Week 14

First topic message reminder :

Teams and tactics by 12pm Next Friday, predictions by 9 am Monday

---

Racing Metro 92 vs Leicester Tigers

At the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir

20 degrees C, sunny spells, 12mph wind

---

BathiteRacing Metro

01. Ryan Grant	09. Ben Youngs
02. Andries Strauss	10. Jonathon Sexton (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Juandre Kruger	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Joe Tekori	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Steven Luatua	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. Francois Louw (c)	14. Alex Cuthbert
08. Toby Faletau	15. Benjamin Fall

16. Soane Tonghu'ia  17. Dimitri Szarzewski 18. Juan Figallo 19. Steve Mafi 20. Dan Lydiate 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Kurtley Beale 23. Marc Andreu

TACTICS 
With some key players rested last week, we have a fresh squad and confidence is high, having beaten the Stormers last time around and coming off the back of a strong win in the plate final. As always, we are built on a solid set piece, with the lineout Tigers 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. Power players picked for carrying - Tekori, Faletau, Luatau, Roberts, Strauss, Louw


- Use carriers of Strauss, Tekori, Roberts, Luatua, Faletau to tie up back row. Youngs to snipe around the fringes, with strike runners off him on the pop - Roberts, Bosch, Smith
- Form on the bench. All players capable of making a huge impact and changing the game. Experience of Figallo and Szarz up front will be huge, Mafi and Tiny will offer incredible ball carrying.
- 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.
- 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!

---

Leicester Tigers


CF

01. Benn Robinson	09. Greg Laidlaw (k)
02. George Chuter	10. Toby Flood
03. Martin Castrogiovanni
04. Paul O'Connell	11. Gonzalo Camacho
05. Louis Deacon	12. Francois Steyn
06. Tom Croft	13. Matt Smith
07. Pablo Matera	14. Cory Jane
08. Juan Manuel Leguizamon (c)	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. George Chuter 17.Boris Stankivich 18.Brian Muajti 19.Geoff Parling 20.Piri Weepu 21.Francois Trinh-Duc 22.Chris Ashton 23.Miles Benjamin



Looking for another physical encounter with strong forward play, and plenty of forward replacements looking to inflict damage onto the opponents. We want to get the ball to Matera and JML who will carry the ball and power over the gain-line. Laidlaw will box-kick cleverly when getting the ball, for the wingers and backs to run onto. Laidaw will be the main kicker with JMH as back up. 

---

ASM Clermont Auvergne  vs Toulouse

At the Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin

26 degrees, light rain, 8 mph winds 

---

ASMClermontAuvergne


Manager
= ChequeredJersey

01.  Joe Marler	09.  Ludovic Radosavljevic
02. Benjamin Kayser	10.    Aaron Cruden
03. Ben Tameifuina
04.  Andries Bekker	11. Sitiveni Sivivatu
05.  Samu Manoa	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Schalk Burger	13.   Jared Payne
07. Jacques Burger	14.  Willie Le Roux
08. JMF Lobbe (c)	15. Jean-Marcellin Buttin

16. Thomas Domingo 17. Corey Flynn 18. Clement Ric  19.   Julien Pierre 20. Sam Cane 21.  Morgan Parra  22. Kyle Godwin 23. Aurelien Rougerie


Tactics-




FFS!!!!! I just spent 12 mins writing tactics then my useless iPad reloaded the Frak page!!!!!




Breakdown- roles to be shared by back row as all are adept on floor and clearing out. Look to commit minimum numbers unless the turnover is on or we are at risk of losing fast ball in good position


Attack- build slow ball with mauls and carries in groups of 3, with Ludo having licence to kick or snipe when it's on. Spin quicker ball out and Cruden and Nonu to attack the line using inside passes and offloads to move the defence about and vary the point of attack. When a gap appears, attack it with support runners vital, look to offload to keep the ball alive, with the wings coming in field as a recycling and support option and Buttin joining the line with Le Roux able to cover the backfield


Also send big runners like Nonu on the switch and Big Ben, Samu and Marler at Ford to test his defence 


Kick high and chase or possession rather than looking for too much length


Defence- blitz led by Nonu, Parra covering offloads and Kayser sweeping. Fringe defence led by Manoa, the Burgers to harry 9 and 10 mercilessly. Look to scrag May early.


Line out- keep simple and maul off front ball and spin wide off the top if longer. Bekker looking to target opposition front ball to force overthrows 


Scrum- look to put Youngsnunder pressure so he can't get his foot in position to hook. Use scum as a platform to launch set plays


Kicking- Cruden to kick easy goals. Run back kicks where possible but Buttin and Le Roux give us good options if we need an out. Chase all kicks. Don't give penalties away in our half


Subs- Godwin covers 10-12 and changes play. Use pack subs if they are tiring with our aggressive plan. Payne covers back 3 if needed and try not to bring Parra on for long unless we need him


Other- we are at home. Enough said

---

Toulouse


Driver

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Tom Youngs	10. George Ford
03. John Afoa
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Jonny May
05. Romain Millo Chulski	12. Christian Lealifiano
06. Thierry Dusautoir	13. Gael Fickou
07. Michael Hooper	14. Maxi Medard
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

16.Christopher Tolafua 17.Antonio Guillamon 18.Cencus Johnstone 19.Patrico Albacete 20.Yannick Nyanga 21.Jano Vermaak 22.Remi Tales 23.Horsea Gear

---

Toulon vs Natal Sharks

At the Stade Mayol

17 degrees C, sunny, 27mph wind

Toulon

prop_lyd

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Johnny Wilkinson(k)
03. Dan Cole
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Bryan Habana
05. Alun Wyn-Jones	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Steffon Armitage	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Craig Gilroy
08. Jaime Heaslip	15.Delon Armitage

 

16. Kyle Cooper 17.Gethin Jenkins18. Carl Hayman 19. Joceline Suta 20. Julien Bonnaire 21. Sebastian Tillous-Borde 22. Drew Mitchell 23. Matt Giteau

Tactics
We will play an territorial game today and have selected a big pack to win us ball and a fast backrow to get around the park. 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 AWJ's leading skills to get good ball.
*Breakdown-look to  here and use our abrasive pack to do this with heavy carrying and tactical breakdown slowing.

---

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. James O'Connor
06. Sam Warburton	13. Conrad Smith
07. Willem Alberts	14. JP Pietersen
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. Mike Brown

16. Stephen Moore 17. Cian Healy 18. Lourens Adriaanse 19. Pieter-Steph du Toit 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Freddi Michalak 22. Patric Lambie 23. Marland Yarde

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 Pietersen 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. O'Connor to give the left/right option of two outside halfs to keep the Toulon defence guessing which way we are going..
  
• 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.
  

---

Crusaders vs Stormers

At Lancaster Park

18 degrees C, cloudy. 6 mph winds 

---

Crusaders

BamBam

01. Marcus Ayerza	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Dan Carter(k)
03. Davit Zirakashvili
04. Luke Romano	11. Israel Folau
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Luther Burrell
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Chris Robshaw (c)	14. Zac Guildford
08. Kieran Read	15. Charles Piutau

16. Ben Funnell 17. Vincent Debaty 18. Owen Franks 19. Dominic Bird 20. Richie McCaw 21. Jonathan Pelissie 22. Beauden Barrett 23. Scott Williams

Set piece - Our strongest props are in for the scrum, really focus on targeting Brits, he isn't the strongest scrummager and we want Hartley to try and get under him and force him to stand up, look to get penalties by keeping the ball in the scrum. Ayerza to pressure the outside shoulder of Mas, and Hartley on his bind on Brits. In the lineout, on our ball play safe and maul using Gorgodze's power to help, on their ball let them have the safe ball up front, Whitelock to mark Horwill to prevent ball off the top. Maul their ball at the front, and look to force slow ball out to the backs.

Breakdown - SOB hasn't played for months, Robshaw is at the top of his game, the back row to work as a trio in securing ball and going for the turnover when possible. Look to maintain a strong defensive line if the turnover isn't on, front 5 to focus on clearing out strongly when we are in their territory.

Attack - Use the forwards to carry close to the ruck, keeping Wood and co from getting further out. Target Basteraud and JDV using our centres, both can line up at 12/13  so switch up the play, use dummy runners to confuse big Bast and use the kick in behind him to make him turn, Piutau to really look to come in to the line on the shoulder of our centres and target their centres. Use the kicking game to target Wade, Folau is up against him so use the height advantage.

Defence - Gorgodze to lead the forwards, smash their forwards back and let Read/Robshaw get over the ball. No defensive weakness in the backs. Focus on Genia, if he is in trouble Farrell will struggle.

Kicking - FDP, Carter, JD2 and Piutau to get us into the right areas of the field, challenge Wade in the air with Folau, use grubber kicks to mix it up

Bench - International forwards off the bench to add strength at the set piece and breakdown, McCaw to lead the team home and Barrett/Williams as the impact players

---

FluxyStormers

01. Ben Franks	09. Will Genia
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. Mathieu Basteraud
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Christian Wade
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Scarra Ntubeni 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Brok Harris 19. Nathan Hines 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Dewaldt Duvenage 22. Elton Jantjies 23. Juan De Jongh

Clermont 23 - 19 Toulouse

T- Sivivatu, Cruden // May, Picamoles, Fickou
C- Cruden x 2 // Halfpenny x 2
P- Cruden x 3

Toulon 23 - 26 Sharks 

T: Fofana, Habana // Brown x 2, Pietersen
C: Wilkinson x 2 // Cooper
P: Wilkinson x 3 // O'Connor x 2
DG:    // Care 

(No Quins bias obviously)

Crusaders 27 - 22 Stormers

T- Burrell, Folau, Piutau // Savea x 2, Brits
C- Carter x 2, Barrett // Farrell x 2
P- Carter, Barrett // Farrell

Anyone free to do a league table? Been a while

I'll update the league table when I get home later.

Cheers Ozzy   

3 games to go and I reckon Sharks and ASM are guaranteed a play off spot, Crusaders almost there, and then one from four for the final spot.

Bonuses

Full - Bam, CJ, Bathite
Scores - Ozzy