European Champions Cup Round 4

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Wasps v Benetton Treviso 
Location - Adams Park
Light Rain, 5 Degrees, 10mph WSW Winds

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 Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213    
            

01. Ben Moon	09. Aaron Smith
02. Deon Fourie	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Fraser Balmain
04. Paul Willemse	11. Anthony Watson
05. Ruan Botha	12. Shane Geraghty
06. Fulgence Ouedraogo	13. Henry Slade
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Luke Narraway	15. Delon Armitage

16. Harry Thacker 17. Scott Sio 18. Frans Malherbe 19. Cameron Skelton 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Berrick Barnes 23. JJ Engelbrecht


Tactics

Standard gameplan of forwards carrying hard, to draw in defenders before going wide.  No risks in our half in the damp conditions.  Blitz defence with 9 sweeping behind.  Selective rucking, flood it on our ball to free it up quickly, and on theirs if turnover is on, otherwise maintian a strong defensive line.

Key Point

Treviso are bottom of the Pro12 and haven't won a game in any competition this season, and we beat them comfortably away from home last week with a similar standard side.

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Treviso

15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Simone Ragusi, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Dean Budd, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Antonio Pavanello (cpt), 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Salesi Manu, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Muccignat.

Replacements: 16 Amar Kudin, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Romulo Acosta, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Tomas Vallejos, 21 Marco Barbini, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Edoardo Gori.

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Newcastle Falcons v Castres
Location - Kingston Park
Light Cloud, 4 Degrees, 17mph W Winds

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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Nick Phipps
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Yohan Maestri	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Brad Barritt
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Francis Saili
07. Richie McCaw (c)	14. Cory Jane
08. David Ewers	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.Rory Best 17.Soane Tonga'huia 18.Matt Stevens 19.Ed Slater 20.Kieran Read 21.Greig Laidlaw 22.Gareth Anscombe 23. Charles Piutau

We've picked a stronger pair of scrimmaging props to help us really get after Castres up front, the conditions are decent so we want to set a platform for our backs. Kruger to call the lineout, mix it up with Ruddock as a 3rd option

Use our big carriers like Coles and Ewers to set a target and get over the gainline, always go in with a man on the shoulder for support and a quick clear out.

McCaw to do his usual thing at the breakdown, ably supported by Ruddock. We have Best and Read to bring on in the second half to press home our advantage in this area.

Phipps to take the pressure off Farrell by sniping when its on, and taking on the kick himself, or using Miller as another kicking option.

Keep the ball in hand inside their half, we think our backs can do plenty of damage by playing through the hands

Internationals coming off the bench in all areas as we look to go for the bonus point

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Castres

15 Julien Dumora, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Yannick Caballero (c), 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Benjamin Desroche, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau

Replacements:16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Florian Houerie, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Victor Moreaux, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Romain Martial, 22 Max Evans, 23 Cedric Garcia

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Harlequins v Montpeiller
Location - Twickenham Stoop
Light Rain Shower, 6 Degrees, 12mph WSW Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Karl Dickson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper (k)
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Charlie Matthews	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Luke Braid	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter (c)	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gjorji Jgenti 18. John Afoa 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Damien Chouly 21. Eric Escande 22. Colin Slade 23. Ollie Lindsey-Hague

Tactics

Control the game up front and play the game in the right areas. Use to very accurate boot of Cooper and the big boot of JMH to gain territory. Use up and unders with Henshaw and Serfontein leading the chase. Use cross field kicks as well particularly using Huget.

Look to control the set piece and carry hard up front to get over the gain line. When we get quick ball look to get it into the hands of Cooper standing flat who can put others into space.

Hassle everything Montpellier do. Struggle away and use scoreboard pressure and aggressive defence to blitz Montpellier early and take the game away from them.

Use the bench as a when required.

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Montpellier

15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Yohann Artru, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Lucas Dupont, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Alex Tulou 7 Kelian Galletier, 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Thibaut Privat (c), 4 Robins Tchale Watchou, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Thomas Bianchin, 1 Yvan Watremez,

Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga, 18 David Attoub, 19 Tom Donnelly, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Jonathan Pelissie, 23 Benoit Sicart

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Leinster v Gloucester Rugby
Location - RDS
Light Cloud, 4 Degrees, 16mph W Winds

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Leinster

15 Rob Kearney, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c) 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath

Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Zane Kirchner

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 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Beast	09. Robson
02. Strauss	10. Cipriani
03. Mas
04. Etzbeth	11. May
05. Robson	12. Toomua
06. Croft	13. Kurindrani
07. Salvi	14. Walker
08. Palu	15. Folau

:-
16 Wood 17 Luke Cowan Dickie 18 Ousthuizen  19 Gray 20 Alberts 21 TJ Perenara 22 Carter 23 

Glos tactic

Get on top upfront with leinster struggling in real life. 

Harlequins front 5 best them last week and we have a much better front 5.

Forwards to generate quick ball for the backs to attack.

Playmakers  all over the backline which allows us to play a fluid attacking game. Targeting BP again with is putting a stronger team out this week.

Bench as requires to take game away

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Toulon v Sale Sharks
Location - Stade Mayol
Sunny Intervals, 14 Degrees, 6mph WNW Winds

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Toulon

15 Delon Armitage, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe (c), 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Xavier Chiocci

Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Juan Smith, 20 Rudi Wulf, 21 Jocelino Suta, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Romain Taofifenua

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Willie Le Roux
05. Dave Attwood	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

:-
16. Jack McGrath 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Beauden Barrett 23. Kyle Eastmond

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

- 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.

- Change the point of attack. Numerous play makers across the back line comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and shift this big Toulon pack around the park.

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

- Attack from the scrum. Ayerza to get at Castro similar to last week in real life. Chiocci decent around the park but weak at the scrum and Zirka backed up by Attwood will target. 

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

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

- Get at Sanchez. He's had little time with the Toulon squad this season and communication was a real issue last week. With no Giteau for support we will look to heavily target him throughout the game on defence and stop any Toulon momentum in its tracks.

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Leicester Tigers v Northampton Saints
Location - Welford Road
Sunny Intervals, 5 Degrees, 15mph WSW Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Tusi Pisi (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Pascal Pape (c)	11. Ugo Monye
05. Victor Matfield	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Johnson	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Rene Ranger
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Stephen Moore 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Nathan Hines 20. Francois Louw 21. Micky Young 22. Freddie Burns 23. Alex Cuthbert

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 Pisi 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 - Front row of Franks, Creevy and Corbisiero to look to really get the shove on, particularly targeting the Saints Domingo/Webber channel.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Pape or Lobbe at the front and Matfield 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 Saints defence. Primarily using Waldrom, Basteraud and Creevy, plus the likes of Pape, Franks, Lobbe and Ranger to get us over the gainline. Add to that the likes of Moore, Louw and Cuthbert off the bench.

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

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Lobbe, supported by the likes of Bastareaud, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Saints problems.

- 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. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Pisi to kick all penalties.

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 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Rob Webber	10. George Ford(k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Samu Manoa	13. Ollie Deveto
07. Schalk Burger	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 
16. Dylan Hartley 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Chris Robshaw 21. Gareth Davies 22. Matt Giteau 23. Leigh Halfpenny

Tactics:We will be looking to build on the win against Tigers last week and make a number of changes to freshen up by recalling Launcbury, Manoa and Burger to the starting lineup and Hartley, Lawes and Robshaw on the bench. We will play a game based around a solid set piece, strong ball carriers and getting over the gain line, playing a game with high intensity and getting the ball into the hands of our gainline breakers and constantly making Tigers tackle. We aim to attack Tigers and put their defence under pressure from the outset, particularly targeting their no10 who hasn't played a great deal for Tigers this season and we'll aim to disrupt their attacking game.

Pack/Setpiece:Domingo and Herrera have been selected to start the game and are joined by Webber to bolster our scrum further and give a platform for Parisse to attack from the base. We've picked Burger and Manoa to add power to our pack so that we can take the game to Tigers and put them under pressure. We've got 4 good jumpers in Parisse, Manoa, Grey and Launchbury. With Webber's throwing we will look for quick off the top ball to attack with. Gray to make a nuisance of himself on Tigers ball and we can bring on Hartley and Lawes.

Attack/Kicking Game:Our game plan is built on giving Ford a platform to dictate the game, putting our powerful runners in the backline into space and providing attacking opportunities. We've picked a pack that can give Ford that platform and get us over the gain line. We've selected Bowe and Savea on the wings as we want to utilise Ford's cross field kick and also operate a fantastic kick chase to test the Tigers backthree. Have lots of different ways to attack, whether it is through powerful runners, spreading the ball wide to attack space or through Ford's kicking game, will make it difficult for Tigers to read and defend.

Breakdown:We want quick ball this week to get us on the front foot and keeping the Tigers defence under pressure, so we've opted to pick Manoa and Burger to give us the advantage in the breakdown area and will look to smash the Tigers players out of the contact area. We have selected a mobile front five who will put bodies into the breakdown to clear out Tigers and turn this area into a real physical confrontation - as the game goes on we can strengthen this area by bringing on Vunipola, Mulipola, Hartley, Lawes and Robshaw.  

Defence:As always a really aggressive defence with fast line speed and closing down the Tigers halfbacks, we want to limit Tigers attacking options so will really target Pisi and force him into errors. We've picked a big, physical backline from 11-14 who will look to stop Tigers backs getting over the gainline and will happily look for the choke tackle to win scrums and turnovers. Simpson to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Key Points:* Strong setpiece and pack vital for away games
* Five full international forwards to bring off the bench, strengthen pack and the breakdown battle as game goes on.
* Ford to control the game, mixing up passing and kicking game.

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Karl Dickson
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Quade Cooper (k)
03. Martin Castrogiovani
04. Charlie Matthews	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Luke Braid	14. Yoann Huget
08. Nick Easter (c)	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gjorji Jgenti 18. John Afoa 19. Jim Hamilton 20. Damien Chouly 21. Eric Escande 22. Colin Slade 23. Ollie Lindsey-Hague

Tactics

Control the game up front and play the game in the right areas. Use to very accurate boot of Cooper and the big boot of JMH to gain territory. Use up and unders with Henshaw and Serfontein leading the chase. Use cross field kicks as well particularly using Huget.

Look to control the set piece and carry hard up front to get over the gain line. When we get quick ball look to get it into the hands of Cooper standing flat who can put others into space.

Hassle everything Montpellier do. Struggle away and use scoreboard pressure and aggressive defence to blitz Montpellier early and take the game away from them.

Use the bench as a when required.

Treviso:

15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Simone Ragusi, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Sam Christie, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Joe Carlisle, 9 Alberto Lucchese, 8 Dean Budd, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Antonio Pavanello (cpt), 4 Francesco Minto, 3 Salesi Manu, 2 Davide Giazzon, 1 Matteo Muccignat.

Replacements: 16 Amar Kudin, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Romulo Acosta, 19 Marco Fuser, 20 Tomas Vallejos, 21 Marco Barbini, 22 Luca Morisi, 23 Edoardo Gori.

Castres:

15 Julien Dumora, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Thomas Combezou, 12 Remi Lamerat, 11 Remi Grosso, 10 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Yannick Caballero (c), 6 Ibrahim Diarra, 5 Benjamin Desroche, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 Yohan Montes, 2 Mathieu Bonello, 1 Saimone Taumoepeau

Replacements:16 Marc-Antoine Rallier, 17 Florian Houerie, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Victor Moreaux, 20 Mathieu Babillot, 21 Romain Martial, 22 Max Evans, 23 Cedric Garcia

Montpellier:

15 Benjamin Fall, 14 Yohann Artru, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Lucas Dupont, 10 Enzo Selponi, 9 Benoit Paillaugue, 8 Alex Tulou 7 Kelian Galletier, 6 Antoine Battut, 5 Thibaut Privat (c), 4 Robins Tchale Watchou, 3 Pat Cilliers, 2 Thomas Bianchin, 1 Yvan Watremez,

Replacements: 16 Charles Geli, 17 Na'ama Leleimalefaga, 18 David Attoub, 19 Tom Donnelly, 20 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 21 Teddy Iribaren, 22 Jonathan Pelissie, 23 Benoit Sicart

Leinster:

15 Rob Kearney, 14 Darragh Fanning, 13 Gordon D'Arcy, 12 Ian Madigan, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c) 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Jack McGrath

Replacements: 16 Bryan Byrne, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Zane Kirchner

Toulon:

15 Delon Armitage, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe (c), 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Xavier Chiocci

Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Carl Hayman, 19 Juan Smith, 20 Rudi Wulf, 21 Jocelino Suta, 22 Eric Escande, 23 Romain Taofifenua

Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Rob Webber	10. George Ford(k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Samu Manoa	13. Ollie Deveto
07. Schalk Burger	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse (c)	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 
16. Dylan Hartley 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Chris Robshaw 21. Gareth Davies 22. Matt Giteau 23. Leigh Halfpenny

Tactics:We will be looking to build on the win against Tigers last week and make a number of changes to freshen up by recalling Launcbury, Manoa and Burger to the starting lineup and Hartley, Lawes and Robshaw on the bench. We will play a game based around a solid set piece, strong ball carriers and getting over the gain line, playing a game with high intensity and getting the ball into the hands of our gainline breakers and constantly making Tigers tackle. We aim to attack Tigers and put their defence under pressure from the outset, particularly targeting their no10 who hasn't played a great deal for Tigers this season and we'll aim to disrupt their attacking game.

Pack/Setpiece:Domingo and Herrera have been selected to start the game and are joined by Webber to bolster our scrum further and give a platform for Parisse to attack from the base. We've picked Burger and Manoa to add power to our pack so that we can take the game to Tigers and put them under pressure. We've got 4 good jumpers in Parisse, Manoa, Grey and Launchbury. With Webber's throwing we will look for quick off the top ball to attack with. Gray to make a nuisance of himself on Tigers ball and we can bring on Hartley and Lawes.

Attack/Kicking Game:Our game plan is built on giving Ford a platform to dictate the game, putting our powerful runners in the backline into space and providing attacking opportunities. We've picked a pack that can give Ford that platform and get us over the gain line. We've selected Bowe and Savea on the wings as we want to utilise Ford's cross field kick and also operate a fantastic kick chase to test the Tigers backthree. Have lots of different ways to attack, whether it is through powerful runners, spreading the ball wide to attack space or through Ford's kicking game, will make it difficult for Tigers to read and defend.

Breakdown:We want quick ball this week to get us on the front foot and keeping the Tigers defence under pressure, so we've opted to pick Manoa and Burger to give us the advantage in the breakdown area and will look to smash the Tigers players out of the contact area. We have selected a mobile front five who will put bodies into the breakdown to clear out Tigers and turn this area into a real physical confrontation - as the game goes on we can strengthen this area by bringing on Vunipola, Mulipola, Hartley, Lawes and Robshaw.

Defence:As always a really aggressive defence with fast line speed and closing down the Tigers halfbacks, we want to limit Tigers attacking options so will really target Pisi and force him into errors. We've picked a big, physical backline from 11-14 who will look to stop Tigers backs getting over the gainline and will happily look for the choke tackle to win scrums and turnovers. Simpson to sweep in behind the defensive line.

Key Points:* Strong setpiece and pack vital for away games
* Five full international forwards to bring off the bench, strengthen pack and the breakdown battle as game goes on.
* Ford to control the game, mixing up passing and kicking game.

 Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Beast	09. Robson
02. Strauss	10. Cipriani
03. Mas
04. Etzbeth	11. May
05. Robson	12. Toomua
06. Croft	13. Kurindrani
07. Salvi	14. Walker
08. Palu	15. Folau

16 Wood 17 Luke Cowan Dickie 18 Ousthuizen  19 Gray 20 Alberts 21 TJ Perenara 22 Carter 23 


Glos tactic

Get on top upfront with leinster struggling in real life. 

Harlequins front 5 best them last week and we have a much better front 5.

Forwards to generate quick ball for the backs to attack.

Playmakers  all over the backline which allows us to play a fluid attacking game. Targeting BP again with is putting a stronger team out this week.

Bench as requires to take game away

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Nick Phipps
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Yohan Maestri	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Juandre Kruger	12. Brad Barritt
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Francis Saili
07. Richie McCaw (c)	14. Cory Jane
08. David Ewers	15. Rob Miller

:-
16.Rory Best 17.Soane Tonga'huia 18.Matt Stevens 19.Ed Slater 20.Kieran Read 21.Greig Laidlaw 22.Gareth Anscombe 23. Charles Piutau

We've picked a stronger pair of scrimmaging props to help us really get after Castres up front, the conditions are decent so we want to set a platform for our backs. Kruger to call the lineout, mix it up with Ruddock as a 3rd option

Use our big carriers like Coles and Ewers to set a target and get over the gainline, always go in with a man on the shoulder for support and a quick clear out.

McCaw to do his usual thing at the breakdown, ably supported by Ruddock. We have Best and Read to bring on in the second half to press home our advantage in this area.

Phipps to take the pressure off Farrell by sniping when its on, and taking on the kick himself, or using Miller as another kicking option.

Keep the ball in hand inside their half, we think our backs can do plenty of damage by playing through the hands

Internationals coming off the bench in all areas as we look to go for the bonus point

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Tusi Pisi (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Pascal Pape (c)	11. Ugo Monye
05. Victor Matfield	12. Billy Twelvetrees
06. Tom Johnson	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Rene Ranger
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Stephen Moore 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Nathan Hines 20. Francois Louw 21. Micky Young 22. Freddie Burns 23. Alex Cuthbert

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 Pisi 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 - Front row of Franks, Creevy and Corbisiero to look to really get the shove on, particularly targeting the Saints Domingo/Webber channel.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Pape or Lobbe at the front and Matfield 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 Saints defence. Primarily using Waldrom, Basteraud and Creevy, plus the likes of Pape, Franks, Lobbe and Ranger to get us over the gainline. Add to that the likes of Moore, Louw and Cuthbert off the bench.

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

- Look to win battle at the breakdown - Lobbe, supported by the likes of Bastareaud, to really look to get into the breakdown and give Saints problems.

- 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. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Pisi to kick all penalties.

Does Castro being suspended by his club mean he is unavailable for me?

Believe so mate.

I don't think so, it's not an official suspension, they could choose to play him if they wanted to.

I didn't think club suspensions mattered on here. Will wait for SJE.

Sorry mine was meant to say believe he's available. It's an internal suspension.

He's available Steve not an official suspension

 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Willie Le Roux
05. Dave Attwood	12. Francois Steyn
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

:-
16. Jack McGrath 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Beauden Barrett 23. Kyle Eastmond

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

- 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.

- Change the point of attack. Numerous play makers across the back line comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and shift this big Toulon pack around the park.

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

- Attack from the scrum. Ayerza to get at Castro similar to last week in real life. Chiocci decent around the park but weak at the scrum and Zirka backed up by Attwood will target. 

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

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

- Get at Sanchez. He's had little time with the Toulon squad this season and communication was a real issue last week. With no Giteau for support we will look to heavily target him throughout the game on defence and stop any Toulon momentum in its tracks.

Wasps 36-6 Treviso
Midfield a little light weight but with the half backs on show more then enough for the bonus point v the Italians.


Newcastle 24-12 Castres
Castres european campaign over in this game and won't put up much of a fight away but not sure Falcons have the spark for the bonus point.


Harlequins 28-16 Montpeiller 
Montpeiller really struggling atm and won't fancy a trip to an in form Quins side.


Leinster 10-17 Gloucester
Stronger Glaws side then last week and should have enough to win away in Dublin against a struggling Leinster.


Leicester 19-18 Saints
Tight old forward battle and a hard game to call. Saints edge the 10 battle but Tigers the midfield. Both have good impact off the bench. Home advantage the decider here.

Leicester 23-24 Saints 

Pretty even front 5 with corbs hard to rate but franks and creevy in good form. 

Gray Herrera Webber in great form also so hard to seperate.

Game of round at a doubt.

Saints take backrow easily with Parisse burger and manoa in form

Both 9s lack form and 10 Leicesters achilles. 

After that ford and Saints backs much better although devoto at 13 will struggle.

Key positions saints take
This
And they have the sparkle to win an epic. Just !

Wasps 38 - 15 Treviso

Pretty routine for Wasps. They don't need their best side out to get a BP win.

Newcastle 28 - 20 Castres

Newcastle have plenty here to win but I struggle a little to see where any creativity comes from in there backs with the Farrell/Barrit axis.

Leinster 23 - 31 Gloucester

Gloucester's pack blows their opposition away here giving Robson and Cipriani an arm chair ride.

Toulon 23 - 23 Sale

That Toulon pack is fearful and whilst Sale edge the front row the rest of the pack I give the edge to Toulon. Not much at all in the backs but I just can't see Sale having enough to get the win.

Leicester 24 - 25 Northampton

Not a lot in the packs or the set piece. Tom Johnson stands out as a weakness and the Saints lock combo offers far more around the park and this is an area Saints get on top. In the backs the halfbacks are pretty level with Ford the stand out but their is a step up on the wings and at 12 for Saints and this see's them edge a fine win.

Wasps 47 - 9 Treviso
Wasps resting a lot of first teamers in the pack, so a more even battle there than it could have been - but still boss it and platform for their backs to score a lot of tries.

Quins 35 - 11 Montpellier
Strong Quins team that will put Montpellier to the sword when the impact bench has its impact. Look like very strong contenders for this competition.

Newcastle 30 - 8 Castres
There's just too much power in that Falcons pack and can see them dominating that area and the breakdown. While they may lack creativity in the 10-12 channel they are going to score a lot of points through 1-8 dominance and Farrell's boot.

Leinster 25 - 30 Gloucester
Need a strong pack to win away at Leinster, or you used to but they look like a shadow of the great team they used to be. Gloucester get the platform here and should get a BP win too.

Toulon 18 - 17 Sale
Had Sale winning at home last week, but reverse this time round as Toulon such a hard place to go and get a win. Toulon's monster pack and Armitage can win the battle against Kvesvic - if Sale can get a top class hooker then they are my favourites for the European Cup. Brutal game and the narrowest of wins for the home team.

Wasps 50 - Treviso 9
Falcons 35 - 12 Castres
Quins 42 - 18 Montpelier
Leinster 17 - 30 Gloucester
Toulon 21 - 20 Sale
Tigers 24 - 24 Saints

Wasps 45 - Treviso 3
Routine win for Wasps against a poor Treviso

Falcons 32 - 12 Castres
Decent win, Castres not the best this year.

Quins 35 - 13 Montpelier
Another easy win, Quins too strong

Toulon 26 - 22 Sale
Toulon just edge pack and a bit more in centres/back 3 to take win

Tigers 27 - 24 Saints
Good pack battle, Tigers edge set piece with slightly stronger scrum and line out. Good backrow battle but Tigers halfbacks better as a pair, Kahn a big step up on Simpson. Tigers centre combo better wit Devoto issue at 13, Saints big step on wings, Tigers big step up at FB. Good contest but home advantage and a bit stronger most areas.

Wasps 49-10 Treviso
Newcastle 35-17 Castres
Quins 36-15 Montpelier
Leinster 25-29 Gloucester
Toulon 31-27 Sale
Tigers 27-29 Saints

Wasps 45-14 Treviso
Wasps too strong all over.

Falcons 24-12 Castres
Falcons back line too strong for Castres.

Quins 30-10 Montpellier
Quins too strong and bench will pull a big gap.

Leinster 20-27 Glos
Beastly Glos pack puts Leinster on the backfoot from the off.

Toulon 22-22 Sale
Too close to split with neither side getting on top of the other.

Tigers 24-25 Saints
Saints just have enough in key positions.

Wasps 38 - 12 Treviso

Treviso away from home aren't the biggest threat to the Wasps. They contain some real athletes and can create something from nothing. But Wasps have too much quality and will see off the Italians at home with the bonus point. 

Newcastle Falcons 27 - 21 Castres

Falcons have picked a very big pack to combat the physicality and size of the Castres pack, and for me more than match them, especially at the breakdown. The Castres halfbacks are a little hap-hazard with possession and allow the Falcons to dominate the game. Strong home win for a much rotated Falcons side. 

Harlequins 25 - 22 Montpelier

Despite the conditions the game suits the quins pack, especially the ability of their back row who will control the pace of the game and take the wind out of the Montpelier sails in attack. Not sure Cooper is quite the player to control the game, but with Dickson and JMH to help in that facet I can understand. I imagine Henshaw and Serfontein would rotate during the game, but I'd rather see both swap positions as it would bring the best out of each other. In the end Quins have enough to see away the travelling french outfit. 

Leinster 28 -  32 Gloucester Rugby

Leinster have their big guns out and are a completely different outfit at home. Man for man Leinster defend well and will get in the face of the Glos pack. Matt, being better by opinion isn't really a tactic for me, (especially if you think that you are better!) and if one side beat them one week, is not to say that another will the next! Where Leinster have struggled is in the backs recently, and Glaws are a step in their midfield, which will allow their back three to attack the Leinster side to better affect. It's a close one, but Gloucester will edge out the Irishman. 

Toulon 26 - 24 Sale Sharks


Very close game, with Sharks going head on with the Toulon pack, which is brave but also necessary to slow them down. A real tough one to split in the end, but Toulon at home are a complete different beast to the one that the Sharks managed to topple last week. 

Leicester Tigers 27 - 28 Northampton Saints

A big game in the group and both sides go toe to toe with each other. Tigers are just a touch off the quality of the Saints pack, but they have an edge in the midfield as Devoto at being exploited defensively will pay some dividends. The momentum of their forward back will allow Ford to dictate the game and help pull a big win out of the bag away at Welford Road.

Wasps 37-17 Treviso

Wasps pack isn't close to their strongest, but still good enough to get a majority of ball, and after that the backs will murder Treviso. Wouldn't fancy Wasps centres against many other sides though

Quins 29-19 Montpellier

Quins just too strong up front against a side who don't probably care that much and have the typical away French team mentality. Bench will probably widen a gap created early on by Cooper and co. Agree with Flux on Henshaw/Serfontein

Leinster 23-28 Gloucester

Leinster much better at home and look to have a strong side out. I reckon Glos still best them all over the park, led by the front row. Glos back line looks tasty, centres in great form and 3 utter flyers in the back 3, gives Cips quite a few toys!

Toulon 23-24 Sale

I give Sale the edge at scrum time, but every where else the packs look very even. Sale HBs have form and class, but I give the Toulon outside backs unit the edge. This is so tight, but Sale have so much impact off the bench I think they'll squeak it, quality away win

Leicester 23-25 Saints

I think Saints have a edge at scrum time, but lack a lineout leader so that goes to Leicester. Will be a real battle round the park, loads of big carriers on show but neither side has a specialist openside. One apiece at HB, give Saints the edge at outside backs and the bench. Saints to take it

RESULTS:

London Wasps 47 (T:7 C:6)
Treviso 10 (T:1 C:1 P:1)

Newcastle Falcons 36 (T:5 C:4 P:1)
Castres 14 (T:1 P:3)

Harlequins 37 (T:5 C:3 P:2)
Montpeiller 15 (P:5)

Leinster 21 (T:2 C:1 P:3)
Gloucester 32 (T:4 C:3 P:2)

Toulon 25 (T:1 C:1 P:6)
Sale Sharks 23 (T:2 C:2 P:3)

Leicester Tigers 25 (T:1 C:1 P:6)
Northampton Saints 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)


BONUS:
Fined: Pete & Luke
Full: Everyone else