Aviva Premiership Round Seven

First topic message reminder :

 

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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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Steve, my bad, I had changed Timani to Millo-Chluski earlier in the week, hence referring to Millo-Chluski in my tactics, but with all the faffing about changing and editing my team due to other players I've pasted the copy back in with Timani starting.  Bollix.

This player
Picking
Thing is tough.
With Pete
And SJE getting a 1 point deduction and me Chris and CJB already having one that's half the league Lol

Isn't that a third?

Could make a difference come crunch time

Add in Irish and Quins who have had one
That's 7 teams

Mine
Was
In Europe so not
As bad in overall scheme

Worcester Warriors 23 - 24 Bath

Tight affair up front, but Bath has a bit more power and form available to combat the Warriors pack. Warriors have a bit more control with their back line spine, both back threes are dangerous but get little clean ball because of the conditions. Hodgsons boot would secure an unlikely away result behind a decent pack platform.

Gloucester 24 - 24 London Wasps

Intriguing battle in the set piece, wasps to just edge the scrum with Corbs possibly the form LH in world atm. But I see Glos ruling a little more in the skies with a bit more dynamism to get them off the ground a bit sharper than some of the Glaws jumpers. The conditions suit the Wasps side and they exploit this perfectly with their gameplan. Glaws tactics are a little vague for me as they don;t really imply what they will do with clean ball. Glaws backs to struggle a little, but have try scoring power and a strong bench to come in to the game. Unfortunately I can't seperate the sides and Lamb will secure a draw with a conversion off a late try.

Leicester Tigers 18 - 15 Harlequins

Big game and hard to seperate the sides up front. Both have to work hard in the terrible conditions and it is a bit of a mess with both sides trying to oust one another. The halfbacks is a good contest, wilko will shade Burns as his form seems to vary a bit recently. Laidlaw can dictate his forwards and drag them around the park. I see Quins backs perhaps being caught out of position a few times with Wilko and Lambie kicking in behind them, but Kearney can cover well. Again tough to really distinguish a winner, but I have to just plump for Tigers at home to sneak it.

Saracens 23 - 18 Newcastle Falcons

Decent battle in forwards, a bit more dog and experience lends to Saracens aid. They may lack some cohesion however with some only being in the side for a couple of weeks. Falcons struggle with the lack of a clear game plan. Sarries exploit the Falcons frailties in defence with some great control from Steyn and powerful backs.

London Irish 25 - 22 Northampton Saints

strong front five for Irish means they take hold of the game. This allows their strong back row to infleunce the breakdown a bit more than the saints. Saints have the try scoring ability but lack the control with Simpson not so great, but Madigan is quite handy. Kockott and evans is a cracking combo in conditions like these and both utilise the forwards and backs well. Saints have some possible defencive issues as some players can be caught out of position, but they can change the pace of the game with a monster subs bench. But irish at home and with the control in the front five have enough to see them secure a big home win.

Worcester Warriors 19 Bath 18
Sale Sharks 16 Exeter Chiefs 15
Leicester Tigers 21 Harlequins 20
Saracens 20 Newcastle Falcons 19
London Irish 20 Northampton Saints 19

Gloucester 18 - 19 London Wasps
Big difference in front row, with hookers a mismatch and can see Wasps getting a lot of penalties here and keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Gloucester have got wc players and will keep the scoreboard close.

Worcester Warriors 22 - 20 Bath
Close game with a big forward battle, just see Bath hindered slightly without a genuine no7 and away from home need to compete in this area.

Sale Sharks 26 - 23 Exeter Chiefs
Can't see many coping with the backrow that Sale have put out, so much power and can dominate this game. Good control from 8-12 gets them the home win.

Leicester Tigers 23 -21 Harlequins
Back to winning ways for Tigers, Welford Road is a hard place to go and the home side have just a little bit too much power and reliable boot of Wilko. Roberts will be a constant threat for Quins though.

Saracens 15-12 Newcastle Falcons
Pooly has really improved Sarries in a short period of time. Good combinations, a few too many new players to get fluidity and all points from Steyn's boot. Lack of tactics hinders Falcons here.

Worcester Warriors 19 Bath 18
Sale Sharks 16 Exeter Chiefs 15
Leicester Tigers 18 -17 Quins

Sorry so late, just finished work.


Worcester 20–21 Bath

FR - Slight form issues with both TH’s but a good contest in the scrum shaded by Bath
SR - Probably a slight shade in the lineout to Bath and a step up in quality around the park with a top pairing.
BR - Not much in backrows, Worcester lack a bit of form at 7 & 8 though.
HB - A small shade to Bath, both 10’s not firing of late but Du Preez has been excellent
CE -  I like the Worcester midfield and they’ll edge here, good combo
B3 - 2 quality back 3 units, great contest.
Overall - Bath probably shade this one with a little set piece advantage. Home advantage keeps it very tight.

Sale 19-17 Exeter

FR - A little bit more for Sale in the scrum which will be handy in the conditions. Thorn locking up for Exeter helps things out a bit.
SR - Exeter shade things in the lineout, solid proven combo. Not seen a great deal of Hendo at 5 and certainly not in Parlings class yet.
BR - All Sale here, stronger in each position and a strong combo as a whole.
HB - Actually not a great deal in the halfbacks on current form. The Sale pair are quality but lack a bit of form. I prefer Machenaud to Care just and Myler has put in some top performances
CE - 12 issues for both teams. Not convinced with Hernandez at 12 and Exeter lack a go to man in the conditions. Steyn pretty awful of late but Pisi playing well. Hard call but Steyns physicality would help.
B3 - I’m not sure about the back 3 set-ups for the conditions, I’d have probably picked JMH at FB to counter the kicking. I think both units could be got at in the poor conditions.
Overall - Tough game to call really with a couple of form issues and then some players in great nick. Sale just have enough at home but it won’t be easy.

Gloucester 16-20 Wasps

FR -  Decent advantage come scrum time to Wasps with Both props a bit better than their opposite numbers and BdP v George a mismatch. Gloucester front row bench is strong though and this will even things out late on.
SR - Two good ops for Wasps, Etzebeth the class act on show but Robson has struggled with form evens out. Little advantage in the lineout for Wasps.
BR - Wasps a bit stronger at 7/8 in a good contest, Alberts levels it out a bit but see Wasps having a bit of control throughout the pack.
HB - Gloucester edge here mainly at 9 with Barnes lacking a bit of form at 10 but still shading.
CE - Again a solid partnership for Wasps sees them edge. I can’t see a whole load of creation for Wasps but they’ll be defensively sound. I’m not sure on Mills for Gloucester, I just don’t think he’s up to this standard yet although looks a talent.
B3 - Good wings for Gloucester.  Not sure of Watson on wing for Wasps but Habana/Anscombe combo good.
Overall - Can see Gloucester struggling in the set piece until the subs come out. Gloucester midfield combo will stop any real momentum and Wasps will cut out anything coming their way. Wasps more solid than spectacular edge the backline with a solid unit that will be hard to break down. Edge in the pack will allow for a solid platform in a low scoring one. Wasps better set out in conditions with stronger scrum and a bit more a game plan gets the win.


Leicester 22 –10 Harlequins

FR - Not much in the front rows, can’t see either side getting on top in the scrum
SR - Stronger unit from Tigers although they won’t be too much in the lineout, I really like the grunt the Tiger pair bring to the game.
BR - Tigers stronger on both flanks but not great at 8 where Quins shade. Pack side to Tigers
HB - Tigers have the 10 for the conditions and Quins the 9, Khan’s box kicking has been terrible so not sure how much control he’ll bring. Burns struggling for form a little for Quins. Laidlaw/Wilko would be ideal.
CE - Quins set up a bit better here and edge. JJ/BOD lack a bit of form but BOD class takes it.
B3 - Not much on the back 3’s
Overall - Tigers set up a little better although not sure if Kahn the SH to execute the game plan. Quins strong but need a bit more to turn over Tigers at home.


Irish 29-25 Northampton

FR - Good edge to Irish here with Thomas really having a bad time in the scrum of late. Adam Jones has struggled with new laws but he’ll square up to Domingo.
SR - Manoa in fine form but unsure of Clark besides him who has been really poor of late. No real lineout leader for Saints see them struggle against stacks of Irish options, both hookers darts can go wrong. Irish lack a bit of go forward here but make up for it in the backrow.
BR - Good contest, Saints with a great mobile unit and Irish good balance.
HB - Irish class above in the half backs, not sure if Madigan has even started a game this season for Leinster and Kockett a class above Simpson.
CE - Nothing in the centres, great balance and two top units.
B3 - Little edge to Irish, not sure of pairing up Daly and Wade for Saints, think they can be got at defensively as a pairing.
Overall - Irish set piece control will set them up well. Good forwards contest but with the set piece and the class of the Irish halfbacks they’ll get win. Saints look good everywhere except TH and half back. They’re a top 9/10 away from the league this year I think.[/b][/b]

Had 2 games to do, just made it!!

What a surprise

I know, it was close, missed pudding to get the last 2 done!

I've messed a few scores up in the rush.

Ok to amend?

No I mean you having me down for a loss. You never award me a win. You have some weird petty vendett on a fantasy game which is kind of worrying.

I think Chris and I know how you will vote on our games before they have happened. It's routinely consistent

I don't know what you're on about, more worrying is you think this.

The wrong score is:

Leicester 22-20 Harlequins

I think is aware you are tactical and a cheat. It is not in doubt

I thought I was the only person to give you a defeat this week after having a pop, turns out I'm not.

I've explained the reasons why, I can't see the problem.

anonmattyt wrote:I think is aware you are tactical and a cheat. It is not in doubt

That's out of order.

I think you need to get a grip, it's a game.

It's not just this week it's every week. It was the same when you were falcons manager.

You are a dishonest petty cheat and I stand by it.you ruin the game. When you weren't involved the game was so much better. It's meant to be fun!!

anonmattyt wrote:It's not just this week it's every week. It was the same when you were falcons manager.

You are a dishonest petty cheat and I stand by it.you ruin the game. When you weren't involved the game was so much better. It's meant to be fun!!

Again, you're out of order.

I'm neither dishonest or a cheat, how can you cheat???

I've got the worst squad on the game, I've been getting defeats every week.

Save your nonsense I have jacked the game in. You ruin it for everyone end of. Can't be bothered to post anything more on the matter.

First dibs on Gloucester!

Bit of Pooly magic could turn them into title contenders!

Bit of a break might do you good Matt, you've certainly lost the plot.

Worcester 19 - 18 Bath
Sale 24 - 23 Exeter
Gloucester 22 - 22 Wasps
Saracens 21 - 20 Newcastle
Irish 20 - 20 Saints

anonmattyt wrote:It's not just this week it's every week. It was the same when you were falcons manager.

You are a dishonest petty cheat and I stand by it.you ruin the game. When you weren't involved the game was so much better. It's meant to be fun!!

I missed this one.....Dishonest petty cheat???

What are you going on about???

How do you cheat on a game like this? How am I dishonest??

I ruin the game by trying to do deals, getting my team in and predicting every week?

I think you need to dry your eyes Matthew, you obviously take it far too serious, it's just a bit if fun.

It would be an awful shame to lose Matt whom I've pm'ed to reconsider. Years of effort have gone into Gloucester and it would be a real shame to throw that away over what is a pretty petty feud. 

Can this not stop between you two? Its going back two years or more now and the point scoring with wums on the main page and each weeks predictions sucks the enjoyment out of the league for everyone. Theres wrong on both sides from what i can see over the years but can you not draw a line under this now and start fresh again?

I've no feud.

We have a bit of banter on the main page but to call somebody dishonest and a cheat is very OTT.

It's only a game, other people have gave him a defeat this week and they don't seem to be getting his abuse.

I just want to play the game and do some deals, I have no issue with Matt at all apart from his personal attacks.

Pooly, without taking sides here, what I would say is that there are times when your predictions can come across as you having decided who will win and then tried to find reasons why, rather than looking at the game and then deciding on a winner. You do also try to wind Chris and Mat up at every opportunity, and please don't try to claim otherwise as we have all seen it. If one of them says the sky is blue, you will argue that it's green. We have all kind of accepted that and just get on with the game and ignore it, but eventually it was always going to come to this point.

Hopefully Mat will reconsider and stay as Glocuester manager as he has been in the game since the start and it would be a shame to lose him over this.

At the end of the day this is a game folks, and whilst we all like to win, it's a bit of fun and should be treated as such.

I totally admit to the odd wind up but my predictions are sound.

I don't expect to be abused for giving somebody a 4pt loss, it's a game.

I'd like Matt to stay also but would like an apology.

Would be a big shame if Mat left and hopefully he will reconsider, but understand the frustrations - think we should just try and stop the winding up as at the end of the day we're all adults and really don't understand the need to try and get a reaction from someone.

I completely agree with Pete's comments - and if you look at some predictions then can see why some conclusions are made, I don't mind losing at all and if I lost every game then I wouldnt give it a second thought, but when you see a lot of predictions where all other people lose by the odd point and then I'm given a loss by 10 points not sure it is quite right.

Each to their own and everyone entitled to their own opinion but be good to keep the game honest and enjoyable for all. I've decided not to post as much on main board as didn't want matters to get into an argument each time I did as can imagine it must p iss everyone else off too.

Not sure if this is a solution, but if people were to look through predictions and see a pattern then maybe just for games involving Mat and Pooly they don't predict on each others games for a little while and see how that goes.

Let's just get on with the game and stop the arguments as really don't want to lose more people in this, as can see it escalating and people stopping playing as the enjoyment goes.

I don't think there's been much arguing of late, I've not looked to bite as much.

Predictions are predictions, if you can't take a defeat you shouldn't be playing.

It's a persons opinions on a game, I don't think anybody should be accused of being dishonest, a cheat and a liar.

I'm happy for Matt to come back if he apologises.

Pooly I'm gonna start calling you Delon Armitage.

I'm sure this can all be easily resolved. kiss and make up, if anyone wants to keep an eye on the predictions between them they can cant say iv ever noticed problems but probably because its not my team.

This has all got a bit out of hand. Quick apolagie and we're off laughing into the LV cup round 1.

Cheers mate, as I said if Matt apologises I'm happy to forget about his attack.

There's no issue with predictions, I could understand if everybody was giving a side a decent win then I went out with a 10pt loss.

That's just not happened, I fully justify my predictions and put a lot of effort into going through teams and even tactics!

It's not like I'm just slating his team either, all points are constructive and backed up.

There has to be some kind of common ground that people have different opinions on games and not throw your teddies if you get a loss.

I've not complained and I've been on the end of some big losses this season, just got to accept its a game!

Sgt_Pooly wrote:There's no issue with predictions, I could understand if everybody was giving a side a decent win then I went out with a 10pt loss.

You mean like in Heino R1 when every other manager gave me the win, and you had me down for a 14 point defeat at home!  

Pete he's usual Devil's advocat self Lol.

It was 12pts and I stand by it, I explained my prediction and I'd happily go through it again.

Matt has thankly had a rethink and will be staying on.

This game is all about differing opinions wouldn't be much fun if we all saw it the same way but there is no need for the point scoring that has been going on. Its growing more and more tiresome and the only surprise is its taken this long for someone to react. The wumming needs to stop from here on out.

Hoping we can all draw a line under this now and agree to be civil going forwards. As Pete said at the end of the day this is a game folks, and whilst we all like to win, it's a bit of fun and should be treated as such.

RESULTS:

Worcester Warriors 24 (T:2 C:1 P:4)
Bath Rugby 21 (T:2 C:1 P:3)

Sale Sharks 25 (T3 C:2 P:2)
Exeter Chiefs 20 (T:2 C:2 P:2)

Gloucester Rugby 20 (T:2 C:2 P:2)
London Wasps 22 (T:2 P:4)

Leicester Tigers 25 (T3 C:2 P:2)
Harlequins 19 (T1 C:1 P:4)

Saracens 25 (T:2 P:5)
Newcastle Falcons 18 (P:6)

London Irish 27 (T:3 C:3 P:2)
Northampton Saints 23 (T:2 C:2 P:3)

Drats.

BONUSES:

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

I never expected him to quit tbh.

You happy to apologise and move on Matt?

Can we not just leave it now.

I'm happy to Prop, just need an apology for been called dishonest & a cheat.

I don't thinks that's unreasonable, would anybody else be happy with those attacks?

I can honestly say I've got no issue at all with Matt or anybody else, I thought things were fine.

Matt, you can PM me if you don't want to post on here.

Pooly can you please just drop it, is getting ridiculous and frustrating for everyone involved. Just move on from it, it doesn't need countless posts demanding an apology.