Week 10

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Crusaders vs Racing Metro 92
Location - AMI Stadium
Light Cloud, 20 degrees, 9 mph North Easterly Winds

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Crusaders 

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

16. Ben Funnell 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Owen Franks 19. Dominic Bird 20. Mamuka Gorgodze 21. Andrew Ellis 22. Beauden Barrett 23. Ryan Crotty

Team won't change now, tactics to follow

We want to play in their half, Carter and Davies to use their boots to get us in the right areas. When in their half we will put the ball through the hands to take advantage of the good conditions and our excellent back row to keep the ball moving.

Set piece - scrummage to target Grant, with the ever powerful Zirakashvili to put maximum pressure on him, especially with the more lightweight Kruger packing down behind him at No.4 . Ayerza is used to scrummaging against Figallo through international duty and we expect Hartley to do his usual strong work here. Lineout to use Whitelock as caller and spread the ball throughout the locks and back row. On opposing ball, mark Kruger as he often calls to himself and force the ball short to Retallick so we can counter the maul. 

Breakdown - 3 top breakdown operators in our back row, focus on Louw in particular, with Luatua/Faletau 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 - ball carrying around the fringes by the front 5, Read to go where he pleases and the flankers to track the ball and act as link men. Big ball carriers to come off the bench in Gorgodze and Franks to continue the strong carrying. 

Davies to run his usual great lines against the slower Centre pairing of Racing, Pelissie and Carter to look to challenge the 9-12 channel with ball in hand which will create gaps outside. Try and get Folau one on one with Cuthbert, use the kicking game to put ball behind him, Davies to use his excellent grubber kick against the rush defence. Challenge Cuthbert with Folau under the high ball

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 out wide by blitzing when Bosch has ball in hand. Pressure Sexton, make Youngs make box kicks to clear and counter hard with Folau/Piutau and Read under the high ball. 

Bench - Gorgodze, Franks to add ball carrying and experience up front, Barrett is the ultimate impact player at test level so want to see him get his hands on the ball against a tiring defence in the last 20, either from FB or fly half. His try scoring record off the bench is amazing, do the same against Racing and hammer home our home advantage in the last 20.

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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. Steven Luatua	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. Dan Lydiate 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Jean Marc Doussain 23. Adrien Plante


TACTICS
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. Luatua 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.

- We'll play heads up rugby, based on solid possession from scrum and lineout.
- 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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Toulon vs Stormers
Location - Stade Felix Mayol
Light Rain Showers, 15 degrees, 9 mph South Easterly Winds

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Toulon

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Johnny Wilkinson(k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Ali Williams	11. Bryan Habana
05. Jocelina Suta	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Julien Bonnaire (c)	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Craig Gilroy
08. Jaime Heaslip	15. Delon Armitage

16. Kyle Cooper 17.Gethin Jenkins 18. Carl Hayman 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Justin Tipuric 21. Sebastian Tillous-Borde 22. Butch James 23. Matt Giteau
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 and 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 Stormers here and use our abrasive pack to do this with heavy carrying and tactical breakdown slowing.

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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

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ASM Clermont Auvergne vs Natal Sharks
Location - Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Light  Rain Showers, 13 degrees, 10 mph South Westerly Winds

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ASMClermontAuvergne

Manager
= ChequeredJersey

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Morgan Parra (k)
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Jamie Cudmore	11. Willie Le Roux
05. Andries Bekker	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. JMF Lobbe (c)	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. Schalk Burger	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Samu Manoa	15. JM Buttin

16. Joe Marler 17. Corey Flynn 18. Ben Tameifuina  19.  Julien Pierre 20. Sam Cane 21.  Ludovic Radosavljevic  22. Kyle Godwin 23. Napolioni Nalaga

Tactics: 

In this weather vs tough opposition we will keep things simple, and have the pack going 100% from the start knowing we can replace quality for quality off the bench should we need to. We will approach the breakdown as an entire pack, committing the number of men needed to win the ball with whichever backrower is available (all good here) helped by other forwards securing the ball. We will look to slow opposition ball as much as we can and play aggressively and not fear the risk of borderline penalties in their half, but penalties in our half. Kick slow ball for possession with an aggressive chase or use mauls and the pack in drives to build it into quick ball. Alternate 2 approaches with quick ball- spinning/kicking wide if there is space, and sending big runners on the short ball from 9 at the 9-10 channel or the inside pop to 15/blindside wing from 10. Cruden to attack the line to create  the space for either option. If they overuse the blitz, chip from 10 or kick through from 9  and pressurise the back 3

Defence:

Press on the defence but don't overcommit. Parra, best defensive 9 in the world, look to harrass Care, Kayser cover the chip, Burger target Lambie ruthlessly and Manoa stop Parisse as this spine is vital to their team. 

Set piece:
Look to target JDP with Domingo. Run Manoa at Cooper off our ball sometimes. Parra to harrass their ball and look to shut down their 8-9-10. At the lineout we have loads of options and a good thrower in form, so mix them up and look to tire them with the maul and get the ball straight to Nonu vs Cooper

Kicking:

Take easy points but also look to kick into space and chase the kicks to get the ball back in better position. Lineout is good so don't be afraid of kicks to touch and Le Roux, Parra and Buttin can all help Cruden

Targets:
As above re 9-10. JOC can sometimes commit rather than staying back in defence- if he does, kick over the line. Rile Care and try and slow down all the ball he gets. Lawes inexperienced at calling lineouts so pressurise him here and don't let Alberts build momentum

Other:
Home advantage is huge for us, with the best home record in club rugby anywhere. Bring on our subs for impact if we need to, or Cane if we need an outright fetcher. When Marler and Big Ben come on, give them pop-crashballs.

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The Sharks
DoR: Ozzy3213

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Danny Care
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Joe Launchbury	11. George North
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Marcell Coetzee	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 Sam Warburton 21. Billy Vunipola 22. Freddie Michalak 23. Quade Cooper

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.  In wet conditions we will make sure we play in the right areas, using the pack and big backs off first phase to tie defenders in and create gaps to get our outside backs through.  We will be looking to play our game at a high tempo. Lambie 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 ASM 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.
  
• Kicking Game. Lambie and O'Connor to ping the ball in behind the ASM wingers and force them to go back and play from deep.
  
• Target Rougerie. For all his fine attributes he lacks pace now and is in a key defensive position.  We will look to isolate his outside shoulder with our wingers on an out to in line.
  
• Bench. We have pure power on the bench.  We will keep it tight with Lambie putting us in the right areas for the first 60 minutes and moving their pack around, before unloading the bench, with the power of the likes of Healy, du Toit and Vunipola to really carry at tired defenders, and Cooper to provide the spark to take us home.
  
• Mental Edge We have beaten ASM once this already, and they are building this up as a massive game for revenge.  That could lead them to push too hard, and we are in a good place mentally to exploit any mistakes caused by their over anxiousness.
  

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Leicester Tigers vs Toulouse
Location - Welford Road
Light Rain Showers, 7 degrees, 24 mph South Westerly Winds

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Leicster Tigers

01. Benn Robinson	09. Piri Weepu (c)
02. Leonardo Ghilaridini	10. James Hook (k)
03. Brian Mujati
04. Paul O'Connell	11. Gonzala Camacho
05. Geoff Parling	12. Anthony Allen
06. Tom Croft	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Pablo Matera	14. Chris Ashton
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Israel Dagg

REPLACEMENTS: 16.Chuter 17.Schuster 18.Castro 19.Deacon 20.Kitcheher 21.Laidlaw 22.Williams 23.Hernandez

Mujati makes debut  Packed the bench with forwards

We want to play a very physical game today, which is showed by our immense forwards on show today, and the fact that our bench is packed with forward replacements to keep up the intensity we wish to set. We want solid accurate lineouts, good mauls, and we want to really compete at the scrum looking to drive the oppo backwards. Parling and POC will look to carry the ball reguarly. When we get the ball to the backs we have explosive speed and physicality which we will look to use in Manu and Dagg etc... Hook will be our kicker..

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Toulouse

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Chilliboy Rallepele	10. George Ford
03. Cencus Johnstone
04. Patricio Albacete	11. Jonny May
05. Yoaan Maestri	12. Christian Lealifiano
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Gael Fickou
07. Thierry Dusautoir (c)	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

16.Tom Youngs 17.Anthonio Guilamon 18.John Afoa 19.Romain Millo Chulski 20.Edwin Maka 21.Michael Hooper 22.Jano Vermaak 23.Clement Poitrinaud


Tactics

Toulouse to play a controlling game based around a strong set piece and efficent field position,

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Ooh. Massive crunch clash over in France for em this week!

We've been planning vengeance all season...

Lol. I'm sure you have!  

Weather done

I will be making changes once I see the starting Sharks side, and have had a think


ASMClermontAuvergne

Manager
= ChequeredJersey

01.  Thomas Domingo	09.  Morgan Parra (k)
02. Benjamin Kayser	10.    Aaron Cruden
03. Frans Malherbe
04.  Jamie Cudmore	11. Willie Le Roux
05.  Andries Bekker	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. JMF Lobbe (c)	13.   Aurelien Rougerie
07. Schalk Burger	14.  Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Samu Manoa	15. JM Buttin

16. Joe Marler 17. Corey Flynn 18. Ben Tameifuina  19.  Julien Pierre 20. Sam Cane 21.  Ludovic Radosavljevic  22. Kyle Godwin 23. Napolioni Nalaga

Tactics:

In this weather vs tough opposition we will keep things simple, and have the pack going 100% from the start knowing we can replace quality for quality off the bench should we need to. We will approach the breakdown as an entire pack, committing the number of men needed to win the ball with whichever backrower is available (all good here) helped by other forwards securing the ball. We will look to slow opposition ball as much as we can and play aggressively and not fear the risk of borderline penalties in their half, but penalties in our half. Kick slow ball for possession with an aggressive chase or use mauls and the pack in drives to build it into quick ball. Alternate 2 approaches with quick ball- spinning/kicking wide if there is space, and sending big runners on the short ball from 9 at the 9-10 channel or the inside pop to 15/blindside wing from 10. Cruden to attack the line to create the space for either option. If they overuse the blitz, chip from 10 or kick through from 9 and pressurise the back 3

Defence:

Press on the defence but don't overcommit. Parra, best defensive 9 in the world, look to harrass Care, Kayser cover the chip, Burger target Lambie ruthlessly and Manoa stop Parisse as this spine is vital to their team.

Set piece:
Look to target JDP with Domingo. Run Manoa at Cooper off our ball sometimes. Parra to harrass their ball and look to shut down their 8-9-10. At the lineout we have loads of options and a good thrower in form, so mix them up and look to tire them with the maul and get the ball straight to Nonu vs Cooper

Kicking:

Take easy points but also look to kick into space and chase the kicks to get the ball back in better position. Lineout is good so don't be afraid of kicks to touch and Le Roux, Parra and Buttin can all help Cruden

Targets:
As above re 9-10. JOC can sometimes commit rather than staying back in defence- if he does, kick over the line. Rile Care and try and slow down all the ball he gets. Lawes inexperienced at calling lineouts so pressurise him here and don't let Alberts build momentum

Other:
Home advantage is huge for us, with the best home record in club rugby anywhere. Bring on our subs for impact if we need to, or Cane if we need an outright fetcher. When Marler and Big Ben come on, give them pop-crashballs.

Toulouse team to play Leicester Tiggers

15.Leigh Halfpenny (K)
14.Tommy Bowe
13.Gael Fickou
12.Christian Leialifano 
11.Jonny May
10.George Ford
09.Ruan Pienaar

1.Guthro Steenkamp
2.Chilliboy Rallapele
3.Cencus Johnstone
4.Patrico Albacete
5.Yoaan Maestri
6.Yannick Nyanga
7.Thiery Dusitour (c)
8.Louis Pickermoles

16.Tom Youngs 17.Anthonio Guilamon 18.John Afoa 19.Romain Millo Chulski 20.Edwin Maka 21.Michael Hooper 22.Jano Vermaak 23.Clement Poitrinaud


Tactics

Toulouse to play a controlling game based around a strong set piece and efficent field position,

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10.    Johnny Wilkinson(k)
03. Dan Cole
04.  Ali Williams	11. Bryan habana
05.  Jocelina Suta	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Julien Bonnaire (c)	13.   Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Craig gilroy
08. Jaime Heaslip	15.delon Armitage

16. Kyle Cooper 17.Gethin Jenkins 18. Carl Hayman 19. Bakkies Botha 20. Justin Tipuric 21. Sebastian Tillous-Borde 22. Butch James 23. Matt Giteau
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 and 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 Stormers here and use our abrasive pack to do this with heavy carrying and tactical breakdown slowing.

The Sharks make two changes to the starting line up for their trip to Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin to take on ASM Clermont Auvergne.  Marcell Coetzee starts in the back row with Sam Warbuton dropping to bench, and Patric Lambie comes in at 10 with Qude Cooper looking to provide an impact late on in the game.  Recent signing Billy Vunipola also comes onto the bench as the Sharks opt for 6-2 forward/back split.

The Sharks
DoR: Ozzy3213

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Danny Care
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Joe Launchbury	11. George North
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Marcell Coetzee	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 Sam Warburton 21. Billy Vunipola 22. Freddie Michalak 23. Quade Cooper

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.  In wet conditions we will make sure we play in the right areas, using the pack and big backs off first phase to tie defenders in and create gaps to get our outside backs through.  We will be looking to play our game at a high tempo. Lambie 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 ASM 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.
  
• Kicking Game. Lambie and O'Connor to ping the ball in behind the ASM wingers and force them to go back and play from deep.
  
• Target Rougerie. For all his fine attributes he lacks pace now and is in a key defensive position. We will look to isolate his outside shoulder with our wingers on an out to in line.
  
• Bench. We have pure power on the bench. We will keep it tight with Lambie putting us in the right areas for the first 60 minutes and moving their pack around, before unloading the bench, with the power of the likes of Healy, du Toit and Vunipola to really carry at tired defenders, and Cooper to provide the spark to take us home.
  
• Mental Edge We have beaten ASM once this already, and they are building this up as a massive game for revenge. That could lead them to push too hard, and we are in a good place mentally to exploit any mistakes caused by their over anxiousness.
  

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

16. Ben Funnell 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Owen Franks 19. Dominic Bird 20. Mamuka Gorgodze 21. Andrew Ellis 22. Beauden Barrett 23. Ryan Crotty

Team won't change now, tactics to follow

We want to play in their half, Carter and Davies to use their boots to get us in the right areas. When in their half we will put the ball through the hands to take advantage of the good conditions and our excellent back row to keep the ball moving.

Set piece - scrummage to target Grant, with the ever powerful Zirakashvili to put maximum pressure on him, especially with the more lightweight Kruger packing down behind him at No.4 . Ayerza is used to scrummaging against Figallo through international duty and we expect Hartley to do his usual strong work here. Lineout to use Whitelock as caller and spread the ball throughout the locks and back row. On opposing ball, mark Kruger as he often calls to himself and force the ball short to Retallick so we can counter the maul. 

Breakdown - 3 top breakdown operators in our back row, focus on Louw in particular, with Luatua/Faletau 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 - ball carrying around the fringes by the front 5, Read to go where he pleases and the flankers to track the ball and act as link men. Big ball carriers to come off the bench in Gorgodze and Franks to continue the strong carrying. 

Davies to run his usual great lines against the slower Centre pairing of Racing, Pelissie and Carter to look to challenge the 9-12 channel with ball in hand which will create gaps outside. Try and get Folau one on one with Cuthbert, use the kicking game to put ball behind him, Davies to use his excellent grubber kick against the rush defence. Challenge Cuthbert with Folau under the high ball

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 out wide by blitzing when Bosch has ball in hand. Pressure Sexton, make Youngs make box kicks to clear and counter hard with Folau/Piutau and Read under the high ball. 

Bench - Gorgodze, Franks to add ball carrying and experience up front, Barrett is the ultimate impact player at test level so want to see him get his hands on the ball against a tiring defence in the last 20, either from FB or fly half. His try scoring record off the bench is amazing, do the same against Racing and hammer home our home advantage in the last 20.

Ozzy3213 wrote:The Sharks make two changes to the starting line up for their trip to Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin to take on ASM Clermont Auvergne.  Marcell Coetzee starts in the back row with Sam Warbuton dropping to bench, and Patric Lambie comes in at 10 with Qude Cooper looking to provide an impact late on in the game.  Recent signing Billy Vunipola also comes onto the bench as the Sharks opt for 6-2 forward/back split.

The Sharks
DoR: Ozzy3213

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Danny Care
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Patric Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Joe Launchbury	11. George North
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Marcell Coetzee	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 Sam Warburton 21. Billy Vunipola 22. Freddie Michalak 23. Quade Cooper

CJ, can you let me know once you've made the changes you want to make to your team please so I can then do tactics.  Cheers.

Will do, hopefully by mid afternoon depending if I get time off surgery before Valentine's stuff in evening

Ah, Clinton's day. Will have to get tactics in earlier than originally thought

In Japan. The women give the men presents on 14th Feb. I've been given chocolates by office colleagues all day. Winning

All done for now, might make one bench change if I get my Foreign but might not

Leicster Tigers

01.Benn Robinson
02.Leonardo Ghilaridini
03.Brian Mujati
04.Paul O'Connell 
05.Geoff Parling
06.Tom Croft
07.Pablo Matera
08.Thomas Waldrom
09.Piri Weepu (C)
10.James Hook (K)
11.Gonzalo Camacho
12.Anthony Allen
13.Manu Tuilagii
14.Chris Ashton
15.Israel Dagg

REPLACEMENTS: 16.Chuter 17.Schuster 18.Castro 19.Deacon 20.Kitcheher 21.Laidlaw 22.Williams 23.Hernandez

Mujati makes debut  Packed the bench with forwards

We want to play a very physical game today, which is showed by our immense forwards on show today, and the fact that our bench is packed with forward replacements to keep up the intensity we wish to set. We want solid accurate lineouts, good mauls, and we want to really compete at the scrum looking to drive the oppo backwards. Parling and POC will look to carry the ball reguarly. When we get the ball to the backs we have explosive speed and physicality which we will look to use in Manu and Dagg etc... Hook will be our kicker..

Predos open. Sorry for the lateness! My side is last weeks as I missed the cut off. Open until Wednesday as always!

I will also get this weeks thread up now.

Crusaders 27 - 22 Metro

Scrum- would be clear advantage to Crusaders but Zirak is new so pretty close
Lineout - good units but Crusaders excellent and on top here
Breakdown- Another good battle but Crusaders again excel here
Carrying- Also good battle, can see Metro edging this
HBs- hard to call before seeing Carter. Sexton playing very well indeed for Ireland but Youngs emphatically not. Can't call it
Attack- good tactics making use of weaknesses. Ben Smith the dangerman, but Crusaders a bit more dangerous across the backs.
Defence- Evens, not much to say
Subs- both equal, though Barrett is the biggest game changer on either bench, he frequently scores off the bench!
Overall- At home, and with a long journey and an edge in the pack, Crusaders win this

Toulon 25 - 19 Stormers

Scrum- Stormers edge as Mas will beat Mako. Cole, injured and out of form, still has the edge over long term injured Corbs but not enough to equalise things
Lineout- Bonnaire just the edge for Toulon here, good units for both sides and I think there will be good attacking ball
Breakdown- close, but slight edge to Stormers
Carrying- Front row hugely to Toulon, second row to Stormers so it comes down to the backrow- SOB is injured so Toulon just ahead
HBs- close one and with those 12s the 9-10s will be doing most of the management. Farrell in form and on top of Wilko so maybe an edge there
Attack- Centres to Toulon, wings to Stormers but no tactics means this goes easily to Toulon
Defence- Toulon stronger here
Subs- Toulon
Overall- could have been different with tactics but the tactics, backline and subs and home advantage mean Toulon win without too much trouble.

Tigers 23 - 24 Toulouse

Scrum- Toulouse can get on top here
Lineout- Tigers possibly have the best unit in the game here, so they win this one
Breakdown- with Croft still injured and Nyanga in great form, have to give this to Toulouse
Carrying- Edge to Toulouse with Picamoles standing out
HBs- Ford in crazy form and Hook not playing 10, so Toulouse
Attack- Fairly even, maybe edge to Tigers as Dagg is so dangerous
Defence- edge to Toulouse for Ashton
Subs- No real backrow subs for Tigers, otherwise they'd be ahead here
Overall- in this weather, the lineout would be a huge weapon with another 10 for Tigers and they are much improved but Toulouse have enough with Ford pulling the strings to get an away win

Toulon 23-18 Stormers

Set piece - Given the injured Corbs and out of form Cole, evens at scrum time. Very slight edge to Stormers at lineout as I like their jumping options.

Breakdown - about evens for me, both will do well 

Attack/carrying - prefer the Toulon pack as heavy carriers. In attack, no idea why Stormers still aren't playing Genia, as there is a slight lack of creativity here even with Farrell's improvement. For Toulon, that centre partnership is magic. Back 3 edge to Toulon, close due to Gilroy's recent arrival.

Bench - Botha, Jenkins and tips give this to Toulon.

Overall, both good sides but no tactics for Stormers, no Genia and home advantage give Toulon the win

Crusaders 25 - 22 Racing Metro

Two decent packs, but I think Saders will edge the breakdown battle, but Metro have a plethora of carrying ability. Set piece is about even though for both, so therefore can't really seperate either. IN the backs Youngs' form is a slight hindrance but I like the spine of the Metro side. Saders have some real attacking players though and can see them exploiting their advantage in attack as Cuthbert, Imhoff and Smith can be got at a little when they are defending, and exploiting Roberts pace is a good tactic. I think Metro's bench has a bigger impact but there is a bigger attacking edge in the Saders side and they will secure the home win.

Toulon 26 Stormers 18
Clermont 25 Sharks 19
Tigers 16 Toulouse 19

Might not have time for explanations this week, as am on a plane all of Tuesday/Wednesday, sorry

Leicester 20 - 21 Toulouse

Set piece - Scrum about evens, no real standout. Lineout to Tigers, as usual

Breakdown - That Toulouse back 5 is quality, Tigers ok but Waldrom not up to scratch, and a bit more grunt needed

Carrying/attack - Carrying easily to Toulouse, Tigers need help here. In attack, hard to rate Weepu at the moment so the excellent form of Ford gives Toulouse the advantage. Outside backs - Manu and Dagg will be lethal, Toulouse also good but prefer the Tigers backs.

Benches - both about equal

Overall, pack quality and edge in the halfbacks enough to sneak an away win. Tigers are improving though

Crusaders 25 Racing Metro 22
RC Toulonnias 22 Stormers 17
Leicester Tigers 19 Toulouse 20

Crusaders 24-23 Metro
Feel Crusaders may just have enough up front to edge this game.

Clermont 22-22 Sharks
Going to have to sit on the fence with both teams bringing a good advantage in key positions. Like the sound of Marcell Sam Warburton!!

Tigers 20-21Toulouse
Front rows are even but Toulouse much stronger in back 5. lack of tactics hinder Toulouse. Tigers looking much better out wide but Toulouse just nick this with Ford looking better than Hook at 10.

ASM Clermont Auvergne 25 - 23 Natal Sharks
A real intrigiuing battle. Up front Sharks just edge the forwards but in the backs Clermont sneak with a bit more control and experience on top of their attacking ability. And tagged along with clever tactics and home advantage I think CJ's unit have enough to seal big home win.

Leicester Tigers 22 - 27 Toulouse
Tough one this. Tigers have improved by putting out their best side, but from 1-10 they aren't quite good enough. When they have their best back line out they are quality, but they only have some of their lads on show. Toulouse simple game plan will be effective coupled with Halfpennys boot ticking over the scoreboard. But Tigers need to re think their tactics and line up and recruit big to improve their season.

Clermont 23-21 Sharks

Set piece - Domingo the best on show, and think he can get a nudge on JDP. Rest all pretty equal, so edge to ASM. Lineout to Sharks, good jumpers all over the place, ASM not bad either.

Breakdown - not a huge fan of Coetzee and think he  is a bit out of his depth here. Rest of packs pretty much equal, but think ASM tactics and all round back row skills will help them.

Carrying/attack - prefer Sharks as a carrying unit, Bismarck a huge factor here.

HB edge to ASM, even with Care's excellent form. Think CJ is right to target him for special treatment. Both sets of outside backs will be lethal with quick ball, so equal here.

Benches - sharks in the forwards, Clermont in the backs. Very slight edge to sharks

Very hard to call, worthy of a top of table clash. Given home advantage and strong breakdown play, I give this to Clermont, but low scoring due to excellent defence and breakdown spoiling from both

Predos are closed

RESULTS:

Crusaders 27 - 22 Metro

Tries: Folau, Read, Barrett // B Smith x2, Retallick
Conversions: Carter x 3 // Sexton x 2
Penalties: Carter x 2 // Sexton

RC Toulonnaise 26 - 18 Stormers

Tries- Fofana, Heaslip, Armitage // Brits, Savea
Conversions- Wilkinson // Farrell
Penalties- Wilkinson x 3 // Farrell x 2

ASM Clermont 25 - 21 Natal Sharks

Tries- Le Roux x2, Tameifuina // O'Connor , Care, Vunipola
Conversions- Parra x 2 // Lambie x 3
Penalties- Parra, Godwin

Congrats CJ, I knew it was going to be a tough ask getting the win this week.  Keeps the league interesting as well.

Bad luck for Toulouse though, as the Sharks boys are hurting and looking to take it out on them at the Shark Tank next week!!!  

I'll get the league table updated this evening.

Leicester Tigers 20 - 25 Toulouse

Tries- Dagg x 2 // Fickou, Nyanga, May
Conversions- Hook x2 // Halfpenny x 2
Penalties - Hook x 2 // Halfpenny x 2

Good game Ozzy, means I catch up but I need to start getting BP wins!

Toulouse move up from 7th to 5th, and Tigers get their first point of the season.

Still congested in the middle, just 6 points separating 3rd and 7th.

Crusaders away this week: huge challenge, gonna need to be on my a game

128 players have scored some form of points!

Folau and JOC join North and Gorgodze in the top try scorer stakes

Full - Bam, CJ, Fluxy, Prop

Scores - Bathite, Ozzy

Nothing - CF, Driver

If you're happy Fluxy I can add to budgets