Aviva Premiership Round Seven

 

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Worcester Warriors vs Bath Rugby
Location - Sixways Stadium
Light Rain, 11 Degrees, 14 mph Southerly Winds

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=darkblue]Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawrira	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Matthew Rees	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Brian Mujati
04. Mouritz Botha	11. David Strettle
05. Johann Muller	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Dave Denton	13. Mathieu Basteraud
07. Ross Rennie	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Nathan Catt 17. Dave Ward 18. BJ Botha 19. James Percival 20. Phil Dowson 21. Michael Classens 22. Olly Barkley 23. Mark Cueto

Tactics

- Use big ball carrying forwards to make inroads in to Bath defence. Denton, Beast, Waldrom, Mujati, Bast all useful for this and effective carriers.
- Yachvili to kick all pens at goal to keep scoreboard ticking over
- Muller to lead lineout and challenge opposition all.
- French 9,10,12,13 combo to combine when in good territory and use pace of Delon and Willie out wide.
- Rennie to target breakdown and secure any turnovers when the chance is on.
- Halfbacks to get us in right areas of the pitch to play in. Perfect combo to do this.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. Cory Jane
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Rob Horne
07. James Haskell	14. George North
08. Jordan Crane	15. Stuart Hogg

|;
16. Chris Brooker 17. Carl Rimmer 18. Euan Murray 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Chris Henry 21.  Richard Wigglesworth 22.  Matt Hopper 23. Rob Miller

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Sale Sharks vs Exeter Chiefs
Location - AJ Bell Stadium
Heavy Rain Shower, 10 Degrees, 12 mph Southerly Winds

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Kane Douglas	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Iain Henderson	12. Francois Steyn
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. George Pisi
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Keith Earls
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tom Savage 20. Alex Tulou 21. Matt Kvesic 22. Ben Spencer 23. James Hook

We will look to dominate possession going through the phases were possible to starve Exeter of the ball for long periods. Focus today will be on winning the collisions and dominating the breakdown. We are not here to get into a kicking battle!

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

- Keep the lineout simple. Conditions are an issue so will use Henderson, Nyanga & Quedragao for banker ball and look to the maul to make ground. If uncontested look to shorten the line and have Picamoles run down the 10/12 channel.

- Build momentum using big carries from Pickles, Kane, Henderson & co to get over the gain line where we will look to recycle quickly by committing to the ruck to put more pressure on the opposition defence.

- Target the 12 channel! Subject to what Fluxy says JMH has never played 12 internationally (click here) and has only ever played a handful of games there at club level. His positioning will not be up to scratch and we will look to take advantage of that in these conditions.

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

- Outwork Chiefs in the pack! None of Forestier, Ross, Parling or Williams are known for their work rate at the breakdown and Chiefs will be light here all game making it extremely hard for them to see any ball with our possession first approach! 

- Straight line blitz defence focusing on a quick line speed to isolate the ball carrier before the gain line. Care to sweep in behind to cover chips and grubbers.

- Counter the opposition kicking game with our wingers sitting deep on defence to prevent kicks in behind. They will look to run the ball back with interest which forces the opposition into playing the ball which they are clearly not set up to do so and as such making mistakes.

- Keep the scoreboard ticking with Sexton kicking all penalties and looking for the drop goal when available.

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Yannick Forestier	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber (c)	10. Stephen Myler (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Brad Thorn	11. Maxime Medard
05. Geoff Parling	12. Juan Martin Hernandez
06. Maurie Fa'asavalu	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Pablo Matera	14. Tom Varndell
08. Nick Williams	15. Matt Tait

16. Jack Yeandle 17. Logovii Mulipola 18. Will Collier 19. Bradley Davies 20. Sam Jones 21. Semisi Taulava 22. Haydn Thomas 23. Freddie Michalak

Key Points

• Off the back of some strong performances and a big win last week, the Exeter Chiefs are on a roll of momentum at the moment.
  
• Mobile pack picked to dominate the set-pieces and breakdown.
  
• Strong spine in decision making positions of the team.
  
• Real basic territorial game in tricky conditions. Back line full of clever kickers and grafters.
  
• JMH not out of position. He has played a number of games this season for Racing in which they have won, and has been instrumental in defence and attack. And alongside an international team mate, in which he played in the same position - 12 should not be an issue at all.
  
• Myler will kick all points available, he can kick from within their half, so this indicates that Sharks should be wary of giving away penalties.
  
• Use the strong forward bench to maintain forward pressure late on and control of the game
  
  

Game plan

With the tactics dictating a lot of play on the day, Chiefs have picked a strong team up front to take on the big Sale pack. We will look to play a simple territorial game and look to be playing with the ball within their 22. Every where else on the pitch we will look to peg Sale back, unless we can take the kick for goal. Simple set-piece game which we look to dominate our own ball, and contest every opposition put in. The pack that has been selected is mobile and strong around the park, especially in the tackle, on the floor and ball in hand. 

Forwards will look to keep the ball tight and look to exploit gaps and holes that develop in the Sale line. This can be done not sending runners in on their own and looking to put forwards in gaps against backs outside the guards of the ruck.


Attack

• Use quick ball off the top using Parling as primary caller. Parling and our jumpers should be much more quicker getting up in the air so look for quick mauls. With the big pack look to set the maul in the opponents 22. 
  
• Forestier and Ross are solid technicians and will allow Webber freedom to secure our own feed, to provide clean first phase possession for our backs, or in if range allow Williams to attack off the base of the scrum.
  
• Pack filled big carriers to provide a number of options in the tight exchanges. 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.
  
• Look to flood the breakdown and clear out bodies, to keep ball clean so that the halfbacks can dictate the game.
  
• Myler, Mahcenuad, JMH, Tait, Medard are all very clever kickers and brilliant in wet ball conditions. 
  

Defence

• We will use a Blitz drift line in defence to cut down Sextons options and push him inside towards our back-row.
  
• Machenaud to sweep behind the defencive line, and to counter any loose kicks or turnover ball - either by quickly shipping it wide to the back three, or kicking in behind their back three.
  
• The whole pack is mobile and capable of getting over the ball at the breakdown. Look to powerfully clear opponents out of the ruck, and use the strong tackling to keep chopping down the Sale runners.
  
• 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. Every kick to be chased, the kick is as only as good as the chase.
  

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Gloucester Rugby vs London Wasps
Location - Kingsholm
Heavy Rain Showers, 12 Degrees, 17 mph South South Westerly Winds

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Gloucester

Manager – Mat

01. Coenie Ousthuizen	09. Connor Murray
02. Jaimie George	10. Berrick Barnes (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Johnny May
05. George Robson	12. Ryan Mills
06. Willem Alberts	13. Andreas Masi
07. Julian Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jaimie Heaslip	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Guthro Steenkamp17. Adriaan Strauss 18. Nicola Mas 19. Tom Palmer20. Dickinson21. Dan Robson 22. Matt Banahan 23. Ryan Lamb

Tactics:


Glos are at home for this big game and will be targeting a win. We have a great pack out for the conditions and have a superb world class bench to close
It out

Scrum

Our front 5 has serious grunt and we eill be targeting Castro who is not the anchor he was. Tight head is
The key to scrums and we have the worlds best in figallo to anchor it with a
Serious engine room behind.

Line out

We will be targeting this with heaslip Robson and etzbeth all top operators. We will look to drive a lot of ball in to wear down wasps. We are
Aware there bench is much weaker and these conditions are
Sapping mauling will further their fatigue. We will look to pop to Alberts etc off the back to carry momentum when maul is slowed.

Overall.

It's going to be a battle and winning up front is the key. We will look to carry carry and carry some more. When we are in a position to give good ball to 9 and 10 we will.

Alberts etzbeth and crew are going
To blast the rucks to give quick ball and also to disrupt wasps ball where salvi will look to steal.

Our back row will hound the wasps 9,10 who are not
Familiar with each other and not
Suited for the conditions

Backs

This is a day for sensible rugby and our experience and 8,9,10 offers control and are well proven. This is not a day for wasps 9 and 10.

In our own half mills or Barnes when they receive the ball will be looking to either hit Masi or Gear coming
In to the channel to keep ball or
More likely kick the ball for position. Having a strong kicking game is key and we have a 9,10,12 who can all kick well. winning the kicking game means position. We want to get into the right positions to be able to play our game or force them into mistakes

Whilst it is wet if the opportunity is on for a breakaway we have the ball players to get the ball to gear or may.

Key points


8,9,10 control and experience.
Bench- we are bringing on the likes of sternkamp, Strauss, Mas, Palmer to keep the forward momentum.
Compare this to wasps
Superior kicking game
Bigger carriers to get on front foot

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London Wasps
Manager  Ozzy3213
 

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Camille Lopez
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Sitaleki Timani	11. Bryan Habana
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. JJ Englebrecht
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Anthony Watson
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Gareth Anscombe

 
16. Rob Hawkins 17. Fraser Balmain 18. Tom Mercey 19. George Skivington 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Luke Wallace 22. Nathan Fowles 23. Tim Nanai-Williams 
Key Points

• Form.  Ours is excellent, we have beaten the Champions and League leaders twice in the past three weeks.
  
  
• Kicking game.  We have strong tactical kickers at 9,10 and 15 which is ideal for the conditions.
  
  
• Scrum.  We have a world class front row and meaty 2nd row combination to look to dominate the scrum, which will be key in the very wet conditions.
  
  
• Internationals in all key positions 2,8,9,10.  Bismarck the best in the world in his position and has shown recently what impact he has on games at the very top level.
  
  
• Ability to adapt our gameplan, with playmakers at 10 and 15, along with strike runners across the backline, and big carriers in the pack.  Defensively we have a very strong backrow, with two very mobile flankers who just do not stop.
  

 
 
Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise will be to play a territorial game.  We will kick for the corners and use big up and unders in the conditions to really test the Gloucester back three under the high ball.  Huge focus for us will be winning the collisions and dominating physically.  We will only play ball in hand in the right areas, so basically the Gloucester 22.
 
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.  Tillouse-Borde 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 Gloucester are running from deep after we have kicked, we will not commit to the breakdown unless carrier is isolated and the turnover is on.  If that is not the case we will look to slow the ball and maintain a strong defensive line, giving them no ground and forcing a mistake.
  
  
• Lineout. We will look to really attack George’s throwing, with Hamilton jumping at the front and the athletic Johnson jumping in the middle.  In attack we will look for banker ball and play from there.
  
  
• Scrums. Castro to target the inexperience of Ousthuizen and George and look to really disrupt there and allow Corbisiero to attack on the loosehead side.  Millo-Chluski to pack down on the tighthead side.
  
  
• Open Play. Big emphasis on territory.  Habana and Ioane to ensure they chase all kicks hard as we look to hit the corners.  Anscombe 1st choice kicker and all penalties in range to be taken, as well as Lopez and Lealiifano to look for all drop goal opportunities.
  
  
• Bench. We will use the bench tactically as when required rather than just unloading it as a matter of course.  Not all replacements will necessarily come on.
  
  

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Leicester Tigers vs Harlequins
Location - Welford Road
Heavy Rain Showers, 11 Degrees, 16 mph Southerly Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Chiliboy Ralepelle	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Nathan Hines	11. Ugo Monye
05. Pascal Pape	12. Tamati Ellison
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Francois Louw	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Pat Lambie

16. Charlie Clare 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Kearnan Myall 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Micky Young 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Josh Bassett

Tactics:

In wet and windy conditions 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 - Johnston and Sheridan to look to really get into the opposition. Lots of scrums in wet weather and an area we will look to target if winning.

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

- Put serious pressure on Brits' throws with Joubert at the front on all Quins throws.

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

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

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

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

- In heavy rain we will target Burns all game with Louw and SOB breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Big runners through his channel - looking to win the Wilko vs Burns 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 to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01.Tony Woodcock	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Lappies Labushagne	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Pierre Spies	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Kieran Brookes 18. Gjorgi Jgenti 19. Pieter-Steph Du Toit 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Tom Biggs


Tactics

- Patient game controlled by Laidlaw and Burns which uses our strong carriers to carry the ball up and then kick behind the Leicester wingers in the tough conditions.

- Look for Warburton to control the breakdown with the aid of the rest of him pack.

- Take all points. Look to use the driving maul to hurt Leicester and milk penalties.

- Look for quick ruck ball to make the Leicester defence work harder to reorganise.

- Use defence to begin our attack with aggresive tackling looking to target the ball. Big physical pack picked to knock Leicester backwards in the collisions.

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Saracens vs Newcastle Falcons
Location - Allianz Park
Light Rain, 12 Degrees, 12 mph South South Westerly Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly
 

01. Matt Mullen	09. Jano Vermaak
02. Keven Mealamu	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Julien Malziu
05. Louis Deacon(c)	12. Jean De Villiers
06. Carl Fearns	13. Jonathan Davies
07. George Smith	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Joe van Niekerk	15. Lee Byrne

 
 
16. Chris Whitehead  17. Max Lahiff  18. Clement Ric  19. Tim Swinson  20. Dave Ewers  21. Chris Cook  22. Gareth Steenson  23. Luther Burrell
 
Tactics:
 
 
General - We've selected a team packed with power and physicality and will look to dominate the contact and get over the gain line. We'll be playing a high tempo physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in the their half.
 
Scrum - Look to get a platform and keep the ball in on attacking ball if a weakness is seen in the opposition set piece. With our big locks look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Mullen and Mealamu will loo to target PDJ and and look to get between him and Best to allow JdP to work on Grant. The Falcons front row has struggled with the new laws so we'll look to really turn the screw on here.
 
Line out - Look to play it safe and use the rolling maul to good effect. Our big pack should have a lot of joy here and will tie in the opposition defence. We won't be going for the rear of the line out much and will be content with securing our own ball and getting a push on. We'll look to contest on opp throw and target Best to see if we can disrupt him early on.
 
Defence - High intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player. Huge physical pack that can look to dominate the collision and breakdown allowing Smith etc a chance to slow down/steal ball. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.
 
Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to inject pace from the breakdown and have JD on his shoulder. JDV to run at 9/10 channel and target possible weakness. JDV to be used as decoy running at Barritt looking to take him out of the defensive line to free up space for JD to get at Williams who plays his rugby at 12. We'll look to alternate Fearns/JVN depending on the scrum, look to use Fearns off the base running at Doussain.
 
Points -
 
Front row form and the new laws - The Falcons props have struggled a bit with the new laws, we've got a strong unit (JdP thriving under new laws) backed up by a serious scrummaging lock combo, we could get a big advantage here.
 
Rolling maul and physicality - Look to use our physicality and drive through the opp defence, if weakness seen look to exploit.
 
Steyn - In great kicking form and will look to keep us ahead on the score board
 
JD kicking - look for him to use the grubber to get behind the Falcons midfield pairing and bypass Barritt's defence
 
JD - look to exploit Williams who's used to playing 12 and could be caught out of position
 
Home advantage - Get the crowd behind us from the off and keep up the intensity, look to dominate the contact and force the opposotion into mistakes
 
Op 10/12 - Look to target them early on and prevent distribution with Gopperth/Barritt both liking to run the ball we can drift the defence out and cut out options
 
Opposition back 3 - Look to expect the kick from Goode and cut his options down, use big runners down the Falcons wing channels

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1.Ryan Grant
2.Rory Best
3.Paul Doran Jones
4.Yoaan Maestri
5.Paul O'Connell
6.Kelly Brown
7.Hienrich Brussouw
8.Toby Falatau

9.Jean Doussain
10.Jimmy Gopperth
11.Charlie Sharples
12.Brad Barritt
13.Scott Williams
14.James O'Connor
15.Alex Goode

16.Darren Dawiduik 17.Alex Waller 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Masoe 21.Juan Smith 22.Sam Harrison 23.Henry Slade

Falcons are aiming to play a territory game based around a strong and agressive set piece using the boots of Doussain, Gopperth,  O'Connor and Goode to good effect.

a high tempo in the contact is a must as we have to dominate the breakdown to be able to utilise our game plan.

Brussouw will look to steal ball from the Saracens players and allow us to move turnover ball to our danger men in the backs with Williams,  Sharples and JOC looking to make the best use of the space out there.

Use a fan defence to close down Saracens big runners and hit them in 2 on 1 scenarios preventing the offload.

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London Irish vs Northampton Saints
Location - Madjeski Stadium
Light Rain Showers, 13 Degrees, 16 mph South Westerly Winds

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London Irish

Manager - Prop

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Rory Kockott
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Adam Jones
04. Nick Kennedy	11. JSD
05. Stuart Hooper	12. Luke McAlister
06. Matt Garvey	13.  Conrad Smith
07. Thierry Dusatoir	14. J.P Pieterson
08. Scott Higginbotham	15. Brice Dulin

16. H.Elliott 17. T.Court 18. M.Stevens 19. J.Tipuric 20. E.Jackson 21. J.Moates 22. S.Geraghty 23. G.Armitage

Key Points

Balanced Backrow
We have picked a big backrow who are well balanced. Garvey will look to be abrasive and run at 10 looking to put him off his game. Dusatoir will look to dismantle the breakdown. Higginbotham 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.

International Quality
We have international quality players in all positions and, after having our defence picked on a little recently we feel that bringing Higginbotham, Smith and Pieterson will help the cover tackles here.



Attacking

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

• Kockott and Evans to play what's in front of them and look to McAlister who will look to play in Smith or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Kennedy, Dusatoir, Higginbotham, Garvey and Hooper 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 for Conrad to be influential and then send the ball out wide to JSD and Pieterson.
  
  

• 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 Court, Lindsay and Stevens, Tips will have a field day against tired legs, excitement to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Armitage and Geraghty can continue to control the game and bring further excitement and pace..
  
  

Set Piece

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

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

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

Defending

• Banana blitz defence targetting slowing down the ball led by McAlister so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres (we will have a backrower on Evans'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 Dus time to get over the ball and obliterate any protection they have in place.
  
  

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

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Northampton Saints

[i]Manager – Dammit Chris[i]

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Ian Madigan
03. Henry Thomas
04. Samo Manoa	11. Christian Wade
05. Calum Clark	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Elliot Daly

Subs: 16. Mikey Haywood 17. Danny Hobbs 18. Carl Hayman 19. James Gaskell 20. Dan Lydiate  21. Mike Phillips 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Jamie Elliott

Tactics:Saints will play a high intensity/tempo'd game from the outset and take the game to Irish. We will look to place them under pressure with a really physical, aggressive approach and defence to force errors and mistakes to exploit. We have picked a team full of strong ball carriers to get us over the gainline, win the collisions and provide excellent front foot ball to attack with - our backline is full of players who can score from distance. We will aim to really target Lindsay in the scrum and lineout and see this as an area we can get some joy in.

Setpiece: Target Lindsay who is playing second fiddle at Wasps in real life - especially so at the lineout where we will attack Irish ball and place them under pressure with Bonnaire, Parisse, Manoa and Clark all very good jumpers. Selected 10/12 of Madigan and Giteau so we can kick to the corners and get Lindsay throwing in areas where any mistake will be costly. Will look for quick ball on own throws to get us on the front foot.

Breakdown/Backrow: Liam Gill to go directly against Dusatoirto ensure Saints secure their own ball and challenge Irish when they take it into contact. Picked two locks who are good at the breakdown and clearing out bodies to get us quick ball and will look to be more mobile than Irish pack.

Possession/Territory: With the conditions we will look to keep hold of the ball and work through the phases to tire Irish defence out. But if we are getting some joy at the lineout Madigan/Giteau will kick for the corners so we can put pressure on the Irish throw and force the error count up.

Attack the Gainline: Again look to win the collisions and get over the gainline to provide our backs with the platform to attack. We have an attacking platform from both setpieces and will use Giteua, Tuilagi and Bowe as players to get us over the gainline and then look to get Daly and Wade into space.

Defence: Aggressive blitz defence, not looking Irish to have anytime on the ball and making it very difficult for them to win the gainline collisions. Simpson to sweep behind. Strong midfield and no real gainline breakers apart from JP Pieterson in Irish backline so will look to push them back in the tackle.

Impact Bench: Strong bench to really up the intensity in final 20-25minutes.

Key selection points:
Target the set piece and collisions as key areas of the gain.
Aim to really place Lindsay under pressure, particularly at lineout
Get the ball to our big runners early on and punch through the gainline.
Look for quick ball and to give Wade and Daly space to attack.

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Is it the same rules about naming teams on the Wednesday for away teams as think the England team gets named on Thursday. Is it a case of just taking a risk with selection e.g. Henry Thomas will be on the bench if Wilson isnt fit, or can you say Henry Thomas (Carl Hayman if Thomas in England team)?

Home teams due in tomorrow and away teams Wednesday. If a player is called up you can change him up till Thursday midnight. No changes allowed after that and usual punishments for ineligibles will apply

Cheers SJE

Manager - Prop

01. Jerome Schuster	09. Rory Kockott
02. Tom Lindsay	10. Nick Evans
03. Adam Jones
04. Nick Kennedy	11. JSD
05. Stuart Hooper ©	12. Luke McAlister
06. Matt Garvey	13.  Conrad Smith
07. Thierry Dusatoir	14. J.P Pieterson
08. Scott Higginbotham	15. Brice Dulin

16. H.Elliott 17. T.Court 18. M.Stevens 19. J.Tipuric 20. E.Jackson 21. J.Moates 22. S.Geraghty 23. G.Armitage

Key Points

Balanced Backrow
We have picked a big backrow who are well balanced. Garvey will look to be abrasive and run at 10 looking to put him off his game. Dusatoir will look to dismantle the breakdown. Higginbotham 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.

International Quality
We have international quality players in all positions and, after having our defence picked on a little recently we feel that bringing Higginbotham, Smith and Pieterson will help the cover tackles here.



Attacking

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

• Kockott and Evans to play what's in front of them and look to McAlister who will look to play in Smith or snipe as much as possible. If it isn't on then Evans will stick it in the corners and, with Kennedy, Dusatoir, Higginbotham, Garvey and Hooper 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 for Conrad to be influential and then send the ball out wide to JSD and Pieterson.
  
  

• 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 Court, Lindsay and Stevens, Tips will have a field day against tired legs, excitement to continue to target the tired players through Moates' sniping, heavy impact at the scrum to come on and Armitage and Geraghty can continue to control the game and bring further excitement and pace..
  
  

Set Piece

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

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

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

Defending

• Banana blitz defence targetting slowing down the ball led by McAlister so he has no time to kick or give quick ball to the centres (we will have a backrower on Evans'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 Dus 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.
  
  

Saracens
Manager – Pooly
 

01. Matt Mullen	09. Jano Vermaak
02. Keven Mealamu	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Flip van der Merwe	11. Julien Malziu
05. Louis Deacon(c)	12. Jean De Villiers
06. Carl Fearns	13. Jonathan Davies
07. George Smith	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Joe van Niekerk	15. Lee Byrne

 
 
16. Chris Whitehead  17. Max Lahiff  18. Clement Ric  19. Tim Swinson  20. Dave Ewers  21. Chris Cook  22. Gareth Steenson  23. Luther Burrell
 
Tactics:
 
 
General - We've selected a team packed with power and physicality and will look to dominate the contact and get over the gain line. We'll be playing a high tempo physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in the their half.
 
Scrum - Look to get a platform and keep the ball in on attacking ball if a weakness is seen in the opposition set piece. With our big locks look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Mullen and Mealamu will loo to target PDJ and and look to get between him and Best to allow JdP to work on Grant. The Falcons front row has struggled with the new laws so we'll look to really turn the screw on here.
 
Line out - Look to play it safe and use the rolling maul to good effect. Our big pack should have a lot of joy here and will tie in the opposition defence. We won't be going for the rear of the line out much and will be content with securing our own ball and getting a push on. We'll look to contest on opp throw and target Best to see if we can disrupt him early on.
 
Defence - High intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player. Huge physical pack that can look to dominate the collision and breakdown allowing Smith etc a chance to slow down/steal ball. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.
 
Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to inject pace from the breakdown and have JD on his shoulder. JDV to run at 9/10 channel and target possible weakness. JDV to be used as decoy running at Barritt looking to take him out of the defensive line to free up space for JD to get at Williams who plays his rugby at 12. We'll look to alternate Fearns/JVN depending on the scrum, look to use Fearns off the base running at Doussain.
 
Points -
 
Front row form and the new laws - The Falcons props have struggled a bit with the new laws, we've got a strong unit (JdP thriving under new laws) backed up by a serious scrummaging lock combo, we could get a big advantage here.
 
Rolling maul and physicality - Look to use our physicality and drive through the opp defence, if weakness seen look to exploit.
 
Steyn - In great kicking form and will look to keep us ahead on the score board
 
JD kicking - look for him to use the grubber to get behind the Falcons midfield pairing and bypass Barritt's defence
 
JD - look to exploit Williams who's used to playing 12 and could be caught out of position
 
Home advantage - Get the crowd behind us from the off and keep up the intensity, look to dominate the contact and force the opposotion into mistakes
 
Op 10/12 - Look to target them early on and prevent distribution with Gopperth/Barritt both liking to run the ball we can drift the defence out and cut out options
 
Opposition back 3 - Look to expect the kick from Goode and cut his options down, use big runners down the Falcons wing channels

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Andrew Sheridan	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Chiliboy Ralepelle	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Nathan Hines	11. Ugo Monye
05. Pascal Pape	12. Tamati Ellison
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Brian O'Driscoll (c)
07. Francois Louw	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Pat Lambie

16. Charlie Clare 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Craig Mitchell 19. Kearnan Myall 20. James Scaysbrook 21. Micky Young 22. Dominic Waldouck 23. Josh Bassett

Tactics:

In wet and windy conditions 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 - Johnston and Sheridan to look to really get into the opposition. Lots of scrums in wet weather and an area we will look to target if winning.

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

- Put serious pressure on Brits' throws with Joubert at the front on all Quins throws.

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

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

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

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

- In heavy rain we will target Burns all game with Louw and SOB breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Big runners through his channel - looking to win the Wilko vs Burns 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 to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

[i]Manager – Mat

01. Coenie Ousthuizen	09. Connor Murray
02. Jaimie George	10. Berrick Barnes (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Johnny May
05. George Robson	12. Ryan Mills
06. Willem Alberts	13. Andreas Masi
07. Julian Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jaimie Heaslip	15. Iain Balshaw

16. Guthro Steenkamp17. Adriaan Strauss 18. Nicola Mas 19. Tom Palmer20. Dickinson21. Dan Robson 22. Matt Banahan 23. Ryan Lamb

Tactics:


Glos are at home for this big game and will be targeting a win. We have a great pack out for the conditions and have a superb world class bench to close
It out

Scrum

Our front 5 has serious grunt and we eill be targeting Castro who is not the anchor he was. Tight head is
The key to scrums and we have the worlds best in figallo to anchor it with a
Serious engine room behind.

Line out

We will be targeting this with heaslip Robson and etzbeth all top operators. We will look to drive a lot of ball in to wear down wasps. We are
Aware there bench is much weaker and these conditions are
Sapping mauling will further their fatigue. We will look to pop to Alberts etc off the back to carry momentum when maul is slowed.

Overall.

It's going to be a battle and winning up front is the key. We will look to carry carry and carry some more. When we are in a position to give good ball to 9 and 10 we will.

Alberts etzbeth and crew are going
To blast the rucks to give quick ball and also to disrupt wasps ball where salvi will look to steal.

Our back row will hound the wasps 9,10 who are not
Familiar with each other and not
Suited for the conditions

Backs

This is a day for sensible rugby and our experience and 8,9,10 offers control and are well proven. This is not a day for wasps 9 and 10.

In our own half mills or Barnes when they receive the ball will be looking to either hit Masi or Gear coming
In to the channel to keep ball or
More likely kick the ball for position. Having a strong kicking game is key and we have a 9,10,12 who can all kick well. winning the kicking game means position. We want to get into the right positions to be able to play our game or force them into mistakes

Whilst it is wet if the opportunity is on for a breakaway we have the ball players to get the ball to gear or may.

Key points


8,9,10 control and experience.
Bench- we are bringing on the likes of sternkamp, Strauss, Mas, Palmer to keep the forward momentum.
Compare this to wasps
Superior kicking game
Bigger carriers to get on front foot

Weather updated.

Northampton Saints Team
[i]Manager – Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Ian Madigan
03. Henry Thomas
04. Samo Manoa	11. Christian Wade
05. Calum Clark	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse(c)	15. Elliot Daly

Subs: 16. Mikey Haywood 17. Danny Hobbs 18. Carl Hayman 19. James Gaskell 20. Dan Lydiate  21. Mike Phillips 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Jamie Elliott

Tactics:Saints will play a high intensity/tempo'd game from the outset and take the game to Irish. We will look to place them under pressure with a really physical, aggressive approach and defence to force errors and mistakes to exploit. We have picked a team full of strong ball carriers to get us over the gainline, win the collisions and provide excellent front foot ball to attack with - our backline is full of players who can score from distance. We will aim to really target Lindsay in the scrum and lineout and see this as an area we can get some joy in.

Setpiece: Target Lindsay who is playing second fiddle at Wasps in real life - especially so at the lineout where we will attack Irish ball and place them under pressure with Bonnaire, Parisse, Manoa and Clark all very good jumpers. Selected 10/12 of Madigan and Giteau so we can kick to the corners and get Lindsay throwing in areas where any mistake will be costly. Will look for quick ball on own throws to get us on the front foot.

Breakdown/Backrow: Liam Gill to go directly against Dusatoirto ensure Saints secure their own ball and challenge Irish when they take it into contact. Picked two locks who are good at the breakdown and clearing out bodies to get us quick ball and will look to be more mobile than Irish pack.

Possession/Territory: With the conditions we will look to keep hold of the ball and work through the phases to tire Irish defence out. But if we are getting some joy at the lineout Madigan/Giteau will kick for the corners so we can put pressure on the Irish throw and force the error count up.

Attack the Gainline: Again look to win the collisions and get over the gainline to provide our backs with the platform to attack. We have an attacking platform from both setpieces and will use Giteua, Tuilagi and Bowe as players to get us over the gainline and then look to get Daly and Wade into space.

Defence: Aggressive blitz defence, not looking Irish to have anytime on the ball and making it very difficult for them to win the gainline collisions. Simpson to sweep behind. Strong midfield and no real gainline breakers apart from JP Pieterson in Irish backline so will look to push them back in the tackle.

Impact Bench: Strong bench to really up the intensity in final 20-25minutes.

Key selection points:
Target the set piece and collisions as key areas of the gain.
Aim to really place Lindsay under pressure, particularly at lineout
Get the ball to our big runners early on and punch through the gainline.
Look for quick ball and to give Wade and Daly space to attack.

The Chiefs have announced their provisional side ahead of their league clash with the Sale Sharks this weekend. With the possibility of some players being called up internationally, Chiefs have named a slightly altered side to that, that recorded their first league win of the season. Yannick Forestier comes in for Logovii Mulipola along with Argentine young gun Pablo Matera for Chris Robshaw who is on England duty, as the few changes in a settled pack. In the backline a few changes have been made due to more international call ups. Juan Martin Hernandez moves further in field into the 12 shirt as Ma'a Nonu is called up by the All Blacks and this leads to Matt Tait coming into the 15 shirt vacated by Hernandez.
Their bench also represents their intent in the game as the Chiefs have opted for 6-2 split on the bench, by picking an extra loose forward in the place of another back. 


Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Yannick Forestier	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Rob Webber (c)	10. Stephen Myler (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Brad Thorn	11. Maxime Medard
05. Geoff Parling	12. Juan Martin Hernandez
06. Maurie Fa'asavalu	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Pablo Matera	14. Tom Varndell
08. Nick Williams	15. Matt Tait

16. Jack Yeandle 17. Logovii Mulipola 18. Will Collier 19. Bradley Davies 20. Sam Jones 21. Semisi Taulava 22. Haydn Thomas 23. Freddie Michalak

Key Points

• Off the back of some strong performances and a big win last week, the Exeter Chiefs are on a roll of momentum at the moment.
  
• Mobile pack picked to dominate the set-pieces and breakdown.
  
• Strong spine in decision making positions of the team.
  
• Real basic territorial game in tricky conditions. Back line full of clever kickers and grafters.
  
• JMH not out of position. He has played a number of games this season for Racing in which they have won, and has been instrumental in defence and attack. And alongside an international team mate, in which he played in the same position - 12 should not be an issue at all.
  
• Myler will kick all points available, he can kick from within their half, so this indicates that Sharks should be wary of giving away penalties.
  
• Use the strong forward bench to maintain forward pressure late on and control of the game
  
  

Game plan

With the tactics dictating a lot of play on the day, Chiefs have picked a strong team up front to take on the big Sale pack. We will look to play a simple territorial game and look to be playing with the ball within their 22. Every where else on the pitch we will look to peg Sale back, unless we can take the kick for goal. Simple set-piece game which we look to dominate our own ball, and contest every opposition put in. The pack that has been selected is mobile and strong around the park, especially in the tackle, on the floor and ball in hand. 

Forwards will look to keep the ball tight and look to exploit gaps and holes that develop in the Sale line. This can be done not sending runners in on their own and looking to put forwards in gaps against backs outside the guards of the ruck.


Attack

• Use quick ball off the top using Parling as primary caller. Parling and our jumpers should be much more quicker getting up in the air so look for quick mauls. With the big pack look to set the maul in the opponents 22. 
  
• Forestier and Ross are solid technicians and will allow Webber freedom to secure our own feed, to provide clean first phase possession for our backs, or in if range allow Williams to attack off the base of the scrum.
  
• Pack filled big carriers to provide a number of options in the tight exchanges. 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.
  
• Look to flood the breakdown and clear out bodies, to keep ball clean so that the halfbacks can dictate the game.
  
• Myler, Mahcenuad, JMH, Tait, Medard are all very clever kickers and brilliant in wet ball conditions. 
  

Defence

• We will use a Blitz drift line in defence to cut down Sextons options and push him inside towards our back-row.
  
• Machenaud to sweep behind the defencive line, and to counter any loose kicks or turnover ball - either by quickly shipping it wide to the back three, or kicking in behind their back three.
  
• The whole pack is mobile and capable of getting over the ball at the breakdown. Look to powerfully clear opponents out of the ruck, and use the strong tackling to keep chopping down the Sale runners.
  
• 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. Every kick to be chased, the kick is as only as good as the chase.
  

Flood in eng 23 mate.

Altered, thanks mate

1.Ryan Grant
2.Rory Best
3.Paul Doran Jones
4.Yoaan Maestri
5.Paul O'Connell
6.Kelly Brown
7.Hienrich Brussouw
8.Toby Falatau

9.Jean Doussain
10.Jimmy Gopperth
11.Charlie Sharples
12.Brad Barritt
13.Scott Williams
14.James O'Connor
15.Alex Goode

16.Darren Dawiduik 17.Alex Waller 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Masoe 21.Juan Smith 22.Sam Harrison 23.Henry Slade

Falcons are aiming to play a territory game based around a strong and agressive set piece using the boots of Doussain, Gopperth, O'Connor and Goode to good effect.

a high tempo in the contact is a must as we have to dominate the breakdown to be able to utilise our game plan.

Brussouw will look to steal ball from the Saracens players and allow us to move turnover ball to our danger men in the backs with Williams, Sharples and JOC looking to make the best use of the space out there.

Use a fan defence to close down Saracens big runners and hit them in 2 on 1 scenarios preventing the offload.

So the England back line will likely be

9. Youngs
10. Farrell
11. Yarde
12. Twelvetrees
13. Tomkins
14. Ashton
15. Brown

That is brave to say the least.

what else could it of been? Obviously Tomkins is the lucky one I would of gone Burrell.

I thought Trinder might have got the nod ahead of Tomkins myself. Thought this was the homepage btw

Worcester Warriors
Manager - stnick88

01. Tendai Mtawrira	09. Dimitri Yachvili
02. Matthew Rees	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Brian Mujati
04. Mouritz Botha	11. David Strettle
05. Johann Muller	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Dave Denton	13. Mathieu Basteraud
07. Ross Rennie	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Delon Armitage

16. Nathan Catt 17. Dave Ward 18. BJ Botha 19. James Percival 20. Phil Dowson 21. Michael Classens 22. Olly Barkley 23. Mark Cueto

Tactics

- Use big ball carrying forwards to make inroads in to Bath defence. Denton, Beast, Waldrom, Mujati, Bast all useful for this and effective carriers.
- Yachvili to kick all pens at goal to keep scoreboard ticking over
- Muller to lead lineout and challenge opposition all.
- French 9,10,12,13 combo to combine when in good territory and use pace of Delon and Willie out wide.
- Rennie to target breakdown and secure any turnovers when the chance is on.
- Halfbacks to get us in right areas of the pitch to play in. Perfect combo to do this.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01.Tony Woodcock	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Schalk Brits	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Steve Borthwick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Lappies Labushagne	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Pierre Spies	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Kieran Brookes 18. Gjorgi Jgenti 19. Pieter-Steph Du Toit 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Dan Bowden 23. Tom Biggs


Tactics

- Patient game controlled by Laidlaw and Burns which uses our strong carriers to carry the ball up and then kick behind the Leicester wingers in the tough conditions.

- Look for Warburton to control the breakdown with the aid of the rest of him pack.

- Take all points. Look to use the driving maul to hurt Leicester and milk penalties.

- Look for quick ruck ball to make the Leicester defence work harder to reorganise.

- Use defence to begin our attack with aggresive tacklng looking to target the ball. Big physical pack picked to knock Leicester backwards in the collisions.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Morgen Parra
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Davit Kubrashvilli
04. Luke Romano	11. Cory Jane
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Anthony Allen
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Rob Horne
07. James Haskell	14. George North
08. Jordan Crane	15. Stuart Hogg

|;
16. Chris Brooker 17. Carl Rimmer 18. Euan Murray 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Chris Henry 21.  Richard Wigglesworth 22.  Matt Hopper 23. Rob Miller

London Wasps make 4 changes to the starting lineup for this week’s trip to Kingsholm to take on Gloucester.  In the pack the in form Tom Johnson comes in at blindside with Siya Kolisi dropping to the bench.  In the back line Sebastien Tillouse-Borde, Camille Lopez and Anthony Watson come into the side.  Fraser Balmain, Tom Mercey and the versatile Pat McCabe are also added to the bench.
 
London Wasps
Manager  Ozzy3213
 

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Camille Lopez
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Sitaleki Timani	11. Bryan Habana
05. Jim Hamilton ©	12. Pat McCabe
06. Tom Johnson	13. JJ Englebrecht
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Anthony Watson
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Gareth Anscombe

 
16. Rob Hawkins 17. Fraser Balmain 18. Tom Mercey 19. George Skivington 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Luke Wallace 22. Nathan Fowles 23. Tim Nanai-Williams 
Key Points

• Form.  Ours is excellent, we have beaten the Champions and League leaders twice in the past three weeks.
  
  
• Kicking game.  We have strong tactical kickers at 9,10 and 15 which is ideal for the conditions.
  
  
• Scrum.  We have a world class front row and meaty 2nd row combination to look to dominate the scrum, which will be key in the very wet conditions.
  
  
• Internationals in all key positions 2,8,9,10.  Bismarck the best in the world in his position and has shown recently what impact he has on games at the very top level.
  
  
• Ability to adapt our gameplan, with playmakers at 10 and 15, along with strike runners across the backline, and big carriers in the pack.  Defensively we have a very strong backrow, with two very mobile flankers who just do not stop.
  

 
 
Basic Game Plan
Basic tactical premise will be to play a territorial game.  We will kick for the corners and use big up and unders in the conditions to really test the Gloucester back three under the high ball.  Huge focus for us will be winning the collisions and dominating physically.  We will only play ball in hand in the right areas, so basically the Gloucester 22.
 
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.  Tillouse-Borde 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 Gloucester are running from deep after we have kicked, we will not commit to the breakdown unless carrier is isolated and the turnover is on.  If that is not the case we will look to slow the ball and maintain a strong defensive line, giving them no ground and forcing a mistake.
  
  
• Lineout. We will look to really attack George’s throwing, with Hamilton jumping at the front and the athletic Johnson jumping in the middle.  In attack we will look for banker ball and play from there.
  
  
• Scrums. Castro to target the inexperience of Ousthuizen and George and look to really disrupt there and allow Corbisiero to attack on the loosehead side.  Millo-Chluski to pack down on the tighthead side.
  
  
• Open Play. Big emphasis on territory.  Habana and Ioane to ensure they chase all kicks hard as we look to hit the corners.  Anscombe 1st choice kicker and all penalties in range to be taken, as well as Lopez and Lealiifano to look for all drop goal opportunities.
  
  
• Bench. We will use the bench tactically as when required rather than just unloading it as a matter of course.  Not all replacements will necessarily come on.
  
  

Quick points.

Pete and Steve I can only count nine EQs in your sides?

CJB I think Parra is still banned.

Only side we are waiting on is SJEs

Might not be able to update the page tonight or until tomorrow evening so trying to make sure the sides are right in case anyone wants to jump in and predict.

Yea I've got 9 for Wasps, 9 for Quins if Bowden isn't EQ???

Not sure if he was, or if he has qualified yet.

I have a feeling he is, he's been here a while now

I think he is. I should remember considering I had him before!

Come to think of it, I have seen articles where he stated he wants to be the England 12. So I imagine he would be qualified by now.

Bowden is EQ

Sorry, pasted the wrong draft of my team sheet, have rectified the EQ now and added tactics.

Working on tactics and team now apologies for the lateness only home from work half hour ago. Hate tax season!!

Bowden is EQ had this convo a few weeks back Steve provided the articles to prove it.

PEte Leifanao is on Aussie bench I think?

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Kane Douglas	11. Kyle Eastmond
05. Iain Henderson	12. Francois Steyn
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. George Pisi
07. Fulgence Quedragao	14. Keith Earls
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tom Savage 20. Alex Tulou 21. Matt Kvesic 22. Ben Spencer 23. James Hook

We will look to dominate possession going through the phases were possible to starve Exeter of the ball for long periods. Focus today will be on winning the collisions and dominating the breakdown. We are not here to get into a kicking battle!

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

- Keep the lineout simple. Conditions are an issue so will use Henderson, Nyanga & Quedragao for banker ball and look to the maul to make ground. If uncontested look to shorten the line and have Picamoles run down the 10/12 channel.

- Build momentum using big carries from Pickles, Kane, Henderson & co to get over the gain line where we will look to recycle quickly by committing to the ruck to put more pressure on the opposition defence.

- Target the 12 channel! Subject to what Fluxy says JMH has never played 12 internationally (click here) and has only ever played a handful of games there at club level. His positioning will not be up to scratch and we will look to take advantage of that in these conditions.

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

- Outwork Chiefs in the pack! None of Forestier, Ross, Parling or Williams are known for their work rate at the breakdown and Chiefs will be light here all game making it extremely hard for them to see any ball with our possession first approach! 

- Straight line blitz defence focusing on a quick line speed to isolate the ball carrier before the gain line. Care to sweep in behind to cover chips and grubbers.

- Counter the opposition kicking game with our wingers sitting deep on defence to prevent kicks in behind. They will look to run the ball back with interest which forces the opposition into playing the ball which they are clearly not set up to do so and as such making mistakes.

- Keep the scoreboard ticking with Sexton kicking all penalties and looking for the drop goal when available.

Nb just because JMH doesn't start there doesn't mean he can't play from there.

Also SJE, your lineout mentions Attwood.

Good luck though buddy

dammit_chris wrote:PEte Leifanao is on Aussie bench I think?

Ah ffs, I thought he was out injured for them. McCabe to start then.

I

Pete not sure you get to put someone else on your bench to replace McCabe.
Unfortunately I think if you name a player who is picked for there international team they just play your bench player and you end up one light

I'm pretty sure that earlier in the season when I played against somebody who named Nonu in their team he has allowed to change his team with no penalty.

Basic tactics added for Quins

Personally I think the rule is wrong so no issues with you having a replacement

Some people have been picked up for it and some have not. I say crack on. In real life you would not play one light so think changes should be allowed

Tactics updated Flux. Coming in at 2nd receiver from time to time on attacking ball isn't the same as playing 12. JMH doesn't play 12 and wouldn't have the positioning to be able to defend there.

Guys you will see above in the thread;

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:If a player is called up you can change him up till Thursday midnight. No changes allowed after that and usual punishments for ineligibles will apply.

Since both Parra & Leifano were picked up last night I'll allow the changes this week but the onus is on managers to check international sides themselves. 

Swith McCabe in for Wasps and unless CJB is on early to say otherwise switch Parra with FDP please Fluxy

Page updated. If anything is wrong I apologise as it's a bit difficult doing it on my phone.

Am I too late for tactics?

Get them in quick before anyone starts predicting CJB but I'll warn you I'm half way through mine with your game already done and won't have the time to look it over again

Worcester Warriors 23-17 Bath Rugby


Scrum: No real edge both sides could struggle against better technicians.
Lineout: Bit more about Bath jumping wise and they will be more dangerous in attacking platforms.
Breakdown: Better balance to the Worc back row but the Bath pack is full of players that clear well. Both sides should see decent ball.
HB's: Marking Bath down a little with FDP a last minute addition. Not much between the combos though with Yach not on the best run.
Attack: Worc midfield is a step up in quality. Both sides with plenty of carriers but feel there’s a better link up between the pack and backs for Bath with their forwards more capable of playing with the ball.
Defence: Both sides solid here although Bast can be drawn out of the line.
Bench: Neither side could really get on top of any area here. Finely balanced last 20 minutes in this one.
Tactics: Not much detail from Worc but any tactics are better than none which is always a massive mark down from me. This was looking a well-balanced game and tactics from Bath could have seen a draw but they come in under prepared in this one and struggle for it.

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Gloucester Rugby 15-15 London Wasps


Scrum: Slight edge to Wasps here with George looking out of place and struggling for it.
Lineout: Some strong jumpers for Glaws takes the pressure of George. Both sides should hold their own here.
Breakdown: Good battle between the 7s and both packs strong here. Both should see clean ball.
HB's: Slight edge to Glaws. Not a fan of Barnes at 10 but he offers steady hands in these conditions and Murray is a step up from Tillous-Borde
Attack: Wasps are a step up across the backline overall.
Defence: Question marks on the Glaws back three positionally. Lopez may struggle for Wasps.
Bench: Wasps will struggle at the scrum but will get at the breakdown and slow Glaws down.
Tactics: Both sides similarly set up with it all about getting the territory in this one. Wasps will see a bit more joy targeting the Glaws back three but haven’t the pack to stay on top for sustained periods at Kingsholm.

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Leicester Tigers 19-15 Harlequins


Scrum: Decent battle here. Feel Afoa has the technique to get at Sheridan a little.
Lineout: Both sides more than capable of holding their own ball.
Breakdown: Good battle between the 7s and both packs strong here. Both should see clean ball.
HB's: Edge to Tigers. Wilko at 10 offers more control for the conditions.
Attack: Both sides strong in the backs but little bit more about Tigers carrying wise overall.
Defence: JJ may struggle for Quins but both sides solid overall.
Bench: Neither side have that impact of the bench that could turn the game around.
Tactics: More detail to the Tigers tactics is a big plus. Quins under prepared somewhat with not much detail on defensive or breakdown tactics and struggle in the conditions.

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Saracens 22-18 Newcastle Falcons


Scrum: Decent battle overall and neither front 5 will get on top.
Lineout: More to the Falcons jumping wise and Best is picking up form with the throw. They edge here.
Breakdown: Great battle between the 7s here and both sides should see tidy ball.
HB's: Edge to Sarries with Morne in some good form.
Attack: Midfield a step up to Sarries while Falcons have bit more out wide. Both sides very one dimensional overall though with JOC struggling for Falcons.
Defence: Both sides strong here and will be hard to break through.
Bench: Masoe can have some effect late on and make an impact.
Tactics: No real detail to Falcons tactics is a mark down as usual from me. Sarries set up using the power in their side and the boot of Steyn to good effect see out a good home win.

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London Irish 28-25 Northampton Saints
 
Scrum: Edge to Irish here. Jones not taken to the new laws as well as expected but Thomas has struggled a lot this season.
Lineout: Edges to Saints. Lindsay not the most reliable thrower and more quality jumping wise for Saints.
Breakdown: Decent battle between the back rows but Saints front 5 more involved here and may slow down Irish.  
HB's: Step up to Irish at the moment. Madigan not getting game time this year while Kockett in good form as always.
Attack: Both sides looking strong here on all fronts.
Defence: Both sides solid with nothing really to obviously target.
Bench: Saints can up the tempo in the backs but Hobbs will struggle for them and Tipuric has the ability to really change up the breakdown battle.
Tactics: Both sides looking to play the ball in this one and to be fair have the players to do so even in these conditions. It’s hard to pick a winner here with both sides getting some good platforms but at home and with a bit more form in the halfbacks Irish should see this one out.

Sale 28-27 Exeter
Glos 20-19 Wasps
Leicester 24-23 Quins
Saracens 20-19 Newcastle
Irish 23-23 Saints

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 Whitelock and Lobbe offer solid jumping options.

We will be looking for big carries from the forwards with the likes of Hibbard, Healy, Romano, Lobbe and Haskell 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 Haskell and Lobbe looking to make a real nuisance of themselves and get their hands on the ball

Backs: We will be looking to use the backs in order to create or go through holes. FDP and Hodgson will look to really get the backs going with a good tempo. FDP will attack fringes and try to keep the defence guessing. Look to get our big runners involved as early as possible with Allen, Horne, Hogg and north seeing lots of the ball.

Defence: Use an blitz defence

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

Warriors 22-17 Bath
SP: Warriors will be steady here but can see Bath getting the upper hand.
BK: Both will get good ball here.
HB: 2 good pairings, just prefer the Warriors one.
OB: Like the Warriors centres but Bath quite potent out wide.
BE: See Classens as the main impact.
TA: Warriors have some which edges the game.

Sharks 22-21 Chiefs
SP: 2 good line ups here, slightly bit more for Sharks but not by much.
BK: Great balance from Sharks, Chiefs are good but feel Sharks take this.
HB: Myler playing fairly well but Sexton finding his feet in France, both half backs making this a draw.
OB: Again good here and hard to split the two.
BE: Even.
TA: Sharks targeting the right areas and feel they will get the upper hand. Good defence set out from Chiefs and Myler's boot will keep the game close.

Glos 24-25 Wasps
SP: See scrum even but Wasps could get some advantage at the lineout.
BK: Good from both but Glos edge it.
HB: Steady from both, Murray may bring a better game.
OB: 2 exciting backlines but feel Wasps are a step up here.
BE: Bit more from Glos.
TA: Not sure the kicking game will work for Glos with the Wasps backline running it back. Same with Wasps kicking but feel they may get the better chase. Wasps just, just edge it.

Tigers 25-21 Quins
SP: Great here for both. Quins bringing a little more technical here.
BK: Both 7's will have a field day, feel Tigers may get a slight advantage in other areas.
HB: Tigers a bit of a step up here.
OB: Both dangerous here.
BE: Fair impact from both but not game-changing.
TA: Tigers using their pack well and set out well. Need to know more from Quins.

Sarries 22-19 Falcons
SP: Sarries have the props but Falcons have a strong 2nd row partnership.
BK: Even here with 2 good partnerships.
HB: Hard to split these 2, Gopperth doing well in Leinster though but Morne also in good form at the moment.
OB: Falcons good out wide but Sarries bring more balance to their game.
BE: Ewers vs Masoe late on would be a good battle.
TA: Not enough from Falcons here, like Quins. Sarries targeting well and good detail of how they will target certain areas.

Irish 21-20 saints

Halfbacks win you matches and this is a mismatch. No control from
Saints. Saints have serious players and firepower but in greasy conditions Irish sneak it

Sarries 19-16 Newcastle

Sarries 9,10,12,13 win this. They boss the game. Steyn in super form and also pooly having tactics helps. Driver unlucky lots of players have no form. Particularly in backs.

Few issues for sarries players settling. Whilst pooly is
No steyn fan I think he is top drawer

Guys, Both SJE and Pete have picked players in the Oz 23. I can't see they have asked to change them so have gone as if both are playing with 22. If I'm wrong let me know asap and I will try to amend tonight as unsure I will be on this weekend.

Worcester 23 - 21 Bath

As a whole I think Worcester have the stronger pack with physical unit which is capable at the set piece. Combined with Yach controlling from 9 and an excellent back line see's them gain a valuable home win. I am just not convinced that Bath have enough of an advantage in any area to really pressure Worcester.

Sale 25- 25 Exeter

First point here is that Kane Douglas is on the Oz bench tomorrow so I have put Savage into the row and Sale one down on the bench. There is no real advantage in the front row but Exeter are much stronger in the 2nd row with a superb unit. Two good physical back rows with Sale the stronger unit and overall the packs are pretty even. In these conditions I have the Exeter half backs as stronger in the conditions. Outside backs go to Sale as I fear for the Exeter back three in these conditions. Essentially I can't call this one. I think that Exeter have the capablities to get something from this game and expect Parling to really get at the Sale lineout. Tough one but this is a draw.

Gloucester 19 - 18 Wasps

Again Sitaleki Timani starts for Oz tomorrow so I have Skiv starting. Up front Wasps should control the scrum with the rest of the packs even in all aspects. Half backs are even for me with neither set of outside backs ideal for the conditions, though I think Anscombe is a strong player in these conditions. This is a really tough game to call with home advantage and conditions aiding Gloucester who I think sneak how with a slight win.

Saracens 24 - 21 Newcastle

Its a strong and experienced pack here for Saracens and whilst I think they may struggle at the lineout and in the back row they certainly match Newcastle here. Half backs go to Sarries in both positions with Steyn ideal for the conditions and with big physical backs outside him he is able to guide Saracens to a very important win.

London Irish 24 -24 Northampton Saints

Think Irish will control the scrum but Manoa is the standout forward for me as he has been in superb form. Don't like Garvey at 6 and feel he is much stronger in the 2nd row. Think Gill might control the breakdown. In the backs it is a excellent contest with the outside backs going to Saints but the half backs going to Irish. Can't call this one sorry.