Week 9

First topic message reminder :

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Racing Metro 92 vs Stormers
Location - Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir
Heavy Rain Showers, 10 degrees, 15 mph South Westerly Winds

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Racing Metro

01. Ryan Grant	09. Ben Youngs
02. Andries Strauss	10. Jonathon Sexton (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Juandre Kruger	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Brodie Retallick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Francois Louw (c)	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Toby Faletau	15. Ben Smith

16. Adam Jones 17. Dimitri Szarzewski 18. Soane Tonghu'ia 19. Joe Tekori 20. Bernard Le Roux 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Jean Marc Doussain 23. Adrien Plante


TACTICS
After some big wins over Tigers and Toulouse and a close fight away to table toppers Sharks, Metro announce their full strength side for a crucial home clash with Stormers. Retallick, Louw, Lydiate, Strauss, Youngs, Sexton all come into the side fresh after a rest last week. Tekori and Doussain continue their integration into the side from the bench this week.

As always, we are built on a solid set piece, with the lineout being a real strength all season and the scrum in solid shape with Grant now settled in. We'll look to use a very quick and mobile back row to get to that breakdown first, giving the Sharks slow ball to play off,and allowing us to use our strike runners against a disjointed defence. Lydiate clearing out, Louw forcing the turnover and Faletua playing it as he sees it. We've picked a big scrummaging front row, with two very good technical operators.

- In the poor weather conditions, we will look to play for territory with Youngs box kicking slow ball and Sexton kicking in behind Wade and Savea, both who don't have great kicking games
- Look to use carriers off the inside shoulder of Youngs and Sexton
- Form on the bench. All players capable of making a huge impact and changing the game. Experience of Jones and Szarz up front will be huge, Tekori and Tiny will offer incredible ball carrying. Le Roux, Doussain, Mach and Plante have had their great form rewarded with a place in the French 6Ns squad
- Use Sexton flat on the gainline, drawing defenders, with Bosch and Roberts offering short pops and Faletau, Retallick offering the inside ball to keep them narrow. Smith and Bosch both encouraged to come into the line either before Roberts or on his shoulder, looking for the offload.
- We've got a world class spine in this time at 2,5,8,9,10,12,15 and these blokes will lead the team, their experience and decision making will be crucial. The 8 9 10 12 is a very familiar unit from the Lions tour.
- In the backs, we are incredibly solid defensively and have a nice mix of power (Roberts, Imhoff, Cuthbert), pace (Smith, Cuthbert, Youngs) and guile (Sexton, Smith and Bosch)
- Many teams have targeted Roberts defensively, so we will use Roberts to draw in defenders on the dummy run and bring Smith into the line. Use Sexton on the wrap around loop and also interchange Bosch and Roberts to keep them guessing.
- Louw to play as out and out 7, looking to slow ball and force turnovers. In Faletau and Louw, we have two blokes that are brilliant at turning over ball. Both can't be stopped!
- Use Strauss, Retallick, Faletua, Lydiate as our big ball carriers around the fringes to keep the defence narrrow. Youngs to snipe and look for mismatches against forwards to keep them honest.

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Stormers

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. Schalk Brits	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Nicolas Mas
04. Eben Etzebeth	11. Julian Savea
05. James Horwill	12. Jean De Villiers (c)
06. Tom Wood	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Christian Wade
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Jaco Taute

16. Scarra Ntubeni 17. Stephen Kitschoff 18. Brok Harris 19. Rynhardt Elstadt 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Louis Schrouder 22. Elton Jantjies 23. Chelsin Kolbe

Look to play a simple game based around the strong set piece game to secure possession. The pack is full of heavy carriers to get over the gain line consistently and capable of clearing out the rucks quickly and efficiently to create quick ball when possible. Look to create quick ball off pods outside the fringe defences of the ruck. Faz to run the game. Duvenage will look to keep the defences honest and punish any lapse in fringe defence by sniping any holes. Looking for any quick ball for Faz to orchestrate the attacking movements of the backs, and to keep the opponents guessing. Faz to play flat in attack to bring in the centres who can play simple and direct rugby or get it wide to our dangerous back three.

Set-piece - strong and efficient, put pressure on in certain situations on opposition ball. Eg clearing kicks from scrums and line outs in their 22
Breakdown - Collectively look to clear ball and smash opposing players out of the way. Opposing slow down legally by flooding the breakdown. 
Keep ball in hand - We can afford to give away silly possession and kick aimlessly to the oppo back three. 
Playing the %'s - Faz will keep the board ticking over, and implement a simple territorial game.
Working on Players - Corbs to target Figallo at the scrum, Horwill to man mark Kruger come the line out, with Etze up at the front.

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Natal Sharks vs Crusaders
Location - Kings Park Stadium
Light Rain Showers, 29 degrees, 13 mph Easterly Winds

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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. Joe Launchbury	11. George North
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Sam Warbuton	13. Conrad Smith
07. Willem Alberts	14. Marland Yarde
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. James O'Connor

16. Stephen Moore 17. Cian Healy 18. Lourens Adriaanse 19. Pieter-Steph du Toit 20. Marcell Coetzee 21. Freddie Michalak 22. Patric Lambie 23. JP Pietersen

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 Crusaders 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.  If on Care will snipe to keep us going forwards.  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.  
  
• Wingers. North and Yarde to track the play off their wings looking for the offloads to go through gaps in midfield, with North often used either on the inside crash ball or as decoy.
  
• First receiver. If Cooper is targeted on the blitz, then O'Connor will step in to give a second option at 1st receiver.
  
• Possession. We want to keep the ball and play through the phases.  We will kick if we have to but, but first option will always be to run the ball.
  

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Crusaders 

01. Marcus Ayerza	09. Jonathan Pelissie
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Dan Carter(k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Luke Romano	11. Zac Guildford
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Scott Williams
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Richie McCaw (c)	14. Israel Folau
08. Kieran Read	15. Charles Piutau

16. Ben Funnell 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Davit Zirakashvili 19. Dominic Bird 20. Mamuka Gorgodze 21. Andrew Ellis 22. Tom Taylor 23. Ryan Crotty

Set piece - Ayerza and Hartley to focus on JDP, maximum pressure to be applied on him, with particular focus on his bind on BDP through Hartley. Franks and Vili to get one half each to anchor the scrum. In the lineout we will use all our options throughout the back row, with Whitelock to mark Lawes and Romano on the other lock.

Breakdown - 3 top breakdown operators in our back row, focus on Warburton in particular, with Alberts being targeted for clearing out by our front 5. Robshaw and McCaw to work in tandem, with Read getting involved whenever he sees a chance for a turnover. Ruck past the ball, we have strong forwards replacements to come on so want maximum energy. All the back row have international captaincy experience, will use that to play to the ref.

Attack - strong ball carrying by the front 5 around the fringes, Launchbury/Lawes are very athletic locks and we want to sap their energy by using our big ball carriers around the corner. Robshaw to help change the point of attack using his link skills, forwards looking for the inside line when it's on. 

We aim to run at Cooper as often as possible. Forwards led by Read to go down his channel, JD2 and Williams to cut inside and go straight at the 10/12 link, with Folau running off his wing at him when he sees the back row going wider. Carter to look to put the ball behind North, get the big guy turning where he isn't at his best with Folau bearing down on him. Piutau and JD2 to do likewise if putting it through the hands isn't on. 

Defence - focus on maintaining the line and letting our back row go for the turnovers. Pack to pile in if they feel the turnover is on. Try and cut out the supply to North by blitzing when centres have ball in hand. Pressure Cooper as much as possible, but keep the fringes tight to control Care. Look for the intercept if Cooper throws the miss pass

Bench - Gorgodze on to carry ball at tiring players, again primarily down the 10 channel. Taylor as a wider distribution option, and Crotty as another strong carrier. Debaty and Vili to continue to pile on the pressure at the scrum, particularly on the back up tighthead

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Toulouse vs Toulon
Location - Stade Ernest-Wallon
Heavy Rain, 9 degrees, 8pmh South Westerly Winds

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StadeToulousian
DOR: Driver
 

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Tom Youngs	10. George Ford
03. John Afoa
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Johnny May
05. Patrico Albacete	12. Christian Leialiffano
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Gael Fickou
07. Thiery Dusitour (c)	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Louise Pickamoles	15. Leigh Halfpenny (K)

16.Chilliboy Ralepelle 17.Antoine Guillamon 18.Cencus Johnstone 19. Romain Millo-Chulski 20. Michael Hooper 21.Kano Vermack 22.Luke McCallister 23. Hosea Gear

We've gone for what we know best and that is a power game based on plenty of carry in pack and dangerous runners outwide to punish the opposition, We've picked a massive front 5 with plenty of power from the bench and won't let the tempo drop and ensure that the tigers can't keep up with our tempo. Vermaak and Tales will be key to how we play and will look to bring runners in and put plenty of dents in the Stormers defence. Playing loose and at a high tempo this game will suit our game plan with our backs running wild into the space.

• Ruck blastingQuick ball is going to be key on the battlefield and our pack is full of ruck clearers and will ensure we can punch holes in a disorganised defence line.
  
• Aggressive defence Plenty of power around the fringes and aggressive blitz with 9-15 all fearsome defenders who will look to smash there man and drive him back. Vermaak to sweep behind.
  
• Experienced bench
  

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Toulon

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10.    Johnny Wilkinson(k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Bryan Habana
05. Jocelina Suta	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julien Bonnaire (c)	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. David Smith
08. Jaime Heaslip	15. Drew Mitchell

16. Kyle Cooper 17.Gethin Jenkins 18. Dan Cole 19. Ali Williams 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Sebastian Tillous-Borde 22. Butch James 23. Wesley Fofana
Tactics
We will play an tight game today and have selected a big pack to win us ball in tough conditions for a tight game. Wilko will stand deep and play territory for our lineout to challenge, the pack will carry a lot as will our centres for quick ball. Strong front row with immense power to come on and a 2nd row who are used to driving players back come scrum time. We have selected a centre partnership who will make good breaks and look for quick recycling of the ball to keep them on the back foot and under constant pressure. Forwards will look to carry a lot in first 20 punching the holes before moving to running off of 12-13.


*9-10 combo-we have Smith to Wilko who will then look to play a controlled kicking game especially from turnover ball and using tight runners off 2nd phase 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 Wilko, Giteau, AAC and will look to slow down/turnover a lot of ball.
*Set Piece-power is key today at scrum time and in the lineouts using Bonnaire's leading skills to get good ball.
*Breakdown-look to nullify the Crusaders here and use our abrasive pack to do this with heavy carrying and tactical breakdown slowing.

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Leicester Tigers vs ASM Clermont
Location - Welford Road
Heavy Rain Showers, 8 degrees, 25 mph Southerly Winds

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Leicester Tigers 

01. Ben Robinson	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Leonardo Ghiraldini	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Cory Jane
05. Louis Deacon	12. Anthony Allen
06. Tom Croft	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Pablo Matera	14. Gonzalo Camacho
08. Juan Manuel Leguizmanon	15. Matthew Tait

Replacements: Hawkins,Schuster,Stankovich,Kitchener,Weepu,Flood,Smith,Hernandez

We have a very powerful forward pack which we will look to utiilise. At the breakdown we will be strong and really go all in to win the ball. We will try to get quick ball to give to our backs, but if we have slow ball then we have plenty of forwards who will carry the ball and attempt to get over the gain-line. 

In the lineout, we have Ghilardini back which will strengten. In the scrum we have our best front 3 out, and they will be very strong and powerful. In terms of kicking, the duties go to Hook, Laidlaw will box kick with reguarlity, and look to gain some territory...


One of the strongest sides we have put out this season..

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ASMClermontAuvergne

Manager
= ChequeredJersey

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Morgan Parra
02. Corey Flynn	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Ben Tameifuina
04. Manu Samoa	11. Willie Le Roux
05. Andries Bekker	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Schalk Burger	13. Regan King
07. Sam Cane	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. JMF Lobbe (c)	15. JM Buttin

16. Joe Marler 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Frans Malherbe  19.  Jamie Cudmore 20. Julien Bardy 21.  Ludovic Radosavljevic  22. Brock James 23. Aurelien Rougerie

Tactics: The scrum, lineout and breakdown are vital in the rain. we will approach the breakdown as a unit, with Cane chasing the ball to be there to jackal, tackle or support as needed. The whole pack to help clearing out, but don't overcommit to any rucks unless there is a danger of the ball being turned over either way. The aim will be to create quick ball, and if it is slow we will build up momentum into quick ball using carries from the pack and crash balls. In sticky situations, Parra to choose whether to kick or retain the ball. Quick ball spun wide, then kept simple with recycling at the breakdown and direct running with back 3 running angles off the midfield.

Set piece- Tigers scrum has been shaky so really attack it then use as a base to carry off. In the lineout, let them have front ball and force them into the maul, contesting middle and back ball

Defence- blitz with Parra sweeping. Run back kicks where possible, Cane to harass 10 and Burger smash the 9

Subs- we have great pack subs so go 100% intensity as we can use them

Kicking- chase vital. Take points on offer and don't kick to touch too much as their lineout is good Kick high in the difficult handling conditions and contest for possession.

Targets- Domingo looking to attack Castro. Choke tackle Manu out of the game. Target blind side off scrums as Croft can miss tackles

Cheers mate, also heard about your call up to the other league, congrats good to see some more boys on here over there.

Maybe add scoring to the rules page, I can probably do it if I know how in future

Sorry for not predicting, have had a mental week at work.

Have just done the results, will work out scorers and post them up.

No change in positions in the table this week, but 3 to 7 has become mighty congested!!!

Full scores - Prop, CJ, Bathite, Fluxy, Bam

Scores only - CF, Driver

No scores - Ozzy

If Fluxy is happy with that I can do budgets

Cheers for the effort from both you guys!

Well played Ozzy, thought it was going to be tighter given the feedback!

So close to the TBP! Well played CF, think the score flatters me a bit

talk about a massive slump for Toulon!!