Aviva Premiership Round Eight

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Newcastle Falcons v Gloucester 
Location - Kingston Park
Thick Cloud, 8 Degrees, 11mph SE Winds

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Newcastle Falcons Team

1.Matt Stevens	9.Grieg Laidlaw
2.George McGuigan	10.Andy Goode (K)
3.Carl Hayman
4.Brad Thorn (C)	11.Cory Jane
5.Geoff Parling	12.Luke Marshall
6.Dave Ewers	13.Francia Sailli
7.Will Fraser	14.Charlie Shaples
8.Immanol Harinordiquey	15Gareth Anscombe.

16.Huia Edmonds 17.Soana Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry 21.Dave Lewis 22.Chris Farrell 23.Rob Miller

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Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Beast 09. Robson
02. Grey 10. cipriani
03. Figallo 
04. Bird 11. Gear 
05. George Robson 12. Dan Carter 
06. Alberts 13. Juan de Jongh 
07. Salvi 14. walker
08. Palu 15. Dagg
:-
16 Wood 17 Luke Cowan Dickie 18 Sebastian Adeniran-Olule 19 Roman taofufina 20 Juan smith 21 Justin Phillips 22 matt Scott 23 Rhaymond rhule


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  Palu bird Alberts Salvi and beast has physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our  front 5 and this is an area we will flood.

TARGET 9 10 channel
with Goode rarely playing 10 this half back combo will be untried. We will be looking to target it by runners in the channel and by blitzing 

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 Off front foot vl. 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 sap Newcastle energy. We see them struggling with our power. When its on we will 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 bits  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

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Exeter Chiefs v London Wasps
Location - Sandy Park
Light Rain, 12 Degrees, 14mph SE Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 
Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Nic White
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. Yannick Nyanga	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. Chris Cook 22. Marnitz Boshoff 23. Richard Kahui

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, Wasps 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. Paterson 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 Balmain, and keep the opposition back row tied into the scrum giving White, 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. White will 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. Using the defensive banana drift defence to push the attackers towards our inside defence, with Whitesweeping 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. Nyanga 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 Burrell\Lowe to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Lowe/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Nonu's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of Freaunin 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 Wasps can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington to exploit Balmain and pile in on him with Yeandle. 
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 Wasps 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 - Nonu, not being the most agile, Flood will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line, similarly Freaun is not the best defending 13, and so Lowe and Burrell will angle run down both of their weaker, inside shoulder.
Breakdown – The back five 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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 Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     
              

01. Scott Sio	09. Mitchell Drummond
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Fraser Balmain
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Digby Ioane
05. Matt Symons	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. Robbie Fruean
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Tim Nanai-Williams
08. Luke Narraway	15. Delon Armitage

16. Harry Thacker 17. Ben Moon 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Paul Willemse 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Will Homer 22. Henry Slade 23. Paul Jordaan


Basic Game Plan
In wet conditions we will be looking to play a territory based game, using the boots of Cruden and Armitage to play in the Chiefs 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.  Drummond 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 Chiefs territory and force them to throw into the lineout close to their own line in poor conditions.
  
• Lineout. Hit banker ball at the front and use the middle and look to play our driving game from there.  Use Ouedraogo and Symons to target the reciever on the Chiefs throw.
  
• 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.
  

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Harlequins v Sale Sharks 
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Light Cloud, 10 Degrees, 9mph ESE Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

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

16. Tatafu Polata-Nau 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Ollie Lindsay-Hague 23. Alex Lewington

Tactics

This is a game where we are going to look for our pack to dominate up front and we will use our half backs to dictate field position and the tempo which we play the game at. Our strength in this game and where we feel we can get the most joy is from jerseys 1 to 10. This means that we will use our forwards to carry off 9, 10 and 12 and we will look for them to carry the ball at pace, win the collision, keep the legs pumping in contact and get across that gain line. We will retain the ball all day and and wait for Sale to tire, get sucked in or give away a penalty where we can gain territory or points. Our forwards will be looking to run at spaces in the defence and will look to vary between offloading before or after contact.

Our pack is big with Luke Braid our smallest back 5 forward at 6 foot 4. We are going to look to use the size around the park to gain forward momentum and grind Sale say upfront. We have a lot of experience up front and know how to control the game here and this is backed up by our 9 and 10 who specialise in controlling matches. At the rucks we will get low and smash any Sale players away from the ball to generate quick ball which can be used by Pienaar and Myler should they choose to bring our outside backs into play.

At the line out we will look to drive early and keep to this plan should it be successful in gaining us yards. Pienaar will look to test Roko and Gilroy under the high ball when we are in the right areas of the field.  

In terms of our tactics in different areas of the pitch in our own half we will look to kick behind the Sale wingers. We feel we will get open spaces here and a good chase from our side will brings good returns in terms of territory. In the opposition half we will look to be patient with ball in hand look to drag Sale into an arm wrestle up front before unleashing our quick backs when the spaces open up out wide. We will look to get Gorgodze, Braid and Easter running down Eastmond's channel to get us across that gain line.

In the backs we have some exceptional runners who can exploit any gaps which might be created. In Olding and JJ we have two centres who are lethal with front foot ball which we demand from our pack.

At the breakdown we are looking to slow down Sale's ball and prevent Care from getting together any rhythm with Steyn. When we have an organised defence we will look to disrupt the Sale rucks but we will ONLY do this when we have a solid defensive line in place. We will protect the fringes but also really look to fly up at Steyn and put doubts in his mind in the fly half position.

Defensively we will employ a quick line speed and will look to win the collision when its on or chop tackle and get the man over the ball at the ruck.

Key Points

- Pack - our pack is packed with experience players and we will really lok to drag Sale into and arm wrestle in the set piece and the loose and look to make our experience count.

- Half backs - In my view a near-perfect combo when it comes to managing a game of rugby. We want to play the game in the right areas.

- Quick ball - our backs will only see the ball when we have quick ruck ball on the front foot which they can use to attack the Sale defenders at pace.

- Points - we will look to take every point on offer today. Winning this game is all important.

- Settled side - we come into this game with one change in personnel after a brilliant away win at Gloucester off the back of one defeat all season. Sale have made 7 changes from last week's game including a completely new half back combo.

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Francois Steyn
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Iain Henderson	11. Semeasa Rokoduguni
05. Christian Day	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Steven Luatua	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Todd	14. Craig Gilroy
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Jared Payne

16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Martin Moore 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Keith Earls

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. Care will look for opportunities to snipe around the base always committing defenders while Steyn, Eastmond & Payne sharing first receiver duties will look to play flat on the gain line.

- 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 to work from. 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.

- 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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London Irish v Bath
Location - Madejski Stadium
Light Cloud, 9 Degrees, 10mph SE Winds

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 London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. Tom Court	09. Lee Dickson
02. Ken Owens	10. Owen Williams
03. Henry Thomas
04. Jacques Poitgeiter	11. Nick Cummins
05. Tom Savage	12. Chris Bell
06. Kelly Brown	13. Mark Bennett
07. Jon Fisher	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Scott Higginbotham	15. Rob Cook

:-
16. Marc Jones 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Will Collier 19. Dean Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 21. Neil De Kock 22. Luke McAlister 23. Brice Dulin


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.

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. We will target SOB at times who hasn't played in a while IRL.

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 Bath 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: Williams will stand flat initially to give Bell and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. 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 look at Williams and Bell to pull the strings and find the gaps for Bennett and our 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 Dulin 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 Bath 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 Williams the opportunity to drop back and cover with Cook for any kicks ahead. We will defend inside-out and spread the line. Bell is a strong defender and we will use this to our advantage to prevent anything going out wide.

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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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Luke Romano	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Hallan Amos

16. Tom Dunn 17. Peter Dooley 18. Jake Cooper Woolley 19. Alexandre Flanquardt 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Hill 22. Maxime Machenaud 23. Sitiveni Sivivatu


Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Irish 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. We will try to set a base, controlled by SOB which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Romano, SOB and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitch 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. 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 Irish decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Focus on gain line collisions and driving back in the tackle. FDP to sweep in behind. 

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. FDP 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. Look to get the big carriers involved as much as possible. The likes of Tameifuma, Kitchener, Haywood, 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: Hodgson 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. 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.

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Saracens v Northampton Saints 
Location - Allianz Park
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 12mph SE Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Jamie George	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Bradley Davies	11. Zak Guildford
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. Ben Mowen(c)	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Callum Clark	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Fabien Barcella  18. Dan Cole 19. Patrico Albacete 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Henry Taylor 22. Miles Benjamin 23. Tom Taylor

Tactics:

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

SLOW GAME DOWN, PLAY FORWARD DOMINATED RUGBY - Big back and look to dominate the collisions and slow the game down to tie in the Saints players. Look to keep things tight and go through phases then kick in behind Saints back 3 and pressure line out with FVDM one of best ops about. Huge engine room will look to lock down scrum (Davies renowned scrummager) and clear out rucks. Put pressure on Saints core of Spurling/Lees/Jones who look a little out of place at this level. Look to starve Saints backs of good ball to attack with by slowing down ball with strong breakdown opps and physicality at the breakdown.

HOME ADVANTAGE- Fantastic home form and really hard to beat. You need a stronger pack to win away and Saints don't have this starting or any form from the bench.

TARGET SIMPSON – Look to put Simpson under pressure and force him on back foot. His basics are suspect so will make him play

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

PARRA/STEYN COMBO - Perfect combo to dictate play and keep us playing in right are


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. Put pressue on Simpson's basics and force him into errors, Mowen the expert here. 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 Williams on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Fekitoa to run angles off the 9/10 and interchange 2nd receiver with Williams. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Ashton will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of Fekitoa's little offloads in contact. Guildford to keep things honest and come looking for work.

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Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

1. Thomas Domingo
2. Scott Spurling
3. Logi Mulipola
4. Joe Launchbury
5. Mitch Lees
6. Julian Bonnaire
7. Sam Jones
8. Samo Manoa (c)
9. Joe Simpson
10. Nick Evans (k)
11. Niko Matawulu
12. Matt Giteau
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Jordan Williams
15. Ben Foden

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Elliot Dee 18. Adam Jones 19. Schalk Brits 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Gareth Davies 22. Michael Stephenson 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:
We welcome back Goneva and Matawulu to the starting XV and look to take advantage of the excellent conditions, where we will look to continue our unbeaten start to the season. We are going to play a high tempo/expansive game to take advantage of our more mobile pack and the conditions - we feel we have a distinct advantage with the rain staying away and will look to play a game to move away from Saracens strengths. We've picked a pack that will provide a strong attacking platform off the scrum and lineout and a very strong replacement bench. Defensively we will play our usual aggressive approach, looking to force mistakes and turnovers. In the final 20/25 minutes we will bring on Vunipola and Burger, with Samoa moving into partner Launchbury to really put the pressure on in the final quarter.

Pack/Setpiece:
We've picked a very mobile pack, with some great ball carriers to allow us to play at pace, while Sarries seem far better suited to worse conditions and their game plan reflects that. We'll use scrum time as a setpiece to launch Manoa off the back at the Sarries midfield. We have selected five lineout jumpers to provide a lot of attacking options, but will really aim to generate quick ball for our backline to send runners at the Sarries 12/13 channel, which have barely played together with the 13 being away with NZ from the summer - we want to test that channel defensively. We'll use Manoa to attack Sarries lineout ball and put pressure on the jumpers and scrumhalves.

Attack:
While Sarries want to play a slow game, we want to get our strike runners involved from the outset and really put pressure on the Sarries defence. We have some strong ball carriers in the pack and will look to get Giteau, Tuilagi and Goneva involved and bring them into the attack to really test the Sarries defence. We want to get our strike runners getting over the gainline, swamp the rucks and then get the ball out wide where we want to test the Sarries backthrees tackling - we believe there is a real chance to get at the Sarries backthree if they can be isolated, or attack the 12/13 combination.

Breakdown:
A really big battle this week, we've gone for a mobile pack to get to the breakdown quickly and we'll be looking to get the likes of Clark away from the breakdown as quickly as possible. With Logi, Launchbury to support our backrow and Giteau and Tuilagi offering support in the backline we want to target this area with speed. Any turnover we will look to exploit with Simpson told to put speed on the game, with Parra and Steyn there isn't the same attacking threat.

Defence:
As always an aggressive defence, looking for fast line speed, closing down attacking options as quickly as possible. We will look to double up on the tackle with Hughes, as he's the biggest threat for Sarries and if we can stop him making an impact we can stop Sarries building momentum. We know that Parra and Steyn do not offer the best attacking game, so will look to push up on them quickly and force them to kick to our back three. We have a very strong midfield defensively and will look to take advantage of the lack of game time between the Sarries 12/13. Simpson to sweep behind the defensive line.

Key Points:
* Great form in the league, we've won 7 games in a row, while Sarries have lost 5. Full of confidence.
* Strong pack that plays to our strengths and the conditions, which allow us to play attacking rugby. A strong bench will improve our forwards as the game gets older.
* Boosted by the availablity of Burger from the bench and the return of our Fijians.
* Been lucky with the weather, as Sarries tactics and style is one you dont want to face in bad conditions, but with running rugby we feel we have players who can outscore Sarreis on the tryfront.

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London Welsh v Leicester Tigers
Location - Kessam Stadium
Light Cloud, 9 Degrees, 10mph SE Winds

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 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. Jesse Mogg
05.  Sitaleki Timani	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Ashley Johnson	13. Casey Laulala
07. John Barclay	14. Ross Chisholm
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. Nathan Catt 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk   19. Mouritz Botha    20. Alexandre Lapandry 21. Ben Spencer  22. Clement Poitrenaud 23. Eli Walker

Tactics-

Ward and Barclay to work as a duo 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 2 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, AJ and the other forwards.

Slow ball- We will look to test their back 3 positionally with up and unders 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 Pennell and Godwin as secondary play-makers , looking to mix short pop passes inside and out to exploit the lack of adaptability in the blitz and short dummy runners with the long pass outside to exploit space and get our wingers in the game, and dummy runners with the inside switch to change the angle of attack behind the game line and cut into the defence. If there is space behind the defensive line, look to chip from 9, 10 or 12 with our canny back 3  and back row chasing. When tackled if the offload is on make it with support lines from our fetchers vital but if not recycle quickly and attack the fringes. Look to get one on one with Sharples and test his defence


Kicking- kick low not high. 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.

Defence-  Fringe defence led by Timani. 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.

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.

---

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Micky Young
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Nathan Hines	11. Ugo Monye
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Tamati Ellison
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Rene Ranger
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Jaco Taute

.
16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Harry Rudkin 19. Steve Mafi 20. Jacques Burger 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Matt Banahan

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.

- 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.

- Attack all scrums if we have an advantage - Front row including Moore and Jenkins to look to really get the shove on, particularly targeting the Welsh Ward/Botha channel.

- 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.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Welsh 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, Corbisiero and Burger off the bench.

- Young to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Louw and Lobbe, supported by the likes of Jenkins, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Wel shproblems.

- In attacking play, 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. Young to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Burns to kick all penalties.

Some very good games this week.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

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

16. Tatafu Polata-Nau 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Ollie Lindsay-Hague 23. Alex Lewington

Tactics

This is a game where we are going to look for our pack to dominate up front and we will use our half backs to dictate field position and the tempo which we play the game at. Our strength in this game and where we feel we can get the most joy is from jerseys 1 to 10. This means that we will use our forwards to carry off 9, 10 and 12 and we will look for them to carry the ball at pace, win the collision, keep the legs pumping in contact and get across that gain line. We will retain the ball all day and and wait for Sale to tire, get sucked in or give away a penalty where we can gain territory or points. Our forwards will be looking to run at spaces in the defence and will look to vary between offloading before or after contact.

Our pack is big with Luke Braid our smallest back 5 forward at 6 foot 4. We are going to look to use the size around the park to gain forward momentum and grind Sale say upfront. We have a lot of experience up front and know how to control the game here and this is backed up by our 9 and 10 who specialise in controlling matches. At the rucks we will get low and smash any Sale players away from the ball to generate quick ball which can be used by Pienaar and Myler should they choose to bring our outside backs into play.

At the line out we will look to drive early and keep to this plan should it be successful in gaining us yards. Pienaar will look to test Roko and Gilroy under the high ball when we are in the right areas of the field.

In terms of our tactics in different areas of the pitch in our own half we will look to kick behind the Sale wingers. We feel we will get open spaces here and a good chase from our side will brings good returns in terms of territory. In the opposition half we will look to be patient with ball in hand look to drag Sale into an arm wrestle up front before unleashing our quick backs when the spaces open up out wide. We will look to get Gorgodze, Braid and Easter running down Eastmond's channel to get us across that gain line.

In the backs we have some exceptional runners who can exploit any gaps which might be created. In Olding and JJ we have two centres who are lethal with front foot ball which we demand from our pack.

At the breakdown we are looking to slow down Sale's ball and prevent Care from getting together any rhythm with Steyn. When we have an organised defence we will look to disrupt the Sale rucks but we will ONLY do this when we have a solid defensive line in place. We will protect the fringes but also really look to fly up at Steyn and put doubts in his mind in the fly half position.

Defensively we will employ a quick line speed and will look to win the collision when its on or chop tackle and get the man over the ball at the ruck.

Key Points

- Pack - our pack is packed with experience players and we will really lok to drag Sale into and arm wrestle in the set piece and the loose and look to make our experience count.

- Half backs - In my view a near-perfect combo when it comes to managing a game of rugby. We want to play the game in the right areas.

- Quick ball - our backs will only see the ball when we have quick ruck ball on the front foot which they can use to attack the Sale defenders at pace.

- Points - we will look to take every point on offer today. Winning this game is all important.

- Settled side - we come into this game with one change in personnel after a brilliant away win at Gloucester off the back of one defeat all season. Sale have made 7 changes from last week's game including a completely new half back combo.

Newcastle Falcons Team

1.Matt Stevens	9.Grieg Laidlaw
2.George McGuigan	10.Andy Goode (K)
3.Carl Hayman
4.Brad Thorn (C)	11.Cory Jane
5.Geoff Parling	12.Luke Marshall
6.Dave Ewers	13.Francia Sailli
7.Will Fraser	14.Charlie Shaples
8.Immanol Harinordiquey	15Gareth Anscombe.

16.Huia Edmonds 17.Soana Tonga'uhia 18.Scott Wilson 19.Ed Slater 20.Chris Henry 21.Dave Lewis 22.Chris Farrell 23.Rob Miller

Who's going to get called up this week???

Laidlaw won't make Scotland squad this week i reckon , Cotter will give him a rest and a few others i imagine.

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. Jesse Mogg
05.  Sitaleki Timani	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Ashley Johnson	13. Casey Laulala
07. John Barclay	14. Ross Chisholm
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Matt Rees 17. Nathan Catt 18. Oliver Tomaszczyk   19. Mouritz Botha    20. Alexandre Lapandry 21. Ben Spencer  22. Clement Poitrenaud 23. Eli Walker

I think Vito might get a go at 6 this week CJ , Was All Blacks best player vs Scotland.

It's ok, I'll swap him out if he does


Lapandry to 6, AJ to 8

Your safe with Vito CJ he flew home to NZ today with an injury

JD2 is in the Welsh side Driver.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Jamie George	10. Morne Steyn
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Bradley Davies	11. Zak Guildford
05. Flip van der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. Ben Mowen(c)	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Callum Clark	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jack Walker 17. Fabien Barcella  18. Dan Cole 19. Patrico Albacete 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Henry Taylor 22. Miles Benjamin 23. Tom Taylor

Tactics:

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

SLOW GAME DOWN, PLAY FORWARD DOMINATED RUGBY - Big back and look to dominate the collisions and slow the game down to tie in the Saints players. Look to keep things tight and go through phases then kick in behind Saints back 3 and pressure line out with FVDM one of best ops about. Huge engine room will look to lock down scrum (Davies renowned scrummager) and clear out rucks. Put pressure on Saints core of Spurling/Lees/Jones who look a little out of place at this level. Look to starve Saints backs of good ball to attack with by slowing down ball with strong breakdown opps and physicality at the breakdown.

HOME ADVANTAGE- Fantastic home form and really hard to beat. You need a stronger pack to win away and Saints don't have this starting or any form from the bench.

TARGET SIMPSON – Look to put Simpson under pressure and force him on back foot. His basics are suspect so will make him play

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

PARRA/STEYN COMBO - Perfect combo to dictate play and keep us playing in right are


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. Put pressue on Simpson's basics and force him into errors, Mowen the expert here. 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 Williams on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Fekitoa to run angles off the 9/10 and interchange 2nd receiver with Williams. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Ashton will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of Fekitoa's little offloads in contact. Guildford to keep things honest and come looking for work.[/b]

I can imagine this might change a bit...

London Irish
Manager – Prop

01. Tom Court	09. Lee Dickson
02. Ken Owens	10. Owen Williams
03. Henry Thomas
04. Jacques Poitgeiter	11. Nick Cummins
05. Tom Savage	12. Chris Bell
06. Kelly Brown	13. Mark Bennett
07. Jon Fisher	14. Bjorn Basson
08. Scott Higginbotham	15. Rob Cook

:-
16. Marc Jones 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Will Collier 19. Dean Mumm 20. Jackson Wray 21. Neil De Kock 22. Luke McAlister 23. Brice Dulin


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.

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. We will target SOB at times who hasn't played in a while IRL.

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 Bath 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: Williams will stand flat initially to give Bell and our pack runners the chance to get over the gainline. 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 look at Williams and Bell to pull the strings and find the gaps for Bennett and our 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 Dulin 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 Bath 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 Williams the opportunity to drop back and cover with Cook for any kicks ahead. We will defend inside-out and spread the line. Bell is a strong defender and we will use this to our advantage to prevent anything going out wide.

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.

Working in Paris at the moment so having a bit of an issue with internet as my French is questionable at best and the Parisians are less helpful than Londoners, which takes some going! Am going to try and login in tomorrow at a colleagues desk - Pooly sorry if I am a little late and if my team changes a bit!

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Richard Barrington	09. Nic White
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. Yannick Nyanga	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. Chris Cook 22. Marnitz Boshoff 23. Richard Kahui

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, Wasps 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. Paterson 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 Balmain, and keep the opposition back row tied into the scrum giving White, 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. White will 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. Using the defensive banana drift defence to push the attackers towards our inside defence, with Whitesweeping 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. Nyanga 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 Burrell\Lowe to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. Lowe/Burrell/Strettle are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching Nonu's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration of Freaunin 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 Wasps can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Barrington to exploit Balmain and pile in on him with Yeandle. 
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 Wasps 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 - Nonu, not being the most agile, Flood will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line, similarly Freaun is not the best defending 13, and so Lowe and Burrell will angle run down both of their weaker, inside shoulder.
Breakdown – The back five 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

You've got till midnight tomorrow Chris, loads of time

1. Thomas Domingo
2. Scott Spurling
3. Logi Mulipola
4. Joe Launchbury
5. Mitch Lees
6. Julian Bonnaire
7. Sam Jones
8. Samo Manoa (c)
9. Joe Simpson
10. Nick Evans (k)
11. Niko Matawulu
12. Matt Giteau
13. Manu Tuilagi
14. Jordan Williams
15. Ben Foden

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Elliot Dee 18. Adam Jones 19. Schalk Brits 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Gareth Davies 22. Tom Stephenson 23. Elliot Daly

SJE

Tactics:
We we will look to take advantage of the excellent conditions, where we will aim to continue our unbeaten start to the season. We are going to play a high tempo/expansive game to take advantage of our more mobile pack and the conditions - we feel we have a distinct advantage with the rain staying away and will look to play a game to move away from Saracens strengths. We've picked a pack that will provide a strong attacking platform off the scrum and lineout and a very strong replacement bench. Defensively we will play our usual aggressive approach, looking to force mistakes and turnovers. In the final 20/25 minutes we will bring on Vunipola and Burger, with Samoa moving into partner Launchbury to really put the pressure on in the final quarter.

Pack/Setpiece:
We've picked a very mobile pack, with some great ball carriers to allow us to play at pace, while Sarries seem far better suited to worse conditions and their game plan reflects that. We'll use scrum time as a setpiece to launch Manoa off the back at the Sarries midfield. We have selected five lineout jumpers to provide a lot of attacking options, but will really aim to generate quick ball for our backline to send runners at the Sarries 12/13 channel, which have barely played together with the 13 being away with NZ from the summer - we want to test that channel defensively. We'll use Manoa to attack Sarries lineout ball and put pressure on the jumpers and scrumhalves.

Attack:
While Sarries want to play a slow game, we want to get our strike runners involved from the outset and really put pressure on the Sarries defence. We have some strong ball carriers in the pack and will look to get Giteau, Tuilagi and Goneva involved and bring them into the attack to really test the Sarries defence. We want to get our strike runners getting over the gainline, swamp the rucks and then get the ball out wide where we want to test the Sarries backthrees tackling - we believe there is a real chance to get at the Sarries backthree if they can be isolated, or attack the 12/13 combination.

Aim is to out score Sarriea on the try front and control the 10-12 channel through Evans and Giteau.

Breakdown:
A really big battle this week, we've gone for a mobile pack to get to the breakdown quickly and we'll be looking to get the likes of Clark away from the breakdown as quickly as possible. With Logi, Launchbury to support our backrow and Giteau and Tuilagi offering support in the backline we want to target this area with speed. Any turnover we will look to exploit with Simpson told to put speed on the game, with Parra and Steyn there isn't the same attacking threat.

Flood the breakdown with a quicker pack, while Parra and Steyn are not the best at exploiting quick ball themselves.

Defence:
As always an aggressive defence, looking for fast line speed, closing down attacking options as quickly as possible. We will look to double up on the tackle with Hughes, as he's the biggest threat for Sarries and if we can stop him making an impact we can stop Sarries building momentum. We know that Parra and Steyn do not offer the best attacking game, so will look to push up on them quickly and force them to kick to our back three. We have a very strong midfield defensively and will look to take advantage of the lack of game time between the Sarries 12/13. Simpson to sweep behind the defensive line.

Key Points:
* Great form in the league, we've won 7 games in a row, while Sarries have lost 5. Full of confidence.
* Strong pack that plays to our strengths and the conditions, which allow us to play attacking rugby. A strong bench will improve our forwards as the game gets older.
* Boosted by the availablity of Burger and BV from the bench, which will make a huge impact.
* Been lucky with the weather, as Sarries tactics and style is one you dont want to face in bad conditions, but with running rugby we feel we have players who can outscore Sarreis on the tryfront.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Gethin Jenkins	09. Micky Young
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Nathan Hines	11. Ugo Monye
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Tamati Ellison
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Rene Ranger
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Jaco Taute

.
16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Alex Corbisiero 18. Harry Rudkin 19. Steve Mafi 20. Jacques Burger 21. Dwayne Peel 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Matt Banahan

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.

- 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.

- Attack all scrums if we have an advantage - Front row including Moore and Jenkins to look to really get the shove on, particularly targeting the Welsh Ward/Botha channel.

- 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.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the Welsh 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, Corbisiero and Burger off the bench.

- Young to look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Louw and Lobbe, supported by the likes of Jenkins, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Wel shproblems.

- In attacking play, 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. Young to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Burns to kick all penalties.

I Glos 
01. Beast 09. Robson
02. Grey 10. cipriani
03. Figallo
04. bird 11. Gear
05. George robson 12. Dan Carter 
06. Alberts 13. Juan de Jongh
07. Salvi 14. walker
08. Palu 15. Dagg
:-
16 Wood 17 Luke Cowan Dickie 18 Sebastian Adeniran-Olule 19 Roman taofufina 20 Juan smith 21 Justin Phillips 22 matt Scott 23 Rhaymond rhule


[size=32]TARGET BREAKDOWN [/size][size=32]– 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  Palu bird Alberts Salvi and beast has physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our  front 5 and this is an area we will flood.[/size]

[size=32]TARGET 9 10 channel[/size]


 [size=32]f with Goode rarely playing 10 this half back combo will be untried. We will be looking to target it by runners in the channel and by blitzing [/size]




[size=32]Half backs[/size][size=32]- Robson in top form will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to cips who will dictate. [/size]
[size=32]Cips Will challenge line and kick When necessary. We want to play high tempo and Off front foot vl. We will do this by using runners off ten to smash holes and look to flood.[/size]



[size=32]General[/size][size=32] - 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 sap Newcastle energy. We see them struggling with our power. When its on we will play an offloading game. When in behind We will Flood through with our quick Backs targeting mismatches  [/size]

[size=32]Line out[/size][size=32] – We have options galore in Robson bits  Alberts etc and will use this to disrupt.[/size]
[size=32]On our ball we will mix It but as game progresses go Off The top more To Get in to there backline [/size]


[size=32]Defence[/size][size=32] - 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.[/size]

[size=32]Bench [/size][size=32]- Game changing bench with More ball carriers and attacking backs. Our intention is to use it as required[/size]

Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213     
              

01. Scott Sio	09. Mitchell Drummond
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Fraser Balmain
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Digby Ioane
05. Matt Symons	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. Robbie Fruean
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Tim Nanai-Williams
08. Luke Narraway	15. Delon Armitage

16. Harry Thacker 17. Ben Moon 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Paul Willemse 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Will Homer 22. Henry Slade 23. Paul Jordaan


Basic Game Plan
In wet conditions we will be looking to play a territory based game, using the boots of Cruden and Armitage to play in the Chiefs 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.  Drummond 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 Chiefs territory and force them to throw into the lineout close to their own line in poor conditions.
  
• Lineout. Hit banker ball at the front and use the middle and look to play our driving game from there.  Use Ouedraogo and Symons to target the reciever on the Chiefs throw.
  
• 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.
  

Borde has been selected Pete

Tillouse-Borde removed.

Chris, Lood De jager in the SA 23

Matt, think Steenkamp has been called up

Cheers pooly but my understanding is that all Sa french players not allowed to play by clubs.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Vasil Kakovin	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Francois Steyn
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Iain Henderson	11. Semeasa Rokoduguni
05. Christian Day	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Steven Luatua	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Todd	14. Craig Gilroy
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Jared Payne

16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Martin Moore 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Keith Earls

I stand corrected he is on bench

anonmattyt wrote:Cheers pooly but my understanding is that all Sa french players not allowed to play by clubs.

Is that not next week as it falls outside the international window? All players are available this week to SA.

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. Cian Healy	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Charlie Hodgson
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Luke Romano	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Nopolini Nalaga
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Hallan Amos

16. Tom Dunn 17. Peter Dooley 18. Jake Cooper Woolley 19. Alexandre Flanquardt 20. Luke Wallace 21. Sam Hill 22. Maxime Machenaud 23. Sitiveni Sivivatu


Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Irish 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. We will try to set a base, controlled by SOB which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Romano, SOB and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitch 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. 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 Irish decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Focus on gain line collisions and driving back in the tackle. FDP to sweep in behind. 

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. FDP 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. Look to get the big carriers involved as much as possible. The likes of Tameifuma, Kitchener, Haywood, 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: Hodgson 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. 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.

Hogg, Flanq, Wiggles called up

You've named SOB twice

Weird thing was I saw both of them and noted I needed to change them out my team and never did. France have a group of players to choose bench out of and reckon Maestri will be in over Flanquardt. Cheers though mate, clearly tired!

Luke Marshall starts at 12 for Falcons with Sailli moving to 13 , Chris Farrell onto the bench.

CJB wrote:Weird thing was I saw both of them and noted I needed to change them out my team and never did. France have a group of players to choose bench out of and reckon Maestri will be in over Flanquardt. Cheers though mate, clearly tired!

Robinson in too, you're having a mare!

Beale potentially on Wallabies bench aswell

Matt, that's your best attempt yet, looking good.

Believe it or not its not my fault pooly. There are real issues with this site at the moment for copying and pasting. On a phone and wanted to edit previous tactics as I have done and change priorities.

I am also absolutely useless with these codes and stuff. 


I consider myself quite decent with tech and IT but this site owns me !

Just tried editing at it looks fine until I
Press send them comes out like that

Sorry guys. Only just back from work. Can I do tactics v early tomorrow morning? If not, happy to take the hit

Get them in if you can CJ. Doing my own now.

Feel your pain Matt. The website has been awful in recent weeks. Updating the match thread is a real pain at the moment!

Haven't checked the sides for call ups yet as in a rush this morning will do so tonight. If you see anyone please let me know 

Will add tactics for CJ & Driver if you get them in guys.

I had a quick scan, only picked these up.

Falcons - Laidlaw
Exeter - Nyanga??? (Bench not named yet by France)
Bath - Flanquardt??? (Bench not named yet by France)

Sorry. Really busy at work, can't do until evening at earliest, go ahead and predict, it's my own problem

Just noticed I wrote Schalk Brits instead of Burger in my team - might start adding a few other quality players in next week and see if I get away with it!

Tactics-

Ward and Barclay to work as a duo 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 2 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, AJ and the other forwards.

Slow ball- We will look to test their back 3 positionally with up and unders 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 Pennell and Godwin as secondary play-makers , looking to mix short pop passes inside and out to exploit the lack of adaptability in the blitz and short dummy runners with the long pass outside to exploit space and get our wingers in the game, and dummy runners with the inside switch to change the angle of attack behind the game line and cut into the defence. If there is space behind the defensive line, look to chip from 9, 10 or 12 with our canny back 3  and back row chasing. When tackled if the offload is on make it with support lines from our fetchers vital but if not recycle quickly and attack the fringes. Look to get one on one with Sharples and test his defence


Kicking- kick low not high. 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.

Defence-  Fringe defence led by Timani. 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.

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.  

Btw is there any reason ward isn't in my starting pack?

Obviously if these tactics are ignored as too late, I understand. Sorry guys, brutal last few days at work

Newcastle 17 - 19 Gloucester

Newcastle a man down on the bench and no tactics kill them here. A player as good as Carter can play at 12 easily and outside Cips and DC , JDJ is going to have a field day! packs are pretty even with half backs strongly to glos. Outside backs edge to glos also and they take a good win which is vital to them and their league position.

Exeter 23 - 20 Wasps

This one is a very tough one to call and with a bit more upfront and a more experienced 9 Wasps could have taken a win. Both front rows lacking experience but plenty of talent. Second rows edge to Chiefs with a good, industrious pairing. Back row edge to Wasps but upfront there is a small edge to Chiefs. At half back Drummond really stands out as a weak link the Exeter chiefs look stronger here. Centres are very physical with Wasps stronger and the Back threes pretty even. I just don't see how Wasps take the win here without dominance up front or at half back. Good Chiefs win.