European Champions Cup Semi Finals

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Faf De Klerk
02. David Paice	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Matt Garvey	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Christian Day	12. Anthony Allen
06. Sean McMahon	13. George Pisi
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Charles Ollivon	15. Karmeichel Hunt

:-
16. Ross Harrison 17. Tommy Taylor 18. Samson Lee 19. Will Skelton 20. Iain Henderson 21. Callum Braley 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Keith Earls

 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

1. Mako
2. Hartley
3. Logi
4. Manoa
5. Lawes
6. Burger
7. Pocock
8. Vunipola
9. Simpson
10. Ford
11. Savea
12. Giteau
13. Daly
14. Bowe
15. Halfpenny

16. Webber 17. Domingo 18. Jones 19. Gray 20. Parisse 21. Phillips 22. Fofana 23. Tuilagi

Do I need to name my side earlier than Pete's despite it being a neutral venue?

No Steve mate Wednesday deadline is fine to work to this week with neutral grounds

Mark

London Wasps
Manager: Ozzy3213  
                   

01. Joe Marler	09. Aaron Smith
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Matt Symons	11. Bryan Habana
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Marcell Coetzee	13. Henry Slade
07. Steffon Armitage	14. Noa Nakaitaci
08. Duane Vermeulen ©	15. Delon Armitage

Reps: 16. Deon Fourie 17. Scott Sio 18. Ben Alexander 19. Sebastien Vahaamahina 20. Fulgence Ouedraogo 21. Ben Youngs 22. Paul Jordaan 23. Tim Nanai-Williams

Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based, fast offloading game, keeping the ball alive and minimising the number of breakdowns where we carry in.  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, Slade 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.  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.  Defensively, we will compete where it's on, look to disrupt TPN's throw with AWJ jumping at the front, but in the main will be looking to take the reciever, man and ball as he lands and avoid him being able to set a maul. If that is not working we will employ the tactic of not engaging the maul and therefore placing the Quins players offisde if the ball is played back to the rearmost man.
  
• Scrum.  Get low. Wilson and Marler to keep low and both flankers to stay bound and pushing and look to really get below the Quins props and force an advantage. If we get going forward, mix up between forcing the penalty and getting the ball out quickly ann into play against a retreating defensive line.
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry into contact, if we are taken to ground, we will flood the breakdown, with the first man in focusing on clearing the opposition jackler, and second man removing the tackler, who will have had to release before competing for the ball. If the tackler is straight up and going for the ball and acting as the jackler, our first man will target him. Subsequent players entering will ruck 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 want to keep the ball alive as much as possible. If the ball is slow and Quins are blitzing we will also utilise the pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out. 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 for the corners and contest the opposition lineout.
  

Key Poinst

• Form/Momentum  We are in great form within the game as we come to the business end of the season.  
  
• Areas of criticism  The main area I seem to get hammered for is locks and lineout.  You are of course free to predict as you wish, but I'd like to point out Symons runs the lineout for the Chiefs and is one of the form locks in Super Rugby.  AWJ and Vermeulen have both run the lineout at various times for club and country.  Whilst we do not have a Matfield/POC type lineout leader, this area would function perfectly well with the experienced internationals we have in there.
  
• Focus We are qualified for the play offs and have two home games coming up in the league. Our focus is solely on this fixture and securing a place in the Champions Cup final. Quins are still scrapping for a play off place and face a tough game away at Sale next week. They may have one eye elsewhere this weekend.
  
• Caps/Experience Steve talks about their 417 caps in the pack to our 243, but the reality is that two players contribute 195 of their caps, and both are now past their prime and no longer starting internationals. I notice Steve has been selective and ignored the backs, where we have the All Black first choice half back pair and two players, who individually have more caps than their entire back line (Habana and Nonu) and are both still first choice for their countries. Big game experience is really not a problem in this side which also includes the Lions winning captain and current European player of the year.
  

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. Teddy Thomas
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Tom Wood	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Jack Nowell
08. Nick Easter	15. Rob Kearney

16. Schalk Brits 17. Steven Kitchoff 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Damien Chouly 21. Karl Dickson 22. Quade Cooper 23. Jan Serfontein

Tactics

Game Plan

Look to play the game in the Wasps half. Use the boots of Pienaar, Myler and Kearney to get us deep into the Wasps half with a varied kicking game including long punts to space or to put up box kicks and up and unders which Henshaw, Kearney, Thomas and Nowell can compete for. Especially look to target Nakatici under the high ball with Nowell on his wing.

When we get possession in the Wasps half we'll play a patient game and look to get across the gain line and get quick ball so we can attack Wasps whilst they're on the back foot. Pienaar and Myler will look to control our tempo to slow down when we need to get go forward and to speed up when we are making yards and are attacking a disorganised Wasps defence. We will look to exhaust the space by playing the same way until we reach the touch line to keep Wasps working hard in defence.

Rather than just carry into the heart of Wasps we have deliberately picked very good footballers in our pack as we are going to look to shift the ball before the collision. We will do this by having one forward standing flat and at least another forward hitting and angle at pace on his shoulder. It is the job of these carriers to take the ball at pace and keep the legs pumping after contact to get across the gain line. We will look to attack spaces when carrying and not run directly at Wasps players. Very important to make sure we carry with support so we can offload or have the first man to the breakdown in order to recycle the ball quickly.

When we get quick ball is when we look to unleash our outside backs. Myler will stand flat and look to put others into space with Henshaw and JJ picking lines or to get the ball into JJ's hands and he put his back three into space. We've picked guys like JJ, Thomas, Henshaw and Nowell who will worry Wasps defenders. We will really look to isolate Wasps defenders and get our wider men one on one.

Set Piece

At the set piece we will look to use it as an attacking weapon. At the scrum we will look to get the ball out quickly and get our backs running in the open spaces. Strong replacement scrumagers to come on in the second half. At the line out we will look use our maul on a regular basis to take yards from Wasps. Look to vary our jumpers between Botha, Kruis, Wood and Easter to vary our jumping options.

Defence

Default is a blitz defence going from out to in with Joseph leading the line speed and looking to really get into Slade's face and stop his game. We have the option of using a drift when we need to with very quick centres who have their opposite men for pace.

At the breakdown really look to get Hooper and Wood over the ball early. Look to chop down in  the tackle and get the man on the ball early. Look to use Bakkies and Kruis to disrupt the breakdown legally and slow the ball down and disrupt Smith's pattern.

Key Points

Shift the ball before contact.

Isolate Wasps defenders in wide channels.

Play in the right areas of the pitch.

In our pack we have 417 international caps compared to 243 for Wasps. Experience vital in these games as is temperament and control at half back.

Impact off the bench. Every one of our players adds a dynamism to the game and can impact in the loose and add energy. Just what is needed in the later stages.

Northampton Saints Tactics

Key Points:
* Sale have opted to not play their first team, with no Care, Sexton etc, we will look to exploit at set piece, target key positions and lack of game time for the likes of their no9.
* Pack recalls four players to starting lineup and will aim to dominate the physical exchanges and set piece.
* Leigh Halfpenny's boot - a European semi-final, best goal kicker in world rugby and guarantees steady flow of points.
* Win the gainline battle with ball carriers in the pack and backline and get halfbacks front foot attacking ball.
* Impact bench to finish the final 20 minutes very strongly.
* Want to lay down a marker for the remainder of the season by looking to get a comprehensive win and build momentum.

Pack/Setpiece: We've picked a strong, mobile pack that has a lot of big ball carriers and physicality to get us over the gainline. Will look to build a solid platform to attack from the scrum and have selected 4 jumping options to generate quick ball to attack from off our own lineout. We will aim to use Lawes to put the Sale throw under pressure.

Attack: Conditions will let us play our attacking game of getting over the gainline and winning the collisions. We want to play at a high tempo to get the ball into the hands of Ford, Giteau and Daly to put others into space. Ford to target cross field kick to test Sale's wingers against Savea and Bowe.


Kicking/Territory: It is a European semi-final, so will initlally look to dominate the territory battle with a stronger kicking game from 9.10, 12, 13 and 15. Play in areas where mistakes can prove costly and can pressurise the Sale setpiece.

Breakdown: We have a mobile pack that can allow us to get numbers to the breakdown, we've selected Pocock so that he can dominate the breakdown area and take Kvesvic out of the game. With our backline we will target turnovers to attack off and speed.

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

Tactics added. Best of luck Steve. Looking at the teams it would be an absolutely cracking game.

Same to you. I would love to watch it!

Harlequins 23-26 London Wasps
Set piece wise its hard to separate these sides and its similar at the breakdown with both packs competing well. Immense forward battle in this one. Genuine world class half backs on show for Wasps capable of a bit of magic. Both back lines are dangerous ball in hand while both Thomas & Nakaitaci could be caught on the turn defensively. Looking through the benches Youngs is the real impact player although Cooper could change up the Quins approach late on.

Quins kicking approach works well with the boots on show but don't see them always dominating the aerial battle giving Wasps plenty of possession to work with. See Wasps attacking well from deep with the open approach and some good form. See their halfbacks picking out the runners well and getting them the win

Saints 28-20 sale

Sale concentrating on league. A mismatch in many ways but sale have some wc players and are in great form. Skelton off bench in fab form.

Sale backline
Is lacking form in every way

Quins 25-24 wasps

What a game. Home advantage key. Being honest my lack of rating for cruden means Steve wins this. Quins halfbacks not great or
On form. However I don't rate cruden and his 60% goal kicking.

Front row even second row quins backrow just wasps. Both cebtres great but Quins better. Slade himself says He is no 13 and JJ form player. Back 3 maybe shaded to Quins with Novell
And Kearney however hard to call so even

Have to state it's a neutral venue Matt if that alters your prediction.

Ah neutral venue. It was the only thing I used to seperate you.

25-25 sorry lads

That's very generous of you Steve. Cheers.

Northampton Saints 34 Sale Sharks 20
At face value Sale have rotated and are missing a number of first choice guys, whereas Saints have come in strong and are really focused on winning this game, so this should be a routine win.  What I would say though is that I have to be consistent and I always look at the pack battle before the backs and put a lot of store in the relative abilities of the players in the 2,8,9 and 10 jerseys.

In the packs, Saints have some big names and a lot of power, but the Sale unit works well together and has the skillsets to execute their game plan well.  That said, I'd give Saints the 2,8 and 9 jerseys, although I do prefer Barrett to Ford at 10.  

The real problem for Sale is their outside backs are all in various degrees of poor form, and I can't see them having the firepower to really hurt Saints, whereas the same cannot be said the other way around.  Tight first 60 minutes, but in the end Saints will run out comfortable winners in the final quarter of the game.

Saints 32 - 31 Sale

Quins 26-26 Wasps

Northampton 27-25 Sale

Good scrum advantage for Sale and line out will be the same with stronger jumping options out. Saints much better on paper in the backrow but on form it's pretty even.

Sale a step up at 9/10 but Allen lacking form in the centres and this gives Saints the edge despite Daly's defensive issues. Saints better in the back 3 bar Bowe but stronger as a unit.

Looking at tactics the Saints game plan doesn't work too well trying to play off a strong scrum and I'm unsure who these 4 jumping options are. Sale better tactically but not sure they have the players out to fullt take advanatge. Saints look strong 6 onwards (bar Simpson and Daly) and are obviously making the European cup their priority. They're good enough for a win here, shame Sale didn't roll the big guns out.

Harlequins 25-23 Wasps

Some great match ups. Slight scrum advantage to Quins with Wilson lacking a bit of form. 2 decent set of locks around the park but no real leader, Wood's presence gives Quins a slight edge again. Quins flanks a little stronger but Wasps shade the 8, overall a small pack advantage for Quins.

Prefer the Wasps halfbacks but Quins centre pairing stronger despite Nonu's strong form and Quins again just shade the back 3. Top game and it's down to very small margins across the side. Quins just shade it though and have plenty of impact to see the game home.

Harlequins 22 - 22 Wasps
Hate sitting on the fence, but genuinely can't call this one at all - hardest game to predict on all season as teams and tactics are just completely even.

If Wilson hadn't been injured then Wasps would have some advantage come scrum time. Much prefer Quins prop options off the bench, but Brits has had a long injury lay-off, so evens out a little bit. Lineouts could be an interesting one as both hookers can have off days, so can't see an advantage there.

Carrying games very different, see Wasps as having more dynamic ball carriers like Armitage, while Quins have got the players to really make the hard yards and Steve's tactics mention that he's gone for ball playing forwards, which is going to work well. Breakdown, could be a free for all with Armitage v Hooper, which I'd just give the edge to Hooper.

Back lines again very well matched, Henshaw is physical enough to stop Nonu causing havoc, while JJ could cause Slade some issues in attack. Prefer hb combination of Wasps, but balance of the rest of the backline of Quins and clever kicking options they have there.

Sorry, can't pick - if Wilson was in better form then would have been a Wasps win with a stronger scrum and setpiece, if Myler was in better form then I'd have gone for a Quins win. Draw.

If it goes to extra time I'd be likely to pick Quins as they might be able to tire down the Wasps defence, but then again Youngs is a real threat against tired opposition too!




If it goes to extra time,

Saints 24 - 23 sale

Saints 30-25 Sale
Can see Saints causing alot of problems for Sale up front and at the set piece. Looking at the breakdown it'll be interesting to see an in form Kvesic against Pocock coming back to form but I think Pocock may win this one. Half backs a step up for Saints and think they will cause issues across the backline and their tactics target this. Sale's centre defence will hold out for a while but I think Saints will have too much with Halfpenny's boot too. Think it'll be close till 50mins but when Saints unload their bench it'll be game over.

Quins 28-29 Wasps
Great pack battle and can see Wasps just getting on the front foot here and giving their half backs the better ball. Myler will play well in Quins tactics pinning Wasps back but feel the ball he will get will be more disrupted. Centres and outside this pretty even. Quins will pull it back off the bench but I think that Wasps have the back line to play their offloading game perfectly.

Saints 31-25 Sale
Quins 22-22 Wasps

Northampton Saints 32 - 25 Sale Sharks 

A much rotated Sharks side provide a tough task for strong Saints side in a big semi final tie. The physicality in both front fives is unmoving, and both sides will hold their own in the set pieces, providing decent ball to both back lines. Saints however at the breakdown are much more efficient, Kvesic is in form, but not the same level as Pocock, who seems to be hitting his stride for the Saints. 

The decent possession provided to Simpson and Ford allows them to create havoc and Ford will run things with the space and time afforded by his back row. Barrett on the other hand is the leading light for Sharks and will conjure up some magic for his side. Sale's defence will be gallant but in the end the inevitable will occur and Saints will march on into the Champions cup final. 


Harlequins 28 - 26 Wasps

Great forward battle here with to big packs. The scrums are about evens, but the line outs will be a little hit and miss with both hookers struggling. Its bloody close in terms of carrying and at the breakdown with both sides taking chunks out of each other! Hooper will pop up with the odd turnover, but there is a more collective effort from all of the Wasps pack will gives them a slight edge at the breakdown. 
Quins will look to control the tempo of the game and allow their pack to get a foothold in good territory. Whereas Wasps attacking intent from their 9,10,12 allows them to up the tempo and kick territory when under pressure. However whilst insisting to play the offload game will ultimately benefit in quick game play and momentum, a few mistakes will occur and Quins have the elusive backs to capitalise. With the benches into the game, the game opens up with Cooper being the biggest catalyst in particular. It will be very close but the metronomic kicking of Pienaar will kick one more penalty than Wasps to just, and only just pinch a massive result.

Two predos left and it's squeaky bum time in mine and Steves game!

Saints 33-27 Sale

Little disappointing to see Sale not go with a full side, as on a neutral ground both teams at full strength would be very tight. I think the set piece will be pretty even, a bit extra at the lineout to Saints maybe, but quite tight. Both packs very physical around the park, plenty of carriers and big hitters. Pocock looks to be coming back, given Kvesic's excellent form I would call this a draw but think Saints will offer more as a whole.

Behind the scrum, Ford vs Barrett is very tight, and both sides have plenty of playmakers and will score tries. I haven't seen much of Hunt so hard to rate for me personally. Once the benches are unloaded I can only see one winner here, and Saints take it.

Quins 25-27 Wasps

This is unbelievably tough to call, haven't read any other predictions to keep this unbiased. The scrum battle looks very even to me, although I think both sides will lose a few lineouts meaning the set piece as a whole is a draw. Hooper looks the obvious threat at the breakdown for Quins, but I think Wasps pack as a whole offers a bit more, even with some outstanding front 5 physicality from both sides.

I'm a huge fan of the Wasps AB combo, and would pick them against pretty much any other pairing. Myler lacking a bit of form makes that the key area in the game, as the outside backs are excellent for both sides. Youngs, Cooper and Gorgodze are the main players off the bench, and I think the step up at 9 late on compared to Dickson, added to the advantage at half back in the starting line ups gives this one to Wasps for me

I'm hugely intrigued to see which way this has gone

Depends if we're waiting for Lukes predos or not.

He's on holiday isn't he?

Luke is away, I doubt he'll get them in.

I'll be on 1.30ish for results. Bam is right Luke is still on holidays as far as I know

Furry muff. If Luke isn't predicting I know the result, being the saddo I am I've been tracking it from predos 1!

I'm taking a stab at Wasps

RESULTS:

Northampton Saints 35 (T:4 C:3 P:3)
Sale Sharks 25 (T:3 C:2 P:2)

Harlequins 26 (T:3 C:1 P:3)
London Wasps 27 (T:3 P:4)

Couldn't have been much closer, well done Ozzy and Chris

It'll be a cracking final.

Going on previous seasons I don't think a European finalist has won the league that same season, I may be wrong.

Great game Steve, was close right to death.

Pooly, I'm sure I remember Mat losing both finals (Heino and AP) one season, I think it was me who beat him in the AP final, and then possibly the following year I lost both finals, I think the Heino to Mat and the AP to you.

The double has never been done in this game as far as I recall.

Well done Pete and Chris.

SJE targetting the league.

Quins vs wasps was so hard to call

Is a difficult one to get the double, lot will be on squad rotation and form. If you win one first up then can get the momentum for both, but lose the first one and it is pretty tough to win the other!

I don't think you can win both personally, rarely done in France and our league is much closer.

I agree it's really tough to win both, not impossible though.  I also think that this year and next it will be easier than the past few years as the schedule is different and the Euro final is earlier.  If you've made the play offs you can effectively go hard in Europe last week and next, then there's 2 more AP rounds that you can essentially catch a breather in before the play offs.

In previous years the the Euro and Play Off finals were on consecutive weeks, which is pretty tough going.