Aviva Premiership Round Seven #AIs

---

Sale Sharks v London Irish 
Location - AJ Bell Stadium
Thick Cloud, 11 Degrees, 9mph ESE Winds

---

 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Faf De Klerk
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Keith Earls
05. Christian Day	12. Anthony Allen
06. Steven Luatua	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

:-
16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Iain Henderson 20. Matt Garvey 21. Calum Braley 22. Francois Steyn 23. Sibusiso Sithole

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

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

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

- Change the point of attack. Numerous play makers 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. Bendy 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, De Klerk & Barrett. 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. De Klerk will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

- 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.

---

 London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. Tom Court	09. Neil De Kock
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar
03. Henry Thomas
04. Jacques Poitgeiter	11. Nick Cummins
05. Tom Savage	12. Owen Williams
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Jon Fisher	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Scott Higginbotham*	15. Rob Cook

:-
16. Marc Jones 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Will Collier 19. Deam Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 21. Lee Dickson 22. Luke McAlister 23. Conrad Smith

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.

Breakdown: We will look to be controlled here with the tackler and 1 more player committing initially to the breakdown. Brown 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 Sharks under commit to their ruck and we will look to blitz past the ball for the turnover. We 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 Williams and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. We know how well Biggar can find touch and we will use this. De Kock 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 look at Williams and Trinder to pull the strings and find the gaps for the strong runners, if it is not on and the wind is lowing in our advantage then we will look for deep kicks to go off  the field and put pressure on their lineouts.. 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 especially being able to bring on Mumm, McAlister and Conrad Smith who will all make inroads against tired defences and be able to pull the strings to make the gaps available.

Defence: We also know how good the Sharks centres are so will look to prevent tem 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 Cook 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. We are playing in strong wind so if we have the advantage then we will use the wind and go for long range goals, we will not kick high into the wind and will use Biggar's skill with kicking hard and low.

---

---

Bath v Newcastle Falcons  
Location - Recreation Grounds
Light Cloud, 12 Degrees, 6mph SE Winds

---

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Luke Jones	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Liam Squire	15. Hallan Amos

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Peter Dooley 18. Jake Cooper Wooley 19. Sam Whitelock 20. Luke Wallace 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Matt Hopper 23. Sitiveni Sivivatu

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Falcons in the loose. We will play a high tempo and really look to get some big carries in. We feel we have a real advantage in the set piece so look to real attack of this.

Scrum: Look for our unit to set a strong platform. Our props have been well rotated so will be fresh. Look to really pressure McGuigan who hasn't much experience and is up against Hibbard. We will try to set a base, controlled by Squire which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Jones, SOB and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitch will run the lineout with Jones offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Look to compete on the opposition throw as we have a great number of options. Try and starve them of quality ball from the lineout.

Breakdown: The breakdown is an area we really see ourselves as able to dominate. We will look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Sean O'Brien and Liam Gill can try and disrupt opposition ball.

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Newcastle decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Focus on gain line collisions and driving back in the tackle. 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. Beale 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. Look to get the big carriers involved as much as possible. The likes of Tameifuma, Kitchener, Hibbard, Healy and SOB will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Wade, Nalaga and De Allende will be looking for gaps created that they can exploit. Look to counter attack kicks if possible. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Look for chances to offload.

Kicking: Beale will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards their back three. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Beale, LLF, Amos and Hodgson all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo. We feel our bench can really impact the game whereas the Falcons bench could cost them. Fowles and Deveto form the half back cover but in a tight game will lack the experience and leadership to get over the line. Deveto is also a new signing and won't be up on the lines and defensive pattern.

---

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Matt stevens	09. Dave Lewis
02. George McGuigan	10. Andy Goode
03. Carl Hayman
04. Brad Thorn	11. Cory Jane
05. Geoff Parling	12. Francia Sailli
06. Dave Ewers	13. Johnathan Davies*
07. Will Fraser	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordiuy	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.Huia Edmonds 17.Soana Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry* 21.Nathan Fowles 22.Ollie Devoto 23.Robbie Frueen

---

Gloucester v Harlequins
Location - Kingsholm
Light Cloud, 12 Degrees, 8mph SE Winds

---

 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Wood	09. Robson
02. Grey	10. Cipriani
03. Figallo
04. Alberts	11. Gear
05. Robson	12. Toomua*
06. Juan Smith	13. Juan de Jongh
07. Salvi	14. Rhule
08. Palu	15. Walker

:-
16 Steenkamp 17 Luke Cowan Dickie 18 Sebastian Adeniran-Olule 19 Elliot Stooke 20 Pablo Matera 21 Justin Phillips 22 Matt Scott 23 Sam Davies


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 smith 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 great conditions we will Look to Kick in behind and turn them when applicable 

Half backs- Robson in top form will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to cips who will dictate. 
Cips Will challenge line and kick When necessary. We want to play high tempo and move Quins 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 this  will give is the upper hand. We will use this to run the legs off Quine 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 smith   Alberts etc 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 More ball carriers and attacking backs. Our intention is to use it as required

---

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Pieter Steph Du Toit	11. Jack Nowell
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Dan Bowden
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Luke Braid	14. Frank Halai
08. Nick Easter (c)	15. Luke Morahan

:-
16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Ihaia West 23. Ollie Lindsay-Hague

Tactics

When in our own half we will look to use the kicking games of our 9, 10, 12 and 15 to get us into the right areas of the pitch. We won't kick aimlessly but will look to kick to touch or to open spaces. As well as this we will look to employ cross field kicks and up and unders to really test the positioning of the Gloucester back 3.  

In the opposition half we will look to play our usual patient game of using our pack to get us across the gain line so we can recycle the ball quickly and play at a quick tempo. We will look for our forwards to carry in wider channels off 10 and 12. We especially want to get forwards running in back towards play so we can look to drag Gloucester defenders inwards and create space out wide for JJ, Nowell  and Halai. We feel our best chance of scoring is by creating space in wider channels for our quick men. This said, we do have the pack to slow the ball down when we need to bring back some control.  

At the set piece we will really target the scrum and look to use it as an attacking weapon and an area to win penalties. At the the lineout we want quick ball if the back of the lineout or in the middle and drive or get  it off the top from there.

In defence we will defend up and out with a really quick linespeed and back our pace on the drift defence. We will look for Braid to attack the breakdown and legally slow down the Gloucester ball. Look to either win the collision or chop tackle and quickly get over the ball.

---

---

Leicester Tigers v Saracens 
Location - Welford Road
Light Rain, 11 Degrees, 9mph SE Winds

---

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Micky Young
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Nathan Hines	11. Rene Ranger
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Tamati Ellison
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Jaco Taute

.
16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Max Lahiff 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Steve Mafi 20. Jacques Burger 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Ugo Monye

Tactics:

In wet conditions we will play sensibly and use the power and strength of our side to get us over the gainline.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Moore, Franks and Jenkins to look to really get into the opposition, particularly George and Mullan. Lots of scrums in wet weather and an area we will look to target if winning.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Hines or Lobbe at the front and Myall off the top as our three key options.
Shortened lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Put serious pressure on George's throws with Hines at the front on all Sarries throws.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Sarries defence. The likes of Waldrom, Louw, Hines, Moore, Lobbe and Ranger to be used to get us over the gainline. Add to that the likes of Tolofua, Mafi, Lahiff and Burger off the bench.

- Target the breakdown - huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Louw and Lobbe, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial today.

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

- In the rain we will target an out of sorts Steyn all game with Louw and Lobbe breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Big runners through his channel - looking to win the Burns vs Steyn contest.

- 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. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Young to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Burns to kick all penalties.

---

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Jamie George	10. Morne Steyn
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrico Albacete	11. Zak Guildford
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Ben Mowen(c)	13. Matt Tait
07. Callum Clark	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Lee Byrne

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Fabien Barcella  18. Matius Diaz 19. Julian Pierre 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Henry Taylor 22. Miles Benjamin 23. Simon Hammersley

Tactics:

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

TARGET HB Combo – Look to put Youngs/Burns axis under pressure and get Burns on back foot

TARGET KICKING GAME– Look to dominate the kicking game and put pressure on the Tigers line out

PARRA/STEYN COMBO - Perfect combo to dictate play and keep us playing in right area of pitch oin greasy conditions


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/Cole/Mowen 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 Mermoz on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Taylor 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.

---

---

Northampton Saints v Exeter Chiefs
Location - Franklins Garden
Heavy Rain, 11 Degrees, 9mph SE Winds

---

 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Scott Spurling	10. Nick Evans
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Ben Foden
05. Mitch Lees	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Jones	14. Jordan Williams
08. Samu Manoa (c)	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

:-
16. Elliott Dee 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Adam Jones 19. Lood de Jager 20. CJ Stander 21. Gareth Davies 22. Elliot Daly 23. David Pocock

Tactics:
Undefeated in the Premiership and Europe this season, we look to continue our momentum during the AI's by going back to basics and playing a game plan that suits the conditions and play no risk rugby in the Exeter Chiefs half of the pitch. Our aim is no risk rugby, to win the territorial battle with Evans and Giteau playing and then force Exeter into erros and mistakes with an aggressive defence. We will take all opportunities to kick for goal and take 3 points to grind out a result.

Pack/Setpiece:
We've picked a strong forward pack to allow us to build a strong platform that can secure us good quality ball on our possession, with Samoa picked as no8 to give us a strong ball carrier off the base to make hard yards. We want to give Evans and Giteau a good platform for clearing the ball and winning the kicking battle. We've selected Bonnaire to allow us to attack the Exeter lineout and try and force handling errors and scrappy balls for Cook at no9. We have five lineout jumpers, but good banker ball with Launchbury and will work on shortened lineouts to enable us to get second phase attacks into the midfield of Exeter. We've also selected 5 forwards on the bench to take into account the conditions.

Attack/Kicking Game:
With the conditions it isn't going to be a pretty game, we've picked a team of big ball carriers to get through the hard work and make the hard yards. We have Tuilagi and Giteau in the backline to win the gainline battle in the backline, but our main way of attacking is going to be the boot of Evans and Giteau and get us into the right areas of the pitch and pressurise Exeter when mistakes will result in points. In our own half we are aiming to kick the ball a lot, in the Chiefs half we will start to look to play the rolling maul and once in the Exeter 22 we will look to get the ball in the hands of Tuilagi and Giteau. We've got powerful ball carriers and one or two tries could make the difference.

Breakdown:
The conditions mean that we wont be able to attack any turnover ball as we'd normally do, instead we are looking to set up our defensive line around the fringes of any rucks to make sure we can push back Exeter when they try and make hard yards.

Defence:
As always an aggressive defence, looking for fast line speed, closing down attacking options and aiming to put a lot of pressure on Flood - if we get to him we stop Exeter's kicking game. Strong midfield defensively, and Halfpenny and Foden excellent defensively in these conditions and Williams drafted in for his kicking game, the back three will drop back to defend against Exeters kicking game.

Key Points:
* Great form in the league, home advantage and will look to keep our winning streak.
* Strong setpiece that will provide our halfbacks with a solid platform to control the game.
* Selected players to win the kicking and territorial battle - only player in our backline without a kicking game is Tuilagi.
* Simple game, minimise mistakes and aggressive defence to force Exeter into errors that Halfpenny can capitalise on.

---

Exeter Chiefs 
Manager – Fluxy

Davit Kubriashvili starts for Georgia. Bench one short.

01. Richard Barrington	09. Chris Cook
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Toby Flood
03. James Johnston
04. Kane Douglas	11. Tom Varndell
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Donnacha Ryan	13. George Lowe
07. Jacob Rowan	14. David Strettle
08. Carl Fearns	15. James O'Connor

16. Dimitri Szarzewski 17. Alex Lundberg 18.  19. Patrick Tuipulotu 20. Gus Jones 21. Jack Maunder 22. Marnitz Boshoff 23. Richard Kahui

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. With wet and windy conditions we will 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. We will look to play a simple territory game based around our strong set-piece and carrying. This means when kicking the backs kick under no pressure - if there is slow ball we recycle and set guards to allow a clean kick and chase. 
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play and keep the high tempo going throughout.

Set piece - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan. Paterson to marshal the line-out and get quick ball from our dynamic jumpers, Paterson to look at using the line-out and set mauls to allow for the box from Cook under no pressure from their forwards being tied into the maul. Pressure on Launch and Bonnaire as main jumpers. At the scrum we’ll look to get the squeeze on and target the front row, Domingo hasn't played in a while and the pressure will be applied on him, as well as Mulipola. A nudge at the scrum for us to keep the opposition back row tied into the scrum giving Cook, Flood more time and space to work in. 

Pack & Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball tight in the greasy conditions and take advantage of the forwards in the Saints pack who prefer to be out in the wider channels. 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. Cook 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 Cook 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. Rowan 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, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of Dunbar/Burrell to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Varndell/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Barritt's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of their back three in defence. Or generate the two on one with JOC joining the back line as the slider moves under the crash/dummy line.


Key Points

Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington and Yeandle will both put the squeeze on Mulipola to generate scrum penalties.
Line-out & Mauls - with a big front five we will look to set rolling mauls, to keep their back five tied in and also gain strong momentum.
Physicality & Dynamism – Win the collision and target rucks to drive through opposition. We have a big physical, but also mobile pack. Supported by some high energy forwards off the bench. With players like Bonnaire, Jones and Spurling in wider channels, a lot of work will be required by the front five of Saints
Territory - When playing for territory, ensure we have a good chase to pressure the return and enforce the error and we will not kick directly to their back three. If the back three recieve the ball they shall be put to the floor instantly from the chase and not allowed to run. 
Breakdown – Rowan & Ryan 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. They will look to remove Fraser from the ruck early to prevent turnovers. 
Backs – Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in the AP with Strettle & Varndell and they will take any opportunity to run back loose kicks from the Saints, and are fantastic finishers in greasy conditions.
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.

---

---

London Wasps v London Welsh
Location - AJ Bell Stadium
Heavy Rain, 11 Degrees, 7mph SE Winds

---

 Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     


Sebastien Vahaamahina included on French bench. Willemse replaces.  
            

01. Scott Sio	09. Aaron Smith
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Fraser Balmain
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Digby Ioane
05. Paul Willemse	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. Henry Slade
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Henry Speight
08. Jerome Kaino (c)	15. Delon Armitage

:- 
16. Deon Fourie 17. Ben Moon 18. Frans Malherbe 19.  20. Hayden Thompson-Stringer 21. Luke Narraway 22. Mitchell Drummond 23. Paul Jordaan 


Basic Game Plan
In wet conditions we will be looking to play a territory based game, using the boots of Cruden, Slade and Armitage to play in the Welsh 22.  When in their 22 we will use big carriers and carry close to the ruck and use the pick and go.  Only when it is 100% on will we go wide and look to hit gaps in the defensive line.

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.  Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.  Both wingers will sit a little deeper anticipating a kicking game from the opposition in the conditions.

Specifics 

• Kicking Game.  When we kick we will aim to find touch as deep as possible in Welsh territory and force them to throw into the lineout close to their own line in poor conditions.
  
• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure the ball.  On Welsh ball put pressure Ward's throwing using the athletic Ouedraogo at the front and Vahaamahina where we believe the ball to be going.  
  
• 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.
  

---

 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01.  Yannick Forestier	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02.  Dave Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (k)
03. BJ Botha
04. George Skivington	11. Eli Walker
05.  Sitaleki Timani	12. Tom Taylor
06. James Haskell* (c)	13. Casey Laulala
07. John Barclay	14. Mark Cueto
08. Ashley Johnson	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. Nathan Catt 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk   19. Mouritz Botha    20. Tom Guest 21. Ben Spencer  22. Kyle Godwin  23. Jesse Mogg


Tactics:

Away and in filthy conditions we will seek to alter our usual gameplan to a tight, uncomplicated approach. The breakdown will still be paramount.

The breakdown: we will commit men to the breakdown as needed to save or steal turnover ball, picking our time just like the all blacks but otherwise holding players back for the kick chase, carrying and defence, relying on our fetching duo of Ward and Barclay, backed up by Haskell, to snaffle and speed up ball. One of these two will follow the ball in attack or defence every play, both helping the breakdown and providing support in attack.

Attack: in these conditions we have picked a kicking 12 to help the HBs, a pacey winger to chase attacking kicks and Cueto to back up Pennell at fullback. We will not play rugby in our own half, looking to kick cleverly into space or high and chased kicks to force handling errors and steal back possession in more favourable ground, as well as pinning te opposition back for territory.

 When playing with the ball in hand, we will keep things simple with simple, well supported carries, runs from big forwards and Pennell off the halfbacks and switches to send Laulala at their 10. We will only spin wide and mix things up when going for the kill in their 22. Otherwise we prefer to trust our breakdown to retain possession rather than forcing things with passes.

 In their 22 also look for clever grubbers, cross fields and chips as back 3 catching errors are likely in these conditions under pressure. 

For slow ball, as ever, we will build it up with carries in groups of forwards, unless a useful kick is on. The drop goal is of course an option.

Scrum: we have a solid set piece and will look to stay firm on our ball with no funny business with collapsing or turning, allowing AJ to run off the base to get go forward for the plan above. TKB to snipe instead to keep them guessing. Aim to really menace their 8 and 9 at the base on their ball

Lineout: Skivington to call and keep things simple with our locks as main jumpers. Barclay looking to scrag their 9 early, and compete on every opposition throw- if Young gets the yips we can steal ball today.

Defence: blitz, TKB sweeping and Pennell very alert to the kicking game. Very aggressive fringe defence. In general we will look to concede no pens in our half and play it safe but in their 22, push the offside boundary as well as the breakdown laws- pens here hurt us less for high gain and likely turnovers, forced kicks for safety and chargedowns.

Kicking: take all shots at goal that are kickable, and chase all our kicks. Kicking a huge part of this game, I'm happy to kick back rather than return unless the support and space is good.

Targets: target Youngs in lineout, and both wingers' relative weakness against clever kicks. Nonu has little kicking game so when they are in their half, focus on pressurising the 10 and look out for Slade as he will be ge
the relief kicker.

Overall: retain ball with breakdown effort and fetchers


Kick in our territory and either into space or high and chased


Keep handling simple 


Kick as an attacking weapon in their 22


Press for pens in their 22, play safe in our half

---

---

Steve here is my side in principle
Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Wood	09. Robson
02. Grey	10. Cipriani
03. Figallo
04. Alberts	11. Gear
05. Robson	12. Toomua*
06. Juan Smith	13. Juan de Jongh
07. Salvi	14. Rhule
08. Palu	15. Walker

:-
16 Steenkamp 17 Luke Cowan Dickie 18 Sebastian Adeniran-Olule 19 Elliot Stooke 20 Pablo Matera 21 Justin Phillips 22 Matt Scott 23 Sam Davies


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 smith 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 great conditions we will Look to Kick in behind and turn them when applicable 



Half backs- Robson in top form will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to cips who will dictate. 
Cips Will challenge line and kick When necessary. We want to play high tempo and move Quins 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 this  will give is the upper hand. We will use this to run the legs off Quine 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 smith   Alberts etc 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 More ball carriers and attacking backs. Our intention is to use it as required

Team subject to change




 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01.  Yannick Forestier	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02.  Dave Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (k)
03. BJ Botha
04. George Skivington	11. Eli Walker
05.  Sitaleki Timani	12. Tom Taylor
06. James Haskell* (c)	13. Casey Laulala
07. John Barclay	14. Mark Cueto
08. Ashley Johnson	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. Nathan Catt 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk   19. Mouritz Botha    20. Tom Guest 21. Ben Spencer  22. Kyle Godwin  23. Jesse Mogg


Tactics:

Away and in filthy conditions we will seek to alter our usual gameplan to a tight, uncomplicated approach. The breakdown will still be paramount.

The breakdown: we will commit men to the breakdown as needed to save or steal turnover ball, picking our time just like the all blacks but otherwise holding players back for the kick chase, carrying and defence, relying on our fetching duo of Ward and Barclay, backed up by Haskell, to snaffle and speed up ball. One of these two will follow the ball in attack or defence every play, both helping the breakdown and providing support in attack.

Attack: in these conditions we have picked a kicking 12 to help the HBs, a pacey winger to chase attacking kicks and Cueto to back up Pennell at fullback. We will not play rugby in our own half, looking to kick cleverly into space or high and chased kicks to force handling errors and steal back possession in more favourable ground, as well as pinning te opposition back for territory.

 When playing with the ball in hand, we will keep things simple with simple, well supported carries, runs from big forwards and Pennell off the halfbacks and switches to send Laulala at their 10. We will only spin wide and mix things up when going for the kill in their 22. Otherwise we prefer to trust our breakdown to retain possession rather than forcing things with passes.

 In their 22 also look for clever grubbers, cross fields and chips as back 3 catching errors are likely in these conditions under pressure. 

For slow ball, as ever, we will build it up with carries in groups of forwards, unless a useful kick is on. The drop goal is of course an option.

Scrum: we have a solid set piece and will look to stay firm on our ball with no funny business with collapsing or turning, allowing AJ to run off the base to get go forward for the plan above. TKB to snipe instead to keep them guessing. Aim to really menace their 8 and 9 at the base on their ball

Lineout: Skivington to call and keep things simple with our locks as main jumpers. Barclay looking to scrag their 9 early, and compete on every opposition throw- if Young gets the yips we can steal ball today.

Defence: blitz, TKB sweeping and Pennell very alert to the kicking game. Very aggressive fringe defence. In general we will look to concede no pens in our half and play it safe but in their 22, push the offside boundary as well as the breakdown laws- pens here hurt us less for high gain and likely turnovers, forced kicks for safety and chargedowns.

Kicking: take all shots at goal that are kickable, and chase all our kicks. Kicking a huge part of this game, I'm happy to kick back rather than return unless the support and space is good.

Targets: target Youngs in lineout, and both wingers' relative weakness against clever kicks. Nonu has little kicking game so when they are in their half, focus on pressurising the 10 and look out for Slade as he will be ge
the relief kicker.

Overall: retain ball with breakdown effort and fetchers


Kick in our territory and either into space or high and chased


Keep handling simple 


Kick as an attacking weapon in their 22


Press for pens in their 22, play safe in our half

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Driver

01. Matt stevens	09. Dave Lewis
02. George McGuigan	10. Andy Goode
03. Carl Hayman
04. Brad Thorn	11. Cory Jane
05. Geoff Parling	12. Francia Sailli
06. Dave Ewers	13. Johnathan Davies*
07. Will Fraser	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Immanol Harinordiuy	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.Huia Edmonds 17.TBA 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry* 21.Nathan Fowles 22.Ollie Devoto 23.Robbie Frueen/Chris Farrell

Some really weakend sides this week

Exeter Chiefs name their provisional side ahead of their away trip to the Northampton Saints. With a number of front line players missing due to the Autumn Internationals, Chiefs are lucky to call upon one or two players that are just returning from injury. With the likes of Nyanga, Ryan and Burrell in the starting line up, as well as exiles Flood and O'Connor. 


Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Chris Cook
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Toby Flood
03. James Johnston
04. Kane Douglas	11. Tom Varndell
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Donnacha Ryan	13. George Lowe
07. Jacob Rowan	14. David Strettle
08. Carl Fearns	15. James O'Connor

16. Dimitri Szarzewski 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Davit Kubriashvili 19. Patrick Tuipulotu 20. Gus Jones 21. Jack Maunder 22. Marnitz Boshoff 23. Richard Kahui

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. With wet and windy conditions we will 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. We will look to play a simple territory game based around our strong set-piece and carrying. This means when kicking the backs kick under no pressure - if there is slow ball we recycle and set guards to allow a clean kick and chase. 
Big point is to match them man for man, in our style of play and keep the high tempo going throughout.

Set piece - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan. Paterson to marshal the line-out and get quick ball from our dynamic jumpers, Paterson to look at using the line-out and set mauls to allow for the box from Cook under no pressure from their forwards being tied into the maul. Pressure on Launch and Bonnaire as main jumpers. At the scrum we’ll look to get the squeeze on and target the front row, Domingo hasn't played in a while and the pressure will be applied on him, as well as Mulipola. A nudge at the scrum for us to keep the opposition back row tied into the scrum giving Cook, Flood more time and space to work in. 

Pack & Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball tight in the greasy conditions and take advantage of the forwards in the Saints pack who prefer to be out in the wider channels. 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. Cook 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 Cook 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. Rowan 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, as they have the pace and finishing ability to worry any defence. Utilise the pace and size of Dunbar/Burrell to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Varndell/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Barritt's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of their back three in defence. Or generate the two on one with JOC joining the back line as the slider moves under the crash/dummy line.


Key Points

Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington and Yeandle will both put the squeeze on Mulipola to generate scrum penalties.
Line-out & Mauls - with a big front five we will look to set rolling mauls, to keep their back five tied in and also gain strong momentum.
Physicality & Dynamism – Win the collision and target rucks to drive through opposition. We have a big physical, but also mobile pack. Supported by some high energy forwards off the bench. With players like Bonnaire, Jones and Spurling in wider channels, a lot of work will be required by the front five of Saints
Territory - When playing for territory, ensure we have a good chase to pressure the return and enforce the error and we will not kick directly to their back three. If the back three recieve the ball they shall be put to the floor instantly from the chase and not allowed to run. 
Breakdown – Rowan & Ryan 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. They will look to remove Fraser from the ruck early to prevent turnovers. 
Backs – Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in the AP with Strettle & Varndell and they will take any opportunity to run back loose kicks from the Saints, and are fantastic finishers in greasy conditions.
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.

Cheers for doing this CJ greatly appreciated!

International call ups can be replaced up to predictions opening after that you run the risk of going a man down. Please remember its only those players called up that can be replaced. 

I see a few TBA's. These should be named before your team sheet deadline or it will be considered missed.

I'm going to post my team to play this week now as got a good connection. Won't pick anyone who was involved in internationals this week. Should get on to change any call ups but if I can't (with mats agreement) could someone make the necessary changes. Will do tactics later hopefully.
Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Schalk Brits	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Pieter Steph Du Toit	11. Jack Nowell
05. Jim Hamilton	12. Dan Bowden
06. Mamuka Gorgodze	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Luke Braid	14. Frank Halai
08. Nick Easter (c)	15. Luke Morahan

:-
16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Ihaia West 23. Ollie Lindsay-Hague

Tactics

When in our own half we will look to use the kicking games of our 9, 10, 12 and 15 to get us into the right areas of the pitch. We won't kick aimlessly but will look to kick to touch or to open spaces. As well as this we will look to employ cross field kicks and up and unders to really test the positioning of the Gloucester back 3.  

In the opposition half we will look to play our usual patient game of using our pack to get us across the gain line so we can recycle the ball quickly and play at a quick tempo. We will look for our forwards to carry in wider channels off 10 and 12. We especially want to get forwards running in back towards play so we can look to drag Gloucester defenders inwards and create space out wide for JJ, Nowell  and Halai. We feel our best chance of scoring is by creating space in wider channels for our quick men. This said, we do have the pack to slow the ball down when we need to bring back some control.  

At the set piece we will really target the scrum and look to use it as an attacking weapon and an area to win penalties. At the the lineout we want quick ball if the back of the lineout or in the middle and drive or get  it off the top from there.

In defence we will defend up and out with a really quick linespeed and back our pace on the drift defence. We will look for Braid to attack the breakdown and legally slow down the Gloucester ball. Look to either win the collision or chop tackle and quickly get over the ball.

No worries, I'll sort any formatting bits

 London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. Tom Court	09. Neil De Kock
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar
03. Henry Thomas
04. Jacques Poitgeiter	11. Nick Cummins
05. Tom Savage	12. Owen Williams
06. Kelly Brown	13. Henry Trinder
07. Jon Fisher	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Scott Higginbotham*	15. Rob Cook

:-
16. Marc Jones 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Will Collier 19. Deam Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 21. Lee Dickson 22. Luke McAlister 23. Conrad Smith

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.

Breakdown: We will look to be controlled here with the tackler and 1 more player committing initially to the breakdown. Brown 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 Sharks under commit to their ruck and we will look to blitz past the ball for the turnover. We 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 Williams and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. We know how well Biggar can find touch and we will use this. De Kock 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 look at Williams and Trinder to pull the strings and find the gaps for the strong runners, if it is not on and the wind is lowing in our advantage then we will look for deep kicks to go off  the field and put pressure on their lineouts.. 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 especially being able to bring on Mumm, McAlister and Conrad Smith who will all make inroads against tired defences and be able to pull the strings to make the gaps available.

Defence: We also know how good the Sharks centres are so will look to prevent tem 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 Cook 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. We are playing in strong wind so if we have the advantage then we will use the wind and go for long range goals, we will not kick high into the wind and will use Biggar's skill with kicking hard and low.

Just waiting for whether Higginbotham is on the Oz bench

 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Scott Spurling	10. Nick Evans
03. Logi Mulipola
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Ben Foden
05. Mitch Lees	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Sam Jones	14. Jordan Williams
08. Samu Manoa (c)	15. Leigh Halfpenny (k)

:-
16. Elliott Dee 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Adam Jones 19. Lood de Jager 20. CJ Stander 21. Gareth Davies 22. Elliot Daly 23. David Pocock

Tactics:
Undefeated in the Premiership and Europe this season, we look to continue our momentum during the AI's by going back to basics and playing a game plan that suits the conditions and play no risk rugby in the Exeter Chiefs half of the pitch. Our aim is no risk rugby, to win the territorial battle with Evans and Giteau playing and then force Exeter into erros and mistakes with an aggressive defence. We will take all opportunities to kick for goal and take 3 points to grind out a result.

Pack/Setpiece:
We've picked a strong forward pack to allow us to build a strong platform that can secure us good quality ball on our possession, with Samoa picked as no8 to give us a strong ball carrier off the base to make hard yards. We want to give Evans and Giteau a good platform for clearing the ball and winning the kicking battle. We've selected Bonnaire to allow us to attack the Exeter lineout and try and force handling errors and scrappy balls for Cook at no9. We have five lineout jumpers, but good banker ball with Launchbury and will work on shortened lineouts to enable us to get second phase attacks into the midfield of Exeter. We've also selected 5 forwards on the bench to take into account the conditions.

Attack/Kicking Game:
With the conditions it isn't going to be a pretty game, we've picked a team of big ball carriers to get through the hard work and make the hard yards. We have Tuilagi and Giteau in the backline to win the gainline battle in the backline, but our main way of attacking is going to be the boot of Evans and Giteau and get us into the right areas of the pitch and pressurise Exeter when mistakes will result in points. In our own half we are aiming to kick the ball a lot, in the Chiefs half we will start to look to play the rolling maul and once in the Exeter 22 we will look to get the ball in the hands of Tuilagi and Giteau. We've got powerful ball carriers and one or two tries could make the difference.

Breakdown:
The conditions mean that we wont be able to attack any turnover ball as we'd normally do, instead we are looking to set up our defensive line around the fringes of any rucks to make sure we can push back Exeter when they try and make hard yards.

Defence:
As always an aggressive defence, looking for fast line speed, closing down attacking options and aiming to put a lot of pressure on Flood - if we get to him we stop Exeter's kicking game. Strong midfield defensively, and Halfpenny and Foden excellent defensively in these conditions and Williams drafted in for his kicking game, the back three will drop back to defend against Exeters kicking game.

Key Points:
* Great form in the league, home advantage and will look to keep our winning streak.
* Strong setpiece that will provide our halfbacks with a solid platform to control the game.
* Selected players to win the kicking and territorial battle - only player in our backline without a kicking game is Tuilagi.
* Simple game, minimise mistakes and aggressive defence to force Exeter into errors that Halfpenny can capitalise on.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Luke Jones	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Liam Squire	15. Hallan Amos

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Peter Dooley 18. Jake Cooper Wooley 19. Sam Whitelock 20. Luke Wallace 21. Fourie Du Preez 22. Matt Hopper 23. Sitiveni Sivivatu

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Falcons in the loose. We will play a high tempo and really look to get some big carries in. We feel we have a real advantage in the set piece so look to real attack of this.

Scrum: Look for our unit to set a strong platform. Our props have been well rotated so will be fresh. Look to really pressure McGuigan who hasn't much experience and is up against Hibbard. We will try to set a base, controlled by Squire which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Jones, SOB and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitch will run the lineout with Jones offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Look to compete on the opposition throw as we have a great number of options. Try and starve them of quality ball from the lineout.

Breakdown: The breakdown is an area we really see ourselves as able to dominate. We will look to get men to the breakdown quickly and clear out so Sean O'Brien and Liam Gill can try and disrupt opposition ball.

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Newcastle decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Focus on gain line collisions and driving back in the tackle. 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. Beale 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. Look to get the big carriers involved as much as possible. The likes of Tameifuma, Kitchener, Hibbard, Healy and SOB will try and wear down defences by looking for gaps. The likes of Wade, Nalaga and De Allende will be looking for gaps created that they can exploit. Look to counter attack kicks if possible. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Look for chances to offload.

Kicking: Beale will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards their back three. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Beale, LLF, Amos and Hodgson all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Our subs will look to keep a high tempo. We feel our bench can really impact the game whereas the Falcons bench could cost them. Fowles and Deveto form the half back cover but in a tight game will lack the experience and leadership to get over the line. Deveto is also a new signing and won't be up on the lines and defensive pattern.

Conditions:

Salford: Thick Cloud, 11 Degrees, 9mph ESE Winds
Bath: Light Cloud, 12 Degrees, 6mph SE Winds
Gloucester: Light Cloud, 12 Degrees, 8mph SE Winds
Leicester: Light Rain, 11 Degrees, 9mph SE Winds
Northampton: Heavy Rain, 11 Degrees, 9mph SE Winds
Wycombe: Heavy Rain, 11 Degrees, 7mph SE Winds

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Faf De Klerk
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Keith Earls
05. Christian Day	12. Anthony Allen
06. Steven Luatua	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Todd	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

:-
16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Iain Henderson 20. Matt Garvey 21. Calum Braley 22. Francois Steyn 23. Sibusiso Sithole

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

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

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

- Change the point of attack. Numerous play makers 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. Bendy 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, De Klerk & Barrett. 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. De Klerk will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers.

- 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.

Really stupid question, it is 8 EQ we need in a match day 23 right?

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Micky Young
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Nathan Hines	11. Rene Ranger
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Tamati Ellison
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Jaco Taute

.
16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Max Lahiff 18. Paul Doran-Jones 19. Steve Mafi 20. Jacques Burger 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Ugo Monye

Tactics:

In wet conditions we will play sensibly and use the power and strength of our side to get us over the gainline.

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Moore, Franks and Jenkins to look to really get into the opposition, particularly George and Mullan. Lots of scrums in wet weather and an area we will look to target if winning.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Hines or Lobbe at the front and Myall off the top as our three key options.
Shortened lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Put serious pressure on George's throws with Hines at the front on all Sarries throws.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Sarries defence. The likes of Waldrom, Louw, Hines, Moore, Lobbe and Ranger to be used to get us over the gainline. Add to that the likes of Tolofua, Mafi, Lahiff and Burger off the bench.

- Target the breakdown - huge emphasis on our work at the breakdown today and we will always look to turnover possession. With Louw and Lobbe, we feel our breakdown play could be crucial today.

- No overly ambitious passing - In wet conditions we will either look to kick to gain territory or look to keep ball in hand and take it through the middle.

- In the rain we will target an out of sorts Steyn all game with Louw and Lobbe breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Big runners through his channel - looking to win the Burns vs Steyn contest.

- 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. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Young to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Burns to kick all penalties.

4 starting 4 bench Chris

Eastmond has been passed fit aswell SJE.

Cheers Driver 

Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     
              

01. Scott Sio	09. Aaron Smith
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Fraser Balmain
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Digby Ioane
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. Henry Slade
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Henry Speight
08. Jerome Kaino (c)	15. Delon Armitage

16. Deon Fourie 17. Ben Moon 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Paul Willemse 20. Hayden Thompson-Stringer 21. Luke Narraway 22. Mitchell Drummond 23. Paul Jordaan


Basic Game Plan
In wet conditions we will be looking to play a territory based game, using the boots of Cruden, Slade and Armitage to play in the Welsh 22.  When in their 22 we will use big carriers and carry close to the ruck and use the pick and go. Only when it is 100% on will we go wide and look to hit gaps in the defensive line.

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.  Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers. Both wingers will sit a little deeper anticipating a kicking game from the opposition in the conditions.

Specifics 

• Kicking Game.  When we kick we will aim to find touch as deep as possible in Welsh territory and force them to throw into the lineout close to their own line in poor conditions.
  
• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure the ball.  On Welsh ball put pressure Ward's throwing using the athletic Ouedraogo at the front and Vahaamahina where we believe the ball to be going.
  
• 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.
  

Chris

Goneva in Fiji team v Wales

Bloody Fiji and Canada having matches...

Put in correct format below

Matt,

I've just swapped out Slade who had been picked by ABs. Bird has also been picked on your side

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Jamie George	10. Morne Steyn
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrico Albacete	11. Zak Guildford
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. Ben Mowen(c)	13. Matt Tait
07. Callum Clark	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Lee Byrne

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Fabien Barcella  18. Matius Diaz 19. Julian Pierre 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Henry Taylor 22. Miles Benjamin 23. Simon Hammersley

Tactics:

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

TARGET HB Combo – Look to put Youngs/Burns axis under pressure and get Burns on back foot

TARGET KICKING GAME– Look to dominate the kicking game and put pressure on the Tigers line out

PARRA/STEYN COMBO - Perfect combo to dictate play and keep us playing in right area of pitch oin greasy conditions


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/Cole/Mowen 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 Mermoz on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Taylor 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]

Cheers Steve! Didn't realise Goneva had been in the squad at all for Fiji, as he missed out last week.

Am I okay to change Stuart Olding out of my side? Irish side not announced until Friday afternoon and with their injuries he is likely to be involved?

Also, Tom Taylor is named for two sides.

My bad, I'll change, cheers Steve

Bloody nightmare these AI's!

Yeah Steve work away will have to do something similar with my own side!

Cheers.

Pete, Tillous-borde starts for France and Flux Nyanga has been named amongst possible replacements.

Subbed out Cencus Johnston due to returning to Samoa side - fortunate I can put Owen Franks in this week!

Not a bad replacement Luke

Cheers Steve, will edit him out tonight.

Taken out my Irish boys just in case!

Need a loose head! Asap!!!

Told you I had the Bath boy

Driver What's wrong with Tonga'uhia?

I probably won't be on till tomorrow night so if Higginbotham is named on oz bench then can brown move to 8, wray to 6 and smith onto bench please.

Is he not in tonga side?

Not that I could see

I'd check yourself mind

Will finish updating the page in the morning 

TicTacs added

Tactics will be in tomorrow. Been at hospital with my little boy all evening. Justin Phillips in for Genia please

Good luck Matt

Sale 20-18 Irish

FR- Little edge to Sale with a solid scrummaging outfit, Irish decent but Thomas can be got at a bit
SR- Have to mark Retallick down a little with being away with NZ squad but even at 80% he's a class act. Just a little more again for Sale. Good form for Irish and a strong pairing against most sides.
BR-Just a little shade to Sale on the flanks and little between the 8's, good contest.
HB- Irish ahead at 9 but little between the 10's, surprised not to see either in Int squads.
CE- Sale better at 12, Wiliams has been ok there but nothing too special, 13's close.
B3- A little more quality on the Irish wings but Sale a step up at FB
Overall- A good contest with both sides pretty equal, especially in the backline. Sale just have a bit more in the pack to get them on the front foot and home advantage that will see them home.

Tactics added