Week 3

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Racing Metro 92 vs ASM Clermont Auvergne
Location - Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
Sunny Intervals, 8 degrees, 3 mph South Westerly winds

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Racing Metro 

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Andries Strauss	10. Jonathon Sexton (k)
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Juandre Kruger	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Brodie Retallick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Henry Chavancy
07. Francois Louw (c)	14. Ben Smith
08. Toby Faletau	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16.Adam Jones 17. Dimitri Szarzeswski 18. Soane Tonghu'ia 19. Jone Qovu 20. Wenclas Lauret 21. Sebastian Descons 22. Jonthan Wisnewski 23. Benjamin Fall 

TACTICS
We will look to use the boot of Sexton and JMH and really aim to win good clear ball and win turnovers at the lineout. Kruger will call the lineout and look to challenge opposition ball in the air, with two heavy opposite locks, his athleticism will be a big bonus. In Strauss and Jones we have 2 big scrummagers that we will look to exert pressure at scrum time. We like to play in the right areas and don't take risks in our third. Use Sexton and JMH boot to kick in behind and for territory. Use up and under off slow ball in when in centre channel. Keep the scoreboard ticking over with Sexton.
- We've got the opportunity to play some running rugby in the conditions. We will use Roberts to draw in defenders on the dummy run and bring Smith into the line
- Louw to play as out and out 7, looking to slow ball and force turnovers. Target Carter, who is injured as out of form; force him to play deep and limit his options. Lydiate to be first man in defence in the 1 out channel
- Roberts to lead the fan defence, looking to isolate individuals and allow back row to compete for turnovers. Machenaud to sweep up.
- Utilise the Lions 10/12 combo and get Sexton on the wrap around, using Roberts to draw defenders and encourage Smith to come into the space
- Use Tiny, Strauss, Retallick, Cronje as our big ball carriers around the fringes to keep the defence narrrow. Machenaud to snipe to keep them honest.
- Smith and JMH encouraged to come into the line as 2nd receivers

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ASMClermontAuvergne

Manager
ChequeredJersey

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Morgan Parra (k)
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Davit Zirakashvili
04. James Cudmore	11. Julien Malzieu
05. Andries Bekker	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Schalk Burger	13. Aurelian Rougerie (c)
07. Sam Cane	14. Napioloni Nalaga
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Lee Byrne

16. Clement Ric 17. Corey Flynn 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Julien Pierre  20. Julien Bardy 21.  Ludovic Radosavljevic 22.  Brock James 23. Alex King

Tactics:

Tactics: As usual the focus will be on selectively attacking the breakdown to acquire turnover ball and quick attacking ball. Cane will be looking to track the ball to achieve this, backed up by Burger and Kayser with the rest of the pack cleaning out with intensity and momentum. Use only the minimum required numbers unless a turnover looks on either way then throw them in to make sure we get the ball. Slow ball controlled by Parra using groups of 3 forwards driving or Parra kicking into space or high to chase. Quick ball to be immediately spun wide for Cruden to attack the line and bring our strike runners into play. Move the ball around with our great handlers until there is a gap, attack it, draw the defence and offload into space. Backrow, Byrne and blindside wing look to come in for the pop inside off 10/12 as that may be where space appears. Cane chasing ball can also look to take offloads and recycle.

- Defence: blitz led by Rougerie. Parra harry SH on backwards back and cover the inside of Cruden on attacking ball to allow the backrow to tackle more aggressively. 

- set piece:  Use several options in lineout, and if ball is messy at all maul and create quick ball as in plan above. Pressure the rear and middle of lineout, force them to go for the front and take them on in the maul.

- look for back row moves off solid scrum. Send Lobbe at Lydiate then offload to the flankers in support to take his aggressive tackling out of the play early.

- kicking and territory:Any kicks to man and not space must be high and chased .  We will look to kick dor possesion not territory. Take all points available.

- targets: Look to double team Roberts with a choke tackle and hold him up for a maul. Jones looking creaky under new scrum laws so press him hard early on and warn ref about his bind to try and get the interpretation at the scrum on our side.

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Toulon vs Leicester Tigers
Location - Stade Mayol
Sunny Intervals, 14 degrees, 6 mph North Westerly winds

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Toulon

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Johnny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Bryan Habana
05. Ali Williams	12. Matt Giteau
06. Juan Smith	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Pierrick Gunther	14. David Smith
08. Chris Masoe	15. Alexis Pallison

16. Kyle Cooper 17. Andrew Sheridan 18. Carl Hayman 19. Danie Russouw 20. Julien Bonnaire 21. Sebastian Tillous-Borde 22. Butch James 23. Wesley Fofana

Tactics
Tactics
We have strength all over the pack with international position in the majority of positions. Hard hitting rugby is what we are looking for with strong carriers in our pack who will look to make the holes and in defence to clear out and give Smith and Gunther time and space to get over the ball. Johnny is our captain as he can pull the strings at 10 and bring influential passages of play. In our backs we have excitement everywhere with Giteau and AAC both looking to pull the strings and for the offloads from the tackles and we know how dangerous all of our back three are going to be. We will not lose at home. Our bench is strong again and brings impact all of the park, we will utilise this as and when and will look to run at tired legs throughout the last 20 minutes. Looking for a big win at home in an intimidating atmosphere.

*Familiarity- Jenkins, Hibbard and Cole played on Lions, back 5 in the pack all play together, Back 3 are all similar and play together.
*9-10 combo-we have Smith who can deliver quick ball to Johnny who will then look to play a fast attacking game especially from turnover ball.
*Bench-Our bench is full of impact and will look to dominate the end of the game.
*Defence-we have strong defensive leaders in Giteau, AAC and Wilkinson and will look to slow down/turnover a lot of ball.
*Set Piece-power is key today at scrum time and in the lineouts Hibbard's darts have improved and he has quality jumpers lead by Botha and Williams and lifters to utilise.

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Leicester Tigers

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Piri Weepu
02. George Chuter	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. Boris Stanckovich
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Gonzalo Camacho
05. Geoff Parling	12. Matt Smith
06. Tom Croft	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Pablo Matera	14. Yoann Huget
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Matt Tait

REPLACEMENTS: 16.L.Ghrialdini 17.J.Schuster 18.M.Castrogivanni 19.P.O'Connell 20.J.Crane 21.B.Youngs 22.O.Williams 23.C.Ashton

A few changes to the side this week, as we search for our first win, after having confirmed the signing of Hernandez in the past few days, Youngs is on the bench for his last game with the Tigers. Chuter in at Hooker, to add some experience to our line out and try to be more consistent at the line out. Kitchener comes in for O'Connell, hopefully he and Parling can win some good ball at the breakdown as we try and establish a settled partnership in the lock area.Croft,Matera and Waldrom will all look to run the ball and set a pace. Weepu captains the side and as usual will look to box kick with regualrtiy. Smith comes in at 12, with Tuilagi outside him as we try and find a good partnership in the centre region. Huget starts on the wing and we need some dynamism from him. 

REPLACEMENTS: Ghilardini for Chuter (55mins) O'Connell for Kitchener (55mins) YOungs for Weepu (65 mins) Ashton for Camacho (70mins)

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Crusaders vs Toulouse
Location - AMI Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 25 degrees, 10 mph Southerly winds

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Crusaders

01. Vincent Debaty	09. Jonathan Pelissie
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Dan Carter(k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Luke Romano	11. Zac Guildford
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Jonathan Davies
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Ryan Crotty
07. Richie McCaw (c)	14. Israel Folau
08. Kieran Read	15. Israel Dagg

16. Ben Funnell 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Dominic Bird 20. Matt Todd 21. Andrew Ellis 22. Tom Taylor 23. Tom Marshall

We are glad to be back on home turf this week, after a successful road trip. We want to use our knowledge of the local conditions, and expect the 12 hour time difference to tell late on for the Toulouse side.

Set piece: Debaty is a strong technical scrummager, and we think we can target Johnston who was strong under the old rules due to the reliance on the hit. We hope to target Steenkamp in the scrum, with Hartley putting pressure on Ralepelle by not hooking on their ball and just focusing on pushing. This will leave Steenkamp on his own effectively against Franks, who is under instruction to put maximum pressure on. Line out led by Whitelock as usual, with Gorgodze, Romano, Read and McCaw all capable jumpers. Marking Albacete at the lineout and forcing Ralepelle to target his weaker jumpers

Kicking: Carter and Dagg the primary kickers, we will challenge every ball in the air, Folau to target the smaller Clerc in the air whenever possible. Halfpenny is solid in the air, but by dropping back 2 kickers we will seek to put off his positional play with the left and right boots of Dagg and Carter capable of kicking either side. We will counter attack wherever possible, our kicking is to be used when the chase from Toulouse is good

Attack: Gorgodze is our primary carrier in the tight, backed up by Hartley, Franks and Romano. Read is able to carry in the tight but also deadly in the wider channels, we will particularly look to go down the 12 channel and target Lealifano with the big ball carriers. Davies is also able to truck the ball up directly against Lealifano, and we are also looking to get Folau off his wing running at the 10-12 channel of Toulouse. Out wide we want to isolate Clerc against a bigger attacker, and use Dagg more as a second distributor this week, particularly if we get quick ball in the middle of the field deep in Toulouse territory, with Carter on one side of the ruck and Dagg on the other

Breakdown: We are hitting the breakdown hard, McCaw's focus is on slowing down the ball every time, Hooper has a tendency to disappear if hit hard at the ruck, Richie is charged with doing this if Hooper gets to the ball before him with the next man in securing the ball. Dusatoir is to be targeted by both Gorgodze and Read in defence, making sure he isn't able to support Hooper effectively at the ruck

Defence: We have no obvious weak link in defence, we will be aggressive and aim to hit their runners behind the gain line. We want to get up into the face of the halfbacks and put them off their game. Pelissie to sweep up behind the line, and rattle Tales by hitting him hard at every opportunity. Picamoles is the main target of our back row, force their biggest carrier backwards and their heads will drop

Last 20, we think we have a stronger complement of forwards to bring on, and we hope to take advantage of the impact of the 12 hour time difference by upping the pace with Todd coming on for Romano, Gorgodze to lock and using dual opensides to up the pace. Taylor as another distributor and Ellis to use his experience to make sure we keep the game in their half

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StadeToulousian

DOR: Driver
 

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Jano Vermaak
02. Chilliboy Ralapelle	10. Remi Tales
03. Cencus Johnstone
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Hosea Gear
05. Patrico Albacetea	12. Christian Leialiffano
06. Thiery Dusitour (c)	13. Florain Fritz
07. Michael Hooper	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Louise Pickamoles	15. Leigh Halfpenny (K)

 

16.Tom Youngs 17.Antonio Guillamon 18.Vasil Kakovan 19.Romain Millo-Chulski 20.Joe Tekori 21.Yannick Nyanga 22.Ruan Pienaar 23.Luke McCallister

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Stormers vs Natal Sharks
Location - Newlands Stadium
Light Cloud, 25 degrees, 11 mph South Westerly winds

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Stormers

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Will Genia
02. Deon Fourie	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Nathan Hines	11. Julian Savea
05. Eben Etzebeth	12. Jean De Villiers (c)
06. Tom Wood	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Gio Aplon
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Scarra Ntubeni 17. Steven Kitshoff 18. Brok Harris 19. Rynhardt Elstadt 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Dewaldt Duvenage 22. Elton Jantjies 23. Gerard Van Den Heever

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 The Sharks
DoR: Ozzy3213
 

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Danny Care
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Quade Cooper
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Willem Alberts	11. George North
05. Courtney Lawes	12. James O'Connor
06. Sam Warbuton	13. Conrad Smith
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. JP Pietersen
08. Sergio Parrise (c)	15. Patric Lambie

 
16. Sebastien Bruno 17. Cian Healy 18. Lourens Adriaanse 19. Pieter-Steph du Toit 20. Keegan Daniel 21. Ryan Kankowski 22. Freddie Michalak 23. Francois Steyn

TACTICS

We will play a traditional South African gameplan in the forwards, being ultra physical and looking to dominate the collisions in attack and defence.  We are aiming to control possession by running the ball in great conditions, using the pack and big backs off first phase ball, with support runners on the ball carriers shoulder for the offloads in or just prior to contact.  We will be looking to play our game at a high tempo. Cooper will play flat with the outside backs coming from positions of depth to gain momentum.  In defence we will employ the blitz and look to hit the ball carrier before he hits the gainline to stop Toulouse getting any momentum.  Danny Care will act as a sweeper behind the defensive line.

• Breakdown.  In attack we will put numbers in rucking past the ball to free it up quickly to go again.  In defence we will be selective.  If it is on to clear out and turn ball over we will throw numbers in to do so, otherwise we will keep a strong defensive line.
  
• Spaces not faces.  Our runners will target the gaps in the defensive line rather than defenders and look to breach the gainline regularly.
  
• Crash Ball.  George North to be used at times as a crash ball option running an out to in line through midfield with a support runner on his shoulder.
  
• Target Aplon.  North vs. Aplon is  a mismatch in the air and we will use the crossfield kick at the right times to target him.
  
• Bench.  In the final quarter Keegan Daniel and Ryan Kankowski to come on to provide pace and mobility as the game breaks up.
  

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Top of the table clash this week!

Big Saffa derby.

Looking forward to a home game!

You've done well to pick up a win and a losing bonus point on your travels mate. Good results.

Just seen the results are up, got to be happy with that from 2 tough away games, now to get a victory at home!

Long Flight to NZ for me and the home team.

It's rumoured the Crusaders are close to signing a deal with Montpellier to use their facilities as a home base when playing 2 consecutive games away from home ....

  

ASMClermontAuvergne

Manager
= ChequeredJersey

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Morgan Parra (k)
02. Benjamin Kayser	10.    Aaron Cruden
03. Davit Zirakashvili
04.  James Cudmore	11. Julien Malzieu
05.  Andries Bekker	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Schalk Burger	13.   Aurelian Rougerie (c)
07. Sam Cane	14.  Napioloni Nalaga
08. JMF Lobbe	15. Lee Byrne

16. Clement Ric 17. Corey Flynn 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Julien Pierre  20. Julien Bardy 21.  Ludovic Radosavljevic 22.  Brock James 23. Alex King

Tactics:

Tactics: As usual the focus will be on selectively attacking the breakdown to acquire turnover ball and quick attacking ball. Cane will be looking to track the ball to achieve this, backed up by Burger and Kayser with the rest of the pack cleaning out with intensity and momentum. Use only the minimum required numbers unless a turnover looks on either way then throw them in to make sure we get the ball. Slow ball controlled by Parra using groups of 3 forwards driving or Parra kicking into space or high to chase. Quick ball to be immediately spun wide for Cruden to attack the line and bring our strike runners into play. Move the ball around with our great handlers until there is a gap, attack it, draw the defence and offload into space. Backrow, Byrne and blindside wing look to come in for the pop inside off 10/12 as that may be where space appears. Cane chasing ball can also look to take offloads and recycle.

- Defence: blitz led by Rougerie. Parra harry SH on backwards back and cover the inside of Cruden on attacking ball to allow the backrow to tackle more aggressively.

- set piece: Use several options in lineout, and if ball is messy at all maul and create quick ball as in plan above. Pressure the rear and middle of lineout, force them to go for the front and take them on in the maul.

- look for back row moves off solid scrum. Send Lobbe at Lydiate then offload to the flankers in support to take his aggressive tackling out of the play early.

- kicking and territory:Any kicks to man and not space must be high and chased . We will look to kick dor possesion not territory. Take all points available.

- targets: Look to double team Roberts with a choke tackle and hold him up for a maul. Jones looking creaky under new scrum laws so press him hard early on and warn ref about his bind to try and get the interpretation at the scrum on our side.

StadeToulousian
DOR: Driver
 

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Jano Vermaak
02. Chilliboy Ralapelle	10. Remi Tales
03. Cencus Johnstone
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Hosea Gear
05. Patrico Albacetea	12. Christian Leialiffano
06. Thiery Dusitour (c)	13. Florain Fritz
07. Michael Hooper	14. Vincent Clerc
08. Louise Pickamoles	15. Leigh Halfpenny (K)

 

16.Tom Youngs 17.Antonio Guillamon 18.Vasil Kakovan 19.Romain Millo-Chulski 20.Joe Tekori 21.Yannick Nyanga 22.Ruan Pienaar 23.Luke McCallister

Racing Metro TBC

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Andries Strauss	10. Jonathon Sexton (k)
03. Luc Ducalcon
04. Juandre Kruger	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Brodie Retallick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Henry Chavancy
07. Francois Louw (c)	14. Ben Smith
08. Toby Faletau	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16.Adam Jones 17. Dimitri Szarzeswski 18. Soane Tonghu'ia 19. Jone Qovu 20. Wenclas Lauret 21. Sebastian Descons 22. Jonthan Wisnewski 23. Benjamin Fall 

TACTICS ALL TBC
We will look to use the boot of Sexton and JMH and really aim to win good clear ball and win turnovers at the lineout. Kruger will call the lineout and look to challenge opposition ball in the air, with two heavy opposite locks, his athleticism will be a big bonus. In Strauss and Jones we have 2 big scrummagers that we will look to exert pressure at scrum time. We like to play in the right areas and don't take risks in our third. Use Sexton and JMH boot to kick in behind and for territory. Use up and under off slow ball in when in centre channel. Keep the scoreboard ticking over with Sexton.
- We've got the opportunity to play some running rugby in the conditions. We will use Roberts to draw in defenders on the dummy run and bring Smith into the line
- Louw to play as out and out 7, looking to slow ball and force turnovers. Target Carter, who is injured as out of form; force him to play deep and limit his options. Lydiate to be first man in defence in the 1 out channel
- Roberts to lead the fan defence, looking to isolate individuals and allow back row to compete for turnovers. Machenaud to sweep up.
- Utilise the Lions 10/12 combo and get Sexton on the wrap around, using Roberts to draw defenders and encourage Smith to come into the space
- Use Tiny, Strauss, Retallick, Cronje as our big ball carriers around the fringes to keep the defence narrrow. Machenaud to snipe to keep them honest.
- Smith and JMH encouraged to come into the line as 2nd receivers

Updated .

Crusaders

01. Vincent Debaty	09. Jonathan Pelissie
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Dan Carter(k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Luke Romano	11. Zac Guildford
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Jonathan Davies
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Ryan Crotty
07. Richie McCaw (c)	14. Israel Folau
08. Kieran Read	15. Israel Dagg

16. Ben Funnell 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Dominic Bird 20. Matt Todd 21. Andrew Ellis 22. Tom Taylor 23. Tom Marshall

We are glad to be back on home turf this week, after a successful road trip. We want to use our knowledge of the local conditions, and expect the 12 hour time difference to tell late on for the Toulouse side.

Set piece: Debaty is a strong technical scrummager, and we think we can target Johnston who was strong under the old rules due to the reliance on the hit. We hope to target Steenkamp in the scrum, with Hartley putting pressure on Ralepelle by not hooking on their ball and just focusing on pushing. This will leave Steenkamp on his own effectively against Franks, who is under instruction to put maximum pressure on. Line out led by Whitelock as usual, with Gorgodze, Romano, Read and McCaw all capable jumpers. Marking Albacete at the lineout and forcing Ralepelle to target his weaker jumpers

Kicking: Carter and Dagg the primary kickers, we will challenge every ball in the air, Folau to target the smaller Clerc in the air whenever possible. Halfpenny is solid in the air, but by dropping back 2 kickers we will seek to put off his positional play with the left and right boots of Dagg and Carter capable of kicking either side. We will counter attack wherever possible, our kicking is to be used when the chase from Toulouse is good

Attack: Gorgodze is our primary carrier in the tight, backed up by Hartley, Franks and Romano. Read is able to carry in the tight but also deadly in the wider channels, we will particularly look to go down the 12 channel and target Lealifano with the big ball carriers. Davies is also able to truck the ball up directly against Lealifano, and we are also looking to get Folau off his wing running at the 10-12 channel of Toulouse. Out wide we want to isolate Clerc against a bigger attacker, and use Dagg more as a second distributor this week, particularly if we get quick ball in the middle of the field deep in Toulouse territory, with Carter on one side of the ruck and Dagg on the other

Breakdown: We are hitting the breakdown hard, McCaw's focus is on slowing down the ball every time, Hooper has a tendency to disappear if hit hard at the ruck, Richie is charged with doing this if Hooper gets to the ball before him with the next man in securing the ball. Dusatoir is to be targeted by both Gorgodze and Read in defence, making sure he isn't able to support Hooper effectively at the ruck

Defence: We have no obvious weak link in defence, we will be aggressive and aim to hit their runners behind the gain line. We want to get up into the face of the halfbacks and put them off their game. Pelissie to sweep up behind the line, and rattle Tales by hitting him hard at every opportunity. Picamoles is the main target of our back row, force their biggest carrier backwards and their heads will drop

Last 20, we think we have a stronger complement of forwards to bring on, and we hope to take advantage of the impact of the 12 hour time difference by upping the pace with Todd coming on for Romano, Gorgodze to lock and using dual opensides to up the pace. Taylor as another distributor and Ellis to use his experience to make sure we keep the game in their half

The Sharks make 3 personnel and 2 positional changes for this weeks trip to Cape Town to take on the Stormers.  Tendai Mtwarira returns to start in the front row with Cian Healy dropping to the bench, and Sam Warbrton replaces Pieter-Steph du Toit in the starting XV with Willem Alberts moving to the second row.  In the backs, Quade Cooper starts in place of Francois Steyn, with Patric Lambie moving to full back and James O'Connor switching to the 12 jersey.

The Sharks
DoR: Ozzy3213
 

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Danny Care
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Quade Cooper
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Willem Alberts	11. George North
05. Courtney Lawes	12. James O'Connor
06. Sam Warbuton	13. Conrad Smith
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. JP Pietersen
08. Sergio Parrise (c)	15. Patric Lambie

 
16. Sebastien Bruno 17. Cian Healy 18. Lourens Adriaanse 19. Pieter-Steph du Toit 20. Keegan Daniel 21. Ryan Kankowski 22. Freddie Michalak 23. Francois Steyn

TACTICS

We will play a traditional South African gameplan in the forwards, being ultra physical and looking to dominate the collisions in attack and defence.  We are aiming to control possession by running the ball in great conditions, using the pack and big backs off first phase ball, with support runners on the ball carriers shoulder for the offloads in or just prior to contact.  We will be looking to play our game at a high tempo. Cooper will play flat with the outside backs coming from positions of depth to gain momentum.  In defence we will employ the blitz and look to hit the ball carrier before he hits the gainline to stop Toulouse getting any momentum.  Danny Care will act as a sweeper behind the defensive line.

• Breakdown.  In attack we will put numbers in rucking past the ball to free it up quickly to go again.  In defence we will be selective.  If it is on to clear out and turn ball over we will throw numbers in to do so, otherwise we will keep a strong defensive line.
  
• Spaces not faces.  Our runners will target the gaps in the defensive line rather than defenders and look to breach the gainline regularly.
  
• Crash Ball.  George North to be used at times as a crash ball option running an out to in line through midfield with a support runner on his shoulder.
  
• Target Aplon.  North vs. Aplon is  a mismatch in the air and we will use the crossfield kick at the right times to target him.
  
• Bench.  In the final quarter Keegan Daniel and Ryan Kankowski to come on to provide pace and mobility as the game breaks up.
  

Stormers

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Will Genia
02. Deon Fourie	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Nathan Hines	11. Julian Savea
05. Eben Etzebeth	12. Jean De Villiers (c)
06. Tom Wood	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Gio Aplon
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Scarra Ntubeni 17. Steven Kitshoff 18. Brok Harris 19. Rynhardt Elstadt 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Dewaldt Duvenage 22. Elton Jantjies 23. Gerard Van Den Heever

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10.    Johnny Wilkinson (k)
03. Dan Cole
04.  Bakkies Botha	11. Bryan Habana
05.  Ali Williams	12. Matt Giteau
06. Juan Smith	13.   Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Pierrick Gunther	14.  David Smith
08. Chris Masoe	15. Alexis Pallison

16. Kyle Cooper 17. Andrew Sheridan 18. Carl Hayman 19. Danie Russouw 20. Julien Bonnaire 21. Sebastian Tillous-Borde 22. Butch James 23. Wesley Fofana

Tactics
Tactics
We have strength all over the pack with international position in the majority of positions. Hard hitting rugby is what we are looking for with strong carriers in our pack who will look to make the holes and in defence to clear out and give Smith and Gunther time and space to get over the ball. Johnny is our captain as he can pull the strings at 10 and bring influential passages of play. In our backs we have excitement everywhere with Giteau and AAC both looking to pull the strings and for the offloads from the tackles and we know how dangerous all of our back three are going to be. We will not lose at home. Our bench is strong again and brings impact all of the park, we will utilise this as and when and will look to run at tired legs throughout the last 20 minutes. Looking for a big win at home in an intimidating atmosphere.

*Familiarity- Jenkins, Hibbard and Cole played on Lions, back 5 in the pack all play together, Back 3 are all similar and play together.
*9-10 combo-we have Smith who can deliver quick ball to Johnny who will then look to play a fast attacking game especially from turnover ball.
*Bench-Our bench is full of impact and will look to dominate the end of the game.
*Defence-we have strong defensive leaders in Giteau, AAC and Wilkinson and will look to slow down/turnover a lot of ball.
*Set Piece-power is key today at scrum time and in the lineouts Hibbard's darts have improved and he has quality jumpers lead by Botha and Williams and lifters to utilise.

LECISTER TIGERS

01.Marcos Ayerza
02.George Chuter
03.Boris Stankovich
04.Graeme Kitchener
05.Geoff Parling
06.Tom Croft
07.Pablo Matera
08.Thomas Waldrom
09.Piri Weepu (c)
10.Toby Flood (k)
11.Gonzalo Camacho
12.Matt Smith
13.Manu Tuiliagi
14.Yoann Huget
15.Matt Tait

REPLACEMENTS: 16.L.Ghrialdini 17.J.Schuster 18.M.Castrogivanni 19.P.O'Connell 20.J.Crane 21.B.Youngs 22.O.Williams 23.C.Ashton

A few changes to the side this week, as we search for our first win, after having confirmed the signing of Hernandez in the past few days, Youngs is on the bench for his last game with the Tigers. Chuter in at Hooker, to add some experience to our line out and try to be more consistent at the line out. Kitchener comes in for O'Connell, hopefully he and Parling can win some good ball at the breakdown as we try and establish a settled partnership in the lock area.Croft,Matera and Waldrom will all look to run the ball and set a pace. Weepu captains the side and as usual will look to box kick with regualrtiy. Smith comes in at 12, with Tuilagi outside him as we try and find a good partnership in the centre region. Huget starts on the wing and we need some dynamism from him. 

REPLACEMENTS: Ghilardini for Chuter (55mins) O'Connell for Kitchener (55mins) YOungs for Weepu (65 mins) Ashton for Camacho (70mins)

Predos open

Toulon 27 vs 20 Tigers

Scrum: I think Ayerza can pressurise Cole on current form but the other two are an advantage to Toulon and as a unit Toulon are on top, Botha adds a tad more power behind too
Lineout: Hibbard has shown spells where he struggles to hit his man whilst Chuter is consistent in this area. Add in Parling and Croft and Kitchener and Tigers look very strong in this area and get an advantage even though Toulon don't have a bad unit.
Breakdown- neither looks standout, but with Cole chipping in and both flankers very solid I can see a slight advantage to Toulon. Kitchener has impressed me with his workrate here and with Matera there too, Tigers will still get decent ball on their own ball. Actually, I'll call it a draw
Carrying- Tigers look a little light here, Croft excellent out wide and good workrate from Parling, Kitchener and Waldrom but lacking in power. Botha, Masoe and Smith emphatically do not and will make ground for Toulon.
Halfbacks/control- decent units here for both sides, as I said I think Smith-Wilko gels together better than Weepu-Flood, though Weepu's kicking game could be useful. I'd start Youngs with Flood.
Attack - I don't know much about D Smith but the rest of the Toulon backline looks fearsome and if they look to release the back 3 as stated they will score tries. Not entirely sure on the plan before the ball gets wide though. Not sure about Matt Smith at 12, but 13-15 can be dangerous and Flood can put inside pops in to use his back 3 very well. Again unsure of the exact tactics. The player advantage with Toulon though
Defence- no real weaknesses on eitehr side but not sure how experienced Smith is at 12 in defence and with Juan Smith, Hibbard etc tackling aggressively for Toulon they have an edge
subs- Toulon have an immense bench but actually Tigers look strong there and so I'm not sure it will alter the game much
Overall- at home and with advantages in most, but not all, key areas, Toulon win this one

Just watched David Smith a bit in the Toulon game. OK, he's pretty good.

Crusaders 29 - 26 Toulouse

Scrum - overall slight advantage to Crusaders in the front row but the second row for Toulouse is as good a scrummaging engine as I've seen and may swing the advantage back to them, but tactics even this out back towards Crusaders and I'm giving neither side an advantage here. Toulouse will shove Crusaders back on some scrums but Crusaders will smash the Toulouse props on others.
Lineout- As Hartley gets used to his jumpers, the Crusaders lineout looks excellent. Toulouse lineout looks good with good jumpers but unsure exactly how good Chilliboy Ralapelle is here. Sorry, that's my fault for ignorance, but have to give it to Crusaders' excellent unit
Breakdown- excellent tactics (however, even for me tactics look long?) see this as clear advantage to Crusaders as I think they neutralise Toulouse breakdown very well and I agree with their assertions re Hooper and countering Dusautoir. Read and McCaw great combo
Carrying- Evens. Both have a lovely mix of handling, heavy duty carrying and genuine runners in their packs
HBs- I actually think on form Toulouse have a slight advantage here, helped by the kicking (and in the latter's case kick defence) of LLF and 1/2p
Attack - JD2 has looked uncertain at 12 this year but he will grow into the role. Crotty a weakness but the back 3 are electric, utterly devastating. Tactics use players well and forwards add an element here. Toulouse look every bit as good but no tactics.
Defence- no clear weaknesses, tactics give edge to Crusaders
Subs- advantage Toulouse by a fair bit
Other- long flights for both sides but for the Crusaders it's a long trip home where they know and love to play, for Toulouse a long journey to a hostile country that lives for rugby
Overall- Home advantage and tactics, plus advantage in breakdown see a home win

Stormers 25 - 26 Sharks

Scrum - clash of the titans here, but I think Corbs can get at JDP and Mas at the Beast, but the Sharks unit are more used to playing together, so evens
Lineout - Stormers have more options, all excellent, with Alberts at lock restricting Sharks a tad. BDP obviously excellent but I have to give this to the home side
Breakdown - Stormers very good here, but the Sharks have taken a gamble by putting Alberts at lock and Warbs with Coetze. Together with other good players here and good tactics, they get the advantage.
Carrying- lots of power with 1 finesse(ish) player on both sides! Again, too close to call
HBs- Farrell will love playing behind his pack and will grow into partnership with Genia, but with Quade and Danny both in form, there is a huge, almost unmatchable attacking force in the Sharks halfbacks. Both can still kick badly and Cooper still makes some dubious decisions, so JOC and Lambie will need to step in to help them but I think they will and flashy overcomes steady in this one.
Attack - The HBs give a big boost to Sharks here, but frankly both backlines look electric. JOC hasn't played 12 in a while so will take a while to gel here, but tactics see advantage to Sharks
Defence- Aplon can be targeted, in fact all 4 wings can be in their own way, but Sharks actively do target them. Tight defence looks nice. JOC will be marked down at 12 in defence for a few weeks so evens.
Subs- evens
other- home advantage sizable
Overall- despite home advantage, high tempo attack and breakdown sees the Sharks take a surprise away win for me!

Racing Metro 35 - 37 Clermont Auvergne

Great contest in the forwards. Clermont have a edge in the scrum with a tighter unit for me with a bit more quality. Lineout is a bit of a mess with a few balls being hugely contested and mauls being collapsed with the numbers contesting. Can see Clermont getting a bit of go forward as they look to turn slow ball into quick ball with momentum from the forwards and not just kicking it into space, which would encourage a bit of kicking battle. Slight edge to Racing back-row as they have a little more carrying in them, in the tight and the loose. 
I see Parra and cruden as perhaps the best combo in the game at the minute and they can control the game well with their kicking and quick hands. Sexton is lacking some form in France but his creativity is dangerous and can fix the Clermont defence with his wrap around move. Man marking Roberts out of the game is clever as it cuts down Racing's options and also it means he can't do too much more for me. Cruden can bring the best out of his back line, but Racing have one of the cleverest back threes with ball in hand and can be highly lethal with the amount of kicking in this game. There is perhaps a little more to come from the Racing bench but they may slip a bit more in the set piece later on. For me Clermont have enough to hang on to late win away from home. 

Toulon 27 - 21 Leicester Tigers

Decent contest up front, its been a while since a I last remembered Jenkins to dismantle someone in the scrum but he can pull Stankovich apart who is out of position. Although that depends on Cole holding off Ayerza which is an intriguing battle. It can be a bit of mess at times but Toulon will get the best out this battle with some serious power from the locks as well, where Tigers are a little underpowered here for me. Tigers will rule the skies with Parling and Kitch in decent form in this area, with them being a bit quicker off the ground than the Toulon pair. A decent back row from both and can utilise their sources of possession well. Weepu will be out matched by Smith, whose quick service will ignite this Toulon back line. Weepu looking to box really kills any momemtum from their line-out success, as they should to look to utilise quick line possession with some midfield moves with Flood and Tuialgi, who are instead invited into defensive duties against some players which will run the ball back with interest. Tigers have a decent back three which could be dangerous with ball in hand, but don't get many chances. Toulon will get some decent go forward in the backs with some good possession. Strong bench from Tigers, but some of the lads should really be starting. At home Toulon pinch this, but can't help but feel that if the Tigers tactics were a little different the result could be a complete different story. 

Crusaders 32 - 28 Toulouse

Solid contest up front with no real edge to either side and both strong on their own ball. Much the same story in the line-out. The back-row is the real intriguing contest. I like the fact Saders targeting Hooper which will free the ball up for both sides, but Dus is just as likely to get in as well, but the amount of turnovers is evens and the breakdown battle a quite clean with not too many bodies in the way. Some real carrying intent from the whole of the Saders pack whereas one or two from Toulouse can't quite match that. It varies the attack for Saders which makes it harder to defend. Crusaders take the halfbacks with some real attacking intent here and control from both, as they overshadow the Toulouse pair. Kicking towards Clerc is a great tactic with Folau in this side, would struggle with anyone else as Clerc isn't so bad in the air. Real attacking threat from a great Toulouse back line which have all be in great form as of late. Saders have some real electric players with ball in hand though and can utilise their share of possession ruthlessly. More impact of the toulouse bench, but the result is a solid home win for Crusaders. 
(Just a note for Bam, I only took into account the first line and a half or end of the sentence in some of your tactics as they are only a little on the long side mate)

Racing Metro 27 Clermount 27
Toulon 35 Tigers 25
Stormers 25 Sharks 24

Will try to predict tomorrow, just been a bit busy unexpectedly and a busy day at work tomorrow too

Metro 22-25 Clermont
Crusaders 20-22 Toulouse
Stormers 20-21 Sharks

Best I can do don't think I'll get explainations in on time sorry.

Racing Metro 22 ASM Clermont Auvergne 23

Set Piece: Have had to think long and hard about this one, as there isn't an obvious winner without a great deal of thought. In the end I have to conclude that ASM will have a bit of a nudge on in the scrum. I just think their props will get some joy and they will have good power coming through from 4 and 8. In the lineout both hookers can hit their jumpers and that's an even battle for me.
Gainline collisions/physicality: I see the Metro pack having a fair amount of ball carriers in it, with Ben Arous, Strauss, Retallick, Kruger, Louw and Faletau all able to make hard yards. ASM are not short on physicality in their pack, but I see a little more from Metro, although ASM have physicality from 11 to 14, which evens it up.
Breakdown: A lot resting on Louw for Metro in terms of getting over the ball hard, but they have players who will clear out well, which helps a lot. ASM have a number of players who are very good over the ball, as well as a couple who clear out well. Overall I can just see ASM being a little bit cleverer in the this area and getting a small advantage.
Key Jerseys (2,8,9,10): Metro have addressed the 8 issue which is great for them, but they still don't win the battle in that jersey in this game for me, with Lobbe's experience the telling factor. They do win the battle at hooker, but I prefer the ASM halfback pairing.
Bench: Lots of quality on both, but the bench won't be a game canger here for me.
Tactics: I have some issues here chaps. Metro say in tactics that they have Jones in the front row and he isn't. and also say they are using Tiny and Cronje as carriers, neither of whom are playing. Very difficult to judge how they will work tactically overall, although there are other bits which give me a clue in some areas. ASM also say they will be targeting Jones in sthe scrum, which leads me to question whether Jones was in and was swapped out after ASM put their tactics in, which is possible as the ASM team was last edited on Thursday night and the Metro one edited for the 3rd time on Friday morning. I will be keeping an eye in the future and if that does happen, I will be marking down for it. Overall I get more from the ASM tactics and like the way they will try to counter Lydiate being a tackling machine.
Overall: Overall I see more from ASM, but I am aware that away wins in the Top 14 are rare, with French teams rasing their game at home and almost producing a gallic shrug of the shoulders away. It comes down in the end to whether or not I think the margin between the two is enough to counter that and for ASM win win away, and I think it is, just. Key factor for me is the breakdown and quality of ball that I think Parra and Cruden will get. Really good away win.


RC Toulon 35 Leicester Tigers 19

Set Piece: Ayerza could potentially get some joy in the scrum from Cole, but I cannot see it happening as he will have no platform to attack him. Stankovic is a loosehead and I have no idea why he is playing tighthead here. Depsite not being a destructive scrummager, with Hibbard alongside him Jenkins will munch him. With Kitchener and Parling paired in the engine room there is no grunt either, and for me it is a real long afternoon in the scrum for Tigers. Tigers will secure their own ball in the lineout, and may pinch a couple through Croft and I'll give them a small advantage there.
Gainline collisions/physicality: The power in the Toulon pack is just too much for Leicester here. Tigers have players who will graft but I just don't see who in that pack is going to knock Toulon ball carriers back, or get over the gain line themselves. I have Toulon massively on the front foot here.
Breakdown: Neither team has a 7 that is going to be the difference for them here, but with Toulon winning the collisions they have to have an advantage at the breakdown.
Key Jerseys (2,8,9,10): I'd take all four Toulon players over their opposite numbers in these positions, and I can just see them really controlling the game and not giving Tigers any sort of foothold.
Bench: Good bench for Tigers, and personally I would have started 5 of them as they are better than the players they would be coming on for. By the time they enter the action here it will be far too late for them to save the game.
Tactics: Apart from Matera and Waldrom running the ball and Weepu box kicking I have no idea on how Tigers are going to play. Toulon tell me a little more about what they are trying to play, but comments like "we have internationals in the majority of positions" and "Jonny is our captain as he can pull the strings at 10" don't tell me anything about how they are going to play.
Overall: I'm really sorry CF, but I just don't see how you can win this game. The team is muddle with no coherant gameplan, and away from home against the quality in the Toulon side I think this is a bit of a hammering.


Crusaders vs. Stade Touloussain

Set Piece:
Gainline collisions/physicality:
Breakdown:
Key Jerseys (2,8,9,10):
Bench:
Tactics:
Overall:

Will do the last one in the morning.

Racing 23-24 Clermont

I give Clermont the edge in the scrum, their 2 props on top form are stronger than the Racing pair, although I think Racing's lock strength will help reduce the advantage. Lineout fairly equal, not much advantage either way.

Racing's back row is as dangerous as there is in the league, but Clermont pack as a whole is slightly stronger around the park for me, and I think they have the stronger carriers too.

Racing's tactics seem to refer to previous games, so can't help them there, although Clermont are referring to targeting Jones, who isn't playing!

I like Clermonts tactics to neutralise Lydiate, and they have enough big carriers to allow the first man to go straight at the Welshman.

Sexton and Cruden are equal, but Parra is stronger than Machenaud, so slight edge to Clermont. I prefer the Clermont centres, think going for the choke on Roberts might be tricky, but Nonu one of the few with the strength to hold him up. Racing back 3 is very good, but I wonder about how much ball they will get with that centre partnership.

Neither bench is definitely far stronger so not advantage either way.

Hard one for me to call, but with the slight edge in the scrum and half backs, giving Clermont a hard earned away win.


Toulon 30-18 Tigers

Poor old Ayerza is going to be virtually trying to hold up the scrum on his own, Stankovich is out of position, Chuter is past it and neither lock adds much grunt. Jenkins isn't the best loosehead, but should dominate Stankovich, Cole and Hibbard should be comfortable with Botha adding grunt. Tigers have the edge at the lineout, with 3 top quality jumpers.

Only Ayerza and possibly Matera would get into the Toulon pack for me, the rest are lacking in physicality and I don't see how they will cope with the Toulon pack's power. I'm not quite sure how the Tigers expect to get any go forward without chucking it to Manu.

In the backs, Tigers have some dangerous players from 11-14, but with the level of Toulon's pack dominance I can't see the halfbacks doing much to bring them in to the game.

Toulon have the stronger bench, but in truth the game will be over by the time benches become a factor. Very comfortable home win for Toulon

Stormers 21-24 Sharks


Great battle up front, Bismarck and familiarity give Sharks the advantage, even though I think the Stormers props are better individual players. Lineout equal, maybe a slight edge to Stormers as Wood is also a fine jumper, not worried about Alberts as lock in the lineout as he is a good jumper.

On paper, with the home advantage I would give Stormers the edge in terms of breakdown and carrying, but in the absence of tactics, plus the Sharks having natural 7s, I think they will do better here.

In the backs, Cooper on top form as he is at the moment is on another planet from Farrell in terms of attack, and Care will keep the Stormers back row honest. JOC is in for a tough time with his first start at 12 up against the power of JDV, if the Stormers had tactics in place I imagine they would be sending some big guys down the 10-12 channel, definitely some joy there with SOB, Vermeulen and JDV. Both set of outside backs are good, the Sharks have more starpower

The benches are both strong, Sharks prepared for the forward battle with 6 on the bench.

If the Stormers had tactics in place, with the home advantage it would have been hard for me to give them a loss, but in this case I have to give Sharks a well earned away win.

Toulon 22 - 15 Tigers
Don't think I've ever seen Stankovich play TH, but I might be wrong. Cole and Hibbard too much up front for Tigers though. Toulon second and back row lacks some pace, quality is high. Formidable centres for the home team and a great bench see them through.

Crusaders 19 - 16 Toulouse
See the home team winning the scrum and possibly the lineout with good darts and jumping options. Think Dus and Hooper will be massively underpowered comprared to Richie and Gorgodze. Not much to seperate the backs, but the two Israels make the difference

Stormers 12 - 16 Sharks
Overall, physicality of the Sharks pack will show here. Alberts at 4 tactically is smart and BDP will show up Fourie. Think that the power of that pack will be perfect for a Care/Cooper combo to play off the front foot and get the most out of them. Not convinced by JOC at 12 and JDV will have some fun there, but Smith at 13 is awesome. Sharks might struggle defensively with  Cooper, JOC and Lambie all in the line, but a lack of tactics from Stormers can't make the most of it

Sorry guys, had to be a bit shorter this week, struggling for time. Didn't see the games as close as last week, but can give more feedback if you want it

Sorry about the extra long tactics, I normally write them as they come to me then cut them down after, just didn't have time this week to do the cutting

is it too late to vote?

Yes mate, past the cut off, I've already totalled up the scores. Will post the results shortly.

Phew, surprised to win that match like that tbh. Bad luck, Bathite, good game and a result I didn't expect

ChequeredJersey wrote:Phew, surprised to win that match like that tbh. Bad luck, Bathite, good game and a result I didn't expect

There's not much between most of the sides, for me it is coming down a lot to real life form, and tactics.

I'm getting continually pasted for having the lions TH in my team! Really surprised I'm winless with that team.

Well played CJ.

But you didn't have the Lions tighthead in your team this week Bathite, and not sure anyone has actually 'pasted' him either.

Very small margins betweens all of the sides really. Having an 8.9.10 of Faletau, Youngs, Sexton will be a strong point for you going forward.

Had him coming off bench as everyone mentioned him as a weakness last week.

Really happy with Faletau Youngs sexton, hoping that world class in critical positions will make the difference, especially with Roberts outside

Racing's performance the past 2 weeks in real life probably didn't help tbf

Yeah wondered that

'Full scores'; Ozzy (Deducted £1m for incomplete results), Fluxy, CJ, Bam, Bathite. 

'Scores on the doors'; Driver, Prop

Nothing; CF