strong for what they want to do. I don't think 36 should have played myself but prefer the Sale centres anyway. Back three's to Leicester although Beale not playing great stuff at the moment. Tactics both suit each side with Leicester perhaps a little better set up for their game plan. Benches both strong. Probably wouldn't have Ducalon and Care on bench as I do feel they will be out of sync during 6N. Overall this a great contest. I think Leicester at home have enough to secure an important win. Sale looking real title challengers this year.

London Welsh 24 - 24 Saracens

Another great game. Up front I think Welsh will edge the scrum with the lineout even. Two physical packs packed with carriers. Breakdown should be controlled by Steffon and I prefer the Sarries half backs at both 9 and 10. Also prefer Saracens at centre but Welsh are stronger in the back 3. Welsh looking to get the ball wide is a good tactic playing to there strengths but I think Saracens kicking game could trouble the Welsh back 3. It is a very tight contest which I can't call.

Northampton 24 - 27 London Irish

Up front Irish have an advantage. Hartley shouldn't be involved for me but I think Irish have the advantage up front anyway, particularly at the scrum. Irish back row also packed with power and shades the Saints unit. Irish also stronger at half back and the power in the Irish midfield will cause problems with direct running. Saints have a exciting back 3 but Irish are no mugs. This is a great win for Irish.

Worcester 30 - 0 Wasps

Nick, Side looks good. Cook and Short stand out as weaknesses and bring down your back three with Malzieu out of form as well. With Downson and Rennie there is a lot of carrying to be done by others and there isn't really anyone but Spies to do this in the midfield. Few more carriers and stronger back 3 would be priority.

Just a point Steve. Haskell has been on the bench for 4 of last 5 weeks including my AP game. So probably played 140 mins in 5 weeks

What time are predos open to? Sure I read they were extended this week - off to an away game now and its quite a long trip so wont be on til much later!

8 pm tomorrow

Bath 15 Gloucester 20
Leicester Tigers 23 Sale Sharks 19
London Welsh 23 Saracens 17
Northampton 20 London Irish 22
Worcester 30 London Wasps 0

On phone so hence no description

Bath 23-25 Glos
Gloucester have key players in the right positions to win matches like this. Two good teams, but Mat's pack is really tough to beat and always picks up momentum at this point of the season.

Quins 27-25 Falcons
Quins on good form here and like the two 7s approach, with Brits. Still not 100% sure on the Quins backline, but can see tries from both sets. Home advantage and a slightly stronger bench enough.

Tigers 28-25 Sharks
Don't see Sharks having enough upfront to beat Tigers away from home, Tigers have strongest pack in the league during the 6Nations and Yach and Wilko controlling behind makes them very tough to beat.

Welsh 19-17 Sarries
Two very much improved teams over this season, very hard to pick a winner as both teams play a style that can disrupt the other team and stop lots of points being scored. The Sarries midfield is very hard to get through, and they do have a lot of gainline breakers. Can't see many tries here. One issue I have with Welsh is Hodgson at no9 and form of Corbs having been injured all season, but at home just enough.

Worcester 30-0 Wasps
Shame no Wasps team in as a huge game

Bath Rugby 20 Gloucester 22
Harlequins 26 Newcastle Falcons 23
Leicester Tigers 23 Sale Sharks 22
Northampton Saints 21 London Irish 23
Worcester Warriors 30 London Wasps 0


Anyone in contact with Fluxy away from the forum as not like him to ot stick a team in.

Quins 26-24 falcons

Quins have more form and a better bench. Not sure their backline works. Falcons can't wait for 6nations to end.

Leicester 22/21 sale

Leicester gone for a huge pack which is their
Making and unbreaking. Can't see them being mobile and maybe lack a little carrying but enough to gain more ball than sale. Sale take lineout but yach and wilko pull strings well for the game plan. Yach looking at a long ban which will effect Leicester.
Mermoz no 13 and Leicester backline will stutter. At home sale by a few points but Leicester have just enough and keep score board ticking

Welsh. 23-23 sarries

Welsh have a great front 5 but maybe struggling form wise. Armitage will poach quite a bit but for me sarries kill them at half Back. Hodgson out of his depth and jantjes would struggle with bad ball. Welsh tactics bang on in going wide and will get some joy as jantjes good at getting backline going:

Both tactics bang on sarries lack of threat wide compared to welsh sees a draw

Saints 21-23 Irish

Saints can't wait for 6 nations to end. They lack carrying compared to that great Irish back row who will carry all day and give quality ball to Pienaar and Evans. Evans been not great for a while form wise but is class act and Pienaar great,

To win away you need good ball and half backs. Irish get this. Saints a different team in a few weeks time