Aviva Premiership Round Five

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Northampton Saints v Gloucester
Franklin Gardens
Cloud, 7 Degrees, 13mph Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. George Ford(k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Facondo Isa	13. Elliot Daly
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Adam Ashley Cooper
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Ashley Johnson 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Samu Manoa 20. Schalk Burger 21. Sam Hildago Cline 22. Matt Giteau 23. Tyler Morgan.

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 Gloucester building any momentum. 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 Gloucester scrum. We have chosen a pack with numerous lineout options so we can again look to utilise this as an attacking platform.

Gainline/Physical Battle
Feel that this is an area we can hurt Gloucester as we've selected a team that has numerous options in the pack to win the gainline battle and get us on the front foot. We've gone for a very physical pack and aim to get Simpson good quality ball. Our bench options in the pack have all been selected to up the intensity of the game in the final 20-30mins.

Breakdown
Pocock is back in the starting lineup, will aim to get him to be a nuisance for the entire game and go after any turnover when it is on. We'll look to make this area very physical and put Robson under pressure when looking for the ball.

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. We'll attack Gloucester at every opportunity and make the most of any front foot ball.

Defence
Similar style defence to that which Saracens play in real life, putting a lot of pressure on the attacking team and force them into mistakes. Daly to kick any penalites from 50metres and use this as a way of stopping Gloucester building momentum of their own.

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

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1 Beast
2 Strauss
3 Mas
4 Etzbeth
5 Lavanini
6 Croft
7 Savea
8 Heaslip
9 Robson
10 Carter
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Kurindrani
14 Walker
15 Folau
16 Wood
17 LCD
18 Antonio
19 Stooke
20 Alberts
21 Genia
22 Cipriani
23 Talebula

Forwards to carry hard - Half backs to control - Outside backs to attack


In the opposition half we are looking to get our strong-carrying pack on the front foot to create space for our outside backs who all have form and the ability to beat their man.
The job of our half backs is to run the game with Carter being the worlds best. Get him the ball and he makes decisions.He is there to make the right decisions which will enable us to get our outstanding attackers into the game. Front 5 will look to carry off 9 and 10 taking the ball at pace and looking to attack spaces.


Play the game in the right areas


We  will look to play the game in the opposition half and pressurise their lineout with a lack of jumpers. Etzbeth and lavanini all took the most lineouts for their country in the World Cup and lavanini will run the lineout. Add in Croft and we have a great way to pressure saints who just have gray as a jumper.carter will look to dominate ford with his tactical kicking game and will put the ball up on Savea who has only one weakness and that is under the high ball.


Decision-making in Defence


Key to our defence is identifying when the big hit and turnover is on. We will look to get our line set and look to put pressure upon the ball-carrier but will need to decide between the Blitz and the drift depending on the numbers in attack and defence. We will look to target the breakdowns in the wide channels using the pace of Savea and Croft . All other breakdowns we will make the decision based on each ruck and our defenisive organisation as to whether to compete.


Set Piece


we will look to target Vunipola at loosehead and use our bigger front 5 to turn the screw. We will look to anchor our own ball to give a platform to attack.

We will target the lineout continuously with Croft lavanini and etzbeth contesting every lineout. Saints want quick ball for ford and we see this as key to disrupting saints and putting them on the back foot.


Game Specific


- Look to stay on our feet for as long as possible in the contact in order to ensure we are not isolated when tackled. Look for our tight 5 to work in pods so we can clear out The superb pocock from the breakdown immediately as a ruck is formed. If possible look to vary between offloads before and after contact. We have picked a very tough mobile front 5 around the park who will graft and hit rucks hard especially to negate the threat of Pocock over the ball.

- Pepper Savera with kicks early on. Look to vary between high balls, grubbers and kicks for the corners to keep him guessing with his positioning. Folau and may are excellent kick chasers and will be used to pressure
- pressure every lineout. Saints have Ashley Johnson on the bench as a hooker and we feel if he comes on then they can disintegrate in this area.
- Hartley has been not 100% and we will aim to get after him and rock his confidence with his darts.

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Sale Sharks v Newcastle Falcons
AJ Bell Stadium
Cloud, 7 Degrees, 14mph Winds

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Bernard Foley
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Maro Itoje	12. Jonathan Danty
06. Sean McMahon	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Sam Cane	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Willie Le Roux

16. Ross Harrison 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Martin Moore 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Johnny Sexton 23. Kyle Eastmond

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: An area we will look to target with Retalick, McMahon, Cane, Danty, Fekitoa & our wingers all strong over the ball and known for turning ball over. Defensively we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. Look to exploit the lack of pace in the Falcons pack outside Cole/Read and ensure quick ball for ourselves with effective rucking throughout the team.

Defence: Straight line blitz defence led by Fekitoa, as he did for Super 15 defensive leaders the Highlanders. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Foley will look to defend deep with WLR covering the backfield while Nadolo steps in to the line. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. 
 
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 especially for Fekitoa and Nadolo.
 
Lineout: Four 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. Back Taylor to hit his man as one of the most accurate throwers in the AP this year to date. Defensively McMahon 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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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

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

:-
16.Jamie George 17.Alec Hepburn 18. Charlie Faumuina 19. Jacques Potgeiter 20. Callum Clark 21. Greig Laidlaw 22. Ian Madigan 23. Charlie Sharples

Game plan - big test for us away at one of the best sides in the league. Our game plan is going to be focused around attacking their lineout ball and trying to use the threats in our backline to take on their midfield, where we think they could be exploited positionally.

Set piece - Rock solid scrummage needed up against a good set of props, look to put pressure on Taylor but if no weakness seen use as a restart. On our ball, Coles is one of the best at hooking, get it out the back to Read and get going forwards. At the lineout, we'll look to mark Retallick and Itoje with our second row pairing, force Taylor to make the more difficult throws towards the back where Read will be waiting. On our ball, get ball off the top with Flip and get Davies and Ruddock running at Foley, force him backwards.

Breakdown - Use the experience of Henry and Read to know when to pick their spots and go in for the steal. We'll use our big front 5 and Ruddock to clear the breakdown quickly, with Read/Henry focusing on Cane, first man in to focus on clearing him and second to secure the ball. Coles has licence to play the wider channels as he does for the ABs, and can come up with the steal and get us countering quickly.

Kicking - We'll use the kicking game to put ourselves in the right areas of the field, kick in behind Nadolo and Roko and get them turning, we've got a great back 3 for the aerial chase, and will make sure to cut off the easy pass to WLR for the clearing kick, force the wings to make the kicks, but make sure we're there to bring them down before they get moving forward too quickly.

Attack - Webb to run the attack in the style of a French 9, but Farrell can call plays if he thinks they are on. Use misdirection and Smith/Piutau coming into the line to try and pull the inexperienced centre combo around, while looking to run straight over Foley who often defends on the wing. Strettle to primarily stay out wide to look to finish off chances, but Smith and Piutau to offer options at first receiver to confuse the defence.

Defence - no weak links in the back line, big hitters throughout the pack to force them backwards

Bench - impact front row to get us on the front foot in the last 20, while we have the breakdown ability of Clark to counter Kvesic late on, and Laidlaw's experience to help us close out the game. Madigan and Sharples offer game breaking attacking play late on

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Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Sandy Park
Cloud, 9 Degrees, 16mph Winds

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Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Connor Murray
02. Rob Webber	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Andrew Trimble
05. Lood De Jager	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Tom Wood	13. George Pisi
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pietersen
08. Fritz Lee	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Jake Cooper-Woolley 19. James Horwill 20. Brad Shields 21. Chris Cook 22. Toby Flood 23. Teddy Thomas

Game plan this week is focused 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 Quins 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 Quins defence and then look to capitalise on the overlaps with two play makers in the back line capable of spotting opportunities. Home advantage as the Chiefs haven't lost at home for a long time. The Chiefs support will make this an imposing game for the visiting Quins players.

Scrum - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. Domingo and Webber to work in tandem to split Brookes away from his pack.  Big front five will hold our own ball and a full eight drive in defence, looking to isolate the opposition 8 and scrum-half for our back-row to engulf. 

Line out – POC to lead the line-out, and obtain quick, clean possession. Look to drive possession with full line out numbers in their 22. If they are giving us front ball which is prime and easy possession we will take it, with Webber hitting the maul at the angle and ensuring it moves in field. 

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 likes of Hooper. 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. Murray to look to test Cordero with box kicks with two of the best kick chasers in world rugby JP & Trimble. Then look to release the outside backs into the space generated by forwards tying in the Quins defence. Nonu look to slot in at first receiver with Nev shifting to keep the Quins defence guessing.

Build a Score - Evans to convert any penalty within their ten metre to keep scoreboard ticking. 

Impact Bench - Use the bench late on to shift momentum and up the energy levels late on against a tired defence. An all action EQ bench front tow that has been lauded in recent games.

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cian Healy	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Luke Romano	11. Santiago Cordero
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Damien Chouly	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Mamuka Gorgodze	15. Rob Kearney

16. Scott Baldwin 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Nick Easter 20. Jack Clifford 21. Henry Pyrgos 22. Juan Martin Hernandez 23. Jack Nowell

Tactics

• Forwards to carry hard - Half backs to control - Outside backs to attack
  

In the opposition half we are looking to get our strong-carrying pack on the front foot to create space for our outside backs who are, to a man, lethal on the front foot in space. The job of our half backs is to control. We've picked guys who do the simple things well and are outstanding managers of a game. They are there to make the right decisions which will enable us to get our outstanding attackers into the game. Front 5 will look to carry off 9 and 10 taking the ball at pace and looking to attack spaces. 

• Play the game in the right areas
  

Pienaar and Myler will look to play the game in the opposition half. If the Exeter back three are prepared for the high ball we will kick behind them and if they are deep we will use our high-ball specialists (Henshaw, Huget, Cordero and Kearney) to compete for the up and unders to retain possession. Pienaar and Myler's decision-making and exceptionally strong kicking game is key to us getting in the right areas to use our outside backs. Look to use out the back options for bring in JJ, Cordero, Kearney and Huget so they can have the ball in space. 

• Decision-making in Defence
  

Key to our defence is identifying when the big hit and turnover is on. We will look to get our line set and look to put pressure upon the ball-carrier but will need to decide between the Blitz and the drift depending on the numbers in attack and defence. We will look to target the breakdowns in the wide channels using the pace of Hooper. All other breakdowns we will make the decision based on each ruck and our defenisive organisation as to whether to compete.

• Set Piece
  

Look to attack the scrums. Look for Brookes to over-power Domingo and Creevy and Healy to double up on Ross. Introduce the front row bench between 50 and 70. Use the line out as an attacking platform and look to get Gorgodze and Hooper carrying hard in the midfield of shortened line out.

• Game Specific Points
  

- Look to stay on our feet for as long as possible in the contact in order to ensure we are not isolated when tackled. Look for our tight 5 to work in pods so we can clear out Armitage and Wood from the breakdown immediately as a ruck is formed. If possible look to vary between offloads before and after contact. We have picked a very industrious front 5 around the park who will graft and hit rucks hard especially to negate the threat of Armitage and Wood over the ball. 

- Pepper Haley with kicks early on. Look to vary between high balls, grubbers and kicks for the corners to keep him guessing with his positioning. Try to use our wingers to isolate the Exeter back 3 on high balls. 

- Mark the middle and back of the Exeter line out. Give them the front ball. Force the maul at the front or a long pass from Murray. When they maul at the front, have one man to sack the ball carrier and the rest of the line hits the remaining Exeter maul towards the touchline. If they want to throw middle and back they have to hit marked men and test Webber's arrows.

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Saracens v Worcester Warriors
Allianz Park
Cloud, 9 Degrees, 9mph Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrick Tuipultou	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. James Haskell	13. Conrad Smith
07. John Hardie	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Ben Franks 18. Jannie Du Plessis 19. Geoff Parling 20. Will Fraser 21. Sam Harrison 22. Pat Lambie 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics:

TARGET LINE OUT ALL GAME - With Maestri new to the Worcester lineout, a lot of pressure will be put on Hooper to secure ball. We'll look to get Whitelock (most steals in World Cup) to marshal Hooper and attack the Wuss throw. If we see a weakness as expected, we'll look to ramp up the tactical kicking and put pressure on Wuss in their own half.

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

HOME ADVANTAGE & IMPACT BENCH - International caps galore on the bench and plenty of impact to put the squeeze on in the game. We are very strong at home and have the team to get us that win.


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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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Joe Moody	09. Gareth Davies
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Waisake Naholo
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Jordan Taufua	13. Mark Bennett
07. Sam Warburton	14. Nehe Milner-Skudder
08. Ben Morgan	15. Mathew Tait

:-
16. Ross Batty 17. Ryan Grant 18. WP Nel 19. Tom Savage 20. Jackson Wray 21. Lee Dickson 22. Jules Plisson 23. Venriki Goneva

Tactics:
In fairly 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. When we have the wind in our advantage we will look to use it to kick deep and use our kick chase to put pressure on Sarries.

Forwards: We have picked a strong but mobile pack as we look to drag Sarries 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. Maestri will be used sparingly with Hooper, Taufua, Warburton and Morgan all able to go up. Maestri will look to control front ball against the head and we will challenge when outside our 22.

Breakdown: Warburton has been picked to get over the ball and slow down their breakdown, Taufua is there for balance and Morgan 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 Sarries 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 well the 9-10-12 axis works together in real life. 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. We 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. We will look to have a forward with Roberts to stop SBW's offloads and also look to nullify Hughes' impact.

Bench: Alot of talent and international experience to come on here and look to cause impact and havoc especially with Nel at set piece and Wray at the breakdown and the backs to come on and play heads up rugby against tired defences. Goneva will look to run at tired shoulders and exploit the gaps.

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London Irish v Wasps
Madejski Stadium
Cloud, 8 Degrees, 11mph Winds

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London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213  
               

01. Scott Sio	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Alun-Wyn Jones	11. Anthony Watson
05. Matt Symons (c)	12. Henry Slade
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

16. Tom Youngs 17. Joe Marler 18. David Wilson 19. Sebastien Vahaamahina 20. Sean O'Brien 21. Ben Youngs 22. Samu Kerevi 23. Bryan Habana

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 and Slade 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.  Smiths will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  In decent conditions we will mix it up on our ball, utilising Symons, AWJ and Vermeulen 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 Wasps 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 Malherbe 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  use Watson, Yarde and Nanai-Williams 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 Wasps are blitzing we will also utilise the pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out.  Smith to also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
  

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London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Thierry Lacrampe
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francoid Trinh-Duc
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Luke Charteris	11. Frank Halai
05. George Skivington	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Lowe
07. John Barclay	14. Manuel Montero
08.  Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Nathan Catt 17. Scott Spurling, 18. Oliver Tomaszcyk  19. Sam Twomey (George Merrick if not)  , 20 Carl Fearns , 21. Ben Spencer , 22. Finn Russell, 23. George Moala

Tactics

Breakdown: Hit offensive rucks hard with our 2 7s quickly in behind the clearers to secure quick ball, generally trying not to overcommit but willing to add more if ball if being attacked by London Irish. Play what is in front of us. This applies in defence too, where we will avoid committing numbers unless the counterruck is on, with the  whole team chipping in but Robshaw predominantly but not singularly looking to spoil and Barclay looking to steal.

Attack: Keep slow ball in the pack mostly to build it up with carries in pods and mauling, with Lacrampe/Trinh-Duc happy to kick if there is space behind and both half-backs keeping an eye on the blindside winger incase he presses and leaves a space. 

We will also use Vito and Robshaw at first receiver to take the pressure off 9/10 on reasonable ball, to either play a change in direction straight off their offload (esp with the back 3 off their wings), palm the ball back to FTD in more space or take it in if pressurised, looking for the quick recycle or offload. Creating space in the backs, favourable line-ups and quick ball altogether is our main aim and we attack ruthlessly once these opportunities are formed

Quicker ball will be spun out with FTD playing flat (but change if under too much pressure and play with depth and running onto the ball - heads up rugby depending on how the opposition play). Look to bring carriers like Kepu and Vito and the wingers running at their 10-12-13 axis (they are good tacklers but will always lose ground), then offload or recycle quickly into a second wave of attackers off that momentum, with our 7s in  constant support as fetchers and linkmen. If we find the opposition come up too fast to counter this, we can use the backrow at first receiver here too to take off pressure and look to kick into the inevitable space outwide. 

We will also attack on both open and blind, using Pennell and Godwin's ability as alternative playmakers.

Defence:  blitz, with Skivington and Robshaw in particular guarding the fringes, Lacrampe sweeping. Constant pressure from backrow on 9-10

Lineout: Keep it simple and look to maul to bring in defenders (and especially as a weapon in their 22) and then create our quick ball. Charteris defending at the front to let them take their throws but then disrupt their play once they land

Scrum: with two of rugby's most inform scrummagers at prop, look to attack every scrum of theirs and get a shove on, carrying off Vito to set up our attacking plays.

General: Take all points on, play hard and press for penalties in their 22 but be safe in our half, kick high for possession and chase every kick

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Leicester Tigers v Bath
Welford Road
Cloud, 7 Degrees, 14mph Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Pascal Pape	11. Sitiveni Sivivatu
05. Victor Matfield	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Hika Elliot 17. Max Lahiff 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Steve Mafi 20. Tom Johnson 21. Micky Young 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Matt Banahan

Tactics:

We will play a structured game built around Du Preez and Burns moving us into the right areas, the strength of our set piece and getting our exciting backs into space.

- Target the lineout all game with Matfield as our banker ball, and Pape, Lobbe and Smith offering alternative jumpers - we will rotate the target.
With the boots of Du Preez, Burns and Beale, we will look to get the ball deep in Bath territory and then contest all lineouts. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Du preez our general pulling the strings. We want to control of the tempo of the game as much as we can through our 9/10/12.
Box kicks from Du Preez and up and unders from Burns to give the opposition problems in the air. We will really test Wade with these kicks, and look to Mitchell to be on him as quickly as possible.

- Attack the scrum as a weapon - and call when we can, if we are getting an advantage. Franks and Moore to look to target Kitshoff and to look to really get the shove on.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down Bath defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud and Moore used consistently to get us over the gainline.

- Lobbe, Smith, Bastareaud and Moore are the men charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off any turnover ball.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

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

- Burns to kick all penalites.

---

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Rory Best	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Will Skelton	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Francois Louw	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Richard Barrington 18. Scott Wilson 19. James Gaskell 20. Justin Tipuric 21. Tawera Kerr Barlow 22. Christian Lealifano 23. Liam Williams

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Leicester under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries and offloading at a high pace looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece.

Game Specific Plan:
The Tigers side is old and will struggle to keep pace with the high tempo we set. The average age of the backs is just under 30. Pape, Matfield, Smith and Lobbe are all 34 or over! Three weeks after joining there is a lot of pressure on Beale and FDP to run the back line with Burns still struggling for form and not a great leader. Also key players such as Burns, Matfield and Waldrom aren't at their best.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Lee will look to cause Corbisiero trouble and we will hope to get a shove on. Skelton will add a lot of power to the scrum and we will look to get more power from our back five. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Falateu, Louw, Skelton and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitchener will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Skelton will offer quick ball option at the front.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Louw  is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out. Look to exploit Lobbe, not a natural 7.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Lydiate will look to target Beale. His aggressive tackling will help us stifle his creativity and stop the Tigers playing. Wigglesworth to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles  will set the tempoand play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Barrett will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. He will be given a freedom to be creative. Look to bring in the rest of the back line, especially De Allende who we would like to get running at defenders. Imhoff and Wade are very skilful and if the ball gets to them will look to draw in defenders. 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, Skelton and Falateu 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 Tigers which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Barrett will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Barrett. Wiggles and Goode all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo. We have a strong, in-form front row coming on. Gaskell is also in form and will look to get involved in the loose late on. Outside of them we have 4 internationals with Tipuric, TKB, LLF and Williams all game changers who can come on late.

Predictions to Pooly.

Can you try and get teams/tactics in on time as I'm working strange hours

Mark

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Morgan Parra
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrick Tuipultou	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. James Haskell	13. Conrad Smith
07. John Hardie	14. Chris Ashton
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Ben Franks 18. Jannie Du Plessis 19. Geoff Parling 20. Will Fraser 21. Sam Harrison 22. Pat Lambie 23. Henry Trinder

Tactics:

Exeter Chiefs 

Manager – Fluxy

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Connor Murray
02. Rob Webber	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. Mike Ross
04. Paul O'Connell (c)	11. Andrew Trimble
05. Lood De Jager	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Tom Wood	13. George Pisi
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pietersen
08. Fritz Lee	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Jake Cooper-Woolley 19. James Horwill 20. Brad Shields 21. Chris Cook 22. Toby Flood 23. Teddy Thomas

Game plan this week is focused 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 Quins 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 Quins defence and then look to capitalise on the overlaps with two play makers in the back line capable of spotting opportunities. Home advantage as the Chiefs haven't lost at home for a long time. The Chiefs support will make this an imposing game for the visiting Quins players.

Scrum - Control the set piece and use it to restart our game plan and create point of attacks. Domingo and Webber to work in tandem to split Brookes away from his pack.  Big front five will hold our own ball and a full eight drive in defence, looking to isolate the opposition 8 and scrum-half for our back-row to engulf. 

Line out – POC to lead the line-out, and obtain quick, clean possession. Look to drive possession with full line out numbers in their 22. If they are giving us front ball which is prime and easy possession we will take it, with Webber hitting the maul at the angle and ensuring it moves in field. 

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 likes of Hooper. 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. Murray to look to test Cordero with box kicks with two of the best kick chasers in world rugby JP & Trimble. Then look to release the outside backs into the space generated by forwards tying in the Quins defence. Nonu look to slot in at first receiver with Nev shifting to keep the Quins defence guessing.

Build a Score - Evans to convert any penalty within their ten metre to keep scoreboard ticking. 

Impact Bench - Use the bench late on to shift momentum and up the energy levels late on against a tired defence. An all action EQ bench front tow that has been lauded in recent games.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Alex Corbisiero	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. Pascal Pape	11. Sitiveni Sivivatu
05. Victor Matfield	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Drew Mitchell
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Mike Brown

.
16. Hika Elliot 17. Max Lahiff 18. Cencus Johnston 19. Steve Mafi 20. Tom Johnson 21. Micky Young 22. Paddy Jackson 23. Matt Banahan

Tactics:

We will play a structured game built around Du Preez and Burns moving us into the right areas, the strength of our set piece and getting our exciting backs into space.

- Target the lineout all game with Matfield as our banker ball, and Pape, Lobbe and Smith offering alternative jumpers - we will rotate the target.
With the boots of Du Preez, Burns and Beale, we will look to get the ball deep in Bath territory and then contest all lineouts. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- In general attacking play, we will play off 9 with Du preez our general pulling the strings. We want to control of the tempo of the game as much as we can through our 9/10/12.
Box kicks from Du Preez and up and unders from Burns to give the opposition problems in the air. We will really test Wade with these kicks, and look to Mitchell to be on him as quickly as possible.

- Attack the scrum as a weapon - and call when we can, if we are getting an advantage. Franks and Moore to look to target Kitshoff and to look to really get the shove on.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down Bath defence.
The likes of Waldrom, Bastareaud and Moore used consistently to get us over the gainline.

- Lobbe, Smith, Bastareaud and Moore are the men charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off any turnover ball.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

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

- Burns to kick all penalites.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cian Healy	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Kieran Brookes
04. Luke Romano	11. Santiago Cordero
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Damien Chouly	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Yoann Huget
08. Mamuka Gorgodze	15. Rob Kearney

16. Scott Baldwin 17. Gurthro Steenkamp 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Nick Easter 20. Jack Clifford 21. Henry Pyrgos 22. Juan Martin Hernandez 23. Jack Nowell

Tactics

• Forwards to carry hard - Half backs to control - Outside backs to attack
  

In the opposition half we are looking to get our strong-carrying pack on the front foot to create space for our outside backs who are, to a man, lethal on the front foot in space. The job of our half backs is to control. We've picked guys who do the simple things well and are outstanding managers of a game. They are there to make the right decisions which will enable us to get our outstanding attackers into the game. Front 5 will look to carry off 9 and 10 taking the ball at pace and looking to attack spaces. 

• Play the game in the right areas
  

Pienaar and Myler will look to play the game in the opposition half. If the Exeter back three are prepared for the high ball we will kick behind them and if they are deep we will use our high-ball specialists (Henshaw, Huget, Cordero and Kearney) to compete for the up and unders to retain possession. Pienaar and Myler's decision-making and exceptionally strong kicking game is key to us getting in the right areas to use our outside backs. Look to use out the back options for bring in JJ, Cordero, Kearney and Huget so they can have the ball in space. 

• Decision-making in Defence
  

Key to our defence is identifying when the big hit and turnover is on. We will look to get our line set and look to put pressure upon the ball-carrier but will need to decide between the Blitz and the drift depending on the numbers in attack and defence. We will look to target the breakdowns in the wide channels using the pace of Hooper. All other breakdowns we will make the decision based on each ruck and our defenisive organisation as to whether to compete.

• Set Piece
  

Look to attack the scrums. Look for Brookes to over-power Domingo and Creevy and Healy to double up on Ross. Introduce the front row bench between 50 and 70. Use the line out as an attacking platform and look to get Gorgodze and Hooper carrying hard in the midfield of shortened line out.

• Game Specific Points
  

- Look to stay on our feet for as long as possible in the contact in order to ensure we are not isolated when tackled. Look for our tight 5 to work in pods so we can clear out Armitage and Wood from the breakdown immediately as a ruck is formed. If possible look to vary between offloads before and after contact. We have picked a very industrious front 5 around the park who will graft and hit rucks hard especially to negate the threat of Armitage and Wood over the ball. 

- Pepper Haley with kicks early on. Look to vary between high balls, grubbers and kicks for the corners to keep him guessing with his positioning. Try to use our wingers to isolate the Exeter back 3 on high balls. 

- Mark the middle and back of the Exeter line out. Give them the front ball. Force the maul at the front or a long pass from Murray. When they maul at the front, have one man to sack the ball carrier and the rest of the line hits the remaining Exeter maul towards the touchline. If they want to throw middle and back they have to hit marked men and test Webber's arrows.

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Joe Simpson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. George Ford(k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Weslie Fofana
06. Facondo Isa	13. Elliot Daly
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Adam Ashley Cooper
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Ashley Johnson 17. Wyatt Crockett 18. Logi Mulipola 19. Samu Manoa 20. Schalk Burger 21. Sam Hildago Cline 22. Matt Giteau 23. Tyler Morgan.

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Steven Kitchoff	09. Richard Wigglesworth
02. Rory Best	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Will Skelton	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. Dan Lydiate	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Francois Louw	14. Juan Imhoff
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Mikey Haywood 17. Richard Barrington 18. Scott Wilson 19. James Gaskell 20. Justin Tipuric 21. Tawera Kerr Barlow 22. Christian Lealifano 23. Liam Williams

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Leicester under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries and offloading at a high pace looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece.

Game Specific Plan:
The Tigers side is old and will struggle to keep pace with the high tempo we set. The average age of the backs is just under 30. Pape, Matfield, Smith and Lobbe are all 34 or over! Three weeks after joining there is a lot of pressure on Beale and FDP to run the back line with Burns still struggling for form and not a great leader. Also key players such as Burns, Matfield and Waldrom aren't at their best.

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Lee will look to cause Corbisiero trouble and we will hope to get a shove on. Skelton will add a lot of power to the scrum and we will look to get more power from our back five. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Falateu, Louw, Skelton and Kitchener options in the lineout. Kitchener will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. Skelton will offer quick ball option at the front.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Louw is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out. Look to exploit Lobbe, not a natural 7.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Lydiate will look to target Beale. His aggressive tackling will help us stifle his creativity and stop the Tigers playing. Wigglesworth to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Wiggles will set the tempoand play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Barrett will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. He will be given a freedom to be creative. Look to bring in the rest of the back line, especially De Allende who we would like to get running at defenders. Imhoff and Wade are very skilful and if the ball gets to them will look to draw in defenders. 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, Skelton and Falateu 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 Tigers which can help nullify their offensive threats.

Kicking: Barrett will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Barrett. Wiggles and Goode all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need be.

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo. We have a strong, in-form front row coming on. Gaskell is also in form and will look to get involved in the loose late on. Outside of them we have 4 internationals with Tipuric, TKB, LLF and Williams all game changers who can come on late.

Pooly I've added some game specific points to the end of my tactics if you could add them. Battery was dying on laptop so had to cut short last evening. Thanks

Yea no bother mate

Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Joe Moody	09. Gareth Davies
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper (c)	11. Waisake Naholo
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Jordan Taufua	13. Mark Bennett
07. Sam Warburton	14. Nehe Milner-Skudder
08. Ben Morgan	15. Mathew Tait

:-
16. Ross Batty 17. Ryan Grant 18. WP Nel 19. Tom Savage 20. Jackson Wray 21. Lee Dickson 22. Jules Plisson 23. Venriki Goneva

Tactics:
In fairly 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. When we have the wind in our advantage we will look to use it to kick deep and use our kick chase to put pressure on Sarries.

Forwards: We have picked a strong but mobile pack as we look to drag Sarries 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. Maestri will be used sparingly with Hooper, Taufua, Warburton and Morgan all able to go up. Maestri will look to control front ball against the head and we will challenge when outside our 22.

Breakdown: Warburton has been picked to get over the ball and slow down their breakdown, Taufua is there for balance and Morgan 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 Sarries 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 well the 9-10-12 axis works together in real life. 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. We 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. We will look to have a forward with Roberts to stop SBW's offloads and also look to nullify Hughes' impact.

Bench: Alot of talent and international experience to come on here and look to cause impact and havoc especially with Nel at set piece and Wray at the breakdown and the backs to come on and play heads up rugby against tired defences. Goneva will look to run at tired shoulders and exploit the gaps.

London Irish recall Bismarck du Plessis, Alun-Wyn Jones, Marcell Coetzee and Tim Nanai-Williams to the starting XV for this weeks return to Premiership action against Wasps.

London Irish
Manager: Ozzy3213  
               

01. Scott Sio	09. Aaron Smith
02. Bismarck du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Alun-Wyn Jones	11. Anthony Watson
05. Matt Symons (c)	12. Henry Slade
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Marland Yarde
08. Duane Vermeulen	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

 

16. Tom Youngs 17. Joe Marler 18. David Wilson 19. Sebastien Vahaamahina 20. Sean O'Brien 21. Ben Youngs 22. Samu Kerevi 23. Bryan Habana

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 and Slade 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.  Smiths will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout.  In decent conditions we will mix it up on our ball, utilising Symons, AWJ and Vermeulen 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 Wasps 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 Malherbe 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 use Watson, Yarde and Nanai-Williams 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 Wasps are blitzing we will also utilise the pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out.  Smith to also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
  

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Bernard Foley
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Maro Itoje	12. Jonathan Danty
06. Sean McMahon	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Sam Cane	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Willie Le Roux

16. Ross Harrison 17. Benjamin Kayser 18. Martin Moore 19. Dave Attwood 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Kieran Marmion 22. Johnny Sexton 23. Kyle Eastmond

1 Beast
2 Strauss
3 Mas
4 Etzbeth
5 Lavanini
6 Croft
7 Savea
8 Heaslip
9 Robson
10 Carter
11 May
12 Toomua
13 Kurindrani
14 Walker
15 Folau
16 Wood
17 LCD
18 Antonio
19 Stooke
20 Alberts
21 Genia
22 Cipriani
23 Talebula



Forwards to carry hard - Half backs to control - Outside backs to attack


In the opposition half we are looking to get our strong-carrying pack on the front foot to create space for our outside backs who all have form and the ability to beat their man.
The job of our half backs is to run the game with Carter being the worlds best. Get him the ball and he makes decisions.He is there to make the right decisions which will enable us to get our outstanding attackers into the game. Front 5 will look to carry off 9 and 10 taking the ball at pace and looking to attack spaces.


Play the game in the right areas


We will look to play the game in the opposition half and pressurise their lineout with a lack of jumpers. Etzbeth and lavanini all took the most lineouts for their country in the World Cup and lavanini will run the lineout. Add in Croft and we have a great way to pressure saints who just have gray as a jumper.carter will look to dominate ford with his tactical kicking game and will put the ball up on Savea who has only one weakness and that is under the high ball.


Decision-making in Defence


Key to our defence is identifying when the big hit and turnover is on. We will look to get our line set and look to put pressure upon the ball-carrier but will need to decide between the Blitz and the drift depending on the numbers in attack and defence. We will look to target the breakdowns in the wide channels using the pace of Savea and Croft . All other breakdowns we will make the decision based on each ruck and our defenisive organisation as to whether to compete.


Set Piece


we will look to target Vunipola at loosehead and use our bigger front 5 to turn the screw. We will look to anchor our own ball to give a platform to attack.

We will target the lineout continuously with Croft lavanini and etzbeth contesting every lineout. Saints want quick ball for ford and we see this as key to disrupting saints and putting them on the back foot.


Game Specific


- Look to stay on our feet for as long as possible in the contact in order to ensure we are not isolated when tackled. Look for our tight 5 to work in pods so we can clear out The superb pocock from the breakdown immediately as a ruck is formed. If possible look to vary between offloads before and after contact. We have picked a very tough mobile front 5 around the park who will graft and hit rucks hard especially to negate the threat of Pocock over the ball.

- Pepper Savera with kicks early on. Look to vary between high balls, grubbers and kicks for the corners to keep him guessing with his positioning. Folau and may are excellent kick chasers and will be used to pressure
- pressure every lineout. Saints have Ashley Johnson on the bench as a hooker and we feel if he comes on then they can disintegrate in this area.
- Hartley has been not 100% and we will aim to get after him and rock his confidence with his darts.

London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Thierry Lacrampe
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Francoid Trinh-Duc
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Luke Charteris	11. Frank Halai
05. George Skivington	12. Kyle Godwin
06. Chris Robshaw	13. George Lowe
07. John Barclay	14. Manuel Montero
08.  Victor Vito	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Nathan Catt 17. Scott Spurling, 18. Oliver Tomaszcyk  19. George Merrick  , 20 Carl Fearns , 21. Ben Spencer , 22. Finn Russell, 23. George Moala

Tactics

Breakdown: Hit offensive rucks hard with our 2 7s quickly in behind the clearers to secure quick ball, generally trying not to overcommit but willing to add more if ball if being attacked by London Irish. Play what is in front of us. This applies in defence too, where we will avoid committing numbers unless the counterruck is on, with the  whole team chipping in but Robshaw predominantly but not singularly looking to spoil and Barclay looking to steal.

Attack: Keep slow ball in the pack mostly to build it up with carries in pods and mauling, with Lacrampe/Trinh-Duc happy to kick if there is space behind and both half-backs keeping an eye on the blindside winger incase he presses and leaves a space. 

We will also use Vito and Robshaw at first receiver to take the pressure off 9/10 on reasonable ball, to either play a change in direction straight off their offload (esp with the back 3 off their wings), palm the ball back to FTD in more space or take it in if pressurised, looking for the quick recycle or offload. Creating space in the backs, favourable line-ups and quick ball altogether is our main aim and we attack ruthlessly once these opportunities are formed

Quicker ball will be spun out with FTD playing flat (but change if under too much pressure and play with depth and running onto the ball - heads up rugby depending on how the opposition play). Look to bring carriers like Kepu and Vito and the wingers running at their 10-12-13 axis (they are good tacklers but will always lose ground), then offload or recycle quickly into a second wave of attackers off that momentum, with our 7s in  constant support as fetchers and linkmen. If we find the opposition come up too fast to counter this, we can use the backrow at first receiver here too to take off pressure and look to kick into the inevitable space outwide. 

We will also attack on both open and blind, using Pennell and Godwin's ability as alternative playmakers.

Defence:  blitz, with Skivington and Robshaw in particular guarding the fringes, Lacrampe sweeping. Constant pressure from backrow on 9-10

Lineout: Keep it simple and look to maul to bring in defenders (and especially as a weapon in their 22) and then create our quick ball. Charteris defending at the front to let them take their throws but then disrupt their play once they land

Scrum: with two of rugby's most inform scrummagers at prop, look to attack every scrum of theirs and get a shove on, carrying off Vito to set up our attacking plays.

General: Take all points on, play hard and press for penalties in their 22 but be safe in our half, kick high for possession and chase every kick

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

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

:-
16.Jamie George 17.Alec Hepburn 18. Charlie Faumuina 19. Jacques Potgeiter 20. Callum Clark 21. Greig Laidlaw 22. Ian Madigan 23. Charlie Sharples

Game plan - big test for us away at one of the best sides in the league. Our game plan is going to be focused around attacking their lineout ball and trying to use the threats in our backline to take on their midfield, where we think they could be exploited positionally.

Set piece - Rock solid scrummage needed up against a good set of props, look to put pressure on Taylor but if no weakness seen use as a restart. On our ball, Coles is one of the best at hooking, get it out the back to Read and get going forwards. At the lineout, we'll look to mark Retallick and Itoje with our second row pairing, force Taylor to make the more difficult throws towards the back where Read will be waiting. On our ball, get ball off the top with Flip and get Davies and Ruddock running at Foley, force him backwards.

Breakdown - Use the experience of Henry and Read to know when to pick their spots and go in for the steal. We'll use our big front 5 and Ruddock to clear the breakdown quickly, with Read/Henry focusing on Cane, first man in to focus on clearing him and second to secure the ball. Coles has licence to play the wider channels as he does for the ABs, and can come up with the steal and get us countering quickly.

Kicking - We'll use the kicking game to put ourselves in the right areas of the field, kick in behind Nadolo and Roko and get them turning, we've got a great back 3 for the aerial chase, and will make sure to cut off the easy pass to WLR for the clearing kick, force the wings to make the kicks, but make sure we're there to bring them down before they get moving forward too quickly.

Attack - Webb to run the attack in the style of a French 9, but Farrell can call plays if he thinks they are on. Use misdirection and Smith/Piutau coming into the line to try and pull the inexperienced centre combo around, while looking to run straight over Foley who often defends on the wing. Strettle to primarily stay out wide to look to finish off chances, but Smith and Piutau to offer options at first receiver to confuse the defence.

Defence - no weak links in the back line, big hitters throughout the pack to force them backwards

Bench - impact front row to get us on the front foot in the last 20, while we have the breakdown ability of Clark to counter Kvesic late on, and Laidlaw's experience to help us close out the game. Madigan and Sharples offer game breaking attacking play late on

Interesting 'game specific' tactics CJB! Saying you think my players are old....

Toulon won the Heineken Cup in May with an average age of 30.8. This Tigers side has an average age of 28.8.

Also you highlight pressure on Beale and FDP having signed three weeks ago - both are now playing their 3rd game in the shirt.
You have Barrett, Best, Louw, Skelton and Imhoff as new signings in your side.
Out of these 5 - Skelton has started one game for you, and the rest yet to start.

Best of luck

C'mon, no dissing tactics!

Say what we want pre-predos!

Mmmmm I'm not so sure......

This is Pooly law anyway. Matt can expect his tactics to be deleted and Dan Robson put at hooker

Haha wouldn't put it past you!

Just responding to points with some facts. Nothing too severe

I'll be on in the morning to add tactics but after that it'll be my phone so you'll have to add them at the bottom of the page

Robson might be a better thrower than LCD

I wrote a long reply and my signal went.

I think the pace and energy of my team will trouble some of your older slower-paced players.

Also think my players have trained with team for that team. Barrett in at 10 will be helped by Wiggles who knows system. 9-10-12 axis for Tigers has 2 new players and a third who is struggling for form and confidence

Tactics added.

I'll get tactics in firstly thing when I get to work if that's ok

I'll be on about 9/10 UK time to add tactics. After that they'll just have to be at the bottom of the page. Heavy session tonight so I'll be going back to bed.

Forgot to say I added my tactics last night

Sorry, thought these were posted last night, just had a look and clearly were not.

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 Gloucester building any momentum. 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 Gloucester scrum. We have chosen a pack with numerous lineout options so we can again look to utilise this as an attacking platform.

Gainline/Physical Battle
Feel that this is an area we can hurt Gloucester as we've selected a team that has numerous options in the pack to win the gainline battle and get us on the front foot. We've gone for a very physical pack and aim to get Simpson good quality ball. Our bench options in the pack have all been selected to up the intensity of the game in the final 20-30mins.

Breakdown
Pocock is back in the starting lineup, will aim to get him to be a nuisance for the entire game and go after any turnover when it is on. We'll look to make this area very physical and put Robson under pressure when looking for the ball.

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. We'll attack Gloucester at every opportunity and make the most of any front foot ball.

Defence
Similar style defence to that which Saracens play in real life, putting a lot of pressure on the attacking team and force them into mistakes. Daly to kick any penalites from 50metres and use this as a way of stopping Gloucester building momentum of their own.

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

I'll be doing my tactics in the next hour hectic morning sorry guys. I can add up any to the thread that come in after Pooly has been on.

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: An area we will look to target with Retalick, McMahon, Cane, Danty, Fekitoa & our wingers all strong over the ball and known for turning ball over. Defensively we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. Look to exploit the lack of pace in the Falcons pack outside Cole/Read and ensure quick ball for ourselves with effective rucking throughout the team.

Defence: Straight line blitz defence led by Fekitoa, as he did for Super 15 defensive leaders the Highlanders. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Foley will look to defend deep with WLR covering the backfield while Nadolo steps in to the line. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. 
 
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 especially for Fekitoa and Nadolo.
 
Lineout: Four 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. Back Taylor to hit his man as one of the most accurate throwers in the AP this year to date. Defensively McMahon to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball looking to make it as messy as possible.

PREDICTIONS OPEN

Pms to Pooly please this week.

Cheers Johnny

Results:

Northampton 33-26 Gloucester
Sale 31-23 Newcastle
Exeter 25-25 Harlequins
Saracens 30-22 Worcester
Irish 33-22 Worcester
Leicester 28-24 Bath

Full Bonus: CJB, Steve, Prop, Bam, Chris, SJE, Pooly, CJ, Luke, Flux
Scores: Matt, Ozzy

Saints 33 - 31 Gloucester

Saints edge scrum battle, very close at lineout but maybe nicked by Gloucester. Saints have a great set up at breakdown though and take that. I think Saints carry better in tight and Gloucester pack do more in the wider channels, interesting contrast. Back line battle is a thing of beauty, Carter on form and >Ford but Simpson in great form and Saints 9-10 very attacking. Excellent centres for Gloucester with real power but also playmaking from Toomua and a lethally quick back 3 to use any space, but Saints centred have miles of pace with 2 of the best and most in form finishers in the worlld out wide. Only issue for Saints is that Toomua and Kuru and Carter will make ground every time that midfield tries to tackle them. Tough to call but at home and breakdown- Saints hold out.

Saints 32 - 25 Gloucester
Pretty evenly matched in the front 5s, plenty of young talent and old heads, think the set piece battle will be pretty even. Round the park, the Saints back row looks to have too much physicality at all 3 positions for their opposition. The breakdown ability and carrying game of the Saints trio are pretty much the key to this game, as they are relatively even throughout the backlines. Saints have a bit more off the bench, and at home they'll earn the bonus.

Northampton 26 - 24 Gloucester
Two physical packs with plenty of carrying options. Very little between the two front rows and second rows but I prefer the Saints back row and prefer it's balance. Scrums should be even but prefer the Gloucester lineout and think they will get some joy here. Fully expect Saints to control the breakdown though with Pocock a step above everyone on the pitch. One a piece at half back with Simpson ahead of Robson and Carter ahead of Ford. I think I prefer the Saints pairing though as a combination. Gloucester's centre combo is a very difficult one to beat and think they will trouble Fofana and especially Daly defensively. Saints a streets ahead of Gloucester on the wing with two of the best in the world who will put there chances away. Folau the stronger full back. Two excellent impact benches to really add to what will be an excellent game.

Saints 27-20 Gloucester
Prefer the Saints front five. Probably have the edge in the back row here. One each in the half backs. Outside backs are quite even but Saints see more of the ball.

Saints 28-24 Glos
Feel Saints have the upper had in the front row, bit closer in 2nd row but don't think enough for Glos. Backrow battle I feel Saints could get the upper hand, not sure about Croft to be honest. Much closer half back battle, Simpson in great form, think Carter a step up though won't get great ball. Outside that it's alot closer, out wide but I feel that Saints will get the better ball. Stronger bench impact for Saints too. Saints using bench well and targeting the Glos front 5 well. Glos looking to use their boot and decision makers but don't think they'll get enough ball.

Saints 20-23 Gloucester
Not an awful lot between the scrums but the glaws engine room has more quality about it and offers more around the park. Glaws stronger at the lineout as well. Not an awful lot between the 8s but Saints stronger on the flanks. Halfbacks one a piece. Robson becoming a weakness stuck on the bench at Wasps though. Glaws stronger in midfield but Saints with more in the back threes. Saints looking to dominate the contact but see it being fairly even and they aren't going to give the backs the platform expected. Glaws gone with a very targeted approach wanting to keep the ball off the field and they have the personnel to cause issues and take something here.

Northampton 22-21 Gloucester

Not much in the front 5 battle and set pieces pretty even. Saints take it up a notch in the backrow, especially at 7/8 and this gives them a slight pack advantage. Simpson's recent form makes the 9's even but Carter a class above at 10. One a piece in the centres but Gloucester combo stonger and Daly a problem in defence against big runners. Saints back 3 better on form, not sure about Walker at this level. Just enough for a tight Saints win.


Saints 26 - 24 Gloucester

Good front row battl with no clear winner, and the second rows are a great contest too. Slight edge maybe to Saints in the back row but overall packs are very close. One apiece in the Hbs but Carter the standout. Centres tough to split, but more about Saints back three. Good close game that Saints edge at home.

Northampton Saints 35 - 30 Gloucester


A real physical affair, between two monster packs. Glaws will struggle a little in the set piece, which will allow Saints to launch their pack into the game with real force. With Pocock leading the way Saints can edge the breakdown and slow up the Gloucester possession and create a few penalties. Both half back pairs are keen to play the ball quickly and on the front foot to unleash their respective back lines. The Cherry & Whites can create a little more from nothing out wide, however the Saints have better possession and front foot with their set piece getting a strong foothold. At home Saints will secure the victory. But Gloucester will at least get two BPs out of this.

Sale 30 - 28 Falcons
Sale front row in good form but just beaten by Sale's excellent props. Close at lineout and locks, though Itoje manages at this level. Very efficient backrow from Falcons works well together and might just edge things, though Picamoles will add impetus and Cane works well at the breakdown. Maybe not much in it. Good control at 9-10 for Falcons but in terms of playmaking, Sale way ahead with Care in good form. Falcons may just edge centres in terms of balance, and back line for Sale quite power heavy but has the direction from 9--10 to work and Le Roux is the flair player, the power can do some damage in this set up. Smith and Piutau, esp the latter's form, lethal. Hard to call at neutral venue but Sale win at home.

Sale 21 - 19 Newcastle
Sale's props really are two of the best in the world and will get the upper hand on two solid operators in the Newcastle front row. Coles offers a lot more than a very promising Taylor. More for Sale in the second row with Retallick the top boy on show. Not a whole lot between the flanks with Henry one of the most underrated players around. Read a way ahead of Picamoles as an all-round number 8 though Picamoles offers heaps as a go forward option. I prefer the Newcastle half backs and I question the quality of the Sale 9/10/12 as game managers and think this is a weakness in their side without Sexton. Prefer the Newcastle centres and their are two excellent back three's on show with some guys in real form. If Newcastle's front 5 was more competitive in this one I think they could run Sale very close but I just don't see them getting enough control up front to let their backs play.

Sale 31-22 Newcastle
Sale have the stronger front five. They also have an advantage in the back row. Newcastle looking to disrupt the lineout but won't have enough of an impact overall. Half backs go to Sale. Not much in the Outside backs. Sale bench can come in late and seal the game

Sharks 25-23 Falcons
2 good front rows on show, thinking Sharks take an edge in the 2nd row. Back row very close, can't see either side taking an advantage in a good battle. Again the same with half backs but think Sharks just bring in better form. Outwide there's form for both teams but a bit more for Sharks with both Falcons centres struggling. Step up for Sharks bench with Sexton the stand out. Sharks set out well for high intensity and defensively. Like how Falcons are using their breakdown and bench but don't think it'll be enough.

Sale 28-24 Newcastle

Sale will get on top in the scrum with a stronger scrummaging front row. I can see Falcons getting at the Sale lineout though with Itoje not the here and the Taylor throw liable to go off now and again. Engine rooms tight with Slater's lack of form and Itoje more comfortable at 6. A real step up on the flanks for Sale with Falcons lacking quality here compared to other teams options, slight pack advantage on the whole for Sale.

Webb losing a bit of form for Falcons gives Sale both half back positions and some form form issues in midfield for Falcons also. I think to really click the backline Sale could do with an improvement at 12 over Danty who's not yet at this level. Fantastic back 3 battle and Sale with a slightly stronger bench.

Sale 23 - 21 Newcastle
Prefer the away teams pack in a lot of areas and Sale would massively benefit from getting a top class no2. But the emergence of Itoje and power of the bench will see the home side take this. Falcons back three is top quality, centres being injured in real life has a slight effect.

Sale Sharks v Newcastle Falcons 22-19

Sale 27 - 25 Newcastle

Two decent front rows, no out and out winner with Sale's hooker a let down. Bit more from Sale in the second row, whilst back rows are fairl even, but overall Sale edge the pack for me. One apiece at HB, with Newcastle better at centre and two good back threes. At home think Sale take it.

Sale Sharks 29 - 29 Newcastle Falcons

Both big front fives and can't see neither struggling on their own ball. The back row is the difference here, Falcons lead superbly by Read and two work horses in Henry and Ruddock, however the Sharks unit just offers a little more ball in hand and will create a little more momentum for their pack. Both back lines are keen to get their hands on the ball and create overlaps. There is more creativity in the Falcons back line which will allow them to cause panic in the Sharks defence. The Sharks back line is much more power orientated for me and will become a little one dimensional and obvious until Eastmond enters the fray to change the game for Sharks. A real tough game and neither side will be able to edge out the other to claim all of the points.

Chiefs 25 - 25 Quins
Ross had a horrid time against Mullen and Auterac in real life and will struggle against Healy who was a bit better. Domingo holds Brookes but enough for Quins edge. Exeter have a very strong lineout and win that. Huge battle carrying and at the breakdown which both teams looking to focus on. Quins negate likes of Wood and Armitage by trying to stay up though. Advantage esp in terms of playmaking and individual threat to Exeter at HB, with Quins HBs more facilitators and lack the threat of Evans and Murray. Nonu great but I prefer Quins centres as a pair and more threat in Quins back 3. Overall, I think I can't separate the sides

Exeter 24 - 24 Harlequins
Quins new look front row looks very good on paper, but think Healy has been struggling in the scrum of late, and could be got at by his international team mate. I'd expect POC to rule the lineout, with other great options in Wood and De Jager. Back rows are set up very well, pretty similar in terms of balance. Hooper and Armitage will both get turnovers, and there will be plenty of carrying power from the others, about even overall. One a piece at halfback, other than Nonu I prefer the Quins backs man for man. Tactically, I think Steve has set up well to counter Armitage, and the idea to attack Haley makes sense. Its very close, and at home Quins would take it, on the road I'll go for the draw

Exeter 22-24 Quins
New look front row for Quins but it still has the advantage. Second row to the Chiefs. Quins have more carrying in their forwards and probably pinch the breakdown battle. Half backs to Exeter but outside Quins are more dangerous.

Chiefs 22-25 Quins
Quins strong in front row and could get the upper hand but think Chiefs 2nd row pairing will help them out alot here. Another good back row battle with Quins edging ahead at the breakdown. Half backs pretty close here and looking at the overall pairing I can see Quins getting better gains from their centre partnership. Outwide Quins stronger as well and will get better ball. Ball retention and targeting lineout well in the Chiefs tactics but Quins using their carriers and specific breakdown work to their advantage.

Exeter 20-17 Harlequins
Not an awful lot between the packs as a whole. Not a fan of Chouly at 6 at the top level. Little bit more in each shirt at halfback for Chiefs. Quins back three a step up but good midfield battle. Quins looking to play the game in the right areas and use the highball while Chiefs wanting to hold on to the ball and dominate possession. Quins need to be wary with the selective defence with neither centre a defensive leader. Chiefs could be caught on the drift out by Cordero. Not sure on the Quins lineout tactics with Chiefs looking a pretty strong mauling side. Think the Chiefs wings are strong enough aerially to stop Quins really getting a foot hold territoriality.

Exeter 21-21 Harlequins

Big form issues for both sets of props with only Brookes showing anything of late giving Quins a slight edge. Healy and Ross have been took to the cleaners in recent weeks and I've not seen Domingo have a good game in a long time. Exeter have the edge in both locks and can see them getting at the lineout also. Quins shade the backrow as a unit with some form issues again for the Exeter flanks.

Step up at 9 and 10 for the home team and again at 12 but I prefer Joseph at 13 and he'll get at Pisi. Quins back 3 better man for man with Exeter lacking a bit of quality. Quins slightly the better side but not sure they have the halfbacks to pull this this one off.

Exeter 25 - 27 Harlequins
Tough game, Exeter starting a few new players in the pack so might not gel as much there, but Quins doing the same with Healy. Really like the Quins backline, some real game changes there. Overall the game is very even, Exeter have good form in likes of Evans, but bench factor sways it in the end.

Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins 23-22

Chiefs 24 - 22 Harlequins

Slight edge to Quins in the front row, but Chiefs take the second row. Two decent back rows and overall I have he packs quite even. Chiefs take he HBs for me, whilst centres a great battle, and Quins take the back three. Think Chiefs have enough for a good home win.

Saracens 27 - 25 Worcester
Good scrum battle with both Cole and Thomas finding form. Saracens more class at lock and win lineout. Saracens win the breakdown with a great backrow here and match Worcester carrying. Big fan of both 10s at the moment, both very complete 10s and Parra has more class than Davies but this cancelled by Davies great form. I like Bennett and Roberts good at what this plan asks of him but a class ahead for the AB centres. Worcester more threat outside though with NMS and Naholo. Close match like many this round (except mine I expect Sad ) but with the breakdown the difference, Saracens win

Saracens 26 - 24 Worcester
Both front rows in good form and backed up with powerful packs means the scrum is a bit of a stalemate. Pooly is right to go after the Wuss lineout, and will likely have success here. I'd favour the Sarries back row as a whole. The Welsh half back partnership helps Wuss, while its pretty close in the backs, although I think Wuss have a bit more game breaking ability with North lacking form. Benches pretty even too, its a close but think Sarries have enough at home

Saracens 24 - 23 Worcester
Two good front rows who will offer a lot in the loose either as ball carriers or in Cole's case at the breakdown. Don't see a big advantage either way at the scrum. Worcester's locks offer more in terms of hard graft whilst the Saracen's duo offer more as carriers. Two very combative back rows but I prefer the balance of the excellent Worcester unit and the breakdown battle will be a massive contest with both sides getting a fair number of penalties and turnovers. Worcester's half back unit is difficult to beat however Sanchez is the stellar operator on show and his allround game really adds a lot to the Saracens back line. SBW and Smith a superb proven combo though I think that Worcester have two top level players who will match them. Two strong back threes with a bit more form for the Worcester wingers. A very very close contest which the home side just about edges.

Saracens 24-21 Worcester
Worcester edge front row. Sarries better second row and will really put pressure on with Whitlock. Slight edge overall to Worcester back row but not a lot in it. Hardly anything in half backs, proven combo gives it to Warriors. Outside backs edge to Sarries. They have an advantage on the bench and at home will have enough to get the win.

Saracens 19-14 Worcester
Scrums even and not sure Sarries get at the lineout as much as expected with good back row options for Worc. Worc edge the battle of the 7s but great recent form for Sarries sees them edge the backrow overall. Bit more conrtol at 9 for Sarries but hard to seperate the halfbacks with good WC form for the Welsh pair. Midfield one a piece but Sarries shade as a combo. Worc with more threat from the wings though. Sarries should edge territory with the kicking approach taking advantage of the space behind the Worc wings but won't get their hands on as much ball as expected. Worc looking for a quick open game but Sarries are well able to keep up with them and they may be forced to play a lot of phases from deep.

Saracens 28 - 25 Worcester
Seriously strong home side, best I've seen put out by Sarries, when a few of the players pick up form they are going to be very difficult to stop. A lot of ball carriers and Worcester will have their work cut out and do prefer their halfbacks by a distance but can't see them being given the platform to work from.

Saracens v Worcester Warriors. 24-15

Saracens 29 - 27 Worcester

Slight edge to Sarries come scrum time, and they look better in the second row too. Good back row battle that Worcs edge, but Sarries take the ack overall. Right now Worcs take the HBs, but Sarries better at center, with two top back threes on show. Good game, but home side wins here.

Saracens 25 - 25 Worcester Warriors

Both packs are very strong and mobile around the park, and the set piece will be a little messy at times. The Morgan Hughes battle will be a titanic contest. Sarries may just edge the carrying up front, but lack the sparkle of the Warriors back line in attack. This game is super tight as the game wears on. Biggars boot will help Warriors earn a hard fought draw.

London Irish 29 - 22 Wasps
Irish back up to a full complement now, and it really tells. Big set piece ability in the side, but that back row is very tough to beat. Cruden's lack of form starting to be a bit of a factor, but there's so much talent in the backs. Wasps look much improved, but going on the road to the champions always going to be a big ask. Irish take it at home, possibly just short of the 4th try against a determined Wasps outfit.

London Irish 30 - 24 Wasps
Irish have a very strong pack out as usual and whilst Wasps do have quality in there pack their is more in the Irish 8 and this will show throughout the game. Irish are packed with carriers and physical players and Wasps will have trouble to stop them really building up momentum. Irish also have the stronger half backs with a solid, tested unit and behind a pack on top they will really be able to unleash the pace, creativity and talent in there back line. It's very difficult to see and area where Wasps will gain a real ascendancy and I think they will control the game and get a fine win.

Irish 34-24 Wasps
Not much in the front fives. Irish take the back row although can see Wasps having some success at the breakdown. Irish have the better half back combo and can get their outside backs in. Irish bench is scary

Irish 28-24 Wasps
Irish stronger in the front 5. Wasps set out well in the back row but Irish too strong in this area for them. Irish half backs very strong, Wasps able to control and dictate well but don't think they'll get enough ball. Irish take the centre pairing and both sides good outwide but just don't think Wasps'll get enough ball. Strong impact Irish bench and Wasps unlucky to face them outside of international window. Simple but effective tactics for Irish, Wasps will look good when they get the ball with their tactics layout but just don't think they'll get enough ball.

Irish 30-22 Wasps
Not a lot of give between the sides at the lineout but Wasps have a small edge at the scrum. Irish have more quality through the pack at the breakdown and have a bit more carrying wise. Irish a step up at scrumhalf, form questions over Cruden but off better ball should pull the strings well. Little bit more about Irish 11-15 although the wings are tight. Like the Wasps attacking set up taking advantage of the good handling in their backrow but can see Irish getting on top and building the phases well.

London Irish 24-22 Wasps

Wasps slightly stronger in the scrum with Kepu being able to get at Sio. One a piece in the locks with Symons struggling for Irish in real life. Irish step it up in the backrow and they're stronger man for man, giving Wasps real problems.

One a piece in the halfbacks with Cruden too hard to rate for Irish holding them back. Not much in the centres, not sure the Irish midfield works too well with Slade no game time at 12. Irish a bit stronger in the back 3 and have a more from the bench to take a close win.

London Irish 22 - 18 Wasps
Haven't seen Cruden play in quite some time, so see him causing some issues now for Irish. Otherwise strong across the park - can't see where Wasps will get the chances to win this game, although their defence is very strong and can cause some damage with two powerful wings outwide (be great when Montero is back to pick up ratings).

London Irish v Wasps 28-22

Irish 28 - 23 Wasps

Slight edge to Irish up front, with fairly even second rows. Bit more about the Irish back row and they take the pack for me. Give Irish the HBs, and they edge the centres, with a slightly stronger back three too. Think Irish, at home, are fairly comfortable.

London Irish 28 - 22 Wasps

Very even up front with Wasps very sturdy on their own ball at the set piece. I like their approach of two 7's away from home, as they look to play a quick game and upset this Irish side. Irish have some very strong carriers, and I'm a big fan of a forward at first receiver every so often. This will help keep the Wasps back row on the move. The Wasps back line are very elusive and will cause Irish trouble all day long. This one will be toing and froing, Irish will just sneak out in the end, with the reliable boot of Cruden.

Leicester 26 - 23 Bath
Bath inexperienced at front row but Corbs unknown quantity right now- think scrum will be penalty heavy. Like the mix of attributes in Bath second row, but as Leicester noted, some new players in this side could make set pieces tricky to control for them. Both second rows well selected for their tasks. Barrett would be ahead at 10 but Leicester HBs more settled. Do think that a high pace may tire Tigers late in the game though. Both back 3s finish well, Tigers through power and Bath through footwork. Bath press hard but aren't as cohesive and Tigers driven home by home crowd

Leicester 25 - 22 Bath
Bit of needle pre game between the managers makes this interesting! Both packs look good, the balance of Bath's pack much improved compared to the early weeks of the season. I fancy Bath to have the better of the breakdown, but think Leicester have the strength in the set piece to be on top in that area. One a piece at halfback, and the backs are pretty even, with Leicester's backs looking much stronger than earlier in the season. Its close, but at home Leicester take it

Leicester 24 - 22 Bath
Find it a real difficult job to seperate the packs and I see the added experience as an advantage to Tigers as game management and nous is concerned but probably a physical advantage to Bath. The scrum relatively even though a lineout advantage to Tigers. Breakdown pretty even for my money. Half backs to Bath though FDP the start performer but see more in the Bath combination. I prefer the Tigers outside backs and think they help decide the result of this game.

Tigers 26-25 Bath
Good front row battle, Tigers 2nd row will help their set piece here. Evens in the back row here with 2 very well balanced back rows on show, not alot of advantage. One a piece in half backs. Centres is where Tigers get their advantage and, even though it's pretty even outside this, think Tigers will get better ball. Not alot in bench, Bath targeting Tigers team age but with age comes experience and think Bath will struggle with their offloading game, Tigers pretty simple tactics and think they'll win the close game here.

Tigers 20-20 Bath
Hard to separate the scrums but Matfield may cause a few issues at the lineout. More about the Bath front 5 around the park though. Better balance to the Bath backrow and their pack as a whole is faster over the ground. Halfbacks one a piece. Bath are stronger as a combo but its a big ask throwing Barrett straight in. Midfield one a piece but Tigers are stronger as a combo. Bath with more threat on the wings. Tigers can get on top at the scrum late on but Bath with good impact from Tips, Williams and TKB. Can see Bath causing a lot of issues for Tigers and would be good for the away win but can see their attacking play being a bit stunted with all the new players.

Leicester 25-27 Bath

Little in the hookers but have to give Bath the scrum with Corbisiero impossible to rate. I like both lock partnerships with Bath offering a lot more around the park but Tigers more in the line out. I think CJB make a valid point about the age of the Tigers team and they're mobile approach could work well, they have the edge in the backrow with a good balanced unit, Tigers miss a real breakdown threat I feel.

FDP is a great signing for Tigers and he'll keep Burns in check somewhat. Barrett is the class act on show though and his partnership with De Allende could be something to watch. If anything Bath could do with an improvement at 13 to compliment their backline as there's little in the back 3's but Bath more from the bench.

Leicester 24 - 23 Bath
Tightest game of the round. Really even pack battles, where the home side take the smallest edge. Not sure about Burns at no10, but he should get good controlled ball and Tigers just that bit too strong at home.

Leicester Tigers v Bath 24-21

Leicester Tigers 25 - 24 Bath 

Tigers have a a strong set up at the set piece, providing them with a good platform through the game. Bath are no slouches, but are their forwards are much more adept with ball in hand. Both sides playing to their strengths is quite refreshing to see. Tigers and Bath have two good controlling scrum halves who will marshal their forwards and feed their back lines when appropriate. A lot of attacking ability in the Bath back line, means they will capatlise on their quick tempo of game they want to play. Tigers though, will strangle the life out of the game, and slow the game down, resulting in kicking penalties and the odd try. They will just hold out to win at home.

I'm not one to question results but can I double check that the big scores without explanations in the wasps, Worcester and falcons games were reduced to 1 point difference I feel that if you are going to give such huge differences they really need to be justified.

That rule got binned Prop.

I didn't think that rule had been binned, hence keeping all my score predictions to 1 point margins.

1 point margins apply for score predictions. Came back in last season as most were against big margins for the same reasons Prop states

Ok cheers guys, just wanted to clarify. Big up pooly for running some weeks too, I found out when I did that tournament a few years ago that its actually alot of work so please don't take my question as a personal thing fella!

Sorry about that, I'll adjust scores later.

Amended results:

Northampton 33 (T:4 C:2 P:3)
Gloucester 26 (T:2 C:2 P:4)

Sale 31 (T:4 C:4 P:1)
Newcastle 24 (T:2 C:1 P:4)

Exeter 25 (T:2 P:5)
Harlequins 25 (T:2 P:5)

Saracens 30 (T:4 C:2 P:2)
Worcester 23 (T:1 P:6)

Irish 33 (T:4 C:2 P:3)
Wasps 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Leicester 28 (T:3 C:2 P:3)
Bath 25 (T:2 P:5)

Sneaked the bonus point, well spotted Prop! Thought that 31-22 result had done for me

Same here with the bonus! Cheers Pooly