AP Round 5

First topic message reminder :

 

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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. 
  
  

Worcester 24-23 Newcastle

Close game went for a draw originally but think the lineout domination of wuss sees them sneak it. Falcons take front row but Wuss second row is streets ahead. Wuss have more carriers and this enables them to get good ball.

Close in the backs with wuss powerful but maybe light on finesse

Leicester 28-27 saints

A game of structure vs off the cuff.

Leicester have the stronger pack and will be tough at the breakdown and this wins them the game.

Saints will be trying to increase the pace but see Leicester as being able to just get on top.

Saints have the better attacking options but the lack of a proper 7 and not winning enough clean ball sees
Them lose. Saints have a better bench which keeps it close.
Leicester have some side during the RC

Think out game is tight Steve!

RESULTS:

Sale Sharks 30 (T: Zebo, Henderson, Care, Kvesic C: Sexton 2 P: Sexton 2)
Bath Rugby 24 (T: Hogg, Bekker C: Hodgson P: Hodgson 4)

London Irish 28 (T: Gorgodze, Henshaw, Guillamon C: Geraghty 2 P: Geraghty 3)
Harlequins 30 (T: Marler, Halai, Wood, Brits C: Laidlaw 2 P: Laidlaw 2)

Saracens 21 (P: Taylor 7)
London Wasps 28 (T: Yarde, Coetzee, Fowles C: Farrell 2 P: Farrell 3)

Worcester Warriors 25 (T: Tagicakibau, Mermoz, Dowson C: Yachvili 2 P: Yachvili 2)
Newcastle Falcons 25 (T: Ashton 2, Youngs C: Goppereth 2 P: Goppereth 2)

Leicester Tigers 30 (T: Hines, Fotuali'i 2, Burger C: Wilkinson 2 P: Wilkinson 2)
Northampton Saints 23 (T: Fofana P: Halfpenny 6)

Gloucester Rugby 24 (T: Heaslip, De Jongh C: Carter P: Carter 4)
Exeter Chiefs 23 (T: Shipperly P: Myler 6)

Bonuses:

Full: Fluxy, Matt, Prop, Chris, SJE, Pooly
Scores: CJB, Steve, Luke, Pete, Driver, Nick



Nicks scores where brought up to keep within the 1 point winning margin for score only predictions.

Unlucky Fluxy thought you had me at one point

What do u mean mate?

If predictions not explained then the team can only win by a point.

Eg wasps 21-20 Saracens

SJE will have rounded up any games that had more than a 1 point winning margin so say you had said Leicester 26-22 saints it would become 26-25.

I think its to make people explain predos. Not sure it works as it can mean one persons explained prediction having a huge sway other predictions from people who have not explained them

It was brought in as last season there were some big defeats given in predos to teams with no explanation, when everyone else had scored the game close. If you think it's a big margin, then you need to say why otherwise it is unfair on the person whos team is taking the hammering.

i get you. thats a good idea.