Fantasy Aviva Premiership Round Eighteen

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Newcastle Falcons vs. Leicester Tigers
Cloudy, 2 degrees, 21 mph winds.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01.Fabian Barcella	09.Ben Youngs
02.Jamie George	10.Aaron Cruden
03.Clerment Ric
04.Brad Thorn	11.Miles Benjiman
05.Juandre Kruger	12.Luke Marshall
06.Tom Croft	13.George Lowe
07.Hienrich Brussouw	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Chris Masoe(c)	15.James O'Connor (K)

16.Nathan Morris 17.Soane Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Joel Conlon 21.Jimmy Cowen 22.Jared Payne 23.Ben Williams.

Tactics;

Falcons to play the percentages game , kicking deep into the corners and pinning Tigers back using our set piece as a weapon with Croft and Kruger looking to get at Stephen Moore's throw with no out and out Lineout specialist in the Tigers pack.

We will look to keep the intensity high in the opposition half keeping the ball in phases to give our boomers a chance to launch the ball deep or to move it wide and exploit the space outwide.

We've picked Hienrich Brussouw at 7 as we feel he can prove to be the difference between the 2 sides with turnover ball being the best ball. Brussouw will look to pinch ball and then ship it wide and attack a disjointed Tigers line.

We will look to carry close to the fringes and keep it tight before giving our play makers in Cruden and JOC the chances to create something with our exciting backs.

KEY POINTS

- STRONG SET PIECE - We can see our selves getting plenty of joy at scrum time with a fresh front row able to last the full 80 , the Only change we will make here is Tonga'uhia for Barcella at some point in the 2nd 40 to up the tempo in the loose.

- Lineout work - Kruger will call our lineout and give George plenty of options to throw too. We will mix our line out up with ball being thrown to the front , middle and tail also using shortend lineouts.

-TARGET RORY CLEGG - Clegg is a poor defender and Masoe will look to run down his channel from the base of scrums where we can get a wheel on giving him time to get away from the 7.

- BIG EFFORT IN DEFENSE - Kingston is our fortress and we will throw our bodies on the line to defend. High line speed is key with Youngs covering as sweeper.

- SET RECORD straight - Business end of the season means we have to win every game if we want a home semi.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Yannick Forestier	09. Dimitri Yachvili (k)
02. Stephen Moore	10. Rory Clegg
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Nathan Hines	11. Drew Mitchell
05. Pascal Pape (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Steve Mafi	13. Rene Ranger
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Paul Sackey
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Sebastian Bruno 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Ryan Bower 19. Simon Shaw 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Micky Young 22. Maxime Mermoz 23. Alex Lewington

Play to our strengths and use Yachvili to dictate and control our heavy pack (avg. 17st 10lb vs Newcastle avg. 16st 10lb) - then look to get the runners in our back line into space.

Key Points:

Target Newcastle's Fatigue
Ben Youngs and Tom Croft come off the back of a gruelling game in Cardiff, whilst Luke Marshall started for Ireland against Italy. In contrast, we have no players starting who started in the 6N last week, and only Jenkins on the bench - who played his 1st game in 3 weeks against England.

League Form Coming into a Big Game
Newcastle haven't won in the league in 4 games, having lost to Quins, Sale and Sarries - and drawing with Welsh recently. We have won our last two and are looking to win this one too. Target this by looking to get points on the board early, getting Newcastle's heads down as quickly as possible.

Forwards off the Bench
We have huge amounts of experience on the bench, particualrly in the pack, The likes of Bruno (vs Nathan Morris), Jenkins (vs Scott Wilson), Shaw (vs Ed Slater) and Waldrom (vs Joel Conlon) to look to really get on top of their opponents in the last quarter.

General Tactics:

- Yachvili to control our game, dictating where our huge forwards play the game. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.
Kick regularly to Benjamin, targetting him with both high balls and kicks in behind.

- Yachvili and Twelvetrees to support Clegg. In attacking play, we will play with two first recievers in Clegg and Twelvetrees. Keep Newcastle guessing with our attacking options.

- Use the mix of runners in our backline. With the likes of Ranger and Nacewa we have silky runners; Twelvetrees as our powerful centre; and two speedster wingers - we have a real set of options behind Clegg.

- Target the scrum with our huge pack - Two out-and-out scrummaging props in Johnston and Forestier - look to really get the shove on.

- Mafi/Joubert are two of the best lineout jumpers in the AP. Use safe option of Mafi/Joubert at the front, and also use Hines/Pape/Scaysbrook in the middle or at the back. Look to target George's throws with Mafi and Joubert.

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

- 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.

- Yachvili to kick all penalites.

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Gloucester vs. London Welsh
Light Rain, 5 degrees, 15 mph winds.

Gloucester
Manager – Mat

01. Nick Wood	09. Will genia
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Israel Dagg
05. George Robson	12. Juan de Jongh
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Qera	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordoquoy ©	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Deon Fourie 17. Dan Murphy 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20. Steven Ferris 21. TJ Perenara 22. Ryan lamb 23. Matt Banahan

+ Form/Momentum We are on a great run and are coming off the back of some
Great away league wins. The only game we have lost is with a second team in the LV cup. We have been top of form league
+ Superior carriers we see welsh as lacking some grunt
+ Alexander is a 3 and playing at 1 against Figallo. Also players like taute and elstadt are playing in positions that are there second positions these days.

+ 8,9,10 axis all world class and able
To control a game. Questions over jantjes game at ten
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.
+ lineout forwards all over able to
Make a massive disruption of welsh ball.

+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 Big home 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 Hawkins 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 Jantjes channel. Alberts Kahui and co will be targetting this channel throughout the game.

Backrow and 9& 10
To pressure welsh halfbacks. Jantjes thrives on quick attacking ball whereas parra likes play to come of him

As ever we look to keep the ball and force Welsh 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 the new centre partnership of McCabe and Nanai Williams they will not be familiar

Specifics

- send Kahui gear Alberts etc at Jantjes channel
- take all points on offer with carter
- look to use the bomb early on to target jsd And taute.
- Territory early doors and pressure their lineout
- kick in behind back 3 and pressure welsh lack of
Kicking in back 3
- put pressure on parra Bath have no
Kicking game apart from parra and can be targeted and pressure built
- Dagg and Balshaw to interchange at fb to counter the errant kicking.
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping
- look to send in numbers to breakdown to disrupt and turnover.
- target welsh new combos to
Take advantage of their unfamiliarity
- carry relentlessly to keep ball and build pressure. We only use the ball when we have front foot quality ball


London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Ben Alexander	09. Morgan Parra
02. Rob Hawkins	10. Elton Jantjies
03. Dave Wilson
04. Rynhardt Elstadt	11. James Simpson-Daniel
05. James Hanks	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. Tim Nanai Williams
07. Siya Kolisi	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen ©	15. Jaco Taute

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Semisi Taulava 20. Luke Wallace 21. Tomas O’Leary 22. Gareth Anscombe 23. Joel Tomkins

Key Points

• Form/Momentum. We come into this game unbeaten in 15 matches, in form, full of confidence and with great momentum. We have also beaten Gloucester once the league this season and take confidence from that.
  
• Lack of real life form for Gloucester. Etzebeth, Alberts, de Jongh and Kahui have played no rugby so far this season, and Genia has 40 minutes as the Reds lost to the Force. They cannot be considered to have any form.
  
• Defensive frailties in the Gloucester back 3. Dagg has shown defensive frailties so far this season, and Balshaw’s issues there are well documented.
  
• Welsh defence. Solid defenders throughout the team mean that it will take something special to score points against us.
  

Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. We have picked a very mobile pack to try to put pace on the game up front. We will be looking for gaps rather than contact and looking to offload to support runners. We will look to apply pressure to Gloucester 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 Gloucester 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.
  
• JSD and Habana to both be tracking inside ball and coming off their wings looking for offloads from the ball carrier.
  
• If the wind gets up, then put some high balls in the corners asking question of Balshaw in the damp conditions.
  
• 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. Parra 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.
  

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London Irish vs. Worcester Warriors
Light Rain, 5 degrees, 15 mph winds.

London Irish
Manager - prop_lyd

01. Jean Baptiste-Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Hika Elliot	10. Nick Evans(k)
03. Brok Harris
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Marland Yarde
05. Hugh Pyle	12. Shane Geraghty
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Ben Morgan	15. Zane Kirchner

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Matt Stevens 18. Charlie Beech 19. Dean Mumm 20. Scott Higginbotham 21. Jack Moates 22. Lionel Beauxis 23. Henry Trinder

Key Points

Heavy Pack
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 We have picked a very heavy pack to grind out quick ball and control the set piece. We have international experience across our pack and in Hooper we have someone who can control a lineout and in Pyle an exciting runner. Our back row brings the balance of strength (Godzilla) who will target the 10-12 channel, Breakdown work (Fraser) who will slow down ball and the link player (Morgan) who will make the hard yards and look to speed up play.

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. Off the back of the scrum Morgan will make the hard yards and look for offloads if on.

Target 10-12 Channel
We will target their 10-12 channel in both attack and defence. Gorgodze and Morgan will look to run at their weaker shoulders and make the hard yards before looking for the offloads to the support runners.

Attacking

• We want to force errors from Warriors and will target the 10-12 channel by sending big runners down his channel.

• Pienaar and Evans to play what's in front of them and look to release Gerghaty (who will link with Smith with quick ball) or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Hooper, Gorgodze and Pyle 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 Basson 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.

• Experience to close out the win in Stevens, Higginbotham and Mumm, excitement to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Trinder and Beauxis 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 10-12 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 Fraser 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.

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Werner Kruger
04. Dean Schofield	11. Eli Walker
05. Johann Muller (c)	12. Olly Barkley
06. Tom Savage	13. Yannick Jauzion
07. Shane Jennings	14. James Short
08. Raphael Lakafia	15. Delon Armitage

16. Matt Parr 17. Koree Britton 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk 19. Luke Charteris 20. Ross Rennie 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Tom Casson 23. Ben Ransom

Team News
- Worcester welcome back Delon Armitage from his 8 week ban. Johhnie Beattie, Ryan Jones, Sean Maitland, Alun Wyn-Jones and Mathieu Bastereaud have been given the week off following the 6 Nations. Numerous injuries have ruled out the likes of Pierre Spies, Brian Mujati, Ali Williams and BJ Botha, but the Warriors are able to call upon Raphael Lakafia, Werner Kruger, Shane Jennings and Yannick Jauzion who are all fit and raring to go.

Tactics

- Look to win the forward battle. Big collisions, big carries and get over the gainline. Wear Irish down in defence.

- Earn the right to go wide. We will not do this too early and wait until defenders are sucked in before spreading it to the wings.

- Barkley to kick all pens for goals.

- FTD and Barkley to be the play makers, getting us in the right areas of the pitch.

- Jennings to be a menace at the breakdown and slow down as much ball as possible.

- Kerr-Barlow to snipe around the fringes and look for gaps to exploit.

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Sale Sharks vs. Bath Rugby
Cloudy, 2 degrees, 21 mph winds.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Kahn Fotuaili'i
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Simon Zebo
05. Andries Bekker	12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Fulgence Quedragao	13. Francois Steyn
07. Matt Kvesic	14. David Strettle
08. Victor Vito	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Vasil Kakovin 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Christian Day 20. Temani Harrison 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Luke Rooney

Key Points

Target Heathcote

Look to send our midfield running down his channel. With a tackle completion rate of 66% in the Prem this season this is an area we can make some ground. Quedragao will look to rush up on defence and get in his face. With no back up flyhalf in the match day squad if Heathcote can be frazzled Bath are in serious trouble.

Attacking

• Look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. Ball in hand, look to use our big line breakers to make the hard yards and 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 andbring 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 Bath 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 opposition lineouts Bekker will stand at the front and challenge. At 6ft 10" Bath 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 Bath momentum before it can get going.

• Fotuaili'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 his hands on the ball.

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

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Jon Golding	09. Aaron Smith
02. Chris Brooker	10. Tom Heathcote
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. No polini Nalaga
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Anthony Allen
06. Brad Shields	13. Rob Horne
07. David Pocock	14. Aurelian Rougerie
08. Tom Guest	15. Cory Jane

16. Cian Healy 17. Will Tanner 18. Carl Rimmer 19. James Gaskell 20. David Seymour 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Luther Burrell 23. George North

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

Scrum: We will look to be competitive at scrum time with Guest controlling it from the back.Apply pressure and look to get nudge on throughout. Look to play the ref and if not going our way use as a restart.

Lineout: Our second row partnership is where we really feel we can have advantage. We will look to hammer this advantage home. We have Kitchener leading our lineout whilst Romanp 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 Kubs, Romano 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 Shields 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 Heathcote 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.

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

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo

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Saracens vs. Harlequins
Light Rain, 4 degrees, 17 mph winds.

Saracens Football Club
Manager – DHLS07

01. Max Lahiff	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit (c)	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Lachie Turner
05. James Craig	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Liam Gill	13. Fergus McFadden
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Ben Smith

16. George Chuter 17. Paul James 18. Phil Swainston 19. Lionel Nallet 20. Matt Hankin 21. Chris Cook 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Mark Cueto

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.


Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Karl Dickson
02. Schalk Brits (C)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Luke Morahan
05. George Kruis	12. Anthony Faainga
06. David Denton	13. Florian Fritz
07. Michael Hooper	14. Ross Chisholm
08. Nick Easter	15. Andre Taylor

16. Matthew Rees 17. Will Collier 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Carl Fearns 21. Luke McGrath 22. Quade Cooper 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

Game Plan

Retain the ball and build phases using the strong carriers in our pack to make yards, punch holes and tie in defenders. Once defenders are tied in we will spread the ball wide and get our pacy backs into space. We will look for our carriers to carry in numbers so they can offload after or just before contact, or they can set up a ruck quickly and get quick back for the half backs. These tactics rely on quick ball so we are going to commit and extra man into the rucks to negate the effect of Gill and Armitage.

We will look to win the collisions in attack and defence and keep the legs pumping in contact before going to ground when we have forward momentum.

Forwards

We will attempt to control the lineout with Kruis in charge and 4 other excellent jumping options. We will shorten the lineout between 22m lines to four and use Denton, Easter and Hooper as carrying options in the midfield. At the scrum we will play it by ear. if we are dominant we will look to milk penalties whilst if we are struggling we will get the ball in and out quickly. At the rucks we will look to ruck players out the way effectively and get them off their feet so they can't get to the ball.

Backs

We will get Karl Dickson sniping at the fringes to keep the Saracens defence honest whilst Burns will stand flat and bring others into play. We have Faainga and Fritz cutting lines as well as Brits, Denton, Easter and Hooper carrying in the midfield. Faainga will cut lines all game targeting Steenson in the defensive line. Our blindside winger will come infield looking for work and Taylor will join the line at pace and do what he does best.

Defence

Faainga to captain our defence and we will employ a quick line speed and look to double up in the tackle with one man taking the legs and the other targeting the ball. We will look to legally slow down the Saracens ball with Hooper targeting the breakdown.

Key Points

Retain Possession -Keep the ball in hand outside of our 22. Starve Saracens of possession and they can't do anything.

Quick ruck ball and offloads - We need to ruck effectively to get quick ball so we can build our attack and keep the momentum going with offloads. We need to ruck well to negate Gill and Armitage.

Target the lineout - We will look to really get at the Saracens line out. Craig had just joined and there is no other noted leaders in the pack.

Target Steenson,McFadden and Smith in defence - When we get the chance we will target McFadden's positioning at 13 and Steenson and Smith's tacklig, as they both have a tendancy to fall of the tackle.

Kick the points - A win here will be huge to our season and play-off hopes. We are going all out for the win and will take the points whenever they are on offer.

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London Wasps vs. Northampton Saints
Light Rain, 3 degrees, 24 mph winds.

London Wasps
Manager – Fluxy

01. Ben Robinson	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber	10. Rhys Priestland
03. Logovii Mulipola
04. Bradley Davies	11. Tom Varndell
05. Mourtiz Botha	12. Dan Bowden
06. Iain Henderson	13. Tomasso Benevenuti
07. Jonathon Poff	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Dave Dennis	15. Geordan Murphy

16. Sean Cronin 17. Alec Hepburn 18. Shaun Knight 19. Alistair Hargreaves 20. John Barclay 21. Jonah Holmes 22. Brock James 23. Jamie Elliot

Tactics
At home we will look to test a Saints team that has been rotated a lot and have little cohesion. With the Wasps crowd behind the boys, we will look to play simple abrasive rugby. The brand of rugby we want to play is physical and fast, however we won't just run the ball at every opportunity. We will only play in the right areas of the paddock, therefore Machenaud and Priestland will look to keep us penned in the Saints 22. If the Saints lads are going to score against us they will have to run the ball 80+ metres.
We will look to go through simple phases to reproduce quick ball to cut the defence open. Slow ball we will look to set up pods and runners off Priestland. This will drag Saints defenders further apart and produce wholes or mismatches. With a physical pack and will look to dominate from 1-10, so we will to set quick rucks to tie in their boys to allow time and space for our backs. With the decent conditions, we have some dangerous backs with ball in hand and will look to cut loose when the opportunity arises.

Tactics

• We have some great technicians in the scrum and with our big front five, this is an area we want to get an advantage in. Look to target this area, as Saints don't possess the most technical props. Looking to wheel and cut the scrum off from the opposing backline.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, Barclay will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Botha jumping in the middle. Look to run full number lineouts to tie in the opposing pack. This will create space for our backs.
  
  
• Look to clear every ruck out quickly. Much like England and NZ we want to cleanly win our own possession and quickly.
  
  
• Similar to the point above but we want to legally get men over the ball and competing for possession to slow down the Saints possession.
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing them from setting any defensive lines and moving the point of attack. They have some very big boys and some good fetchers, so constantly moving the ruck will tire them out and prevent them from snaffling any possession.
  
  
• Preistland will look to use our pacy backline often. Just because we are in a dogfight doesn't mean we can't not turn on the style to score tries. Use Bowden as the creative lynch-pin in midfield and allow time and space for our back line to wreak havoc, or as another kicking option.
  
  
• Machenaud willl control the pack and direct traffic, just like all little french general scrum half's. He will take look to test the Saints back three with kicks in behind them and look to make them make tough decisions in defence.
  
  
• We will run a banana blitz in defence, with Machenaud sweeping. This will cut down the time and space for their danger midfield and halfbacks. Sending them inside to the guards of the rucks and creating a chance of isolation and turnover.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game. To get an advantage in the scrum, and collisions with big impact players.
  
  
• Priestland to kick all on opportunity points, within range. Any other penalties will be sent long to gain a territorial edge with our strong lineout.

Northampton Saints
Manager - dammit_chris

01. Sona Taumalolo	09. Nick Phipps
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Juan Martin Hernandez (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Callum Clark	11. Christian Wade
05. Patricio Albecete	12. Marcelo Bosch
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Elliot Daly
07. Sam Cane	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden(c)

16. Mike Haywood 17. Ben Teimafano 18. Carl Hayman 19. Cadeyn Neville 20. Liam Messam 21. Alex Day 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Ben Nutley

Tactics:
High on confidence from last weeks LV Cup Final triumph Saints will look to build and implement the same tactics, especially after having beaten Wasps less than two weeks ago.

Again we will to play a game where me make few mistakes, so we've picked a 10-12-13 combination that can put us deep into Wasps territory and a large pack that can force mistakes with a physical/aggressive defence. Our game will be based around territory, getting our forwards over the gaininline, putting Wasps under pressure and using Bonnaire to generate quick ball at the lineout. We will work through the phases and get into good positions to launch our backs - no risk rugby early on and feed off any mistake that Wasps make, with a very good counter attacking backline.

Territory & going through the phases Pack full of big ball carriers to get over the gainline and put us on the front foot. We will aim to be more physical than Wasps upfront and dominate territory and possession. Patient game, no mistakes. Three excellent kickers in Hernandez, Bosch and Daly to control territory. Look to force Wasps into mistakes or conceding penalties and are a threat from 55metres with Daly's boot.

Attack: We will go through the phases and get our big ball carriers on the ball early on (Taumalolo, Thomas, TFN, Albacete, Messam, Vunipola). When we break the defensive line that is when we will go out wide and put pace on the game. We've got try scorers all over the backline and genuine pace out wide.

Bosch makes his Saints debut, but with Hernandez and Imhoff in the backline there will be an instant understanding between the Argentinians, which will allow our backline to flow.

Phipps to control the game at no9, by bringing in the forwards to make hard yards around the fringes and suck in Wasps defence - we want to create overlaps for the likes of Wade, Daly and Foden.

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, Thomas, Clark and Vunipola. Same defensive system as England utilise, based around physicality and aggression in the pack, forcing mistakes.

Phipps to sweep behind defensive line, but also have Daly and Wade's pace for any linebreaks and Foden as one of the best tackling fullbacks in world rugby.

Set piece: Strong scrum and lineout jumpers of Bonnaire, Albacete and Clark - will use the lineout to set up more phases for our forwards to go through and generate quick ball from those phases and first phase is to use Bosch or Foden to punch holes in Wasps defence.

From the base of the scrum Vunipola to attack Priestland.

Breakdown: Calum Clark always comes close to top of turnover stats in AP and in addition we have recalled Cane to the starting lineup in order to really target this area. Will use Vunipola, Albacete and the front row to clear out the Wasps players at the breakdown and make this a really physical contest.

Key Points:
• Patient game, working through the phases and getting powerful runners over the gainline.
• Make the game as physical as possible as feel have advantage over Wasps in that aspect.
• Win tactical kicking battle with Hernandez, Bosch and Daly...
• Attack Wasps set piece, especially lineout in the absence of Wentzel.
• Send big runners down the Wasps 10/12 channel to suck in defenders and create space outwide to exploit.

---

Saracens Football Club
Manager – DHLS07

01. Max Lahiff	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit (c)	10. Gareth Steenson
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Lachie Turner
05. James Craig	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Liam Gill	13. Fergus McFadden
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Keegan Daniel	15. Ben Smith

16. George Chuter 17. Paul James 18. Phil Swainston 19. Lionel Nallet 20. Matt Hankin 21. Chris Cook 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Mark Cueto

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.

I'm going to have to change my team as Northampton are recalling Vunipola from his loan.

Scratching my head with selection this week some tough calls to be made

Injuries and post 6N means most teams will be almost unrecognisable I guess.

Yeah, some tough calls to make this week. Could have done with an easier fixture than Gloucester (a) to be honest.

London Wasps

Manager – Fluxy

01. Ben Robinson	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber	10. Rhys Priestland
03. Logovii Mulipola
04. Bradley Davies	11. Tom Varndell
05. Mourtiz Botha	12. Dan Bowden
06. Iain Henderson	13. Tomasso Benevenuti
07. Jonathon Poff	14. Topsy Ojo
08. Dave Dennis	15. Geordan Murphy

16. Sean Cronin 17. Alec Hepburn 18. Shaun Knight 19. Alistair Hargreaves 20. John Barclay 21. Jonah Holmes 22. Brock James 23. Jamie Elliot

Tactics
At home we will look to test a Saints team that has been rotated a lot and have little cohesion. With the Wasps crowd behind the boys, we will look to play simple abrasive rugby. The brand of rugby we want to play is physical and fast, however we won't just run the ball at every opportunity. We will only play in the right areas of the paddock, therefore Machenaud and Priestland will look to keep us penned in the Saints 22. If the Saints lads are going to score against us they will have to run the ball 80+ metres.
We will look to go through simple phases to reproduce quick ball to cut the defence open. Slow ball we will look to set up pods and runners off Priestland. This will drag Saints defenders further apart and produce wholes or mismatches. With a physical pack and will look to dominate from 1-10, so we will to set quick rucks to tie in their boys to allow time and space for our backs. With the decent conditions, we have some dangerous backs with ball in hand and will look to cut loose when the opportunity arises.

Tactics

• We have some great technicians in the scrum and with our big front five, this is an area we want to get an advantage in. Look to target this area, as Saints don't possess the most technical props. Looking to wheel and cut the scrum off from the opposing backline.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, Barclay will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Botha jumping in the middle. Look to run full number lineouts to tie in the opposing pack. This will create space for our backs.
  
  
• Look to clear every ruck out quickly. Much like England and NZ we want to cleanly win our own possession and quickly.
  
  
• Similar to the point above but we want to legally get men over the ball and competing for possession to slow down the Saints possession.
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing them from setting any defensive lines and moving the point of attack. They have some very big boys and some good fetchers, so constantly moving the ruck will tire them out and prevent them from snaffling any possession.
  
  
• Preistland will look to use our pacy backline often. Just because we are in a dogfight doesn't mean we can't not turn on the style to score tries. Use Bowden as the creative lynch-pin in midfield and allow time and space for our back line to wreak havoc, or as another kicking option.
  
  
• Machenaud willl control the pack and direct traffic, just like all little french general scrum half's. He will take look to test the Saints back three with kicks in behind them and look to make them make tough decisions in defence.
  
  
• We will run a banana blitz in defence, with Machenaud sweeping. This will cut down the time and space for their danger midfield and halfbacks. Sending them inside to the guards of the rucks and creating a chance of isolation and turnover.
  
  
• Look to use our strong bench for impact later in the game. To get an advantage in the scrum, and collisions with big impact players.
  
  
• Priestland to kick all on opportunity points, within range. Any other penalties will be sent long to gain a territorial edge with our strong lineout.

London Welsh hand a starting debut to new signing Tim Nanai-Williams, with fellow Kiwi Gareth Anscombe having to be content with a place on the bench. Dave Wilson and Morgan Parra return from 6 Nations duty, whilst others who had heavier workloads in the tournament have been rested for this weeks visit to Kingsholm. Head coach Ozzy3213 had this to say about his selection.

“We have a few injuries, and a few players like Jim (Hamilton), Thierry (Dusautoir) and Owen (Farrell) who need a break after a tough 6 Nations competition. This has given a few other players a real chance to stick their hands up this week for a starting place during the run in. Dave (Wilson) is chomping at the bit to get on the field after having very limited game time for England, and likewise Martin (Castrogiovanni) is fit and raring to go having not played at the weekend. We know it will be a tough game against Gloucester, but we’ve beaten them in the league already this season, and we go there full of confidence and looking to extend our unbeaten run.”

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Ben Alexander	09. Morgan Parra
02. Rob Hawkins	10. Elton Jantjies
03. Dave Wilson
04. Rynhardt Elstadt	11. James Simpson-Daniel
05. James Hanks	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. Tim Nanai Williams
07. Siya Kolisi	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen ©	15. Jaco Taute

16. Chris Whitehead 17. Brett Sturgess 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Semisi Taulava 20. Luke Wallace 21. Tomas O’Leary 22. Gareth Anscombe 23. Joel Tomkins

Key Points

• Form/Momentum. We come into this game unbeaten in 15 matches, in form, full of confidence and with great momentum. We have also beaten Gloucester once the league this season and take confidence from that.
  
• Lack of real life form for Gloucester. Etzebeth, Alberts, de Jongh and Kahui have played no rugby so far this season, and Genia has 40 minutes as the Reds lost to the Force. They cannot be considered to have any form.
  
• Defensive frailties in the Gloucester back 3. Dagg has shown defensive frailties so far this season, and Balshaw’s issues there are well documented.
  
• Welsh defence. Solid defenders throughout the team mean that it will take something special to score points against us.
  

Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise for us to control possession and be solid defensively. We have picked a very mobile pack to try to put pace on the game up front. We will be looking for gaps rather than contact and looking to offload to support runners. We will look to apply pressure to Gloucester 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 Gloucester 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.
  
• JSD and Habana to both be tracking inside ball and coming off their wings looking for offloads from the ball carrier.
  
• If the wind gets up, then put some high balls in the corners asking question of Balshaw in the damp conditions.
  
• 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. Parra 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.
  

Denton - 0 6N starts
Fritz - 2 6N starts

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Karl Dickson
02. Schalk Brits (C)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Luke Morahan
05. George Kruis	12. Anthony Faainga
06. David Denton	13. Florian Fritz
07. Michael Hooper	14. Ross Chisholm
08. Nick Easter	15. Andre Taylor

16. Matthew Rees 17. Will Collier 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Carl Fearns 21. Luke McGrath 22. Quade Cooper 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

Game Plan

Retain the ball and build phases using the strong carriers in our pack to make yards, punch holes and tie in defenders. Once defenders are tied in we will spread the ball wide and get our pacy backs into space. We will look for our carriers to carry in numbers so they can offload after or just before contact, or they can set up a ruck quickly and get quick back for the half backs. These tactics rely on quick ball so we are going to commit and extra man into the rucks to negate the effect of Gill and Armitage.

We will look to win the collisions in attack and defence and keep the legs pumping in contact before going to ground when we have forward momentum.

Forwards

We will attempt to control the lineout with Kruis in charge and 4 other excellent jumping options. We will shorten the lineout between 22m lines to four and use Denton, Easter and Hooper as carrying options in the midfield. At the scrum we will play it by ear. if we are dominant we will look to milk penalties whilst if we are struggling we will get the ball in and out quickly. At the rucks we will look to ruck players out the way effectively and get them off their feet so they can't get to the ball.

Backs

We will get Karl Dickson sniping at the fringes to keep the Saracens defence honest whilst Burns will stand flat and bring others into play. We have Faainga and Fritz cutting lines as well as Brits, Denton, Easter and Hooper carrying in the midfield. Faainga will cut lines all game targeting Steenson in the defensive line. Our blindside winger will come infield looking for work and Taylor will join the line at pace and do what he does best.

Defence

Faainga to captain our defence and we will employ a quick line speed and look to double up in the tackle with one man taking the legs and the other targeting the ball. We will look to legally slow down the Saracens ball with Hooper targeting the breakdown.

Key Points

Retain Possession -Keep the ball in hand outside of our 22. Starve Saracens of possession and they can't do anything.

Quick ruck ball and offloads - We need to ruck effectively to get quick ball so we can build our attack and keep the momentum going with offloads. We need to ruck well to negate Gill and Armitage.

Target the lineout - We will look to really get at the Saracens line out. Craig had just joined and there is no other noted leaders in the pack.

Target Steenson,McFadden and Smith in defence - When we get the chance we will target McFadden's positioning at 13 and Steenson and Smith's tacklig, as they both have a tendancy to fall of the tackle.

Kick the points - A win here will be huge to our season and play-off hopes. We are going all out for the win and will take the points whenever they are on offer.

Saints team versus Wasps
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Sona Taumalolo	09. Nick Phipps
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Juan Martin Hernandez (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Callum Clark	11. Christian Wade
05. Patricio Albecete	12. Marcelo Bosch
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Elliot Daly
07. Sam Cane	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden(c)

16. Mike Haywood 17. Ben Teimafano 18. Carl Hayman 19. Cadeyn Neville 20. Liam Messam 21. Alex Day 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Ben Nutley

Tactics:
High on confidence from last weeks LV Cup Final triumph Saints will look to build and implement the same tactics, especially after having beaten Wasps less than two weeks ago.

Again we will to play a game where me make few mistakes, so we've picked a 10-12-13 combination that can put us deep into Wasps territory and a large pack that can force mistakes with a physical/aggressive defence. Our game will be based around territory, getting our forwards over the gaininline, putting Wasps under pressure and using Bonnaire to generate quick ball at the lineout. We will work through the phases and get into good positions to launch our backs - no risk rugby early on and feed off any mistake that Wasps make, with a very good counter attacking backline.

Territory & going through the phases Pack full of big ball carriers to get over the gainline and put us on the front foot. We will aim to be more physical than Wasps upfront and dominate territory and possession. Patient game, no mistakes. Three excellent kickers in Hernandez, Bosch and Daly to control territory. Look to force Wasps into mistakes or conceding penalties and are a threat from 55metres with Daly's boot.

Attack: We will go through the phases and get our big ball carriers on the ball early on (Taumalolo, Thomas, TFN, Albacete, Messam, Vunipola). When we break the defensive line that is when we will go out wide and put pace on the game. We've got try scorers all over the backline and genuine pace out wide.

Bosch makes his Saints debut, but with Hernandez and Imhoff in the backline there will be an instant understanding between the Argentinians, which will allow our backline to flow.

Phipps to control the game at no9, by bringing in the forwards to make hard yards around the fringes and suck in Wasps defence - we want to create overlaps for the likes of Wade, Daly and Foden.

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, Thomas, Clark and Vunipola. Same defensive system as England utilise, based around physicality and aggression in the pack, forcing mistakes.

Phipps to sweep behind defensive line, but also have Daly and Wade's pace for any linebreaks and Foden as one of the best tackling fullbacks in world rugby.

Set piece: Strong scrum and lineout jumpers of Bonnaire, Albacete and Clark - will use the lineout to set up more phases for our forwards to go through and generate quick ball from those phases and first phase is to use Bosch or Foden to punch holes in Wasps defence.

From the base of the scrum Vunipola to attack Priestland.

Breakdown: Calum Clark always comes close to top of turnover stats in AP and in addition we have recalled Cane to the starting lineup in order to really target this area. Will use Vunipola, Albacete and the front row to clear out the Wasps players at the breakdown and make this a really physical contest.

Key Points:
• Patient game, working through the phases and getting powerful runners over the gainline.
• Make the game as physical as possible as feel have advantage over Wasps in that aspect.
• Win tactical kicking battle with Hernandez, Bosch and Daly...
• Attack Wasps set piece, especially lineout in the absence of Wentzel.
• Send big runners down the Wasps 10/12 channel to suck in defenders and create space outwide to exploit.

01. Jean Baptiste-Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Hika Elliot	10. Nick Evans(k)
03. Brok Harris
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Marland Yarde
05. Hugh Pyle	12. Shane Geraghty
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Ben Morgan	15. Zane Kirchner

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Matt Stevens 18. Charlie Beech 19. Dean Mumm 20. Scott Higginbotham 21. Jack Moates 22. Lionel Beauxis 23. Henry Trinder

Key Points

Heavy Pack
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 We have picked a very heavy pack to grind out quick ball and control the set piece. We have international experience across our pack and in Hooper we have someone who can control a lineout and in Pyle an exciting runner. Our back row brings the balance of strength (Godzilla) who will target the 10-12 channel, Breakdown work (Fraser) who will slow down ball and the link player (Morgan) who will make the hard yards and look to speed up play.

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. Off the back of the scrum Morgan will make the hard yards and look for offloads if on.

Target 10-12 Channel
We will target their 10-12 channel in both attack and defence. Gorgodze and Morgan will look to run at their weaker shoulders and make the hard yards before looking for the offloads to the support runners.

Attacking

• We want to force errors from Warriors and will target the 10-12 channel by sending big runners down his channel.

• Pienaar and Evans to play what's in front of them and look to release Gerghaty (who will link with Smith with quick ball) or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Hooper, Gorgodze and Pyle 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 Basson 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.

• Experience to close out the win in Stevens, Higginbotham and Mumm, excitement to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Trinder and Beauxis 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 10-12 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 Fraser 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.

Leicester Tigers have named their side to travel to Newcastle Falcons this week.

Tigers have made 6 changes to the side that beat Sale 28-22 in their last outing. Most of these changes are enforced, with Jonny Wilkinson, Kurtley Beale, Andrew Sheridan, Francois Louw and Ugo Monye all out inured, whilst Maxime Mermoz drops to the bench.

This means starts for French international prop Yannick Forestier, flanker James Scaysbrook, young fly half Rory Clegg, centre Rene Ranger and wingers Paul Sackey and Drew Mitchell.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Yannick Forestier	09. Dimitri Yachvili (k)
02. Stephen Moore	10. Rory Clegg
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Nathan Hines	11. Drew Mitchell
05. Pascal Pape (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Steve Mafi	13. Rene Ranger
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Paul Sackey
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Sebastian Bruno 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Ryan Bower 19. Simon Shaw 20. Thomas Waldrom 21. Micky Young 22. Maxime Mermoz 23. Alex Lewington

Play to our strengths and use Yachvili to dictate and control our heavy pack (avg. 17st 10lb vs Newcastle avg. 16st 10lb) - then look to get the runners in our back line into space.

Key Points:

Target Newcastle's Fatigue
Ben Youngs and Tom Croft come off the back of a gruelling game in Cardiff, whilst Luke Marshall started for Ireland against Italy. In contrast, we have no players starting who started in the 6N last week, and only Jenkins on the bench - who played his 1st game in 3 weeks against England.

League Form Coming into a Big Game
Newcastle haven't won in the league in 4 games, having lost to Quins, Sale and Sarries - and drawing with Welsh recently. We have won our last two and are looking to win this one too. Target this by looking to get points on the board early, getting Newcastle's heads down as quickly as possible.

Forwards off the Bench
We have huge amounts of experience on the bench, particualrly in the pack, The likes of Bruno (vs Nathan Morris), Jenkins (vs Scott Wilson), Shaw (vs Ed Slater) and Waldrom (vs Joel Conlon) to look to really get on top of their opponents in the last quarter.

General Tactics:

- Yachvili to control our game, dictating where our huge forwards play the game. We have the personnel in our side to play a mixture of different styles, and we will play the game as we see it.
Kick regularly to Benjamin, targetting him with both high balls and kicks in behind.

- Yachvili and Twelvetrees to support Clegg. In attacking play, we will play with two first recievers in Clegg and Twelvetrees. Keep Newcastle guessing with our attacking options.

- Use the mix of runners in our backline. With the likes of Ranger and Nacewa we have silky runners; Twelvetrees as our powerful centre; and two speedster wingers - we have a real set of options behind Clegg.

- Target the scrum with our huge pack - Two out-and-out scrummaging props in Johnston and Forestier - look to really get the shove on.

- Mafi/Joubert are two of the best lineout jumpers in the AP. Use safe option of Mafi/Joubert at the front, and also use Hines/Pape/Scaysbrook in the middle or at the back. Look to target George's throws with Mafi and Joubert.

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

- 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.

- Yachvili to kick all penalites.

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Werner Kruger
04. Dean Schofield	11. Eli Walker
05. Johann Muller (c)	12. Olly Barkley
06. Tom Savage	13. Yannick Jauzion
07. Shane Jennings	14. James Short
08. Raphael Lakafia	15. Delon Armitage

16. Matt Parr 17. Koree Britton 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk 19. Luke Charteris 20. Ross Rennie 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Tom Casson 23. Ben Ransom

Team News
- Worcester welcome back Delon Armitage from his 8 week ban. Johhnie Beattie, Ryan Jones, Sean Maitland, Alun Wyn-Jones and Mathieu Bastereaud have been given the week off following the 6 Nations. Numerous injuries have ruled out the likes of Pierre Spies, Brian Mujati, Ali Williams and BJ Botha, but the Warriors are able to call upon Raphael Lakafia, Werner Kruger, Shane Jennings and Yannick Jauzion who are all fit and raring to go.

Tactics

- Look to win the forward battle. Big collisions, big carries and get over the gainline. Wear Irish down in defence.

- Earn the right to go wide. We will not do this too early and wait until defenders are sucked in before spreading it to the wings.

- Barkley to kick all pens for goals.

- FTD and Barkley to be the play makers, getting us in the right areas of the pitch.

- Jennings to be a menace at the breakdown and slow down as much ball as possible.

- Kerr-Barlow to snipe around the fringes and look for gaps to exploit.

Newcastle Falcons

Manager – Driver

01.Fabian Barcella	09.Ben Youngs
02.Jamie George	10.Aaron Cruden
03.Clerment Ric
04.Brad Thorn	11.Miles Benjiman
05.Juandre Kruger	12.Luke Marshall
06.Tom Croft	13.George Lowe
07.Hienrich Brussouw	14.Adam Ashley-Cooper
08.Chris Masoe(c)	15.James O'Connor (K)

16.Nathan Morris 17.Soane Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Joel Conlon 21.Jimmy Cowen 22.Jared Payne 23.Ben Williams.


Tactics;

Falcons to play the percentages game , kicking deep into the corners and pinning Tigers back using our set piece as a weapon with Croft and Kruger looking to get at Stephen Moore's throw with no out and out Lineout specialist in the Tigers pack.

We will look to keep the intensity high in the opposition half keeping the ball in phases to give our boomers a chance to launch the ball deep or to move it wide and exploit the space outwide.

We've picked Hienrich Brussouw at 7 as we feel he can prove to be the difference between the 2 sides with turnover ball being the best ball. Brussouw will look to pinch ball and then ship it wide and attack a disjointed Tigers line.

We will look to carry close to the fringes and keep it tight before giving our play makers in Cruden and JOC the chances to create something with our exciting backs.

KEY POINTS

- STRONG SET PIECE - We can see our selves getting plenty of joy at scrum time with a fresh front row able to last the full 80 , the Only change we will make here is Tonga'uhia for Barcella at some point in the 2nd 40 to up the tempo in the loose.

- Lineout work - Kruger will call our lineout and give George plenty of options to throw too. We will mix our line out up with ball being thrown to the front , middle and tail also using shortend lineouts.

-TARGET RORY CLEGG - Clegg is a poor defender and Masoe will look to run down his channel from the base of scrums where we can get a wheel on giving him time to get away from the 7.

- BIG EFFORT IN DEFENSE - Kingston is our fortress and we will throw our bodies on the line to defend. High line speed is key with Youngs covering as sweeper.

- SET RECORD straight - Business end of the season means we have to win every game if we want a home semi.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Jon Golding	09. Aaron Smith
02. Chris Brooker	10. Tom Heathcote
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. No polini Nalaga
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Anthony Allen
06. Brad Shields	13. Rob Horne
07. David Pocock	14. Aurelian Rougerie
08. Tom Guest	15. Cory Jane

16. Cian Healy 17. Will Tanner 18. Carl Rimmer 19. James Gaskell 20. David Seymour 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Luther Burrell 23. George North



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

Scrum: We will look to be competitive at scrum time with Guest controlling it from the back.Apply pressure and look to get nudge on throughout. Look to play the ref and if not going our way use as a restart.

Lineout: Our second row partnership is where we really feel we can have advantage. We will look to hammer this advantage home. We have Kitchener leading our lineout whilst Romanp 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 Kubs, Romano 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 Shields 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 Heathcote 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.

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

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo

Gloucester
Manager – Mat

01. Nick Wood	09. Will genia
02. Rob Buchanan	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Israel Dagg
05. George Robson	12. Juan de Jongh
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Qera	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordoquoy ©	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Deon Fourie 17. Dan Murphy18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom Palmer 20. Steven Ferris 21. TJ Perenara22. Ryan lamb 23. Matt banahan


+ Form/Momentum We are on a great run and are coming off the back of some
Great away league wins. The only game we have lost is with a second team in the LV cup. We have been top of form league
+ Superior carriers we see welsh as lacking some grunt
+ Alexander is a 3 and playing at 1 against Figallo. Also players like taute and elstadt are playing in positions that are there second positions these days.

+ 8,9,10 axis all world class and able
To control a game. Questions over jantjes game at ten
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.
+ lineout forwards all over able to
Make a massive disruption of welsh ball.

+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 Big home 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 Hawkins 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 Jantjes channel. Alberts Kahui and co will be targetting this channel throughout the game.

Backrow and 9& 10
To pressure welsh halfbacks. Jantjes thrives on quick attacking ball whereas parra likes play to come of him

As ever we look to keep the ball and force Welsh 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 the new centre partnership of McCabe and Nanai Williams they will not be familiar

Specifics

- send Kahui gear Alberts etc at Jantjes channel
- take all points on offer with carter
- look to use the bomb early on to target jsd And taute.
- Territory early doors and pressure their lineout
- kick in behind back 3 and pressure welsh lack of
Kicking in back 3
- put pressure on parra Bath have no
Kicking game apart from parra and can be targeted and pressure built
- Dagg and Balshaw to interchange at fb to counter the errant kicking.
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping
- look to send in numbers to breakdown to disrupt and turnover.
- target welsh new combos to
Take advantage of their unfamiliarity
- carry relentlessly to keep ball and build pressure. We only use the ball when we have front foot quality ball

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Kahn Fotuaili'i
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Simon Zebo
05. Andries Bekker	12. Jordan Turner Hall
06. Fulgence Quedragao	13. Francois Steyn
07. Matt Kvesic	14. David Strettle
08. Victor Vito	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Vasil Kakovin 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Christian Day 20. Temani Harrison 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Luke Rooney

Key Points

Target Heathcote

Look to send our midfield running down his channel. With a tackle completion rate of 66% in the Prem this season this is an area we can make some ground. Quedragao will look to rush up on defence and get in his face. With no back up flyhalf in the match day squad if Heathcote can be frazzled Bath are in serious trouble.

Attacking

• Look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. Ball in hand, look to use our big line breakers to make the hard yards and 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 andbring 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 Bath 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 opposition lineouts Bekker will stand at the front and challenge. At 6ft 10" Bath 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 Bath momentum before it can get going.

• Fotuaili'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 his hands on the ball.

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

I may not get predictions in this week. Training course for work all day tomorrow and then I'm on a coaching course Saturday. Not sure how long that runs for. Apologies in advance if I don't make it on

Tactics will be up later or early am. Circle line has destroyed my day and meant i am late doing everything

AnyoNe mind if I do quick tactics tomorrow morning? Been at England u21 tonight and left laptop at the office.

We've always allowed late tactics in mate, you just run the slight risk that if anyone can only get on first thing they might have to predict without them.

Predictions are OPEN

fair play mate. done them now!

Updated.

Newcastle Falcons 19-22 Leicester Tigers
This is a really fascinating game, with both teams missing players. The Newcastle pack is far from being a first choice one, and has issues in it. George rarely gets a start in real life, and although talented looks a week link at this stage. Croft starts after starting the battle in Cardiff last week and I don't think really any forward starters from that game should have started this week. With Croft at 6 you also need a 7 who carries well in tight areas, and this is not a strength of Brussows game. I don't see their tactic of carrying close to the fringes as being effective with the players they have on show. Most of their carriers are more effective in slightly wider areas. Leicester on the other hand are not as affected by injury in the forwards, and have put out a pack that have played a fair bit as a unit and I can see them getting the upper hand there. Clegg to Cruden is a massive leap at 10, although Clegg is helped by having an experienced controlling scrum half alongside him, and the tactic of using Yachvili to control where Leicester player is the right one in this game. In the outside backs I don't think Benjamin has played this season and is not good enough to still be rated highly when not playing, which weakens Newcastle considerably. Both backlines can score tries, but AAC is wasted on the wing, I'd prefer to see him at 13 or 15 where Newcastle can use the physicality that he brings. Leicester are just that bit better overall and tactically have things right to get themselves an away win.

Gloucester 16-17 London Welsh
Much like Newcastle both of these teams seem quite affected by injury up front. I don't buy the Gloucester point that Alexander is a 3 playing 1, he is very comfortable at loosehead and is actually probably better on that side than he is at tighthead. I think in the front row Welsh are the better unit, both in the scrum and the loose. The battle at 4 is fascinating. As a Stormers fan I rate both of these guys highly, but so far this season Etzebeth hasn't played, and Elstadt is playing flanker and doing very well there. Etzebeth is and will be the better 4, but right now his not playing and Elstadts good form in another position sort of even things out. Robson I would say is a bit better player than Hanks though. Both 6's are injured in real life, and Kolisi vs. Qera would be a massive battle. I also prefer Vermeulen over Harinordoquy, so I have to give the pack battle to Welsh. They are also right to thry to put pace on it with their pack and look for gaps rather than contact. Halfbacks go to Gloucester. Genia has been injured and is just back, but is a quality player who I rate highly. Him and Parra are the two top 9's in the world and this is an even contest. Even as a Stormers fan, I have to say that Jantjies has been ok, but not set the world alight so far this year, and even slightly below his best, Carter is a step ahead of him. The outside backs in this game are packed with quality, but there are some issues with a lot of them. De Jongh, Kahui, McCabe and Taute have not played so far this season, Dagg has shown some defensive issues and doesn't have great form. Habana has not hit the heights so far and is now injured, Sharples has had spells out injured and form has been patchy, JSD has been injured and Balshaw can be brilliant one week and then awful the next. Nanai-Williams is the only in form man amongst them and is the form 13 and arguably one of the form backs in Super Rugby right now. Gloucester at home. Welsh have the pack, Gloucester the halfbacks and Welsh the outside backs off the back of Nanai-Williams form. Both teams playing a system that suits them makes it really difficult to call. Just noticed the weather as well though, and light rain and strong wind will see some scrums in this one, so that front row advantage is the deciding factor in an incredibly close game.

London Irish 19-20 Worcester Warriors
I really quite like the look of the Irish pack. Lot's of carrying, good mobility. Could be a couple of set piece issues though as Elliot can misfire at the lineout, and Harris is a decent tighthead, but not the best anchor in the scrum. Looking at the Irish backs though, their back row is going to have to carry a lot in this game, as they don't have a big back who can blast over the gain line. They have craft and cleverness there and will find space to get on the front foot, but are a lttile lightweight in the centres where I think both players work best with a bigger player alongside them. There is a little bit less carrying in the Worcester pack, but they at least have a bigger back in Jauzion, although he is past his best in my opinion. I don't really know how to separate these two teams as they are very similar in ability levels in the pack as well as in styles of players, with both having a hooker who is very good in the loose, a 7 who is good over the ball, good carriers at 6 and 8. One difference is a in the engine room where I think Worcester may have a little bit more grunt. Really there is nothing in it in the packs. Two very good half back pairings, with Irish having the consistency, but Worcester having two exciting players who can make things happen for them given half a chance. The Irish back three will be excellent going forward if the pack can get front foot ball, but could have some defensive issues, which I think Worcester should have targetted more with their tactics. Worcester also have real spark in their pack 3 and some serious gas if they get the ball. Irish talk in tactics about their back 3 coming off their wings and hitting angles, but I am not sure Basson is that type of player, so not sure that works brilliantly. Again this is incredibly difficult to call, with very evenly matched teams, but as with the Gloucester v Welsh game, there is rain and it's windy which will mean a few more scrums. That's a battle that I can Worcester edging, so as the deciding factor in another tight game, I'm going with them.

Sale Sharks 27-21 Bath Rugby
I like the Sale pack, love the engine room of Retalick and Bekker. Bekker was monstrous in the Stormers recent win over the Chiefs and looks to be in really good form. He is also the sort of player who when in good form drags others in the team along, and that is a real plus for Sale in this game. As a pack overall Sale are well balanced with props that can scrummage as well as having decent carriers in there. The lineout should also go well with Bekker leading it and decent jumpers in the side. Bath's pack is not to shabby either, although Golding is a weak link in the scrum and I can see Sale getting a nudge on there, although as this one is dry conditions perhaps not as many scrums as in the other games so not so much of an issue. Also Sale tactics indicate possession and phase play rather than high balls in the wind, so not as much chance of knock ons there either. As a unit the Bath pack are good, but I think the Sale pack is better. Sale also have the better half back pairing. Smith is excellent, but is young and can be got at if his pack aren't putting him on the front foot. Really I'd want a top 8 and 10 around him, which he doesn't have here. Fotuali'i and Sexton are very experienced and should be able to control the game well off the back of decent ball. The outside backs are a bit of a contrast with Sale having power in the centres and Bath having it on the wings. My preference would be for the power in midfield and then getting the ball wide to your flyers, and as a result of that I prefer the Sale set up. I also agree with the Sale point of targetting Heathcote, as with no fly half replacement in the squad, if anything happens to him then Bath could be in serious trouble. My opinion is that if you break these sides and tactics down then Sale have the edge almost across the board.

London Wasps 12-9 Northampton Saints
A lot of powere but very little technique from Saints at 1 and 2, and I am not sure that Clark provides real scrummaging grunt at 4 to assist with a lack of technique in the front row. Wasps front row are all pretty powerful and I never ever imagines that I would write this ever in my life, but of the 6 front row players starting, Robinson is the best technician in the scrum. I feel almost dirty writing that and it perhaps indicates the lack of technical skill the other 5 have as much as anything. In a game with wet conditions and 24 mile per hour wind, there will be plenty of scrums and I can see this game getting very scrappy with a lot of resets, free kicks and penalties in this area. Tactically Wasps talk about using the boot of their half backs to play in the Northampton 22, and Northampton also want to use 10, 12 and 13 to play a territorial game. I am reading that as two teams kicking the leather off it, in not very good conditions where there are likely to spills and lots of scrums. I think you would have to pay me to watch this game as it just sounds dire as I am assessing it. The Wasps bench is not the strongest, but Northampton have two tightheads and no loosehead on it, and Tameifuna has been playing seond fiddle to Afeaki at the Chiefs this season as well. I think this game comes down to who is going to concede the most penalties in which areas, and then who has the place kicker to take advantage and notch up the points. There isn't much between the place kicking on both teams, so no clear winner there, but I do think that Wasps will win more penalties at the scrum which will see them take the game.

Newcastle Falcons 22-22 Leicester Tigers
SP: Falcons will get a small nudge come scrum time.
BK: Better balance for Tigers but better form for Falcons.
HB: Cruden will school Clegg here.
AT: Both dangerous but can see Tigers centres getting over gainline more.
BE: Not much between the two.
TA: Targetting Clegg will work and the big runners will help Falcons. Leicester do tackle this though and, with Falcons playing 6n players it does mark them down to a draw.

Gloucester 24-24 London Welsh
SP: Glos strong here, Welsh good for lineout.
BK: Glos the step up.
HB: Evens here.
AT: Very tough to split, T-N-W in good form but same for majority of both back lines.
BE: Forwards to Welsh, backs to Glos.
TA: Quick ball will work for Glos but targeting Jantijes too much. Welsh have good form support running will help with their centres.

Sale Sharks 28-21 Bath Rugby
SP: Prefer Sharks set up.
BK: Both well balanced, Sharks with a bit more international experience across the board.
HB: I like Smith and Heathcote but the Sharks pairing will run riot.
AT: Think Sharks are a step up again here.
BE: Evens
TA: High tempo works for Sharks with Sexton on the front foot. Attacking the fringes for Bath may work but won’t be enough.

Saracens 18-22 Harlequins
SP: Quins stronger in the 2nd row which edges this.
BK: 2 fantastic backrows who will even their contest.
HB: Bit more from Quins here.
AT: Nonu the standout but Quins have more danger overall.
BE: Sarries good but Quins strong.
TA: The kick-chase won't work too well today for Sarries, Armitage will slow up Quins ball though. Quins target out of position players and will get quick ball using the extra man at the breakdown.

London Wasps 22-26 Northampton Saints
SP: Great battle here, can't split it.
BK: Step up for Saints.
HB: Been impressed with Phipps recently, JMH not sure about, Priestland needs games.
AT: Saints more dangerous, Wasps are steady.
BE: Good impact from both.
TA: Wasps set out well but Saints have momentum and target the breakdown well.

Falcons v Tigers
- Slightest edge upfront to the homeside, and think Cruden will give Clegg a lesson at fly half.
25-22

Gloucester v Welsh
- Close game. Not much give at scrum time, edge to Glos in 2nd and back row. Prefer the Welsh backline but think Glos have better HB combo and better pack to edge out a victory. Glos centres need form.
26-23

Sale v Bath
- Sale always strong at home and can see them continuing that here. Close in the packs but Sale HB's can dominate the game and see them home. Bath have a good backline but plenty of attacking threat for Sale in Zebo and Bendy and an in form Strettle.

Saracens v Quins
- Slightly prefer the away pack, Saracens a little light on ball carriers and real power and think Quins could take advantage. Backs even but Quins shade it.
18-19

Wasps v Saints
- Good balance to Wasps pack but Saints backrow can get the edge here. Especially at lineout with Bonnaire. Priestland no form really, not a fan of Bosch at 12 for Saints but JMH at 10 helps a bit. Plenty of pace outwide but Saints have bit more class.
20-22

You've missed out Sale Bath score Nick

29-25

Gloucester 24 - 23 Welsh

Neither side will dominate the scrum, although I expect Gloucs to win the lineout battle. Prefer Gloucs on the falnks, but Welsh have the better form at 8. Overall edge to Gloucs in the pack, but not by a great deal. One apiece in the HB's, Matt's duo doesn't have the x factor it might have had last year,but still classy. Have to give the centres to Welsh on form, JdJ is a 13, and Kahui been out for ages. Not much in back threes, good contests on the wings. Two good benches. Gloucs have just enough in the pack to secure a tight win.

Ooh, was going well after the first two predos, not going quite as well now!

People have seen sense Pete

Obviously I was also quite pleased at DHLS07 ripping both of our backlines apart!!!

Falcons 26-24 Tigers
Gloucester 28-23 Welsh
Irish 18-17 Warriors
Sarries 20-24 Quins
Wasps 21-20

Newcastle Falcons 19-22 Leicester Tigers

Scrum: Edge to Tigers with a bit more meat in the front 5.
Lineout: Falcons can pip a few balls here with quality jumpers on show.
Breakdown: Decent battle both sides should see decent ball.
HB's: Edge to Falcons. Youngs marked down but Clegg outclassed here.
Attack: Edge to Tigers. Falcons lacking carriers in the backrow and Benjamin with no form.
Defence: No glaring weaknesses to either side. Tigers can get an edge in the tackle area with the bigger pack.
Bench: Not sure on the Tigers back up 10 option but overall they have the stronger bench.
Tactics: Both game plans are strong but don’t think Falcons will get much change out of the Tigers back 3 with the kicking game.


Gloucester Rugby 16-13 London Welsh

Scrum: Decent battle neither side get a real edge.
Lineout: Edge to Glaws. Both sides should hold their own ball but Glaws with great options of attacking ball.
Breakdown: Neither side with a specialist in the backrow but both packs will get through plenty of work.
HB's: Edge to Glaws. Jantjies not setting the world alight yet.
Attack: Slight edge to Welsh with better form in the backs.
Defence: Balshaw in the conditions can be caught under the occasionally high ball.
Bench: Not much between the benches. Castro not having the impact he would normally have.
Tactics: Decent game plans from both sides. Good in game form for both sides but Welsh raise some good points over the form of some Glaws players. Tight game to call but Glaws just shade this at home.


London Irish 25-21 Worcester

Scrum: No real edge for either side.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball.
Breakdown: Cracking battle between the opensides.
HB's: 2 strong sets but Irish have that little more in game control.
Attack: Irish have more of a carrying threat and should get over the gain line.
Defence: Think both sides could give ground away down the 12 channel.
Bench: Nothing between the options overall. Both sides will lose a lot through with the back up 10 options.
Tactics: More detail to the Irish game plan is a plus. More on attack and at home see Irish win out.


Saracens 18-18 Harlequins

Scrum: No real edge either way. Against better scrums both sides would struggle.
Lineout: Not sure on Sarries calling options. Quins can nick a ball or two.
Breakdown: Edge to Sarries. Two opensides in good form can really get at the breakdown for them.
HB's: More for Quins on attack but Sarries more capable of dictating territory in the conditions.
Attack: Not a lot between either sides options.
Defence: McFadden isn’t always the best positionally at 13 and will get caught out at times.
Bench: Great pace in Cooper and JJ to bring in for Quins but Sarries can get on top on the front 5 in these conditions.
Tactics: Not a lot of change for Sarries from the kicking game but Quins will struggle for clean ball.


Wasps 12-15 Northampton

Scrum: Don’t see much between either front 5 here.
Lineout: Rarely say this! But Saints edge here. Wasps lacking a leader and Saints with decent jumpers to poach.
Breakdown: Can’t see either side slowing down each other to much.
HB's: Hernadez better suited for the conditions with Priestland lacking form. Hernadez won’t get the backs overly moving
Attack: Not much between the sides overall. Good form for both on the wings. Bosch not as effective at 12 and on debut levels midfield out. Saints have more dynamism though in the carry overall.
Defence: Ground to be made through the Wasps 10/12 axis. Saints wingers will struggle with a territory approach from Wasps.
Bench: More impact in the pack for Saints.
Tactics: The kicking game of both sides keeps this a low scoring affair but Saints have the power to win away.

Newcastle 25 - 25 Leicester

Scrums go to Leicester but the line out to Newcastle. In the loose their isn't much between the packs at all. Breakdown to Newcastle I feel. Overall their is nothing between the packs. Ben Youngs shouldn't be playing after a full 6N so he is marked down and this makes the half backs even. I don't see a controlling figure in the Newcastle backline which I think is required in such a big game. There is very little between the two sets of outside backs and it will be a hugely interesting contest which Newcastle will edge. Benches are a big advantage to Leicester which will make the last 20 a period where they will come strong. Essentially I can't call this, Newcastle at home are a tough task and Leicester come away with a draw.

Gloucester 24 - 21 London Welsh

Up front I think Gloucester are the stronger side. They are good at the breakdown, the set piece and have big physical carriers. They will get plenty of ball to their world class half backs who will then control the game. The Welsh outside backs are the stronger unit but I don't think they will get the ball on the front foot to trouble the Gloucester outside backs who are strong defensively.

London Irish 26 - 25 Worcester

Scrum to Worcester with the lineout to Irish. A few more dynamic ball carriers for the Irish pack might see them across the gainline a little more but think that Worcester will be better at the breakdowm. Half backs go to Irish with a strong controlling pair and the outside backs I see as pretty even. I think at home with a little more at half back gets Irish home.

Sale 26 - 26 Bath

Front 5's are pretty even with Sale the stronger front row but Bath the stronger locks. Back rows are tough to call with the edge to Bath with Guest in fine form. Pocock will control the breakdown with lineout just to Sale as well as the scrum. Half backs to Sale but centres to Bath as I just don't think JTH and Steyn will work as a combo whereas Allen and Horne will do their job and let very little through. I think I prefer the Bath back 3 but Sale aren't weak here. It is a very close game which I think Bath have enough to draw.

London Wasps 20 - 21 Northampton Saints

Upfront I think Wasps will get the edge at the scrum but only just. Line out is even. There are more carriers in the Saints backs but I expect Poff to control the breakdown. At half back it is a slight edge to Saints but not by much at all. Not many players who are going to break either gain line. Can't seperate the outside backs. It is another very tough one but I think Saints take it by the slightest of margins.

Newcastle Falcons 19 - 19 Leicester Tigers
Really tough game this week, but after seeing Quins name the likes of Robshaw and Brown in their team for the clash with Sarries I think that both can get away with playing their English contingent this week, just as long as they are rested quite a lot in the coming weeks. Both teams have their tactics right and for me the issue is can Clegg control the game and win if for Tigers at no10 who will get more ball because of their pack. For me the answer is no, he's 3rd choice at Quins and a weakness in tight games. That said I don't think Newcastle have quite enough to win this, a more experienced no2 and they could have got a home win, but his set piece is pretty good for a youngster.

London Irish 20 - 19 Worcester Warriors
Two very, very strong packs and that is going to be a huge factor in the game. Would say neither backline is suited to getting over the gainline and if one team had stronger runners or gainline breakers then that would have swayed it more for me. But again I look at the control Nick Evans gives to a team and he wins this game for me.

Sale Sharks 21 - 18 Bath Rugby
Won by the excellent Sale halfbacks here who can really control the game very well for the home side. Kvesvic is in top form, which he needs to be to go against Pocock, at same time Guest is playing some nice stuff at Bath. Should be a great, physical game, but Sale have a bit too much here.

Saracens 25 - 27 Harlequins
Sarries have really been hit hard with injuries and could really have done with JdV in the midfield here. Quins are a team that are high in the league and high in confidence - light rain predicted and on Sarries artifical pitch I think this still means that running rugby can take place and could be a relatively open game for the Quins backline. Great pack battle, Hooper's form is arguably best in the world at the minute, so a big factor.

Gloucester 22 - 19 London Welsh
Again a game that will be really close and home advantage sways it for me, especially when you have the 9/10 axis that Gloucester have and the control at the back of the scrum too. Welsh stand a chance at getting at Gloucester in the front row, but the power behind the front 3 really puts this at even and for me Gloucester have the bigger names and big game players to win this one.

Newcastle 19-19 Leicester

Newcastle have a better back 5 of the scrum and dominate the Backrow where Leicester have a weak unit out. Brussow will make a mess of things and is a different gravy to Brussow.

Leicester have a better front row and backline. Benjamin loses marks for falcons and JOC is shifted about too much. It's ruining him in real life also.

Clegg a major weakness and I see Newcastle leading until the benches are emptied and then Leicester clinch a draw

Gloucester 25 London Welsh 23
London Irish 18 Worcester Warriors 17
Bath 15 Saracens 17
Saracens 15 Harlequins 22
London Wasps 20 Northampton Saints 19

Sorry for lack of detail, been working late all week and i'm paggerd from it.

Newcastle Falcons 20 - 22 Leicester Tigers

Up front Tigers to edge with a bit more experience in their front-row, Line-out wise Falcons will edge that, so both sides are are about even securing their own possession. The back-rows are a good battle, with Falcons a little quicker on the deck with Brussow, but but are about even for me. Around the park both packs will negate each other as they both have strong carriers. Yach might just get the better controlling the game, but Youngs is no slouch in this aspect of the game and Falcons will have a good edge in the halfbacks which will release their outside backs well. Tigers have a nice balance to their backline. Tigers bench will swing things for them a little later on as they have some serious tired legs as we advance into the later parts of the season.

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London Irish 22 - 20 Worcester Warriors

A bigger front five for Warriors will help them up front, but are slightly hindered by the class of the Irish backrow. I like the Warriors halfbacks, but they are up against a class unit from Irish. Warriors centres can be exploited by the pace of the Irish backline but its alos a vice versa problem for the Irish with Geragthy being a defensive liability. Both have decent benches to bring on late in the game, but the control from the Irish halfbacks will control a steady home win.

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Sale Sharks 27 - 24 Bath Rugby

The power in both sides means there are some large collisions and big gains for both. Both will also get the hands on the ball on the deck with the decent sevens. But Bekker's influence in the lineout will edge some more possession to Sale dangerous halfbacks. Targeting heathcote is a decent move, but can't see too much attacking play from Sharks centres either. Just seeing the control and attacking flair from the Sale hafbacks helping them out score Bath.

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Saracens 16 - 23 Harlequins

Greasy conditions will require the game to be played how Sarries want it to, but I think the power of the Quins pack will worry Sarries too much, as they have some brilliant class in there. This will free up their backrow and backs to play a bit more loosely. Gill and Armitage will be a nuisance, but on the back foot will be to little effect. Quins halfbacks will control and attack well, with Burns putting his backs into good spaces. I actually like the Sarries centres, strong defensively and not that bad with ball in hand, but there will little of that, especially with their kick chase tactic. Decent backthree from Saracens will handle the ball well but in the end the power of the Quins back will win this arm wrestle.

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Gloucester 23 - 24 London Welsh

Don't buy the Alexander being weaker at LH, seeing as Figallo plays LH as much as he plays TH for Montpellier. And far as Elstadt and Taute, I'm pretty sure they are playing in their original positions! Up front its pretty even with decent power and technique from both units. Lineout wise I would just edge to Glos due to the inclusion of Robson, but Welsh have an array of decent jumpers so its even. The back row and breakdown fight is where there is a little separation. Welsh having an out and out seven means they get some edge, their backrow overall has a nice balance. Glos on the other-hand have just gone for power, and with Hari in the decline and Alberts not having the best rugby brain, they will be exploited a little in this department. Glos nick the halfbacks to the sheer class, but welsh aren't too bad here. Centres are a real battle, with Kahui injured and if we are to go with Matts view of players out of position then JDJ is out of position, more regularly playing 13! I like McCabe and TNW as they can compliment each other well, but its even here. I prefer the Welsh back three, but benches are just about edged to Welsh as well. In the end a late Parra penalty snatches this away win for Welsh.

Irish 22-19 Worcester

Fairly even in the pack with both sides having good options. Irish half backs and more threat out wide see them win this. Barkley and Jauzion is not the greatest centre pairing and can see them being targeted

Sale 20-19 bath

A game if pure power and hits. Think sale slightly edge scrum and lineout and halfbacks.
Bath centres much better with steyn in awful form even being dropped from sharks. See sale centres as butchering a lot of Sextons creativity as none of them are likely to put the wing away.

Prefer bath back 3 but sales power and at home see them win

Sarries 20-26 harlequins

So much of sarries game plan based on physicality and they are not big enough or physical enough to match Quins so I don't think their tactics work. Lack of carrying in the pack hinders then and makes this an easy win for Quins who maybe lack midfield spark

Driver, am a bit confused by your Bath vs. Saracens prediction as they're not playing each other.

Wasps 20-24 saints

It's like saints old boys in the wasps side.
Think front 5 is extremely even with wasps slightly better technical scrummagers but lack of form for Davies and webber looking very unfit for bath but improving,

Saints much better Backrow balance and cane will be strong.

Do not get wasps tactics they are using Barclay as lineout leader and banker ball yet he is on the bench??

Saints take halfbacks with wasps unlucky they have no other person than Priestland who was in miserable form pre injury. Saints have class in the backline although i much prefer Bosch at 13 can't believe Chris got him for AWJ. Bosch is class but wasted at 12 which is his weakest position.

Pace dynamism and adventure in the saints backline and they win enough ball to steal a good away win

Ozzy3213 wrote:Driver, am a bit confused by your Bath vs. Saracens prediction as they're not playing each other.

Typo fella

Should be Sale 24 Bath 24

Must of read page wrong on phone.

Irish 18 - 15 Worcester
Sale 23 - 20 Bath
Saracens 19 - 23 Harlequins
Wasps 24 - 23 Saints

Sorry gents, meant to do these last night but only got round to one.

RESULTS

Newcastle Falcons 23 (T: Croft, Lowe C: O'Connor 2 P: O'Connor 3)
Leicester Tigers 24 (T: Nacewa, Joubert, Ranger C: Yachvilli 3 P: Yachvilli)

Gloucester 26 (T: Alberts, Dagg, Genia C: Carter P: Carter 3)
London Welsh 22 (T: Nanai-Williams, Tomkins P: Parra 4)

London Irish 26 (T: Gorgodze, Fraser, Morgan C: Evans P: Evans 3)
Worcester Warriors 20 (T: Armitage, Savage C: Barkley 2 P: Barkley 2)

Sale Sharks 29 (T: Vito, Zebo, Steyn C: Sexton P: Sexton 4)
Bath Rugby 22 (T: Nalaga, Jane P: Heathcote 4)

Saracens 19 (T: Nonu C: Steenson P: Steenson 4)
Harlequins 27 (T: Hooper, Brits, Dickson C: Burns 3 P: Burns 2)

London Wasps 21 (T: Varndell, Henderson C: Priestland P: Priestland 3)
Northampton Saints 22 (T: Vunipola, Daly P: Hernandez 4)

Some tight games this week, only one team (Saracens) not getting anything from their game. Feel for Fluxy this week, thought you had it mate.