Summer Tournament Round Seven - Pools A & B

---

Pool A

Reds vs. Newcastle Falcons
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Queensland Reds
Manager – Richard Graham

01. James Slipper	09. Will Genia
02. James Hansen	10. Quade Cooper
03. Greg Holmes
04. Rob Simmons	11. Lachie Turner
05. James Horwill	12. Samu Kerivi
06. Adam Thomson	13. Karmeichel Hunt
07. Liam Gill	14. Chris Kuridrani
08. Jake Schatz	15. James O'Connor

Subs:
16 Saia Fainga'a 17 Pettowa Paraka 18 Sam Talakai 19 Eddie O'Donoghue 20 Hendrik Tui 21 Beau Robinson 22 Nick Frisby 23 Ben Tapuai

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Rhys Webb
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Charlie Faumuina
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charles Piutau
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. David Ewers	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Chris Henry	14. David Strettle
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Smith

:-
16.Jamie George 17.Vincent Debaty 18.Luc Ducalcon 19. Yohan Maestri 20. Callum Clark 21.Nick Phipps 22. Gareth Anscombe 23. Charlie Sharples

---

Stormers vs. Crusaders
Newlands Stadium, Cape Town

---

London Irish vs. Saracens
Madejski Stadium, Reading

London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213        

01. Ben Moon	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Dave Wilson
04. Matt Symons	11. Anthony Watson
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Brad Barritt
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Henry Slade
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Delon Armitage

16. Liam Coltman  17. Scott Sio 18. Frans Malherbe 19. James Broadhurst 20. Sean O'Brien 21. Aaron Smith 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Tim Nanai-Williams

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Ben Franks	09. Brad Weber
02. Motu Matu'u	10. Beuden Barrett
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Will Skelton	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Geoff Parling	12. Maxine Mermoz
06. Akira Ioane	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. James Haskell	14. Hosea Gear
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Rory Best 17. Alex Waller 18. Dan Cole 19. Patrick Tuipolotu 20. Thierry Dusatoir 21. Sam Harrison 22. Pat Lambie 23. Chris Ashton

Tactics:

Normal Sarries game plan.

---

---

Pool B

Sale Sharks vs. Lions
Salford City Stadium, Salford

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Martin Moore
04. Iain Henderson	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Dave Attwood	12. Jonathan Danty
06. Maro Itoje	13. Keith Earls
07. Sam Cane	14. Tevita Li
08. Charles Ollivon	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Nicky Smith 17. Malcolm Marx 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Brodie Retalick 20. Peter O'Mahony 21. Danny Care 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Simon Zebo

Lions
Manager – Johan Ackermann

01. Schalk van der Merwe	09. Francois de Klerk
02. Armand van der Merwe	10. Elton Jantjes
03. Julian Redelinghuys
04. Martin Muller	11. Courtnall Skosan
05. Franco Mostert	12. Alwyn Hollenbach
06. Jaco Kriel	13. Harold Vorster
07. Warwick Tecklenburg	14. Ruan Combrinck
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Andries Coetzee

Subs:
16 Malcolm Marx 17 Corne Fourie 18 Ruan Dreyer 19 Robert Kruger 20 Kwagga Smith 21 Dillon Smit 22 Marnitz Boshoff 23 Howard Mnisi

---

Rebels vs. Exeter Chiefs
AAMI PArk, Melbourne

Melbourne Rebels
Manager – Tony McGahan

01. Toby Smith	09. Nic Stirzaker
02. Pat Leafa	10. Jack Debreczeni
03. Paul Alo-Emile
04. Luke Jones	11. Cam Crawford
05. Lopeti Timani	12. Micth Inman
06. Sean McMahon	13. Tamati Ellison
07. Scott Fuglistaller	14. Sefanaia Naivalu
08. Scott Higginbottom	15. Mike Harris

Subs:
16 Tom Sexton 17 Cruze Ah-Nau 18 Tim Metcher 19 Sam Jeffries 20 Colby Fainga'a 21 Jordy Reid 22 Ben Meehan 23 Jonah Placid

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Nic Auterac	09. Nic White
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Otere Black (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Jake Ball	11. James Lowe
05. Lood De Jager	12. Darren Cave (c)
06. Brad Shields	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Steffon Armitage	14. James O'Connor
08. CJ Stander	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Dimitri Szarzewski 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Mike Ross 19. James Horwill 20. Luke Wallace 21. Chris Cook 22. Alex Losowski 23. Cory Jane

---

Gloucester vs. Highlanders
Kingsholm, Gloucester

Gloucester

1 Rob Evans
2 LCD
3 Mas
4 Etzbeth
5 Robson
6 Alberts
7 Savea
8 Heaslip
9 TJ Perenara
10 Carter
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Juan de Jongh
14 naiyaravaro
15 Folau
16 Wood
17 Strauss
18 Antonio
19 taofufina
20 Croft
21 Robson
22 Cipriani
23 Walker

Highlanders
Manager – Jamie Joseph

01. Brendon Edmonds	09. Aaron Smith
02. Liam Coltman	10. Lima Sopoaga
03. Josh Hohneck
04. Alex Ainley	11. Patrick Osborne
05. Mark Reddish	12. Richard Buckman
06. Elliot Dixon	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Dan Pryor	14. Waisake Naholo
08. Nasi Manu	15. Ben Smith

Subs:
16 As Dixon 17 Dan Lienert-Brown 18 Ross Geldenhuys 19 Joe Wheeler 20 Gareth Evans  21 James Lentjes 22 Fumiaki Tanaka 23 Trent Renata

---

---

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Kieran Marmion
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Martin Moore
04. Iain Henderson	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Dave Attwood	12. Jonathan Danty
06. Maro Itoje	13. Keith Earls
07. Sam Cane	14. Tevita Li
08. Charles Ollivon	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Nicky Smith 17. Malcolm Marx 18. Rabah Slimani 19. Brodie Retalick 20. Peter O'Mahony 21. Danny Care 22. JJ Hanrahan 23. Simon Zebo

Mark

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Nic Auterac	09. Nic White
02. Jack Yeandle	10. Otere Black (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Jake Ball	11. James Lowe
05. Lood De Jager	12. Darren Cave (c)
06. Brad Shields	13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
07. Steffon Armitage	14. James O'Connor
08. CJ Stander	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Dimitri Szarzewski 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Mike Ross 19. James Horwill 20. Luke Wallace 21. Chris Cook 22. Alex Losowski 23. Cory Jane

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Rhys Webb
02. Dane Coles	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Charlie Faumuina
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charles Piutau
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Scott Williams
06. David Ewers	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Chris Henry	14. David Strettle
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Smith

:-
16.Jamie George 17.Vincent Debaty 18.Luc Ducalcon 19. Yohan Maestri 20. Callum Clark 21.Nick Phipps 22. Gareth Anscombe 23. Charlie Sharples

Gloucester

1 Rob Evans
2 LCD
3 Mas
4 Etzbeth
5 Robson
6 Alberts
7 Savea
8 Heaslip
9 TJ Perenara
10 Carter
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Juan de Jongh
14 naiyaravaro
15 Folau
16 Wood
17 Strauss
18 Antonio
19 taofufina
20 Croft
21 Robson
22 Cipriani
23 Walker

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Ben Franks	09. Brad Weber
02. Motu Matu'u	10. Beuden Barrett
03. Jannie du Plessis
04. Will Skelton	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Geoff Parling	12. Maxine Mermoz
06. Akira Ioane	13. Marcelo Bosch
07. James Haskell	14. Hosea Gear
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Rory Best 17. Alex Waller 18. Dan Cole 19. Patrick Tuipolotu 20. Thierry Dusatoir 21. Sam Harrison 22. Pat Lambie 23. Chris Ashton

Tactics:

Normal Sarries game plan.

Predictions OPEN

Results to you Pete?

Reds vs Falcons
Reds 20-26 Newcastle Falcons
Reds 26 - 29 Falcons
 
Reds 18 - 23 Falcons
Strong pack from the away side, only area that Reds compete really is second row. Like the balance of the backline, great control from Farrell and some great attacking threat in the back three. Strong options from the bench as well.
 
Reds 16-26 Falcons
Small scrum advantage and the line out is pretty even. Bit more grunt in the Falcons front 5 that'll assist the breakdown. Little in the flanks but Read gives Falcons the edge despite his poor form of late.   Decent halfback combo for Newcastle and probably shade both positions with Genia/Cooper lack of form. Rest of backs to Falcons and get a good win away.
 
Reds 22-26 Falcons
The form of Coles helps Falcons to have the advantage in the front row, 2nd row a bit closer. Good back row battle but really like the Falcons' balance and, if Henry continues where he left off yesterday it'll be a top back row. Close at half backs but like the Falcons centre pairing, Reds solid there too. Out wide can see Falcons having more firepower. Very solid bench for Falcons for the win.
 
Reds 23-26 Newcastle
Not much in the front fives. Reds have the back row advantage. Newcastle have a stronger set of backs which enables them to get the win.
 
Reds 15 - 26 Newcastle Falcons

Falcons have the power and dynamism up front to take this game away from an under par Reds pack and set up a good platform for their backs to get good front foot ball. The strong bench from Falcons helps cement a solid victory.

Irish vs  Saracens
Irish 25 - 24 Sarries
 
London Irish 29 - 29 Saracens
The Sarries front row will just get the upper hand on the Irish front three. This allows the sarries back row to get an upper hand on the powerful Irish back row. Overall both packs are about even, with both showing great power in the loose. The Youngs Cruden combo creates a lot of time and space for their midfield to put their back three into space. Barrett will spark moments of magic for his side, with Imhoff and Hogg also providing moments of inspiration. Both benches are strong and packed with impact, I can't split these two in what would be an end to end game late on.

Irish 29 - 30 Saracens
Moon isn't up to scratch here from me, and will struggle against JDP who has been playing well. Other than that, I think I'd just favour the Irish pack in terms of the set piece and quality in the back row. Ioane still a bit raw for me, despite his talent, and especially up against a combo of the quality Irish put out. Really tight behind the scrum, I like Weber and think both halfback combos are well matched. Outside backs are quite even in general. Very tight, I think Sarries have a bit more off the bench in key positions and think they just take it with the scrum advantage
 
Irish 27-26 Sarries
Moon could be got at here but only because he is up against international th. 2nd rows close, feel Sarries have more carrying but Irish a stronger combo. Back row goes to Irish, just, but Haskell looked good yesterday, very good balance from both teams here. Pretty close at half backs and, to be honest all across the back-line with Irish showing their eq strength today. This will go down to the bench and I think that Irish, with Smith and SOB to come on can just bring the added quality over a good Sarries bench.
 
Irish 28 - 25 Saracens
Difficult game to predict as Sarries will have an advantage come scrum time due to Moon being there, but at the same time don't think Skelton is the best to start games and Kaino has a lot more experience than his opposite number. Both backlines very balanced, havebt seen Weber play so hard to judge, but prefer the home sides, especially Watson, Slade who should get some great ratings after the England game yesterday.
 
Irish 26-24 Saracens

Edge to the Sarries front five. Irish have the backrow advantage with a great combination. Prefer the Irish half backs. Not much in outside backs

Sale Sharks vs Lions
Sale Sharks 29-20 Lions
Sale 27 - 21 Lions
 
Sale 28-20 Lions
Pretty even pack battle with Cane the only real difference for Sale. Both set pieces would be pretty close and a contest.  More at 10 by a distance with 9's close, rest of backs to Sale and a decent win at home.
 
Sale 30-24 Lions
Solid Sale front 5 will get the advantage. Lions are good in the back row but this won't be enough against a good Sale back row who have a good balance. Good combo for Sale at half backs will use the good ball well. and a nice centre and top back 3 gives them good advantage over the Lions backline. Looking at the bench I'd say that Sale have a good back line option to bring on against tired defences.
 
Sale Sharks 30 - 21 Lions
Lions are a work man like side, but Sale really have too much dynamism and quality up front for the Lions to hold the Sharks at bay. Lions are maybe a little more wiley than the Sharks forwards who are young which could be exploited. It is a similar story in the back line and with the likes of Care and Zebo to come on just to secure the result.

Sale 34 - 23 Lions
Bit of a mismatch here. Sale have gone with a pack perfectly capable of taking on the biggest of South African packs, with the likes of Henderson and Itoje being big carriers and big hitters. Too much quality in the Sale pack for this to be much of a contest for me, although the Lions back row will compete. The backs are much the same, the extra class from Sexton and Nadolo will be the difference here, and in truth this could be an even bigger winning margin.
 
Sale 32-17 Lions
Sale pretty much have an advantage all over. Not too sure of the centre combination
 
Sale 28 - 19 Lions
Good balance of young players and experience for Sale, can't see this being anything but a comprehensive win.

Rebels vs Exeter Chiefs
Rebels 22-25 Exeter Chiefs
Rebels 20 - 25 Exeter

Rebels 20 - 30 Exeter
Exeter have too much strength in the pack for this one, think the front rows are quite even, but the rest of the pack is a big win for Exeter, with the likes of De Jager and Armitage being the stand outs in the pack. Some quality young talent behind the scrum for both sides, but think the likes of AAC and JOC will be match winners here. Tough to say much more, but not sure whether Black and Haley are ready for regular games in the Aviva just yet
 
Rebels 23-25 Exeter
Decent front row battle and CW could be got at a bit. Close engine rooms but like the make up of the Exeter backrow with great balance.  One a piece in the half backs, Black not really at this level yet. Centres just shade to Exeter and the have a better back 3. Pretty close game but Exeter just have enough.
 
Rebels 22-30 Chiefs
Good front row for Chiefs who will develop well this season. 2nd row as well to Chiefs making it a good set piece advantage. Back row a bit closer but think Chiefs can get a bit with Armitage at the breakdown. Half backs more for Chiefs and a good way to ease Black in alongside White. Centres closer but AAC will give Chiefs good advantage and the back 3 are slightly more dangerous. Bench impact for Chiefs will give them a strong win.
 
Melbourne 20-25 Exeter
Not much in the front five, edge to Exeter. Similar story in the back row. Exeter have the advantage in the backs.
 
Rebels 23 - 21 Exeter Chiefs

Don't think the Chiefs quite had the front row to really take charge of the game away from home and that just sways the game to the Rebels, but that changes when the bench comes on. Liking the backline, just have to see what Black is like taking his u20 form into senior rugby.

Gloucester vs Highlanders
Gloucester 27-25 Highlanders
Gloucester 24 - 24 Highlanders
 
Glos 28-27 Highlanders
Mas did well yesterday but think it will be a close front row battle. Bit more for Glos in the 2nd row and they can get at Highlanders in the back row. Think Highlanders take the half back battle today with TJ not firing on all cylinders. Centres tough to split as well and the back 3 battle doesn't have a lot in it. Bench impact is huge here and is enough for Glos to just avoid the defeat. Would be a great game to watch!

Gloucester 27 - 31 Highlanders
Very tough to call, its basically going to come down to Glos forwards strength vs the Highlanders backs. But as we've seen, the Highlanders forwards can hold their own against the best in Super Rugby. I don't think the Glos front 5 is strong enough to strangle the Highlanders and prevent them from getting enough ball. The back row will be a great battle, and fancy a few turnovers on both sides. The difference for me is the quality Highlanders have behind the scrum, can see them causing real problems for Naiyaravoro, and can see a couple of scores down his side. Glos will score too, but think Highlanders take it
 
Gloucester 27 - 23 Highlanders
The home team has too strong a pack for the Highlanders and can give a great attacking platform for their backline and especially the back three. LCD's lineout throwing could be an issue, but Strauss on the bench balances that out.
 
Gloucester 28-22 Highlanders
Gloucester have an advantage in the forwards. One each in the halfbacks and centres. The Highlanders back three is more dangerous but Gloucester have more in the rest of the team.
 
Gloucester 27 - 29 Highlanders
Glos will struggle to upset highlanders scrum but will be solid on their own with Mas and Etze locking well as a unit. Line out will present a few more issues with LCD's throwing not always on the mark, but Glos have the jumpers to help the issue. With the stuttering set piece at moments it will hurt the momentum the Cherry & Whites want their back row to create. Great little halfback contest which is hard to split in terms of quality. I like the ability in the Glos midfield, which can play the game they require with Toomua providing creativity. I do think the Glos back three are great in attack, but lack a footballer in terms of kicking in wet conditions, which someone like B Smith would capitalise on. Really good game this one and can see the Landers sneaking a close game.

Predictions Bonuses


Full: Pooly, CJB, Chris, Prop, Fluxy
Scores Only: Ozzy, CJ

Ozzy I sent predos to you on Wednesday?

Haha, no worries bud

Knew I was away over the weekend so just did them early

RESULTS

Reds 20 (2T)
Newcastle Falcons 30 (4T)

Stormers 24 (2T)
Crusaders 31 (1T)

London Irish 29 (3T)
Saracens 27 (3T)

Sale Sharks 34 (4T)
Lions 21 (2T)

Rebels 22 (2T)
Exeter Chiefs 29 (3T)

Gloucester 29 (3T)
Highlanders 27 (3T)