European Champions Cup Round 2

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Munster v Leicester Tigers
Location - Thomond Park
Light Rain, 11 Degrees, 18mph WSW winds

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Munster

01. Dave Kilcoyne	09. Conor Murray
02. Duncan Casey	10. Ian Keatley
03. Stephen Archer
04. Dave Foley	11. Simon Zebo
05. Paul O'Connell	12. Denis Hurley
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Andrew Smith
07. Tommy O'Donnell	14. Andrew Conway
08. CJ Stander	15. Felix Jones

:-
16 Eusebio Guinazu, 17 James Cronin, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Billy Holland, 20 Robin Copeland, 21 Duncan Williams, 22 JJ Hanrahan, 23 Gerhard van den Heever

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

EQ Requirements breached. Tom Johnson promoted and the bench goes one short.

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Micky Young
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Paddy Jackson (k)
03. Cencus Johnston
04. Kearnan Myall	11. Ugo Monye
05. Victor Matfield (c)	12. Tamati Ellison
06. Tom Johnson	13. Rene Ranger
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Sean Maitland

.
16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Max Lahiff 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Tom Price 20.  21. Dwayne Peel 22. Brock James 23. Matt Banahan

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Harlequins v Toulouse
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Heavy Rain, 16 Degrees, 12mph SSW winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Frank Halai
08. Damien Chouly	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

:-
16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gjorji Jgenti 18. John Afoa 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Mamuka Gorgodze 21. Karl Dickson 22. Colin Slade 23. Jonathan Joseph

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Toulouse

01. Gürthro Steenkamp	09. Jean-Marc Doussain
02. Corey Flynn	10. Luke McAlister
03. Census Johnston
04. Joe Tekori	11. Timoci Matanavou
05. Yoann Maestri	12. Gaël Fickou
06. Yacouba Camara	13. Florian Fritz
07. Thierry Dusautoir (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Imanol Harinordoquy	15. Maxime Médard

:- 
16 Julien Marchand, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Cyril Baille, 19 Patricio Albacete, 20 Edwin Maka, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 Toby Flood, 23 Vincent Clerc

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London Wasps v Ospreys
Location - Adams Park
Heavy Rain, 16 Degrees, 12mph SSW winds

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Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     
               

01. Joe Marler	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plesiss	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Dave Wilson
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Anthony Watson
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Henry Slade
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Delon Armitage

16. Tom Youngs 17. Paul James 18. Ben Alexander 19. Paul Willemse 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Ben Youngs 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Tim Nanai-Williams


Standard wet weather tactics.  Use the boots of Cruden, Slade and Armitage to play for territory, carry close to the ruck and wear the down.  Only open up in the opposition half and if it is completely on to do so.  Blitz defence with Smith sweeping with particular pressure aimed at their backs who have kicking games to hurry them and ensure we win the kicking battle.

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Ospreys

01. Nicky Smith	09. Rhys Webb
02. Scott Baldwin	10. Dan Biggar
03. Dmitri Arhip
04. Lloyd Peers	11. Eli Walker
05. Alun-Wyn Jones (c)	12. Josh Matavesi
06. James King	13. Andrew Bishop
07. Sam Lewis	14. Jeff Hassler
08. Dan Baker	15. Daniel Evans

:- 
16 Scott Otten, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Rynier Bernardo, 20 Joe Bearman, 21 Justin Tipuric, 22 Martin Roberts, 23 Sam Davies

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Scarlets v Sale Sharks
Location - Parc y Scarlets
Heavy Rain, 14 Degrees, 15mph W winds

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Scarlets

01. Rob Evans	09. Aled Davies
02. Emyr Phillips	10. Rhys Priestland
03. Samson Lee
04. Jake Ball	11. Kristian Phillips
05. Johan Snyman	12. Scott Williams (c)
06. Aaron Shingler	13. Michael Tagicakibau
07. John Barclay	14. Harry Robinson
08. Rory Pitman	15. Liam Williams

:- 
16 Kirby Myhill, 17 Phil John, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 George Earle, 20 James Davies, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Steven Shingler, 23 Jordan Williams

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Christian Day	12. Francois Steyn
06. Matt Garvey	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Charles Ollivon	15. Willie Le Roux

16. Jack McGrath 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Will Skelton 20. Steven Luatua 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Kyle Eastmond

We will adopt a territory first approach and play the game in the Scarlets half forcing them to play from deep.

- Win the kicking dual. Strong and intelligent kickers selected throughout the backline to ensure we dominate the territorial battle. We will constantly put the ball into the corners.

- Tight carrying game. When in opposition territory we will look to carry close to the ruck and suck defenders in, only going wide when it is absolutely on to do so.

- 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.

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

- Make ground from the lineout. Look to throw to the front or middle of the line, get the maul rolling and suck in defenders to create space. If uncontested look to shorten the line and have Ollivon run down the 10/12 channel.

- 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 back three have been instructed to sit deep on defence to cover kicks. All are comfortable under the high ball.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with 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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Clermont Auvergne v Northampton Saints
Location - Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin
Sunny, 14 Degrees, 10mph NE winds

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Clermont Auvergne

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ludovic Radosavljevic
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Camille Lopez
03. Davit Zirakashvili
04. Jamie Cudmore	11. Zac Guildford
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Fritz Lee	13. Aurélien Rougerie
07. Julien Bonnaire	14. Noa Nakaitaci
08. Damien Chouly (c)	15. Nick Abendanon

:- 
16 John Ulugia, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Clement Ric, 19 Loïc Jacquet, 20 Julien Bardy, 21 Thierry Lacrampe, 22 Brock James, 23 Benson Stanley

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Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Gareth Davies
02. Dylan Hartley (c)	10. Nick Evans
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Vereniki Goneva
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Schalk Burger	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

:-
16. Rob Webber 17. Trevor Nyakane 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Jonny Gray 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Joe Simpson 22. Julian Savea 23. Ben Foden

Tactics: Clermont have not had the best start to the season, whereas Saints have got try BP in all but one game so far this season and will look to play at a high tempo and intensity, forcing the home team into mistakes and getting our big ball carriers on the ball as early as possible. The aim is to ware down Clermont and then unleash our bench for when the game opens up late on.

Set Piece and Pack: Our pack has been selected for its strong set piece, which is vital to get a second away victory in a row against Clermont, who we beat last year with a team that wasn't as strong as the one we have picked today. Four quality lineout jumpers to mix up the attack, and five full internationals to bring off the bench to keep the pack going forward for 80 minutes. No natural no7 for Clermont so will target this area with our pack.

Control: Picked Evans and Giteau as the 10/12 combination to ensure we win the kicking battle against Clermont. Have Davies at no9 who has more international experience and club games than his counterpart and believer we have the advantage in the no2, 8, 9 and 10 shirts. Halfpenny selected for his goal kicking and to make every penalty we secure count.

Power: Will get the ball to our big ball carriers to keep us getting over the gainline and putting pressure on the home teams defence. Bench is picked for impact and will let us finish strong.

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Newcastle Falcons v Gloucester Rugby
Location - Kingston Park
Light Rain, 12 Degrees, 8mph WNW winds

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Matt Mullen	09. Greig Laidlaw
02. Rory Best	10. Owen Farrell
03. Carl Hayman
04. Ed Slater	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Geoff Parling	12. Jean De Villers
06. Dan Lydiate	13. John Davies
07. Will Fraser	14. Charles Pitatau
08. Immanol Harinordiquey	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Yoaan Maestri 20.Richie McCaw 21.Kieron Read 22.Nick Phipps 23.Ben Smith

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 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

EQ Requirements breached. Cips & Grey promoted and the bench goes two short.

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Grey	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Nicola Mas
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Johnny May
05. George Robson	12. Matt Toomua
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Julien Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Andreas Masi

:-
16 Guthro Steenkamp 17 18 Juan Figallo 19 Elliot Stooke 20 Yacoub Camara 21 TJ Perenara 22 23 Israel Folau

TARGET BREAKDOWN – We have a big mobile physically stronger bunch and will hit rucks with venom. We will Send numbers in and try and effect turnovers or Disrupt ball.we believe the likes of  Alberts Salvi and heaslip has physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our  front 5 and this is an area we will flood.

TARGET back 3 – in greasy conditions we will Look to Kick in behind and generally torment them 

TARGET SCRUM – front 5 in good form for  glos. We want  to disrupt their ball and go quickly on ours 

Half backs- Robson in top form will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to carter who will dictate. 
Carter Will challenge line and kick When necessary. We want to play high tempo and move Newcastle around. We will do this by using runners off ten to smash holes and look to flood.



General - We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We Have a lot more carriers in the pack and will use this to dominate and get front foot ball. We believe their
Lack of carrying will give is the upper hand. We will use this to run the legs off Newcastle And play an offloading game. When in behind We will Flood through with our quick Backs targeting mismatches  

Line out – We have options galore in Robson etzbeth  Alberts heaslip and will use this to disrupt.
On our ball we will mix It but as game progresses go Off The top more To Get in to there backline 


Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Bench - Game changing bench with Palu Cips Perenara etc. Our intention is not to bring on players who played in the bledisloe last week as it's a big ask for them to fly around the world after that brutal game. However we have folau on the bench for that just in case moment

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Munster 24-23Tigers 
Quins 28-24Toulouse
Wasps 45-23 Ospreys
Scarlets 17-28 Sale
Clermont 31-31 Saints

On reflection I see that my Gloucester-Falcons score is breaching the no details prediction scoring I feel should be in place for any matches between AP sides and I'd like to change it to 30 Falcons, 29 Gloucester based on that

Munster 19 - 24 Leicester Tigers

Munster are a tough beast at home to conquer, but Tigers have just a lot more talent around the park to tale advantage of the Red Monster that is the Munster pack. Tigers perhaps lacking the reliable kicker to help put the result beyond doubt, but they manage to out score their opponents.

Harlequins 26 - 20 Toulouse

The form of the Toulouse pack is on the up. But the experience and quality of the Quins forwards can create enough momentum to perhaps halt the Toulouse upward curve. Toulouse are very dangerous out wide, but as Quins, who will see much more front possession to help them won out at home.

Wasps 31 - 20 Ospreys

The smatterings of quality in the O's side put up a good fight, but they lack the leadership and experience of their opponents. Wasps in good form and just snatch the bonus point.

Scarlets 20 - 28 Sale Sharks

Roughly even up front with all of the of the personnel changes made by the Sharks. But the quality in the Sharks back line will tear Scarlets to shreds when they get quick ball. Scarlets have the ability to worry the Sharks defence, but not the result.

Clermont Auvergne 30 - 32 Northampton Saints

Tough old place to go, but Saints just have the quality to keep the scoreboard ticking over and more importantly outscore Clermont at home. Best game of the week for me.

Newcastle Falcons 25 - 22 Gloucester

Falcons have the experience in the front dive to get the advantage over their opponents. This will nullify the dangerous Glos back row in parts of the game, and hurt the protection they can provide their half backs. Despite the shenanigans, this is a good tight game, where both are waiting for players to comeback from internationals. Both are usually strong come January and I expect to see the same. But Falcons edge this contest through Farrell's boot.

Quins 25-24 Toulouse
Wasps 30-29 Ospreys
Scarlets 19-20 Sale
Clermont 27-27 Saints
Newcastle 25-24 Gloucester

RESULTS:

Munster 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)
Leicester Tigers 20 (T:1 P:5)

Harlequins 29 (T:2 C:2 P:5)
Toulouse 20 (T:1 P:5)

Wasps 36 (T:4 C:4 P:4)
Ospreys 19 (T:1 C:1 P:4)

Scarlets 16 (T:1 C:1 P:3)
Sale Sharks 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)

Clermont Auvergne 26 (T:2 C:2 P:4)
Northampton Saints 27 (T:2 C:1 P:5)

Newcastle Falcons 27 (T:2 C:1 P:5)
Gloucester 23 (T:2 C:2 P:3)