Aviva Premiership Round Four

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Harlequins v Sale Sharks
Twickenham Stoop
Thick Cloud, 16 Degrees, 10mph SSW Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Henry Pyrgos
02. Scott Baldwin	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Luke Romano	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Damien Chouly	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Mamuka Gorgodze	15. Rob Kearney

16. Schalk Brits 17. Benn Robinson 18. John Afoa 19. Pieter Steph Du Toit 20. Nick Easter 21. Karl Dickson 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Teddy Thomas

Tactics

Game plan based around ball retention and building pressure in the opposition park. Looking to get our carriers on the front foot with strong carrying and effective rucking. Pyrgos to buzz around the rucks controlling the pace and look to allow Myler to play flat. Look to get our strong carriers into space such as Chouly, Romano, Baldwin and Gorgodze and get players around them so the offload is on or to recycle the ball quickly. Look to spread the Sale pack around the park by playing from touchline to touchline and get our quicker backs one on one with the Sale forwards. In the backs look to use players out the back behind our power runners to give them time on the ball to isolate any Sale weakness.

In defence look to choose when we target the breakdown when we have a defensive line set or when the Sale carriers are isolated. When we have our line set will look to be really physical in defence and knock Sale backwards and look to get the choke tackle in. When we are scrambling in defence its all about hitting the legs hard and getting the man down with another immediately in over the top. Look to give Care and Sexton no time whatsoever to create pressure on them and those around them.  

Look to use a 5 man line out outside the 22m lines with the option of a forward at 9 to set the drive. With 5 top class options we will look to really put pressure on Sale in this area.

Use Myler's boot to get us into good areas of the pitch. Kicking to space or looking to get Huget, Nowell, Kearney and Henshaw underneath the high ball so we can retain possession or force a knock on, really looking to pressure the Sale back three and get us attacking the ball whilst they're static. If not then we will kick to touch and use our lineout to put huge pressure on Sale and Kayser's throw.

Use bench as an when. Bring on McKenzie as a 2nd playmaker and Thomas as a running threat on 60. Rest of the bench in between 50 and 70 when we really think we can start to take control of the game and turn the screw.

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Iain Henderson	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Matt Todd	14. Nemani Nadolo
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Tommy Taylor 17. Ross Harrison 18. Davit Zirakishvilli 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Francois Steyn 23. Keith Earls

Defensive Decision Making: Neither Quins midfielder is known for organising the defence with others taking that responsibility at international level. We want to test their decision making with our rugby league shape and will look to force bites from both Quins centres. Most of our back line are comfortable playing first receiver which allows us to change the point of attack. This makes communication all the more important with their drift defence due to having to number up correctly at each ruck (see Irl v Arg).

Attack: We will be playing an expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to keep the ball moving. Look to use a rugby league shape with runners on the gain line and out the back door to force the opposition into making defensive decisions. Numerous playmakers across the back line allows us to constantly change the point of attack. Care to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

Breakdown: Quick ball is the aim on attack. Mobile pack and physical back line to clear out rucks and ensure we get it. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to give a target to hit. Defensively when the initial contact is won we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. Otherwise we will strengthen the line.
 
Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Todd will look to defend on Eastmond's shoulder specifically looking to stop offloads and get over the ball at the breakdown. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. Zebo will defend deep with Bendy looking to cover the backfield.
 
Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. We will look to put a slight wheel on where possible to take the opposition backrow out of play and then attack the space available and look for one on ones in the backline for Fekitoa and Nadolo.
 
Lineout: Five mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to play off the top and get the backs on the ball in space particularly Fekitoa and Nadolo. Will also look to use Picamoles around the back or in midfield off a shortened line. Defensively POM to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball looking to make it as messy as possible.

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London Irish v Bath
Madejski Stadium
Thick Cloud, 15 Degrees, 12mph SSW Winds

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London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213  
                  

01. Joe Marler	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Matt Symons (c)	11. Marland Yarde
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Samu Kerevi
06. Sebastien Vahaamahina	13. Henry Slade
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Anthony Watson
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Delon Armitage

16. Liam Coltman 17. Ben Moon 18. Ben Alexander 19. James Broadhurst  20. Blake Gibson 21. Mitchell Drummond 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 moving the Bath defence around. 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.  Youngs will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  Symons will call, as he does for the Chiefs in Super Rugby.  In decent conditions we will mix it up on our ball, utilising Symons, AWJ and Vahaamahina as receivers, whilst also at times shortening the line and using our back row forwards as crash ball options off first phase.  Defensively we will look to compete for the ball and disrupt wherever possible, making any ball secured by Bath as scrappy as we can.
  
  
• Scrum.  Hit channel one ball and get it out the back and into open play quickly, looking to maximise the space available with the opposition forwards packed down.  On there ball, 8 man shove and look to drive them off as their hooker lifts his foot to hook the ball.  Wilson to stay tight and straight.  Flanker on that side to stay bound and keep Wilson straight.
  
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry into contact, if we are taken to ground, we will flood the breakdown.  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.  We will look to get big carriers in wide areas where Wade is defending and use Watson and Yarde in particular trying to isolate front 5 forwards in the defensive line and use their pace, power and footwork to go past them and get us on the front foot.  We will also If the ball is slow and Bath 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.  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 target Wade under the high ball, and kick long behind North, forcing him to turn and testing them both positionally.
  

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Rhys Patchell
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Charlie Matthews	11. George North
05. Alexandre Flanquardt	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Francis Saili
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Christian Wade
08. Liam Messam	15. Alex Goode

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Richard Barrington 18. Samson Lee 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Toby Falateu 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Sam Hill 23. Liam Williams

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Irish in the loose with big carries. High tempo offloading game looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece. Try to get on top early and use the momentum.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Look to dominate out of form Irish scrum and interrupt the Wasps scrum. Messam will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Matthews, Flanquardt and Messam options in the lineout. Flanquardt will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tips  is adept at the breakdown. Only send numbers in if confident we can get the ball, otherwise look to set the defence and dare Irish to beat us.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Wiggles worth to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempo and play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Patchell will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. Patchell and LLF switch as first receiver. We have strong runners with Saili, Wade and North. We will look to get the ball in their hands. The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of Kitchoff, Big Ben and Messam in order to break the line and make yards. 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. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Irish which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Patchell will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. If not much is happening Patchell will use his huge boot to gain territory. LLF, Wiggles and Goode also have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo.

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Worcester Warriors v Newcastle Falcons
Sixways
Light Cloud, 15 Degrees, 13mph SSW Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Ryan Grant	09. Gareth Davies
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. WP Nel
04. Stuart Hooper	11. Venriki Goneva
05. Devin Toner	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Jackson Wray	13. Mark Bennett
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Waisake Naholo
08. Ben Morgan	15. Mathew Tait

:-
16. Ross Batty 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Henry Thomas 19.Dean Mumm 20. Jordan Taufua 21. Lee Dickson 22. Jules Plisson 23. Jarrad Payne


Tactics:
In good conditions we want another fairly high tempo match with pace across our backline and a pack who can carry strong across the board and will be available for offloads.

Forwards: We have picked a strong but mobile pack as we look to drag Falcons all over the park, we will be solid at the set piece with a good number of options for the lineout. We will look to carry for 2-3 phases and secure ball in the first instance before sending it out wide.

Breakdown: Warburton has been picked to get over the ball and slow down their breakdown, Wray is there to carry hard, we will look to use 3 players to secure quick ball for us but will slow the game down if needed. Looking to create clear ball and nullify the impact of the Falcons back row.

Half-Backs: Both experienced enough to control the game and put us in the right positions, both are full of confidence and we know how weel the 9-10-12 axis worked for Wales this World Cup. Davies will look to go for tempo from tap penalties but we will look to go for points when available.

Outside Backs: Route one for Roberts who brings good form, alot of pace outside ain Bennett, we will look to drag their defence wide and target  outside shoulders with players running for the offload. Goneva will look to target weak defence and use his raw power to get over the gainline. We will only look to kick to touch and not aimlessly as we want to play ball in hand.

Attack: Quick ball, fast paced using our backline with forwards hitting the angles, happy to slow it down but don't want to get involved in an arm wrestle, will look to avoid too much time at the breakdown.

Defence: Controlled by Roberts who will marshall a blitz-banana defence, we will look to slow some of their ball down but mainly look to plug any gaps in defence initially, Davies to sweep behind.

Bench: Alot of talent and internaitonal experience to come on here and look to cause impact and havoc especially with Mumm and set piece and Taufua at the breakdown and the backs to come on and play heads up rugby against tired defences.

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Rhys Webb
02. Jamie George	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Ian Madigan
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Chris Henry	14. David Strettle
08. David Ewers	15. Charles Piutau

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16.George Mcguigan 17.Vincent Debaty 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Yohan Maestri 20. Jordi Murphy 21.Greig Laidlaw 22. Scott Williams 23. Rob Miller

Tactics

Game plan - Heavily territory focused, we think they lack kicking ability in their backline, and intend to just pin them back using the boots of our various options, then play from their territory and try and get tries in decent conditions

Set piece - Look to scrum solidly with the technique of Mullan a big factor, and with Slater and Flip a big scrummaging lock pair, and with the power coming through a big back row we'll look to really munch them in the scrum. Flip to call the lineout, play it safe in our own territory but look to get ball off the top further forward. Flip to look to mark POC, force Owens to make the riskier throws towards our back row

Breakdown - We think they lack carrying ability in their pack with Morgan lacking form, we've got a very mobile pair of flankers and we'll look to just knock them backwards and beat them to the ball and try and win turnovers, with Henry having excellent technique there. On their ball, big hitting players in the front 5 and Ewers to knock them back behind the gainline. Look to use the pod system if Warburton is having success, run directly at him in pods of 3, one to carry, one to clear him out and one to secure. Tire him out and test whether he is as good after making all these tackles

Defence - Run a blitz based system with JD2 leading the defence, but if they are starting to get outside us look to drift more and back the forwards to make their one on one tackles. Target Biggar for big hits all game long to throw him off, we think they lack a playmaking option outside him

Kicking - Webb, Madigan, Davies and Piutau to offer kicking options to help Farrell. We're going to kick whenever we're in our own 40m, pin them back as they haven't got renowned kickers in the back 3, get up quickly in a solid line to make sure they can't counter attack and force them to clear deep in their territory. Use grubbers and chips to slow their defensive rush, but regularly test the big wings with kicks in behind them and make them turn  

Attack - Webb to run the attack like a French 9, keep the ball moving quickly and take snipes around the ruck if its on. Farrell to keep the ball moving and take control when he needs to, we've got a 9 and centre combo who will be familiar to each other from international camps, trust them to look after the ball, but don't be afraid to attack the line if they overcommit to Webb or the centres.

Centres to run lines off Webb, Piutau also able to do so but the wings to stay out wide and use their exceptional finishing

Defence - strong defence throughout the backs, we'll challenge them to break the line in one on one tackles.

Bench - International quality galore in the backs, Laidlaw to close out the game, Williams and JDV to help us open it up if necessary. Great impact from the likes of Debaty and Maestri, while Murphy can help us rule the breakdown late on

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Northampton Saints v Saracens
Franklins Gardens
Thick Cloud, 15 Degrees, 14mph SSW Winds

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 Northampton Saints
Manager – Dammit_Chris

1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley (c)
3. Martin Castrogiovanni
4. Joe Launchbury
5. Jonny Gray
6. Samu Manoa
7. Jaques du Plessis
8. Sergio Parisse
9. Sam Hildago-Clyne
10. George Ford
11. Leigh Halfpenny
12. Weslie Fofana
13. Alex Dunbar
14. Niko Matawulu
15. Ben Foden (k)

Replacements
16. Dave Ward 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Joe Simpson 22. Lima Sopoaga 23. Elliot Daly
Tactics
We will be looking to play a hard physical game and win the battle of the packs to get our backline on the front foot with good attacking ball. Our aim is to win the contact and gainline areas and stop Sarries building momentum by specifically targeting the threat of Nathan Hughes. We've selected a big pack, with a lot of strong ball carriers and a strong set piece. Our aim is to earn the right to unleash our backline, with Ford pulling the strings and looking to offer more attacking threat than the away team.

Set Piece
We've picked an experienced front row, which is supported by a powerful 4-8 to target the Sarries scrum. With the exception of Castro, our pack has been together for a number of seasons and knows each other very well. We have chosen a pack with numerous lineout options (4-8 all offer jumpers) so we can again look to utilise this as an attacking platform. A lot of Sarries lineouts will go to Parling so will target him and put the away team under pressure.  

Gainline/Physical Battle
We want to double up on Nathan Hughes when he carries the ball as by stopping him we stop Sarries getting any go forward. We've selected a pack of strong ball carriers to make sure that game is very physical and get us on the front foot. With likes of Samoa, Launchbury, Parisse, Gray and Vunipola we have a lot of options to get us forward momentum.

Breakdown
Will look to make this a really physical battle and target Sarries' backrow in this area. We'll look to make Sarries battle for every bit of possession and have a very mobile pack to get to the breakdown in numbers and smash the likes of Fraser and Harlie away from the contact. By having big ball carriers we will look to get over the gainline when possible and make it easier to secure quick ball for SHC.

Attack
Ford to dictate the attack, looking to play off a strong forward pack and winning collisions/gainline area. If we can open up the game it will favour ourbackline with attacking threats and good options from the bench. Halfpenny to take points whenever they are on offer and build a lead. We expect Sarries to kick a lot of ball so have chosen a strong counterattacking back three in good conditions.

Defence
Similar style defence to that which Saracens play in real life, putting a lot of pressure on the attacking team, with the halfbacks Sarries have we know that they will play a limited game style, so will make sure we double up on Nathan Hughes when he has the ball and stifle Sarries attack.

Subs
Again will look to win the game on the strength of our bench in the final twenty minutes, having spent large parts of the game wearing the home side down in a really physical contest. Each of our players is impact and should ensure we finish well.

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Rory Best	10. Morne Steyn
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrick Tuipultou	11. Hosea Gear
05. Geoff Parling(c)	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. John Hardie	13. Marcel Bosch
07. Will Fraser	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Guilhem Guirado 17. Xavier Chocci 18. Jannie Du Plessis 19. Will Skelton 20. James Haskell 21. Sam Harrison  22. Tom Taylor  23. Henry Trinder

Tactics:

TARGET BREAKDOWN WITH NO REAL BREAKDOWN OPTIONS FOR SAINTS - Look to use numerous breakdown specialists (Hardie, Fraser, Hughes, Best, Cole) to steal and slow down Saints ball. Look to infuriate them at the breakdown and prevent any momentum or clean ball for backs to play with.

CONTROL TERRITORY/KICK FOR CORNERS WITH HALFBACKS - Quality kicking options at HB giving us field position. Look to target corners and play the lineout.

TARGET LINEOUT WITH LACK OF LEADER IN SAINTS PACK - Pin Saints back and look to contest with Parling reading the opposition calls. Do this all game and don't allow Saints in out half. Even if they win the lineout, it'll be scrappy with Launchbury not a big jumper and Johnny Gray primarily a 4.

FRESH PACK COMPARED TO OPPOSITION - Plenty of freshness after rotation from last week. Saints have Castro, Mako, Launchbury, Gray, Manoa and Parisse all away for a significant time.


General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. 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 bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their 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 safe ball with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

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. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack 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.

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Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers
Sandy Park
Light Rain, 16 Degrees, 13mph SSW Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 
Manager – Fluxy

01. Cian Healy	09. Connor Murray
02. Rob Webber	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Andrew Trimble
05. James Horwill	12. Toby Flood
06. Brad Shields	13. Darren Cave
07. Steffon Armitage	14. James Lowe
08. Fritz Lee	15. Mike Haley

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16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Jake Cooper-Wooley 19. Lood De Jäger 20. CJ Stander 21. Nic White 22. Alex Losowski 23. James O'Connor


Game plan this week is focussed on ball retention based around high intensity; dynamic carrying, rucking and defence. Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases and starve Tigers of any possession. We will look to play off our ten, with either forward pods running of his shoulder or through the hands of our backs. This is to tie in the Leicester defence and then look to capitalise on the overlaps with two play makers in the back line capable of spotting opportunities. 

Scrum - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. We will always look for parity to obtain clean possession. Big front five will hold our own ball and a full eight drive in defence, looking to isolate the opposition 8 and scrumhalf for our backrow to engulf. 

Line out – POC returns to lead the line-out, and will obtain quick, clean possession from our dynamic jumpers and lifters. Look to drive possession with full line out numbers in their 22. In the middle of the field, look to cut numbers and use Fritz & Shields to run at the Tigers ten.

Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on, to keep moving the point of attack against the un-dynamic pack and tire them out. Rule the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence – Utilise an 'up & out' defence, where the line comes up flat and then pushes the attackers towards the touch line, Murray sweeping up the scraps behind. Look to chop attackers down early. If there is an opportunity to compete for the ball we flood the breakdown with Armitage leading the way. If not look to maintain the integrity of the defensive line and get numbers out. Get up off the line and cut down the time on the ball, especially in the wide channels with their elusive runners. Win the battle of the gain line and cut them down before it. 

Backs – Heads up rugby from the halfbacks. They will keep the tight defence honest with inside balls and snipes. Then look to release the outside backs into the space generated by forwards tying the bath defence. Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in both the Pro 12 and in Super Rugby. 

Build a Score - Evans to convert any penalty within their ten metre to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out and set the maul. 

Impact Bench - Use the bench late on to shift momentum and up the energy levels late on against a tired defence.

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Freddie Burns
03. Brian Mujati
04. Pascal Pape	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees (K)
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Sean Maitland
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Hika Elliot 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Census Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Steve Mafi 21. Micky Young 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Rene Ranger

Tactics:

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

- Use the rolling maul - Creevy to lead from the back guided by Fotuali'i, and use a regular weapon off lineouts won by Matfield.

- 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.

- Consistently test Chief's back three with kicks in wet conditions. Try and unsettle the likes of Lowe and Haley with kicks from Burns, Fotuali'i, Brown and Twelvetrees.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Burns and Twelverees.
We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack consistently.

- Attack at all scrums - Big powerful props to look to really get the shove on, and if gaining an advantage look to target. Creevy to look to get on top of Webber.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Matfield off the top and Pape or Smith at the front as our three key options.
Six man lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the opposition defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud, Smith, and Creevy plus Pape, Mujati, Banahan and Twelvetrees to be used to get us over the gainline.

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

- We will look to employ a blitz defence led by Burger, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Twelvetrees to kick all penalties.

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Wasps v Gloucester
Ricoh Arena
Light Cloud, 15 Degrees, 13mph S Winds

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London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Rhodri Williams
02. Cory Flynn	10. Russell Finn (k)
03. James Johnston
04. George Skivington	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Luke Charteris	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Moala
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Manuel Montero
08. Carl Fearns	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Nathan Catt, 17. Scott Spurling, 18. Oliver Tomaszcyk,  19. Donnacha Ryan , 20 Sekou Macalau , 21. Ben Spencer , 22. Charlie Hodgson, 23. George Lowe

Tactics
 
Breakdown


Keep players generally out of the breakdown except a few players in defence, looking to cleverly slow the ball or press for the turnover, but commit to and hit offensive rucks hard to maintain quick ball. 

Robshaw to do what he's good at and hit rucks with his workrate and slow ball but steal it if it is on, backed by Fearns, with Barclay focussed on turnovers, but we will play adaptively. Ardie Savea is very talented but lacks the experience of our 2 7s who will pressurise him with tricks at the breakdown.

Like last week, try to focus the breakdown battle within flanker range of the set piece - it counteracts their pack mobility and makes it more of a straight shoot-out vs Savea.

Attack: 

In attack, we will build slow ball into quick ball with carrying in pods etc. We will also look for space to kick into if it appears with a good chasing back 3. 

Once we have committed defenders, created space or quick ball, we will spin wide and primarily use a two wave attack, using carriers like Fearns etc to break the gainline then recycling or offloading the ball using Godwin as a second playmaker and exploiting the space for our back 3.  Keep the focus of attack moving.

If we aren't penetrating, with Russell in we are happy to look for the chip over or the dropped goal in their half.

Position: 

In field position, we will look to play in their 22, and press at the breakdown and laws in their 22 to try to pressurise them into errors or turnovers or penalties, but will be conservative in our own half and not risk penalties there. 

Both opposition wingers can be challenged under the high ball, with Gilroy in we have an extra FB to compete here, so kick high for possession with a pressurising chase
 

Defence:
Blitz led by Lowe, Williams sweeping. Cipriani is known for his low kicking style and can be pressurised and even charged down here. Russell and Barclay will be looking for this.

Aggressive defence on the blitz and fringes to catch their ball carriers with negative body-position. Alberts brings a lot of go-forward, but will try to power the ball on, exploit this by looking for the chop tackle with the backrow ready to pounce on an easy turnover.


Set Piece: 

Ben Arous is in great form and will look to hold off Mas, allowing Johnston to focus on attacking Wood knowing the other end of the scrum is safe. 


On the whole, we will attack their scrums especially in their half, but try to get the ball out quickly as an attacking platform on our own ball. 

Use the lineout as a quick attacking platform too, and remember to look to force them to throw short by giving them the front but competing at the middle/back, like Aus vs 2013 Lions. 


This should hopefully result in short range attack off their lineouts, allowing the backrow lineup mentioned in the breakdown section.

Other:

We will take on any easy points

---

Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Adrian Strauss	10. Dan Cipriani
03. Nicholas Mas
04. Romain Taofifenua	11. Taqele Naiyaravoro
05. Richie Grey	12. Matt Toomua
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Ardie Savea	14. Johnny May
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Israel Dagg

Subs:
16. Rob Evans 17. Luke Cowan Dickie 18. Uini Antonio 19. Elliot Stookes 20. Tom Croft 21. TJ Perenara 22. Johan Goosen 23. Charlie Walker

Attack: Look to play to the strengths of our backs and use the kicking game of Robson, Cips, Toomua & Dagg to dominate territory. We will look to catch both Wasps wingers on the turn and take advantage of the space in behind them pinning Wasps back. Ball in hand look to play with dual playmakers with big carriers running off both. Cips & Toomua to look to use chips and grubbers in behind the wingers for May & Naiyaravoro to attack.  

Breakdown: Big mobile pack selected to get around the park in support and clear the ruck out to secure quick ball. We will look to ruck in threes and prevent the Wasps flankers getting at the ball. Defensively unless the runner is isolated we will look to stay out of the ruck and strengthen the defensive line.

Defence: Aggressive big hitting blitz defence. We want to target the lack of carriers for Wasps and win the collisions defensively. Aim is to keep Finn under pressure and on the back foot through out. Robson will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers while May will drop deep to cover high kicks with Dagg.

Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. We want to get the ball out to Cips & Toomua with space to attack in the wider channels.

Lineout: Five mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to get the ball down and the maul formed to take advantage of our big abrasive pack. Grey will look to get up at the front on opposition ball and test Flynns throws.

---

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Tony Woodcock	09. Henry Pyrgos
02. Scott Baldwin	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Luke Romano	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Damien Chouly	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Tom Wood (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Mamuka Gorgodze	15. Rob Kearney

16. Schalk Brits 17. Benn Robinson 18. John Afoa 19. Pieter Steph Du Toit 20. Nick Easter 21. Karl Dickson 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Teddy Thomas

Tactics

Game plan based around ball retention and building pressure in the opposition park. Looking to get our carriers on the front foot with strong carrying and effective rucking. Pyrgos to buzz around the rucks controlling the pace and look to allow Myler to play flat. Look to get our strong carriers into space such as Chouly, Romano, Baldwin and Gorgodze and get players around them so the offload is on or to recycle the ball quickly. Look to spread the Sale pack around the park by playing from touchline to touchline and get our quicker backs one on one with the Sale forwards. In the backs look to use players out the back behind our power runners to give them time on the ball to isolate any Sale weakness.

In defence look to choose when we target the breakdown when we have a defensive line set or when the Sale carriers are isolated. When we have our line set will look to be really physical in defence and knock Sale backwards and look to get the choke tackle in. When we are scrambling in defence its all about hitting the legs hard and getting the man down with another immediately in over the top. Look to give Care and Sexton no time whatsoever to create pressure on them and those around them.  

Look to use a 5 man line out outside the 22m lines with the option of a forward at 9 to set the drive. With 5 top class options we will look to really put pressure on Sale in this area.

Use Myler's boot to get us into good areas of the pitch. Kicking to space or looking to get Huget, Nowell, Kearney and Henshaw underneath the high ball so we can retain possession or force a knock on, really looking to pressure the Sale back three and get us attacking the ball whilst they're static. If not then we will kick to touch and use our lineout to put huge pressure on Sale and Kayser's throw.

Use bench as an when. Bring on McKenzie as a 2nd playmaker and Thomas as a running threat on 60. Rest of the bench in between 50 and 70 when we really think we can start to take control of the game and turn the screw.

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Cian Healy	09. Connor Murray
02. Rob Webber	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Andrew Trimble
05. James Horwill	12. Toby Flood
06. Brad Shields	13. Darren Cave
07. Steffon Armitage	14. James Lowe
08. Fritz Lee	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Jake Cooper-Wooley 19. Lood De Jäger 20. CJ Stander 21. Nic White 22. Alex Losowski 23. James O'Connor


Game plan this week is focussed on ball retention based around high intensity; dynamic carrying, rucking and defence. Our aim is to control possession and go through the phases and starve Tigers of any possession. We will look to play off our ten, with either forward pods running of his shoulder or through the hands of our backs. This is to tie in the Leicester defence and then look to capitalise on the overlaps with two play makers in the back line capable of spotting opportunities. 

Scrum - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. We will always look for parity to obtain clean possession. Big front five will hold our own ball and a full eight drive in defence, looking to isolate the opposition 8 and scrumhalf for our backrow to engulf. 

Line out – POC returns to lead the line-out, and will obtain quick, clean possession from our dynamic jumpers and lifters. Look to drive possession with full line out numbers in their 22. In the middle of the field, look to cut numbers and use Fritz & Shields to run at the Tigers ten.

Breakdown - Look for strong carries from our pack, tying in the opposition forwards. We’ll be looking to keep the ball alive and look for the offload when on, to keep moving the point of attack against the un-dynamic pack and tire them out. Rule the collision with big our physical pack and dominate the opposition pack in the contact.

Defence – Utilise an 'up & out' defence, where the line comes up flat and then pushes the attackers towards the touch line, Murray sweeping up the scraps behind. Look to chop attackers down early. If there is an opportunity to compete for the ball we flood the breakdown with Armitage leading the way. If not look to maintain the integrity of the defensive line and get numbers out. Get up off the line and cut down the time on the ball, especially in the wide channels with their elusive runners. Win the battle of the gain line and cut them down before it. 

Backs – Heads up rugby from the halfbacks. They will keep the tight defence honest with inside balls and snipes. Then look to release the outside backs into the space generated by forwards tying the bath defence. Classy running options and two of the most prolific finishers in both the Pro 12 and in Super Rugby. 

Build a Score - Evans to convert any penalty within their ten metre to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out and set the maul. 

Impact Bench - Use the bench late on to shift momentum and up the energy levels late on against a tired defence.

I could run with one of these if you wanted Johnny to give you a break

Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Ryan Grant	09. Gareth Davies
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. WP Nel
04. Stuart Hooper	11. Venriki Goneva
05. Devin Toner	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Jackson Wray	13. Mark Bennett
07. Sam Warburton (c)	14. Waisake Naholo
08. Ben Morgan	15. Mathew Tait

:-
16. Ross Batty 17. Tom Smallbone 18. Henry Thomas 19.Dean Mumm 20. Jordan Taufua 21. Lee Dickson 22. Jules Plisson 23. Jarrad Payne


Tactics:
In good conditions we want another fairly high tempo match with pace across our backline and a pack who can carry strong across the board and will be available for offloads.

Forwards: We have picked a strong but mobile pack as we look to drag Falcons all over the park, we will be solid at the set piece with a good number of options for the lineout. We will look to carry for 2-3 phases and secure ball in the first instance before sending it out wide.

Breakdown: Warburton has been picked to get over the ball and slow down their breakdown, Wray is there to carry hard, we will look to use 3 players to secure quick ball for us but will slow the game down if needed. Looking to create clear ball and nullify the impact of the Falcons back row.

Half-Backs: Both experienced enough to control the game and put us in the right positions, both are full of confidence and we know how weel the 9-10-12 axis worked for Wales this World Cup. Davies will look to go for tempo from tap penalties but we will look to go for points when available.

Outside Backs: Route one for Roberts who brings good form, alot of pace outside ain Bennett, we will look to drag their defence wide and target outside shoulders with players running for the offload. Goneva will look to target weak defence and use his raw power to get over the gainline. We will only look to kick to touch and not aimlessly as we want to play ball in hand.

Attack: Quick ball, fast paced using our backline with forwards hitting the angles, happy to slow it down but don't want to get involved in an arm wrestle, will look to avoid too much time at the breakdown.

Defence: Controlled by Roberts who will marshall a blitz-banana defence, we will look to slow some of their ball down but mainly look to plug any gaps in defence initially, Davies to sweep behind.

Bench: Alot of talent and internaitonal experience to come on here and look to cause impact and havoc especially with Mumm and set piece and Taufua at the breakdown and the backs to come on and play heads up rugby against tired defences.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I could run with one of these if you wanted Johnny to give you a break

Your more then welcome to take the first European games next week

Bloody European! That's the hardest!

Northampton Saints

1. Mako Vunipola
2. Dylan Hartley (c)
3. Martin Castrogiovanni
4. Joe Launchbury
5. Jonny Gray
6. Samu Manoa
7. Jaques du Plessis
8. Sergio Parisse
9. Sam Hildago-Clyne
10. George Ford
11. Leigh Halfpenny
12. Weslie Fofana
13. Alex Dunbar
14. Niko Matawulu
15. Ben Foden (k)

Replacements
16. Dave Ward 17. Thomas Domingo 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Courtney Lawes 20. Billy Vunipola 21. Joe Simpson 22. Lima Sopoaga 23. Elliot Daly

Sgt_Pooly wrote:Bloody European! That's the hardest!

That'll teach you for being nice!!

Haha....can I start with a AP game to get me in the grove?

Or I could take one of them?

London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213  
                  

01. Joe Marler	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Aaron Cruden
03. David Wilson
04. Matt Symons (c)	11. Marland Yarde
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Samu Kerevi
06. Sebastien Vahaamahina	13. Henry Slade
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Anthony Watson
08. Sean O'Brien	15. Delon Armitage

16. Liam Coltman 17. Ben Moon 18. Ben Alexander 19. James Broadhurst  20. Blake Gibson 21. Mitchell Drummond 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 moving the Bath defence around. 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.  Youngs will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  Symons will call, as he does for the Chiefs in Super Rugby.  In decent conditions we will mix it up on our ball, utilising Symons, AWJ and Vahaamahina as receivers, whilst also at times shortening the line and using our back row forwards as crash ball options off first phase.  Defensively we will look to compete for the ball and disrupt wherever possible, making any ball secured by Bath as scrappy as we can.
  
  
• Scrum.  Hit channel one ball and get it out the back and into open play quickly, looking to maximise the space available with the opposition forwards packed down.  On there ball, 8 man shove and look to drive them off as their hooker lifts his foot to hook the ball.  Wilson to stay tight and straight.  Flanker on that side to stay bound and keep Wilson straight.
  
  
• Breakdown.  When we carry into contact, if we are taken to ground, we will flood the breakdown.  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.  We will look to get big carriers in wide areas where Wade is defending and use Watson and Yarde in particular trying to isolate front 5 forwards in the defensive line and use their pace, power and footwork to go past them and get us on the front foot.  We will also If the ball is slow and Bath 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.  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 target Wade under the high ball, and kick long behind North, forcing him to turn and testing them both positionally.
  

London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Rhodri Williams
02. Cory Flynn	10. Russell Finn (k)
03. James Johnston
04. George Skivington	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Luke Charteris	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Moala
07. John Barclay (c)	14. Manuel Montero
08. Carl Fearns	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Nathan Catt, 17. Scott Spurling, 18. Oliver Tomaszcyk,  19. Donnacha Ryan , 20 Sekou Macalau , 21. Ben Spencer , 22. Charlie Hodgson, 23. George Lowe

Tactics
 
Breakdown


Keep players generally out of the breakdown except a few players in defence, looking to cleverly slow the ball or press for the turnover, but commit to and hit offensive rucks hard to maintain quick ball. 

Robshaw to do what he's good at and hit rucks with his workrate and slow ball but steal it if it is on, backed by Fearns, with Barclay focussed on turnovers, but we will play adaptively. Ardie Savea is very talented but lacks the experience of our 2 7s who will pressurise him with tricks at the breakdown.

Like last week, try to focus the breakdown battle within flanker range of the set piece - it counteracts their pack mobility and makes it more of a straight shoot-out vs Savea.

Attack: 

In attack, we will build slow ball into quick ball with carrying in pods etc. We will also look for space to kick into if it appears with a good chasing back 3. 

Once we have committed defenders, created space or quick ball, we will spin wide and primarily use a two wave attack, using carriers like Fearns etc to break the gainline then recycling or offloading the ball using Godwin as a second playmaker and exploiting the space for our back 3.  Keep the focus of attack moving.

If we aren't penetrating, with Russell in we are happy to look for the chip over or the dropped goal in their half.

Position: 

In field position, we will look to play in their 22, and press at the breakdown and laws in their 22 to try to pressurise them into errors or turnovers or penalties, but will be conservative in our own half and not risk penalties there. 

Both opposition wingers can be challenged under the high ball, with Gilroy in we have an extra FB to compete here, so kick high for possession with a pressurising chase
 

Defence:
Blitz led by Lowe, Williams sweeping. Cipriani is known for his low kicking style and can be pressurised and even charged down here. Russell and Barclay will be looking for this.

Aggressive defence on the blitz and fringes to catch their ball carriers with negative body-position. Alberts brings a lot of go-forward, but will try to power the ball on, exploit this by looking for the chop tackle with the backrow ready to pounce on an easy turnover.


Set Piece: 

Ben Arous is in great form and will look to hold off Mas, allowing Johnston to focus on attacking Wood knowing the other end of the scrum is safe. 


On the whole, we will attack their scrums especially in their half, but try to get the ball out quickly as an attacking platform on our own ball. 

Use the lineout as a quick attacking platform too, and remember to look to force them to throw short by giving them the front but competing at the middle/back, like Aus vs 2013 Lions. 


This should hopefully result in short range attack off their lineouts, allowing the backrow lineup mentioned in the breakdown section.

Other:

We will take on any easy points

I was only chancing my arm You can take the next AP thread if you want and run with it for the week?

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Danny Care
02. Benjamin Kayser	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Dave Attwood	11. Simon Zebo
05. Iain Henderson	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Matt Todd	14. Nemani Nadolo
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Tommy Taylor 17. Ross Harrison 18. Davit Zirakishvilli 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Francois Steyn 23. Keith Earls

Defensive Decision Making: Neither Quins midfielder is known for organising the defence with others taking that responsibility at international level. We want to test their decision making with our rugby league shape and will look to force bites from both Quins centres. Most of our back line are comfortable playing first receiver which allows us to change the point of attack. This makes communication all the more important with their drift defence due to having to number up correctly at each ruck (see Irl v Arg).

Attack: We will be playing an expansive, high intensity offloading game looking to keep the ball moving. Look to use a rugby league shape with runners on the gain line and out the back door to force the opposition into making defensive decisions. Numerous playmakers across the back line allows us to constantly change the point of attack. Care to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

Breakdown: Quick ball is the aim on attack. Mobile pack and physical back line to clear out rucks and ensure we get it. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to give a target to hit. Defensively when the initial contact is won we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. Otherwise we will strengthen the line.
 
Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Todd will look to defend on Eastmond's shoulder specifically looking to stop offloads and get over the ball at the breakdown. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. Zebo will defend deep with Bendy looking to cover the backfield.
 
Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. We will look to put a slight wheel on where possible to take the opposition backrow out of play and then attack the space available and look for one on ones in the backline for Fekitoa and Nadolo.
 
Lineout: Five mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to play off the top and get the backs on the ball in space particularly Fekitoa and Nadolo. Will also look to use Picamoles around the back or in midfield off a shortened line. Defensively POM to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball looking to make it as messy as possible.

Gloucester
Manager – anonmattyt

01. Nick Wood	09. Dan Robson
02. Adrian Strauss	10. Dan Cipriani
03. Nicholas Mas
04. Romain Taofifenua	11. Taqele Naiyaravoro
05. Richie Grey	12. Matt Toomua
06. Willem Alberts	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Ardie Savea	14. Johnny May
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Israel Dagg

Subs:
16. Rob Evans 17. Luke Cowan Dickie 18. Uini Antonio 19. Elliot Stookes 20. Tom Croft 21. TJ Perenara 22. Johan Goosen 23. Charlie Walker

Attack: Look to play to the strengths of our backs and use the kicking game of Robson, Cips, Toomua & Dagg to dominate territory. We will look to catch both Wasps wingers on the turn and take advantage of the space in behind them pinning Wasps back. Ball in hand look to play with dual playmakers with big carriers running off both. Cips & Toomua to look to use chips and grubbers in behind the wingers for May & Naiyaravoro to attack.  

Breakdown: Big mobile pack selected to get around the park in support and clear the ruck out to secure quick ball. We will look to ruck in threes and prevent the Wasps flankers getting at the ball. Defensively unless the runner is isolated we will look to stay out of the ruck and strengthen the defensive line.

Defence: Aggressive big hitting blitz defence. We want to target the lack of carriers for Wasps and win the collisions defensively. Aim is to keep Finn under pressure and on the back foot through out. Robson will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers while May will drop deep to cover high kicks with Dagg.

Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. We want to get the ball out to Cips & Toomua with space to attack in the wider channels.

Lineout: Five mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to get the ball down and the maul formed to take advantage of our big abrasive pack. Grey will look to get up at the front on opposition ball and test Flynns throws.

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Rhys Webb
02. Jamie George	10. Owen Farrell (k)
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Flip Van Der Merwe	12. Ian Madigan
06. Rhys Ruddock	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Chris Henry	14. David Strettle
08. David Ewers	15. Charles Piutau

:-
16.George Mcguigan 17.Vincent Debaty 18. Luc Ducalcon 19. Yohan Maestri 20. Jordi Murphy 21.Greig Laidlaw 22. Scott Williams 23. Rob Miller

Tactics

Game plan - Heavily territory focused, we think they lack kicking ability in their backline, and intend to just pin them back using the boots of our various options, then play from their territory and try and get tries in decent conditions

Set piece - Look to scrum solidly with the technique of Mullan a big factor, and with Slater and Flip a big scrummaging lock pair, and with the power coming through a big back row we'll look to really munch them in the scrum. Flip to call the lineout, play it safe in our own territory but look to get ball off the top further forward. Flip to look to mark POC, force Owens to make the riskier throws towards our back row

Breakdown - We think they lack carrying ability in their pack with Morgan lacking form, we've got a very mobile pair of flankers and we'll look to just knock them backwards and beat them to the ball and try and win turnovers, with Henry having excellent technique there. On their ball, big hitting players in the front 5 and Ewers to knock them back behind the gainline. Look to use the pod system if Warburton is having success, run directly at him in pods of 3, one to carry, one to clear him out and one to secure. Tire him out and test whether he is as good after making all these tackles

Defence - Run a blitz based system with JD2 leading the defence, but if they are starting to get outside us look to drift more and back the forwards to make their one on one tackles. Target Biggar for big hits all game long to throw him off, we think they lack a playmaking option outside him

Kicking - Webb, Madigan, Davies and Piutau to offer kicking options to help Farrell. We're going to kick whenever we're in our own 40m, pin them back as they haven't got renowned kickers in the back 3, get up quickly in a solid line to make sure they can't counter attack and force them to clear deep in their territory. Use grubbers and chips to slow their defensive rush, but regularly test the big wings with kicks in behind them and make them turn

Attack - Webb to run the attack like a French 9, keep the ball moving quickly and take snipes around the ruck if its on. Farrell to keep the ball moving and take control when he needs to, we've got a 9 and centre combo who will be familiar to each other from international camps, trust them to look after the ball, but don't be afraid to attack the line if they overcommit to Webb or the centres.

Centres to run lines off Webb, Piutau also able to do so but the wings to stay out wide and use their exceptional finishing

Defence - strong defence throughout the backs, we'll challenge them to break the line in one on one tackles.

Bench - International quality galore in the backs, Laidlaw to close out the game, Williams and JDV to help us open it up if necessary. Great impact from the likes of Debaty and Maestri, while Murphy can help us rule the breakdown late on

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Rory Best	10. Morne Steyn
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrick Tuipultou	11. Hosea Gear
05. Geoff Parling(c)	12. Maxime Mermoz
06. John Hardie	13. Marcel Bosch
07. Will Fraser	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Guilhem Guirado 17. Xavier Chocci 18. Jannie Du Plessis 19. Will Skelton 20. James Haskell 21. Sam Harrison  22. Tom Taylor  23. Henry Trinder

Tactics:

TARGET BREAKDOWN WITH NO REAL BREAKDOWN OPTIONS FOR SAINTS - Look to use numerous breakdown specialists (Hardie, Fraser, Hughes, Best, Cole) to steal and slow down Saints ball. Look to infuriate them at the breakdown and prevent any momentum or clean ball for backs to play with.

CONTROL TERRITORY/KICK FOR CORNERS WITH HALFBACKS - Quality kicking options at HB giving us field position. Look to target corners and play the lineout.

TARGET LINEOUT WITH LACK OF LEADER IN SAINTS PACK - Pin Saints back and look to contest with Parling reading the opposition calls. Do this all game and don't allow Saints in out half. Even if they win the lineout, it'll be scrappy with Launchbury not a big jumper and Johnny Gray primarily a 4.

FRESH PACK COMPARED TO OPPOSITION - Plenty of freshness after rotation from last week. Saints have Castro, Mako, Launchbury, Gray, Manoa and Parisse all away for a significant time.


General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. 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 bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their 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 safe ball with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

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. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack 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.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Freddie Burns
03. Brian Mujati
04. Pascal Pape	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees (K)
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Sean Maitland
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Hika Elliot 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Census Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Steve Mafi 21. Micky Young 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Rene Ranger

Tactics:

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

- Use the rolling maul - Creevy to lead from the back guided by Fotuali'i, and use a regular weapon off lineouts won by Matfield.

- 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.

- Consistently test Chief's back three with kicks in wet conditions. Try and unsettle the likes of Lowe and Haley with kicks from Burns, Fotuali'i, Brown and Twelvetrees.

- In attacking play, we will play with the option of 2 first receivers in Burns and Twelverees.
We want to control the game, mixing up the point of our attack consistently.

- Attack at all scrums - Big powerful props to look to really get the shove on, and if gaining an advantage look to target. Creevy to look to get on top of Webber.

- Attack at all lineouts. Use Matfield off the top and Pape or Smith at the front as our three key options.
Six man lineouts with Waldrom in midfield as crash or decoy option.

- Gigantic XV made up of massive line-breakers, used in the tight to tire down the opposition defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud, Smith, and Creevy plus Pape, Mujati, Banahan and Twelvetrees to be used to get us over the gainline.

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

- We will look to employ a blitz defence led by Burger, focusing on a quick line speed to hit the ball carrier before he gets to the gainline, and look to win the collisions in defence. Fotuali'i to sweep behind with an eye on short kicks.

Twelvetrees to kick all penalties.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Freddie Burns
03. Brian Mujati
04. Pascal Pape	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield (c)	12. Billy Twelvetrees (K)
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. Jacques Burger	14. Sean Maitland
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Hika Elliot 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Census Johnston 19. Kearnan Myall 20. Steve Mafi 21. Micky Young 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Rene Ranger

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Rhys Patchell
03. Ben Tameifuma
04. Charlie Matthews	11. George North
05. Alexandre Flanquardt	12. Christian Lealifano
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Francis Saili
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Christian Wade
08. Liam Messam	15. Alex Goode

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Richard Barrington 18. Samson Lee 19. Graham Kitchener 20. Toby Falateu 21. Maxime Machenaud 22. Sam Hill 23. Liam Williams

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby. Look to overwhelm Irish in the loose with big carries. High tempo offloading game looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece. Try to get on top early and use the momentum.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Look to dominate out of form Irish scrum and interrupt the Wasps scrum. Messam will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Matthews, Flanquardt and Messam options in the lineout. Flanquardt will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tips is adept at the breakdown. Only send numbers in if confident we can get the ball, otherwise look to set the defence and dare Irish to beat us.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Wiggles worth to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempo and play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Patchell will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. Patchell and LLF switch as first receiver. We have strong runners with Saili, Wade and North. We will look to get the ball in their hands. The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of Kitchoff, Big Ben and Messam in order to break the line and make yards. 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. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Irish which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Patchell will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. If not much is happening Patchell will use his huge boot to gain territory. LLF, Wiggles and Goode also have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo.

PREDICTIONS OPEN

For those who haven't already got them in please leave a comment when you add tactics and I will put them up on the thread.

No Saints tactics??

Tactics coming in shortly, sorry

Tactics added

Added in Bam

Tactics added

Sorry got caught up at work.

Ok to add tactics?

Work away Chris just leave a comment so I know to add them in.
Added in CJB

Saints Tactics

Tactics
We will be looking to play a hard physical game and win the battle of the packs to get our backline on the front foot with good attacking ball. Our aim is to win the contact and gainline areas and stop Sarries building momentum by specifically targeting the threat of Nathan Hughes. We've selected a big pack, with a lot of strong ball carriers and a strong set piece. Our aim is to earn the right to unleash our backline, with Ford pulling the strings and looking to offer more attacking threat than the away team.

Set Piece
We've picked an experienced front row, which is supported by a powerful 4-8 to target the Sarries scrum. With the exception of Castro, our pack has been together for a number of seasons and knows each other very well. We have chosen a pack with numerous lineout options (4-8 all offer jumpers) so we can again look to utilise this as an attacking platform. A lot of Sarries lineouts will go to Parling so will target him and put the away team under pressure.

Gainline/Physical Battle
We want to double up on Nathan Hughes when he carries the ball as by stopping him we stop Sarries getting any go forward. We've selected a pack of strong ball carriers to make sure that game is very physical and get us on the front foot. With likes of Samoa, Launchbury, Parisse, Gray and Vunipola we have a lot of options to get us forward momentum.

Breakdown
Will look to make this a really physical battle and target Sarries' backrow in this area. We'll look to make Sarries battle for every bit of possession and have a very mobile pack to get to the breakdown in numbers and smash the likes of Fraser and Harlie away from the contact. By having big ball carriers we will look to get over the gainline when possible and make it easier to secure quick ball for SHC.

Attack
Ford to dictate the attack, looking to play off a strong forward pack and winning collisions/gainline area. If we can open up the game it will favour ourbackline with attacking threats and good options from the bench. Halfpenny to take points whenever they are on offer and build a lead. We expect Sarries to kick a lot of ball so have chosen a strong counterattacking back three in good conditions.

Defence
Similar style defence to that which Saracens play in real life, putting a lot of pressure on the attacking team, with the halfbacks Sarries have we know that they will play a limited game style, so will make sure we double up on Nathan Hughes when he has the ball and stifle Sarries attack.

Subs
Again will look to win the game on the strength of our bench in the final twenty minutes, having spent large parts of the game wearing the home side down in a really physical contest. Each of our players is impact and should ensure we finish well.

Cheers SJE - should hopefully be around a bit more in the next week or two - but thanks Driver for putting in the team last week!

Thread is up to date with everyone in

Johnny, sorry my predos aren't in yet, been running a half marathon today and not had any time earlier, will do them on the train in a sec, can I possibly get them to you for 7?

I'll take them for results mate but there won't be a bonus if after 6. Not getting in the habit of extending the deadline this season

I'll see if I can do them before 6, usually takes longer than half an hour though

RESULTS:

Harlequins 27 (T:3 C:3 P:2)
Sale Sharks 27 (T:3 C:3 P:2)

London Irish 31 (T:4 C:4 P:1)
Bath 25 (T:2 P:5)

Worcester Warriors 27 (T:3 C:3 P:2)
Newcastle Falcons 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Northampton Saints 26 (T:2 C:2 P:4)
Saracens 25 (T:2 P:5)

Exeter Chiefs 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)
Leicester Tigers 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Wasps 24 (T:2 C:1 P:4)
Gloucester 25 (T:2 P:5)

BONUS:

Full: Steve, Luke, Prop, Bam, Chris, SJE & CJ
4/5: Pooly
Excused: Matt
Missed: CJB, Fluxy & Pete

Harlequins 23-27 Sale

Sale get on top in the scrum with some good form for the front 3 and both Harlequins props struggling of late. 2 good mobile locks but neither will be too safe on their own ball, may struggle against more line out focused sides. A bit more balance and breakdown threat to the Sale backrow and they'll get a good foothold in the game from the pack. Sale dominate the halfbacks and little in the centre battle, Fekitota and Joseph the class acts. Both back 3's impressive and plenty of impact from the benches.

Harlequins 26 - 25 Sale

Not much in it up front, and the second rows fairly even too. Second rows fairly tight also, and the packs overall are very tough to seperate. Sale look stronger at HB, whilst Quins look better in the centres. Fairly tight back threes, with maybe a bit more about Quins bench. Such a close game. Home advantage nicks it.

Quins 24 - 21 Sale
Just an edge in the pack for the homeside, prefer Sale halfbacks by a long way, especially as Care is now hitting some good form. Good backrow battle espc. the no8s. Henshaw could make a big difference with his running lines at the Sale centre pairing, prefer balance of home teams backline for a narrow win.

Quins 25-28 Sale
Strong front 5 battle and can see Sale getting in front at the lineout. Scrums even. Solid back row for both but Sale a step up at fly half. Centres would be a great battle and can't see either team giving much away here. Both pairings can create something from nothing and, with the back 3's they have running off of the centres shoulders this will produce tries. Feel Sale may be slightly better at this but not alot in it really. Both teams looking for the quick ball and I feel that Sale's offloading tactics will do well and take the win.

Harlequins 27-29 Sale

Sale have props in great form, and with the weight of the second row think they can get an advantage in the scrum, lineout to Quins with 4 great options. Round the park, I think the Sale flankers have the advantage at the breakdown, but would expect Quins to edge the carrying battle with Todd focused a defensive role next to Eastmond I think they can get some momentum going. Backlines pretty even as a whole, and pretty solid defensively. Close off the benches too, really tough one to call. Think I'll just go with Sale to nick it, with the extra flair in the halfbacks creating one game winning play

Quins 26- 25 Sale

On form, Slimani can attack Woodcock and Sale win the scrum. Would have thought Quins would use larger lineouts given their variety of options but the ploy may help to tire Sale's pack and create mismatches. Quins should be comfortable at the lineout. I do feel that Sale have more ability at the breakdown though. Bit more carrying in Quins pack with Picamoles and Gorgodze cancelling out. Quins using Myler well and their plan is solid. Think it's hard to pressurise both Sexton and Care without giving Eastmond some leeway and Sale centres will take advantage to cause some damage there. Big fan of both teams from 11-15 though, Sale pressing hard but Quins just enough to win at home.

London Irish 24-22 Bath
Nothing between the scrums but feel Irish have a bit more about them at the lineout. Neither 8 the strongest at the back of the scrum but theres not a whole lot between the backrows. Lydiate probably gets around the field more at 6. Cruden struggling for rating but still someway ahead of Patchell. Not an awful lot between the backlines. Defensively both sets on wingers can be caught out of position at times. Bit more quality to the Bath bench. Both sides with a similar set up looking for a fast paced offloading game. Targeted kicking at times from Irish works well. Fairly even game overall and at home Irish squeak it.

London Irish 25 - 24 Bath

Not a whole lot between the packs with some good battles across the different combos. Prefer the Bath back row although it lacks a bit of carrying for my liking. Even at half backs and in the outside backs so a very difficult game to call. Bath have a better bench to call on which will make for a exciting finish where Irish just take the spoils.

Irish 24-27 Bath

I think Bath could a small scrum advantahe with Wilson's lack of form and Youngs not the strongest here. Bit more around the park for Irish in the engine room but more in the line out for Bath. A little bit bit more in the Bath backrow, not sure of Vahaamahina at 6. Cruden the class act in the half backs but really lacking form which evens things up and I prefer both of the Bath's centres, perhaps an area of weakness in the Irish line up. Quality back 3's with a slight shade to Bath, similar from the benches.

Irish 25 - 23 Bath

Neither side dominaes up front, but bit more about Irish second row. Prefer Bath's back row, but there really isn't much to split the packs. Advantage to Irish at HB, whilst the centres are even. Tight back threes, with Bath having more impact off the bench. Very close game, home advantage takes it.

Irish 25 - 25 Bath
Can't see the home side dominating the set piece - few issues with form of some players and impacts the prediction slightly. Bath for me have a stronger bench, but not enough to win away at Irish and can see this being a draw. 

Irish 26-23 Bath
Good set piece battle which Irish will edge initially but the introduction of Lee will make a difference for Bath. Looking at the back rows both teams filled with class here, think Irish have great carrying options but over the ball Bath are every strong and there won't be much room for sniping. Half backs, Patchell struggling at the moment to be honest so Irish will take this. Closer battle out wide with neither team really having a massive edge, think Irish will get better ball from half backs but Bath will be in their face defensively and not have many gaps. Both teams looking for good, controlled ball but I feel it will get quite disrupted today, Irish have enough to take it

London Irish 31-26 Bath

About evens in the front 5, Irish maybe with a slight set piece edge. Both back rows are a bit unconventional, but think Irish have the edge with Coetzee and SOB the best on show. Crudens lack of form means halfbacks about even, while I think I prefer the balance of the Irish backs over the Bath lads. Tactically pretty even, Bath have a stronger bench and will keep it close but Irish at home are too strong

Irish 20 - 21 Bath

Usually very strong Irish front row struggling for form and Bath will take advantage, though note Irish tactics to attack Bath ball may have occasional success. Bath a step down in class and grunt from Irish at lock though, and both lineouts can be attacked. Lots of work in the loose for both sides, Bath using a lot of power carrying by the sounds of it, neither really gone heavy on breakdown work, so set defences vs quick ball. The challenge is who can manipulate the set defence into having gaps, and I think the Bath gameplan fits that better. Better HBs for Irish but Bath using theirs well ESP with LLF helping out, and not much in rather similarly set out back lines. With the edge at scrum time and the plan that I believe will work better with quick ball against a set defence, Bath would win at home, but Irish very strong throughout and may just hold out. On reflection, Bath steal a huge away win

Worcester Warriors 18-19 Newcastle Falcons
Not an awful lot between the sides at the set pieces. Bit more quality to the Worc backrow at the moment. Halfbacks are one a piece but the All Welsh Worc unit is a stronger combo currently. Worc midfield looking strong and they have a bit more danger on the wings. Defensively they could be caught in behind though. Bit more quality to the Falcons bench. Intelligent game plan from Falcons looking to take advantage of the lack of kicking for Worc and the wingers positional play. Worc the stronger starting side but can see this being pretty tight with the Falcons game plan and they have the bench to sneak a great away win late on.

Worcester 28 - 25 Newcastle
A very solid Worcester pack that I really like the look of. A physical back row which I really like and think will do well in this game. Worcester have an advantage upfront besides the second row and this is a good base for a very strong back line. Their back line is full of strong carriers who will really test the Newcastle defence. Newcastle themselves have a solid back line but lacking the x factor of their opposition. A very good win for a very strong looking Worcester side.

Worcester 28-24 Newcastle
Scrums even with Grant & Lulala not being up to the quality of the rest of the unit. Slight shade to the Falcons engine room but they're lacking form and will start to struggle. Prefer the Wuss backrow as a unit and similar in the halfbacks. It's mainly Worcester in the backs and they'll look to take control from here.

Worcester 25 - 21 Newcastle
Worcs look stronger up front, whilst second rows are fairly even. Bit more about the Worcs back row and they take the pack. Great HB battle which is tough to split, whilst Worcs take the centres. Slight advantage to Worcs in the back three, with both having decent benches. Think Worcs have enough at home.

Warriors 19 - 18 Falcons
Again a very even game - home advantage sways it as I don't see Falcons being able to get over the gainline as much as they could do in the backline to really open the game up and get an away win, JD at no13 gets marked down a little due to injury. Warriors just about get the win.

Worcester 27 - 23 Falcons
I see Falcons getting on top in the scrum, both have safe lineout options with their throwers and main jumpers. Really interesting carrying back row for Worcester, leaves Warbs alone a bit at BD but he'll cope and this will aid Worcester attack. Like both HBs, both similar in balance but think form favours Worcester. New mix of backs for them? Think so, which affects cohesion but they look well-balanced and well used. And not sure about form of Falcons backs with Davies injured for a while, Madigan at 12 a risk. With home advantage, Worcester have too much

Northampton Saints 15-18 Saracens
Not an awful lot between the set pieces but the Sarries front row offer a lot more work around the field. More carrying through the Saints pack overall but Sarries with a pack full of turnover specialists. Halfbacks one a piece. More adventure to Saints and more control from Sarries. Bit more to Saints back three but not an awful lot between the midfields. Saints back replacements with a bit more impact but Sarries edge the forwards. Sarries looking to kick behind and may catch Matawulu out from time to time but won't be an awful lot of room back there. Saints looking to crash it up and do win the collisions initially but will be under serious pressure at every ruck and will be starting from deep. Can see a very stop start game and not many tries. Fancy Sarries to get more kickable penalties for a surprise win.

Northampton 26 - 25 Saracens
The power of Saints v the breakdown work of Saracens upfront. I think Saracens will win some penalties at the breakdown but they will struggle to match the physicality of the Saints pack and its hard to really dominate the breakdown if you're on the back foot. I think Saints will have the better of the line out ball with nothing between them at the scrum. Saracens half backs will play to their strengths but don't offer as rounded a game as the Saints pair who might lack a bit of experience. Very little between the outside backs on the whole with two strong benches. Very close game which edges to Saints.

Saints 27 - 24 Saracens 
Not much in it up front, whist the second row battle is a great on with two top units. More about the Saints back row and they edge the pack. One apiece in the HB's, whilst the centes fairly even. Tight back three contest, with two good benches. Think Saints take this at home.

Saints 25-23 Sarries
Saints have enough to get a good advantage up front. Do like the balance of the Sarries back row and think they will cause some problems for Saints' hard carriers. A great 9-10 game and Morne will control what ball Sarries get well will call this even at the moment. Not alot to be honest in the centres or out wide that would gain a big advantage. 1/2p going to be tough to rate soon. Tidy bench for both, feel Saints again could get a slight advantage. Sarries targetting the breakdown which is right as Saints could struggle here, alot of Saints tactics seem to be targetting Hughes so feel this actually lets them down a bit and makes it a significantly closer game.

Saints 29-26 Saracens
Pretty even at scrum, but think Parling could have a good day at the line out with a few steals. Pooly has gone with dual 7s, and with Best and Hughes I fancy them to get a fair few turnovers. The flip side to this is that they lack carriers outside of Hughes, and Chris has targeted him well, can see it getting very stodgy at times for Sarries. The boots of the Sarries backs will get them into good positions, and keep this close, but think they just lack a bit of fire in the backs to take advantage of the turnover ball. Saints backs as lethal as ever, and can see them scoring tries, which is lucky seeing as they have chosen Ben Foden to be the goal kicker (!). Saints win

Saints 23- 25 Saracens
Neither front row in the best of form, think Saint might get an edge but targeting on virtue of experience when Cole is the opposite player not the focus I would have picked. Saints exceptional lineout there, but Sarries, though not as special, is pretty darn safe so the advantage won't actually as much as it would against other sides. Targeting Hughes will hinder Saracens, but he's still a breakdown threat and I can only see Saracens on top there, as per their tactics, Launchbury the standout for Saints. I assume Foden kicking is an error?! Prefer the Saints HBs, Steyn not very expansive, but not sure about Niko and Pence both on the wing given that they've not played there much recently and Foden has been injured a lot at FB- think that can be attacked as the positioning in back 3 will be off and Sarries back 3 have the attacking nous to take advantage. Love saints centres. With the breakdown advantage and the back 3 there, despite Steyn (luckily Parra can play make) I think Saracens can use their quick ball to sneak an away win.

Exeter Chiefs 23-18 Leicester Tigers
Slight scrum edge to Exeter but both front 5s fairly even elsewhere. Bit more quality to the Chiefs backrow and similar at halfback. Not an awful lot between the wings but midfield and fb a good edge for Tigers. Tigers can get at the scrum late on but De Jager and Stander give strong impact for Chiefs. Tigers looking to put the ball up in the air and get at the Chiefs back three before using the big carriers. Can see Brown picking off the odd highball but Chiefs should hold their own. Chiefs looking to starve Tigers of possession and with the combination of the two game plans can see Tigers going long times without the ball.

Exeter 23 - 22 Leicester
Two really physical packs which will have a really intense battle. Very little in the set piece at all or at the breakdown or with carriers. Two of the most evenly matched packs I've seen. Prefer the Exeter half backs but the Leicester outside backs look stronger. Nothing between the half backs. I think at home Exeter have enough to take the narrowest of wins. 

Exeter 25-24 Leicester
Both LH's short of form but Creevy a step up on Webber gives Tigers an edge. Good engine room contest, perhaps just shading to Exeter but little in it. Similar story in the backrows with both units strong and balanced. Exeter a step up in the halfbacks but prefer Tigers centres despite Twelvetress lack of form of late. Banahan a weakness for Tigers and could be targeted by the fleet footed Lowe. Good contest.

Exeter Chiefs 21 - 18 Leicester Tigers
Again usually expect the Tigers pack to dominate the battle but the home side the get slight advantage here (really slight) - got to see more of Mujati in the AP and see Corbs playing more games as well. Evans form at n10 in real life is swaying factor. 

Chiefs 28-27 Tigers
Great match up here. Chiefs can get the edge in the front row but then Tigers come back at them in the 2nd row. Feel Tigers could get some joy with their back row balance very good, Chiefs good here but Tigers a step up. Half backs currently to Chiefs and centres to Chiefs with Flood finding good form at 12 in France. Outside this Tigers have a bit more but Chiefs have great impact from the bench. Tigers looking for a controlled game and Waldrom will make alot of gains. Chiefs focusing more on controlled intensity and running Tigers round. Think, even without consistent, good ball, Chiefs can nick a great win here.

Exeter 23-19 Leicester 
Exeter stronger up front for me, possibly a week too soon for Creevy. Matfield and POC will secure their own lineout ball, and think I prefer the Chiefs pack as a whole around the paddock. Murray is the outstanding half back, rest pretty even, while I'd just favour the Tigers centres I think Exeter has a bit more in the back 3 and off the bench. Both set up well tactically, can see this being a bit of a wrestling match and at home Exeter take it

Chiefs 28 - 23 Tigers
Creevy helps Tigers' scrum for me and with Corbs on form they'd have an edge. As he isn't, Chiefs have the slenderest of scrum advantages, not enough to have a huge impact. POC was in great nick before injury and Horwill seems in fine fettle, and I think their leadership is a big advantage, though Tiger's have leadership in the pack as well. See safe attacking ball on both lineouts. More overall class to Tigers' back row but I think they'll suffer at the breakdown. Exeter have picked good HBs in good form for heads up rugby. Outside that, Leicester's backs form is improving from last season on the whole. Unsure of Haley at FB. But Exeter backs look efficient rather than Flashy and Flood in great nick. Think with good ball and Evans and Flood in tandem, Exeter can control this game.

Wasps 21 - 22 Gloucester
Gloucester starting to look stronger following the world cup. Upfront is an even battle with Gloucester having a few more top level players. Half backs pretty even though a bit more for Gloucester outside of that and they also have the stronger bench. A close contest where I feel Gloucester have enough to scrape an away win.

Wasps 23 - 23 Gloucester
Fairly even up front, and not much to split the second rows either. Slight advantage to Gloucs in the back row, and maybe they edge the pack. Decent HB contest, with Gloucs edging the centres. Fairly tight back threes, and not much in the benches. Going to sit on the fence here.

Wasps 22 - 24 Gloucester
Away team has too much in the pack, backrow combination very potent and both teams are going to go out and attack in the backline but would say the away team has that bit more threat and will secure more ball to get an away win.

Wasps 25-27 Glos
Front row a close battle but Glos have better scrummaging 2nd rows however, Wasps will get joy at the lineout. Glos a slight step up in the back row but Wasps take the half back battle. Bit more for Glos out wide in centres and back 3 but Wasps can make something from nothing with their back 3. Benches pretty solid, Tomas has now signed for Jersey so may struggle for ratings. Great tactics from Wasps, set out really well and will bring them into the game but feel Glos just have enough to nick this especially with the danger in their back 3 running angles.

Wasps 25-23 Gloucester 
Wasps stronger at the scrum for me with Ben Arous outdoing Mas. Lineout pretty good for both. Wasps ideally suited to getting after the breakdown and can see Savea needing a bit of a hand up against the dual 7s who will make his life tough. Wasps back line looks good with Russell back, think just need a stronger 9 but other than that will compete well. Glos still have more firepower though, and also a bit more off the bench. Tactically Wasps are better set up, and think they will hold on at home

Well won, Matt. Gutted to lose a home game, need some flair in the backs by all account. Hopefully Vito coming back fixes my backrow, my backup at 8 a step down. Feels like I've only taken the team backward in a lot of areas :/

Some close games this week