AP Round 5

 

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Sale Sharks v Bath Rugby
Light Rain Shower, 15 Degrees, 11mph Winds
 
 
 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE
 

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Iain Henderson	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Craig Gilroy
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Dave Kilcoyne 17. David Paice 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tom Savage 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison
 
Tactics:
 
We will play the game in the opposition half with an intelligent kicking game. When there we will play a fast paced, high intensity carrying game looking to get over the gain line, create space for our halfbacks and to get our back three onto the ball as much possible.
 
- Bombard Millers wing with the kicking game. With him playing out of position on the wing there will be acres of space to exploit.  
 
- Target the scrum. Good technical front row supported by plenty of grunt will look to get on top and win penalties.
 
- Taking the hit away from the Bath front row significantly weaken them at scrum time. None are known for their technique and penalties can be won here.
 
- Attack from the lineout. Five genuine jumping options allows us to mix it up and really use the lineout as an attacking platform. Look to get the ball to Sexton and Eastmond with space outside.
 
- Target the opposition lineout with Quedragao jumping at the front and Attwood, Henderson & POM marshalling the middle to pick of Hibbard's throws. Sexton & Eastmond will relish attacking an unset defence.
 
- Look to mix up play. Sexton & Eastmond to interchange at first receiver and change the point of attack. Care provides a threat snipping around the base.
 
- Get the back three involved. Zebo, Gilroy and Abendanon all to run lines looking for the inside ball or offload to get in behind the opposition defence. 
 
- Hit the breakdown hard. Look to our dynamic front five to clear the ruck and allow the likes of POM & Quedragao to really attack the breakdown.
 
- Outwork Bath with Pocock really struggling having played just 4 games since the start of the Rugby Championship 2012.
 
- Straight line blitz defence focusing on a quick line speed to isolate the ball carrier before the gain line. Quedragao will defend on Eastmonds shoulder to double up and also be first on the scene at the breakdown. Care to sweep in behind to cover chips and grubbers.
 
 
Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. Rob Miller
05. Andries Bekker	12. Anthony Allen
06. Brad Shields	13.  Jonathan Davies
07. David Pocock	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Tom Guest	15. Stuart Hogg

|;
16. Chris Brooker 17. Euan Murray 18. Carl Rimmer 19. George Merrick 20. Jordan Crane 21.  Morgen Parra 22.  Matt Hopper 23. Cory Jane
 
Overall: Look to play flowing rugby with Hodgson pulling the strings. We will be looking for big carries all over to get over the gainline.
 
Scrum: We will look to get an advantage at scrum time with a strong front five picked. 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: At the line out we will look to keep our own ball and challenge the Irish line out. Romano offers a strong banker ball option at the front whilst Bekker and Shields offer solid jumping options.
 
We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Hibbard, Healy, Romano, Shields 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.
 
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. Wigglesworth and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. Wigglesworth will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with Allen, Davies, Hogg and Nalaga seeing lots of the ball.
 
Defence: Use an blitz defence in order to put pressure on Sale. Parra sweep in behind
 
Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo. Murray, Brooker and Rimmer will look to keep the scrum strong. Merrick will look to add grit late as well as another quality lineout operator. Crane can look to really get involved in all facets of the game against tired legs. Wigglesworth will look to come and and provide playmaking. Jane and Hopper will look to come up and provide a threat with their running
 

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London Irish v Harlequins
Light Rain Shower, 17 Degrees, 12mph Winds
 
London Irish
 
Manager - Prop
 

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Rory Kockott
02. Hika Elliott	10. Shane Geraghty
03. Matt Stevens
04. Nick Kennedy	11. JSD
05. Craig Clarke	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13.  Henry Trinder
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Taku Nqwenya
08. Ben Morgan	15. Robbie Henshaw

16. T.Lindsay 17. T.Court 18. A.Guillamon 19. T.Dusatoir 20. E.Jackson 21. J.Moates 22. L.Beauxis 23. G.Armitage
 
 
 
Key Points
 
Balanced Backrow
 
We have picked a big backrow who are well balanced. Gorgodze will look to be abrasive and run at 10 looking to put him off his game. Fraser will look to dismantle the breakdown. Morgan will look to carry the ball all day and be the link man.
 
 
8-9-10-12-13
 
We want quick ball for our half-backs to tactically put us into territory (off the pitch). Our 8-9-10-12-13 will look to be influential and all have played together in this game alot so know each other well. These can all be standout playmakers who will look to control the game at our tempo in the light rain we will not expect attractive rugby.
 
Trinder
 
A lot of people have been picking Trinder as a weakness in the side and I would like to point you to the comments on the homepage where people have been praising his form recently as well as write ups of Glos matches where Trinders form has been praised as well.
 
Attacking

• We want to force errors from and will target the 12 channel by sending big runners down his channel.
  
  
  
• Kockott and Geraghty to play what's in front of them and look to release Naqa (who smash the holes) or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Kennedy, Godzilla and Clarke we have the number jumpers to gain the ball back, we know they 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 JSD and Ngwenya.
  
  
  
• 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.
  
  
  
• Power to close out the win in Lindsay and Guillamon, Dus 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 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 Stevens 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 slowing down the ball led by Naqa so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres (we will have a backrower on Geraghty’s shoulder to look for quick turnover ball, we will protect the channels to stop 9 sniping.
  
  
  
• Kockott will look to sweep and counter attack off any kick through's.
  
  
  
• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Tips 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.
  
  
  

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks
 

01. Joe Marler	09. Lee Dickson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Greig Laidlaw (k)
03. Gjorgi Jgenti
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Yoann Huget
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Florian Fritz
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Frank Halai
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Kyle Sinckler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Pieter Labushagne 21. Karl Dickson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Jonathan Joseph
 
Tactics
 
- Use strong carriers to get us across the gainline with players looking to carry off 9 and 10 and they will look to carry the ball at pace and with support, either to offload to or to recycle the ball quickly.
 
- Use the set piece as a platform from which to attack. Use short lineouts when we can.
 
- In the opposition half look to play at tempo and tie in defenders before spreading the ball wide when we get quick ball. Ball retention and patience is key to this tactic.
 
- Look for Wood and Warbs to control the breakdown and look to milk pens.
 
- In defence we will look to be aggressive and win the collisions. When we can we will double up in the tackle.
 

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Saracens v London Wasps
Sunny Intervals, 18 Degrees, 11mph Winds
 
 
Saracens
Manager – Pooly
 

01. Matt Mullen	09. Luke Burgess
02. Tiaan Liebenberg	10. Tom Taylor
03. Hoani Tui
04. Julian Pierre	11. Tim Visser
05. Louis Deacon(c)	12. Luther Burrell
06. Alessandro Zanni	13. Joel Tomkins
07. George Smith	14. Julien Malzieu
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Lee Byrne

 
 
 16. Darren Dawidiuk  17. Max Lahiff  18. Biyi Alo  19. Luke Charteris  20. Tom Guest  21. Chris Cook  22. Ben Botica  23. Tom Vardell
 
Tactics:
 
- Big pack and backline to win collision and dominate the physical aspect
- Look to keep hold of ball and go through phases with Taylor directing
- Target breakdown with Zanni/Smith strong here, look to ruck past ball with big pack to allow hands on to slow/turnover
- Keep discipline in own half esp, not allow Farrell 3pts and look to starve opposition with lack of creativity in their backline.
- Keep defensive shape with strong defensive players and make Wasps get through our line (do they have players to do this?)
- Deacon to lead line(as he has for Tigers and England) and keep things simple. look for the rolling maul with big pack
- Look for quick in out on scrum and get hard runners through Wasps 13 channel
- Tomkins to look for offload with big runners off his shoulder
- Look to target TNW's defence
 
London Wasps
Manager  Ozzy3213
 

01. Paul James	09. Nick Phipps
02. Christopher Tolofua	10. Owen Farrell
03. Dave Wilson
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Tim Nanai-Williams
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Pat McCabe
06. Marcel Coetzee	13. Jaco Taute
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Tom Johnson	15. Gareth Anscombe

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Fraser Balmain 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. George Skivington 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Luke Wallace 22. Nathan Fowles 23. Camille Lopez
 
Key Points

• This starting team was good enough to take comfortable win last week against a tough Worcester Warriors outfit.
  
  
• Mobile back row who will carry and hit gaps creating space for the backline.
  
  
• Lack of continuity of selection for Saracens mean they are unlikely to put many backs moves together, particularly as 10-12-13 have not played together before..
  
  
• Basic game plan designed to frustrate Saracens by starving them off the ball. They will tire quicker defending for long periods and we have the pace and mobility to exploit any gaps that appear as a result.
  
  
• People have picked on Tolofua’s throwing as a weakness, but Saracens are not playing a territorial kicking game, and neither are we, so lineouts will be minimal.
  
  

 
 
Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise will be to dominate possession.  We will go through the phases were possible and look to starve Saracens of the ball for long periods.  We will look for gaps and as the tackles come in make the offload to support runners, with the aim being to continually shift the point of attack and move Saracens heavy players around.  Huge focus for us will be winning the collisions and dominating the breakdown.
 
In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Phipps will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.
 
Specifics

• Breakdown. In attack we will flood it rucking past the ball at pace to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence if the turnover is on we will flood it in the same manner to get quick ball, but if not on we will only commit a small number of players to slow the ball, instead maintaining a solid defensive line.
  
  
• Lineout. We will look to hit banker ball and keep things simple.  On Worcester ball we will use the athletic Tom Johnson to try to disrupt where we think the ball is being thrown.
  
  
• Scrums. On all scrums we will target Hoani Tui who is not a technical scrummager, and previously relied on winning the hit.  The Saracens front row have not played together beofre, and working is a unity is even more paramount with the new interpretations.  We will try to exploit a lack of cohesion in this area.  On defensive scrums, with a bulky 2nd row and back row we will look to get an 8 man shove on rather than our hooker actually hooking for the ball and try to shove them off it.  On our ball we will primarily go for channel 1 ball and look to get it out quickly and start running at the gaps in the defensive line.
  
  
• Open Play. Big runners off 9 and 10.  Phipps to snipe to tie in the Saracens back row and give time and space to Farrell.  Big carriers to carry hard and straight and tie in defenders before recycling quickly.  TNW and Yarde to track off the wings, and look to take offloads in area where they can hit Tomkins outside shoulder from an inside line.
  
  

 

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Worcester Warriors v Newcastle Falcons
Light Rain Shower, 17 Degrees, 12mph Winds
 
Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88
 

01. Nathan Catt	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Matthew Rees	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Brian Mujati
04. Alun Wyn-Jones	11. David Strettle
05. Johann Muller	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Danie Russouw	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Ross Rennie	14. Sailosi Tagicakibau
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk 19. James Percival 20. Phil Dowson 21. Michael Classens 22. Olly Barkley  23. Mark Cueto
 
Tactics
 
- Use big ball carries like Waldrom, Russiuw, Bastereaud to try and wear down Falcona defence.
- Yach and FTD to control the game, get us in right areas of the pitch.
- Use Muller at lineout to secure ball. Develop mauls to try and score push over tries. Muller to disrupt opposition ball as much as poss
- Yach to kick all pens in range. if not go for touch and use lineout as a weapon.
- When we have space, use the pace of Tagi,Delon, Strettle to cause falcons problems. Loose kicks will be run back with interest.
 
 
Newcastle Falcons 
Manager - Driver
 
 
15.Alex Goode
14.Chris Ashton
13.Rene Ranger
12.Brad Barritt
11.Alex Cuthbert
10.Jimmy Goppereth
9.Ben Youngs
 
1.Soane Tonga'Uhia
2.Rory Best (c)
3.Paul Doran Jones
4.Yoaan Maestri
5.Ed Slater
6.Kelly Brown
7.Henrich Brussow
8.Toby Falatau
 
16.George Mcguigan 17.Ryan Grant 18.Scott Wilson 19.Will Carrick Smith 20.Chris Masoe 21.Sam Harrison 22.George Ford 23.George Lowe
 
picked a big pack to target the break down and keep the tempo high,  Players such as Tonga,  Best, Maestri,  Brown,  and Falatau can all have a impact there.
 
 
Our game plan is based around a strong tactical Kicking game with plenty of carriers to get us in a position where we can use our strong set piece to allow our exciting backline to score tries.
 
 
we will not be shy to take route one and slot the drop to put points on the board.
 
 
feed players like ranger and cuthbert as they cam create chances from anywhere.
 
 
Goppy to test tigers blitz with little kicks and putting the ball behind decoy runners
 
 

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Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
Sunny Intervals, 17 Degrees, 12mph Winds
 
Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka
 

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Tom Youngs	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Nathan Hines	11. Henry Speight
05. Pascal Pape (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Tamati Ellison
07. Jacques Burger	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Mike Brown

16. Chiliboy Ralepelle 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Kearnan Myall 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Kurtley Beale 23. Dominic Waldouck
 
Tactics:
 
We will play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game and the power and strength of our side.
 
- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Cole and Sheridan to look to really get into the opposition.
 
- Attack at all lineouts. Use Joubert or Pape at the front and Hines off the top as our three key options.
Shortened lineouts with Burger in midfield as crash or decoy option.
 
- Put serious pressure on Hartley's throws with Joubert at the front on all Saints throws.
 
- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Saints defence. The likes of SOB, Youngs, Burger, Pape and Hines to be used to target the Saints 10 channel.
 
- Target the breakdown - huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Burger and SOB, and the likes of Cole too, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial today.
 
- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Wilko and Twelvetrees. We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack and looking for where the gaps are.
 
- Target Madigan all game with Burger and SOB breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Big runners through his channel - looking to win the Wilko vs Madigan contest.
 
- 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. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.
 
- Wilkinson to kick all penalties.
 
Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris
 

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Mike Phillips
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Ian Madigan
03. Carl Hayman
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Leigh Halfpenny(k)
05. Mano Samoa	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Weslie Fofana
07. Calum Clark	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Ben Teiamafano 19. Courtney Lawes 20. CJ Stander 21. Joe Simpson 22. Elliot Daly 23. Christian Wade.

Tactics: Unbeaten away from home in the AP and will look to put an end to Leicester's unbeaten start. We bring in Mako Vunipola, Hayman, Samoa, Bonnaire and Clark to freshen up the pack and match the Tigers pack upfront. Perfect conditions that will allow us to play a high intensity, offloading game that will look to get our big ball carriers over the gainline to release our backline in space.  

Setpiece: Good conditions limit the impact of the setpiece as the game will be much more in open play. Yet we have a strong scrummaging unit and will look to launch Billy Vunipola off the back of the scrum to attack Tigers. Bonnaire picked to lead the line so we can generate quick attacking ball for our backline (Hartley 100% with his throws this season). We will use athleticism of Launchbury to disrupt the Tigers throw and get at Youngs who doesnt always have the best darts.

Breakdown/Backrow: With the two backrows selected this will be an attritional area, we have picked a mobile pack with players that are very good at clearing out others at the ruck - Hartely, Mako, Launch and Manoa - and they will support our backrow and look to reduce the threat of Burger here. 

Ball Carriers/Gainline: In the conditions we see the ability to get over the gainline as the key factor in this game, we have a pack full of carriers in the forwards and strike runners in the backline. We see a real advantage in this aspect of the game and by matching Tigers upfront we will score tries with enough of the ball.  

Defence: Look to stop and double up on SOB and stop him getting over the gainline and immediately targeting turnovers from him. Have a very physical pack in terms of big hitters and those that wont take a backward step, and will look to force Tigers into mistakes so that our backline can exploit. Strong defence in backline too, which will play a rush defence and try and force Wilko/36 to kick ball away for our backthree to return on the counter.

Key selection points:
Fresh pack to take on Tigers upfront and match physicality
Very dangerous backline who have a lot of try scoring threat in perfect conditions for Saints
Lot of gainline breakers in pack and strike runners in backline to put us on the front foot.
Halfpenny to match Wilkinson's kicking at goal
Impact bench to really up tempo in final 20-25minutes.

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Gloucester Rugby v Exeter Chiefs
Light Rain Shower, 17 Degrees, 13mph Winds

Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Matt

1. Tufungisi
2. George
3. Mas
4 gray
5 Robson
6 Croft
7 Qera
8 Heaslip
9 Murray
10 Carter 
11 may
12 Barnes
13 Juan de Jongh
14 Banahan
15 Masi
16,Heard
17 gray
18 Harden
19 Palmer
20 Hari
21 Tj perenara
22 Scott
23 Balshaw

Will keep my tactics shorter than Fluxy that's for sure.

Gloucester will be looking to use a simple game plan dictated by the decent conditions. In their half we will be looking to keep ball and use our carriers to get on front foot to enable us to get quick ball and utilise our backline which has much more craft and guile 

In our half we will be looking to utilise our superior 8,9,10,12 combo to control the game. This will involve taking advantage of the lack of kicking game of the Exeter back 3.  We will look either kick the ball in behind so it rolls our or force them to kick and lose ground we then see ourselves as having a dominating lineout especially in light of webbers darts which have had a few meltdowns this year most noticeably against sarries the other week.

Key points 

- use superior carrying to set tone
- 8,9,10,12 key shirts and we are better in each 
- look to target webbers throw and put up our jumpers who include gray croft Robson Qera and heaslip
- utilise superior 9/10 combo to dictate play and kicking game
- superior creativity in the backline. Lots of
Exeters work will flounder in the 10/12/13
Channel with neither player great at distributing 
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping. Feel if we pressure the 10/12 channel we can stop them at source due to distribution issues pointed out.
- cross kick to Banahan
- bring on superior bench to close out game 

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Logovii Mulipola	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber (C)	10. Stephen Myler (K)
03. Mike Ross
04. Brad Thorn	11. Dom Shipperly
05. Geoff Parling	12. Bundee Aki
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. John Barclay	14. Zac Guilford
08. Nick Williams	15. Matt Tait

16. Sean Cronin 17. Yannick Forestier 18. Will Collier 19. Kieran Low 20. Carl Fearns 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Toby Flood 23. Andrew Trimble

[b]Tactics

On the back of some strong performances, we play our game when we have ball in hand. Our brand of rugby is physical and fast, however the ball won't be run on every opportunity. We will only play in the right areas of the paddock, therefore the intelligence of Myler and Machenaud will dictate when to attack and when we need to clear the lines.
This week we will adapt our game to suffocate the Gloucester in a number of methods. Firstly we will look to rule the set-pieces and pressure every line-out and scrum of theirs. Secondly the side is packed full of hard workers and grafters, that can chop down their strong runners all day long. Look to use tight carrying to tie in any numbers, as we believe to have more grafters in our pack. The conditions will suit out style so we won't have to adapt too much.

Use the constant pressure at the breakdown and set-pieces to punish any mistakes or turnovers with either breakaway tries or pressure kicks into their territory. This will force Gloucester to play from within in their 22 and use our strong lineout and kicking game to pressure them. The lack of pace or defensive frailty in the back three will garner chances to be capitalized upon. In attack we will look to use the Myler's and Aki's creativity to create space and use the dangerous runners outside them and themselves. 

Key Points


[/b]

• Mulipola and Ross are solid technicians and will allow Webber freedom to secure our own feed, to provide clean first phase possession for our backs. Exploit Tufungisi at the set-piece.
  
  
  
• With a strong line-out, Parling will lead and use himself as banker ball at the in line with Thorn jumping in the front and middle. At the back we can look to use Robshaw sparingly. If winning own ball Parling will look to call full number line-outs to tie in the Gloucester forwards and get our strong maul going.. 
  
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. We have picked Robshaw and Barclay to cut down the runners  and flood the breakdown. Others like Parling, Webber and Thorn can back up the flanks on the floor or at chopping runners down.
  
  
  
• Whole pack capable of carrying, along with some effort from the backs. Look to keep moving the point of attack with clever offloads and forward interplay. Look for forward pods outside the third guard in the line to really stretch their defences.
  
  

 
 

• Williams has been picked to bring an extra carrying threat of the back of the scrum and in open play. In the past meetings against Heaslip, Williams has dominated the carrying and tackling. Also to line up in the 12 channel to run at Barnes. 
  
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing them from setting any defensive lines and allowing their back row to get over the ball.
  
  
  
• Myler is a decent attacker (as proven at the end of last season and in current games this season) and look to use a league style move to unlock the defence. Aki can either take it short and through gaps or it can be screened to Rougerie with the 14, and 15 to attack the numbers outside. 
  
  
  
• We will use a Blitz drift line in defence to cut down Carter's options and push him inside towards our back-row.
  
  
  
• If we kick in behind their back-line or back three, we look to at least make them have to turn into an advancing black line which will not allow the receiver time to make decision or escape with clean ball. Exploit the pace of Banahan and Masi
  
  
  
• Look to use our abrasive forwards off then bench for impact later in the game. And we have some game changing backs with Flood who can play tight or spread the ball if we need to.
  
  
  
• Myler will kick all points, he can kick from within their half, so this indicates that Gloucester should be wary of giving away penalties. 
  
  

Marker

Manager - Prop

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Rory Kockott
02. Hika Elliott	10. Shane Geraghty
03. Matt Stevens
04. Nick Kennedy	11. JSD
05. Craig Clarke ©	12. Sereli Naqalevuki
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Henry Trinder
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Taku Nqwenya
08. Ben Morgan	15. Robbie Henshaw

16. T.Lindsay 17. T.Court 18. A.Guillamon 19. T.Dusatoir 20. E.Jackson 21. J.Moates 22. L.Beauxis 23. G.Armitage

Key Points

Balanced Backrow
We have picked a big backrow who are well balanced. Gorgodze will look to be abrasive and run at 10 looking to put him off his game. Fraser will look to dismantle the breakdown. Morgan will look to carry the ball all day and be the link man.

8-9-10-12-13
We want quick ball for our half-backs to tactically put us into territory (off the pitch). Our 8-9-10-12-13 will look to be influential and all have played together in this game alot so know each other well. These can all be standout playmakers who will look to control the game at our tempo in the light rain we will not expect attractive rugby.

Trinder
A lot of people have been picking Trinder as a weakness in the side and I would like to point you to the comments on the homepage where people have been praising his form recently as well as write ups of Glos matches where Trinders form has been praised as well.



Attacking

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

• Kockott and Geraghty to play what's in front of them and look to release Naqa (who smash the holes) or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Kennedy, Godzilla and Clarke we have the number jumpers to gain the ball back, we know they 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 JSD and Ngwenya.
  
  

• 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.
  
  

• Power to close out the win in Lindsay and Guillamon, Dus 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 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 Stevens 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 slowing down the ball led by Naqa so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres (we will have a backrower on Geraghty’s shoulder to look for quick turnover ball, we will protect the channels to stop 9 sniping.
  
  

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

• We will hit the breakdown quick to give Tips 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. Nathan Catt	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Matthew Rees	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Brian Mujati
04. Alun Wyn-Jones	11. David Strettle
05. Johann Muller	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Danie Russouw	13. Mathieu Bastereaud
07. Ross Rennie	14. Sailosi Tagicakibau
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Richardt Strauss 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk 19. James Percival 20. Phil Dowson 21. Michael Classens 22. Olly Barkley  23. Mark Cueto

Worcester Warriors make 4 changes from the defeat at Wasps last weekend. In the pack, Nathan Catt, Alun Wyn-Jones, Danie Russouw come in for BJ Botha, Ashley Johnson and Mouritz Botha. In the backline, Eli Walker drops out for Sailosi Tagicakibau.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly
 

01. Matt Mullen	09. Luke Burgess
02. Tiaan Liebenberg	10. Tom Taylor
03. Hoani Tui
04. Julian Pierre	11. Tim Visser
05. Louis Deacon(c)	12. Luther Burrell
06. Alessandro Zanni	13. Joel Tomkins
07. George Smith	14. Julien Malzieu
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Lee Byrne

 
 
 16. Darren Dawidiuk  17. Max Lahiff  18. Biyi Alo  19. Luke Charteris  20. Tom Guest  21. Chris Cook  22. Ben Botica  23. Tom Vardell
 
Tactics:

- Big pack and backline to win collision and dominate the physical aspect
- Look to keep hold of ball and go through phases with Taylor directing
- Target breakdown with Zanni/Smith strong here, look to ruck past ball with big pack to allow hands on to slow/turnover
- Keep discipline in own half esp, not allow Farrell 3pts and look to starve opposition with lack of creativity in their backline.
- Keep defensive shape with strong defensive players and make Wasps get through our line (do they have players to do this?)
- Deacon to lead line(as he has for Tigers and England) and keep things simple. look for the rolling maul with big pack
- Look for quick in out on scrum and get hard runners through Wasps 13 channel
- Tomkins to look for offload with big runners off his shoulder
- Look to target TNW's defence

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Iain Henderson	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Craig Gilroy
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Dave Kilcoyne 17. David Paice 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tom Savage 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Ben Spencer 22. James Hook 23. Will Addison

Tactics:

We will play the game in the opposition half with an intelligent kicking game. When there we will play a fast paced, high intensity carrying game looking to get over the gain line, create space for our halfbacks and to get our back three onto the ball as much possible.

- Bombard Millers wing with the kicking game. With him playing out of position on the wing there will be acres of space to exploit.  

- Target the scrum. Good technical front row supported by plenty of grunt will look to get on top and win penalties.

- Taking the hit away from the Bath front row significantly weaken them at scrum time. None are known for their technique and penalties can be won here.

- Attack from the lineout. Five genuine jumping options allows us to mix it up and really use the lineout as an attacking platform. Look to get the ball to Sexton and Eastmond with space outside.

- Target the opposition lineout with Quedragao jumping at the front and Attwood, Henderson & POM marshalling the middle to pick of Hibbard's throws. Sexton & Eastmond will relish attacking an unset defence.

- Look to mix up play. Sexton & Eastmond to interchange at first receiver and change the point of attack. Care provides a threat snipping around the base.

- Get the back three involved. Zebo, Gilroy and Abendanon all to run lines looking for the inside ball or offload to get in behind the opposition defence.

- Hit the breakdown hard. Look to our dynamic front five to clear the ruck and allow the likes of POM & Quedragao to really attack the breakdown.

- Outwork Bath with Pocock really struggling having played just 4 games since the start of the Rugby Championship 2012.

- Straight line blitz defence focusing on a quick line speed to isolate the ball carrier before the gain line. Quedragao will defend on Eastmonds shoulder to double up and also be first on the scene at the breakdown. Care to sweep in behind to cover chips and grubbers.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Tom Youngs	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Nathan Hines	11. Henry Speight
05. Pascal Pape (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Tamati Ellison
07. Jacques Burger	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Mike Brown

16. Chiliboy Ralepelle 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Kearnan Myall 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Kurtley Beale 23. Dominic Waldouck

Tactics:

We will play to our strengths and play a game built around our intelligent HB's controlling the game and the power and strength of our side.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Cole and Sheridan to look to really get into the opposition.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Joubert or Pape at the front and Hines off the top as our three key options.
Shortened lineouts with Burger in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Put serious pressure on Hartley's throws with Joubert at the front on all Saints throws.

- Gigantic pack made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Saints defence. The likes of SOB, Youngs, Burger, Pape and Hines to be used to target the Saints 10 channel.

- Target the breakdown - huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Burger and SOB, and the likes of Cole too, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial today.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Wilko and Twelvetrees. We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack and looking for where the gaps are.

- Target Madigan all game with Burger and SOB breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Big runners through his channel - looking to win the Wilko vs Madigan contest.

- 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. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

[b][color=darkred]- Wilkinson to kick all penalties.

Northampton Saints team versus Leicester Tigers
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Mike Phillips
02. Dylan Hartley(c)	10. Ian Madigan
03. Carl Hayman
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Leigh Halfpenny(k)
05. Mano Samoa	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Weslie Fofana
07. Calum Clark	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Ben Teiamafano 19. Courtney Lawes 20. CJ Stander 21. Joe Simpson 22. Elliot Daly 23. Christian Wade.

Tactics: Unbeaten away from home in the AP and will look to put an end to Leicester's unbeaten start. We bring in Mako Vunipola, Hayman, Samoa, Bonnaire and Clark to freshen up the pack and match the Tigers pack upfront. Perfect conditions that will allow us to play a high intensity, offloading game that will look to get our big ball carriers over the gainline to release our backline in space.

Setpiece: Good conditions limit the impact of the setpiece as the game will be much more in open play. Yet we have a strong scrummaging unit and will look to launch Billy Vunipola off the back of the scrum to attack Tigers. Bonnaire picked to lead the line so we can generate quick attacking ball for our backline (Hartley 100% with his throws this season). We will use athleticism of Launchbury to disrupt the Tigers throw and get at Youngs who doesnt always have the best darts.

Breakdown/Backrow: With the two backrows selected this will be an attritional area, we have picked a mobile pack with players that are very good at clearing out others at the ruck - Hartely, Mako, Launch and Manoa - and they will support our backrow and look to reduce the threat of Burger here.

Ball Carriers/Gainline: In the conditions we see the ability to get over the gainline as the key factor in this game, we have a pack full of carriers in the forwards and strike runners in the backline. We see a real advantage in this aspect of the game and by matching Tigers upfront we will score tries with enough of the ball.

Defence: Look to stop and double up on SOB and stop him getting over the gainline and immediately targeting turnovers from him. Have a very physical pack in terms of big hitters and those that wont take a backward step, and will look to force Tigers into mistakes so that our backline can exploit. Strong defence in backline too, which will play a rush defence and try and force Wilko/36 to kick ball away for our backthree to return on the counter.

Key selection points:
Fresh pack to take on Tigers upfront and match physicality
Very dangerous backline who have a lot of try scoring threat in perfect conditions for Saints
Lot of gainline breakers in pack and strike runners in backline to put us on the front foot.
Halfpenny to match Wilkinson's kicking at goal
Impact bench to really up tempo in final 20-25minutes.

Thought I was away for some reason.

On phone but can reformat tomorrow as working at home

1. Tufungisi
2. George
3. Mas
4 gray
5 Robson
6 Croft
7 Qera
8 Heaslip
9 Murray
10 Carter
11 may
12 Barnes
13 Juan de Jongh
14 Banahan
15 Masi
16,Heard
17 gray
18 Harden
19 Palmer
20 Hari
21 Tj perenara
22 Scott
23 Balshaw

Will keep my tactics shorter than Fluxy that's for sure.

Gloucester will be looking to use a simple game plan dictated by the decent conditions. In their half we will be looking to keep ball and use our carriers to get on front foot to enable us to get quick ball and utilise our backline which has much more craft and guile

In our half we will be looking to utilise our superior 8,9,10,12 combo to control the game. This will involve taking advantage of the lack of kicking game of the Exeter back 3. We will look either kick the ball in behind so it rolls our or force them to kick and lose ground we then see ourselves as having a dominating lineout especially in light of webbers darts which have had a few meltdowns this year most noticeably against sarries the other week.

Key points

- use superior carrying to set tone
- 8,9,10,12 key shirts and we are better in each
- look to target webbers throw and put up our jumpers who include gray croft Robson Qera and heaslip
- utilise superior 9/10 combo to dictate play and kicking game
- superior creativity in the backline. Lots of
Exeters work will flounder in the 10/12/13
Channel with neither player great at distributing
- blitz defence with scrum half sweeping. Feel if we pressure the 10/12 channel we can stop them at source due to distribution issues pointed out.
- cross kick to Banahan
- bring on superior bench to close out game

Good luck Fluxy

Falcons name the same 23 which beat Gloucester to face Worcester

15.Alex Goode
14.Chris Ashton
13.Rene Ranger
12.Brad Barritt
11.Alex Cuthbert
10.Jimmy Goppereth
9.Ben Youngs

1.Soane Tonga'Uhia
2.Rory Best (c)
3.Paul Doran Jones
4.Yoaan Maestri
5.Ed Slater
6.Kelly Brown
7.Richie McCaw
8.Toby Falatau

16.George Mcguigan 17.Ryan Grant 18.Scott Wilson 19.Will Carrick Smith 20.Chris Masoe 21.Sam Harrison 22.George Ford 23.George Lowe

London Wasps name an unchanged starting XV from the side that beat Worcester Warriors last time out.  On the bench Luke Wallace and Nathan Fowles replace Paul Hodgson and Anthony Watson as Wasps opt for a 6-2 forward/back split.  Head coach Ozzy3213 had this to say;-

“We’ve had a good start to the season and head to Allianz Park with some momentum.  I think we know that Saracens will come hard at us up front, and for that reason we’ve gone with an extra forward on the bench to fight fire with fire.  Young Nathan Fowles comes onto the bench as well, largely because we want to play a pacy attacking game and he is more suited to that than Paul (Hodgson) is right now.  We know it will be a dogfight, but we are going there to impose our game on them and if we can do that, I am confident that we can come back with the win.”

London Wasps
Manager  Ozzy3213

01. Paul James	09. Nick Phipps
02. Christopher Tolofua	10. Owen Farrell
03. Dave Wilson
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Tim Nanai-Williams
05. Jim Hamilton ©	12. Pat McCabe
06. Marcel Coetzee	13. Jaco Taute
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Tom Johnson	15. Gareth Anscombe

16. Rob Hawkins 17. Fraser Balmain 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. George Skivington 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Luke Wallace 22. Nathan Fowles 23. Camille Lopez

Key Points

• This starting team was good enough to take comfortable win last week against a tough Worcester Warriors outfit.
  
• Mobile back row who will carry and hit gaps creating space for the backline.
  
• Lack of continuity of selection for Saracens mean they are unlikely to put many backs moves together, particularly as 10-12-13 have not played together before..
  
• Basic game plan designed to frustrate Saracens by starving them off the ball. They will tire quicker defending for long periods and we have the pace and mobility to exploit any gaps that appear as a result.
  
• People have picked on Tolofua’s throwing as a weakness, but Saracens are not playing a territorial kicking game, and neither are we, so lineouts will be minimal.
  

Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise will be to dominate possession.  We will go through the phases were possible and look to starve Saracens of the ball for long periods.  We will look for gaps and as the tackles come in make the offload to support runners, with the aim being to continually shift the point of attack and move Saracens heavy players around.  Huge focus for us will be winning the collisions and dominating the breakdown.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Phipps will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Breakdown. In attack we will flood it rucking past the ball at pace to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence if the turnover is on we will flood it in the same manner to get quick ball, but if not on we will only commit a small number of players to slow the ball, instead maintaining a solid defensive line.
  
• Lineout. We will look to hit banker ball and keep things simple.  On Worcester ball we will use the athletic Tom Johnson to try to disrupt where we think the ball is being thrown.
  
• Scrums. On all scrums we will target Hoani Tui who is not a technical scrummager, and previously relied on winning the hit.  The Saracens front row have not played together beofre, and working is a unity is even more paramount with the new interpretations.  We will try to exploit a lack of cohesion in this area.  On defensive scrums, with a bulky 2nd row and back row we will look to get an 8 man shove on rather than our hooker actually hooking for the ball and try to shove them off it.  On our ball we will primarily go for channel 1 ball and look to get it out quickly and start running at the gaps in the defensive line.
  
• Open Play. Big runners off 9 and 10.  Phipps to snipe to tie in the Saracens back row and give time and space to Farrell.  Big carriers to carry hard and straight and tie in defenders before recycling quickly.  TNW and Yarde to track off the wings, and look to take offloads in area where they can hit Tomkins outside shoulder from an inside line.
  

nick, Britton's just been banned for 4 weeks.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

[/td]

01. Joe Marler	09. Lee Dickson
02. Schalk Brits	10. Greig Laidlaw (k)
03. Gjorgi Jgenti
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Yoann Huget
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Tom Wood	13. Florian Fritz
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Frank Halai
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Kyle Sinckler 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Pieter Labushagne 21. Karl Dickson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Jonathan Joseph

Tactics

- Use strong carriers to get us across the gainline with players looking to carry off 9 and 10 and they will look to carry the ball at pace and with support, either to offload to or to recycle the ball quickly.

- Use the set piece as a platform from which to attack. Use short lineouts when we can.

- In the opposition half look to play at tempo and tie in defenders before spreading the ball wide when we get quick ball. Ball retention and patience is key to this tactic.

- Look for Wood and Warbs to control the breakdown and look to milk pens.

- In defence we will look to be aggressive and win the collisions. When we can we will double up in the tackle.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. Rob Miller
05. Andries Bekker	12. Anthony Allen
06. Brad Shields	13.  Jonathan Davies
07. David Pocock	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Tom Guest	15. Stuart Hogg

|;
16. Chris Brooker 17. Euan Murray 18. Carl Rimmer 19. George Merrick 20. Jordan Crane 21.  Morgen Parra 22.  Matt Hopper 23. Cory Jane

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

Scrum: We will look to get an advantage at scrum time with a strong front five picked. 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: At the line out we will look to keep our own ball and challenge the Irish line out. Romano offers a strong banker ball option at the front whilst Bekker and Shields offer solid jumping options.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Hibbard, Healy, Romano, Shields 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.

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. Wigglesworth and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. Wigglesworth will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with Allen, Davies, Hogg and Nalaga seeing lots of the ball.

Defence: Use an blitz defence in order to put pressure on Sale. Parra sweep in behind

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo. Murray, Brooker and Rimmer will look to keep the scrum strong. Merrick will look to add grit late as well as another quality lineout operator. Crane can look to really get involved in all facets of the game against tired legs. Wigglesworth will look to come and and provide playmaking. Jane and Hopper will look to come up and provide a threat with their running

McCaw is playing for the AB's this week Drivfer mate.

Cheers Pete. Thought he was out for full 4Ns

Start Hienrich Brussouw at 7.

Sorry its a little late. 

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Logovii Mulipola	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber (C)	10. Stephen Myler (K)
03. Mike Ross
04. Brad Thorn	11. Dom Shipperly
05. Geoff Parling	12. Bundee Aki
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. John Barclay	14. Zac Guilford
08. Nick Williams	15. Matt Tait

16. Sean Cronin 17. Yannick Forestier 18. Will Collier 19. Kieran Low 20. Carl Fearns 21. Haydn Thomas 22. Toby Flood 23. Andrew Trimble

Tactics

On the back of some strong performances, we play our game when we have ball in hand. Our brand of rugby is physical and fast, however the ball won't be run on every opportunity. We will only play in the right areas of the paddock, therefore the intelligence of Myler and Machenaud will dictate when to attack and when we need to clear the lines.
This week we will adapt our game to suffocate the Gloucester in a number of methods. Firstly we will look to rule the set-pieces and pressure every line-out and scrum of theirs. Secondly the side is packed full of hard workers and grafters, that can chop down their strong runners all day long. Look to use tight carrying to tie in any numbers, as we believe to have more grafters in our pack. The conditions will suit out style so we won't have to adapt too much.

Use the constant pressure at the breakdown and set-pieces to punish any mistakes or turnovers with either breakaway tries or pressure kicks into their territory. This will force Gloucester to play from within in their 22 and use our strong lineout and kicking game to pressure them. The lack of pace or defensive frailty in the back three will garner chances to be capitalized upon. In attack we will look to use the Myler's and Aki's creativity to create space and use the dangerous runners outside them and themselves. 

Key Points

• Mulipola and Ross are solid technicians and will allow Webber freedom to secure our own feed, to provide clean first phase possession for our backs. Exploit Tufungisi at the set-piece.
  
  
• With a strong line-out, Parling will lead and use himself as banker ball at the in line with Thorn jumping in the front and middle. At the back we can look to use Robshaw sparingly. If winning own ball Parling will look to call full number line-outs to tie in the Gloucester forwards and get our strong maul going.. 
  
  
• Our whole pack is mobile and capable of snaffling ball at the breakdown. We have picked Robshaw and Barclay to cut down the runners  and flood the breakdown. Others like Parling, Webber and Thorn can back up the flanks on the floor or at chopping runners down.
  
  
• Whole pack capable of carrying, along with some effort from the backs. Look to keep moving the point of attack with clever offloads and forward interplay. Look for forward pods outside the third guard in the line to really stretch their defences.
  

• Williams has been picked to bring an extra carrying threat of the back of the scrum and in open play. In the past meetings against Heaslip, Williams has dominated the carrying and tackling. Also to line up in the 12 channel to run at Barnes.
  
  
• We will look to keep the ball alive, preventing them from setting any defensive lines and allowing their back row to get over the ball.
  
  
• Myler is a decent attacker (as proven at the end of last season and in current games this season) and look to use a league style move to unlock the defence. Aki can either take it short and through gaps or it can be screened to Rougerie with the 14, and 15 to attack the numbers outside. 
  
  
• We will use a Blitz drift line in defence to cut down Carter's options and push him inside towards our back-row.
  
  
• If we kick in behind their back-line or back three, we look to at least make them have to turn into an advancing black line which will not allow the receiver time to make decision or escape with clean ball. Exploit the pace of Banahan and Masi
  
  
• Look to use our abrasive forwards off then bench for impact later in the game. And we have some game changing backs with Flood who can play tight or spread the ball if we need to.
  
  
• Myler will kick all points, he can kick from within their half, so this indicates that Gloucester should be wary of giving away penalties.
  

picked a big pack to target the break down and keep the tempo high,  Players such as Tonga,  Best, Maestri,  Brown, and Falatau can all have a impact there.

Our game plan is based around a strong tactical Kicking game with plenty of carriers to get us in a position where we can use our strong set piece to allow our exciting backline to score tries.

we will not be shy to take route one and slot the drop to put points on the board.

feed players like ranger and cuthbert as they cam create chances from anywhere.

Goppy to test tigers blitz with little kicks and putting the ball behind decoy runners

Tactics added SJE, sorry they are on the late side mate.

Tactics

- Use big ball carries like Waldrom, Russiuw, Bastereaud to try and wear down Falcona defence.
- Yach and FTD to control the game, get us in right areas of the pitch.
- Use Muller at lineout to secure ball. Develop mauls to try and score push over tries. Muller to disrupt opposition ball as much as poss
- Yach to kick all pens in range. if not go for touch and use lineout as a weapon.
- When we have space, use the pace of Tagi,Delon, Strettle to cause falcons problems. Loose kicks will be run back with interest.

Sale 23-23 Bath

FR -Edge here for Bath with a slightly stronger scrummaging side, Kubs will get on top.
SR -Both good combo's but pretty immense for Bath, they'll get nudge on in line out and around the park
BR -Pretty sure I've got Tom Guest so will predo Crane starting, edge for Sale anyway, good options here. Pocock struggling for form
HB - V Strong for Sale, best 4N combo going
CE -I prefer the Bath unit, I do like Sale's but it could do with a stright running option against the better sides
B3 -Bath unit stronger
Overall -Not sure on Sale's tactics over bombarding Miller, he's played wing this season and looked pretty good keeping North in check. He's strong under high ball too so could sway things in Bath favour with getting hit all the time. Bath look strong but let down in key positions to get the win. Sale backrow and half backs keep them in this one, Miller option just a wrong call and will just stop them winning as can see Bath scoring points through this tactic, really good game.

Irish 20-19 Harlequins

FR -I think Irish get a little nudge on here with both Quins props not massive scrummagers
SR -Advantage Quins with a good unit, not a Borthwick fan but bit more physicallity for Quins
BR -2 very strong units, I think I actually prefer the Irish combo though which a bit more balance. 2 quaality units though
HB - One a piece Krockett and Laidlaw, both units not the strongest though
CE -Again not too much in this one, can't seperate.
B3 - Bit of a shade for Quins
Overall -Really tough one this, Quins just shade the teams but have to give Irish the home advantage. I just think Irish are set out a little better tactcially and will play to their strengths more. Really tight game.

Did these and then pc got rid of them!!

Sale 24-22 Bath
Feel Sale bring more here in the back row. Bath's front 5 will cause Sale some issues. Sale take the half back pairings but evens in the outside backs. Prefer the Sale bench and think they bring a bit more in defence to edge it.

Sarries 20-21 Wasps
More from tactics for Wasps. Feel they take the front 5 but backrows are even with good balance from both sides. Don't know alot about Taylor sorry. Outside backs fairly even with the form players being Burrell and Yarde at the moment. Overall think Wasps have just enough to edge a tight encounter.

Warriors 22-22 Falcons
Feel Falcons bring more in the pack. In the half backs Gopperth is playing well but a tidy pairing from Warriors. Out wide I can see Falcons being more dangerous but the Warriors bench brings them back into the game for the draw.

Tigers 28-27 Saints
Can't split much in the pack here with both having good units. A great 9-10 combo for Tigers, Madigan quickly coming of age though. Prefer the spark from the Saints centres. 2 great back threes and the same with the bench. Looking at tactics I feel the Tigers have good set out putting pressure on Madigan and using their pack power. Saints have the right squad for the conditions but I feel Tigers at home will edge it a great game.

Glos 20-19 Chiefs
Prefer the Chiefs front row here but evens in the pack from there. Glos edge the half backs with 2 accomplished players. In the backs it's close but feel Glos have a bit more in back three. Bit better from Chiefs with their tactics here but Glos sneak a close game.

Taylor is young NZ 10 Prop, got his first AB cap few weeks ago.

Worcester 19-21 Falcons

FR -Fair adavantage for Newcastle with a good unit
SR -Not much in this one, both should do ok on their own ball and plenty around the park
BR -Falcons edge here again, perfect balance. Decent unit from Worcester but a few form issues.
HB - Not much in this one, abetter 10 for Falcons maybe would help backline
CE -Two good units, again not much in it
B3 -Again not too much in it
Overall -Tactics hinder Worcester which is a shame as it's a close contest, Falcons shade

i did my tactics last night

brief they may be but i did post them!

Added now sorry Nick updated this page in a rush this morning. Can Pooly and Prop reconsider their predictions please on Worc-Falcons

no worries mate sorry for not editing my original team post had to do it on my iphone which is always more tricky

Leicester 25-15 Northampton

FR -Good advantage to Tigers with all 3 of their front row players superior
SR - Not much on line outs with no real leader for either team, step up in quality for Tigers though
BR - Tigers will dominate breakdown with advantage on the flanks, Billy better than Joubert but will struggle behind retreating scrum
HB - Step up for Tigers in both positions
CE -Again to Tigers, Fofana out of position can be got at defensivley
B3 -Saints wings are step up, Brown better than Foden who's not looked in good form imo.
Overall -Tigers a step up in quality in most positions and will control this one from the off.

Sale 31 - 29 Bath
SJE wins this for the same reason he beat me last week, too much power in the backrow and class halfbacks. Pisi's return to form at 13 makes a massive difference too. If the conditions were worse than the front five of Bath could have made more of a difference. Both teams will score tries in this game though.

London Irish 32-31 Quins
Hardest one of the week to call. Would say that the backrows do even themselves out in the game and I haven't seen Jgenti play so slightly have to mark down the Quins pack there. With the two teams set out there are again going to be a lot of tries and just give the edge to the home team after Geraghty, JSD and Trinder hitting some good form. Probably would have had a Quins win but don't see Laidlow as the most creative no10.

Saracens 23 - 26 London Wasps
Lot of Sarries players still settling in, Burrell being thrown straight in, Taylor been training in the AB's squad so marked down for travelling around the world, so effects the team. Their match day 23 is improving. The weather helps out Pete this week with Tolofua's throwing, but like the setup and the form of Farrell and Yarde makes the difference. Good away win.

Worcester Warriors 25 - 25 Newcastle Falcons
Really close game, both teams have really good combinations. It was originally going to be an away win due to the advantage in the front row over Catt, but in these games you need to really empty your bench and can see the tide turning towards the end. If Driver wasn't putting so much emphasis on the territorial kicking game I think they could have got a bit more joy keeping the ball in hand.

Gloucester 32-30 Exeter Chiefs
Banahan out of the centres makes a big difference for Gloucester and they get a hard win out of this game. Fluxy has his tactics spot on in a lot of areas and is unlucky it is nice weather where he wouldn't make the most of the set piece. Few more WC players and home advantage get Mat the win here.

Apologies for the page layout this week guys genuinely can't find the coding area! Don't know whats gone on  

London Irish 22-25 Harlequins


Scrum: Bit more from the Quins front row to edge here. 
Lineout:  Both sides should hold their own.
Breakdown: Quins edge due to the extra work rate of their front 5.
HB's:  Edge to Quins. Not a fan of Laidlaw at 10 but Geraghty is a weakness at this level.
Attack: Serious pace in the Irish backs but bit more power to Quins.
Defence:  Positionally the Irish back three are suspect and head on some could be caught as well.
Bench: More in the backs for Quins but Irish could really get on top in the pack.
Tactics: More detail is a plus for Irish. Tight game to call but feel Quins shade just enough to sneak an away win.
 
 
Saracens 19-21 London Wasps


Scrum:   Good little battle with Sarries edging due to Tolofua struggling. Johnson doesn’t have much control at the base.
Lineout:  Slight edge to Sarries again who may pick off a ball or two.
Breakdown:  Edge to Wasps with their back row getting through more work.
HB's:  Slight edge to Wasps with Farrell in good nick.
Attack: Bit more to the Wasps midfield. Sarries still settling in with new combos.
Defence:  Visser weak defensively while questions over Taute positionally.
Bench: Wasps can really get at the scrum.
Tactics: Sarries set piece advantage negated with both sides looking to run the ball. Tough game to call but feel Wasps have enough to breach the Sarries line.
 
 
Worcester Warriors 18-15 Newcastle Falcons


Scrum: Slight edge to Falcons with PDJ getting more joy out of his opposite number but nothing game changing.
Lineout:  Better jumpers for Worc and they should pick Best off.
Breakdown: More quality in the back row for Falcons sees them edge.
HB's:  Good battle. More quality to Worc but Gopperth in good form levels it out.
Attack: More threat outwide for Falcons but Worc stronger in midfield.
Defence:  Both 13s can be pulled out of position.
Bench: Little more impact to Falcons with Masoe & Ford.
Tactics: Both sides with a similar set up. Falcons won’t get the platform needed from the lineout.
 
 
Leicester Tigers 24-18 Northampton Saints


Scrum: Hard to call with both front 5s more about the hit but bit more quality to Tigers.
Lineout:  Decent battle. Both sides should hold their own but Saints stronger here.
Breakdown: Tigers can get on top here with better balance and more quality.
HB's:  Not sure the Saints combo would work together. Edge to Tigers.
Attack: Both sides with serious power. Bit more for Saints in wider channels.
Defence:  Both sides fairly solid.
Bench: More of an impact from Saints and see them doing very well in the last quarter.
Tactics: Both sides looking to power through but Saints struggle for a platform this week with breakdown troubles not helping the halfbacks who aren’t on the same wave length.
 
 
Gloucester Rugby 14-19 Exeter Chiefs
 

Scrum:   Edge to Chiefs with more in the row and George & Tufungisi struggling.
Lineout:  Both sides should hold their own ball. Better conditions would have seen Glaws with more attacking options.
Breakdown:  Neither side should really slow each other down.
HB's:  Step up in quality to Glaws but Carter not his imperious self this year.
Attack: Both sides fairly similar quality and form wise.
Defence:  Both sides solid. Chiefs should be playing a sweeper but Glaws haven’t set up to take advantage.
Bench:  Neither side gain an upper hand.
Tactics: Isn’t much of a game plan from Glaws with no real reference to how they will play with the ball. Chiefs give a much better idea of how they are playing. Tactics crucial for me and Chiefs pick up an away win based on the quality of theirs.

Sale 19 - 18 Bath
Saracens 22 - 23 Wasps
Worcester 25 - 26 Newcastle
Leicester 18 - 17 Saints
Gloucester 26 - 25 Exeter

Apologies again for no explanations. Will try to get them in tomorrow before cut off but manic this weekend. Hugely appreciate the Sunday cut off now being in place SJE

Gloucester 17-22 Exeter

FR -Interesting battle, both LH's can be got at but Exeter unit prob a little stronger, esp at hook. Can see Exeter getting a nudge on in the scrum and subs will improve them too(I'd start Forrister over Mulo)
SR -Thorn adds serious grunt to Exeter scrum, 2 good line out ops for Gloucester but a little lightweight against Exeter duo.
BR -Not much in the backrows, can see Exeter getting a little more joy at the breakdown due to big front 5 allowing Robshaw hands on. Croft gives Gloucester lineout edge.
HB - Not much in the 9's but Carter despite his poor form is a step up on Myler.
CE -Slightly better partnership for Exeter, the lack of go to man will hinder Gloucester in the conditions.
B3 -All 3 of Exeters players better (whats happened to Gloucester back 3??)
Overall -Exeter set out a little better and just play the conditions well. Gloucester miss their SH players.

Sale 26-22 bath
Glos 20-20 exeter
Leocester 27-25 saints
Irish 27-29 quins
Sarries 18-21 wasps

Sale Sharks 22 Bath Rugby 22
London Irish 28 Harlequins 29
Worcester Warriors 23 Newcastle Falcons 22
Leicester 24 Tigers Northampton Saints 23
Gloucester 19 Exeter Chiefs 19

Sale 23-20 bath

Sale backrow and half backs win this. Sale front row a worry with kakovin not up to it and out for a while.
Kayser a good scrummager but not a top player.

Second rows just about even with bath stronger but reputation only.

Backrow one sided to sale and half backs likewise.

At home and with key positions won this is sale
Win. Bath however have great players but pocock etc hard to rate

Irish 25-26 Quins
Sarries 18-19 Wasps
Warriors 26-26 Falcons
Tigers 28-27 Saints
Glos 16-17 Exeter

Sarries 20-27 wasps

Front 5 of wasps win
This from start. James and Wilson in top form and Hamilton and  milo chulski killing it.

Sarries backrow better but will get dominated up front.

Half backs a stroll for wasps. Taylor decent but needs to bed in.

Awful sarries centre pairing in balance terms. Actually like both as players but lack of
Hands will stifle.All attacks die there.

Wasps have balance and ball players. Routine win and then somem

Pooly not sure you have 10 English in squad. Think lahiff Australian now

He'd be like Taulava mate. He was Eq originally, it until he actually makes an appearance for that National side I think then it is definitive on here.

Not sure Fluxy as he has declared himself Aussie and is attempting to get a place. He is Aussie by birth I believe. Ernst Joubert is English as he declared himself so assume lahiff
Is Aussie

Sale Sharks 34 - 31 Bath Rugby

Tight contest up front, Kakovin does let Sharks down slightly, but the complete technical ability of their front row means its not a consistent problem. The line-out again is a more even affair with both securing their lionshare of possession. Their is more potency in the Bath maul, with Bekker there, but Sale can hurt Bath's back line with quick ball to their halfbacks. What really separates these packs is their form. Apart from Shields, Guest and Romano, the rest of the Bath pack have been lacking recently. The battle between the backs is great as both have clean first phase possession to utilise. The Bath pair have been in decent form IRL, but as has Sexton. Both sides have strong spines which are in good form, in both attack and defence. Likewise in the back threes. I can't see much of a problem with Miller being targeted on the wing, as he has the intelligence to be safe. Both back lines also have the potential to score singlehanded tries, so this one will be a big score. Both benches are decent, and Parra will change the pace of the game for Bath. But I can't help bu think there is just a little bit more in the Sale pack to enable their backs a little more free reign.

London Irish 28 - 30 Harlequins

Up front the technical ability of Irish will give them a slight advantage, but the power of Botha from behind can help even it out as the game wears on. Can't seperate either at the line out, would have rathered Quins called full line outs - but I'll explain that a little further on.
The back-rows are good, I like both units and both work well in their own respects. Both hitting the breakdowns hard means it will become a bit of a mess. Tipuric and Dus can get some joy being a bit more adept in comparison to Warbs, who will get battered by Gordz and Morgan.
Dickson in some cracking form and with Laidlaw edges this contest against Kockott and Geraghty who can be got at defensively. In the back line both are playing the crash ball option and this is where I'd liked to have seen the full line outs called so that Roberts has less people to run, instead of the congestion with cut numbers. The better all round back three of Quins can have some joy against the irish unit who can be caught out of position in some plays. Apart from Dus Quins have the better all round bench and can change the game more in their favour, and despite Kockotts boot keeping Irish in touch. There is just a little more quality and physicality from Quins all round.

Saracens 20 - 26 London Wasps

Wasps have the front five to get on top in the set-pieces and around the park, but there is a graft and hard work from Sarries that make it very hard work for Wasps. Both back rows are good and could see perhaps Sarries getting a slight edge with their work ethic. Sarries have some decent players but they still need time to gel. They are quite physical bu lack the pace of some of the Wasps out side backs, especially in the back three - where there is a canny ability to create a solo try from nothing. Targeting TNW's defence is a good point but there is little outlet to take advantage. Wasps control and strong bench can see them through this game.

Worcester Warriors 22 - 25 Newcastle Falcons

Falcons have a stronger front five and this can give them a real stranglehold in the game. The back-rows are good, but there is more form in the falcons unit. Warriors can pinch a good amount of line-out ball and also don't lack a strong work ethic which can get them in amongst the falcons pack. But Warriors are on the back foot due to their weak scrum. If the warriors could get more decent ball then they could definitely put some points on the board. Falcons territory game kills their attacking threat a bit, but their amount of possession allows them to take the game out of the Warriors hands.

Leicester Tigers 27 - 26 Northampton Saints

Tigers strong set-piece game can help them take apart the Saints pack. Saints have the physicalty to clear the breakdowns and give their backs clean ball. But the lack of an out and out seven for Saints hurts them a little more as it could've helped them with a weak set-piece against these opponents. Tigers have the better halfback unit to control the game and release their back line, Saints have the ability to attack of clean ball, but there is a premium on that commodity. Nothing really to pick between the back lines for me. Saints have the better bench, but at home Tigers have the structure and know how to just sneak home.

Lahiff is Australian through his father from the reports I've read. Qualifies for both England & Australia. Is still EQ until hes played for the aussies.

Lahiff needs to play for a national side first, until then he's EQ as he was born in London.

Sale 29 Bath 28
London Irish 27 Harlequins 27
Saracens 21 London Wasps 22
Leicester 28 Northampton 28
Gloucester 24 Exeter Chiefs 23

Just Luke and Matt to go for a full set this week

Im off into scarbs today and at work for 6 hence shortened

Sale 26 - 25 Bath

London Irish 30 - 29 Quins

Saracens 24 - 25 London Wasps

Worcester Warriors 26 - 26 Newcastle Falcons

Gloucester 26 - 25 Exeter Chiefs

Irish 26-27 Quins for me this game is win by Quins half backs and bench. Pretty even all over the park but geraghty really is the point of failure. Kockett will bang over the goals and make this tight. LAidlaw can control fine from 10