Fantasy Aviva Premiership Round Twenty

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Newcastle Falcons vs. London Irish
Grey Cloud, 6 degrees, 6mph winds.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01.Fabian Barcella	09.Ben Youngs
02.Rory Best	10.Toby Flood
03.Owen Franks
04.Ed Slater	11.Alex Cuthbert
05.Paul O'Connell	12.Scott Williams
06.Chris Robshaw	13.Adam Ashley Cooper
07.Hienrich Brussouw	14.Tommy Bowe
08.Toby Falatau	15.Alex Goode

16.Jamie George 17.Sone Tonga'uhia 18.Scotty Wilson 19.Brad Thorn 20.Kieran Read 21.Sam Harrison 22.Ben Williams 23.George Lowe

TACTICS

- HIGH INTENSITY

Keep the tempo of the game high with Flood moving the ball into wide areas letting our mobile forwards get around the pitch and test the fitness of the Irish pack with questions being asked about whether or not AJ and Ben Morgan can keep up with the pace.

SET PIECE

We've bought in the best 5 in world rugby to give us a advantage at the lineout where he will look to bank our own ball and target the Irish line with no real operator on show.

Breakdown

Irish have picked two 7s in the hope of winning the battle on the deck and we will look to counter this by going purely for balance in our back row which is key to winning any game. Brussouw will look to steal plenty on the deck whilst the rest of our pack will look to blast rucks to clear Tipuric/Fraser away.

SIMPLE GAME PLAN

Keep it tight and grind Irish down leaving room for oiur dangerous backs to strike and run at the Irish line with Cuthbert and Bowe looking to pick a line off Williams and Cooper.

Blitz Defense with Youngs sweeping.


London Irish
Manager - prop_lyd

01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Andrew Hore	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Marland Yarde
05. Hugh Pyle	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Justin Tipuric	13. Conrad Smith
07.Will Fraser	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Ben Morgan	15. Tom Homer (lk)

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Matt Stevens 18. Brok Harris 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Yannick Nyanga 21. Jack Moates 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Guy Armitage

Key Points

Form
We have built up our confidence and are coming in off the back of a couple of good wins against Saints and Sale and will look to continue our good form today against the Falcons who have been struggling and have had a tough game last weekend whilst we had a rest week.

Opensides
We want quick ball for our backs and especially our wingers to attack quickly from. We have picked 2 7's who will alternate hitting rucks. Hooper can lead a lineout just find so we will get quick ball from that. We have brought in Hore to prevent our 7's getting targetted and giving them time to slow down the Falcons ball.


Impact Bench
Our bench has raw power and alot of international experience. Gorgodze coming off the bench will bring the strong running needed against tired legs, Moates can speed up service, Nyanga will look for loose ball and Stevens has been in good form IRL add in Harris' and Lindsay's carrying and the last 20 minutes will be full of impact subs, Armitage hitting good scoring form lately too.

Attacking

• We want to force errors from Falcons 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 Evans (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, Tips and Pyle we have the number jumpers to gain the ball back, we know Falcons 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 and Nyanga, Gorgodze will have a field day against tired legs, excitement to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Armitage and Geraghty can continue to control the game and bring further excitement and pace..

Set Piece

• Strong scrum which will get the edge up on the Jones 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 9 sniping.

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

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Tipuric and 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.

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Harlequins vs. Bath Rugby
Heavy Rain Showers, 11 degrees, 15 mph winds.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Luke Morahan
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Gary Botha 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Pierre Spies 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Matt Smith

Tactics

Game Plan

• Retain possession in opposition half. We will look to use our strong carriers to make inroads carrying off 9 and 10 and tie in defenders before we spread the ball wider in to the hands of JJ and our back three in more space.
  
  
• Control. We are intending to control the game upfront and in the half backs, especially in our own 22 where we will look to use the boots of Laidlaw, Kearney and Burns to get us into the opposition half but when in our own half we might look to use up and unders and cross field kicks and kicks behind any out of position Bath players to gain us territory. In the Bath half though we do not kick and we build up patiently.
  
  
• Control the breakdown. We will look for our players to ruck hard to get us quick ball. The first men to the breakdown are required to join the ruck and move the Bath players away from the ball. Key to controlling the ruck area is players carrying with support and staying on their feet after the collision until told to go down by their support.

Forwards

Up front we are looking to exert dominance and set piece and the ruck and maul with our big front 5. When our forwards are carrying we are looking for them to carry in numbers and keep the legs pumping after contact and win the collisions. When the offload is on we will look to use it to continue our attacking momentum and not give Bath a chance to reorganise their defence.

At the set piece we will look to really pressure Bath at the scrum and at the lineout. If we are seeing any dominance we will look to milk this area for penalties and points. We will commit as many men as is needed to get the quick ball at rucks if required.

Backs

In the backs we are looking for Laidlaw and Burns to control the game for us. When we are on the front foot Burns will control our play at 10 and will get the ball when he wants it but as we are building up momentum and have slower ball Laidlaw will decide whether he makes the play or passes it on to Burns. Burns will always be standing flat when we have quick ball and will look to hit Roberts of a back rower on a hard line or spread it wider to JJ in open spaces.

Defence

In defence we will look to have a quick line speed and put pressure on the Bath decision makers. Warburton and Wood will look to disrupt at the breakdown and we will look to legally slow the ball down when we can. Discipline is key and we will not give away cheap penalties. When we can we will double up in the tackle with one make taking the legs and the other the ball.

Key Points

To be added.


Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Aaron Smith
02. Chris Brooker	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Graham Kitchener	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. Tom Guest	13. Jonathan Davies
07. David Pocock	14. Cory Jane
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Jon Golding 17. Will Tanner 18. Carl Rimmer 19. Luke Romano 20. James Gaskell 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Rob Horne 23. Richard Lane

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Leicester Tigers vs. London Wasps
White Cloud, 10 degrees, 9 mph winds.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Nathan Hines	11. Rene Ranger
05. Geoff Parling	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Ryan Jones	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Tom Youngs 17. Lee Imiolek 18. Cencus Johnston 19. James Horwill 20. James Scaysbrook 22. Micky Young 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Drew Mitchell

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

Key Points:

Home Advantage
Our home record is sensational, and we always feel we will win games at Welford Road. We feel we have the players to control the game, and in front of our own fans, Welford Road is a fortress.

Experience at 2, 8, 9, 10
Huge amounts of experience and intelligence in these key positions and we will aim to really control the game. Yach and Wilko to control the tempo of the game and where it is played.

Target Wasps' Wingers
If its the right option, use excellent kicking game of Yach, Wilko and Twelvetrees to target Wasps' back three with a mixture of kicks. Lightning back line to chase high balls to pressure every single catch Wasps have to make.

General Tactics:

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

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first recievers in Wilko and Twelvetrees. Keep Wasps guessing with our attacking options.

- Different style of runners in the backline. With the likes of BOD, Nacewa and Clerc we have exciting runners, and in Ranger and Twelvetrees some bigger runners.

- Attack all scrums with our huge pack - Look to really get the shove on with Moore looking to get on top of Webber in particular.

- Target the lineout - led by Parling. Five big jumpers, and we will mix up which jumpers we throw to on a consistent basis.
Always look to steal on Wasps throws putting real pressure on Webber.

- Physical, abrasive pack made up of massive line-breakers. The likes of SOB, Jones, Hines, Joubert 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.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.


London Wasps
Manager – Fluxy

01. Ryan Grant	09. Maxime Machenaud (K)
02. Rob Webber	10. Brock James
03. Logovii Mulipola
04. Bradley Davies	11. Tom Varndell
05. Donnacha Ryan (C)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Iain Henderson	13. George Pisi
07. John Barclay	14.Topsy Ojo
08. Netani Talei	15. Mike Brown

16. Sean Cronin 17. Ben Robinson 18. Shaun Knight 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Jonathon Poff 21. Jonah Holmes 22. Dan Bowden 23. Rhys Priestland

Tactics
With a tough away trip this week, it mostly about damage limitation. With the weather not looking too suited to expansive rugby we will look to dominate the possession and territory, with the use of clever kicks, or by using our very athletic and strong carrying pack. James and Machenaud will pull the strings form midfield, under little pressure. If Leicester want to score against our strong defence they will have run the ball from within their 22.

In attack we will look for the overlap or to develop one by the use of simple phases to reproduce quick ball to cut the defence open. Slow ball we will look to set up pods and runners off James. This will drag Leicester defenders further apart and produce wholes or mismatches. This allows the use of our dangerous back three that have been in great form with ball in hand.

There won't be much flashy play this week, its all about keeping mistakes to a minimum and applying pressure upon the Tigers players in defence. Even the best players are prone to mistakes and giving away penalties and we have two kickers that can keep punishing these penalties and mistakes.

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 TIgers do not possess the most technical props. Looking to wheel and cut the scrum off from the opposing backline.
  
  
• Put pressure upon every opposing scrum and line out. Not every feed or throw will be straight in the conditions.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, Ryan will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Davies jumping in the middle. Look to run full number lineouts to tie in the opposing pack. This will create space for our backs, and time to get a clean kick away.
  
  
• 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 Tigers possession.
  
  
• 
  
  
• James will look to use our pacy backline only in the right situations. Just because we are in a dogfight doesn't mean we can't not turn on the style to score tries. He can use Barritt as a straight line option to make yards or go out the back to the pace of Pisi and our back three.
  
  
• Machenaud willl control the pack and direct traffic, just like all little french general scrum half's. He will take look to test the Tigers wings with kicks in behind them and look to make them make tough decisions in defence - especially with some height advantage in our backline.
  
  
• 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. Target Youngs's throwing late-on as he can be got at.
  
  
• Machenaud to kick all on opportunity points, within range. Any other penalties will be sent long to gain a territorial edge with our strong lineout.

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London Welsh vs. Northampton Saints
Heavy rain showers, 10 degrees, 14 mph winds.

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Ben Alexander	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Owen Farrell
03. Dave Wilson
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Digby Ioane
05. James Hanks	12. Pat McCabe
06. Thierry Dusautoir	13. Joel Tomkins
07. Luke Wallace	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Gareth Anscombe

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Steven Kitschoff 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Semisi Taulava 20. Tom Johnson 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Tim Nanai-Williams 23. Semisi Taulava

Key Points

• Continuity. Our 8,9,10 combination have played together lots and will control the game for us. Saints 8,9,10 have never started a game as a unit before.
  
• Lineout. Mata’u has poor darts, we will look to really target him and have the athletic Hanks marking Bonnaire wherever he stations himself in the lineout.
  
• Pressure. All on Saints as they are fighting for a play off spot. None on us and we are free to play some rugby.
  
• Welsh Defence. Solid defenders throughout the team mean that it will take something special to score points against us.
  
• Impact Bench. Our bench is packed with players who can make a difference for us in the final quarter. We also have a 6-2 forward split.
  

Basic Game Plan
Slight change for us today as we are going to put boot to ball a bit more and play a bit of a territorial game using Parra, Farrell and Anscombe to put us deep in the Saints half. Once there we will control possession keeping the ball in tight to the ruck, with plenty of pick and goes. We have picked a very powerful mobile pack ensure that we compete in all areas up front. When we kick it will be in behind looking for touch, as well as high balls with our wingers pressurising the catcher in the wet windy conditions.

Specifics

• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• If we are not getting anywhere going through the phases, Parra,Farrell and Asncombe will use their boots to take us downfield and put pressure on Saints. We will take the drop goal if we need to.
  
• 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.
  

Northampton Saints
Manager:- Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Nick Phipps
02. Moto Mata'u	10. Juan Martin Hernandez (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Julian Savea
05. Patricio Albacete(c)	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Julian Salvi	14. Chris Ashton
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Henry Thomas 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Mike Phillips 22. Elliot Daly 23. Christian Wade

Tactics:Saints are full of confidence having won the last six games in a row. Our game is based on power, getting over the gainline with our big ball carriers and playing with a real physicality to force mistakes from London Welsh. We have picked an impact bench, which we will use throughout the game, and have a very strong kicking game with Hernandez and Giteau pulling the strings at 10 and 12. We have picked a very mobile pack that will move the ball around and be able to play at a high tempo to stretch the LW defence and create gaps for our dangerous backthree.

We will also look for Salvi to target Luke Wallace throughout the game and use his experience to win the no7 battle.

Attack: We will be able to mix up our attack throughout the 80minutes, we are happy to play a patient game, work through the phases and make hard yards, use Bonnaire's lineout presence to secure good attacking ball or to start rolling mauls in the LW half. But our team is full of gainline breakers Vunipola, Matu'a, Albacete, Savea and Tuilagi and we will look to get over the gainline at every possibility, especially with Matt Giteau's range of passing in midfield as he is the master at beating blitz defences.

Great try scoring form in recent weeks with Ashton, Tuilagi and Savea all playing well. We will look to keep hold of the ball and make Sarries work for every bit of possession.

Defence: We've picked a powerful and mobile pack who can put in big hits and look to force Welsh into turnovers and mistakes. We will look to utilise a similar defensive system to Saracens and England, based around physicality and slowing down the oppositions attack.

Nick Phipps to sweep behind the defensive line.

Set piece: Best lineout technician on the park is Bonnaire, we will look to keep the calls fairly straightforward and use Albcete or Lawes as banker ball, but Bonnaire can get quick ball for our backs and we will look to get Savea and Tuilagi running off Giteau here. Scrum will be used as an attacking platform with DOmingo and Hayman and then Billy V running off the back.

Breakdown: We've got a fresh Salvi into this game and we will be looking to use his experience to target Luke Wallace. With a mobile pack and presence of TUilagi in midfield we will put numbers in to clear out any Welsh players and look for turnovers and penalties.

Key Points:

• Strong pack, which can improve with the bench options we can bring on, together with good form puts us in good stead for a potential away win.
• Playing a really physical game, a lot of great ball carriers to get us over the gainline and then attack with our backs from quick ball.
• We see that we have more attacking flair, pace and gainline breakers in our backline so can outscore Sarries on the try front. Take all points on offer.
• Welcome Sarries playing a high tempo, offloading game and will put pressure on Parra and Farrell and look them to force this part of the game, as it isn;t either of their natural styles.
• Impact bench - make full use of this in the second half, espc pack - TFN, Mako V and Parisse to come on early.
• Target the breakdown and securing turnover ball

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Sale Sharks vs. Gloucester
White Cloud, 9 degrees 5 mph winds.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Gael Fickou
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. David Strettle
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Vasil Kakovin 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Sam Smith


Gloucester
Manager – mat

01. Nick Wood	09. Will Genia
02. Joe Grey	10. Dan Carter
03. Nicola Mas
04. Richie Grey	11. Matt Banahan
05. George Robson	12. Matt Scott
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Akapusi Qera	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Israel Dagg

16. Coenie Ousthuizen 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Rupert Harden 19. Tom palmer 20. Immanol Harinordoquoy 21. Dan Robson 22. Israel Folau 23. Ryan Mills

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Saracens vs. Worcester Warriors
Heavy Rain Showers, 10 degrees, 13 mph winds.

Saracens
Manager – DHLS07

01. Paul James	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Mark Cueto
05. James Craig	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Liam Gill	13. Matt Hopper
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Kegan Daniel	15. Ben Smith

16. George Chuter 17. Max Lahiff 18. Phil Swainston 19. Ollie Kohn 20. Alessandro Zanni 21. Chris Cook 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Tim Visser

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 Armitgae and Liam Gill either stealing or slowing the ball at the breakdown.
- Have gone with a bit of mobility in the back row as well as power, wehere we will play our flankers as left and right.


Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawrira	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Pat Lambie
03. Brian Mujati
04. Dean Schofield	11. Sean Maitland
05. Johann Muller (c)	12. Tom Casson
06. Dave Denton	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Ross Rennie	14. James Short
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Nathan Catt 17. Matthew Rees 18. Werner Kruger 19. Tom Savage 20. Phil Dowson 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Olly Barkley 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics

- Target the scrum. We have a big powerful front row and will look to put Sarries scrum under pressure. Any pens won will be kicked for goal by Lambie in range, if not to touch for the lineout.

- Muller our lineout caller. He will also look to disrupt as much opposition ball as possible.

- Plenty of carriers. Denton, Waldrom, Beast, Mujati, Strauss, Bastereaud will all be used to get us over the gain line. Rennie will be a menace at the breakdown and look for turnovers to counter Sarries with.

- TKB and Lambie to play what is infront of them and get us in the right areas. TKB to snipe around the fringes and look for gaps.

- Bastereaud to act as a crash ball runner and a decoy runner. He will attract a lot of defensive attention and gives a chance for the in-form Casson to make breaks. We will also look for Maitland to come off his wing and run off Bastereaud and gather any offloads if they are on.

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01. Jean Baptiste Poux	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Andrew Hore	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Marland Yarde
05. Hugh Pyle	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Justin Tipuric	13. Conrad Smith
07.Will Fraser	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Ben Morgan	15. Tom Homer (lk)

16. Tom Lindsay 17. Matt Stevens 18. Brok Harris 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Yannick Nyanga 21. Jack Moates 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Guy Armitage

Key Points

Form
We have built up our confidence and are coming in off the back of a couple of good wins against Saints and Sale and will look to continue our good form today against the Falcons who have been struggling and have had a tough game last weekend whilst we had a rest week.

Opensides
We want quick ball for our backs and especially our wingers to attack quickly from. We have picked 2 7's who will alternate hitting rucks. Hooper can lead a lineout just find so we will get quick ball from that. We have brought in Hore to prevent our 7's getting targetted and giving them time to slow down the Falcons ball.


Impact Bench
Our bench has raw power and alot of international experience. Gorgodze coming off the bench will bring the strong running needed against tired legs, Moates can speed up service, Nyanga will look for loose ball and Stevens has been in good form IRL add in Harris' and Lindsay's carrying and the last 20 minutes will be full of impact subs, Armitage hitting good scoring form lately too.

Attacking

• We want to force errors from Falcons 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 Evans (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, Tips and Pyle we have the number jumpers to gain the ball back, we know Falcons 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 and Nyanga, Gorgodze will have a field day against tired legs, excitement to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Armitage and Geraghty can continue to control the game and bring further excitement and pace..

Set Piece

• Strong scrum which will get the edge up on the Jones 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 9 sniping.

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

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Tipuric and 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.

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Nick Phipps
02. Moto Mata'u	10. Juan Martin Hernandez (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Julian Savea
05. Patricio Albacete(c)	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07.Julian Salvi	14. Chris Ashton
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. TFN 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Henry Thomas 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Mike Phillips 22. Elliot Daly 23. Christian Wade

Tactics:Saints are full of confidence having won the last six games in a row. Our game is based on power, getting over the gainline with our big ball carriers and playing with a real physicality to force mistakes from London Welsh. We have picked an impact bench, which we will use throughout the game, and have a very strong kicking game with Hernandez and Giteau pulling the strings at 10 and 12. We have picked a very mobile pack that will move the ball around and be able to play at a high tempo to stretch the LW defence and create gaps for our dangerous backthree.

We will also look for Salvi to target Luke Wallace throughout the game and use his experience to win the no7 battle.

Attack: We will be able to mix up our attack throughout the 80minutes, we are happy to play a patient game, work through the phases and make hard yards, use Bonnaire's lineout presence to secure good attacking ball or to start rolling mauls in the LW half. But our team is full of gainline breakers Vunipola, Matu'a, Albacete, Savea and Tuilagi and we will look to get over the gainline at every possibility, especially with Matt Giteau's range of passing in midfield as he is the master at beating blitz defences.

Great try scoring form in recent weeks with Ashton, Tuilagi and Savea all playing well. We will look to keep hold of the ball and make Sarries work for every bit of possession.

Defence: We've picked a powerful and mobile pack who can put in big hits and look to force Welsh into turnovers and mistakes. We will look to utilise a similar defensive system to Saracens and England, based around physicality and slowing down the oppositions attack.

Nick Phipps to sweep behind the defensive line.

Set piece: Best lineout technician on the park is Bonnaire, we will look to keep the calls fairly straightforward and use Albcete or Lawes as banker ball, but Bonnaire can get quick ball for our backs and we will look to get Savea and Tuilagi running off Giteau here. Scrum will be used as an attacking platform with DOmingo and Hayman and then Billy V running off the back.

Breakdown: We've got a fresh Salvi into this game and we will be looking to use his experience to target Luke Wallace. With a mobile pack and presence of TUilagi in midfield we will put numbers in to clear out any Welsh players and look for turnovers and penalties.

Key Points:

• Strong pack, which can improve with the bench options we can bring on, together with good form puts us in good stead for a potential away win.
• Playing a really physical game, a lot of great ball carriers to get us over the gainline and then attack with our backs from quick ball.
• We see that we have more attacking flair, pace and gainline breakers in our backline so can outscore Welsh on the try front. Take all points on offer.
• Welcome Welsh playing a high tempo, offloading game and will put pressure on Parra and Farrell and look them to force this part of the game, as it isn;t either of their natural styles.
• Impact bench - make full use of this in the second half, espc pack - TFN, Mako V and Parisse to come on early.
• Target the breakdown and securing turnover ball

Ps - Pete you might want to have a look through previously Saints team sheets about whether Vunipola, Phipps and Hernandez have started games together before ;-) Good luck!

Leicester Tigers have named their side to play London Wasps this week.

With Tigers out of the Heineken Cup, they can fully focus their attentions to the Aviva Premiership. The strong side that they have named suggests they can now play at full strength in every league game, with the squad getting time off when the European games are scheduled to be played.

Tigers have made 3 changes to the side that lost to Clermont last week. They welcome back Brian O'Driscoll, who has served his suspension, and he captains the side today. O'Driscoll's return sees the in-form Rene Ranger switch the the wing. Tigers have also recalled Stephen Moore and Nathan Hines to freshen up their pack.


Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Stephen Moore	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Nathan Hines	11. Rene Ranger
05. Geoff Parling	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Ryan Jones	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Isa Nacewa

16. Tom Youngs 17. Lee Imiolek 18. Cencus Johnston 19. James Horwill 20. James Scaysbrook 22. Micky Young 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Drew Mitchell

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

Key Points:

Home Advantage
Our home record is sensational, and we always feel we will win games at Welford Road. We feel we have the players to control the game, and in front of our own fans, Welford Road is a fortress.

Experience at 2, 8, 9, 10
Huge amounts of experience and intelligence in these key positions and we will aim to really control the game. Yach and Wilko to control the tempo of the game and where it is played.

Target Wasps' Wingers
If its the right option, use excellent kicking game of Yach, Wilko and Twelvetrees to target Wasps' back three with a mixture of kicks. Lightning back line to chase high balls to pressure every single catch Wasps have to make.

General Tactics:

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

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first recievers in Wilko and Twelvetrees. Keep Wasps guessing with our attacking options.

- Different style of runners in the backline. With the likes of BOD, Nacewa and Clerc we have exciting runners, and in Ranger and Twelvetrees some bigger runners.

- Attack all scrums with our huge pack - Look to really get the shove on with Moore looking to get on top of Webber in particular.

- Target the lineout - led by Parling. Five big jumpers, and we will mix up which jumpers we throw to on a consistent basis.
Always look to steal on Wasps throws putting real pressure on Webber.

- Physical, abrasive pack made up of massive line-breakers. The likes of SOB, Jones, Hines, Joubert 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.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

Following the disappointing exit from the Amlin Cup, London Wasps have named a few changes to their side when they come up against league leaders Leicester Tigers.

Director of Rugby Flux has named two changed to his starting line up with Bradley Davies and Logovii Mulipola being promoted from the bench to the starting XV. Along with the recall to George Pisi whom has returned successfully from injury. This see's Shaun Knight and Mourtiz Botha demoted to riding the pine this week. Along with the recalling of Dan Bowden to the bench after being left out of the squad last week due to a slight knock the week before.

Flux stated in a brief interview with Five Live Radio, that he was optimistic ahead of his sides confrontation with the Tigers and their run relegation run in. "I'm looking forward to it. We have shown over the past few weeks that we can cause upsets and this week will be no different. If we play to our game and not worry about our opponents, then it will be hard to deny us."

London Wasps

Manager – Fluxy

01. Ryan Grant	09. Maxime Machenaud (K)
02. Rob Webber	10. Brock James
03. Logovii Mulipola
04. Bradley Davies	11. Tom Varndell
05. Donnacha Ryan (C)	12. Brad Barritt
06. Iain Henderson	13. George Pisi
07. John Barclay	14.Topsy Ojo
08. Netani Talei	15. Mike Brown

16. Sean Cronin 17. Ben Robinson 18. Shaun Knight 19. Mouritz Botha 20. Jonathon Poff 21. Jonah Holmes 22. Dan Bowden 23. Rhys Priestland

Tactics
With a tough away trip this week, it mostly about damage limitation. With the weather not looking too suited to expansive rugby we will look to dominate the possession and territory, with the use of clever kicks, or by using our very athletic and strong carrying pack. James and Machenaud will pull the strings form midfield, under little pressure. If Leicester want to score against our strong defence they will have run the ball from within their 22.

In attack we will look for the overlap or to develop one by the use of simple phases to reproduce quick ball to cut the defence open. Slow ball we will look to set up pods and runners off James. This will drag Leicester defenders further apart and produce wholes or mismatches. This allows the use of our dangerous back three that have been in great form with ball in hand.

There won't be much flashy play this week, its all about keeping mistakes to a minimum and applying pressure upon the Tigers players in defence. Even the best players are prone to mistakes and giving away penalties and we have two kickers that can keep punishing these penalties and mistakes.

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 TIgers do not possess the most technical props. Looking to wheel and cut the scrum off from the opposing backline.
  
  
• Put pressure upon every opposing scrum and line out. Not every feed or throw will be straight in the conditions.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, Ryan will lead the lineout and use himself as banker ball at the front of the line with Davies jumping in the middle. Look to run full number lineouts to tie in the opposing pack. This will create space for our backs, and time to get a clean kick away.
  
  
• 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 Tigers possession.
  
  
• 
  
  
• James will look to use our pacy backline only in the right situations. Just because we are in a dogfight doesn't mean we can't not turn on the style to score tries. He can use Barritt as a straight line option to make yards or go out the back to the pace of Pisi and our back three.
  
  
• Machenaud willl control the pack and direct traffic, just like all little french general scrum half's. He will take look to test the Tigers wings with kicks in behind them and look to make them make tough decisions in defence - especially with some height advantage in our backline.
  
  
• 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. Target Youngs's throwing late-on as he can be got at.
  
  
• Machenaud to kick all on opportunity points, within range. Any other penalties will be sent long to gain a territorial edge with our strong lineout.

Some tough fixtures in this weeks set.

The race for the playoffs really hotting up.

Gloucs two away games left, Sale play Gloucs and Saints, Welsh play Saints this week but two home games, Falcons dropping like a stone but two home games. Saints play Welsh, Sale and Quins.

Anybody's guess...

I think Tigers, Quins and Gloucester are there and it's a scrap between Falcons, Sale, Irish and Saints for 4th. I'm too far back to make it, but can have an impact on who gets there as I face Saints this week and Irish next.

Misread Welsh for Irish...yeh think you've probs got too much to do Pete. Won't be far off though, esp if you win this week.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Luke Morahan
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Gary Botha 17. Joe Marler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Pierre Spies 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Matt Smith

Tactics

Game Plan

[/list][*] Retain possession in opposition half. We will look to use our strong carriers to make inroads carrying off 9 and 10 and tie in defenders before we spread the ball wider in to the hands of JJ and our back three in more space.

[list][*] Control. We are intending to control the game upfront and in the half backs, especially in our own 22 where we will look to use the boots of Laidlaw, Kearney and Burns to get us into the opposition half but when in our own half we might look to use up and unders and cross field kicks and kicks behind any out of position Bath players to gain us territory. In the Bath half though we do not kick and we build up patiently.

[list][*] Control the breakdown. We will look for our players to ruck hard to get us quick ball. The first men to the breakdown are required to join the ruck and move the Bath players away from the ball. Key to controlling the ruck area is players carrying with support and staying on their feet after the collision until told to go down by their support.

Forwards

Up front we are looking to exert dominance and set piece and the ruck and maul with our big front 5. When our forwards are carrying we are looking for them to carry in numbers and keep the legs pumping after contact and win the collisions. When the offload is on we will look to use it to continue our attacking momentum and not give Bath a chance to reorganise their defence.

At the set piece we will look to really pressure Bath at the scrum and at the lineout. If we are seeing any dominance we will look to milk this area for penalties and points. We will commit as many men as is needed to get the quick ball at rucks if required.

Backs

In the backs we are looking for Laidlaw and Burns to control the game for us. When we are on the front foot Burns will control our play at 10 and will get the ball when he wants it but as we are building up momentum and have slower ball Laidlaw will decide whether he makes the play or passes it on to Burns. Burns will always be standing flat when we have quick ball and will look to hit Roberts of a back rower on a hard line or spread it wider to JJ in open spaces.

Defence

In defence we will look to have a quick line speed and put pressure on the Bath decision makers. Warburton and Wood will look to disrupt at the breakdown and we will look to legally slow the ball down when we can. Discipline is key and we will not give away cheap penalties. When we can we will double up in the tackle with one make taking the legs and the other the ball.

Key Points

To be added.

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawrira	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Pat Lambie
03. Brian Mujati
04. Dean Schofield	11. Sean Maitland
05. Johann Muller (c)	12. Tom Casson
06. Dave Denton	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Ross Rennie	14. James Short
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Nathan Catt 17. Matthew Rees 18. Werner Kruger 19. Tom Savage 20. Phil Dowson 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Olly Barkley 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics

- look to win the pack battle and dominate the tight. Saracens are short of grunt and carriers and we will look to physically dominate them upfront.

- Target the scrum. We have a big powerful front row and will look to put Sarries scrum under pressure. Any pens won will be kicked for goal by Lambie in range, if not to touch for the lineout.

- Muller our lineout caller. He will also look to disrupt as much opposition ball as possible.

- Plenty of carriers. Denton, Waldrom, Beast, Mujati, Strauss, Bastereaud will all be used to get us over the gain line. Rennie will be a menace at the breakdown and look for turnovers to counter Sarries with.

- TKB and Lambie to play what is infront of them and get us in the right areas. TKB to snipe around the fringes and look for gaps.

- Bastereaud to act as a crash ball runner and a decoy runner. He will attract a lot of defensive attention and gives a chance for the in-form Casson to make breaks. We will also look for Maitland to come off his wing and run off Bastereaud and gather any offloads if they are on.

Newcastle Falcons

Manager – Driver

01.Fabian Barcella	09.Ben Youngs
02.Rory Best	10.Toby Flood
03.Owen Franks
04.Ed Slater	11.Alex Cuthbert
05.Paul O'Connell	12.Scott Williams
06.Chris Robshaw	13.Adam Ashley Cooper
07.Hienrich Brussouw	14.Tommy Bowe
08.Toby Falatau	15.Alex Goode

16.Jamie George 17.Sone Tonga'uhia 18.Scotty Wilson 19.Brad Thorn 20.Kieran Read 21.Sam Harrison 22.Ben Williams 23.George Lowe

TACTICS

- HIGH INTENSITY

Keep the tempo of the game high with Flood moving the ball into wide areas letting our mobile forwards get around the pitch and test the fitness of the Irish pack with questions being asked about whether or not AJ and Ben Morgan can keep up with the pace.

SET PIECE

We've bought in the best 5 in world rugby to give us a advantage at the lineout where he will look to bank our own ball and target the Irish line with no real operator on show.

Breakdown

Irish have picked two 7s in the hope of winning the battle on the deck and we will look to counter this by going purely for balance in our back row which is key to winning any game. Brussouw will look to steal plenty on the deck whilst the rest of our pack will look to blast rucks to clear Tipuric/Fraser away.

SIMPLE GAME PLAN

Keep it tight and grind Irish down leaving room for oiur dangerous backs to strike and run at the Irish line with Cuthbert and Bowe looking to pick a line off Williams and Cooper.

Blitz Defense with Youngs sweeping.

Gone with 15 this week driver..?

Find it works better having a full team mate...

Any news on weather forecasts?

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Andries Bekker	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Gael Fickou
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. David Strettle
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Vasil Kakovin 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Sam Smith

Key Points

Winning the Breakdown battle
With the likes of POM, Quedragao, Bekker & Retalick in the back 5 of the pack we will look to attack the breakdown all game. Although there are some wonderful players in the Glaws back 5 none are known for their work around the breakdown! This is an area we can really outwork Glaws in and ensure slow ball for Carter and co and put them on the back foot.

Attack Carter
Look to put big hits and big runners in on Carter throughout the game. Back up 10 options for Gloucester are questionable and if Carter should leave the field they will struggle.

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.

• Care will look to tie the Glaws backrow to the breakdown with his sniping game allowing Sexton to play flat on the gain line where he will look to bring our dangerous runners in to the game or find mismatches for himself to hit on the wrap around.

• Our back three will look to get involved as much as possible running support lines of the halfbacks and midfield looking for the inside ball or offload.

Set Piece

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

• In Glaws 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 Gloucester lineouts Bekker will stand at the front and challenge. At 6ft 10" Glaws 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 Glaws momentum before it can get going.

• Care 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 POM & Quedragao looking to get their hands on the ball.

• We will look to put numbers into the breakdown today and really disrupt Gloucester ball.

Is it alright to get tactics in in the morning? Doubtful I'll be on again this evening have 2 classes to take and a ring to take down for the weekend. Will be on first thing in the morning

SJE fine by me. Mine will be in morning when on train to London so about 7.30 am. Will post team when I finish rugby training which I am late for now

London Welsh
Manager – Ozzy3213

01. Ben Alexander	09. Morgan Parra
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Owen Farrell
03. Dave Wilson
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Digby Ioane
05. James Hanks	12. Pat McCabe
06. Thierry Dusautoir	13. Joel Tomkins
07. Luke Wallace	14. Bryan Habana
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Gareth Anscombe

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Steven Kitschoff 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Semisi Taulava 20. Tom Johnson 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Tim Nanai-Williams 23. Semisi Taulava

Key Points

• Continuity. Our 8,9,10 combination have played together lots and will control the game for us. Saints 8,9,10 have never started a game as a unit before.
  
• Lineout. Mata’u has poor darts, we will look to really target him and have the athletic Hanks marking Bonnaire wherever he stations himself in the lineout.
  
• Pressure. All on Saints as they are fighting for a play off spot. None on us and we are free to play some rugby.
  
• Welsh Defence. Solid defenders throughout the team mean that it will take something special to score points against us.
  
• Impact Bench. Our bench is packed with players who can make a difference for us in the final quarter. We also have a 6-2 forward split.
  

Basic Game Plan
Slight change for us today as we are going to put boot to ball a bit more and play a bit of a territorial game using Parra, Farrell and Anscombe to put us deep in the Saints half. Once there we will control possession keeping the ball in tight to the ruck, with plenty of pick and goes. We have picked a very powerful mobile pack ensure that we compete in all areas up front. When we kick it will be in behind looking for touch, as well as high balls with our wingers pressurising the catcher in the wet windy conditions.

Specifics

• Support runners to ruck past the ball quickly if the carrier goes to ground in order to secure quick ball to go again.
  
• If we are not getting anywhere going through the phases, Parra,Farrell and Asncombe will use their boots to take us downfield and put pressure on Saints. We will take the drop goal if we need to.
  
• 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.
  

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Aaron Smith
02. Chris Brooker	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Graham Kitchener	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. Tom Guest	13. Jonathan Davies
07. David Pocock	14. Cory Jane
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Jon Golding 17. Will Tanner 18. Carl Rimmer 19. Luke Romano 20. James Gaskell 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Rob Horne 23. Richard Lane

Saracens
Manager – DHLS07

01. Paul James	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. John Smit	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Mark Cueto
05. James Craig	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Liam Gill	13. Matt Hopper
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Kegan Daniel	15. Ben Smith

16. George Chuter 17. Max Lahiff 18. Phil Swainston 19. Ollie Kohn 20. Alessandro Zanni 21. Chris Cook 22. Gareth Steenson 23. Tim Visser

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 Armitgae and Liam Gill either stealing or slowing the ball at the breakdown.
- Have gone with a bit of mobility in the back row as well as power, wehere we will play our flankers as left and right.

Glos

Manager – mat

01. Nick Wood	09. Will Genia
02. Joe grey	10. Dan Carter
03. Nicola mas
04. Richie Grey	11. Matt banahan
05. George Robson	12. Matt Scott
06. Willem Alberts	13. Richard Kahui
07. Qera	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Israel Dagg

16. Coenie ousthuizen 17. Rob Buchanan18. Rupert Harden19. Tom palmer 20. Immanol Harinordoquoy 21. Dan Robson 22. Israel folau 23. Ryan Mills [/quote]

+ Form/Momentum We are on a great run and top of
Form league we have steamroller momentum which counts at end of season
+ Superior carriers all 1-8 carry and carry well we have dynamism and hard yards
+ 8,9,10,12axis able to control and dictate. Big games need big game players and we have world class options
+ 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 disrupt ball.
+ superior threat in backs

+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 .

We are targetting the away win as the glos juggernaut picks up speed at end of seasons. We have rotated a little to keep people fresh. we 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 Scrums with mas and wood looking to dominate.
Mas after a great 6 n will
Look
To destroy. Target lineout arrows relentlessly to affect quality of their ball. Paice can be wayward here
Drive lots of lineout ball and try and hit Qera and Alberts of rucks in to sexton channel.

To pressure Sale halfbacks. Sextonthrives on quick attacking ball

As ever we look to keep the ball and force sale 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 10 channel a lot to make the defence narrow to able us to then whip it wide and isolate runners with back 3

Look to pressure sale knowing if its a kicking battle carter will win
Carter to try and isolate banahan with sales smaller wingers on cross kicks

Specifics

- send Kahui gear Alberts etc at sexton channel
- take all points on offer with carter
- look to use the bomb early on to target Sale tiny back 3
- look to take it to their centres who are really struggling form wise
- Territory early doors and pressure their lineout
- kick in behind back 3 and pressure
- put pressure on care To make him
Shovel ball to sexton
- Kahui and banahan to interchange where necessary to keep big running option to interest defenders
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping
- look to send in numbers to breakdown to disrupt and turnover.
- impact bench with dynamism and experience.
- target breakdown with mobile pack. Qera heaslip and Alberts to target counter rucks.
- carry relentlessly to keep ball and build pressure. We only use the ball when we have front foot quality ball
- we have lots of big game world class players and you need that to win away in places such as sale. Experience helps


Last edited by anonmattyt on Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:11 am; edited 6 times in total

dammit_chris wrote:
Tactics:Saints are full of confidence having won the last six games in a row.

We will also look for Salvi to target Luke Wallace throughout the game and use his experience to win the no7 battle.

Great try scoring form in recent weeks with Ashton, Tuilagi and Savea all playing well.

Set piece: Best lineout technician on the park is Bonnaire.

Key Points:

• Strong pack, which can improve with the bench options we can bring on, together with good form puts us in good stead for a potential away win.
• Playing a really physical game, a lot of great ball carriers to get us over the gainline and then attack with our backs from quick ball.
• We see that we have more attacking flair, pace and gainline breakers in our backline so can outscore Sarries on the try front. Take all points on offer.
• Welcome Sarries playing a high tempo, offloading game and will put pressure on Parra and Farrell and look them to force this part of the game, as it isn;t either of their natural styles.
• Impact bench - make full use of this in the second half, espc pack - TFN, Mako V and Parisse to come on early.
• Target the breakdown and securing turnover ball

Tut, tut Chris. Slipped back into season 2 mode with the 'tactics' I see! Not sure 'Saints are full of confidence' and 'Bonnaire is the best' are tactics mate!

Oh, and you're not playing Sarries, nor does my gameplan this week refer to playing a high tempo offloading game. Your players could be in for a shock if that's what they're expecting!!!

Predo's are OPEN

I'm poping out in about half an hour to get the wife a birthday present as she's a year older tomorrow, but will add peoples tactics to the OP when I get back.

I've edited mine Pete so when you update can you stick them in

Updated my tactics

I think we'd all agree I was far worse than that in season 2 Pete...I like to think that I've grown as a person since those days.

tactics updated

Quins 28-24 Bath
SP: Great battle up front with Quins just nicking it.
BK: Evens.
HB: Bath a bit better with form.
AT: Not alot between the two here.
BE: Quins come into their own here.
TA: No tactics from Bath see's Quins playing more controlled game.

Tigers 28-22 Wasps
SP: Tigers a step up here.
BK: Again a little more from Tigers.
HB: Wasps strong but Tigers have form.
AT: Good lineup from Wasps but more international quality from Tigers.
BE: Again, a little more from a very strong Tigers side here.
TA: Wasps set out well with damage limitation but think Tigers will win the battle up front and are targetting the right areas.

Welsh 20-19 Saints
SP: Welsh strong in lineout and Saints hooker can be got at but have two good props to put Welsh under pressure.
BK: Think Saints bring a step up here.
HB: Phipps playing well but feel Welsh bringing a bit more.
AT: Two good scoring back 3's, think Saints centres will give better ball.
BE: Two incredibly strong benches.
TA: Welsh set out well for a territorial game with a strong lineout and the right kickers. Saints rbing strong form and targetting the right areas. Tough to split this with Welsh getting good lineout ball and Saints struggling here but Saints will get more joy in centres and backrow. Weather calls for a strong carrying front 5 and Welsh have more here. Not going to be pretty.

Sale 20-22 Glos
SP: Feel form-wise Sale bring a bit more to this area of the game.
BK: Glos looking strong but Sharks no pushovers.
HB: Sharks good but Glos a step up here.
AT: Both strong in this area, good carriers and proven scorers.
BE: Think Glos bring a bit more here but Sharks have a good impact bench.
TA:Glos using form and pace of backrow to help theem today, targetting the right areas. Don't think Sale will get as much joy from breakdown as they hope for. However, they will slow down Glos ball and get fairly good delivery from their bhalf backs to kepe them in the game. Glos impact bench helps.

Sarries 22-21 Warriors
SP: Warriors bringing more to the battle here.
BK: Sarries a step up here.
HB: Control from Sarries but Warriors have the unpredictability.
AT: Good outside backs, Nonu and Basteraud will cause problems for their opposite numbers.
BE: Steady impact from both.
TA: Both teams set out well for their hb pairings. Sarries targetting breakdown here and Warriors doing well at the scrum. Tough game to call here but think Sarries will get better ball from backrow.

Falcons v Irish
- Slight edge to Irish in the scrum can see Jones getting some joy. Big advantage to the Falcons second row though. Slater on good form and POC showed his class v Quins. Backrows tight. Irish good on the deck but perhaps need bit more carrying, Gorgodze off the bench helps. Good unit from Falcons. Two good HB combos, Evans low on form though. Falcons take the back 3, Irish edge the centres.
24-24

Quins v Bath
- Cant split the packs, some great players on show. Smith at 9 on poor form for Bath but Burns kicking has been bit erratic of late. Bath back 3 is excellent and both have a strong centre combo. Quins have the better bench and late on this sneaks it for them.
27-25

Tigers v Wasps
- Advantage upfront for the Tigers front five. Stronger backrow also. Slightly better backline for Leicester and home advantage sees them home.
28-23

Welsh v Saints
- Big game. Tought to split the packs. Can see Salvi giving Wallace a going over though. Welsh have the better HB combo to control things but lack a bit of creativity with their 10,12,13 combo. Great wingers though. The Saints backline is immense and can do real damage. Think Saints have better impact on the bench and can get a strong away win.
21-24

Sale v Glos
- sorry running out of time. close all over here. cant split.
30-30

Newcastle 28 - 26 London Irish
Leicester 24 - 23 Wasps
London Welsh 29 - 29 Northampton Saints
Sale 26 - 25 Gloucester
Saracens 18 - 17 Worcester

Hopefully get in explanations tomorrow. Struggling for time this week.

Newcastle Falcons 20-20 London Irish

Scrum: Edge to Falcons with more in the 2nd row supporting and Poux struggling.
Lineout: Falcons more dangerous of their own ball and will poach a few balls.
Breakdown: Slight edge to Irish with the two 7s working well.
HB's: Irish edge on ability but they are struggling for form in recent weeks.
Attack: Little more threat from the Falcons back three.
Defence: Two sides strong on defence. Don’t see many holes to attack for either.
Bench: Wouldn’t be highly gone on either sides back up 10 options. Can’t see anyone getting an edge here.
Tactics: Much more depth to the Irish game plan. Falcons is a bit contradictory “tempo of the game high with Flood moving the ball into wide areas” v “SIMPLE GAME PLAN, Keep it tight and grind Irish down”. Falcons usually have enough in the set piece to win out but game plan hinders them.


Harlequins 23-13 Bath

Scrum: Edge to Quins with Kubs struggling form wise this season.
Lineout: Good even battle no edge either way.
Breakdown: Don’t see either side getting a real edge here.
HB's: Hodgson better able to manage the conditions but Laidlaw will provide the cleaner service.
Attack: More threat from the Bath back 3. Strong carriers for both sides.
Defence: JJ could be caught out particularly in wet, muddy conditions.
Bench: Not sure Cooper is the right man for the conditions but he’s much better then Baths cover at 10.
Tactics: Killer for Bath. Quins set up well for the conditions and against a rudderless Bath side pick up a comfortable win.


Leicester 18-12 Wasps

Scrum: Good edge to Tigers with a strong front 5.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball.
Breakdown: Don’t see either side getting on top here. Both should see decent ball of the ruck.
HB's: Tigers with that bit more control.
Attack: Both teams with serious carriers in the side and pace in the backline.
Defence: Questions over Ranger positionally.
Bench: Not sure how 36 would fare as back up 10 with some big lads in the Wasps pack pressuring. Holmes could be put off for Wasps. Both sides struggle a bit in the last quarter to get any momentum going.
Tactics: Don’t see this being an entertaining game with both sides predominately set up to kick the ball away. Tigers will get more goal kicking chances from the scrum and this is crucial in a game like this.


London Welsh 19-13 Northampton

Scrum: Good battle with neither side getting an edge.
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own ball but Saints are more dangerous on attacking throws.
Breakdown: Edge to Welsh with their front 5 helping the flanks out more.
HB's: Edge to Welsh. They have that bit more control about them.
Attack: Bit more threat from Saints back three. Bit more carrying wise as well.
Defence: Ashton 1v1 is an issue but both sides fairly solid overall.
Bench: Two decent benches but two Taulavas haas to give Saints the edge!
Tactics: Feel Saints are set up all wrong for the conditions and needed a much more pragmatic approach. Welsh at home win out by controlling the pace of the game.


Saracens 22-18 Worcester

Scrum: Good even battle nothing between the front 5s.
Lineout: Worcester have a little bit more here and see them disrupting a bit.
Breakdown: Sarries more capable of turning the ball over but don’t see them slowing Worc ball down.
HB's: Sarries better suited to the conditions for this one.
Attack: Not much between the two sides. Not the type of game to get the best out of the backline. Bit more carrying from the Sarries pack.
Defence: Casson & Hopper could give a bit of ground away in midfield.
Bench: Both sides with very similar options of the bench.
Tactics: Hard to tell the Worc gameplan somewhat from their tactics. Sarries spot on for the conditions.

Balls I didn't even look at the conditions! Think I've gotten lucky with CJB not getting tactics in.

Honestly, no sixth form completely mucks my head up...ima day behind

Newcastle 24 - 22 Irish

Both TH's to get a nudge on here, not much between the HK's. Step up for the home side in the 2nd row though, and some well timed form for POC and Driver. Intriguing back row contest. Striggling to pik a real winner. 4 good 7's on show. I'm edging it just to Falcons, and they just about take the pack. Real step up for Irish at HB though, and they dominate here. Really good centre battle, maybe edge to Irish, but Falcons take the back three's. Both sides have serious impact off the bench. I think Falcons have enough in the pack to win at home. Good game.


Harlequins 28 - 18 Bath

Slight edge to the home side in the frontrow, and it's one apiece in the 2nd row. Good contest here. Quins take the back row on form, but two of the best units in the league. Quins get the advantage overall in the pack battle. I think Wuins edge the HB contest just now, with Smith looking off the boil. One apiece in the centres, and the back threes to Bath. Quins edge the benchesQuins pack has enough about them to get the win. Unlike CJB not to do tactics, which hurts them.


Welsh 21 - 21 Saints

BdP hasn't played for 8/9 months, and because of this and Domingo getting on top of Wilson, Saints take the front row. Saints just about get the 2nd row on quality, although Hamilton prob stand out formwise. Great back row contest, maybe edge to Saints. Think saints can get on top in the pack. Welsh look stronger at HB though, particularly in the wet, and get on top here. Saints take the centres with a good unit, but back three's soclose. Two top benches. Better pack from Saints with dangerous backs, but HB advantage, weather and being at home sees Welsh having enough to nick a draw.

Newcastle Falcons 25 London Irish 24
Harlequins 22 Bath Rugby 16
Leicester Tigers 20 London Wasps 16
Sale Sharks 20 Gloucester 20
Saracens 21 Worcester Warriors 19

Newcastle Falcons 28 - 26 London Irish
Really difficult game to call, Prop has got his tactics spot on and I think Fraser and Tipuric could be very good at spoiling Newcastle ball and they have some very good impact players. However, Driver has picked his best team in recent weeks and has some key players returning to form, POC is huge for him and Flood has been playing very well. Home advantage, plus return to form of key players is key.

Harlequins 18 - 12 Bath Rugby
Lack of tactics are decisive factor for me in this game, heavy rain will cause problems for both 10s who like an attacking game, but the Quins backrow is ideal for these games.

Leicester Tigers 21-19 London Wasps
Both teams really playing to their strengths, Wasps are getting a stronger and stronger team and can be very disruptive. In this one I think that TIgers excellent home record and that extra power they have in the forwards will see them through, but I do see that Wasps have more creativity in the backline, but not quite enough gainline breakers.

Sale Sharks 23 - 24 Gloucester
Tough game to call, packs are very even and both have some very inform players right now. Two excellent sets of halfbacks, arguably best combinations in the league, but questions over Care's recent form and Genia's return to, combined with Carter's class gives Gloucester the edge. I think that there are more Gloucester players with form in the backline and more impact from their bench, which will keep their good run of form going here.

Saracens 17 - 16 Worcester Warriors
Heavy rain swings it for me, the approach that Sarries are taking with their tactics and playing the SA model works a treat and CUeto and Thompstone both have the physical presence to make the kick chase game work very well. If conditions werent as bad as they were then Warriors would have won.

Quins 15 Bath 10
Tigers 23 Wasps 21
Welsh 23 Saints 23
Sale 20 Glaws 20
Saracens 16 Worcester 16

Probably should have looked at the conditions!

Not sure they were done till fri morning so not sure what you could have done.

Controversial!

Newcastle Falcons 29 - 26 London Irish

Two decent front fives with a bit more from Falcons at the set pieces however, cleaner line out ball from the Newcastle boys will see them attack better with Youngs ball in hand. I like the idea of Irish playing two sevens, but Falcons can match that so no real advantage. Irish perhaps just edge the spine of the backs, but Falcons are no slouches and have a better back three. Falcons have a few more impact players on the bench to bring on and at home will just edge the visitors.

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Harlequins 27 - 22 Bath

Quins just edge the front row, but will have a bit more power in the second row, so will edge the scrum battle. With the weather as it is, both will secure their own line-outs well, but wouldn't be surprised to see the odd one go with it being wet. Back rows are even depending on form and injuries. Bath don't quite have the right halfbacks for these conditions, Hodgson will do well, but up against Laidlaw, whom these conditions he can excel in there's just an edge to Quins. Both sets of backs set not to see much ball, Bath need ball in hand to be dangerous and its not the right conditions for that. Just a bit more solidity in the Quins backs and bench, which will see them secure a decent home win.

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London Welsh 24 - 21 Northampton Saints

Front row edge to the Saints with BdP out of form and Domingo in such a rich vein of form. Both second-rows provide a good bit of power, but a bit more grunt from Saints. I much prefer the Welsh back-row and they will control the breakdown well with the conditions. Same again with the half-backs for Welsh, although JMH will do well however. Decent centre pairings from each, and with the back threes close, I think the Welsh home advantage and controlling halfbacks will just sneak the win.

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Sale Sharks 22 - 20 Gloucester

Packs are very close, with the set piece battles are both very even, where the Sale back five of their pack will edge the breakdown and carrying contest with more grunt and better form. Glos halfbacks edge sale here with Genia in prime form. Both backlines are even in quality and with the decent conditions both will get some good chances to attack. In the end though I think Sale just have enough about them to win this close match.

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Saracens 25 - 25 Worcester Warriors

The front rows are even, but maybe a slight edge towards Warriors with a little more grunt behind them. Line out will just go to Warriors with Muller leading the line well. The back rows are close, but will just edge to Sarries because of form. Sarries halfbacks will control the game better than the Warriors pair, but they can attack the gain line well. I prefer the Sarries centres and with the conditions just about their back three. The benches are about even, but I can't quite seperate the side overall so its a late draw for me.

Newcastle 26-23 Irish
Tigers 28-23 Wasps
Welsh 24-22 Saints
Sale 21-20 Glaws
Sarries 18-17 Warriora

Falcons 20-20 Irish
Quins 17-14 Bath
Tigers 20-17 Wasps
Welsh 19-16 Saints
Sale 21-22 Gloucester

Sale 25 - 24 Gloucester

Good battle up front, Mas the standout here. Prefer sale's combo, not much form at all for Gloucs. Sale have so much form in the back row, Pom going really well, and they take the pack. Strong HB contest with two very good combos. Prefer Gloucs in the centres, both back threes have weaknesses. This is a top game, Sale win pack, Gloucs the backs. At home Sale, just.


Saracens 21 - 19 Worcester

Like both front rows, might give Worcs the slight edge. For me it's one apiece in the second row, and again I like back rows with neither team dominating. Can't really split the packs, both decent. I like both HB combos, maybe edge to Worcs...big fan of Lambie. Nonu and Bast the standouts In the centres with no clear winner, and the back threes close. Such a close game here. At home in the rain, think Steyn can kick Sarries to victory.

Sorry lads broke my hand playing rugby will post results no idea if accepted

Falcons 27-24 Irish

Like the dual 7 tactic but it has issues. Home advantage and leaders win this

Quins 28-23 bath

Quins set out for wet weather so much better. Aaron smith been found
Out and in middle of a mare
Seasons since England game. Hodgson not a man for these conditions

Leicester 27-23 wasps


Leicester half backs win this. Fairly even in certain battles like Backrow. Leicester can create platform but do not have backline to score lots of tries.

36 was good vs Scotland but dreadful for glos for a couple of months

Ranger is in sparkling form mainly at 13 and is the explosive talent in the Leicester backline.
Great Leicester bench and great side full stop. They win by controlling matches and they do that here

Sarries 17-16 worcester heavy rain plays in to Worcester hands and makes this a scrappy affair.

Welsh 18-18 saints

Tough game. Think saints just about take the pack but vermaulen and Hamilton great in the wet. BDP starts to lose marks now. Amazed he is not back.

Salvi will love this game and saints plenty of carrying and bonnaire who has been remarkable.

Welsh better half backs for the conditions and this helps them immensely. Phipps in good form but not a wet weather player.

Prefer saints backline although welsh is good. However in these conditions backs have a small role.
Sorry to sit on fence but a draw is my opinion