Aviva Premiership Round Fourteen

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Exeter Chiefs v Newcastle Falcons
Location - Sandy Park
Light Rain, 9 Degrees, 19mph S Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Nic White
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Toby Flood
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. Lolagi Visinia
05. Michael Paterson	12. Brad Barritt
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Luke Wallace	14. Cory Jane
08. Fritz Lee	15. James O'Connor

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16. Jack Yeandle 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tomas Lavanini 20. Joe Edwards 21. Chris Cook 22. Marnitz Boshoff 23. Jamie Elliott

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. We will play a high paced counter punch style of rugby.
When we gain possession our plan is to control attack with quick clean ball be it from set piece or turnover. After that look to control the pace of the game 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. Looking to control the ball for periods will result in frustrating the Falcons side giving away penalties for us to capitalise on. 

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. Big emphasis on controlling set piece possession, pressuring Coles at both line-out and scrum time. Paterson will get up at the front to steal any loose throws and make Parling have to loop or beat him at the front creating slow and tough ball. 

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. With the Falcons pack on the retreat, 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 Murray sweeping in behind to guide defenders to plug holes and covers any kicks in behind. If an oppo player gets held or brought down this allows the second man to get over the ball quickly to at least compete and slow opposition possession. Nyanga and Wallace 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 Dunbar\AAC to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. AAC/Dunbar/Visinia are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching JDV's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration and agility of Hopper in defence. Or even generate a two on one with JOC joining the back line and providing the extra man to either put a winger away or go himself. Look to exploit the defensive deficiencies in the Gloucester back three, with the wings not great positionally.

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 Falcons can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Coles to be put under constant throughout the game. 
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 Falcons guessing and preventing McCaw and Read getting over the ball at the breakdown. 
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 - Hopper is not a renowned defender and small in comparison to our centres, therefore Flood will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line. Likewise their back three are targets for us in attack, so look for two on ones and good kick chases to force mistakes.
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 Visinia, Jane & JOC, so they we will get the ball in their hands and they will take any opportunity. 
Build a Score - JOC to take on kicking at goal responsibilities. 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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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Nick Phipps
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Ed Slater	11. Charles Piutau
05. Geoff Parling	12. Jean De Villiers
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Matt Hopper
07. Richie McCaw	14. Ben Smith
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Gareth Anscombe

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16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tongahuia 18.Charlie Faumuina 19. Brad Thorn 20. Will Fraser 21.Dave Lewis 22. Max Evans 23. David Strettle

We've picked a side to play the conditions away from home against Exeter, plenty of kicking options throughout the backline and some hard carriers to keep us moving forwards.

Scrum - targeting JCW here, Mullan has been in great form and we think he can get at JCW. Look for Coles and Hayman to drive straight on, focusing on Szarzewski to try and give Mullan the chance to work on JCW 1 on 1.

Lineout - Parling to lead, excellent options in Slater and Read to mix it up and look for good quality ball off the top to send JDV into the 10 channel off first phase. Challenge on their ball, look to prevent them using the maul where possible and look to flood through on White to prevent him from box kicking if they win lineout ball in their own territory, we want him to have to pass back to Flood.

Breakdown - Picked a back row of physical breakdown specialists, we want them to work as a unit and try and get us turnovers in opposing territory. We think we can target Wallace physically, first man in to blow him off the ball and the second in to secure it for us. On their ball, Read is licenced to stay out of rucks until he thinks there is a turnover on, then go in to secure it. The work rate round the park of the likes of Coles and the second row will allow us to do this.

Kicking - We're focusing on the kicking game today, our back 3 all have played full back at varying levels, and all are very good kickers of the ball. Look to pin the ball back behind the Visinia specifically, and Smith is lining up on that wing to chase down and challenge him in the air. We want to win the territory battle today, keep them in their own half and maintain a strong defence a la England last week to restrict their options

Attack - Anscombe and Farrell to act as dual distributors when we are on the front foot in their half, keep the defensive line guessing which way we are going to go, and Phipps has licence to snipe whenever he thinks it is on. Ben Smith to step into the line at first receiver at times to take the line on when faced with forwards. In the forwards, big ball carriers throughout the side, Read is free to attack the wider channels as he chooses, particularly after JDV crashes into the 10-12 channel off first phase.

Defence - No weak links in the back line, nothing is going through our 10-12 channel allowing the back row to roam for turnovers. Hopper is in to cut down AAC at source

Bench - Ball carrying front 5 forwards to look to drive home an advantage, Fraser gives us the option of dual 7s late on, and we have some outright pace and finishing ability to bring on if we are chasing the game

Key points
- Target JCW at scrum time
- Use JDV to target 10-12 channel off first phase
- Use the kicking game to pin Chiefs back
- Target Wallace at the breakdown
- Dual 10s either side of the ruck with Farrell and Anscombe to split the defence

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Leicester Tigers v Gloucester
Location - Welford Road
Light Ran, 8 Degrees, 13mph S Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Nathan Hines (c)	11. Ugo Monye
05. Victor Matfield	12. Tamati Ellison
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Rene Ranger
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Sean Maitland

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16. Stephen Moore 17. Max Lahiff 18. Census Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Jacques Burger 21. Micky Young 22. Tusi Pisi 23. Matt Banahan

Tactics:

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

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Creevy, Franks and Corbs to look to really get into the opposition, particularly targettign Gray and Beast. Lots of scrums in wet weather and an area we will look to target if winning.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Matfield as our banker ball, but also any of Hines, Lobbe or Louw to mix it up if needs be.
Shortened lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Put serious pressure on Gray's throws with Hines at the front and Matfield looking to steal on all Gloucester throws.

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

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

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

- In the rain we will target an out of sorts Carter all game with Louw and Lobbe breathing down his neck at every opportunity.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Burns to kick all penalties.

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Gloucester
Manager - Matt

01. Beast	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Gray	10. Dan Carter (k)
03. Nicola Mas
04. Eben etzbeth	11. Charlie Walker
05. George Robson	12. Matt toomua
06. Willem Alberts	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. julian Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. wycliff Palu	15. Israel folau

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16. LCD 17. Coenie Ousthuizen 18. Nick Wood  19. Elliot Stooke  20. Sam Dickinson  21. Tj Perenara 22. Handre pollard  23. israel Dagg




TARGET BREAKDOWN– We have a big mobile physically strong bunch and will hit rucks with impact.
We will Send numbers in and try and effect turnovers or Disrupt ball.we believe the likes of beast  palu Etzbeth alberts  Salvi Have the physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our front 5 and this is an area we will flood. We
Will look to target the leicester  Backrow throughout out as it is their key unit and deserves respect.

TARGET 9 10 channel- Get our big runners in to the channel and look to get in behind. We also want pressure here in defence and force them to move it from this channel as we feel they lack playmakers further out. Ellison is a 13 and ranger a wing primarily so we want to pressure here

Half backs- robson  will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to carter who will dictate. Carter Will challenge line and kick When necessary. It's mild rain not heavy so we will play as needed.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. If rain does become heavy we have kicking options at 9,10,12 whilst leicester have no kickingm
Options of note

General- We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We want to use our 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 Leicestet r.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

Tempo- we
Will be playing high tempo and to
Do that you have to have playmakers to allow
Continuity and also to attack off
Turnovers.

In ,Folau, carter  and toomua we have people who can step in to first receiver and allow us to play the high tempo interchanging game we are aiming to play.

Line out– We have options galore in Etzbeth robson 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
Target their lack of jumpers

Kicking options - with Robson carter and toomua we have great options to dominate kicking game when needed and also have fantastic options for exiting when under pressure.

Backs- we have a unit that is world class and also who have experience of playing together. Leicester have form issues with burns and the centres being all at sea.

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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Northampton Saints v London Irish
Location - Franklins Garden
Light Rain, 8 Degrees, 13mph S Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Rob Webber (c)	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Lood de Jager	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Schalk Burger	14. Napaloni Nalaga
08. Samo Manoa	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Elliott Dees 17. Trevor Nyakane 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sam Jones 21. Cobus Reinarch 22. Sam Burgess 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:We'll look to continue our strong run in the league with a home win against Irish. We've picked a strong, physical forward pack and have called into the starting lineup Lawes and Manoa who will go fly half hunting looking for a big hit to disrupt any momentum Irish build up. We will play at a high intensity and adopt a very physical approach - we've selected a backline where players 9-15 are all try scoring threats and game changers. We aim to control the territory battle with the kicking games of Simpson, Evans and Giteau.

Key Points:
* Recalled our big guns to the match day 23 to concentrate on the league again and maintain our 100% home record.
* Concentrate on winning the gain line battle and getting our big ball carriers putting us on the front foot.
* Look to put Irish under a lot of pressure by winning the territory battle with Evans and Giteua's kicking game.
* Target the lineout as an area to generate quick ball and target Irish
* Going fly half hunting with Lawes and Manoa to put the no10 under pressure and exploit a lack of top kicking game in the Irish midfield.
* Strong impact bench we've had to finish extremely strongly, we will have played expansive rugby and will look to have tired Falcons and then bring on our big ball carriers.

Pack/Setpiece:We've picked a really strong scummaging unit that will look to create a platform for Manoa to attack from. We've been rotating our pack regularly to wait for this game. The lineout is an area we will again look to control - we have Lawes, de Jager, Bonnaire and Manoa as options to generate quick ball and will use Lawes to disrupt Irish ball and limit their attacking options.

Attack:We will look at Evans and Giteau to pull the strings of our attacking game, picking out our strike runners in both the pack and backline and ensuring we win the collisions and gain line battle. We will look to our power game to make hard yards, tire Irish tacklers and then utilise any space for the likes of Simpson and our backthree.

Breakdown: We are looking to win the gainline battle and get forward momentum into the breakdown area as physically have an advantage in our line up. We will aim to make the most of this to generate quick ball, as will be harder for Irish to get control of this area. With de Jager, Lawes, Burger and Manoa we have players who will look to smash the Irish backrow out of the contact area and aim to make this area a real physical and brutal battle, looking for turnovers and forcing mistakes from the Irish team.

Defence:As always a really aggressive defence with fast line speed and closing down the Irish halfbacks. We want to force them into mistakes and handling errors. We will have Simpson sweep in behind the defensive line but will have Manoa and Lawes lining up a big hits.

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London Irish
Manager - Prop

01. Ben Franks	09. Lee Dickson
02. Ross Batty	10. Jules Plisson
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. JP Pieterson
05. Jacques Potgeiter	12. Alapati Leuia
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Scott Higginbotham	14. Nick Cummins
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

16. Ken Owens 17. Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19.Dean Mum 20.Will Welch 21. Neil De Kock 22. Owen Williams 23. Adam Thompstone

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. Scrummage low and straight. Our lineouts will be simple and we will look to bring the ball down before feeding 9.

Backrow: 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 Higginbotham looking to get in their 10’s face.

Breakdown: Controlled here and not over committing initially to the breakdown. Higginbotham will play the McCaw role and sweep behind the breakdowns picking and choosing when he will attack for a penalty or a turnover. “Fire ball” will be when Saints under commit to their ruck and we will blitz past the ball for the turnover. We will adopt the hold and roll technique taking them off their feet and ‘tactically’ hold them down to slow them getting to the next ruck.

Half Backs: Plisson will stand flat initially to give Leuia and our runners the chance to get over the gainline. Dickson will control the tempo and slow the ball down if needed.

Outside Backs: Plisson and Smith will pull the strings and find gaps for our runners, if it is not on then we will look for deep kicks to go off the field and pressure their lineouts.. If on we will ship it wide. There will be a lot of movement off the ball to prevent us being easily read. 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. Our back 3 will run various angles to get the advantage.

Bench: Impact in all areas with Owens, Court and Collier bringing scrum impact Mumm and Welch strong carriers and to attack the breakdown, De Kock experienced and Williams in good form.

Defence: Strong defenders across the park will look at making the intiial big impact hit. We also know how good the Saints centres are so will look to prevent tem offloading the ball by double tackling them. We will look to blitz with Higginbotham in their 10’s face letting Plisson drop back and cover with Dulin. Inside-out defence.

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. Carriers will come round the corner in 3’s to prevent the opposition knowing where the ball is going.

Specific: We know Saints come into this game in good form and we will look to slow down as much of their ball as possible and target their key runners. Leuia and Higginbotham have been brought in for their strong defence and the breaks Leuia can make as he has shown IRL.

Form: In our games this year we have: gotten off  the bottom of the table,made the lv= cup semi's and gained top seed in the challenge cup. We are playing players who know each other well in key positions with Batty,Thomas and Hooper for the set piece and Leuia and Smith in the centres to carry on their Super15 combination.

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Wasps v Harlequins
Location - Ricoh Arena
Light Rain, 8 Degrees, 13mph S Winds

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Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213    

01. Scott Sio	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Henry Slade
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

16. Harry Thacker 17. Ben Moon 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Matt Symons 20. Marcell Coetzee 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Paul Jordaan 23. Henry Speight


Basic Game Plan
In reasonable conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  With it being slightly damp however we won't take chances with offloading in our half, but will make ground carrying close to the ruck and recycling quickly.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure our ball.  We will also mix it up, shortening the lineout and using our back row as crash ball options off the top.  On Quins ball put pressure on through Vahaamahina and Vermeulen, who are athletic lineout jumpers.
  
• Scrum.  Get low and underneath their props and drive straight.  Really test their props technical abilities rather than get in to a battle of strnght.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not overcommit, but will maintain a strong defensive line.  If we win the collision and knock the carrier back we will look to get the second man in hard over the ball to turn it over.  Key for us is being selective.
  
• Attacking Play.  We will be looking to play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.  We will also utilise the pick and go, keeping their defensive line on the back foot.  We will then look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps.  Smith to also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
• Tactical Kicking.  If we kick, we will look to kick in behind their wingers and get them on the turn going back towards their own line, with our wingers on the kick chase to really target them defensively.
  

Key Points

• Form/Momentum  In game we have hit great form form post AI's and have loads of momentum coming into the game.  We also have players in form in real life right across the team.
  
• Lineout.  Whilst we don't have a Matfield or POC type leader, we have a fully international pack and in Vermeulen a player who has called for club and country.  We may not be able target oppo ball as well as some, we certainly have enough to secure our own ball 90%+ of the time.
  
• Decision making positions.  In the 2,8,9,10 jerseys we have world class operators, who bring with them over 200 test caps for the best two teams in world rugby, meaning they have played in all conditions and seen whatever situations the game brings.
  
• Ability to switch gameplan.  Whilst we want to play a possession game, away from home we realise we may at times have to play for territory, so have selected Slade at 13 for his kicking game and ability to step in at 1st receiver and mix things up.
  

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Joe Tomane
05. Charlie Matthews	12. Stuart Olding
06. Tom Wood	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Jack Nowell
08. Mamuka Gorgodze	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Pieter Steph Du Toit 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Frank Halai

Tactics

WIN COLLISIONS

Look for our carriers to win the collisions on the gain line. We have mix of big and dynamic carriers in our pack who offer different threats to Wasps defence. We will look for our front 5 to carry off 9 and 10 and will look for our back rowers to carry off 10 and 12 and offer a foil to Serfontein from the 13 channel. When carrying we will look to carry in numbers so we have support for the offload or to recylce the ball quickly. Look to keep the legs pumping in the contact.

CONTROL TERRITORY

We have very strong kicking at 9, 10, 12 and 15 and will look to use this to play the rugby in the Wasps half, targeting the positioning of Tim Nanai-Williams and Marland Yarde in particular. We will always play heads up rugby and if its on to attack we will, but we will generally be looking to play in the Wasps half.

PATIENT IN ATTACK

In the opposition half we will be patient with ball in hand and won't look to force the play. We have confidence in our carriers to tie in defenders and get across the gain line and in our backs to exploit the gaps when we create them.

SET PIECE

Look for the experienced Afoa to attack Scott Sio at the scrum and try to exert and advantage here. At the line out we will look to mix between full and short line outs using Botha, Matthews, Wood and Gorgodze as receivers. On Wasps ball we will really look to pressure Bismark's throws and look to tightly mark Vahaamahina and Vermaulen.

DEFENCE

Look to defend from out to in with Serfontein leading our defensive line. We will look to target Cruden and pressure him at every opportunity. Unless we have the first man  to the breakdown we will set our defensive line before we compete. The exception to this rule is in the wide channels where we will look to use Hooper and Wood's speed to create turnovers and win penalties.

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London Welsh v Sale Sharks
Location - Kassam Stadium
Light Rain, 8 Degrees, 14mph S Winds

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London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01. Nathan Catt	09. Thierry Lacrampe
02. Dave Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (K)
03. BJ Botha
04. Jamie Cudmore	11. Mark Cueto
05.   Setaliki Timani	12. Kyle Godwin
06.  Carl Fearns	13. Yann David
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Nemani Nadolo
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

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16.  Matt Rees 17. Yannick Forestier 18. Sepoke Kepu    19.   George Skivington   20.  Alexandre Lapandry  21. Ben Spencer  22. Jesse Mogg 23. George Lowe

Tactics:

Breakdown- look to work as a unit, with Barclay and Ward working in tandem to chase the ball and ensure we have one fetcher at every ruck with Fearns chipping in and the rest of the pack hitting rucks hard to clear with aggressive power but minimal numbers unless the turnover is on.

Attack- keep slow ball in the hands of the pack, working in driving units of 3 and the maul. Try and speed it up at the breakdown, and by building drive on drive and mixing up the directions. Lacrampe with licence to kick and to snipe.

Spin quicker ball out, using crash balls inside and outside the halfbacks to commit defenders then have FTH attack the line playing flat with the backs deep, and look to recycle the ball for a second wave attack using Pennell and Godwin to distribute and create space for the wings. Happy to offload or use our fetchers to keep the ball alive. Lowe and the back 3 are great line and support runners to make use of this approach.

With kickers at 9, 10, 13 and 15 we are happy to try attacking kicks especially in the opposition 22.

Kicking- kick high and contest for every possession, and when kicking for territory always go for the space and chase the ball down. Lots of options to keep pressure off FTH. Look to run back kicks where possible, unless the rain gets heavier, then adapt the whole plan to be more conservative with more kicking and fewer offloads, utilising our powerful pack.

Defence- Barclay and Vito to look to disrupt Care and Picamoles and Fearns to charge Barrett and kill their space, pressurising their attacking instincts and turning these into faults. Always be ready for the quick tap. Blitz defence with Lacrampe sweeping led by Lowe.

Scrum- look to get ball out as quickly as we can and use it to attack or kick swiftly.

Lineout- called by Timani, mix up our options and let te opposition take their catches then focus on contesting them in a sapping maul or nailing Care with extra rush defenders.

Subs- use only where needed but have impact runners in the back and quality forwards so can go 100% all game.

Targets- Care and Barrett as above. Target Barrett's kicking with charges as he can falter. Look to move about their pack and tire them with mauls and hard rucking, as they are powerful but could tire.

Overall- 2 wave attack looking to keep attacks alive and create space for back 3 to exploit
Blitz defence targeting their 8-10
2 fetchers and team approach to aim to always contest the breakdown
Kick for possession
Change up plan if conditions worsen

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retallick	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Will Skelton	12. Francois Steyn
06. Steven Luatua	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Vasil Kakovin 19. Christian Day 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Kyle Eastmond

We will play a high intensity carrying game looking to break the defensive line and create space in behind for an intelligent offload. Mobility and physicality is key to our approach.

- Intelligent kicking. Barrett, Steyn & Le Roux all offer good kicking games. We will look to put kicks in behind the Welsh defence and take advantage of the space left behind the blitz particularly targeting behind Nadolo.

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

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

- Change the point of attack. Numerous playmakers across the backline comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and leave the opposition guessing.

- Back three always involved. Wingers to track the ball off their wings looking for the inside ball or offload. Bendy to join the line from fullback looking for mismatches and to create overlaps.

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

- Mix it up at the lineout. Four genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking platform. Look to use both the rolling maul and ball off the top to keep the defence guessing.

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

- Counter the opposition kicking game. Our back three have been instructed to sit deeper on defence to cover kicks. All are comfortable under the high ball.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with Todd fetching for the ball, supported by a very physical pack. We will always look to compete and slow Welsh ball down.

---

Northampton Saints
Manager Dammit Chris

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Joe Simpson
02. Rob Webber (c)	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Lood de Jager	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Julian Bonnaire	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Schalk Burger	14. Napaloni Nalaga
08. Samo Manoa	15. Ben Foden

Subs: 16. Elliott Dees 17. Trevor Nyakane 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Joe Launchbury 20. Sam Jones 21. Cobus Reinarch 22. Sam Burgess 23. Elliot Daly

Tactics:We'll look to continue our strong run in the league with a home win against Irish. We've picked a strong, physical forward pack and have called into the starting lineup Lawes and Manoa who will go fly half hunting looking for a big hit to disrupt any momentum Irish build up. We will play at a high intensity and adopt a very physical approach - we've selected a backline where players 9-15 are all try scoring threats and game changers. We aim to control the territory battle with the kicking games of Simpson, Evans and Giteau.

Key Points:
* Recalled our big guns to the match day 23 to concentrate on the league again and maintain our 100% home record.
* Concentrate on winning the gain line battle and getting our big ball carriers putting us on the front foot.
* Look to put Irish under a lot of pressure by winning the territory battle with Evans and Giteua's kicking game.
* Target the lineout as an area to generate quick ball and target Irish
* Going fly half hunting with Lawes and Manoa to put the no10 under pressure and exploit a lack of top kicking game in the Irish midfield.
* Strong impact bench we've had to finish extremely strongly, we will have played expansive rugby and will look to have tired Falcons and then bring on our big ball carriers.

Pack/Setpiece:We've picked a really strong scummaging unit that will look to create a platform for Manoa to attack from. We've been rotating our pack regularly to wait for this game. The lineout is an area we will again look to control - we have Lawes, de Jager, Bonnaire and Manoa as options to generate quick ball and will use Lawes to disrupt Irish ball and limit their attacking options.

Attack:We will look at Evans and Giteau to pull the strings of our attacking game, picking out our strike runners in both the pack and backline and ensuring we win the collisions and gain line battle. We will look to our power game to make hard yards, tire Irish tacklers and then utilise any space for the likes of Simpson and our backthree.

Breakdown: We are looking to win the gainline battle and get forward momentum into the breakdown area as physically have an advantage in our line up. We will aim to make the most of this to generate quick ball, as will be harder for Irish to get control of this area. With de Jager, Lawes, Burger and Manoa we have players who will look to smash the Irish backrow out of the contact area and aim to make this area a real physical and brutal battle, looking for turnovers and forcing mistakes from the Irish team.

Defence:As always a really aggressive defence with fast line speed and closing down the Irish halfbacks. We want to force them into mistakes and handling errors. We will have Simpson sweep in behind the defensive line but will have Manoa and Lawes lining up a big hits.

 London Welsh
Manager – CJ

01. Nathan Catt	09. Thierry Lacrampe
02. Dave Ward	10. Francois Trinh-Duc (K)
03. BJ Botha
04. Jamie Cudmore	11. Mark Cueto
05.   Setaliki Timani	12. Kyle Godwin
06.  Carl Fearns	13. Yann David
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Nemani Nadolo
08. Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16.  Matt Rees 17. Yannick Forestier 18. Sepoke Kepu    19.   George Skivington   20.  Alexandre Lapandry  21. Ben Spencer  22. Jesse Mogg 23. George Lowe

Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213    

01. Scott Sio	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Romain Millo-Chluski	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Henry Slade
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

16. Harry Thacker 17. Ben Moon 18. Fraser Balmain 19. Matt Symons 20. Marcell Coetzee 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Paul Jordaan 23. Henry Speight


Basic Game Plan
In reasonable conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  With it being slightly damp however we won't take chances with offloading in our half, but will make ground carrying close to the ruck and recycling quickly.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics 

• Lineout.  Nothing flash. Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure our ball.  We will also mix it up, shortening the lineout and using our back row as crash ball options off the top.  On Quins ball put pressure on through Vahaamahina and Vermeulen, who are athletic lineout jumpers.
  
• Scrum.  Get low and underneath their props and drive straight.  Really test their props technical abilities rather than get in to a battle of strnght.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly and go again.  In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not overcommit, but will maintain a strong defensive line.  If we win the collision and knock the carrier back we will look to get the second man in hard over the ball to turn it over.  Key for us is being selective.
  
• Attacking Play.  We will be looking to play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.  We will also utilise the pick and go, keeping their defensive line on the back foot.  We will then look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps.  Smith to also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
• Tactical Kicking.  If we kick, we will look to kick in behind their wingers and get them on the turn going back towards their own line, with our wingers on the kick chase to really target them defensively.
  

Key Points 

• Form/Momentum  In game we have hit great form form post AI's and have loads of momentum coming into the game.  We also have players in form in real life right across the team.
  
• Lineout.  Whilst we don't have a Matfield or POC type leader, we have a fully international pack and in Vermeulen a player who has called for club and country.  We may not be able target oppo ball as well as some, we certainly have enough to secure our own ball 90%+ of the time.
  
• Decision making positions.  In the 2,8,9,10 jerseys we have world class operators, who bring with them over 200 test caps for the best two teams in world rugby, meaning they have played in all conditions and seen whatever situations the game brings.
  
• Ability to switch gameplan.  Whilst we want to play a possession game, away from home we realise we may at times have to play for territory, so have selected Slade at 13 for his kicking game and ability to step in at 1st receiver and mix things up.
  

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Nathan Hines (c)	11. Ugo Monye
05. Victor Matfield	12. Tamati Ellison
06. JMF Lobbe	13. Rene Ranger
07. Francois Louw	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Sean Maitland

.
16. Stephen Moore 17. Max Lahiff 18. Census Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Jacques Burger 21. Micky Young 22. Tusi Pisi 23. Matt Banahan

Tactics:

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

- Attack at all scrums with our huge pack - Creevy, Franks and Corbs to look to really get into the opposition, particularly targettign Gray and Beast. Lots of scrums in wet weather and an area we will look to target if winning.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Matfield as our banker ball, but also any of Hines, Lobbe or Louw to mix it up if needs be.
Shortened lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Put serious pressure on Gray's throws with Hines at the front and Matfield looking to steal on all Gloucester throws.

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

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

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

- In the rain we will target an out of sorts Carter all game with Louw and Lobbe breathing down his neck at every opportunity.

- We will look to employ a blitz defence, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline. We have aggressive forwards to carry out this instruction. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

- Burns to kick all penalties.Tactics:

TBC

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Tatafu Polota-Nau	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Bakkies Botha	11. Joe Tomane
05. Charlie Matthews	12. Stuart Olding
06. Tom Wood	13. Jan Serfontein
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Jack Nowell
08. Mamuka Gorgodze	15. Juan Martin Hernandez

16. Rob Buchanan 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Pieter Steph Du Toit 20. Jamie Gibson 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Frank Halai

Tactics

WIN COLLISIONS

Look for our carriers to win the collisions on the gain line. We have mix of big and dynamic carriers in our pack who offer different threats to Wasps defence. We will look for our front 5 to carry off 9 and 10 and will look for our back rowers to carry off 10 and 12 and offer a foil to Serfontein from the 13 channel. When carrying we will look to carry in numbers so we have support for the offload or to recylce the ball quickly. Look to keep the legs pumping in the contact.

CONTROL TERRITORY

We have very strong kicking at 9, 10, 12 and 15 and will look to use this to play the rugby in the Wasps half, targeting the positioning of Tim Nanai-Williams and Marland Yarde in particular. We will always play heads up rugby and if its on to attack we will, but we will generally be looking to play in the Wasps half.

PATIENT IN ATTACK

In the opposition half we will be patient with ball in hand and won't look to force the play. We have confidence in our carriers to tie in defenders and get across the gain line and in our backs to exploit the gaps when we create them.

SET PIECE

Look for the experienced Afoa to attack Scott Sio at the scrum and try to exert and advantage here. At the line out we will look to mix between full and short line outs using Botha, Matthews, Wood and Gorgodze as receivers. On Wasps ball we will really look to pressure Bismark's throws and look to tightly mark Vahaamahina and Vermaulen.

DEFENCE

Look to defend from out to in with Serfontein leading our defensive line. We will look to target Cruden and pressure him at every opportunity. Unless we have the first man to the breakdown we will set our defensive line before we compete. The exception to this rule is in the wide channels where we will look to use Hooper and Wood's speed to create turnovers and win penalties.

Glos team ( subject to changes due to int call ups )

01. Beast	09. Dan Robson
02. Joe Gray	10. Dan Carter (k)
03. Nicola Mas
04. Eben etzbeth	11. Charlie Walker
05. George Robson	12. Matt toomua
06. Willem Alberts	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. julian Salvi	14. Hosea Gear
08. wycliff Palu	15. Israel folau

.
16. LCD 17. Coenie Ousthuizen 18. Nick Wood  19. Elliot Stooke  20. Sam Dickinson  21. Tj Perenara 22. Handre pollard  23. israel Dagg




TARGET BREAKDOWN– We have a big mobile physically strong bunch and will hit rucks with impact.
We will Send numbers in and try and effect turnovers or Disrupt ball.we believe the likes of beast  palu Etzbeth alberts  Salvi Have the physicality and the power to swamp their backrow.Backed by our front 5 and this is an area we will flood. We
Will look to target the leicester  Backrow throughout out as it is their key unit and deserves respect.

TARGET 9 10 channel- Get our big runners in to the channel and look to get in behind. We also want pressure here in defence and force them to move it from this channel as we feel they lack playmakers further out. Ellison is a 13 and ranger a wing primarily so we want to pressure here

Half backs- robson  will look to threaten around the ruck but his job is to give it to carter who will dictate. Carter Will challenge line and kick When necessary. It's mild rain not heavy so we will play as needed.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. If rain does become heavy we have kicking options at 9,10,12 whilst leicester have no kickingm
Options of note

General- We've selected a team packed with power and physicality. We want to use our 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 Leicestet r.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

Tempo- we
Will be playing high tempo and to
Do that you have to have playmakers to allow
Continuity and also to attack off
Turnovers.

In ,Folau, carter  and toomua we have people who can step in to first receiver and allow us to play the high tempo interchanging game we are aiming to play.

Line out– We have options galore in Etzbeth robson 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
Target their lack of jumpers

Kicking options - with Robson carter and toomua we have great options to dominate kicking game when needed and also have fantastic options for exiting when under pressure.

Backs- we have a unit that is world class and also who have experience of playing together. Leicester have form issues with burns and the centres being all at sea.

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

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Keven Mealamu	10. Patrick Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Bradley Davies	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Ben Mowen(c)	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Callum Clark	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Xavier Chiocci 18. Tom Francis 19. Sam Carter 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Henry Taylor 22. Bernard Foley 23. Miles Benjamin

Tactics:

TARGET SCRUM Look to target throughout with strong options on bench. If weakness seen look to take scrum from free kick options and put pressure on opposition props.

BIG RUNNERS DOWN HALFBACK CHANNEL Target from the off. Get Hughes, SBW, Flip etc running down this channel and making yards.

General - 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 a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors, Shields 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 runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of SBW's offloads in contact. Back 3 to keep things honest and come looking for work.[/b]

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Wyatt Crockett	09. Nic White
02. Dimitri Szarzewski	10. Toby Flood
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Patrick Tuipulotu	11. Lolagi Visinia
05. Michael Paterson	12. Alex Dunbar
06. Yannick Nyanga	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Luke Wallace	14. Cory Jane
08. Fritz Lee	15. James O'Connor

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Phil Swainston 19. Tomas Lavanini 20. Joe Edwards 21. Chris Cook 22. Marnitz Boshoff 23. Jamie Elliott

General Game plan

Fast paced game based around high intensity in defence, offloading, and dynamic carrying and rucking. We will play a high paced counter punch style of rugby.
When we gain possession our plan is to control attack with quick clean ball be it from set piece or turnover. After that look to control the pace of the game 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. Looking to control the ball for periods will result in frustrating the Falcons side giving away penalties for us to capitalise on. 

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. Big emphasis on controlling set piece possession, pressuring Coles at both line-out and scrum time. Paterson will get up at the front to steal any loose throws and make Parling have to loop or beat him at the front creating slow and tough ball. 

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. With the Falcons pack on the retreat, 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 Murray sweeping in behind to guide defenders to plug holes and covers any kicks in behind. If an oppo player gets held or brought down this allows the second man to get over the ball quickly to at least compete and slow opposition possession. Nyanga and Wallace 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 Dunbar\AAC to crash through the line, using our 'league/slider move' developed from last season to break the line. AAC/Dunbar/Visinia are big quick guys and will be able to mix and match the opposition defence, either catching JDV's weaker inside shoulder on a a run against the grain, or exploiting the concentration and agility of Hopper in defence. Or even generate a two on one with JOC joining the back line and providing the extra man to either put a winger away or go himself. Look to exploit the defensive deficiencies in the Gloucester back three, with the wings not great positionally.

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 Falcons can't score any points without the ball. 
Scrum & Line-out – Target throughout, if weakness seen heap pressure and generate penalties. Coles to be put under constant throughout the game. 
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 Falcons guessing and preventing McCaw and Read getting over the ball at the breakdown. 
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 - Hopper is not a renowned defender and small in comparison to our centres, therefore Flood will try to angle runners off his weaker shoulder to break the line. Likewise their back three are targets for us in attack, so look for two on ones and good kick chases to force mistakes.
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 Visinia, Jane & JOC, so they we will get the ball in their hands and they will take any opportunity. 
Build a Score - JOC to take on kicking at goal responsibilities. 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.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Nick Phipps
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Carl Hayman
04. Ed Slater	11. Charles Piutau
05. Geoff Parling	12. Jean De Villiers
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Matt Hopper
07. Richie McCaw	14. Ben Smith
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Gareth Anscombe

:-
16.George McGuigan 17.Soana Tongahuia 18.Charlie Faumuina 19. Brad Thorn 20. Will Fraser 21.Dave Lewis 22. Max Evans 23. David Strettle

We've picked a side to play the conditions away from home against Exeter, plenty of kicking options throughout the backline and some hard carriers to keep us moving forwards.

Scrum - targeting JCW here, Mullan has been in great form and we think he can get at JCW. Look for Coles and Hayman to drive straight on, focusing on Szarzewski to try and give Mullan the chance to work on JCW 1 on 1.

Lineout - Parling to lead, excellent options in Slater and Read to mix it up and look for good quality ball off the top to send JDV into the 10 channel off first phase. Challenge on their ball, look to prevent them using the maul where possible and look to flood through on White to prevent him from box kicking if they win lineout ball in their own territory, we want him to have to pass back to Flood.

Breakdown - Picked a back row of physical breakdown specialists, we want them to work as a unit and try and get us turnovers in opposing territory. We think we can target Wallace physically, first man in to blow him off the ball and the second in to secure it for us. On their ball, Read is licenced to stay out of rucks until he thinks there is a turnover on, then go in to secure it. The work rate round the park of the likes of Coles and the second row will allow us to do this.

Kicking - We're focusing on the kicking game today, our back 3 all have played full back at varying levels, and all are very good kickers of the ball. Look to pin the ball back behind the Visinia specifically, and Smith is lining up on that wing to chase down and challenge him in the air. We want to win the territory battle today, keep them in their own half and maintain a strong defence a la England last week to restrict their options

Attack - Anscombe and Farrell to act as dual distributors when we are on the front foot in their half, keep the defensive line guessing which way we are going to go, and Phipps has licence to snipe whenever he thinks it is on. Ben Smith to step into the line at first receiver at times to take the line on when faced with forwards. In the forwards, big ball carriers throughout the side, Read is free to attack the wider channels as he chooses, particularly after JDV crashes into the 10-12 channel off first phase.

Defence - No weak links in the back line, nothing is going through our 10-12 channel allowing the back row to roam for turnovers. Hopper is in to cut down AAC at source

Bench - Ball carrying front 5 forwards to look to drive home an advantage, Fraser gives us the option of dual 7s late on, and we have some outright pace and finishing ability to bring on if we are chasing the game

Key points
- Target JCW at scrum time
- Use JDV to target 10-12 channel off first phase
- Use the kicking game to pin Chiefs back
- Target Wallace at the breakdown
- Dual 10s either side of the ruck with Farrell and Anscombe to split the defence

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. James Slipper	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mike Haywood	10. Nicholas Sanchez
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade /td]
05. Sam Whitelock/td]	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Liam Messam	15. Kurtley Beale

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Sarries in the loose with big carries. High tempo offloading game looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece. Try to neutralise the opposition early on and silence the crowd.

Scrum: Look to dominate the set piece and use it to restart our game plan. Our props have been well rotated so will be fresh. We will try to set a base, controlled by Messam which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Romano, Messam, Kolisi and Whitelock options in the lineout. Whitelock will run the lineout with Romano offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. 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: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Send numbers in to try and disrupt the ball, potentially getting the turnover.

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Sarries decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Win the collision and drive through rucks. FDP to sweep in behind.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. FDP knows how to control a tempo and will play what he sees. Sanchez will look to play flat and involve the back line whenever possible. Look to get the ball in the hands of our dangerous backs. We have natural finishers all over. Beale/LLF/Sanchez can all play first receiver and will rotate in order to keep tempo up and look to play expansively. Look for strong carries from the pack - which has big line breakers - tying in defenders to create overlaps for the backs. Get Big Ben, Slipper, Kolisi, Romano and Messam all with their hands on the ball. Wade, Sivivatu and Beale look to exploit gaps left. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line.

Kicking: Sanchez will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards Imhoff. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. LLF, Beale and Sanchez 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. An experienced prop combo can really make a difference in scrum. Kitchener and Squire will look to be making a difference across the park and at the lineout. North offers a different threat late on whilst Beale has the playmaking ability to change a game late on.

01. Ben Franks	09. Lee Dickson
02. Ross Batty	10. Jules Plisson
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. JP Pieterson
05. Jacques Potgeiter	12. Alapati Leuia
06. Kelly Brown	13. Conrad Smith
07. Scott Higginbotham	14. Nick Cummins
08. Ben Morgan	15. Brice Dulin

16. Ken Owens 17. Tom Court 18. Will Collier 19.Dean Mum 20.Will Welch 21. Neil De Kock 22. Owen Williams 23. Adam Thompstone

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. Scrummage low and straight. Our lineouts will be simple and we will look to bring the ball down before feeding 9.

Backrow: 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 Higginbotham looking to get in their 10’s face.

Breakdown: Controlled here and not over committing initially to the breakdown. Higginbotham will play the McCaw role and sweep behind the breakdowns picking and choosing when he will attack for a penalty or a turnover. “Fire ball” will be when Saints under commit to their ruck and we will blitz past the ball for the turnover. We will adopt the hold and roll technique taking them off their feet and ‘tactically’ hold them down to slow them getting to the next ruck.

Half Backs: Plisson will stand flat initially to give Leuia and our runners the chance to get over the gainline. Dickson will control the tempo and slow the ball down if needed.

Outside Backs: Plisson and Smith will pull the strings and find gaps for our runners, if it is not on then we will look for deep kicks to go off the field and pressure their lineouts.. If on we will ship it wide. There will be a lot of movement off the ball to prevent us being easily read. 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. Our back 3 will run various angles to get the advantage.

Bench: Impact in all areas with Owens, Court and Collier bringing scrum impact Mumm and Welch strong carriers and to attack the breakdown, De Kock experienced and Williams in good form.

Defence: Strong defenders across the park will look at making the intiial big impact hit. We also know how good the Saints centres are so will look to prevent tem offloading the ball by double tackling them. We will look to blitz with Higginbotham in their 10’s face letting Plisson drop back and cover with Dulin. Inside-out defence.

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. Carriers will come round the corner in 3’s to prevent the opposition knowing where the ball is going.

Specific: We know Saints come into this game in good form and we will look to slow down as much of their ball as possible and target their key runners. Leuia and Higginbotham have been brought in for their strong defence and the breaks Leuia can make as he has shown IRL.

Form: In our games this year we have: gotten off  the bottom of the table,made the lv= cup semi's and gained top seed in the challenge cup. We are playing players who know each other well in key positions with Batty,Thomas and Hooper for the set piece and Leuia and Smith in the centres to carry on their Super15 combination.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Brodie Retallick	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Will Skelton	12. Francois Steyn
06. Steven Luatua	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Willie Le Roux
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Vasil Kakovin 19. Christian Day 20. Matt Garvey 21. Kieran Marmion 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Kyle Eastmond

We will play a high intensity carrying game looking to break the defensive line and create space in behind for an intelligent offload. Mobility and physicality is key to our approach.

- Intelligent kicking. Barrett, Steyn & Le Roux all offer good kicking games. We will look to put kicks in behind the Welsh defence and take advantage of the space left behind the blitz particularly targeting behind Nadolo.

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

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

- Change the point of attack. Numerous playmakers across the backline comfortable at coming in at first receiver allow us to change the point of attack and leave the opposition guessing.

- Back three always involved. Wingers to track the ball off their wings looking for the inside ball or offload. Bendy to join the line from fullback looking for mismatches and to create overlaps.

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

- Mix it up at the lineout. Four genuine jumpers gives us a strong attacking platform. Look to use both the rolling maul and ball off the top to keep the defence guessing.

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

- Counter the opposition kicking game. Our back three have been instructed to sit deeper on defence to cover kicks. All are comfortable under the high ball.

- Target the breakdown. Committed to the breakdown with Todd fetching for the ball, supported by a very physical pack. We will always look to compete and slow Welsh ball down.

Matt when you updating your side cos want to get my tactics up?

Done Luke. Tactics will be in by tomorrow am just back from work and straight out coaching now

Will get tactics in by 10am tomorrow if that's ok, off out tonight so most likely won't get a chance

Tactics coming in te next hour or so

Johnny, I forgot Johnson was banned in real life, can I please swap him for Fearns with Lapandary on the bench?

Tactics:


Breakdown- look to work as a unit, with Barclay and Ward working in tandem to chase the ball and ensure we have one fetcher at every ruck with Fearns chipping in and the rest of the pack hitting rucks hard to clear with aggressive power but minimal numbers unless the turnover is on.


Attack- keep slow ball in the hands of the pack, working in driving units of 3 and the maul. Try and speed it up at the breakdown, and by building drive on drive and mixing up the directions. Lacrampe with licence to kick and to snipe.


Spin quicker ball out, using crash balls inside and outside the halfbacks to commit defenders then have FTH attack the line playing flat with the backs deep, and look to recycle the ball for a second wave attack using Pennell and Godwin to distribute and create space for the wings. Happy to offload or use our fetchers to keep the ball alive. Lowe and the back 3 are great line and support runners to make use of this approach.


With kickers at 9, 10, 13 and 15 we are happy to try attacking kicks especially in the opposition 22. 


Kicking- kick high and contest for every possession, and when kicking for territory always go for the space and chase the ball down. Lots of options to keep pressure off FTH. Look to run back kicks where possible, unless the rain gets heavier, then adapt the whole plan to be more conservative with more kicking and fewer offloads, utilising our powerful pack.


Defence- Barclay and Vito to look to disrupt Care and Picamoles and Fearns to charge Barrett and kill their space, pressurising their attacking instincts and turning these into faults. Always be ready for the quick tap. Blitz defence with Lacrampe sweeping led by Lowe.


Scrum- look to get ball out as quickly as we can and use it to attack or kick swiftly. 


Lineout- called by Timani, mix up our options and let te opposition take their catches then focus on contesting them in a sapping maul or nailing Care with extra rush defenders.


Subs- use only where needed but have impact runners in the back and quality forwards so can go 100% all game.


Targets- Care and Barrett as above. Target Barrett's kicking with charges as he can falter. Look to move about their pack and tire them with mauls and hard rucking, as they are powerful but could tire.


Overall- 2 wave attack looking to keep attacks alive and create space for back 3 to exploit
Blitz defence targeting their 8-10
2 fetchers and team approach to aim to always contest the breakdown
Kick for possession
Change up plan if conditions worsen

ChequeredJersey wrote:Johnny, I forgot Johnson was banned in real life, can I please swap him for Fearns with Lapandary on the bench?

Thats fine mate 

Tactics added.

CJB think you might need another eq in your starting line up - and you've deleted the subs bench!

Tactics for Exeter/Falcons needed. Will be on at lunch time to add to the thread.
Bath bench needed and short an EQ starter (well spotted Chris!)

Apologies, tactics in now

I will have a look shortly hopefully SJE!

Done

Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

[td]05. Sam Whitelock/td]
[td]12. Christian Lealifano

01. James Slipper	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mike Haywood	10. Nicholas Sanchez
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade /td]
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Liam Messam	15. Alex Goode

16. Tom Dunn 17. Richard Barrington 18. James Johnstone 19. Luke Romano 20. Liam Squire 21. George Di Cothi 22. George North 23. Charlie Hodgson

Bam/SJE is it too late to swap Dunbar for Barritt? was sure he was going to be injured for this week!

Fine with me mate

---

Saracens v Bath
Location - Allianz Stadium
Light Rain, 7 Degrees, 14mph S Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Keven Mealamu	10. Patrick Lambie
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Bradley Davies	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Ben Mowen(c)	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Callum Clark	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Matt Tait

:-
16. Jamie George 17. Xavier Chiocci 18. Tom Francis 19. Sam Carter 20. Heinrich Brussow 21. Henry Taylor 22. Bernard Foley 23. Miles Benjamin

Tactics:

TARGET SCRUM Look to target throughout with strong options on bench. If weakness seen look to take scrum from free kick options and put pressure on opposition props.

BIG RUNNERS DOWN HALFBACK CHANNEL Target from the off. Get Hughes, SBW, Flip etc running down this channel and making yards.

General - 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 a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors, Shields 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 runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying backrow to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo and get the end of SBW's offloads in contact. Back 3 to keep things honest and come looking for work.[/b]

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Bath Rugby
Manager – inthefastlane

01. James Slipper	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Mike Haywood	10. Nicholas Sanchez
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damien De Allende
07. Liam Gill	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Liam Messam	15. Alex  Goode

[td][/td]



16. Tom Dunn 17. Richard Barrington 18. James Johnstone 19. Luke Romano 20. Liam Squire 21. George Di Cothi 22. George North 23. Charlie Hodgson

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Sarries in the loose with big carries. High tempo offloading game looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece. Try to neutralise the opposition early on and silence the crowd.

Scrum: Look to dominate the set piece and use it to restart our game plan. Our props have been well rotated so will be fresh. We will try to set a base, controlled by Messam which he can attack off.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Romano, Messam, Kolisi and Whitelock options in the lineout. Whitelock will run the lineout with Romano offering an easy banker ball. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. 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: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Send numbers in to try and disrupt the ball, potentially getting the turnover.

Defence: Blitz Defence looking to really put pressure on the Sarries decision makers. Try to stop the ball from getting to the centres. Win the collision and drive through rucks. FDP to sweep in behind.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. FDP knows how to control a tempo and will play what he sees. Sanchez will look to play flat and involve the back line whenever possible. Look to get the ball in the hands of our dangerous backs. We have natural finishers all over. Beale/LLF/Sanchez can all play first receiver and will rotate in order to keep tempo up and look to play expansively. Look for strong carries from the pack - which has big line breakers - tying in defenders to create overlaps for the backs. Get Big Ben, Slipper, Kolisi, Romano and Messam all with their hands on the ball. Wade, Sivivatu and Beale look to exploit gaps left. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line.

Kicking: Sanchez will be our chosen place kicker. Any kicks will not be aimed towards Imhoff. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. LLF, Beale and Sanchez 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. An experienced prop combo can really make a difference in scrum. Kitchener and Squire will look to be making a difference across the park and at the lineout. North offers a different threat late on whilst Beale has the playmaking ability to change a game late on.

---

Not sure if its my browser (stuck on an old IE) or the website but can't post all teamsheets in the opening comment so people will have to scan down for the Sarries/Bath game. Apologies.

not to worry SJE!

I had swapped Brad Barritt in for Alex Dunbar if that's okay before they open. I understand my tactics will read slightly wrong, but you'll get the general idea!

Saracens 20-16 Bath
Cant see either side getting at the set piece in this one and both front 5s get around the park to a similar level. Bath slightly better balanced on the flanks but bit more quality in Sarries combo levels it. Both sides should see similar ball from the breakdown. Halfbacks to Bath with a little more individually in each shirt but Sanchez can be targetted defensively at times. Saries the stronger in midfield with a very physical combo. Both back threes capable attacking but the Bath wings can be targetted with a good kicking game. Both sides looking for a power game Sarries through a structured approach and Bath with more offloading. Tight game but at hme Sarries should sneak it.

Exeter 23-24 Newcastle

Falcons with an edge in the front row with 2 better props and just edge the engine room although Slater lacking a bit of form. Falcons also get a bit of advantage in the backrow with a strong 7/8 combo to pull them through.

Not much in the half backs or centres but Newcastle a tough more in the back 3 although a tough contest. Quite surprised but Falcons a little stronger in pack and enough in the back line to get a great win against the odds.

Northampton 22-20 Irish

A good contest up front with little in the scrum but Saints a bit more in the engine room. 8's are pretty even and one a piece on the flanks, good overall pack battle.

Dickson a step up at 9 but 10's pretty even on current form, Irish taking the combo. Both good centre combo's, Saints with more class but even on form, Maui hard to rate at the minute. Fantastic win battle just shading to Saints with a real physical pairing, Irish a step up at 15. Cracking game that will go right to the wire, but Saints tough to beat at home.

Wasps 25-22 Harlequins

Not much in the front row units with Sio a bit of a weakness for Wasps but the the other two levelling it some. Quins with a slightly better engine room but not too much in it. 6/8 go to Wasps but the 7 battle will be interesting and little it, Wasps just shade the pack.

9/10 to Wasps and 12 a big step up for them with 13 a good battle going to the away tea. Little in the back 3's but a good contest. Tough game but Wasps have the better halfbacks and just shade pack to get the win.

Welsh 21-22 Sale

A small advantage in the front row for Sale but engine rooms pretty close, with both using backrows a little more in the line out. Sale take the backrow but not by a great deal, good contest.

Sale a little more at half back and centres quite even. Sale just take the back 3 and sneak a tough win away.

Chiefs 22-24 Falcons
Quite even in the front row, Falcons have an advantage in the second row and think they edge the backrow with a strong partnership. Can see Falcons being a bit more dangerous outwide but not a lot will get through that Chiefs centre pairing today. Like the Falcons tactics of using two players at first receiver alternating but Chiefs using their strong defence in their tactics. Can see this game coming down to a penalty or a drop goal to win it and think the Falcons bench can get this.

Tigers 22-22 Glos
Massive pack battle on show today and I can't split either team here. Two good and in form pairings at half back, think Glos edge 9 but Burns doing well for Tigers at 10. Evens in the centres and not a lot in the back 3. Two strong impact benches. Both teams looking to use strong carrers, Glos looking to run it a bit wider in wet conditions which may cause few errors. Can't split this one.

Wasps 25-22 Quins
Nothing in front row, slight edge to Wasps in 2nd row, backrows even with two well balanced partnerships. Half backs just to Wasps with Smith edging Pienaar. Realy like both centre pairings, little bit more out wide for Wasps. Feel Quins could get back in it slightly with their bench. Wasps looking to switch their plan to keep Quins guessing, Quins looking to win their collisions which some they will but not enough I feel.

Welsh 20-24 Sale
Bit more for Sale in front row, 2nd rows a bit closer but think Sale edge the backrow battle here. Half backs to Sale and the standout difference in the backline is Abendanon who is in great form at the moment. Think Sale's back replacements can up the tempo well. Like Welsh's breakdown tactics and how they target the Sale weaknesses. Sale using their carriers and looking for good heads up rugby from Care and Barrett and will get a good away win.

Sarries 24-21 Bath
Not much parity in the set piece but think that, individually Bath are better in backrow but as a unit Sarries are stronger here. Bit more at half back for Bath but Sarries stronger in centres and a little more spark in the backrow. Bench quite even. Sarries using their big runners and looking to control the game. Bath going for a more offloading game and relying on Sanchez. Feel that Sarries have a few bigger runners here to suit their tactics and get the win.

Exeter Chiefs 25 - 25 Newcastle Falcons
Really difficult game to judge, both teams have their tactics set out really well for the conditions and can't quite see either team winning. Falcons have 4 top players in their starting XV out injured in real life, so don't get the ratings they would normally and Chiefs just about take the starting lineups. They don't hold on to get the win as I see the Falcons bench being stronger to get them the draw in the end.

Leicester Tigers 20-21 Gloucester
Massive Tigers front five make this a really difficult game for the away side, but Gloucester are one of the teams in the league that you want to avoid in 6Nations. The pack battle is really even, perhaps a shade to Tigers who would have won in worse conditions with that pack alone. But area that sways it for me is that Gloucester can win this with their bench and have more form in the backline to capitalise on less ball. The return of Burns to form is a massive boost for Tigers though.

Wasps 29-27 Harlequins
Like Gloucester, Wasps are a team you want to avoid during this period - which probably means I have them next up!!! You can't really see any weaknesses in the Wasps team at the moment. Though the Quins back row edges it for me, but Quins weakened more during the 6Nations and can see a very nice click to the Wasps backline too.

London Welsh 19-22 Sale
Sale have a really good balance around them at the moment and another team that isn't overly affected by the 6Nations period. Not a fan of Steyn as can see him stopping the flow of what could be a very attacking minded Sale backline, while Eastmond is in great form and should be starting. Welsh a very industrious team and can see them stifling Sale's attack, but the away team keep marching on all fronts with a win.

Saracens 28 - 26 Bath
Really good game, both teams are really improving and look strong in different areas. There are a few players defensively for Bath that Sarries will get some joy exploiting, but at the same time those players can cause all sorts of defensive issues for Sarries. The home team pack is a bit more physical, but Bath's are quicker to get to the breakdowns. SBW has started well in s15 and he can be the difference in this game.

Exeter 24 - 26 Newcastle

Across the board their is a little more for Newcastle here, who will be a tough proposition as the season progresses. They edge the battle up front and have the backs to control the game and score points. Good away win.

Leicester 24 - 25 Gloucester

Two really tough physical packs on show here. Both packed with carriers. Nothing in the set piece or the breakdown. Half backs evens at one a peace with no outstanding form. Outside backs go to Gloucester comfortably and will make a big difference to this game as they will create chance after chance outside Carter. Both sides will see similar amount of good quality ball from their pack but Gloucester will do more with it. This is enough for them to take a vital away win.

Northampton Saints 21 - 20 London Irish

Not much between the packs up front. Perhaps a small scrum advantage to Saints. In the loose the packs are pretty even. Half backs one a piece and I'd probably give the smallest of edges to the Irish outside backs with form an issue from Manu up against the world's best. At home Saints have enough but Irish run them as close as anyone has at home this season.

London Welsh 17 - 18 Sale Sharks

Sale will have the upper hand at the scrum and the Sale pack in general is strong. Half backs to Sale with the outside backs even for me. Sale have enough to get an important away win in the 6N.

Saracens 23 - 23 Bath

Nothing between the packs for me. Breakdown and set piece see's no advantage either way. Saracens have a few more strong carriers which will help them. Half backs to Bath with a fantastic controlling duo who along with Lealiafano will control the field position much better than the Saracens half backs. Hard to rate SBW but when he finds for he and Fekitoa a frightening prospect. Bath are set up well here. They have 4 brilliant kickers and will control the territory from the get go. I think they take a great draw.

Exeter 25 - 26 Falcons

Leicester 23 - 23 Gloucester

Leicester 22 - 21 Irish

Wasps 27 - 26 Quins

Saracens 25 - 25 Bath

Exeter 24-26 Newcastle
Leicester 28-27 Gloucester
Saints 29-24 Irish
Wasps 27-24 Quins
Worcester 21-22 Sale

Exeter 24-25 Newcastle
Saints 29-28 Irish
Wasps 25-24 Quins
Worcester 21-22 Sale
Saracens 23-23 Bath

Aren't we doing one point without explainations?

Leicester Tigers 26 - 24 Gloucester Rugby

Two relatively strong packs but Gloucester will struggle in the front five, more specifically at scrum time, with their props struggling with form recently. This allows the Tigers back row to get into the game and negate the Glaws back row. Gloucester have a strong set of backs, but they are on the back foot with Tigers dominance up front. In the end Tigers have enough to keep a strong Gloucester out at home. 

Wasps 28 - 27 Harlequins

Two sides that look mighty strong during the Six Nations period. Wasps are mighty strong in the back row, but Quins are equally as strong. Pienaar allows Myler to control the pace of the game, but Smith and Cruden will look to put their back row into areas where they can do damage, this will allow, their back three then thrives upon the space that is created and score some great tries. Pienaar will keep Wasps on their feet, but it won't be enough in the end. 

Northampton Saints 24 - 20 London Irish

Two decent packs up front who are bout even, Irish perhaps slight edge carrying with a good back row unit. 
Irish have a good controlling halfback combo, but the firepower in the Saints back line helps them get over the gainline and continue momentum. Tough on Irish, but Saints will secure the win with Giteau and Evans controlling the game.

London Welsh 19 - 22 Sale Sharks

Welsh set out well to halt the mighty Sharks side visiting the Kassam. This makes it tough for Sale to get into their grove in attack. In the end there is just too much quality from the Sharks to put the sword to a determined Welsh team. 

Saracens 24 - 25 Bath Rugby

Sarries just edge the packs as they have a bit more at the breakdown, but the Bath pack hold can hold their own. Sarries have a very attack minded back line, and will thrive of the momentum generated by Hughes and his back row. However the control of the Bath back line lead by FdP will dictate the pace of the game and this tagged with the dangerous running ability of Sivi and Wade means that Bath can build a lead and with Hodgson coming on later just hang on to record a big win away from home.

Exeter 20-23 Newcastle- slight edge at scrum to Falcons and superior back row and halfbacks sees them take this
Saints 29-26 Irish Saints have the firepower in the backs to win
This. See both teams
Getting same amount
Of ball but saints using IT better

Wasps 25-25 Quins had wasps sneaking this very even game but keep coming back to the defensive frailties of that back 3. Can see this being a see saw affair. Both excellent teams set up well with good tactics.
Worcester 21-24 Sale. Great battle up front and the wuss Backrow is a decent unit. Think sale have a bit extra class in most departments and over the course of the match this tells.

Leicester 22-22 Gloucester

Leicester pack will dominate at the set piece, both scrum and lineout are going to be a big advantage. Think Glos stronger pack round the park, and throughout the back line. Almost went with Glos win, but can't see an away win without the platform off the set piece.

Saints 26-22 Irish

2 solid packs pretty even throughout but Saints stronger in the front 5 and probably Irish with the back row edge. Simpson's form gives Saints half back advantage, outside backs are tough to call with Tuilagi tough to rate. Bench impact will give saints the win

Wasps 27-25 Harlequins

Quins take the scrum with the advantage against Sio, but lineout about evens. Back row is a real battle, but think the extra physicality of Wasps takes it. ABs combo takes the halfbacks, outside backs about even. Bench is strong for both, but Wasps hold out at home

London Welsh 20-24 Sale

Scrum and lineout both to Sale, think the back row battle will be about evens though, would have been to Welsh if not for Kvesic's form. Halfbacks to Sale, and think they take the rest of the backs too, and this is enough to take the win on the road

Saracens 27-26 Bath

Real tight game this one, Sarries take the scrum, and Mowen makes it even at lineout time. Clark's form gives Sarries the back row battle advantage. Other than the centres, the rest of the backs are Bath's big edge in this game, and they will score tries off the ball they get keeping this close

prop_lyd wrote:Aren't we doing one point without explainations?

Yep we are