Aviva Premiership Round Two

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Harlequins v Saracens
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Sunny Intervals, 21 Degrees, 8mph W Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Eric Escande
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Jack Nowell
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

:-
16. Rob Buchanan 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Luke McGrath 22. Quade Cooper 23. Pita Ahki

Tactics

Game Plan

We will play with our usual game plan. We will endeavour to get quick ball to attack with and to get this quick ball we will use our big pack to get us across the gain line with carriers off 9 and 10. Our pack will carry in numbers and look to either offload before contact, offload out of contact or keep the legs pumping after contact and give the rest of our pack a target to hit to recycle quick ball. When we get quick ball Escande and Myler will make the call to get the ball into wider channels and start stretching the Saracens defence with our quick and elusive outside backs looking to target gaps.

In our own 22 we will clear the ball directly to touch using the boots of Escande, Myler or Kearney and we will put huge pressure on the Saracens lineout. Between our own 22m and half way line we will assess whether to use a kick as an attacking option or to kick to space. If there is no space behind the Saracens defensive line then we can assume at least three men are out of the Sarries defensive line and their are gaps for us to exploit in the Saracens defence.

Our standard attacking set up will be to use a runner (usually a backrow forward or Roberts) to run a hard line and we would have with a more creative player (one of our backs) running a line out the backs. The first pivot option then has the option to hit a hard runner or to hit the man out the back to open up wider channels. More than one man can run the hard line to tie in more Saracens defenders.

Set Piece

Scrum time - Really look to exert pressure and scrum time. We have two, technically sound and experience props with two giants behind them in the scrum. This will make a huge difference to our scrum and we will look to use it as an attacking platform.

Lineout - Standard set up is to use a 6 man line. We will look to use the back ball as often as possible to allow us to release Jamie Roberts and Mamuka Gorgodze to get us across the gain line and to get us quick momentum. Should the back become quickly marked then we will either get off the top ball from the middle of the line or if they are offering the front we will set up a very quick maul and take advantage of their lack of numbers defending this position. Short line also an option.

Defence

Our defence will be out to in with Line speed being crucial. Joseph will lead our line speed and look to cut off Saracens going wide. This defence will especially target the Saracens decision makers. We will either look to win the collision if we are set and in a position to do so or chop tackle and look to get the first man to the breakdown to effect the turnover. If we can't win a penalty or a turnover with the first man their within 3 seconds then we will leave the breakdown and set up our defensive line although the first man will always look to legally slow the ball down if the turnover isn't on.

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Tom Taylor
03. Matius Diaz
04. Patrico Albacete	11. Zak Guildford
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Thierry Dusatoir	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Xavier Chiocci  18. Paul Hill 19. Louis Deacon 20. Dave Denton 21. Thomas Chapman 22. Morne Steyn 23. Malakai Fekitoa

Tactics:

TARGET BREAKDOWN WITH NO SPECIALIST IN QUINS PACK – With Dus/Clark strong in this area we’ll look to target turnover ball and slowing opposition attacks.

TARGET ESCANDE – Look to get him early on and put him off his game having little game time with Myler

IMPACT BENCH – Raise the intensity with big carrying options like Denton & Fekitoa. Steyn to see game home.

General - We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to move the opposition pack around and then use big carrying options to punch holes through the opposition defence.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our LH and Hooker will look to target TH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow TH to work on LH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for quick ball off the top with the world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles.

Defence - High intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. Huge physical pack that can look to dominate the collision and breakdown allowing Clark/Dus etc a chance to slow down/steal ball. Lack of straight running option in the opp backline will allow us to hold up the runner and attempt the maul turnover. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to inject pace from the breakdown and have Williams/Mermoz on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Williams to run angles off the 9/10 and interchange 2nd receiver with Mermoz. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Ashton will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of Mermoz’s little offloads in contact. Guildford to keep things honest and come looking for work.

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Bath Rugby v London Welsh
Location - The Recreation Ground
Sunny Intervals, 18 Degrees, 8mph W Winds

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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Jake Cooper Woolsey
04. Luke Romano	11. George North
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Liam Squire	13. Stuart Hogg
07. Liam Gill	14. Christian Wade
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Alex Goode

:-
16. Mikey Haywood 17. Benn Robinson 18. Nic Shonert 19. Sam Whitelock 20. James Gaskell 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Sitiveni Sivivatu 23. Hallan Amos

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. The team is going to be very uptempo with lots of hard running looking to overwhelm London Welsh.

Scrum: Look to get after the scrum and exert pressure. Strong second row provide the grunt behind the technically sound props. We will try to set a base, controlled by SOB which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with SOB, Squire, Romano and Kitchener options in the lineout. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul.

Breakdown: Attempt to be aggressive at the breakdown. Look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Sean O'Brien and Liam Gill can attack the ball

Defence: Drift Defence looking to slow down the ball. Really look at putting pressure on FTD as we do not want him having time to create. Wiggles to sweep in behind.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wigglesworth and Hodgson can play what they see and put the rest of the back line in strong positions. Lealifano can act as an extra playmaker from the 12. We have strong runners who can get over the gainline throughout the side with a very dynamic pack and a big back line. The likes of JCW, Romano, Hibbard, Healy and Squire will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Wade, North and Hogg will be looking for gaps created that they can exploit. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Look for chances to offload.

Kicking: Lealifano will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards their back three. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. If we are enjoying a significant lineout advantage then we will look for touch. Hogg, LLF, Wiggles and Hodgson all have the boots necessary

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo.

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 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01.David Kilcoyne	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlowe
02.  David Ward	10. Remi Tales
03. BJ Botha
04. George Skivington (c)	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Jamie Cudmore	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Ashley Johnson	13. Casey Laulala
07. Luke Wallace	14. Jesse Mogg
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. Nathan Catt 18. Yannick Forestier  19.  Sitaleki Timani 20. Tom Guest 21. Ben Spencer 22. Jordan Turner-Hall 23. Ross Chisholm

Tactics:

The weather is great for running rugby again. In order to facilitate this we have picked a team designed to keep the ball moving in the backs and keep it quick in the breakdown

Breakdown- approach as a team, commuting minimum numbers to defensive ball and offensive ball that we have already secured. Johnson, Cudmore or Vito looking to focus on counter-rucking when the turnover is on and clearing out on our ball, with Ward and Wallace working in tandem to make sure one great fetcher is Aldiss chasing the ball so it is always safe and quick. In this role they will inevitably be on the shoulder for offloads when this is the more prudent option too.

Slow ball attack- we will move this around with groups of 3 in the pack, changing direction to tire their forwards and build momentum. Alternate this with inside crash balls to Vito and Johnson to test the Hodgson-LLF channel, and high box-kicks and crossfield kicks to target Wade and Goode under pressure agaisnt the high ball. The back 3 and Wallace when available to really challenge the catch.

Quick ball- the drift is most vulnerable to attacks cutting agaisnt the grain of the drift. We will achieve this with switches (especially with Laulala at full pelt) and inside runners and clever lines from the back 3 alongside Tales and Godwin's passing. Look to offload out of contact and support running is vital for this style of play, as are switches of direction on fast breakdown ball

Defence - we will look to blitz but keep our width to stop the wings getting space outside whilst minimising their time on the ball. TKB sweeping, Cudmore and Johnson to target Hodgson whilst Vito harries Wriggles.

Scrum- I think we hold our own here, look to pressurise the gap between JCW and Hibbard and get our back row running moves off our own ball

Lineout- ward is hit and miss so feel free to use a maul at the front then our slow ball tactics. When in attacking position cut the numbers down to gain in the backs.  Their jumpers are good, prefer to challenge the maul and rush the 9 than challenging every single jump

Subs- only make subs when needed but go 100% intensity trusting the subs we have. If set piece is suffering we can bring Rees on

Kicking- take all easy points on offer, and don't be afraid to kick back with Godwin, Mogg and Pennell all adept alongside our HBs, but either behind the man or high, don't give their back 3 easy run backs

Other - press for penalties in their 22 but relax and stay calm in our half- pens conceded in their half by us won't hurt and if we force turnovers or pens then there they are precious and vice versa.

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Gloucester Rugby v Sale Sharks
Location - Kingsholm
White Cloud, 20 Degrees, 7mph W Winds

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Coonie Ousthieuzen	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Grey	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Juan Figallo
04. Richie Gray	11. Johnny May
05. Roman Taoufufena	12. Ryan Crotty
06. Juan Smith	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Julien Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Andrea Masi

:-
16 Wood 17 LCD 18 Steenkamp 19 Bird 20 Croft 21 Genia 22 Goosen 23 Rhule

Subject to changes when sides announced (Steenkamp and Crotty may have to change )

We will play a high tempo game keeping ball alive and looking to get in behind sale.
Amount of carriers in our side is crucial to this



- Fast ball is crucial. We are chock full
Of big mobile carriers with in form players who will
Help us secure quick ball to attack with 
- Commit the defence. Robson and Cipriani are live wires and will keep
Them honest. We have the pack to recycle the ball quickly and get in behind them when they are at their most disorganised 
- Change the point of attack. Mix of playmakers and ball carriers in backline allows us to change tempo
And points of attack.
We
Aim
To keep
Them guessing 

- Back three always involved. Our back 3 are all ball players and will look to get involved and target sale.

- Attack from the scrum. Strong pack with better bench options will allow us
To target them. Coenie is reserve TH. Sale have Garvey in a position he does not play anymore which will affect their scrum.
Lock scrummaging is important.
Also Pickles is not being picked at Toulouse 

- Mix it up at the lineout. Five genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking base but also allows us to challenge and pressure the throw of Kayser. Our locks height advantage will put serious doubts in kaisers mind




- kick behind rokadunguni- we
Know he struggles going back so will look to pin behind him and target with high balls 

- Straight line blitz defence. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Robson to sweep 

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown.
Juan smith and Salvi to work in Tandem.
First
Man in is to
Clear pass the ball to allow our man to contest the turnover 
- BENCH-- Benches are crucial in the modern game and we have the bench packed with stars and experience. Figallo to come off at 40 with Steenkamp to
Come
On
And coenie switch across

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Matt Garvey	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Gael Fickou
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Jared Payne

:- 
16. Ross Harrison 17. David Paice 18. Samson Lee 19. Christian Day 20. Iain Henderson 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Nick Abendanon

We will play an expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to create space and break the defensive line. Mobility, physicality and handling is key to our approach.

- Fast ball is crucial. Mobile pack and physical midfield to clear out rucks and ensure quick ball. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to make it easier to do so.

- Commit the defence. Sexton will play flat on the gain line to pull in defenders before releasing runners while Care will look for opportunities to snipe around the base always committing defenders.

- Change the point of attack. Numerous playmakers across the backline comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and leave the opposition guessing.

- Back three always involved. Wingers to track the ball off their wings looking for the inside ball or offload. Payne to join the line from fullback looking for mismatches and to create overlaps.

- Attack from the scrum. Strong technical front row backed up by a powerful second row will look to build a platform for Pickles, Care & Sexton. An area we will look to target if winning.

- TH issues for Gloucester. Figallo out for nearly a year now and no TH cover on the bench with two LH's selected.

- Mix it up at the lineout. Five genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking platform. Look to use both the rolling maul and ball off the top to keep the defence guessing.

- Straight line blitz defence. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with POM & Todd fetching for the ball, supported by the rest of the pack when needed. We will always look to turn the ball over.

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Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers
Location - Sandy Park
Sunny , 19 Degrees, 10mph ESE Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Connor Murray
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. David Strettle
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Andrew Trimble
08. Carl Fearns	15. James O'Connor

16. Jack Yeandle 17. James Johnstone 18. Phil Swainston 19. Kane Douglas 20. Jacob Rowan 21. Chris Cook 22. Ian Madigan 23. Tom Varndell

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. 
We want to hit the ground running and hit the opposition hard and fast from the off. 
Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will look to play flat and look to get our back line into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play. We won't play their game plan, and at Sandy Park, Tigers will be forced to play at our pace, which will be a struggle for most of their slow lumbering front five. 

Set piece - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. POC to marshal the line-out and get quick ball from our dynamic jumpers. At the scrum we’ll look to get the squeeze on and target PDJ, and keep the opposition back row tied into the scrum giving Murray, Flood  more time and space to work in. 

Pack & Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our back-row will target the breakdown and look to blow through the ruck and past the ball. Clean ball will be generated either by blowing through the ruck and past the ball and a long presentation of the ball to keep it away from opposition defenders. Murray look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot. We’ll look to win the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence - Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow our back-row to dominate affairs. Use our hedgehog defensive line. If they an oppo player gets held or brought down this allows the second man to get over the ball quickly to at least compete and slow opposition possession. Tipuric will look to target the opposition fly half early on and pressure his kicking. Murray to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Backs - Look to get the ball in hands of the backs, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of AAC/Burrell to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Trimble/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching 36's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of Basteraud in defence. Or even generate a two on one with JOC joining the back line as the slider moves under the crash/dummy line.


Key Points

Home Advantage - Sandy Park is one of the hardest places to come and play. We won't want to kick the ball away, and Tigers can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington to exploit PDJ and pile in on him with Swarz. Both have played together last season whereas PDJ has been called in due to injury. 
Line-out & Mauls - with a big front five we will look to set rolling mauls, to keep their back five tied in and also gain strong momentum.
Physicality & Dynamism – Win the collision and target rucks to drive through opposition. We have a big physical, but also mobile pack. Supported by some high energy forwards off the bench.
Targets in Defence - Basteraud is there danger carrier; Pape, Hines and Scaybrook aren't game line breakers, so we will meet them before the gain line and get them to the floor early to allow Tipuric et al to compete.
Breakdown – Tipuric & Nyanga to be a nuisance in in the breakdown and either get over the ball or get past the ball and make the opposition cleaners a nightmare by having to make them drive our forwards even further off their ball, or steal if the are limited numbers competing. 
Backs – Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in both the AP and the Celtic Leagues in Strettle & Trimble to take any opportunity.
Build a Score - Flood and JOC to share kicking at goal responsibilities with JOC taking the longer ones. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Nathan Hines	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Pascal Pape	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Johnson	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Mike Brown

:-
16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Max Lahiff 18. Harry Rudkin 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Steve Mafi 21. Micky Young 22. Brock James 23. Rene Ranger

Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, particularly in the backs, big line breakers to make the hard yards and tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Burns to exploit.

General Tactics:

- Attack all scrums with our huge pack - Front row of Moore, Jenkins and Doran-Jones to look to really get the shove on, particularly tagetting the Barrington/Szarzewski channel.

- Attack all lineouts. Use safe option of Joubert at the front, and also use Pape, Hines and Johnson in the middle or at the back.
Shortened lineouts with Scaysbrook in midfield as crash/decoy option.

- Physical, abrasive XV made up of massive line-breakers. The likes of Pape, Hines, Basteraud and Cuthbert to be used to win the collisions in attack.

- Play an offloading game. We see the offload as our big weapon and our carriers will all be looking to offload in contact, continuing our forward momentum.

- Fotauli'i to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Scaysbrook and Jenkins in particular to really look to get into the breakdown and give Exeter problems.

In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Burns and Twelvetrees.
We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack consistently.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Fotauli'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Burns to kick all penalties.

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London Wasps v Northampton Saints
Location - Adams Park
Sunny Intervals, 19 Degrees, 6mph W Winds

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 Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213

01. Joe Marler	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Henry Slade
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Anthony Watson
05. Alun-Wyn Jones (c)	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. JJ Englebrecht
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Luke Narraway	15. Delon Armitage

16. Deon Fourie 17. Scott Sio 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Sebastien Vahaamahina 20. Jerome Kaino 21. Sebastien Tillous-Brode 22. Samu Kerevi 23. Tim Nanai-Williams

Basic Game Plan
In dry conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  We will play sensibly in our own half though, and will use the boots of Slade, Barnes and Armitage if it is not on to run the ball.  When using the boot we will kicking for touch and looking to contest the lineout.  We WILL NOT kick to their back three.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Youngs will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure their ball.  On Saints ball put pressure on through AWJ and Ouedraogo, who are both athletic lineout jumpers.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not overcommit, but will maintain a strong defensive line.  If we win the collision and knock the carrier back we will look to get the second man in hard over the ball to turn it over.  Key for us is being selective.
  
• Attacking Play.  We will be looking to play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.  We will constantly look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps.  Youngs to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  

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Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Gareth Davies
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Tommy Bowe
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Schalk Burger	13. Regan King
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Jordan Williams
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jonny Gray 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Joe Simpson 22. George Ford 23. Elliot Daly.

Tactics:
Great conditions will allow Saints to play at a high tempo from the outset, looking to pressurise Wasps with high intensity in attack and defence. We will play with an aggressive defence to force mistakes from the opposition and get the ball in the hands of our big ball carriers to get us over the gainline and create space outwide. Will aim to finish the final quarter very strongly and unload our bench to add power in the forwards, help pressurise the Wasps set piece and get some more try scorers on the pitch in the form of Simpson, Ford and Daly.

Pack/Setpiece:
We’ve selected a very mobile pack, with strong ball carriers to put us in a position to win the possession game. Our scrum will be used as a platform to launch attacks with Parisse and put pressure on the Wasps 8, 9 and 10 channels. We can bring on two strong scrummagers in the final 20-25 minutes as we look to turn the screw in the last quarter. Lineout wise, we will look for quick ball off the top, with Lawes, Launchbury, Robshaw and Parisse to provide a lot of options for Hartley. Lawes will aim to disrupt all Wasps ball and attack their lineout.

Attack:
We want to utilise our mobile pack and play at a fast pace to put the Wasps defence under pressure. We will look for Vunipola, Mulipola and co in the forwards to get us over the gainline and suck in Wasps defenders, before getting the ball to our strike runners in the backline – Fofana, Bowe and Foden. Evans and King’s experience to ensure we play the game in the right areas, very happy to play an expansive game and get our backthree into play.

Breakdown:
We will look to get our pack to the breakdown in numbers to secure our own ball and then look for turnovers whenever possible, with Lawes and Launchbury we have effectively got two additional backrowers – will look to use the ‘polas’, Burger and Robshaw to clear Wasps from the breakdown area and distrupt the speed of their attacking play.

Defence:
An aggressive defence all across the pitch, have some strong tacklers in the forwards and Fofana and King will provide a solid platform in the backline. We will look for quick line speed to put pressure on Slade specifically and see if his confidence can be knocked early on. Davies to sweep behind the defensive line.

Key Points:
* We will look to put Wasps players in key positions under pressure, so will aim to target the no2, no8, no9 and no10 from the outset.
* Strong set pieces and pack, which will give us a platform away from home.
* Bench has been selected for impact – all five forwards are internationals and will strengthen the setpiece, while the backs are all creative players who can score tries in the final 20 minutes. Look to combine the two so we finish very strongly.

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Newcastle Falcons v London Irish
Location - Kingston Park
Light Cloud, 16 Degrees, 6mph W Winds

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Soana Tonga'uhia	09. Dave Lewis
02. Rory Best (c)	10. Owen Farrell (K)
03. Luc Ducalon
04. Brad Thorn	11. Charles Pitatau
05. Geoff Parling	12. Francia Sailli
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Johnathan Davies
07. Will Fraser	14. Jamie Elliot
08. Dave Ewers	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Matt Mullen 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry 21.Nathan Fowles 22.Tommy Allen 23.Robbie Frueen


Tactics:

We've gone for a big impact side with big runners added into the side. On our new 3G pitch we'll look to move the ball wide with an exciting backline keen to score tries out there. 

First and formost we'll look to secure the ball in the pack and use our front 5 to assert our dominance on the Irish pack , In our front row we've got two big scrummaging props who also like to carry the ball hard. Thorn packing down behind Ducalon will give us a massive shove on and look to pull JBP away from his hooker and force the penalty at the scrum. Dave Lewis will look to make the ball move 'Quickly' to the back of our scrum.

Ewers will look to pick and go running at the 10/12 channel and getting his offloading game going which he impressed with in Exeter vs Welsh in real life. 

Lewis will look to keep the tempo of the game high with tap and go's at the penalty and Farrell moving the ball the same way he did against Italy in the 6Ns. 

Using Sailli to carry the ball to the line and moving defenders to him to create the space for Davies , Elliot , Pitatau and Miller to come into the line.

Defence will be focused on killing the breakdown and not allowing any irish momentum , Fraser will hassle the 9/10 channel and target the breakdown for turnover ball. Lewis to sweep the line to cover any kicks through. 

KEY POINTS:

Target Trinder in defence and test his positioning against the world class JD.
Parling up at 2 to pressure the Irish ball.
Mullen to keep the pressure on when he enters the game.
Henry on for Lydiate to help steal more from the breakdown.

---

London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. JB Poux	09. Lee Dickson
02. Marc Jones	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Devin Toner	11. Bjorn Basson
05. Jacques Poitgeiter	12. Alapati Leuia
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Warburton	14. JP Pietersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Tom Lindsay 17.  Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19. Tom Savage 20. George Smith 21. Neil  De Kock 22. Owen Williams 23. Rob Cook

Tactics

Set piece:  We have picked a strong scrummaging front 5 who all bring carrying bulk to the game. From kick offs we will look to go 2 passes in before hitting our direct runners. We will look to scrummage low (which all of our props are known for doing) and scrum straight to prevent the wheel. Our lineouts will be simple and we will look to bring the ball down before feeding 9. There’s not many players able to get as high as Toner.

Backrow: We feel we have a well balanced back row with a tackler, a carrier and a jackler and all 3 will be used for their main attributes. We have confidence in them all to do their jobs with Brown looking to rile Farrell and release his hot headedness. The impact and experience of Smith off the bench will continue Warburton’s harrassment of the breakdown.

Half Backs: On a 3g pitch we know the bounce can be unpredictable and Biggar will stand flat initially to give Leuia and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. We know how well Biggar can find touch and we will use this. Dickson showed vs Glos how well he can control a game and he will use these skills to control the tempo and slow the ball down if needed.

Outside Backs:  We will look to have a lot of movement off the ball to prevent us being easily read. There will be runners off of 12 and 13 when available and the ball will be shipped to the wings quickly to allow them to get the advantage in the race to the line. We have international experience all over the back 3 and will look to exploit this with angled running and confusing the oppositions defence.

Bench: Impact in all areas and Williams and Cook can change the pace of the game if required. The experience of Smith and De Kock will be vital in this game.

Defence: We see that Trinder’s defence has been targetted but don’t feel he is that poor a tackler. We also know how good JD2 is so will look to prevent him offloading the ball by double tackling him. We will look to blitz with Brown in Farrell’s face allowing Biggar the opportunity to drop back and cover with Dulin for any kicks ahead. We will defend inside-out and spread the line.

Overall: This will be a controlled performance against a strong Falcons team. We will look to hit the ball up twice and suck in defenders by going the same way till we run out of space, we will then flash across and look for quick hands against their pack who will be stuck defending the centre channels. Our carriers will come round the corner in 3’s to prevent the opposition knowing where the ball is going. We started with a shock draw against Quins and are looking for another shock today with a strong team on show and backs who are able to control a game well and defend strongly without allowing any gaps to appear.

---

Not missing this again

Newcastle Falcons 23 to play London Irish on our new 4G pitch at Kingston Park.

Newcastle make 6 changes from the side which took a losing bonus point from Welford Road at the weekend , injuries to Charlie Sharples , Greig Laidlaw , Carl Hayman and Max Evans mean 4 players drop out all ready. As a result of this Charles Pitatau and Cory Jane have flown back to the UK for this weekends game.

''We've had to make 4 enforced changes to the side which we put out against Tigers but we've bought in 2 All Blacks, an England Saxon at 9 along with a French international at prop. We've bought Franny in at 12 as he's game is a bit more suited to who we'll play this week as he's strengths are his crash ball and distribution play'' 



Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Soana Tonga'uhia	09. Dave Lewis
02. Rory Best (c)	10. Owen Farrell (K)
03. Luc Ducalon
04. Brad Thorn	11. Charles Pitatau
05. Geoff Parling	12. Francia Sailli
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Johnathan Davies
07. Will Fraser	14. Jamie Elliot
08. Dave Ewers	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Matt Mullen 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry 21.Nathan Fowles 22.Tommy Allen 23.Robbie Frueen


Tactics:

We've gone for a big impact side with big runners added into the side. On our new 3G pitch we'll look to move the ball wide with an exciting backline keen to score tries out there. 

First and formost we'll look to secure the ball in the pack and use our front 5 to assert our dominance on the Irish pack , In our front row we've got two big scrummaging props who also like to carry the ball hard. Thorn packing down behind Ducalon will give us a massive shove on and look to pull JBP away from his hooker and force the penalty at the scrum. Dave Lewis will look to make the ball move 'Quickly' to the back of our scrum.

Ewers will look to pick and go running at the 10/12 channel and getting his offloading game going which he impressed with in Exeter vs Welsh in real life. 

Lewis will look to keep the tempo of the game high with tap and go's at the penalty and Farrell moving the ball the same way he did against Italy in the 6Ns. 

Using Sailli to carry the ball to the line and moving defenders to him to create the space for Davies , Elliot , Pitatau and Miller to come into the line.

Defence will be focused on killing the breakdown and not allowing any irish momentum , Fraser will hassle the 9/10 channel and target the breakdown for turnover ball. Lewis to sweep the line to cover any kicks through. 

KEY POINTS:

Target Trinder in defence and test his positioning against the world class JD.
Parling up at 2 to pressure the Irish ball.
Mullen to keep the pressure on when he enters the game.
Henry on for Lydiate to help steal more from the breakdown.

London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01.David Kilcoyne	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlowe
02.  David Ward	10. Remi Tales
03. BJ Botha
04. George Skivington (c)	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Jamie Cudmore	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Ashley Johnson	13. Casey Laulala
07. Luke Wallace	14. Jesse Mogg
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. Nathan Catt 18. Yannick Forestier  19.  Sitaleki Timani 20. Tom Guest 21. Ben Spencer 22. Jordan Turner-Hall 23. Ross Chisholm

Tactics:

The weather is great for running rugby again. In order to facilitate this we have picked a team designed to keep the ball moving in the backs and keep it quick in the breakdown

Breakdown- approach as a team, commuting minimum numbers to defensive ball and offensive ball that we have already secured. Johnson, Cudmore or Vito looking to focus on counter-rucking when the turnover is on and clearing out on our ball, with Ward and Wallace working in tandem to make sure one great fetcher is Aldiss chasing the ball so it is always safe and quick. In this role they will inevitably be on the shoulder for offloads when this is the more prudent option too.

Slow ball attack- we will move this around with groups of 3 in the pack, changing direction to tire their forwards and build momentum. Alternate this with inside crash balls to Vito and Johnson to test the Hodgson-LLF channel, and high box-kicks and crossfield kicks to target Wade and Goode under pressure agaisnt the high ball. The back 3 and Wallace when available to really challenge the catch.

Quick ball- the drift is most vulnerable to attacks cutting agaisnt the grain of the drift. We will achieve this with switches (especially with Laulala at full pelt) and inside runners and clever lines from the back 3 alongside Tales and Godwin's passing. Look to offload out of contact and support running is vital for this style of play, as are switches of direction on fast breakdown ball

Defence - we will look to blitz but keep our width to stop the wings getting space outside whilst minimising their time on the ball. TKB sweeping, Cudmore and Johnson to target Hodgson whilst Vito harries Wriggles.

Scrum- I think we hold our own here, look to pressurise the gap between JCW and Hibbard and get our back row running moves off our own ball

Lineout- ward is hit and miss so feel free to use a maul at the front then our slow ball tactics. When in attacking position cut the numbers down to gain in the backs. Their jumpers are good, prefer to challenge the maul and rush the 9 than challenging every single jump

Subs- only make subs when needed but go 100% intensity trusting the subs we have. If set piece is suffering we can bring Rees on

Kicking- take all easy points on offer, and don't be afraid to kick back with Godwin, Mogg and Pennell all adept alongside our HBs, but either behind the man or high, don't give their back 3 easy run backs

Other - press for penalties in their 22 but relax and stay calm in our half- pens conceded in their half by us won't hurt and if we force turnovers or pens then there they are precious and vice versa.

Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213

01. Joe Marler	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Henry Slade
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Anthony Watson
05. Alun-Wyn Jones (c)	12. Berrick Barnes
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. JJ Englebrecht
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Luke Narraway	15. Delon Armitage

16. Deon Fourie 17. Scott Sio 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Sebastien Vahaamahina 20. Jerome Kaino 21. Sebastien Tillous-Brode 22. Samu Kerevi 23. Tim Nanai-Williams

Basic Game Plan
In dry conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  We will play sensibly in our own half though, and will use the boots of Slade, Barnes and Armitage if it is not on to run the ball.  When using the boot we will kicking for touch and looking to contest the lineout.  We WILL NOT kick to their back three.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Youngs will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure their ball.  On Saints ball put pressure on through AWJ and Ouedraogo, who are both athletic lineout jumpers.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not overcommit, but will maintain a strong defensive line.  If we win the collision and knock the carrier back we will look to get the second man in hard over the ball to turn it over.  Key for us is being selective.
  
• Attacking Play.  We will be looking to play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.  We will constantly look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps.  Youngs to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  

After celebrating a good start to the season, Chiefs announced their match day 23, with some enforced changes from their victory over London Welsh at the Kassam Stadium. With Ryan Grant, Toby Faletau, Maxime Medard and Davit Kubriashvili all picking up knocks, Flux has had to make some alterations to his starting line-up. With five new faces coming into the 23, Mike Ross starting at tighthead, David Strettle coming to the blindside wing spot, and a returning Adam Ashley-Cooper at outside centre who recovered from a calf strain, along with Jacob Rowan and Phil Swainston on to the bench.


Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Connor Murray
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. David Strettle
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Andrew Trimble
08. Carl Fearns	15. James O'Connor

16. Jack Yeandle 17. James Johnstone 18. Phil Swainston 19. Kane Douglas 20. Jacob Rowan 21. Chris Cook 22. Ian Madigan 23. Tom Varndell

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. 
We want to hit the ground running and hit the opposition hard and fast from the off. 
Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases. Flood will look to play flat and look to get our back line into the game whenever possible and keep the high tempo going throughout.
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play. We won't play their game plan, and at Sandy Park, Tigers will be forced to play at our pace, which will be a struggle for most of their slow lumbering front five. 

Set piece - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. POC to marshal the line-out and get quick ball from our dynamic jumpers. At the scrum we’ll look to get the squeeze on and target PDJ, and keep the opposition back row tied into the scrum giving Murray, Flood  more time and space to work in. 

Pack & Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on. Our back-row will target the breakdown and look to blow through the ruck and past the ball. Clean ball will be generated either by blowing through the ruck and past the ball and a long presentation of the ball to keep it away from opposition defenders. Murray look to sweep up any turnover ball getting us on the front foot. We’ll look to win the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence - Look to neutralise the opposition early on and allow our back-row to dominate affairs. Use our hedgehog defensive line. If they an oppo player gets held or brought down this allows the second man to get over the ball quickly to at least compete and slow opposition possession. Tipuric will look to target the opposition fly half early on and pressure his kicking. Murray to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Backs - Look to get the ball in hands of the backs, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of AAC/Burrell to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Trimble/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching 36's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of Basteraud in defence. Or even generate a two on one with JOC joining the back line as the slider moves under the crash/dummy line.


Key Points

Home Advantage - Sandy Park is one of the hardest places to come and play. We won't want to kick the ball away, and Tigers can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington to exploit PDJ and pile in on him with Swarz. Both have played together last season whereas PDJ has been called in due to injury. 
Line-out & Mauls - with a big front five we will look to set rolling mauls, to keep their back five tied in and also gain strong momentum.
Physicality & Dynamism – Win the collision and target rucks to drive through opposition. We have a big physical, but also mobile pack. Supported by some high energy forwards off the bench.
Targets in Defence - Basteraud is there danger carrier; Pape, Hines and Scaybrook aren't game line breakers, so we will meet them before the gain line and get them to the floor early to allow Tipuric et al to compete.
Breakdown – Tipuric & Nyanga to be a nuisance in in the breakdown and either get over the ball or get past the ball and make the opposition cleaners a nightmare by having to make them drive our forwards even further off their ball, or steal if the are limited numbers competing. 
Backs – Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in both the AP and the Celtic Leagues in Strettle & Trimble to take any opportunity.
Build a Score - Flood and JOC to share kicking at goal responsibilities with JOC taking the longer ones. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out

Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Coonie Ousthieuzen	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Grey	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Juan Figallo
04. Richie Gray	11. Johnny May
05. Roman Taoufufena	12. Ryan Crotty
06. Juan Smith	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Julien Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Andrea Masi

:-
16 Wood 17 LCD 18 Steenkamp 19 Bird 20 Croft 21 Genia 22 Goosen 23 Rhule

Subject to changes when sides announced (Steenkamp and Crotty may have to change )

We will play a high tempo game keeping ball alive and looking to get in behind sale.
Amount of carriers in our side is crucial to this



- Fast ball is crucial. We are chock full
Of big mobile carriers with in form players who will
Help us secure quick ball to attack with 
- Commit the defence. Robson and Cipriani are live wires and will keep
Them honest. We have the pack to recycle the ball quickly and get in behind them when they are at their most disorganised 
- Change the point of attack. Mix of playmakers and ball carriers in backline allows us to change tempo
And points of attack.
We
Aim
To keep
Them guessing 

- Back three always involved. Our back 3 are all ball players and will look to get involved and target sale.

- Attack from the scrum. Strong pack with better bench options will allow us
To target them. Coenie is reserve TH. Sale have Garvey in a position he does not play anymore which will affect their scrum.
Lock scrummaging is important.
Also Pickles is not being picked at Toulouse 

- Mix it up at the lineout. Five genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking base but also allows us to challenge and pressure the throw of Kayser. Our locks height advantage will put serious doubts in kaisers mind




- kick behind rokadunguni- we
Know he struggles going back so will look to pin behind him and target with high balls 

- Straight line blitz defence. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Robson to sweep 

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown.
Juan smith and Salvi to work in Tandem.
First
Man in is to
Clear pass the ball to allow our man to contest the turnover 
- BENCH-- Benches are crucial in the modern game and we have the bench packed with stars and experience. Figallo to come off at 40 with Steenkamp to
Come
On
And coenie switch across

Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Gareth Davies
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Tommy Bowe
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Schalk Burger	13. Regan King
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Jordan Williams
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jonny Gray 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Joe Simpson 22. George Ford 23. Elliot Daly.

Tactics:
Great conditions will allow Saints to play at a high tempo from the outset, looking to pressurise Wasps with high intensity in attack and defence. We will play with an aggressive defence to force mistakes from the opposition and get the ball in the hands of our big ball carriers to get us over the gainline and create space outwide. Will aim to finish the final quarter very strongly and unload our bench to add power in the forwards, help pressurise the Wasps set piece and get some more try scorers on the pitch in the form of Simpson, Ford and Daly.

Pack/Setpiece:
We’ve selected a very mobile pack, with strong ball carriers to put us in a position to win the possession game. Our scrum will be used as a platform to launch attacks with Parisse and put pressure on the Wasps 8, 9 and 10 channels. We can bring on two strong scrummagers in the final 20-25 minutes as we look to turn the screw in the last quarter. Lineout wise, we will look for quick ball off the top, with Lawes, Launchbury, Robshaw and Parisse to provide a lot of options for Hartley. Lawes will aim to disrupt all Wasps ball and attack their lineout.

Attack:
We want to utilise our mobile pack and play at a fast pace to put the Wasps defence under pressure. We will look for Vunipola, Mulipola and co in the forwards to get us over the gainline and suck in Wasps defenders, before getting the ball to our strike runners in the backline – Fofana, Bowe and Foden. Evans and King’s experience to ensure we play the game in the right areas, very happy to play an expansive game and get our backthree into play.

Breakdown:
We will look to get our pack to the breakdown in numbers to secure our own ball and then look for turnovers whenever possible, with Lawes and Launchbury we have effectively got two additional backrowers – will look to use the ‘polas’, Burger and Robshaw to clear Wasps from the breakdown area and distrupt the speed of their attacking play.

Defence:
An aggressive defence all across the pitch, have some strong tacklers in the forwards and Fofana and King will provide a solid platform in the backline. We will look for quick line speed to put pressure on Slade specifically and see if his confidence can be knocked early on. Davies to sweep behind the defensive line.

Key Points:
* We will look to put Wasps players in key positions under pressure, so will aim to target the no2, no8, no9 and no10 from the outset.
* Strong set pieces and pack, which will give us a platform away from home.
* Bench has been selected for impact – all five forwards are internationals and will strengthen the setpiece, while the backs are all creative players who can score tries in the final 20 minutes. Look to combine the two so we finish very strongly.

Remember team sheet deadlines. Home teams due in by tonight 

Sje am I right that if people called up we can swap them out if before Thursday?

Yep if Crotty or Steenkamp are called up you can change them out by Thursday evening. Any later then that you will be a man down 

Obviously its only Crotty/Steenkamp you can change though

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Jake Cooper Woolsey
04. Luke Romano	11. George North
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Liam Squire	13. Stuart Hogg
07. Liam Gill	14. Christian Wade
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Alex Goode

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Benn Robinson 18. Nic Shonert 19. Sam Whitelock 20. James Gaskell 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Sitiveni Sivivatu 23. Hallan Amos

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. The team is going to be very uptempo with lots of hard running looking to overwhelm London Welsh.

Scrum: Look to get after the scrum and exert pressure. Strong second row provide the grunt behind the technically sound props. We will try to set a base, controlled by SOB which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with SOB, Squire, Romano and Kitchener options in the lineout. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul.

Breakdown: Attempt to be aggressive at the breakdown. Look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Sean O'Brien and Liam Gill can attack the ball

Defence: Drift Defence looking to slow down the ball. Really look at putting pressure on FTD as we do not want him having time to create. Wiggles to sweep in behind.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wigglesworth and Hodgson can play what they see and put the rest of the back line in strong positions. Lealifano can act as an extra playmaker from the 12. We have strong runners who can get over the gainline throughout the side with a very dynamic pack and a big back line. The likes of JCW, Romano, Hibbard, Healy and Squire will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Wade, North and Hogg will be looking for gaps created that they can exploit. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Look for chances to offload.

Kicking: Lealifano will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards their back three. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. If we are enjoying a significant lineout advantage then we will look for touch. Hogg, LLF, Wiggles and Hodgson all have the boots necessary

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Eric Escande
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Jack Nowell
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Luke McGrath 22. Quade Cooper 23. Pita Ahki

Tactics

Game Plan

We will play with our usual game plan. We will endeavour to get quick ball to attack with and to get this quick ball we will use our big pack to get us across the gain line with carriers off 9 and 10. Our pack will carry in numbers and look to either offload before contact, offload out of contact or keep the legs pumping after contact and give the rest of our pack a target to hit to recycle quick ball. When we get quick ball Escande and Myler will make the call to get the ball into wider channels and start stretching the Saracens defence with our quick and elusive outside backs looking to target gaps.

In our own 22 we will clear the ball directly to touch using the boots of Escande, Myler or Kearney and we will put huge pressure on the Saracens lineout. Between our own 22m and half way line we will assess whether to use a kick as an attacking option or to kick to space. If there is no space behind the Saracens defensive line then we can assume at least three men are out of the Sarries defensive line and their are gaps for us to exploit in the Saracens defence.

Our standard attacking set up will be to use a runner (usually a backrow forward or Roberts) to run a hard line and we would have with a more creative player (one of our backs) running a line out the backs. The first pivot option then has the option to hit a hard runner or to hit the man out the back to open up wider channels. More than one man can run the hard line to tie in more Saracens defenders.

Set Piece

Scrum time - Really look to exert pressure and scrum time. We have two, technically sound and experience props with two giants behind them in the scrum. This will make a huge difference to our scrum and we will look to use it as an attacking platform.

Lineout - Standard set up is to use a 6 man line. We will look to use the back ball as often as possible to allow us to release Jamie Roberts and Mamuka Gorgodze to get us across the gain line and to get us quick momentum. Should the back become quickly marked then we will either get off the top ball from the middle of the line or if they are offering the front we will set up a very quick maul and take advantage of their lack of numbers defending this position. Short line also an option.

Defence

Our defence will be out to in with Line speed being crucial. Joseph will lead our line speed and look to cut off Saracens going wide. This defence will especially target the Saracens decision makers. We will either look to win the collision if we are set and in a position to do so or chop tackle and look to get the first man to the breakdown to effect the turnover. If we can't win a penalty or a turnover with the first man their within 3 seconds then we will leave the breakdown and set up our defensive line although the first man will always look to legally slow the ball down if the turnover isn't on.

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:Yep if Crotty or Steenkamp are called up you can change them out by Thursday evening. Any later then that you will be a man down 

That's annoying, if I'd realised you could change people out if they got selected by their country I would have left Kaino and Cruden in until the All Blacks named their side!!!

And if they weren't called up I'd still mark you down for them being off in the training squad all week 

But they wouldn't have been, they'd have been here having been here since last week! 

Surely the All Blacks would want them back to monitor fitness. That's a lot of air miles 

Cruden is fit again from the reports I read

I suspected that he might be, hence me leaving him out.

Pete,

Esdtadt has been banned for 3 weeks.

http://www.sarugby.com/news.cfm?newsid=26580

Ah nuts.  SJE am I alright to change him as that's only happened today?

Pete go ahead and make the change, no problem on my side.

Work away Pete

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Tom Taylor
03. Matius Diaz
04. Patrico Albacete	11. Zak Guildford
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Thierry Dusatoir©	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Xavier Chiocci  18. Paul Hill 19. Louis Deacon 20. Dave Denton 21. Thomas Chapman 22. Morne Steyn 23. Malakai Fekitoa

Tactics:

TARGET BREAKDOWN WITH NO SPECIALIST IN QUINS PACK – With Dus/Clark strong in this area we’ll look to target turnover ball and slowing opposition attacks.

TARGET ESCANDE – Look to get him early on and put him off his game having little game time with Myler

IMPACT BENCH – Raise the intensity with big carrying options like Denton & Fekitoa. Steyn to see game home.

General - We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to smash the opposition back and get into the rucks/maul's and drive through. We'll look to tie the opposition in and then get at their backline, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to move the opposition pack around and then use big carrying options to punch holes through the opposition defence.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our LH and Hooker will look to target TH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow TH to work on LH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for quick ball off the top with the world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles.

Defence - High intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. Huge physical pack that can look to dominate the collision and breakdown allowing Clark/Dus etc a chance to slow down/steal ball. Lack of straight running option in the opp backline will allow us to hold up the runner and attempt the maul turnover. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp territory. Scrum half to inject pace from the breakdown and have Williams/Mermoz on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Williams to run angles off the 9/10 and interchange 2nd receiver with Mermoz. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Ashton will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of Mermoz’s little offloads in contact. Guildford to keep things honest and come looking for work.[/b]

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Matt Garvey	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Gael Fickou
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Jared Payne

:- 
16. Ross Harrison 17. David Paice 18. Samson Lee 19. Christian Day 20. Iain Henderson 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Nick Abendanon

We will play an expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to create space and break the defensive line. Mobility, physicality and handling is key to our approach.

- Fast ball is crucial. Mobile pack and physical midfield to clear out rucks and ensure quick ball. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to make it easier to do so.

- Commit the defence. Sexton will play flat on the gain line to pull in defenders before releasing runners while Care will look for opportunities to snipe around the base always committing defenders.

- Change the point of attack. Numerous playmakers across the backline comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and leave the opposition guessing.

- Back three always involved. Wingers to track the ball off their wings looking for the inside ball or offload. Payne to join the line from fullback looking for mismatches and to create overlaps.

- Attack from the scrum. Strong technical front row backed up by a powerful second row will look to build a platform for Pickles, Care & Sexton. An area we will look to target if winning.

- TH issues for Gloucester. Figallo out for nearly a year now and no TH cover on the bench with two LH's selected.

- Mix it up at the lineout. Five genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking platform. Look to use both the rolling maul and ball off the top to keep the defence guessing.

- Straight line blitz defence. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with POM & Todd fetching for the ball, supported by the rest of the pack when needed. We will always look to turn the ball over.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Nathan Hines	11. Alex Cuthbert
05. Pascal Pape	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Johnson	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Mike Brown

16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Max Lahiff 18. Harry Rudkin 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Steve Mafi 21. Micky Young 22. Brock James 23. Rene Ranger

Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, particularly in the backs, big line breakers to make the hard yards and tie up defenders creating space in wider channels for Burns to exploit.

General Tactics:

- Attack all scrums with our huge pack - Front row of Moore, Jenkins and Doran-Jones to look to really get the shove on, particularly tagetting the Barrington/Szarzewski channel.

- Attack all lineouts. Use safe option of Joubert at the front, and also use Pape, Hines and Johnson in the middle or at the back.
Shortened lineouts with Scaysbrook in midfield as crash/decoy option.

- Physical, abrasive XV made up of massive line-breakers. The likes of Pape, Hines, Basteraud and Cuthbert to be used to win the collisions in attack.

- Play an offloading game. We see the offload as our big weapon and our carriers will all be looking to offload in contact, continuing our forward momentum.

- Fotauli'i to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Scaysbrook and Jenkins in particular to really look to get into the breakdown and give Exeter problems.

In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Burns and Twelvetrees.
We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack consistently.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Fotauli'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Burns to kick all penalties.

London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. JB Poux	09. Lee Dickson
02. Marc Jones	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Devin Toner	11. Bjorn Basson
05. Jacques Poitgeiter	12. Alapati Leuia
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Warburton	14. JP Pietersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Tom Lindsay 17.  Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19. Tom Savage 20. George Smith 21. Neil  De Kock 22. Owen Williams 23. Rob Cook

Tactics

Set piece: We have picked a strong scrummaging front 5 who all bring carrying bulk to the game. From kick offs we will look to go 2 passes in before hitting our direct runners. We will look to scrummage low (which all of our props are known for doing) and scrum straight to prevent the wheel. Our lineouts will be simple and we will look to bring the ball down before feeding 9. There’s not many players able to get as high as Toner.

Backrow: We feel we have a well balanced back row with a tackler, a carrier and a jackler and all 3 will be used for their main attributes. We have confidence in them all to do their jobs with Brown looking to rile Farrell and release his hot headedness. The impact and experience of Smith off the bench will continue Warburton’s harrassment of the breakdown.

Half Backs: On a 3g pitch we know the bounce can be unpredictable and Biggar will stand flat initially to give Leuia and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. We know how well Biggar can find touch and we will use this. Dickson showed vs Glos how well he can control a game and he will use these skills to control the tempo and slow the ball down if needed.

Outside Backs: We will look to have a lot of movement off the ball to prevent us being easily read. There will be runners off of 12 and 13 when available and the ball will be shipped to the wings quickly to allow them to get the advantage in the race to the line. We have international experience all over the back 3 and will look to exploit this with angled running and confusing the oppositions defence.

Bench: Impact in all areas and Williams and Cook can change the pace of the game if required. The experience of Smith and De Kock will be vital in this game.

Defence: We see that Trinder’s defence has been targetted but don’t feel he is that poor a tackler. We also know how good JD2 is so will look to prevent him offloading the ball by double tackling him. We will look to blitz with Brown in Farrell’s face allowing Biggar the opportunity to drop back and cover with Dulin for any kicks ahead. We will defend inside-out and spread the line.

Overall: This will be a controlled performance against a strong Falcons team. We will look to hit the ball up twice and suck in defenders by going the same way till we run out of space, we will then flash across and look for quick hands against their pack who will be stuck defending the centre channels. Our carriers will come round the corner in 3’s to prevent the opposition knowing where the ball is going. We started with a shock draw against Quins and are looking for another shock today with a strong team on show and backs who are able to control a game well and defend strongly without allowing any gaps to appear.

Driver, Jane has been called into the AB's side

Pete - wont get my tactics in until later this evening, have meetings 10-7 and then travel back home - fun day! Will be the usual sort of thing though.

May I put Stevsns on my bench or not? Up to the runners and CJB

I'm going to say no sorry CJ. Changes once a team is named should only be for call ups or bans

Trust CJ to named in the All Blacks bench.

SJE if Elliot isn't confirmed by CJ It will be Zac Kribrige in the side.

Luke I will get my tactics done this evening.

No worries. Leaving work now, will get tactics in when I get home

Tactics in SJE.

Sorry for lateness. Back to normal in 2weeks

Had a stupidly busy day at work yesterday - got my tactics on work PC so will get them up as soon as I'm in the office if that's ok?

Thats fine Chris 

Picamoles has a lung affection he picked up during the summer Matt. He has missed 4 games with it. I'd also wager David Paice and Samson Lee are better or at least equal at hooker and TH then LCD and Coenie. You wouldn't be trying to influence votes after accusing others of it? 

Cheers SJE, tactics all added now - nightmare with work wifi today!

SirJohnnyEnglish wrote:Picamoles has a lung affection he picked up during the summer Matt. He has missed 4 games with it. I'd also wager David Paice and Samson Lee are better or at least equal at hooker and TH then LCD and Coenie. You wouldn't be trying to influence votes after accusing others of it? 

SJE did not realise Picamoles was out injured. I thought he had been dropped. I stand corrected.

He goes for tests today to see if its cleared. Expected back training next week.

Harlequins 23-21 Saracens
 
Scrum: Experience of the Quins props gives them a slight edge but its not game changing. 
Lineout: Bit more from Saracens off attacking ball. 
Breakdown: Neither side has an out and out 7 but both packs full of players who clear well. Both should see clean ball.
HB's: 1 a piece. Sarries more capable of territorial control but Quins more capable of moving the backs along.
Attack: Bit more carrying from Quins overall and feel their back three is more dangerous. 
Defence: JJ can struggle positionally. Sarries wingers track the ball well and can find good lines against the Quins out to in defence. Sarries talk of big hits and high intensity but no mention of actual system is a mark down. 
Bench: Can see the Sarries back play being disrupted with both Steyn & Fekitoa just flown in for this game.  
Tactics: Sarries not looking for quick tempo expansive play this week which suits them better. More keen on using power. Quins going fast paced using the big carriers. Tight game but feel Quins have the edge in the power stacks overall and take the win. 

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Bath Rugby 28-26 London Welsh
 
Scrum: Both front rows well supported and don't see either scrum budging. 
Lineout: Bath lineout a little more consistent. Ward can have the wobbles at times. 
Breakdown: Baths front 5 get through a lot of work and see them getting the better ball.
HB's: Fairly tight here. The real life combo is a plus but the Welsh combo more then a match for them.  
Attack: Midfield edge to Welsh in both shirts but back three to Bath. Likes of Healy, Hibbard & SOB give Bath bit more carrying.
Defence: I picked up on it last week and CJ has as well this week. Baths drift is vulnerable. Plenty of pace to get across but can be very easy to set lines up against. 
Bench: No specialist TH cover could see late penalties for Welsh. Whitelock flown across the world for this is marked down. 
Tactics: Similar set up to both sides with them looking to take advantage of the decent conditions. I see Bath getting better ball and more momentum here from the big carries. See the Welsh wings being dangerous as both can cut smart lines but its not enough against a strong Bath side.

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Exeter Chiefs 23-24 Leicester Tigers
 
Scrum: PDJ could struggle a little but his locks help him to hold it up. 
Lineout: Edge to Chiefs with some strong jumping options. Tigers hold their own ball but won't get the platforms Exeter can.
Breakdown: Good battle here. Chiefs edge the back row battle but Bast and Jenkins level it up with both sides committing.
HB's: 1 a piece and fairly even really with both 10s showing sparks of improvement.  
Attack: Fairly even in the backs except 13 with AAC having to fly halfway round the world.
Defence: Obviously some miscommunication for Chiefs with AAC in an important role. My understanding of the hedgehog defence is a selective spiked blitz? Will work well in stopping the Tigers big carriers but can see the Bast offload to Brown hitting the line working well. 
Bench: Two THs on bench for Chiefs but Tigers haven't the options to take advantage. Ranger, Madigan & Douglas all give impact. 
Tactics: Both sides playing high intensity, up tempo rugby and looking to get the full backline involved. I'd have this game dead even with home advantage seeing Chiefs for the win but jettisoning AAC straight in is a big call. Just feel Bast/Brown can work an offload around him and the hedgehog defence for the winning score. 

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London Wasps 23-28 Northampton Saints
 
Scrum: Little more in the scrum for Wasps with their locks more capable here and Marler doing well.
Lineout: Both sides hold their own but Saints are the more dangerous with great options throughout the back 5.
Breakdown: Good back row battle but the extra mobility of the Saints locks gives them a slight edge. Both see good ball in this one. 
HB's: 1 a piece. Saints stronger as a combo. Davies a better fit then Phillips but a weakness against the best scrummies Chris.  
Attack: Barnes a weakness while in Japan. Wasps edge the back three battle on recent form. 
Defence: King is a weakness at 13 both one on one and positionally. Williams still ironing out his positional play.
Bench: Barnes the back up 10 for Wasps is an issue with the Japan issue while Kaino will have other things on his mind. Gray & Vuinipola are fantastic impact options for Saints and see them getting the scrum advantage.
Tactics: Wasps taking a territory first approach which suits the boots on show. Saints with the usual physical high tempo approach. Both sides see some good ball from the breakdown but feel Saints use it better with Barnes struggling and edge the game for the first 70 before pulling away when the benches come into play. 

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Newcastle Falcons 26-29 London Irish
 
Scrum: Edge to Falcons with Thorn helping Ducalcon to lock it down while Tonga edges Thomas.  
Lineout: Both sides should hold their own but don't see a great platform for either. 
Breakdown: Good battle both sides fairly even but Warbs wins the 7 battle and slows Falcons up a little.
HB's: 1 a piece but Irish the better combo with Lewis a weakness in this league. Both 10s with a very similar style.
Attack: Davies gives Falcons a spark but don't see much back play from them overall with both wingers thrown straight in after being elsewhere during the week. 
Defence: Feel Trinder will be pulled out from time to time by Davies.
Bench: Fairly even overall. Falcons could have done with a more settled winger there to help settle the back line issues. 
Tactics: Both sides staying away from the boot with the 3G still a bit unpredictable. Falcons can get some decent platforms from the scrum but off slower ball feel they struggle a bit against a more cohesive Irish backline. 

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Bath 21-21 Welsh

FR: Bath shade but nothing major
SR: I'm not a big Skivs fan but Cudmore quality, Bath just shade the line out though
BR: Welsh on top here with a bit more balance and form, good trio for CJ
HB: Not much in the halfbacks, decent contest
CE: Little edge to Welsh although Bath stronger at 12 I think Welsh's combo is stronger with Hogg a bit unsure at 13
B3: Bath a step up here, very good unit that would really threaten the Welsh unit
Overall: A good close contest with Welsh set out better than last week. They get on top in a few units and do enough to earn the draw.

Exeter 25-23 Leicester

FR: PDJ the main standout here, he'd struggle with little form. Barrington done ok for Sarries.
SR: I like the grunt of the Tigers pair but Exeter would get at the line out slightly
BR: Exeter a big step up here, Tigers suffering with call ups & injuries
HB: one a piece in half backs, burns looking really good behind a stuttering Tigers pack, Flood playing well too
CE: Exeter a little better, 2 good units
B3: 2 quality units
Overall: really surprised with this but Exeter look the stronger and will sneak a surprise win. Tigers tough and will fight till end but pack just lacking

Wasps 20-25 Northampton

FR: not a huge amount in it, I think both LH's could get on top
SR: saints a better combo. I can't see Wasps getting good line out ball with no good line out op
And Youngs throwing, this will really hinder them
BR: form issues for both sides but Saints have a bit more quality in each position
HB: wasps big step up at 9 and probably more form at 10, Evans looking a bit out of sorts, Saints with better ball tho
CE: poor centre combo for Wasps with Barnes no form. Agree King isn't the best but Saints will get edge here
B3: tight contest, decent combos
Overall: wasps struggle to get a foothold with poor line out and back 5 not quite at opposition level. Barnes a huge standout. Saints easing through in this one but King has looked iffy and half backs not great. Pack looks strong and they'll be tough to beat, esp with a better hb combo

Newcastle 21-20 Irish

FR: little edge to Falcons but nothing game changing, Thomas perhaps a little issue
SR: 2 good combo's, falcons perhaps shade line out but good around the park for both
BR: both set out well and good units, Irish a tad more quality
HB: little edge for Falcons but a good contest
CE: falcons stronger here, unsure of Irish 12
B3: Elliot straight in will be an issue, 2 decent units
Overall: falcons a touch better and at home will be tough to beat, close game

Quins 25-25 Sarries
SP: Nothing to split really here up front, feel both teams have good leaders in the pack.
BK: Great balance from both teams, fan of both of the back rows. Easter was the standout for Quins last night and Hughes is unstoppable once up and running.
HB: 9 to Sarries and 10 to Quins here.
OB: See this being quite close as well, sorry guys tough to split these teams.
BE: A few players flown in for this for Sarries but can't see it making a massive affect.
TA: Good clear tactics from both teams and nice and short to read but to the point! Going to have to sit on the fence here sorry.

Bath 25-23 Welsh
SP: More from Bath in front row but Welsh's 2nd row partnership is massively improved.
BK: Welsh have the balance but the Bath front 5 may have too much power in clearing the breakdown.
HB: Nothing between them.
OB: This is where Bath will pull away with dangerous runners all over, Welsh have a strong defensive partnership but could be caught out out wide.
BE: From memory Catt has played TH before (correct me if I'm wrong), mark down for Whitelock flying in but overall good benches from both.
TA: Bath using their controlling half backs well, Welsh right to look at attacking the drift defence. Just to Bath with outside backs.

Glos 20-21 Sale
SP: Strong from both, think Glos will initially get the nudge but Grey suspect scrummager. Sharks take the lineout but not a lot in it.
BK: 2 good back rows, well balanced and both will slow down opposition ball.
HB: Do prefer the Sale pairing, I prefer Robson off the bench as he instantly brings a quick tempo in the last 20.
OB: Players flown out won't help (same with Steenkamp), overall not much between this.
BE: 2 good impact benches on show.
TA: Don't think Glos will get the quick ball they need for their half backs and Sale in the same boat. Quite similar tactics on show so will be a close one and down to half back control.

Chiefs 24-25 Tigers
SP: Feel Chiefs take the front row here on current form and they will take good lineout ball.
BK: Not a lot between them, maybe a slight edge to Chiefs at breakdown but Tigers have good breakdown players outside the backrow.
HB: Pretty even here but both 10's entering a spate of good form.
OB: Chiefs would take centres but AAC come along way for one game, back three to Tigers.
BE: Tigers have slightly more impact.
TA: Chiefs right to use the power in their lineout to set the platform. Tigers just nick it using the carrying option and some very strong carriers in their pack.

Wasps 23-24 Saints
SP: Nothing between two good match ups here.
BK: Same as the set piece, both teams bringing good balance and can cause damage to each other.
HB: 9 to Wasps but Davies' ratings improving, Evans will bring his experience to cause Slade some issues.
OB: Barnes and King not best ratings at the moment but King seems to have slotted in well back at Scarlets. Out wide I think Wasps brings slightly more.
BE: Great impact here from Saints with a very dangerous bench to come on.
TA: Good sets of tactics from both targeting the right areas, think this game comes down to the bench which Saints have better impact from.

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Harlequins 27 - 21 Saracens

Quins get a good nudge on up front, whilst the lineout fairly even. Bit more about Quins front5 round the park. As a unit Quins shade the back row and see them getting on top with the packs. One a piece in the HBs, whilst Quins edge the centres - not sold on Mermoz at 13. Fairly even back threes. Good benches from both. Think Quins, at home, are fairly comfortable here.


Bath 24 - 24 Welsh

Slight edge to bath up front, whilst the second row battle is fairly even. Again not huge amount of give in the back rows, maybe slight edge to welsh. Packs are pretty even. Slight edge to baths HBs, whilst I call centres even as not sure on Hogg at 13. Bath take the back threes. Really good tight game here. Home advantage takes it.


Gloucester 22 - 24 Sale

Issues for Gloucs up front on form and on the bench. Just edge to Gloucs second row, whilst back row is a great battle. Not huge diff with packs, overall sale edge it. Sale take the HBs and slightly edge centres. Gloucs just take the back threes. Sale have enough all over the park to take a great win.


Wasps 22 - 27 Saints

Saints get the advantage up front and see them dominating the lineout too. Their back five looks so strong and see their pack giving them a great platform. One apiece at HB but Evans with a bit of an armchair ride is dangerous. One a piece at centre, struggling to rate Barnes. Wasps take back threes. Saints can get on top with bench too. Think saints come away with a great result here.



Newcastle 23 - 23 Irish

Really good battle in the scrum with no real winner. Newcastle look more threatening in the second row, but Irish get on top in the back row. Not a huge amount in the packs - Irishs back row edges it to the away side. One a piece in the HBs, prefer Newcastle in the centres whilst back threes are even. Great game, home advantage earns Newcastle a draw.

Quins 22-20 Sarries
Experienced front five from Quins has the edge over Sarries. I think the Quins back row looks great but up against Clark and Dus could struggle at the breakdown. I also like the Sarries lineout to do well. I don't particularly trust the Quins half back unit and the advantage for me is with Sarries. Both sets of outside backs are steady but with potential for excitement if that can be possible. Both sets of subs also look capable of changing the game although the fresher set is defo Quins. This might have a different result at Sarries but Quins have enough to control the game and bring the game home.

Gloucester 24-25 Sale
Gloucester probably have the better players in the front five but are lacking form which makes me edge towards Sale. Both back rows are good combinations. I must sound like a parrot about this Sale half back combo but favourite in the league. Not much in the outside backs and probably about equal. The subs are better for Gloucester but I'm not sure about the front row planned substitutions and can see them struggling.

Exeter 26-26 Tigers
I think the Tigers front five has the edge here but not too sure about how well PDJ will play. The Exeter back row has the definite advantage as I am not a huge fan of Tigers unit. Exeter half backs have the advantage. I like the composition of the Tigers outside backs and think they fit together well as a unit. I find this really tough to split with Exeter at home am going to sit on the fence here.

Wasps 24-30 Saints
Edge to the Saints front five. Great athleticism and think they will have an edge. Back rows are close but once again probably go to the Saints. One each in the half backs. Outside backs edge to Saints who look dangerous and also a very strong bench.

Newcastle 19-18 Irish
Bit more quality in Newcastle front five. Think the Irish back row has a lot more about it and a great balance. One each in the half backs, probably advantage overall to Irish. Newcastle outside backs have the slight advantage. Overall I think the front five and home advantage gives it to Newcastle.

I might be too late for an exemption but I'm really going to struggle to predict this weekend.

Will do my best but exceptionally busy with brothers 21st

Bath 24-23 Welsh
 
Pretty even up front with bath front row better and welsh locks better.
Back row close.

Tactically welsh spot on but bath outside backs are great on front foot. With home advantage bath take it. Hogg wade channel could leak some points.
Not sold on wade defensively at all but great to watch