European Champions Cup Quarter Finals

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London Wasps v Racing Metro

Location - Ricoh Arena
Light Cloud, 9 Degrees, 18mph NW Winds

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London Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213                      

01. Paul James	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Matt Symons	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Marcell Coetzee	13. Robbie Freuan
07. Fulgence Ouedraogo	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen ©	15. Delon Armitage

Reps: 16. Deon Fourie 17. Joe Marler  18. Ben Alexander 19. Alun-Wyn Jones 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Shane Geraghty, 23. Anthony Watson

Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack.  When deep in our half we won't take chances with offloading, but will make ground carrying close to the ruck and recycling quickly, or using the boots of Cruden and Armitage to take us up the field.

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.  Youngs 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.  
  
• Scrum.  Get low and underneath their props and drive straight.  Really test their props technical abilities rather than get in to a battle of strength.
  
• 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.  Youngs 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 for it to be targetted and with a good chase, to either compete in the air for the ball, or nail the catcher has he hits the deck with it.
  

Key Point

• Form/Momentum  We are the form team in the game.  After a slow start we've built momentum and have won a trophy and beaten the league leaders on their own patch in the past two weeks.  We are peaking at the right time.
  

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Racing Métro

15 Brice Dulin. 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Teddy Thomas, 10 Jonny Sexton, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Camille Gerondeau, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe,  4 Luke Charteris, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski (c), 1 Eddy Ben Arous.
Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Thibault Dubarry, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Alexandre Dumoulin.

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Northampton Saints v Gloucester Rugby

Location - Franklins Garden
Light Cloud, 9 Degrees, 18mph NNW Winds

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01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10.George Ford
03. Logo Mulipola
04. Samo Manoa	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Schalk Burger	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse ©	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

Subs: 16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jacques du Plessis 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Elliot Daly

Overall: Usual Saints tactics, high tempo, physical game with emphasis on winning the gainline battle and providing Ford with a platform to attack Gloucester and put the backs into space to score tries.

Key Points:
* Leigh Halfpenny's boot - QF clash, best goal kicker in world rugby and guarantees steady flow of points.
* Aim to win territorial kicking game and play the game in Gloucester half, lot of kicking options Simpon, Ford, Giteau and Halfpenny's.
* Win the gainline battle with ball carriers in the pack and backline and get Ford front foot attacking ball.
* Impose physical ball carrying game and target likes of Wood, Gray, Robson in the pack and get forward momentum.
* Impact bench to finish the final 20 minutes very strongly.
* Only lost one game in Europe in 3 seasons.

Pack/Setpiece: Will aim to target Wood and Gray, the two non-internationals in the Gloucester front row and put them under pressure at the scrum. Gray currently behind Ward and Buchanan at Quins. We will also look to use Lawes and Manoa to target the lineout, placing Gray's throwing under the spotlight. Have five good jumping options to mix up the game and get quick ball for attack. Mobile, physical pack to get us over the gainline and carry the ball strong.

Attack:At home we will want to attack, our pack can get us over the gainline, win the collisions that will allow Ford and Giteau to pull the strings in the midfield. We will also use the lineout to generate quick ball, and have picked Tuilagi at no13 to match the physical threat opposite him. We will use the cross field kick for Bowe to challenge in attack, but will aim to get Savea the ball in space.  

Kicking/Territory: We want to play the game in the right area and aim to push Gloucester back in their own half with kicking game of 9, 10, 12 and 15. Will get Halfpenny kicking three points at every opportunity.

Breakdown: We have a mobile pack that can allow us to get numbers to the breakdown, with our ball carriers we can get forward momentum that can help us secure our own ball. We are happy to flood the breakdown area and will again look to turn this into a very physical contest, particularly looking to use Burger and Robshaw's experience to target Savea's inexperience.

Defence: Will play a physical rush defence, aiming to put pressure on Gloucester's decision makers with Lawes and Manoa targeting Cipriani. Looking to force mistakes and force Gloucester into kicking to our back three to counter. Simpson to sweep in behind the defensive line.

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1 Wood
2 Gray
3 ousthuizen
4 Gray
5 Robson
6 Alberts
7 Savea
8 Heaslip
9 Robson
10 Cips
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Kurindrani
14 Gear
15 Dagg
16 Beast
17 Strauss
18 Mas
19 Taofufina
20 Dickinson
21 Perenara
22 Pollard
23 Walker

Overall: distinct glos tactics. We are aiming to start at a massive tempo. Have picked a super mobile pack full of carriers and good ball handlers. Aiming to play 100 mph and bring on impact bench at 45-50. See sainys as having a few players who have not played much this year ie mako, lawes, burger(1 start), giteau and Tuilagi so want to attack rusty ness.

Key Points:
* Ford not had a break. Played 6n and a huge match last weekend. Must be mentally fatugued
*  lot of kicking options Robson, Cips, Toomua, and dAgg
* multiple playmakers to step in on turnover ball. Allows us to attack quickly from turnover. May, Toomua, Dagg, cips and gear all comfortable with this.
* Impact bench to finish the final 20 minutes very strongly. World class Strauss beast etc and form 9 and 10 in s15 in Perenara and pollard

* not In contention for league this means more to us

Pack/Setpiece: Look to target props with neither being known for scrummaging and mako giving tons of Pens away In 6n. Ousthuizen in rare form and looks
To have nailed Bok 3 shirt.

Lineout look to mix drive
And off top. Challenge every ball with world class jumpers in Gray and Heaslip

Attack:Our plan is to attack attack and attack so will be Looking to chance our arm. We will look to vary though. We see giteau and Tuilagi as so short
Of form and against arguably worlds best pairing in Toomua and kurindrani so will target this relentlessly for
Gaps. We will look to kick in behind saints giant wings as all big wings struggle with being turned. With such a mobile pack and footballing backs we will try to flood areas and have backs interchanging to keep
Ball alive. We will empty bench when needed to keep up intensity.

Kicking/Territory: We want to play the game in the right area and will use our options where necessary to
Build pressure. If
Inside their half we
Are chancing our arm with moving it wide and odd chip
Over

Breakdown: hugely mobile pack that we will not be afraid to throw in numbers to contest and turnover. Gray and Ousthuizen are like extra backrow. Savea Alberts and Heaslip are ferocious here also and will
Look to challenge when on.

Defence: Will play a physical rush defence, aiming to put pressure on saints play makers with ford potentially knackered after no rest after 6n, giteau out
For a while
And Simpson can be got
At.
Robson to
Sweep followed by Perenara when he comes on

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Harlequins v Toulon

Location - Twickenham Stoop
Light Cloud, 10 Degrees, 16mph NW Winds

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1. Steven Kitchoff
2. Schalk Brits
3. Kieran Brookes
4. George Kruis
5. Jim Hamilton
6. Tom Wood
7. Michael Hooper
8. Damien Chouly
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Steven Myler
11. Teddy Thomas
12. Robbie Henshaw
13. Jonathan Joseph
14. Jack Nowell
15. Rob Kearney

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Tony Woodcock 18. John Afoa 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Luke Braid 21. Karl Dickson 22. Colin Slade 23. Yoann Huget

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Toulon

15 Delon Armitage, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Sebastien Tillous-Borde, 8 Chris Masoe, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Mamuka Gorgodze, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Carl Hayman (c), 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Alexandre Menini
Replacements: 16 Jean-Charles Orioli, 17 Xavier Chiocci, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 20 Rudi Wulf, 21 Matt Giteau, 22 Michael Claassens, 23 Jocelino Suta

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Sale Sharks v Newcastle Falcons

Location - AJ Bell Stadium
Light Cloud, 8 Degrees, 17mph NW Winds

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Martin Moore
04. Will Skelton	11. Keith Earls
05. Dave Attwood	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Jared Payne
07. Sam Cane	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

:-
16. Jack McGrath 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Iain Henderson 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Calum Braley 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Craig Gilroy

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

- Fast ball is crucial. Mobile pack 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. Big carries from Skelton, Picamoles, Attwood & Moore will be used to take advantage of the Falcons drift before putting the ball in wider channels.

- Intelligent kicking. Sexton will look to take advantage of the narrowness of the Falcons defence and use cross field kicks and kicks in to the space in wider channels.

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

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

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

- Counter the opposition kicking game. Our back three have been instructed to sit deep on defence to cover kicks. All are comfortable under the high ball and will look to return loose kicks with interest.

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

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Nick Phipps
02. Rory Best	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Charlie Faumuina
04. Ed Slater	11. David Strettle
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ian Madigan
06. David Ewers	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Richie McCaw	14. Ben Smith
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16.Dane Coles 17.Vincent Debaty 18.Luc Ducalcon 19. Yohan Maestri 20. Will Fraser 21.Rhys Webb 22. Jean De Villiers 23. Charlie Sharples

Set piece

Look to pressure Paice in the scrum and see if he pops up, if not then use as a restart. In the line out, Parling to call with Slater and Read as options. Look to get after their line out as we think they lack a real middle jumper, so jump with Parling at the front and force them to go long where we can try and pick it off.

Breakdown - mccaw and read work as a pair in going for turnovers, backed up by Best who was excellent here in the 6N. All our front 5 have a high work rate to help clear their flankers off the ball. McCaw/Read primary role is to help us win the breakdown today, if we get turnovers in their territory we run the ball instantly. 

Kicking - half backs supported by Malian, JD2, Smith and Hogg to give us plenty of kicking options, with JD adding a left footed option. We want to play in their half but will play heads up and if it's on from our 22 we'll run it instead. Look to target Earls with high balls and get Smith and Hogg chasing him down to win it back. Use the chip to get behind their midfield, and grubber kicks behind Roko to pin them back

Attack - Option of using Madigan to play the 2 sided attack in their half, with Hogg and Smith able to step into first receiver as pure running threats to take on the line. Get JD2 running the crash ball off first phase into the 12 channel and see if he can get over the gain line against Eastmond. If Sexton or Payne are covering him, use the inside or outside ball into their channels to keep us moving forwards. Ewers and the front 5 to lead our carrying around the fringes to tie in their back row 

Defence - no weak links in the back line, JD2 to lead the midfield defence and rush when he thinks it's on, otherwise play a drift to avoid Eastmond beating us with his quick feet

Bench - 4 big ball carrying forwards, a pure 7 in Fraser to come on and help us win the pack battle. Webb to snipe and help us increase the tempo late on, JDV to crash into a tired midfield defence and pure pace in Sharples


Key points 


Target Paice in scrum 
Use Best, Read and McCaw to win turnovers 
2 sided attack with multiple first receiver options 
Target Earls in the air and Eastmond with the crash ball
Plenty of impact off the bench late on 

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Wasps make 4 personnel changes to the matchday 23 which won away at Franklins Gardens last weekend, for this weeks visit of Racing Metro to the Ricoh Arena. Joe Marler, Alun-Wyn Jones, Sebastien Tillouse-Borde and Anthony Watson return from being rested after 6 Nations action and take their places on the bench, where they are joined by Steffon Armitage who swaps places with Fulgence Ouedraogo this time out. Ben Youngs and Marland Yarde also step into the starting XV from the bench, with Scott Sio, Romain Millo-Chluski, Aaron Smith and Noa Nakaitaci missing out this weekend. Duane Vermeulen captains the side.

London Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213

01. Paul James	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Matt Symons	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastien Vahaamahina	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Marcell Coetzee	13. Robbie Freuan
07. Fulgence Ouedraogo	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen ©	15. Delon Armitage

Reps: 16. Deon Fourie 17. Joe Marler 18. Ben Alexander 19. Alun-Wyn Jones 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Sebastien Tillous-Borde 22. Shane Geraghty, 23. Anthony Watson

Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based game, going through the phases and continually shifting the point of attack. When deep in our half we won't take chances with offloading, but will make ground carrying close to the ruck and recycling quickly, or using the boots of Cruden and Armitage to take us up the field.

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. Youngs 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.
  
• Scrum. Get low and underneath their props and drive straight. Really test their props technical abilities rather than get in to a battle of strength.
  
• 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. Youngs 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 for it to be targetted and with a good chase, to either compete in the air for the ball, or nail the catcher has he hits the deck with it.
  

Key Point

• Form/Momentum We are the form team in the game. After a slow start we've built momentum and have won a trophy and beaten the league leaders on their own patch in the past two weeks. We are peaking at the right time.
  

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10.George Ford
03. Logo Mulipola
04. Samo Manoa	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Schalk Burger	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse ©	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

Subs: 16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jacques du Plessis 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22. Weslie Fofana 23. Elliot Daly

Overall: Usual Saints tactics, high tempo, physical game with emphasis on winning the gainline battle and providing Ford with a platform to attack Gloucester and put the backs into space to score tries.

Key Points:
* Leigh Halfpenny's boot - QF clash, best goal kicker in world rugby and guarantees steady flow of points.
* Aim to win territorial kicking game and play the game in Gloucester half, lot of kicking options Simpon, Ford, Giteau and Halfpenny's.
* Win the gainline battle with ball carriers in the pack and backline and get Ford front foot attacking ball.
* Impose physical ball carrying game and target likes of Wood, Gray, Robson in the pack and get forward momentum.
* Impact bench to finish the final 20 minutes very strongly.
* Only lost one game in Europe in 3 seasons.

Pack/Setpiece: Will aim to target Wood and Gray, the two non-internationals in the Gloucester front row and put them under pressure at the scrum. Gray currently behind Ward and Buchanan at Quins. We will also look to use Lawes and Manoa to target the lineout, placing Gray's throwing under the spotlight. Have five good jumping options to mix up the game and get quick ball for attack. Mobile, physical pack to get us over the gainline and carry the ball strong.

Attack:At home we will want to attack, our pack can get us over the gainline, win the collisions that will allow Ford and Giteau to pull the strings in the midfield. We will also use the lineout to generate quick ball, and have picked Tuilagi at no13 to match the physical threat opposite him. We will use the cross field kick for Bowe to challenge in attack, but will aim to get Savea the ball in space.  

Kicking/Territory: We want to play the game in the right area and aim to push Gloucester back in their own half with kicking game of 9, 10, 12 and 15. Will get Halfpenny kicking three points at every opportunity.

Breakdown: We have a mobile pack that can allow us to get numbers to the breakdown, with our ball carriers we can get forward momentum that can help us secure our own ball. We are happy to flood the breakdown area and will again look to turn this into a very physical contest, particularly looking to use Burger and Robshaw's experience to target Savea's inexperience.

Defence: Will play a physical rush defence, aiming to put pressure on Gloucester's decision makers with Lawes and Manoa targeting Cipriani. Looking to force mistakes and force Gloucester into kicking to our back three to counter. Simpson to sweep in behind the defensive line.

dammit_chris wrote:

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10.
03. Logo Mulipola
04. Samo Manoa	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12.
06. Schalk Burger	13.
07. Chris Robshaw	14. Tommy Bowe
08. Sergio Parisse ©	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

Subs: 16. Rob Webber 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Adam Jones 19. Jacques du Plessis 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Mike Phillips 22.  23.

You not putting out a full side this week Chris? That's very sporting of you!

What's the draw for the semi finals?

Where has my midfield gone!!! Will have to put them in later on...

1. Steven Kitchoff
2. Schalk Brits
3. Kieran Brookes
4. George Kruis
5. Jim Hamilton
6. Tom Wood
7. Michael Hooper
8. Damien Chouly
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Steven Myler
11. Teddy Thomas
12. Robbie Henshaw
13. Jonathan Joseph
14. Jack Nowell
15. Rob Kearney

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau 17. Tony Woodcock 18. John Afoa 19. Charlie Matthews 20. Luke Braid 21. Karl Dickson 22. Colin Slade 23. Yoann Huget

Mark

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. David Paice	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Martin Moore
04. Will Skelton	11. Keith Earls
05. Dave Attwood	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Jared Payne
07. Sam Cane	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

:-
16. Jack McGrath 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Iain Henderson 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Calum Braley 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Craig Gilroy

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

- Fast ball is crucial. Mobile pack 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. Big carries from Skelton, Picamoles, Attwood & Moore will be used to take advantage of the Falcons drift before putting the ball in wider channels.

- Intelligent kicking. Sexton will look to take advantage of the narrowness of the Falcons defence and use cross field kicks and kicks in to the space in wider channels.

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

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

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

- Counter the opposition kicking game. Our back three have been instructed to sit deep on defence to cover kicks. All are comfortable under the high ball and will look to return loose kicks with interest.

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

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Nick Phipps
02. Rory Best	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Charlie Faumuina
04. Ed Slater	11. David Strettle
05. Geoff Parling	12. Ian Madigan
06. David Ewers	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Richie McCaw	14. Ben Smith
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16.Dane Coles 17.Vincent Debaty 18.Luc Ducalcon 19. Yohan Maestri 20. Will Fraser 21.Rhys Webb 22. Jean De Villiers 23. Charlie Sharples

Set piece

Look to pressure Paice in the scrum and see if he pops up, if not then use as a restart. In the line out, Parling to call with Slater and Read as options. Look to get after their line out as we think they lack a real middle jumper, so jump with Parling at the front and force them to go long where we can try and pick it off.

Breakdown - mccaw and read work as a pair in going for turnovers, backed up by Best who was excellent here in the 6N. All our front 5 have a high work rate to help clear their flankers off the ball. McCaw/Read primary role is to help us win the breakdown today, if we get turnovers in their territory we run the ball instantly. 

Kicking - half backs supported by Malian, JD2, Smith and Hogg to give us plenty of kicking options, with JD adding a left footed option. We want to play in their half but will play heads up and if it's on from our 22 we'll run it instead. Look to target Earls with high balls and get Smith and Hogg chasing him down to win it back. Use the chip to get behind their midfield, and grubber kicks behind Roko to pin them back

Attack - Option of using Madigan to play the 2 sided attack in their half, with Hogg and Smith able to step into first receiver as pure running threats to take on the line. Get JD2 running the crash ball off first phase into the 12 channel and see if he can get over the gain line against Eastmond. If Sexton or Payne are covering him, use the inside or outside ball into their channels to keep us moving forwards. Ewers and the front 5 to lead our carrying around the fringes to tie in their back row 

Defence - no weak links in the back line, JD2 to lead the midfield defence and rush when he thinks it's on, otherwise play a drift to avoid Eastmond beating us with his quick feet

Bench - 4 big ball carrying forwards, a pure 7 in Fraser to come on and help us win the pack battle. Webb to snipe and help us increase the tempo late on, JDV to crash into a tired midfield defence and pure pace in Sharples


Key points 


Target Paice in scrum 
Use Best, Read and McCaw to win turnovers 
2 sided attack with multiple first receiver options 
Target Earls in the air and Eastmond with the crash ball
Plenty of impact off the bench late on 

1 Wood
2 Gray
3 ousthuizen
4 Gray
5 Robson
6 Alberts
7 Savea
8 Heaslip
9 Robson
10 Cips
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Kurindrani
14 Gear
15 Dagg
16 Beast
17 Strauss
18 Mas
19 Taofufina
20 Dickinson
21 Perenara
22 Pollard
23 Walker

still on phone will try and format but unlikely looking at my diary. Still at work now and left home at 5 am

Gloucester tactics

Overall: distinct glos tactics. We are aiming to start at a massive tempo. Have picked a super mobile pack full of carriers and good ball handlers. Aiming to play 100 mph and bring on impact bench at 45-50. See sainys as having a few players who have not played much this year ie mako, lawes, burger(1 start), giteau and Tuilagi so want to attack rusty ness.

Key Points:
* Ford not had a break. Played 6n and a huge match last weekend. Must be mentally fatugued
*  lot of kicking options Robson, Cips, Toomua, and dAgg
* multiple playmakers to step in on turnover ball. Allows us to attack quickly from turnover. May, Toomua, Dagg, cips and gear all comfortable with this.
* Impact bench to finish the final 20 minutes very strongly. World class Strauss beast etc and form 9 and 10 in s15 in Perenara and pollard

* not In contention for league this means more to us

Pack/Setpiece: Look to target props with neither being known for scrummaging and mako giving tons of Pens away In 6n. Ousthuizen in rare form and looks
To have nailed Bok 3 shirt.

Lineout look to mix drive
And off top. Challenge every ball with world class jumpers in Gray and Heaslip

Attack:Our plan is to attack attack and attack so will be Looking to chance our arm. We will look to vary though. We see giteau and Tuilagi as so short
Of form and against arguably worlds best pairing in Toomua and kurindrani so will target this relentlessly for
Gaps. We will look to kick in behind saints giant wings as all big wings struggle with being turned. With such a mobile pack and footballing backs we will try to flood areas and have backs interchanging to keep
Ball alive. We will empty bench when needed to keep up intensity.

Kicking/Territory: We want to play the game in the right area and will use our options where necessary to
Build pressure. If
Inside their half we
Are chancing our arm with moving it wide and odd chip
Over

Breakdown: hugely mobile pack that we will not be afraid to throw in numbers to contest and turnover. Gray and Ousthuizen are like extra backrow. Savea Alberts and Heaslip are ferocious here also and will
Look to challenge when on.

Defence: Will play a physical rush defence, aiming to put pressure on saints play makers with ford potentially knackered after no rest after 6n, giteau out
For a while
And Simpson can be got
At.
Robson to
Sweep followed by Perenara when he comes on

Didn't Burger make team of the week for Planet Rugby Mat? And just when did Alberts last play a game for the Sharks...what I definitely won't mention is that Mulipola has only not been in one match day squad for Tigers in real life in 2015, not 100% sure if Joe Gray has for Quins...

Can tell its quarter final time lol

Burger was great last week Chris. I am his biggest fan. Quite possibly my favourite player of all time. I have even stayed at his winery !!

Alberts played the other week.

Bt dreadful commentary means I don't watch much prem as I find it intolerable.

Watch a lot of live games or when I do watch games on BT often try and find radio feed which is tough or watch it with something else on radio. BT is killing prem rugby

I find BT commentary better than BBC to be honest!

Oo it's getting a bit tense in here

Do you really not like BT that much? Compared to Sky's coverage it is awful but dare I say it I am starting to grow fond of Austin Healy's comments.

Fluxy I think my commentary is better than the BBCs...ITV revealed their lineup for the RWC commentary team the week before last, features a lot of the pundits on Sky's S15 shows so will be a massive improvement from previous World Cups.

There's some of Matt's crackers in those tactics:

"Ousthuizen in rare form and looks To have nailed Bok 3 shirt."

Apart from him getting smashed in the scrum he has played well.....

Pretty sure Alberts played one game after 6 or so months out and got injured didn't he?

I do miss reading through Matt's "tactics"

I think pooly has an unhealthy Intersest in me and my team.
A bit worrying he seems obsessed with me.

Have to watch these military types.

dammit_chris wrote:Do you really not like BT that much? Compared to Sky's coverage it is awful but dare I say it I am starting to grow fond of Austin Healy's comments.

Fluxy I think my commentary is better than the BBCs...ITV revealed their lineup for the RWC commentary team the week before last, features a lot of the pundits on Sky's S15 shows so will be a massive improvement from previous World Cups.

I really hate BT commentary that much. I
Will generally watch any rugby on TV but BT has stopped that.
I only watch tasty games or
Glos away matches I can't get to. I
Find Healy, Kay and that awful bird intolerable.

I cancelled BT
Subscription and watch it through an app using a mates log in as I refuse to pay for that commentary

Better than Jonathan Davies! How that man gets paid to appear on television and provide us with his insight into rugby is beyond me!

anonmattyt wrote:I think pooly has an unhealthy Intersest in me and my team.
A bit worrying he seems obsessed with me.

Have to watch these military types.

I'm not in the military.

Just laughing at your "tactics", we've not had a good tactic off for a while.

PREDICTIONS OPEN

Apologies for the lateness of the threads folks been a very long day!

Wasps 23-21 metro

Tough game with wasps losing front 5 battle just with metro having form players. Wasps locks a weak point at top level. Metro take lineout but wasps backrow better and as a unit halfbacks better.

I am not a Youngs or cruden fan but they work better and Youngs was great in 6n.

Freaun looks out of place but Wasps have enough to win at home
Despite rotating players. Bench plays a big part

Quins 28-24 Toulon

How a side expects to win with michalak at 10
Is beyond me.

Even front 5 Brits hard to rate but kitshoff excellent and guirado had a great 6n.

Even locks and backrow.

Form of 12,13,14,15 win this for quins could not find more form
Players and off same amount of ball they win

Wasps 21-20 Racing

I think racing actually edge the pack and will give Wasps a real hard time. If at home I'd fancy a Racing win but too much for Wasps and a strong bench see them through by a whisker.

Harlequins 22-23 Toulon

Epic one this. Toulon with a pack advantage, especially in the front 5. Michalak is slight weakness but Toulon strong elsewhere and a good bench to bring on. Prefer the Quins back 3 but Toulon bench very strong and sneak this one late on.

Sale 36-34 Falcons

Another fantastic battle which will go right to the wire. I'd fancy Sale at the scrum and Falcons the line out, pack battle very close. Iffy form in both halfbacks but Sale sneak it, as they do at 12 but Falcons a step up at 13. Falcons with an exciting back 3 and it'll be a high scoring game which would be reversed at Falcons.

Wasps 18-16 Racing Metro
Really close game, home advantage is the decisive factor as Metro can get at the Wasps set piece and attack the 13 channel. But Wasps can get the advantage at the breakdown and really sway it in final quarter with the bench. Both defences very strong.

Harlequins 25-23 Toulon
Massive battle. Toulon have so much power but lose so much control with Michalak lining up as no10 - losing Wilko and not having Giteau in starting lineup makes a huge difference. Home advantage, some indifferent Toulon form and there is just about enough for a victory for Quins.

Sale Sharks 22-21 Newcastle Falcons
Really tough battle to predict on, if it wasn't a knock out game then I'd have gone with a draw as agree that Falcons are right to target Paice with Best. Few form issues with Care, Eastmond and Roko for the home side, but with Slater and Farrell being injured in real life it balances out nicely. Just see Sale shading the game with the control that Sexton offers.

Wasps 24 20 Racing
Saints 25 - 26 Gloucester
Sale 20 - 20 Newcastle

Wasps 29 - 28 Racing Metro 92

A really tight battle up front with Wilson slightly hard to rate. About even in the scrum, and line out again is really close with Charteris proving for Wales he can still do a job here. Where Wasps get an upper hand is around the park and at the breakdown, as their back row are much more abrasive and create some good go forward for their half backs. 

Wasps using the bltiz defence will halt some Racing attacks, but Sexton and Machenaud are clever enough to beat a blitz with the odd grub and chip for their backs to chase and this will create havoc when someone like Thomas reclaims the ball. Youngs and Cruden will put their pack in the right places, along with the tactical kicking of Nonu and Delon. There is a very equal threat with ball in hand from both sides, with perhaps a bit more defensive solidity in the Wasps back line. With the benches being emptied late on the likes of Marler, Steffon and Watson will change the momentum in favour of the home side. 

Northampton Saints 35 - 24 Gloucester Rugby

Saints will get a nudge on up front, over the a glaws front five much more at home roaming the wide channels. The Glaws back row will get through a tonne of hard work but will be on the back foot throughout. Robson and Cips are also put on the back foot and with that are struggling to put their pack in field position. Simpson and ford will keep the tempo high and feed the likes of Manu and Savea into space and cause mayhem in the Glaws defence. In the end the dangerous Glaws back line will create some magic out of nothing, but Saints will put Gloucester to the sword with Halfpenny's kicking and their ability in the wider channels.

Harlequins 26 - 24 Toulon

A relatively young front five take on the Toulon beast and there are some mixed results. Scrum wise, Toulon have the upper hand because of their size. Line out is a little more even, but Williams and Botha are a potent combination. But with Wood and Chouly in the back row Quins are more than a match. The back rows are two different philosophies of how to play, with Toulon using power and size, with Quins using pace and skill in their super charged trio to get to the breakdown to slow up and turnover Toulon ball, and to also secure their own ball. 

Pienaar and Myler are a great pairing to control the territory and pace of the game in comparison to a flaky Michalak who will put a lot of pressure on Tillous-Borde. There is a greater threat ball in hand from quins and with a decent supply of turnover ball they will scare the Toulon defence. Tie this in with good field position and Toulon will struggle at points away from home. In the end to big benches will slow up the game and Quins reliable boots kicking points will see them see off a big European contender. 

Sale Sharks 31 - 32 Newcastle Falcons

Probably the closest tie of the round this one! Falcons take the form battle at hooker, but Sharks have a bit more quality in the props, tag this in with the size and power of their second row and Sharks shall, as the game wears on, slowly dominate scrums. Falcons much more proficient in the line out and at the breakdown.

Some mixed form in the halfbacks with Phipps and Sexton both playing very well right now. Both sides looking to play territory first, and both have some solid back threes who are happy to receive the ball, although Falcons will look much more dangerous on the counter attack. Both benches are massive and can't see the kickers missing many penalties or conversions that come their way. But with Falcons innate ability to counter attack in the back three will create a few more penalty opportunities to upset the home side in a big way.

I love your predo's Flux, they're like an actual report from the game.

I try my best mate! Although games are getting bloody hard to predict on now!

Also sounds better to me and gives a bit of an idea how I'd expect the game to play out, rather than x is better than y

Some imagination Flux

Wasps 27-22 Metro
Front 5 battle very tight but Wasps back row can really get on top

Saints 21-19 Glaws
Saints back row gives them a slight pack advantage and more in the halfbacks. Glaws midfield gives them good go forward but not enough away

Quins 21-22 Toulon
Quins struggle at the scrum here and won't get a lot of go forward against a big Toulon back row. More control at halfback but Quins struggle for momentum at times

Wasps 27-24 Metro

Fancy Metro to get the upper hand at the set piece, but Wasps definitely stronger around the park and at the breakdown in the pack. Sexton strong as ever, but Youngs and Cruden between them stronger at half back. Wasps have a bit more sparkle in the back line, and the strength off the bench will seal it.

Saints 30-26 Gloucester

Gloucester front 5 seems a bit lightweight to me, and think the Saints lads will get a nudge on even without their props being the strongest technically. Much tighter around the park, and both sides will have success at the breakdown, but tough on the back foot. Ford and Simpson in great form and will control the game well, giving their many attacking threats plenty of ball and tries will come. Glos just a bit lacking up front to get closer

Quins 24-23 Toulon

Very tough one to call. Quins front 5 will struggle at times with Toulon power, but think they are competent enough to get the ball away. Hooper v Armitage is a great 7 battle, but Hooper gets more support IMO. Michalak is such a weak link at 10, and the Quins half backs good enough to make the most of the ball they will get with the quality from 11-15, and sneak this one at home

Wasps 28-23 Metro
Saints 31-28 Gloucester
Quins 22-21 Toulon
Sale 27-25 Falcons

Wasps 25-21 Metro
Can see Wasps pack getting on top today with strong carriers allowing them to play to their posessional tactics. Half backs will be fairy even but think Wasps will get the better ball and the impact off the bench will win it.

Saints 26-24 Glos
Saints could get the edge up front a slightly better ball from their backrow. Still can't rate Tuilagi and the centre battle will bring Glos back into it, Glos have good tactics but think Saints will stop them playing the tempo they want.

Quins 24-23 Toulon
Can see Quins struggling slightly in the set piece but think they may just edge a close backrow battle. Half backs to Quins and think they'll get a slight advantage outside that. Toulon bench will make it a 'twitchy' time for Quins towards the end!

Sale 24-23 Falcons
Can't really split the packs here to be honest and if it wasn't a knock out then I'd look to give it a draw. Moving to the backs I think Sale just edge this part. Centres pretty even and out wide can't split alot with form from both sides. Nothing between them on the bench. Both teams targetting the right areas with Falcons wanting to target Paice and Sale having the right tactics with an offloading game. Home advantage splits this.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Some imagination Flux

Ha, just makes it more easier to read! You seemed to enjoy it 

RESULTS:

London Wasps 29-22 Racing Metro
Northampton Saints 31-25 Gloucester Rugby
Harlequins 27-24 Toulon
Sale Sharks 29-27 Newcastle Falcons

SEMI FINALS:

Northampton Saints v Sale Sharks (Ricoh Arena)
Harlequins v London Wasps (Amex Arena)

BONUS:
Full: Fluxy, Matt, Prop, Bam, Chris, SJE & Pooly
Score: CJB & Steve
Excused: Luke
Fined: Pete & CJ

Top 4 make the semi's

Blah, knew it was a big ask against the Sharks on the road

You done better than the other 3 Bam, tough ask though