Aviva Premiership Round Four

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London Welsh v Gloucester Rugby
Location - Kassam Stadium
White Cloud, 18 Degrees, 10mph W winds

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 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01.Nathan Catt	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlowe
02.  David Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. BJ Botha
04. Sepoke Timani	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Jamie Cudmore	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Luke Wallace (c)	13. Casey Laulala
07. John Barclay	14. Aseili Tikoirituima
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. David Kilcoyne 18. Matt Stevens  19.  George Skivington 20. Tom Guest 21. Ashley Johnson 22. Michael Classens  23. Ross Chisholm

Tactics-
With 3 fetchers vs no out and out breakdown expert in the Gloucester pack and a backline that can exploit fast ball, we will look to dominate the breakdown today. Ward, Wallace and Barclay to work as a trio to ensure we always have at least one breakdown expert immediately on every attacking ball and to look to spoil and steal opposition ball without overcommitting other players to rucks. This gives them time to set the defence. In ensuring they are close to the ball like this, the 3 fetchers will also be in great position for support play and linking. They will be facilitated by high intensity clearing out in small numbers but working as a unit through Vito and the other forwards.

Slow ball- We will look to test their back 3 positionally with chips, grubbers and high crossfield kicks under the chase with 9, 10, 12 and 15 all strong kickers. We will also look to maul and pick and drive the ball to speed it up and the crash ball inside off 10 and 12 (and pop off 9) to Pennell and Vito to get go forward and give the fetchers a chance to speed the ball up

Quick ball- look to spin quickly out to FTH standing flat and attacking the line, with inside and outside options from one of the back 3 and back row + Ward if there's space there. If not, spin quickly out to Laulala and have him challenge JDJ in contact, looking to recycle quickly as in the plan above with TKB attacking gaps if they appear or passing to Godwin who will playmake for the second wave with the remaining back 3 as strike runners. In these situations look to get our wings a one-on-one and test their wings' defence.


Kicking- do not kick deep to their dangerous back 3, ensure we can chase and pressure every single catch and if we need to clear go for touch. Take available points at goal, and look to use all our kicking options out of hand to prevent any predictability or pressure leading to chargedowns. Wallace as an extra kick chaser when free as he excels at this for Quins

Defence- Vito to put big hits in on Carter and TKB and any free pack members to cramp Robson's space as he is inexperienced and I think we can get at him. Fringe defence led by Cudmore. Approach is a blitz marshalled by Laulala

Scrum- look to get our attacking ball out quickly and use Vito to carry and give us momentum for the quick ball game.

Lineout- keep it simple in attack- not an area of strength so better with simple short throws then using our powerful locks to maul. Let them have the ball on their throws but focus on rushing the 9 and 10 and contesting the maul.

Discipline- push for penalties and turnovers in their 22- if we concede it doesn't cost us much and any gains will be amplified. Opposite, cautious approach in our own half, which may help keep the ref on our side psychologically and subconsciously

Subs- go 100% knowing our pack subs are strong. Rees, Skivington and Guest can add the lineout, AJ adds hard carrying, Stevens helps our breakdown even more. With a 6-2 split I want our pack working flat out. In the backs, Chisholm covers back 3 and adds pace, Tiko covers 13, Classens adds experience at 9 and Godwin can cover 10.

Key points- 3 fetcher aggressive approach to breakdown
Harry Robson
Target space behind wingers
2 wave attack recycling ball quickly and looking to get our wingers space
Be cheeky re penalties in their 22 but conservative in our half

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 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Grey	10. Dan Carter
03. Coenie Ousthieuzen
04. Roman Taoufufena	11. Hosea Gear
05. George Robson	12. Ryan Crotty
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Akapusi Qera	14. Johnny May
08. Jaimie heaslip	15. Andreas Masi

:-
16 Nick Wood 17 Luke Cowan-Dickie 18 Juan Figallo 19 Stooke 20 Wycliffe Palu 21 Genia 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Rhaymond Rhule

Glos travel to London welsh looking to build on the win from last week.
We will be looking to utilise our carriers to blast through and create a quick offloading game.

As with last week there will not be many in these conditions but
With the ones there are we will look to anchor
Our own ball. On Opposition ball we will look to target welsh heavily.
We have an all international front 5 and will demonstrate this.

Lineout 

With taofufina , Robson and Heaslip we have serious height and athelticism. In the first
Half we will look to take middle or back ball and maul it sucking in and tiring out WelshPack. As the game progresses we will go off the top more and more and look to move it to big runners like Alberts standing midfield.
On their ball we will challenge every time and utilise our giants to at very least put off their hooker

General forwards 

We have a lot more carriers and a seriously mobile pack so will be looking to really blast through the Exeter pack. Alberts,Qera,Coenie, Streenkamp etc will carry hard and straight and really batter at the opposition.
when on we will look to get the offload in and get in behind.

We will commit numbers to rucks to disrupt and counter ruck. We see Welsh as lacking a bit of physicality so will target this area heavily

Backs

The backs will be looking to play whenever they can get quick ball.
With 2 playmakers at 10/12
We have the options to vary our play as necessary.

In our half on slow ball it will be kicked and tempo will be controlled by Dan Carter.
He will decide when to go and when to slow.


We will utilise the bomb and cross kick if they defend narrowly.
As game progresses and people tire we will up the tempo with quick throws and more
Countering of loose Welsh kicks

Blitz defence mainly with scrum half covering 
Key points

- serious amount of big ball carriers
- superior kicking game
- impact bench

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Leicester Tigers v London Irish
Location - Welford Road
White Cloud, 19 Degrees, 10mph W winds

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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. Francois Louw	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Mike Brown

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

Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, throughout our XV, 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 targetting Irish's Thomas/Jones channel.

- Attack all lineouts. Use safe option of Hines at the front, and also use Pape and Beattie in the middle or at the back.
Shortened lineouts with Burger in midfield as crash/decoy option.
Hines to look to put real pressure at the front on all Irish's throws.

- Physical, abrasive XV made up of massive line-breakers.
The likes of Bastareaud, Louw, Pape, Hines, Moore, Beattie, Burger and Cuthbert to be used to win the collisions in attack.
Add to that the likes of Tolofua, Waldrom and Ranger off the bench.

- 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 - Burger and Louw, supported by the likes of Basteraud and Jenkins, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Irish 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 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 Leuai
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Nick Cummins
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Tom Lindsay 17.  Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19. Dean Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 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 get in their 10’s face. The impact and experience of Smith off the bench will continue Warburton’s harrassment of the breakdown.

Breakdown: We will look to be controlled here with the tackler and 1 more player committing initially to the breakdown. Warburton will play the McCaw role and sweep behind the breakdowns picking and choosing when he will attack for a penalty or a turnover. We will use the call “fire ball” which will be when Tigers under commit to their ruck and we will look to blitz past the ball for the turnover. We know how deadly Louw and Burger can be over the ball so will adopt the hold and roll technique to take them off their feet at the breakdown and ‘tactically’ hold them down to slow them getting to the next ruck.

Half Backs: 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 has shown 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 have brought in Leuia to bring a bit of smash to the centre running and to target 12T’s defence issues, Trinder will run close to him and look to be on his shoulder when he breaks the gainline. If it is on we will look to ship it wide to our speedsters. 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 in 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 Mumm, Smith and De Kock will be vital in this game.

Defence: We have a strong defensive leader in Bell who is a reliable and strong tackler. We also know how good the Sarries centres are so will look to prevent him offloading the ball by double tackling him. We will look to blitz with Brown in their 10’s  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. 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 have a strong team on show and backs who are able to control a game well and defend strongly without allowing any gaps to appear.

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Saracens v Sale Sharks
Location - Allianz Stadium
White Cloud, 20 Degrees, 9mph W winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

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

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Xavier Chiocci  18. Clement Ric 19. Louis Deacon 20. Dave Denton 21. Henry Taylor 22. Josh Sharp 23. Lee Byrne

Tactics:

Not finalised

TARGET BREAKDOWN – With Bruss/Clark strong in this area we’ll look to target turnover ball and slowing opposition attacks.

TARGET BACK 3 DEFENCE – Look to get runners one on one and target Roko/Bendy especially. Steyn to kick in behind wingers also and push pressure on with our line defence

TARGET LH AXIS IN SCRUM – with strong front 5 look to put pressure on Sale scrum. Diaz/Ric to target Sale LH and splinter between hooker. Use as weapon of weakness seen.

PARRA/STEYN COMBO - Perfect combo to dictate play and keep us playing in right area of pitch. Look to target Irish line out early on and if weakness seen kick to corners.

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 TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH 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 - Blitz defence with High intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing Bruss/Clark 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 dictate play 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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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Christian Day	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Gael Fickou
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanoon

:-
16. Vasil Kakovin 17. David Paice 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Kyle Eastmond

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.

- Momentum. We are 3 from 3 with two try bonus points already picked up. Saracens have gone down at home already this season. All the momentum is with us.

- Impact. Skelton (with us for the last two weeks after being released by Oz), Garvey & Eastmond offer real impact from the bench and genuine game changing options. Marmion & Hanrahan have proven themselves capable at Heineken Cup level and will look to see the game out against their u20's opposition. 

- 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.

- 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.

- Counter the opposition kicking game. Our wingers have been instructed to sit deep on defence and not leave space in behind. They will look to return Steyns kicks with interest. See Oz v SA. 

- 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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Northampton Saints v Bath Rugby
Location - Franklins Garden
White Cloud, 19 Degrees, 10mph W winds

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 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Gareth Davies
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. George Ford (k)
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Jordan Williams
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Samu Manoa	13. Vereniki Goneva
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jonny Gray 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Joe Simpson 22. James Hook 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:
Conditions are perfectly suited to play a high tempo/intensity game and place the onus on attacking the away team. We've picked a very mobile pack, with a lot of ball carriers to get us over the gainline and will aim to create space outwide. We have picked an impact bench and will aim to finish the final quarter the stronger of the two teams and make this tell on the scoreboard.

Pack/Setpiece:
A powerful pack selected to enable us to use the scrum as a platform to launch attacks with Vunipola running straight at Hodgson. Will make full use of front row substitutions and bring on Domingo, Jones and Webber to hit Bath hard come scrum time in final 25minutes.  Lineout wise we keep with our four main jumpers to give Hartley a variety of options and provide quick off the top ball for our backs and allow us to make full use of the great attacking conditions. Lawes to pressurise Hibbard's throws and aim to disrupt Bath's set piece ball. Again selected a very mobile pack, with strong ball carriers that will help us to win the possession battle and five full internationals to call off the bench to finish the game strong.

Attack:
We want to utilise our mobile pack and play at a fast pace to put the Bath defence under pressure. We will look at all of our forwards to share the carrying responsibilities to get us over the gainline and suck in defenders, before getting the ball to our strike runners in the backline. We've selected a 12-13 of Fofana and Goneva to get the best of Ford's passing game, and will bring runners at the Hodgson channel to see if we can target him. Make the most of Ford's creativity. Backthree told to counter attack any loose kicks when opportunities are there.

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 Vunipola, Manoa and Robshaw to clear Falcons from the breakdown area and distrupt the speed of their attacking play. Bath do not have a specialist no7 and we will exploit this in the conditions to get good attacking ball and turnovers.

Defence:
An aggressive defence all across the pitch, have some strong tacklers in the forwards. We will look for quick line speed to put pressure on the Bath halfbacks - we will also see if we can disrupt Messam at the base of the Bath scrum. Davies to sweep behind the defensive line.

Key Points:
* Our best start in the AP with three wins in a row and will look to build on this at the Gardens.
* Will look to really attack the game and beat Bath on the try front.
* 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.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Charlie Faumaunia
04. Luke Romano	11. Jamie Elliot
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Christian Lealifano
06. James Haskell	13. George North
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Liam Messam	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Mikey Haywood 17. Benn Robinson 18. Jake Cooper Woolsey 19. Graham Kitchener 20. James Gaskell 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Alex Goode 23. Christian Wade

Overall: We are going to look to establish dominance in the set piece and loose in the pack. Look to keep the Saints playing in their own half. Defensively we want to really establish ourselves aggressively setting a huge tempo to try and dishearten the Saints

Scrum: Look to get after the scrum and exert pressure. Strong second row provide the grunt behind the technically sound props. It is a NZ combo that has been very solid and provides a great platform for us. Look to really target PDJ by putting pressure on the same spot and trying to push off the ball. We will try to set a base, controlled by Messam which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with SOB, Haskell, Messam, Romano and Whitelock options in the lineout. Whitelock will run the lineout with Romano offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. We will also look to aggressively get after the Saints lineout as we feel we can prosper here

Breakdown: Attempt to be aggressive at the breakdown. Look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Sean O'Brien and James Haskell can attack the ball. Get men into the breakdown to stop the availability of quick ball

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Saints decision makers and Fofana. 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 Faumuania, Romano, Hibbard, Healy and SOB will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Elliot, North and Sivivatu 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: Hodgson will be our place kicker. Our gameplan will see us kick a lot more than usual. We will be really looking to kick tactically and for position. We will look for touch in the Saints 22 and hope to exploit our lineout edge. We have good boots in Richard Wigglesworth, Charlie Hodgson, Christian Lealifano, Jamie Elliot and Stuart Hogg so we can switch the point of attack and mix it up.

Substitutes: Our subs will be used whenever necessary and have been picked to continue the gameplan. Our front row selections will still be a force in the scrum. Kitchener and Gaskell are both brilliant lineout winners who can work in the loose. Machenaud adds a tactical dimension with his kicking. Goode can come on and use his boot to work us around the park whilst Wade can really attack against a tired pack. Our subs will look to keep the tempo going and play to the final whistle

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Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Location - Sandy Park
White Cloud, 19 Degrees, 6mph WSW winds

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Connor Murray
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. James Johnstone
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Tom Varndell
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Alex Dunbar
07. Justin Tipuric	14. David Strettle
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O'Connor

:-
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Mike Ross 19. Kane Douglas 20. Carl Fearns 21. Chris Cook 22. Ian Madigan 23. Andrew Trimble

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, Quins 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 Brookes, 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 defence to create overlaps for our backs. 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. We will revert to your strong defensive banana drift defence to push the attackers towards our inside defence, with Murray sweeping in behind to guide defenders to plug holes and covers any kicks in behind. If 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. 

Backs - Look to get the ball in hands of the backs and the back three especially, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of AAC/Dunbar to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Dunbar/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Roberts's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of Joseph 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 Harlequins can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington to exploit Brookes and pile in on him with Swarz. 
Quick Rucks - with their big pack we will look to set rucks quickly and keep their pack on the move to tire them out. As well as to keep moving the point if attack with ball in hand with clever offloads and pops to keep Quins guessing. 
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 - Roberts, not being the most agile, Flood will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line, similarly Joseph is not the best defending 13, and so Dunbar and Burrell will angle run down both of their weaker, inside shoulder.
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 the AP in Strettle & Varndell, so they we will get the ball in their hands and they will 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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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

Joe Tomane called up by Oz. Nowell promoted from the bench.
 

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. George Kruis	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. John Afoa 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Luke Braid 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. 

Tactics

Game Plan

In the opposition half we will look to play our usual game of using a big carriers off 9 and 10 to get quick ball and tie in Exeter defenders and then we can get the ball into wider channels and put JJ and our back three into space and isolate defenders. Pienaar and Myler will look for forwards carrying at pace and in numbers to allow us the option to offload before or after contact or to allow us to get a quick ruck and attack again. When we get quick ball we will look to create gaps or overlaps out wide using runners cutting strong lines back towards play to keep the defenders honest.

In the opposition half we will look to get territory using the boots of Pienaar, Myler, Kearney and Huget. We will look to kick behind Varndell and using a solid chase and fill the field and force Varndell to kick. Should Exeter then begin to start using JOC to cover Varndell's space we will kick to the space vacated by JOC or take advantage of fewer defenders in the line and keep ball in hand. We aren't strictly looking for touch as we appreciate the quality in the Exeter line out so we want to force Exeter to kick for touch and give us line out ball to attack with in there half.  

Set Piece

At the scrum we are looking to get the upper hand using our strong and powerful technical props to secure steady ball on our scrum but on Exeter ball we use an eight man shove to get Exeter going backwards and disrupt their ball or win a penalty. We have a powerful front 5 which can really exert pressure on the Exeter scrum.

At the line out we will look to shorten our line out to 4 or 5 men to negate the ability of the POC and Patterson. We will look to drive a lot of our line out ball as we feel we have the more physical pack and can take yards from Exeter here. On Exeter ball we will give them to front of the line as we are confident in our maul defence will not give Exeter quick off the top ball without them working for it.

Defence

Quick line speed from out to in looking to put pressure on Exeter's decision makers. Joseph will lead the line speed and rush up and try to force Exeter to stay narrow or risk a loose pass out wide where JJ can have an opportunity for the interception. We will decide whether we are going for the big hit to win the collision to halt momentum or whether to chop tackle and try to get a man on the ball early.  

At the breakdown we will look for the first man to contest and attempt to slow the ball down legally the rest will set the defensive line.

Key Points

Big, physical pack. We feel we are bigger and stronger than Exeter up front and will look to make this known around the park and in the set piece.

Control from half backs. In Pienaar and Myler we feel we can control the tempo of the game and territory very well. Both excellent decision makers.

Take all the points. If we can get a win out of this one then we can keep our momentum going. We are going to take all points at goal to create scoreboard pressure.

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London Wasps v Newcastle Falcons
Location - Adams Park
White Cloud, 18 Degrees, 7mph W winds

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London Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     
                 

01. Paul James	09. B.Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Anthony Watson
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Sebastian Vahaamahina	13. Henry Slade
07. Fulgence Ouedraogo	14. Marland Yarde
08. Steffon Armitage	15. Delon Armitage

16. Deon Fourie 17. Joe Marler 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Paul Willemse 20. Luke Narraway 21. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde 22. JJ Englebrecht 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 Cruden, Slade 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 Falcons ball put pressure on through AWJ, Vahaamahina and Ouedraogo, who are all 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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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Matt Mullen	09. Dave Lewis
02. Rory Best	10. Owen Farrell
03. Luc Dolucon
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Max Evans
05. Geoff Parling	12. Francis Sailli
06. Dave Ewers	13. John Davies
07. Will Fraser	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinoridquoy	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry 21.Nathan Fowles 22.Tommy Allen 23.Jamie Elliott

High tempo game plan , attacking the gainline , offloading , kicking to space when space is there , target opposition throw through Parling and Hari. Davies to target Slade in his first game at 13.

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Conditions will be up tomorrow lunch time 

Down in Wycombe this weekend.

I don't think Exeter Chiefs play at the Stoop SJE!

Highly unlikely I'll be predicting this week as I'm off to London Fri-Sun for my stag do!!

More than welcome to name a few banned players johnny

Conditions up 

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Matt Mullen	09. Dave Lewis
02. Rory Best	10. Owen Farrell
03. Luc Dolucon
04. Yoann Maestri	11. Max Evans
05. Geoff Parling	12. Francis Sailli
06. Dave Ewers	13. John Davies
07. Will Fraser	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinoridquoy	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry 21.Nathan Fowles 22.Tommy Allen 23.Jamie Elliott

High tempo game plan , attacking the gainline , offloading , kicking to space when space is there , target opposition throw through Parling and Hari. Davies to target Slade in his first game at 13.

 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Gareth Davies
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. George Ford (k)
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Jordan Williams
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Samu Manoa	13. Vereniki Goneva
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Subs:
16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jonny Gray 20. Sergio Parisse 21. Joe Simpson 22. James Hook 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:
Conditions are perfectly suited to play a high tempo/intensity game and place the onus on attacking the away team. We've picked a very mobile pack, with a lot of ball carriers to get us over the gainline and will aim to create space outwide. We have picked an impact bench and will aim to finish the final quarter the stronger of the two teams and make this tell on the scoreboard.

Pack/Setpiece:
A powerful pack selected to enable us to use the scrum as a platform to launch attacks with Vunipola running straight at Hodgson. Will make full use of front row substitutions and bring on Domingo, Jones and Webber to hit Bath hard come scrum time in final 25minutes. Lineout wise we keep with our four main jumpers to give Hartley a variety of options and provide quick off the top ball for our backs and allow us to make full use of the great attacking conditions. Lawes to pressurise Hibbard's throws and aim to disrupt Bath's set piece ball. Again selected a very mobile pack, with strong ball carriers that will help us to win the possession battle and five full internationals to call off the bench to finish the game strong.

Attack:
We want to utilise our mobile pack and play at a fast pace to put the Bath defence under pressure. We will look at all of our forwards to share the carrying responsibilities to get us over the gainline and suck in defenders, before getting the ball to our strike runners in the backline. We've selected a 12-13 of Fofana and Goneva to get the best of Ford's passing game, and will bring runners at the Hodgson channel to see if we can target him. Make the most of Ford's creativity. Backthree told to counter attack any loose kicks when opportunities are there.

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 Vunipola, Manoa and Robshaw to clear Falcons from the breakdown area and distrupt the speed of their attacking play. Bath do not have a specialist no7 and we will exploit this in the conditions to get good attacking ball and turnovers.

Defence:
An aggressive defence all across the pitch, have some strong tacklers in the forwards. We will look for quick line speed to put pressure on the Bath halfbacks - we will also see if we can disrupt Messam at the base of the Bath scrum. Davies to sweep behind the defensive line.

Key Points:
* Our best start in the AP with three wins in a row and will look to build on this at the Gardens.
* Will look to really attack the game and beat Bath on the try front.
* 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.

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 Leuai
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Nick Cummins
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Tom Lindsay 17.  Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19. Dean Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 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 get in their 10’s face. The impact and experience of Smith off the bench will continue Warburton’s harrassment of the breakdown.

Breakdown: We will look to be controlled here with the tackler and 1 more player committing initially to the breakdown. Warburton will play the McCaw role and sweep behind the breakdowns picking and choosing when he will attack for a penalty or a turnover. We will use the call “fire ball” which will be when Tigers under commit to their ruck and we will look to blitz past the ball for the turnover. We know how deadly Louw and Burger can be over the ball so will adopt the hold and roll technique to take them off their feet at the breakdown and ‘tactically’ hold them down to slow them getting to the next ruck.

Half Backs: 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 has shown 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 have brought in Leuia to bring a bit of smash to the centre running and to target 12T’s defence issues, Trinder will run close to him and look to be on his shoulder when he breaks the gainline. If it is on we will look to ship it wide to our speedsters. 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 in 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 Mumm, Smith and De Kock will be vital in this game.

Defence: We have a strong defensive leader in Bell who is a reliable and strong tackler. We also know how good the Sarries centres are so will look to prevent him offloading the ball by double tackling him. We will look to blitz with Brown in their 10’s  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. 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 have a strong team on show and backs who are able to control a game well and defend strongly without allowing any gaps to appear.

Team subject to change


London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01.Nathan Catt	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlowe
02.  David Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. BJ Botha
04. Sepoke Timani	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Jamie Cudmore	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Luke Wallace (c)	13. Casey Laulala
07. John Barclay	14. Aseili Tikoirituima
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. David Kilcoyne 18. Matt Stevens  19.  George Skivington 20. Tom Guest 21. Ashley Johnson 22. Michael Classens  23. Ross Chisholm

Tactics-
With 3 fetchers vs no out and out breakdown expert in the Gloucester pack and a backline that can exploit fast ball, we will look to dominate the breakdown today. Ward, Wallace and Barclay to work as a trio to ensure we always have at least one breakdown expert immediately on every attacking ball and to look to spoil and steal opposition ball without overcommitting other players to rucks. This gives them time to set the defence. In ensuring they are close to the ball like this, the 3 fetchers will also be in great position for support play and linking. They will be facilitated by high intensity clearing out in small numbers but working as a unit through Vito and the other forwards.

Slow ball- We will look to test their back 3 positionally with chips, grubbers and high crossfield kicks under the chase with 9, 10, 12 and 15 all strong kickers. We will also look to maul and pick and drive the ball to speed it up and the crash ball inside off 10 and 12 (and pop off 9) to Pennell and Vito to get go forward and give the fetchers a chance to speed the ball up

Quick ball- look to spin quickly out to FTH standing flat and attacking the line, with inside and outside options from one of the back 3 and back row + Ward if there's space there. If not, spin quickly out to Laulala and have him challenge JDJ in contact, looking to recycle quickly as in the plan above with TKB attacking gaps if they appear or passing to Godwin who will playmake for the second wave with the remaining back 3 as strike runners. In these situations look to get our wings a one-on-one and test their wings' defence.


Kicking- do not kick deep to their dangerous back 3, ensure we can chase and pressure every single catch and if we need to clear go for touch. Take available points at goal, and look to use all our kicking options out of hand to prevent any predictability or pressure leading to chargedowns. Wallace as an extra kick chaser when free as he excels at this for Quins

Defence- Vito to put big hits in on Carter and TKB and any free pack members to cramp Robson's space as he is inexperienced and I think we can get at him. Fringe defence led by Cudmore. Approach is a blitz marshalled by Laulala

Scrum- look to get our attacking ball out quickly and use Vito to carry and give us momentum for the quick ball game.

Lineout- keep it simple in attack- not an area of strength so better with simple short throws then using our powerful locks to maul. Let them have the ball on their throws but focus on rushing the 9 and 10 and contesting the maul.

Discipline- push for penalties and turnovers in their 22- if we concede it doesn't cost us much and any gains will be amplified. Opposite, cautious approach in our own half, which may help keep the ref on our side psychologically and subconsciously

Subs- go 100% knowing our pack subs are strong. Rees, Skivington and Guest can add the lineout, AJ adds hard carrying, Stevens helps our breakdown even more. With a 6-2 split I want our pack working flat out. In the backs, Chisholm covers back 3 and adds pace, Tiko covers 13, Classens adds experience at 9 and Godwin can cover 10.

Key points- 3 fetcher aggressive approach to breakdown
Harry Robson
Target space behind wingers
2 wave attack recycling ball quickly and looking to get our wingers space
Be cheeky re penalties in their 22 but conservative in our half

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

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

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Xavier Chiocci  18. Clement Ric 19. Louis Deacon 20. Dave Denton 21. Henry Taylor 22. Josh Sharp 23. Lee Byrne

Tactics:

Not finalised

TARGET BREAKDOWN – With Bruss/Clark strong in this area we’ll look to target turnover ball and slowing opposition attacks.

TARGET BACK 3 DEFENCE – Look to get runners one on one and target Roko/Bendy especially. Steyn to kick in behind wingers also and push pressure on with our line defence

TARGET LH AXIS IN SCRUM – with strong front 5 look to put pressure on Sale scrum. Diaz/Ric to target Sale LH and splinter between hooker. Use as weapon of weakness seen.

PARRA/STEYN COMBO - Perfect combo to dictate play and keep us playing in right area of pitch. Look to target Irish line out early on and if weakness seen kick to corners.

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 TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH 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 - Blitz defence with High intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing Bruss/Clark 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 dictate play 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]

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. Francois Louw	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Johnnie Beattie	15. Mike Brown

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

Tactics:

We will look to play high tempo, high intensity rugby. We have, throughout our XV, 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 targetting Irish's Thomas/Jones channel.

- Attack all lineouts. Use safe option of Hines at the front, and also use Pape and Beattie in the middle or at the back.
Shortened lineouts with Burger in midfield as crash/decoy option.
Hines to look to put real pressure at the front on all Irish's throws.

- Physical, abrasive XV made up of massive line-breakers.
The likes of Bastareaud, Louw, Pape, Hines, Moore, Beattie, Burger and Cuthbert to be used to win the collisions in attack.
Add to that the likes of Tolofua, Waldrom and Ranger off the bench.

- 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 - Burger and Louw, supported by the likes of Basteraud and Jenkins, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Irish 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 Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     
                 

01. Paul James	09. B.Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Anthony Watson
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Sebastian Vahaamahina	13. Henry Slade
07. Fulgence Ouedraogo	14. Marland Yarde
08. Steffon Armitage	15. Delon Armitage

16. Deon Fourie 17. Joe Marler 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Paul Willemse 20. Luke Narraway 21. Sebastien Tillouse-Borde 22. JJ Englebrecht 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 Cruden, Slade 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 Falcons ball put pressure on through AWJ, Vahaamahina and Ouedraogo, who are all 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.  
  

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Connor Murray
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Toby Flood (k)
03. James Johnstone
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Tom Varndell
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Alex Dunbar
07. Justin Tipuric	14. David Strettle
08. Toby Faletau	15. James O'Connor

16. Jack Yeandle 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Mike Ross 19. Kane Douglas 20. Carl Fearns 21. Chris Cook 22. Ian Madigan 23. Andrew Trimble

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, Quins 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 Brookes, 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 defence to create overlaps for our backs. 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. We will revert to your strong defensive banana drift defence to push the attackers towards our inside defence, with Murray sweeping in behind to guide defenders to plug holes and covers any kicks in behind. If 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. 

Backs - Look to get the ball in hands of the backs and the back three especially, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of AAC/Dunbar to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Dunbar/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Roberts's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of Joseph 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 Harlequins can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington to exploit Brookes and pile in on him with Swarz. 
Quick Rucks - with their big pack we will look to set rucks quickly and keep their pack on the move to tire them out. As well as to keep moving the point if attack with ball in hand with clever offloads and pops to keep Quins guessing. 
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 - Roberts, not being the most agile, Flood will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line, similarly Joseph is not the best defending 13, and so Dunbar and Burrell will angle run down both of their weaker, inside shoulder.
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 the AP in Strettle & Varndell, so they we will get the ball in their hands and they will 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

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Charlie Faumaunia
04. Luke Romano	11. Jamie Elliot
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Christian Lealifano
06. James Haskell	13. George North
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Liam Messam	15. Stuart Hogg

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Benn Robinson 18. Jake Cooper Woolsey 19. Graham Kitchener 20. James Gaskell 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Alex Goode 23. Christian Wade

Overall: We are going to look to establish dominance in the set piece and loose in the pack. Look to keep the Saints playing in their own half. Defensively we want to really establish ourselves aggressively setting a huge tempo to try and dishearten the Saints

Scrum: Look to get after the scrum and exert pressure. Strong second row provide the grunt behind the technically sound props. It is a NZ combo that has been very solid and provides a great platform for us. Look to really target PDJ by putting pressure on the same spot and trying to push off the ball. We will try to set a base, controlled by Messam which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with SOB, Haskell, Messam, Romano and Whitelock options in the lineout. Whitelock will run the lineout with Romano offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. We will also look to aggressively get after the Saints lineout as we feel we can prosper here

Breakdown: Attempt to be aggressive at the breakdown. Look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Sean O'Brien and James Haskell can attack the ball. Get men into the breakdown to stop the availability of quick ball

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Saints decision makers and Fofana. 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 Faumuania, Romano, Hibbard, Healy and SOB will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Elliot, North and Sivivatu 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: Hodgson will be our place kicker. Our gameplan will see us kick a lot more than usual. We will be really looking to kick tactically and for position. We will look for touch in the Saints 22 and hope to exploit our lineout edge. We have good boots in Richard Wigglesworth, Charlie Hodgson, Christian Lealifano, Jamie Elliot and Stuart Hogg so we can switch the point of attack and mix it up.

Substitutes: Our subs will be used whenever necessary and have been picked to continue the gameplan. Our front row selections will still be a force in the scrum. Kitchener and Gaskell are both brilliant lineout winners who can work in the loose. Machenaud adds a tactical dimension with his kicking. Goode can come on and use his boot to work us around the park whilst Wade can really attack against a tired pack. Our subs will look to keep the tempo going and play to the final whistle

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

Harlequins visit Sandy Park unbeaten and full of confidence. Quins make one change to the starting side which beat reigning AP Champions London Wasps. Springbok international Ruan Pienaar returns at scrum half whilst the bench see's John Afoa, Luke Braid and Jack Nowell return to the matchday 23.
 

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. George Kruis	11. Joe Tomane
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. John Afoa 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Luke Braid 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Jack Nowell

Tactics

Game Plan

In the opposition half we will look to play our usual game of using a big carriers off 9 and 10 to get quick ball and tie in Exeter defenders and then we can get the ball into wider channels and put JJ and our back three into space and isolate defenders. Pienaar and Myler will look for forwards carrying at pace and in numbers to allow us the option to offload before or after contact or to allow us to get a quick ruck and attack again. When we get quick ball we will look to create gaps or overlaps out wide using runners cutting strong lines back towards play to keep the defenders honest.

In the opposition half we will look to get territory using the boots of Pienaar, Myler, Kearney and Huget. We will look to kick behind Varndell and using a solid chase and fill the field and force Varndell to kick. Should Exeter then begin to start using JOC to cover Varndell's space we will kick to the space vacated by JOC or take advantage of fewer defenders in the line and keep ball in hand. We aren't strictly looking for touch as we appreciate the quality in the Exeter line out so we want to force Exeter to kick for touch and give us line out ball to attack with in there half.

Set Piece

At the scrum we are looking to get the upper hand using our strong and powerful technical props to secure steady ball on our scrum but on Exeter ball we use an eight man shove to get Exeter going backwards and disrupt their ball or win a penalty. We have a powerful front 5 which can really exert pressure on the Exeter scrum.

At the line out we will look to shorten our line out to 4 or 5 men to negate the ability of the POC and Patterson. We will look to drive a lot of our line out ball as we feel we have the more physical pack and can take yards from Exeter here. On Exeter ball we will give them to front of the line as we are confident in our maul defence will not give Exeter quick off the top ball without them working for it.

Defence

Quick line speed from out to in looking to put pressure on Exeter's decision makers. Joseph will lead the line speed and rush up and try to force Exeter to stay narrow or risk a loose pass out wide where JJ can have an opportunity for the interception. We will decide whether we are going for the big hit to win the collision to halt momentum or whether to chop tackle and try to get a man on the ball early.

At the breakdown we will look for the first man to contest and attempt to slow the ball down legally the rest will set the defensive line.

Key Points

Big, physical pack. We feel we are bigger and stronger than Exeter up front and will look to make this known around the park and in the set piece.

Control from half backs. In Pienaar and Myler we feel we can control the tempo of the game and territory very well. Both excellent decision makers.

Take all the points. If we can get a win out of this one then we can keep our momentum going. We are going to take all points at goal to create scoreboard pressure.

Bakkies in Saffer squad I believe

Cheers Luke. Will amend now.

Steve, just realised AAC will probably be in the Oz 23, so have swapped him for Dunbar.

No worries mate.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Christian Day	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Gael Fickou
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanoon

:-
16. Vasil Kakovin 17. David Paice 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Kyle Eastmond

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.

- Momentum. We are 3 from 3 with two try bonus points already picked up. Saracens have gone down at home already this season. All the momentum is with us.

- Impact. Skelton (with us for the last two weeks after being released by Oz), Garvey & Eastmond offer real impact from the bench and genuine game changing options. Marmion & Hanrahan have proven themselves capable at Heineken Cup level and will look to see the game out against their u20's opposition. 

- 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.

- 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.

- Counter the opposition kicking game. Our wingers have been instructed to sit deep on defence and not leave space in behind. They will look to return Steyns kicks with interest. See Oz v SA. 

- 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.

 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Guthro Steenkamp	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Grey	10. Dan Carter
03. Coenie Ousthieuzen
04. Roman Taoufufena	11. Hosea Gear
05. George Robson	12. Ryan Crotty
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Akapusi Qera	14. Johnny May
08. Jaimie heaslip	15. Andreas Masi

16 Nick Wood 17 Luke Cowan-Dickie 18 Juan Figallo 19 Stooke 20 Wycliffe Palu 21 Genia 22 Danny Cipriani 23 Rhaymond Rhule


Glos travel to London welsh looking to build on the win from last week.
We will be looking to utilise our carriers to blast through and create a quick offloading game.

As with last week there will not be many in these conditions but
With the ones there are we will look to anchor
Our own ball. On Opposition ball we will look to target welsh heavily.
We have an all international front 5 and will demonstrate this.

Lineout 

With taofufina , Robson and Heaslip we have serious height and athelticism. In the first
Half we will look to take middle or back ball and maul it sucking in and tiring out WelshPack. As the game progresses we will go off the top more and more and look to move it to big runners like Alberts standing midfield.
On their ball we will challenge every time and utilise our giants to at very least put off their hooker

General forwards 

We have a lot more carriers and a seriously mobile pack so will be looking to really blast through the Exeter pack. Alberts,Qera,Coenie, Streenkamp etc will carry hard and straight and really batter at the opposition.
when on we will look to get the offload in and get in behind.

We will commit numbers to rucks to disrupt and counter ruck. We see Welsh as lacking a bit of physicality so will target this area heavily

Backs

The backs will be looking to play whenever they can get quick ball.
With 2 playmakers at 10/12
We have the options to vary our play as necessary.

In our half on slow ball it will be kicked and tempo will be controlled by Dan Carter.
He will decide when to go and when to slow.


We will utilise the bomb and cross kick if they defend narrowly.
As game progresses and people tire we will up the tempo with quick throws and more
Countering of loose Welsh kicks

Blitz defence mainly with scrum half covering 
Key points

- serious amount of big ball carriers
- superior kicking game
- impact bench

I've just seen that Jerome Kaino is in the All Blacks team for this week.  Am I ok to swap someone in for him or does it have to be someone stepping up from the bench?

You can bring someone in for him Pete. So are congratulations due? Boy/Girl?

Cheers mate.  Little boy, Noah, born last Friday weighing 8lb 9ozs.  Been a pretty hectic week!

Congrats Pete that's fantastic news! 

Congrats Pete.

SJE. I may struggle to predict this week. It is my last weekend in the UK and in school all day tomorrow. Hopefully get scores in on sunday or tomorrow evening.

No worries Steve

My tactics will be in in the morning Pooly haven't the time to go through them tonight

Jonny mine will be in late on tonight or tomorrow morning.

Congrats Pete!


I will post tactics over the next couple of hours...

Just Falcons tactics to be added

London Welsh 18-17 Gloucester Rugby
 
Scrum: No real edge either way. Better props from Glaws but more support from 2nd row for Welsh.
Lineout: Glaws can cause some problems for Ward with plenty of jumpers to compete. 
Breakdown: Welsh really emphasing the breakdown work and see them causing some real problems with so many specialists. 
HB's: 1 a piece but Welsh stronger as a combo.  
Attack: Back lines of a similar standard but Welsh with the better kicking game overall. Glaws with more in the carrying stakes. 
Defence: Some positional questions over both sets of wings. 
Bench: Godwin as cover 10 marked down. Some form issues for Glaws. Extra back row smart with the work rate asked for.
Tactics: Glaws see a lot of slow ball so the high tempo ball carrying doesn't really get going and see they are happy to revert to a kicking game. Welsh happy to play kick chase and look for the turnover in Glaws territory. Comes down to who wins the battle of the boots and see Welsh pipping it off better ball.

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Leicester Tigers 30-27 London Irish
 
Scrum: Both THs struggle at times but Tigers front 5 should get more from the scrum.
Lineout: Feel Irish are more capable of poaching the odd lineout but its not an area of dominance. 
Breakdown: Feel the Tigers front 5 are a little more effective here and should slow Irish down from time to time. 
HB's: Evens. Both combos very well suited and overall not a lot of difference quality wise.  
Attack: More from the Tigers midfield but Irish with more outwide. Carrying overall evens. 
Defence: Some question marks over Burns at 10 from time to time. 
Bench: Ranger the biggest game changer but feel Irish have more quality else where. 
Tactics: Both sides looking to open it up with some smart passing and big carries in the midfield area. Tigers however get the faster ball which will be crucial.
 

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Northampton Saints 28-27 Bath Rugby
 
Scrum: Slight edge Bath as feel their props will get more support from the 2nd row. 
Lineout: Both sides fairly strong here and will be dangerous off their own ball. 
Breakdown: Edge Bath see their back row getting through more work as a whole particularly with SOB told to get involved. 
HB's: One a piece for me. Some good form for both combos. 
Attack: Not a whole lot between the back lines overall. Bath shade the kicking battle. Both sides with real dynamic carriers.  
Defence: Young Williams can struggle positionally. 
Bench: Saints shade the bench but Bath have some game changing options from Wade & Machenaud. 
Tactics: Both sides looking for high tempo and exciting running rugby. Bath like Saints not massively hit by internationals and can match them in the collisions. Saints struggle off slow ball to start and Bath are capable of tries. Home advantage and an impact bench brings Saints back in to it late on.
 

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Exeter Chiefs 23-20 Harlequins
 
Scrum: No real edge to either side. 
Lineout: Chiefs more dangerous off their own ball and feel they are capable of poaching the odd lineout as well.
Breakdown: Chiefs more capable of turnovers but both sides should see fast ball.  
HB's: Half backs are one a piece and fairly even overall. 
Attack: Edge in midfield to Quins with bit more quality. Both sides with plenty of carriers. Better kicking game for Quins. 
Defence: JJ can be targeted at 13. 
Bench: Both benches with strengths. Quins see a scrum edge. Both have impact 10s but Douglas & Fearns give Chiefs a hard edge.
Tactics: Both looking for a big carrying offloading game but Chiefs looking for the higher tempo.Both sides trying to keep runners in the inside channels as well. Chiefs targeting JJ well on attack. Very tight affair and home advantage decides it. 
 

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London Wasps 27-20 Newcastle Falcons
 
Scrum: Don't see a scrum edge to either side here.
Lineout: Falcons capable of picking off a few of Best's throws.  
Breakdown: Good battle here with both front 5s getting through a lot of work. Little more in the back row for Wasps.
HB's: Cruden not up to his usual standards with current international issues. Lewis not up to Youngs standard. 
Attack: Back three edges to Wasps. Falcons take midfield as a combo. Both sides have great carrying options. 
Defence: See Slade struggling up against JD.
Bench: Neither side dominates late on. Marler will make a good cameo appearance though. 
Tactics: Falcons disorganised this week with a quick two lines tactics. Wasps with the usual approach. Bit jaded with Cruden having traveled this week but at home against a disorganised Falcons win out.

---

I've noticed one call up during my predictions. If you see anyone else let me know please 

Leicester 24-23 Irish

FR-Irish would probably get a little edge on in the scrum with PDJ suffering with a loss of form, nothing major though as Tigers backed by two good scrummaging locks
SR-Not much in the line outs, Tigers pairing offer a little more breakdown work and clearing, irish a little more carrying
BR-Two good units with nice balance, bit of everything from both sides
HB-Both 10's in some good form, just prefer Burns though and Tigers just sneak this one, two good pairings though
CE-Tigers sneak this one, still not seen much of the Irish 12 (think he's playing Falcons this week?)
B3-Some good finishers for both, little more for the home side
Overall-Good tight affair, Irish looking much more solid than last season. Not sure Tigers tactic of targeting scrum will work but overall they have an edge and home advantage gives them a narrow win

Northampton 20-20 Bath

FR-Edge in the scrum to Bath with the Saints unit struggling for a bit of form
SR-Two top pairings, little more grunt for Bath and will just sneak the line out. Great battle though
BR-Two good outfits, both struggling for form at 7. Bath stronger at 6 and Saints at 8
HB-Not much in the 10's, Ford's kicking has improved but question marks over his big game temprement and every game is big on here. Bath a class up at 9, not sold on Davies.
CE-Strong units with both 13's getting caught out a bit positionally, good balance though.
B3-Bath on paper a litttle stronger but both sides lacking form in the back 3
Overall-Bath a little stronger but Saints tough at home. Not sure Saints have half back pairing to win these tight affairs, have to sit on the fence.

FR-
SR-
BR-
HB-
CE-
B3-
Overall-

FR-
SR-
BR-
HB-
CE-
B3-
Overall-

Tigers 26-27 Irish

Scrum- taking locks into account (alongside PDJ who let's be honest is currently a liability) looks pretty even albeit messy
Lineout- again very close, would be an edge to Irish but tactics level for Tigers
Breakdown- 2 good sets of flankers here, but Tigers maybe just ahead plus they have Jenkins and Bast who are big helps. However, Irish tactics are very well thought out, might even nick it
Carrying- more across the board from Irish, just
HBs- Burns not at his best today but still pretty close, just an edge to Irish on form, but both sets compliment each other well
Attack- really like the Irish tactics and balance, whilst Tigers have some great carrying power plus finishers but a few more flaws and wobbly form. Irish
Defence- tigers more solid esp in backs
Subs- nothing in it

Overall- with their backs just ahead and the pack v close, Irish just do enough to steal an away win

Sarries 22 - 25 Sale

Scrum- can just see Diaz getting on top of McGrath and getting a slight edge to Sarries
Lineout- both sides similar with lots of options, good ball for both
Breakdown- both sides have a good 7 plus a 6.5 type player- maybe just an edge to Sale with POM a bigger help
Carrying- more across te board to Sale but not by much and Hughes form big for Sarries
HBs- like Parra but with Morne a bit too kicky. Care re found form last week, have to back him plus Sexton
Attack- 2 dangerous backlines being used well, won't separate
Defence- meh, not much in it
Subs- sale edge in pack, close in backs

Overall- Sale too strong with slight advantages in forwards and backs

Saints 32- 31 Bath

Scrum- edge Bath
Lineout- so very close, both will get good ball, with more options maybe a slither to Saints
Breakdown- Launchbury tips into Saints favour
Carrying- bath where the backrow excels
HBs- prefer old heads of Bath
Attack- great intent from both sides, maybe an edge to Saints if Niki Goneva can get going at 13
Defence- clear advantage to Bath
Subs- good impact from both
Overall- close match, high scoring, home side wins

Chiefs 27 vs 26 Quins

Scrum- think Quins get on top here, should get some penalties
Lineout- close, narrow advantage Quins
Breakdown- Chiefs get sizable advantage
Carrying- Quins in tight, chiefs in looser play
HBs- Quins
Attack- Evens
Defence- Evens
Subs- Chiefs

At home Quins would nick it. Here, Chiefs have enough

Wasps 27 - 20 pFalcons

Scrum- just Wasps
Lineout- just Wasps with the lock at 6
Breakdown- Falcons who have more players here than wasps who are reliant on Armitage and a bit from others like Youngs
Carrying- evens
HBs- Wasps edge
Attack- lack of tactics hurts otherwise strong Falcons. For Wasps, I'd play Slade at 12 or 10 rather than 13
Defence- edge Wasps
Subs- close

Overall- Wasps too strong at home

Just landed from Lisbon. Any chance we can extend until Monday ?

Stuck in huge traffic jam, have predos on laptop just need to get home to do them - hoping by 10 if ok!

Welsh 25 - 27 Gloucester

Prefer Gloucs up front, but form issues, and the second rows fairly even. Slight edge to Gloucs in the back row, and overall they edge the pack. Good HB battle, with Carter the standout, but beyond there Gloucs a step up in quality for me. Good away win.


Saracens 25 - 25 Sale

Decent scrum contest, maybe edge Sale, but prefer Sarries seasoned lock pairing. Really close in the back rows two good units, maybe edge Sale, and they just sneak the packs. Two classy HB combos, whilst beyond there fairly close. Can't split them.


Saints 32 - 30 Bath

Great front row battle edges by Saints, with probs the two best second row units in the league right now battle it out.Bath need SOB to find form, as Saints take the back row. Neither side dominates the HBs, and the centres are both exciting. Good back threes too. Great, great game. Two best sides during 6N. Home advantage takes it.


Chiefs 26 - 26 Harlequins

Tight up front, and one apiece in second rows too. Struggling to split back rows as well, and the pack battle is a fierce one. One apiece at HB, with Quins edging it beyond there. Really good game, can't split.


Wasps 28 - 26 Newcastle

Not much in the front rows, maybe edge Newcastle. Very even in the second rows, whilst back rows are a fairly similar story. Edge to Wasps at HB, one apiece in the centres, with Wasps tad more dangerous out wide. Home advantage swings it.

Welsh 22-21 Gloucester
Not much in the front fives for me. Both back rows are strong in different ways. I think the overall Gloucester lineout will be stronger but Welsh can dominate at the breakdown. Gloucester will probably get more go forward from their back row. Love the Welsh half backs think they can really dictate play. Not much at all between the sets of outside backs. I think Welsh can just nick this with FTD having an inspired game.

Tigers 23-18 Irish
I think Tigers will win the battle of the front fives. Not much in the back rows but I think as a unit the Irish back row just seams perfectly together. Overall another edge in the half backs to Leicester. Not 100% sold on Kahn but think they have a bit more about them than Tigers unit. Outside backs for me go to Tigers who have a real good unit. So much about them.

Sarries 23-27 Sale
Sale front row has a bit more grit in it. Like the Sarries second row and think it gets an edge. The Sale back row has more quality about it. Two of the best half backs unit but overall edge to Sale. Love both centre combos but the better outside backs come from Sale. A great set of game changing subs from Sale as well.

Exeter 22-24 Quins
Prefer the Quins front five as a unit. I like both back row units but I think with Easter on form they take it at the moment. Exeter half backs are stronger and I am not fully sold on Myler here. Quins outside backs have the slight edge for me. Benches are fairly even but Quins missing a man hinders them.

Wasps 25-22 Newcastle
Wasps have the better front row but Newcastle have the slight advantage in the second row. I'm not too confident about either back row but feel Wasps can really get a breakdown edge. Wasps half back combo is stronger but not sure I would have played Cruden this week so mark down for that. Outside backs and subs from Wasps are stronger and at home they have enough.

Will leave this open till lunch time tomorrow 

London Welsh 22 - 20 Gloucester

Welsh have a real grafting and physical pack which can make some in roads in the loose and at the breakdown, where CJ has got his tactics right to make their advantage pay dividends, they lack a little quality in the set piece and in the backs. With a slower game Glaws will struggle to get their backs into play and this will allow Welsh to keep the scoreboard ticking over, so they can sneak the game late on.

Northampton Saints 38 - 33 Bath Rugby

Two really attacking sides, Bath and Saints have virtually their best packs out and this is a real ding dong affair. Bath have a little more control from their halfbacks to feed their backs with some good possession. Saints miss Giteau's control but with the impact of their bench they will just steal the result.

Saracens 25 - 29 Sale Sharks

Good battle up front and in the loose, Sale just edge this later on with impact of their bench forwards. Great attacking ability in the back lines, just feel the Sarries lacking the attacking threat of the Sharks halfbacks and the ability to spark their backs into the game. There is just a little more in the Sharks to upset Sarries at home. 

Leicester Tigers 30 - 27 London Irish

The scrums are a bit messy but Tigers edge the packs around the park, with the Irish back row making some headway for their side in the game too. More control from the Irish halfbacks, but Burns can bring his wingers in to play with some good attacking lines off their front foot possession built by the forwards. A solid home win but Irish comeback strong for the bonus point.

London Wasps 32 - 29 Newcastle Falcons

About even in the packs, Wasps perhaps edging the scrums and Falcons the line out. This means a strong supply of possession for both. Just more control from Wasps and this will allow them to get the best out of their attacking back line which carries a bit more of an edge in comparison to Falcons who are missing their big guns. Still a high scoring game though.

" Both Falcons and Bath name Jamie Elliot in their teams this week, not sure who should or shouldn't have him?

London Welsh 30 -30 Gloucester
So tough on Welsh to lose this one, but a glaring issue for me is that Nathan Catt can be got at in the set pieces, as he's 3rd/4th choice at Bath now. Probably start Stevens there as more experienced. Rest of the Welsh team and bench is big improvement from last season. Gloucester do have more WC players and can see them finishing strong with their bench, but a few form issues in real life will make it hard away from home.

Tigers 28 -25 Irish
That is a seriously, seriously powerful Tigers pack there, matched with the backline will cause Irish a lot of trouble with the gainline battle and the breakdown. Can see them getting a lot of possession, but the Irish backline for me is capable of scoring more tries. Too much power from Tigers here though and benefit from getting Louw back.

Saracens 27 - 30 Sale
Sale are looking like real challengers for the AP this season, cracking combinations all over the team and some very in form players like Attwood. Sarries selected a very physical pack and could have won this one if the conditions didn't suit Sale so well. Parra and Steyn not the most creative, which is a shame as really like the backline that Pooly has put together.

Exeter 34 - 33 Quins
Have always given teams with less players on the bench a few less points in the game as can make a big difference, which is unlucky for Quins! Exeter have a great attacking lineup and Varndell and Strettle and this game should see both teams get the bp. Narrow win for the home side.

Wasps 30-27 Newcastle
Wasps another team who are looking very strong, Slade's form has completely changed that backline and can see him being a big difference in the outcome. Packs are very even overall, perhaps a bit more edge to Wasps but not by much. Lot of power from Falcons, but they've been effected by the RC and will be a lot stronger in a few weeks.

Exeter 27-26 Quins

Bit more for Exeter and home advantage key

Wasps 20-20 Falcons

Wasps iffy set piece, Falcons lack of strong game plan stops them getting the win

Chris on your score you say welsh lose and then it's a draw. Is that right ?

Sorry for no predictions and lack of tactics been working a lot lately.