Aviva Premiership Round 18

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Sale Sharks v Leicester Tigers
AJ Bell Stadium
Light rain, 11 Degrees, 15mph Winds

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Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Bernard Foley
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Brodie Retalick	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Sean McMahon	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Sam Cane	14. Simon Zebo
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Willie Le Roux

Subs:
16. Malcolm Marx 17. Ross Harrison 18. Martin Moore 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Francois Steyn 23. Nick Abendanon

Du Preez: The loss of Fourie Du Preez to retirement is massive for Tigers with their attacking set up built off him for the last few seasons. We will play ouir usual high speed blitz to put the Tigers attack under pressure as they must now adapt their set up.
  
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. De Klerk to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

Breakdown: Quick ball is the aim on attack. Mobile pack and physical back line to clear out rucks and ensure we get it. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to give a target to hit. Defensively when the initial contact is won we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. Otherwise we will strengthen the line.

Defence: Similar set up to the Welsh with Foley and Le Roux defending deep to cover the backfield. Both wingers will step into the defensive line, to be part of the straight line blitz led by Fekitoa, to shut down space in the wider channels. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial.  De Klerk 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.

Lineout: Five mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to get the backs on the ball in space. Defensively POM to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball looking to make it as messy as possible.

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Mikheil Nariashvili	09. Nick Phipps
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. George Skivington	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Drew Mitchell

.
16. Schalk Brits 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brian Mujati 19. Pascal Pape 20. Wycliffe Palu 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Mike Brown



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 Skiv, 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 Sale 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 /b] to give the opposition problems in the air. We will really test Nadolo 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. Moore to look to target Taylor and to look to really get the shove on.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down Sale 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.

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Gloucester v Bath
Kingsholm
Heavy rain, 12 Degrees, 9mph Winds

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Gloucester

1.  Tendai Mtawaira
2.  Adrian Strauss
3.  Coenie Ousthaizen
4.  Eben Etzebeth
5.  Tomas Lavanini
6.  Tom Croft
7.  Pablo Matera
8.  Willem Alberts
9.  Dan Robson
10. Dan Carter  (c) (k)
11. Jonny May
12. Matt Toomua
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Charlie Walker
15. Israel Folau

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie  17. Nick Wood 18. Uini Atonio 19. George Robson 20. Arno Botha  21. TJ  Perenara 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Melasela Talebula


Tactics

We've chosen a physical and abrasive pack in wet conditions with the sole intention of winning the battle on the gain line. We know we need to get over the gain line and put Bath on the back foot to allow Carter to pull the strings as nobody else in the world can.  We will look to use our pack carrying off 9 and 10 with one of our back row offering a hard line in the midfield as an option. We want Robson and Carter to have control over the pace of the game and we feel that we can do this by getting our pack on the front foot with ball in hand.

In the backs we will look to use Robson, Carter and Toomua to control our field position and the pace at which we play. We've a great option in Kuridrani to get us over the gain line when we need the hard yards and outside that we have guys who have the skill sets to play with ball in hand in these conditions (deep in Bath territory). We will look to pepper Christian Wade with high balls looking to use Folau against him to get territory and possession with Carters accurate boot. 

In these conditions the set piece is going to be crucial. We have chosen a powerful front row with two big strong scrummagers at lock to back them up. We will look for Beast to really pressurise Nepo Laulala. At the lineout we feel we can really put huge pressure on the Bath line out with Croft leading this. We feel we can use Lavanini to mark Kitchener out the game and Etzebeth and Croft can really target the other Bath options. 

In defence we will operate a Blitz from out to in lead by Kuridrani. Bath don't have the option of the outside break with De Allende at 13 so we are going to force them to throw risky wide passes early or force them inside to where our defence is well set. We will look to be very physical in defence and try to stop Bath getting over the gain line. We want Strauss and Matera to really target getting onto that ball first to secure the turnover or a penalty.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Tawera Kerr Barlow
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Will Skelton	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Sam Hill
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damian De Allende
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Christian Wade
08. Josh Beaumont	15. Alex Goode

16. Steven Kitchoff 17. Rory Best 18. Samson Lee 19. James Gaskell 20. Toby Falateu 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Jonathan Davies 23. Liam Williams

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Gloucester 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 where we expect to be dominant and finish strongly off the bench

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Skelton will add a lot of power to the scrum and we will look to get more power from our back five. Beaumont will look to attack off the quick ball he gets. EBA to relentlessly target Oosthuizen.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Kolisi, 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. We think we can dominate here against a poor set of jumpers. Skelton will offer quick ball option at the front.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tipuric is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out.

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

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. TKB 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.  Wade and Imhoff 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 EBA, Skelton and Kolisi 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 Gloucester which can help nullify their offensive threats. Imhoff will look to punish Walkers defence.

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

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo with all our internationals off the bench.

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Northampton Saints v Harlequins
Franklins Gardens
Light rain, 11 Degrees, 18mph Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Sam Hildago Clyne
02. Ashley Johnson	10. Lima Sopoaga
03. Ramiro Herrara
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Faconda Isa	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. David Pocock(c)	14. Adam Ashley Cooper
08. Schalke Burger	15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Dave Ward 17.  18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Jonny Gray 20. Samu Manoa 21. Joe Simpson 22. Elliot Daly 23. Weslie Fofana

MULIPOLA BANNED, VUINIPOLA BROUGHT IN AND BENCH A MAN DOWN

Tactics
We are looking to play with our usual aggressive, physical style in the forwards with big runners getting us over the gainline and putting Quins on the backfoot and not giving them any time on the ball. We will look for Burger, Isa and Pocock to dominate the breakdown with their experience and seek turnovers to launch attacks. Our aim is to give our halfbacks good front foot ball to attack Quins and use the power of Tuilagi to punch through the away teams defence. We have selected a 9,10,12 combination to ensure we can win the tactical kicking battle. Win the game with the power of our bench in final quarter.

Set Piece
We've been rotating our pack over the last few weeks to ensure that they are fresh and getting players game time. We've selected a team that has a strong lineout presence and allow us to mix up our attack. We will get Lawes to attack Quins ball through his athleticism.

Gainline/Physical Battle
We want to put real emphasis on the gainline battle, so have picked powerful ball carriers throughout our pack and strike runners in our backline. We want to suck in Quins backline to stop our pack going forward and create space outwide for our backline. We have some very strong runners in the pack and do not see Quins having the strike runners in their backline to get decent ground over the gainline, while we will get Manu and Savea on the ball and putting us on the front foot.

Breakdown
We want to really focus on winning the breakdown battle, with Pocock and Burger we will look to dominate this area in terms of experience and outplay their opposite number. We want turnovers to attack off of, quick ball for SHC to exploit. Our aim is to make this area a real mess on Quins ball and make it difficult for them to get quick ball for their halfbacks without putting in numbers.

Attack
We will look to get our forwards on the ball and running off Sopoaga and Giteau to make inroads into Quins defensive line and providing space for our strike runners in the backline to exploit and get Savea and Tuilagi on the ball as often as possible. The light rain won't stop us wanting to play a quick high-tempo game and go through the phases.

Kicking
With SHC, Sopoaga and Giteau we feel we have a strong kicking game and will look to ensure we dominate the territory battle, which will help us away from home. We'll look to put the ball high up on Corderos wing and see how he copes with a strong kick chase.

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. Really target Myler with Lawes and co and force him into errors and providing bad ball for the backs. SHC to sweep behind the defensive line

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Quins

1. Cian Healy
2. Agustín Creevy
3. Kieran Brookes
4. Luke Romano
5. Pieter Steph Du Toit
6. Jack Clifford
7. Michael Hooper  (c)
8. Mamuka Gorgodze
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Steven Myler (k)
11. Jack Nowell
12. Juan Martin Hernandez
13. Jonathan Joseph
14. Santiago Cordero
15. Rob Kearney

16. Christophe Tolofua 17. Ethan Waller 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Nick Easter 20. Jaco Kriel 21. Henry Pyrgos 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Robbie Henshaw

Game Plan


In slippery conditions we will look to play the game in the Saints half. We will look to ask questions of Foden, AAC and Savea's kicking game when they are being turned around by Pienaar, Myler and Hernandez and hope this will allow us to dominate territory. We will also look to test Savea under the high ball from minute one. 

We will look to kick for touch as we feel, without a recognised line out leader, we can really get some joy at the Saints line out by using Pieter Steph Du Toit to spoil as he has done so brilliantly for the Stormers. He will be ably assisted by Romano, Gorgodze and Clifford. 

When get the ball in the Saints territory it is all about patience. We have two half backs who play the percentages well and will look to direct our forwards around the pitch until we get quick ball and then look to release our lethal outside backs on the front foot. In Hernandez we have a brilliant play-maker who can put Cordero, Nowell, Joseph and later Henshaw and McKenzie into gaps once we are on the front foot. 

We feel with our pack we have 8 genuinely top quality carriers who are able to get us on the front foot. They have pace, dynamism and physicality which can be used across the pitch. 

When we get the ball out wide we will look to fill Tuilagi's channel with runners in order to test his positioning. We feel that using a simple wedge move we are able to drag him out the line and create space outwide and out the back, especially when he is defending next to Savea who we don't think will be able to cover for him positionally.

Set Piece


We've outlined above how we feel we can really exert dominance at the line out using Du Toit. He will lead our line and will vary between short and full line outs to make the job difficult for Saints. At the scrum, we feel Brookes can really get at Mulipola and get our right side up so Gorgodze can run hard and Saints 10. 

Breakdown


As the Stormers did so effectively recently against the Brumbies, a simple way to negate the impact of Pocock is to force him to make tackles. He is not effective at the ruck when he is the first tackler so our pack will really look to isolate him and run hard at him to tire him out and work him hard. We will always look to carry in numbers so we have men to clear out. In Clifford, Hooper and Creevy we ourselves have 3 men who are very strong at the breakdown and will test the ageing Burger and Pocock who will be tackling all day. 

Defence  

Chop tackles to stop the runners dead in there tracks. This means we are able to attack the breakdown and try to turnover ball or win penalties. We feel we are able to match Saints physically in the forwards and can stop them building up a head of steam. 

Additional Point


At half time we will bring on Henshaw for Joseph and McKenzie for Nowell, switch Kearney to the left wing. We feel this will energise us and McKenzie can provide another first receiver and yet another kicking option to get us in the right areas of the pitch.

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Saracens v Exeter Chiefs
Allianz Park
Light Rain, 12 Degrees, 17mph Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Lee Dickson
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Jannie Du Plessis
04. Sam Whitelock	11. Hosea Gear
05. Geoff Parling	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Thierry Dusatoir	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Telusa Veainu
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Pat Lambie

:-
16. Motu Mat'u 17. Ben Franks 18. Paul Hill 19. Patricio Albacete 20. Temani Harrison 21. Brad Weber 22. Henry Trinder 23. Nathan Earle

Tactics:

TARGET SCRUM - Look to get after JKW and put pressure on the Exeter scrum. All International front row to come on in the 2nd half and apply more pressure.

BIG RUNNERS DOWN THE 10 CHANNEL - Look to get big runners Hughes, SBW, Gear etc running down the 10/12 channel and target  Black's defence. Look to get runners off this and cause problems in midfield.

TARGET BREAKDOWN - Numerous options in Dusatoir, Fraser, Whitelock, Hughes. Attack with pace off turnover ball. Few options for the opposition so we feel we can get on top here.  Look to target Armitage and prevent him having any impact on the game.


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. Look to control the tempo and areas we play with kicking options at halfback.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for safe ball with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo.

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Exeter Chiefs 
         
Manager – Fluxy

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Nic White
02. Rob Webber	10. Otere Black (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Jake Ball	11. James Lowe
05. Lood de Jager	12. Ma'a Nonu (c)
06. Tom Wood	13. Sam James
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pietersen
08. Fritz lee	15. Mike Haley

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16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Vincent Koch 19. James Horwill 20. Luke Wallace 21. Chris Cook 22. Nick Evans 23. Teddy Thomas
We look to go back to the basic Chiefs style of play this week, and the conditions will help with that this weekend. A high intensity game in both defence and attack, with dynamic carrying and rucking at the fore. We want to control possession and go through the phases. Biggest focal point is to beat them man for man and beat Newcastle playing our way and the Chiefs way at Sandy Park.


Territory - When we kick will aim to find touch deep within Falcons territory and forcing Strettle, Smith and Piatua to turn and chase the ball. Black, White, Nonu and Pietersen all have great kicking games, with all capable of kicking in behind the Falcons back line. With the location of Sandy Park, one half will be playing into strong winds, and either getting no gain, and the other with the wind at our backs. We know our home ground, and playing into the wind, will work the phases through the middle to pick holes, much like the modern day Chiefs.

Lineout - Using Douglas, Wood & Lood to mix up our options and look for possession, and set our powerful maul. We need to control the game, and force Newcastle forwards into giving away penalties by bringing our maul down. Look to drop to six man line outs, with Fritz Lee stood at scrum half ready to secure the ball at the back of the maul.

Forwards - Generally in defence with our line we will look to get stuck in early and get the carrier to ground early. This is to then either ensure we have numbers in the defensive line, or to get numbers in at the breakdown to slow up/turnover Falcons ball. Our back row is renowned for physicality at the breakdown and will frustrate the Falcons carriers and support. Our Pack will target the breakdown, looking to blow through the ruck and past the ball, to create clean ball. Allowing time for the halfbacks to dictate. Look for pick and goes in the Newcastle 22 to frustrate and pick up yards.

Attack - In the opposition half take our time and not rush with ball in hand. Have confidence in our carriers to tie in defenders and get across the gain line and in our backs to exploit the gaps when we create them. Carriers to target the defence down Jackson's channel, who will get fed up and put off his game. Our back three looking to isolate their slower lads in the defensive line eg Ewers, Kubs & De Villiers.

Bench - Utilise the bench for impact, so we only make changes when we want the game to change in our favour, whether to up the effort up front, or to kick points via Nev

Build a Score - Black returns to take on kicking at goal responsibilities. Any penalty within their ten metre to be kicked at goal to keep scoreboard ticking. Unless ten metres from the line then we kick for the line-out and apply pressure.

Home Advantage - We have been nye on unbeatable at home and any side coming to Sandy Park struggles. This week is no different and we will look to put Bath to the sword with the sixteenth man Chief #Chiefsfortress

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Worcester Warriors v London Irish
Sixways
Light Cloud, 9 Degrees, 5mph Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Joe Moody	09. Sam Harrison
02. Codie Taylor	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper	11. Waisake Naholo
05. Leone Nakawara	12. Huw Jones
06. Sam Warburton	13. Mark Bennett
07. George Smith (c)	14. James Short
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Nehe Milner-Skudder

:-
16. Ross Batty 17. Lucas Noguera Paz 18. Luc Dulcalcon 19. Devin Toner 20. Mike Williams 21. Gareth Davies 22. Jules Plisson 23. Mathew Tait

Tactics
Key Points- We have upped our game in the carrying forwards we have available and will use Nakawara and Whiteley often to take away some pressure from Williams but also to draw in defences and make the hard yards. We feel we have 2 opensides to get good ball and Smith and Warburton will look for turnovers when appropriate. We will look to disrupt their ball using our feet to kick the ball through the ruck and make them turn to their own try line. With quick ball we will look to use our strong carriers and back 3 to get over the gainline and keep the scoreboard ticking.

Set Piece-We have gone for bulk and hard workers here who will all look to control our set piece and put pressure on the opposition's, we have filled our pack with carriers most who are used to the conditions this weekend.  We will look to reduce the numbers if required to negate the Irish's ariel challenge. The ball will look to go in and out pretty quickly to prevent any major mistakes/slips in the conditons. And Warburton/Smith will look to fly off the back of the line to put pressure on 10.

Breakdown-Good ball is crucial and we have gone for Smith and Warburton to target this area and make sure that we can slow their ball and give us the quick ball we need for our carriers. Nakawara has been brought in for his carrying game adding to Hooper and Whiteley if we get into a battle up front. We will be looking to get the ball away fairly quick so are happy to pick and go to suck them in before spinning the quick ball out. We want clean ball and will look to attack any gaps on the fringes if they are obvious. We will rush on 10 as we appreciate they are dangerous out wide.

Half-Backs-A controlled game today mainly looking for position however we will spin it if it is on. They will have options of the blindside winger or a forward running off their's and Jones' shoulders for the pop ball.

Outside Backs-When it's on we will look to go wide, we have two different styles of play with our wingers and will use their differences to target any gaps in the Tigers defence. Bennett will make the breaks at 13 releasing the back three. Our back 3 will initially look to keep the ball in hand and Harrison/Williams will be one of the covering players from tactical kicking therefore offering the clearance needed if no gaps appear. We have gone for players in the back 3 who are comfortable in running back the high ball.

Bench-One of the strongest benches we have fielded, class all over with Toner looking to dominate the late lineout, Davies getting back into sniping and Plisson controlling and seeing out the game.

Defence-Controlled defence here and we won't look to rush up, backrow to put pressure on 10 initially with Harrison sweeping behind. Main impeotus is on no gaps and defending inside-out today.

Overall-Looking for a fairly tight game with quick breakdown ball, going for position and put pressure on the opposition's set piece.

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1.Scott Sio
2.Bismark Du Plessie
3.Frans Malherbe
4.Matt Symons
5.Romain Mill Chulski
6.Jerome Kaino
7.Sean O'Brian
8.Duane Vermaulen (C)

9.Ben Youngs
10.Aaron Cruden
11.Marlande Yarde
12.Henry Slade
13.Jesse Kriel
14.Anthony Watson
15.Tim Nanai Williams

Tom Youngs , Joe Marler , Dave Wilson , S Vahaaminia , M Coetzee , Tillous - Borde , Barritt , Nakiatachi
In good conditions we will be looking to get use the power of our pack, especially the backrow to get at the breakdown and unleash our backline with handling and pace galore.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence.  Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle.  Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us.  Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.


Specifics

Lineout.  Look for safe ball with numerous good lock options and Vermeulen offering at the tail. Look to attack the opposition and put pressure on thir throw.

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.  Malherbe 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.  In the opposition half we will play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed.   We will look to get big carriers down the 10 channel and use Habana and Yarde in particular trying to isolate front 5 forwards in the defensive line and use their pace, power and footwork to go past them and get us on the front foot.  We will also If the ball is slow and opposition 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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Newcastle Falcons v Wasps
Kingston Park
Light rain, 12 Degrees, 15mph Winds

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Mullan, George, Kubriashvili, Slater, Flip VDM, Ewers, Louw, Read, Webb, Jackson, Piutau, Mccloskey, Marshall, Strettle, Smith

Coles, Hepburn, Faumuina, Petti, Clark, Chudley, Farrell, Williams

Game plan - Use the big pack to really put their front 5 under pressure, particularly targeting Laulala who has been out for months in the scrum with Mullan's technique. Compete hard for the ball at the ruck to get on top, and challenge number 8 and scrum half combo under pressure at every set piece and ruck, we think they can be targeted

Set piece - Look to really put their props under maximum pressure with Mullan and Kubs, we've got a great scrummaging lock pairing to help. If no weakness, use as restart. Flip to call lineout, mark their second rows and force long throws where Read is waiting. On our ball, use the back row options to mix it up

Breakdown - Louw, Read, Ewers and Coles to lead the way on turnovers. Others focus on strong clear outs and maintaining a strong defensive line. Coles and Read able to split staying close to the ruck, or turning the ball over in wider areas like they do for NZ. On our ball, smash them off the ball, use pod system to ensure support if they are having success.

Kicking - Smith and Marshall to offer options outside Jackson with their accurate boots. Kick in behind the wings for territory, aim for space not the man. Challenge Wade's positioning with Piutau chasing hard and put the high ball up on Goode at every opportunity and smash him

Attack - get the ball out quickly to the in form Jackson, and get Mccloskey /Marshall through gaps. Challenge Barrett defensively with mccloskey and Marshall running hard lines at their channels with Piutau and Smith coming into the line. Big carrying forwards to set a platform, run at Barrett all day long to put them on the back foot off first phase, see how he handles it

Defence - no weak links in the backline, use a blitz in their territory, in ours use the drift to maintain the line and challenge them to beat us one on one

Bench - Big carrying forwards throughout and talented, pacy backs to see us home

---

London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. James Slipper	09. Tomas Cubelli
02. Corey Flynn	10. Charlie Hodgson (k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Grant Gilchrist	11. Rene Ranger
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Christian Lealiifano
06. Sekou Macalau	13. Michelle Campagnaro
07. Carl Fearns	14.  Nick Cummins
08. Victor Vito (c)	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Nathan Catt 17. Eliott Dee, 18. Tom West 19. Sam Twomey , 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21. Ben Spencer, 22. Craig Gilroy 23.  Duncan Taylor

We are using this weekend to rest our hard working internationals, all of whom have had a very strong six nations. However, rested by Italy last week, we are excited to start dynamic new signing Michelle Campagnaro outside of Australian international Lealiifano getting his first Wasps start, as does his old club partner, Tomas Cubelli and another Australian International and ex-club captain James Slipper.

Tactics:

The breakdown- team effort, only committing when a turnover is on in either direction, with strong support from the front row in particular, Fearns and Malacau taking turns to chase the ball in attack and defence to ensure one of them is first to the ball in attack and defence as well as letting them support any breaks/take offloads and cover for missed tackles or opposition offloads.

Defence: blitz defence led by Lealiifano, with 2 excellent front up defenders in the centre really pressuring opposition midfield. One flanker ball chasing to add extra offload/break cover. Our physical wingers looking to smash theirs as soon as they get the ball- they lack the handling subtlety to spin the ball quickly or step us . Vito looking to pressurise Webb and sending forwards in to smash Jackson when we can. Cubelli sweeping. Fringe defence led by the locks alert for snipes from Webb.

Attack: keep slow ball moving and build it up with mauls and pick and drives. Look to attack the fringes with mobile backrow and Cubelli sniping.

Once a bit more speed at the breakdown, can start to punch holes and drive back defenders with short direct passes off 9-10-12 with powerful carriers across the whole team but especially in Kepu, Slipper, Fearns, Vito, Campagnaro, Ranger and Cummins. If breaks are made, the flankers are ready to support and our 13 and wings to target broken play.

Proper quick ball to be spun to Hodgson, attacking the line, looking to bring our runners coming from depth and using angles to slice through the defensive line, then quickly recycle and move the point of attack using Lealiifano and Pennell as extra playmakers.

Kicking: take on any easy points. Lealiifano back up kicker. In kick defence, look to run the ball back, and as the wingers don't have defensive aerial play and kicking as a massive strength, Hodgson particularly adding extra cover here. They have a dangerous back three so try to kick for territory on Strettle's side as he's not as strong fielding kicks and generally kick high for possession to cut their room to run kicks back.

Scrums: we have an experienced hooker and the Australian props, who are used to playing  with each other. Use this cohesion to hold steady on both put ins- we want a solid scrum to have a set defence with early break off and rush by the flankers and to quickly run the ball off Vito and Cubelli.

Lineout: mix up our options with Vito an excellent third jumper. Aim to go quick off the top and use the extra space of the lineout setup to bring our hard runners in at speed and then play moves off second phase ball.

Subs: Lealiifano covers 10, with good form at 9 and pace outwide on the bench for when gaps open up.

1.Scott Sio
2.Bismark Du Plessie
3.Frans Malherbe
4.Matt Symons
5.Romain Mill Chulski
6.Jerome Kaino
7.Sean O'Brian
8.Duane Vermaulen (C)

9.Ben Youngs
10.Aaron Cruden
11.Marlande Yarde
12.Henry Slade
13.Jesse Kriel
14.Anthony Watson
15.Tim Nanai Williams

Tom Youngs , Joe Marler , Dave Wilson , S Vahaaminia , M Coetzee , Tillous - Borde , Barritt , Nakiatachi

Not the correct conditions yet.

Worcester Warriors
Manager – prop_lyd

01. Joe Moody	09. Sam Harrison
02. Codie Taylor	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. Henry Thomas
04. Stuart Hooper	11. Waisake Naholo
05. Leone Nakawara	12. Huw Jones
06. Sam Warburton	13. Mark Bennett
07. George Smith (c)	14. James Short
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Nehe Milner-Skudder

:-
16. Ross Batty 17. Lucas Noguera Paz 18. Luc Dulcalcon 19. Devin Toner 20. Mike Williams 21. Gareth Davies 22. Jules Plisson 23. Mathew Tait

Tactics
Key Points- We have upped our game in the carrying forwards we have available and will use Nakawara and Whiteley often to take away some pressure from Williams but also to draw in defences and make the hard yards. We feel we have 2 opensides to get good ball and Smith and Warburton will look for turnovers when appropriate. We will look to disrupt their ball using our feet to kick the ball through the ruck and make them turn to their own try line. With quick ball we will look to use our strong carriers and back 3 to get over the gainline and keep the scoreboard ticking.

Set Piece-We have gone for bulk and hard workers here who will all look to control our set piece and put pressure on the opposition's, we have filled our pack with carriers most who are used to the conditions this weekend. We will look to reduce the numbers if required to negate the Irish's ariel challenge. The ball will look to go in and out pretty quickly to prevent any major mistakes/slips in the conditons. And Warburton/Smith will look to fly off the back of the line to put pressure on 10.

Breakdown-Good ball is crucial and we have gone for Smith and Warburton to target this area and make sure that we can slow their ball and give us the quick ball we need for our carriers. Nakawara has been brought in for his carrying game adding to Hooper and Whiteley if we get into a battle up front. We will be looking to get the ball away fairly quick so are happy to pick and go to suck them in before spinning the quick ball out. We want clean ball and will look to attack any gaps on the fringes if they are obvious. We will rush on 10 as we appreciate they are dangerous out wide.

Half-Backs-A controlled game today mainly looking for position however we will spin it if it is on. They will have options of the blindside winger or a forward running off their's and Jones' shoulders for the pop ball.

Outside Backs-When it's on we will look to go wide, we have two different styles of play with our wingers and will use their differences to target any gaps in the Tigers defence. Bennett will make the breaks at 13 releasing the back three. Our back 3 will initially look to keep the ball in hand and Harrison/Williams will be one of the covering players from tactical kicking therefore offering the clearance needed if no gaps appear. We have gone for players in the back 3 who are comfortable in running back the high ball.

Bench-One of the strongest benches we have fielded, class all over with Toner looking to dominate the late lineout, Davies getting back into sniping and Plisson controlling and seeing out the game.

Defence-Controlled defence here and we won't look to rush up, backrow to put pressure on 10 initially with Harrison sweeping behind. Main impeotus is on no gaps and defending inside-out today.

Overall-Looking for a fairly tight game with quick breakdown ball, going for position and put pressure on the opposition's set piece.

Weather updated, you can tweak your teams if needed

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Alex Waller	09. Lee Dickson
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Jannie Du Plessis
04. Sam Whitelock	11. Hosea Gear
05. Geoff Parling	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Thierry Dusatoir	13. Conrad Smith
07. Will Fraser	14. Telusa Veainu
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Pat Lambie

:-
16. Motu Mat'u 17. Ben Franks 18. Paul Hill 19. Patricio Albacete 20. Temani Harrison 21. Brad Weber 22. Henry Trinder 23. Miles Benjamin

Tactics:

TARGET SCRUM - Look to get after JKW and put pressure on the Exeter scrum. All International front row to come on in the 2nd half and apply more pressure.

BIG RUNNERS DOWN THE 10 CHANNEL - Look to get big runners Hughes, SBW, Gear etc running down the 10/12 channel and target  Black's defence. Look to get runners off this and cause problems in midfield.

TARGET BREAKDOWN - Numerous options in Dusatoir, Fraser, Whitelock, Hughes. Attack with pace off turnover ball. Few options for the opposition so we feel we can get on top here. Look to target Armitage and prevent him having any impact on the game.


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. Look to control the tempo and areas we play with kicking options at halfback.

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.

Can somebody put the Gloucester team in?

Or I can run with it

I'll put one in for Gloucester mate

Cheers Steve

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Logi Mulipola	09. Sam Hildago Clyne
02. Ashley Johnson	10. Lima Sopoaga
03. Ramiro Herrara
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Julian Savea
05. Courtney Lawes	12. Matt Giteau
06. Faconda Isa	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. David Pocock(c)	14. Adam Ashley Cooper
08. Schalke Burger	15. Ben Foden

Replacements:
16. Dave Ward 17. Mako Vunipola 18. Martin Castrogiovanni 19. Jonny Gray 20. Samu Manoa 21. Joe Simpson 22. Elliot Daly 23. Weslie Fofana

Tactics
We are looking to play with our usual aggressive, physical style in the forwards with big runners getting us over the gainline and putting Quins on the backfoot and not giving them any time on the ball. We will look for Burger, Isa and Pocock to dominate the breakdown with their experience and seek turnovers to launch attacks. Our aim is to give our halfbacks good front foot ball to attack Quins and use the power of Tuilagi to punch through the away teams defence. We have selected a 9,10,12 combination to ensure we can win the tactical kicking battle. Win the game with the power of our bench in final quarter.

Set Piece
We've been rotating our pack over the last few weeks to ensure that they are fresh and getting players game time. We've selected a team that has a strong lineout presence and allow us to mix up our attack. We will get Lawes to attack Quins ball through his athleticism.

Gainline/Physical Battle
We want to put real emphasis on the gainline battle, so have picked powerful ball carriers throughout our pack and strike runners in our backline. We want to suck in Quins backline to stop our pack going forward and create space outwide for our backline. We have some very strong runners in the pack and do not see Quins having the strike runners in their backline to get decent ground over the gainline, while we will get Manu and Savea on the ball and putting us on the front foot.

Breakdown
We want to really focus on winning the breakdown battle, with Pocock and Burger we will look to dominate this area in terms of experience and outplay their opposite number. We want turnovers to attack off of, quick ball for SHC to exploit. Our aim is to make this area a real mess on Quins ball and make it difficult for them to get quick ball for their halfbacks without putting in numbers.

Attack
We will look to get our forwards on the ball and running off Sopoaga and Giteau to make inroads into Quins defensive line and providing space for our strike runners in the backline to exploit and get Savea and Tuilagi on the ball as often as possible. The light rain won't stop us wanting to play a quick high-tempo game and go through the phases.

Kicking
With SHC, Sopoaga and Giteau we feel we have a strong kicking game and will look to ensure we dominate the territory battle, which will help us away from home. We'll look to put the ball high up on Corderos wing and see how he copes with a strong kick chase.

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. Really target Myler with Lawes and co and force him into errors and providing bad ball for the backs. SHC to sweep behind the defensive line

Gloucester

1.  Tendai Mtawaira
2.  Adrian Strauss
3.  Coenie Ousthaizen
4.  Eben Etzebeth
5.  Tomas Lavanini
6.  Tom Croft
7.  Pablo Matera
8.  Willem Alberts
9.  Dan Robson
10. Dan Carter  (c) (k)
11. Jonny May
12. Matt Toomua
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Charlie Walker
15. Israel Folau

16. Luke Cowan-Dickie  17. Nick Wood 18. Uini Atonio 19. George Robson 20. Arno Botha  21. TJ  Perenara 22. Danny Cipriani 23. Melasela Talebula


Tactics

We've chosen a physical and abrasive pack in wet conditions with the sole intention of winning the battle on the gain line. We know we need to get over the gain line and put Bath on the back foot to allow Carter to pull the strings as nobody else in the world can.  We will look to use our pack carrying off 9 and 10 with one of our back row offering a hard line in the midfield as an option. We want Robson and Carter to have control over the pace of the game and we feel that we can do this by getting our pack on the front foot with ball in hand.

In the backs we will look to use Robson, Carter and Toomua to control our field position and the pace at which we play. We've a great option in Kuridrani to get us over the gain line when we need the hard yards and outside that we have guys who have the skill sets to play with ball in hand in these conditions (deep in Bath territory). We will look to pepper Christian Wade with high balls looking to use Folau against him to get territory and possession with Carters accurate boot. 

In these conditions the set piece is going to be crucial. We have chosen a powerful front row with two big strong scrummagers at lock to back them up. We will look for Beast to really pressurise Nepo Laulala. At the lineout we feel we can really put huge pressure on the Bath line out with Croft leading this. We feel we can use Lavanini to mark Kitchener out the game and Etzebeth and Croft can really target the other Bath options. 

In defence we will operate a Blitz from out to in lead by Kuridrani. Bath don't have the option of the outside break with De Allende at 13 so we are going to force them to throw risky wide passes early or force them inside to where our defence is well set. We will look to be very physical in defence and try to stop Bath getting over the gain line. We want Strauss and Matera to really target getting onto that ball first to secure the turnover or a penalty.

Quins

1. Cian Healy
2. Agustín Creevy
3. Kieran Brookes
4. Luke Romano
5. Pieter Steph Du Toit
6. Jack Clifford
7. Michael Hooper  (c)
8. Mamuka Gorgodze
9. Ruan Pienaar
10. Steven Myler (k)
11. Jack Nowell
12. Juan Martin Hernandez
13. Jonathan Joseph
14. Santiago Cordero
15. Rob Kearney

16. Christophe Tolofua 17. Ethan Waller 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Nick Easter 20. Jaco Kriel 21. Henry Pyrgos 22. Damian McKenzie 23. Robbie Henshaw

Game Plan


In slippery conditions we will look to play the game in the Saints half. We will look to ask questions of Foden, AAC and Savea's kicking game when they are being turned around by Pienaar, Myler and Hernandez and hope this will allow us to dominate territory. We will also look to test Savea under the high ball from minute one. 

We will look to kick for touch as we feel, without a recognised line out leader, we can really get some joy at the Saints line out by using Pieter Steph Du Toit to spoil as he has done so brilliantly for the Stormers. He will be ably assisted by Romano, Gorgodze and Clifford. 

When get the ball in the Saints territory it is all about patience. We have two half backs who play the percentages well and will look to direct our forwards around the pitch until we get quick ball and then look to release our lethal outside backs on the front foot. In Hernandez we have a brilliant play-maker who can put Cordero, Nowell, Joseph and later Henshaw and McKenzie into gaps once we are on the front foot. 

We feel with our pack we have 8 genuinely top quality carriers who are able to get us on the front foot. They have pace, dynamism and physicality which can be used across the pitch. 

When we get the ball out wide we will look to fill Tuilagi's channel with runners in order to test his positioning. We feel that using a simple wedge move we are able to drag him out the line and create space outwide and out the back, especially when he is defending next to Savea who we don't think will be able to cover for him positionally.

Set Piece


We've outlined above how we feel we can really exert dominance at the line out using Du Toit. He will lead our line and will vary between short and full line outs to make the job difficult for Saints. At the scrum, we feel Brookes can really get at Mulipola and get our right side up so Gorgodze can run hard and Saints 10. 

Breakdown


As the Stormers did so effectively recently against the Brumbies, a simple way to negate the impact of Pocock is to force him to make tackles. He is not effective at the ruck when he is the first tackler so our pack will really look to isolate him and run hard at him to tire him out and work him hard. We will always look to carry in numbers so we have men to clear out. In Clifford, Hooper and Creevy we ourselves have 3 men who are very strong at the breakdown and will test the ageing Burger and Pocock who will be tackling all day. 

Defence  

Chop tackles to stop the runners dead in there tracks. This means we are able to attack the breakdown and try to turnover ball or win penalties. We feel we are able to match Saints physically in the forwards and can stop them building up a head of steam. 

Additional Point


At half time we will bring on Henshaw for Joseph and McKenzie for Nowell, switch Kearney to the left wing. We feel this will energise us and McKenzie can provide another first receiver and yet another kicking option to get us in the right areas of the pitch.

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Danny Care
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Bernard Foley
03. Davit Zirakishvilli
04. Dave Attwood	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Brodie Retalick	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Sean McMahon	13. Malakai Fekitoa
07. Sam Cane	14. Simon Zebo
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Willie Le Roux

Subs:
16. Malcolm Marx 17. Ross Harrison 18. Martin Moore 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Francois Steyn 23. Nick Abendanon

Du Preez: The loss of Fourie Du Preez to retirement is massive for Tigers with their attacking set up built off him for the last few seasons. We will play ouir usual high speed blitz to put the Tigers attack under pressure as they must now adapt their set up.
  
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. De Klerk to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

Breakdown: Quick ball is the aim on attack. Mobile pack and physical back line to clear out rucks and ensure we get it. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to give a target to hit. Defensively when the initial contact is won we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. Otherwise we will strengthen the line.

Defence: Similar set up to the Welsh with Foley and Le Roux defending deep to cover the backfield. Both wingers will step into the defensive line, to be part of the straight line blitz led by Fekitoa, to shut down space in the wider channels. Focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial.  De Klerk 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.

Lineout: Five mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to get the backs on the ball in space. Defensively POM to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball looking to make it as messy as possible.

Mullan, George, Kubriashvili, Slater, Flip VDM, Ewers, Louw, Read, Webb, Jackson, Piutau, Mccloskey, Marshall, Strettle, Smith

Coles, Hepburn, Faumuina, Petti, Clark, Chudley, Farrell, Williams 

Will format with tactics

Game plan - Use the big pack to really put their front 5 under pressure, particularly targeting Kepu with Mullan's technique. Compete hard for the ball at the ruck to get on top, and challenge number 8 and scrum half combo under pressure at every set piece and ruck, we think they can be targeted. Louw to lead us at breakdown

Set piece - Look to really put their props under maximum pressure with Mullan and Kubs, we've got a great scrummaging lock pairing to help. If no weakness, use as restart. Flip to call lineout, mark their second rows and force long throws where Read is waiting. On our ball, use the back row options to mix it up

Breakdown - Louw, Read, Ewers and George to lead the way on turnovers. Others focus on strong clear outs and maintaining a strong defensive line. Coles and Read able to split staying close to the ruck, or turning the ball over in wider areas like they do for NZ. On our ball, smash them off the ball, use pod system to ensure support if they are having success.

Kicking - Smith and Marshall to offer options outside Jackson with their accurate boots. Kick in behind the wings for territory, aim for space not the man. Challenge Rangers positioning with Piutau chasing hard and put the high ball up on Goode at every opportunity and smash him

Attack - get the ball out quickly to the in form Jackson, and get Mccloskey /Marshall through gaps. Challenge Barrett defensively with mccloskey and Marshall running hard lines at their channels with Piutau and Smith coming into the line. Big carrying forwards to set a platform, run at Hodgson all day long to put them on the back foot off first phase, see how he handles it

Defence - no weak links in the backline, use a blitz in their territory, in ours use the drift to maintain the line and challenge them to beat us one on one

Bench - Big carrying forwards throughout and talented, pacy backs to see us home

London Wasps
Manager: CJ

01. James Slipper	09. Tomas Cubelli
02. Corey Flynn	10. Charlie Hodgson (k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Grant Gilchrist	11. Rene Ranger
05. Kearnan Myall	12. Christian Lealiifano
06. Sekou Macalau	13. Michelle Campagnaro
07. Carl Fearns	14.  Nick Cummins
08. Victor Vito (c)	15. Chris Pennell

:-
16. Nathan Catt 17. Eliott Dee, 18. Tom West 19. Sam Twomey , 20 Alexandre Lapandry, 21. Ben Spencer, 22. Craig Gilroy 23.  Duncan Taylor

We are using this weekend to rest our hard working internationals, all of whom have had a very strong six nations. However, rested by Italy last week, we are excited to start dynamic new signing Michelle Campagnaro outside of Australian international Lealiifano getting his first Wasps start, as does his old club partner, Tomas Cubelli and another Australian International and ex-club captain James Slipper.

Tactics:

The breakdown- team effort, only committing when a turnover is on in either direction, with strong support from the front row in particular, Fearns and Malacau taking turns to chase the ball in attack and defence to ensure one of them is first to the ball in attack and defence as well as letting them support any breaks/take offloads and cover for missed tackles or opposition offloads.

Defence: blitz defence led by Lealiifano, with 2 excellent front up defenders in the centre really pressuring opposition midfield. One flanker ball chasing to add extra offload/break cover. Our physical wingers looking to smash theirs as soon as they get the ball- they lack the handling subtlety to spin the ball quickly or step us . Vito looking to pressurise Webb and sending forwards in to smash Jackson when we can. Cubelli sweeping. Fringe defence led by the locks alert for snipes from Webb.

Attack: keep slow ball moving and build it up with mauls and pick and drives. Look to attack the fringes with mobile backrow and Cubelli sniping.

Once a bit more speed at the breakdown, can start to punch holes and drive back defenders with short direct passes off 9-10-12 with powerful carriers across the whole team but especially in Kepu, Slipper, Fearns, Vito, Campagnaro, Ranger and Cummins. If breaks are made, the flankers are ready to support and our 13 and wings to target broken play.

Proper quick ball to be spun to Hodgson, attacking the line, looking to bring our runners coming from depth and using angles to slice through the defensive line, then quickly recycle and move the point of attack using Lealiifano and Pennell as extra playmakers.

Kicking: take on any easy points. Lealiifano back up kicker. In kick defence, look to run the ball back, and as the wingers don't have defensive aerial play and kicking as a massive strength, Hodgson particularly adding extra cover here. They have a dangerous back three so try to kick for territory on Strettle's side as he's not as strong fielding kicks and generally kick high for possession to cut their room to run kicks back.

Scrums: we have an experienced hooker and the Australian props, who are used to playing with each other. Use this cohesion to hold steady on both put ins- we want a solid scrum to have a set defence with early break off and rush by the flankers and to quickly run the ball off Vito and Cubelli.

Lineout: mix up our options with Vito an excellent third jumper. Aim to go quick off the top and use the extra space of the lineout setup to bring our hard runners in at speed and then play moves off second phase ball.

Subs: Lealiifano covers 10, with good form at 9 and pace outwide on the bench for when gaps open up.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – LukeLovesLuka

01. Mikheil Nariashvili	09. Fourie Du Preez
02. Stephen Moore (c)	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Owen Franks
04. George Skivington	11. Matt Banahan
05. Victor Matfield	12. Kurtley Beale
06. Juan Smith	13. Mathieu Bastareaud
07. JMF Lobbe	14. Sitiveni Sivivatu
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Drew Mitchell

.
16. Schalk Brits 17. Max Lahiff 18. Brian Mujati 19. Pascal Pape 20. Wycliffe Palu 21. Micky Young 22. Billy Twelvetrees 23. Mike Brown



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 Skiv, 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 Sale 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 /b] to give the opposition problems in the air. We will really test Nadolo 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. Moore to look to target Taylor and to look to really get the shove on.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down Sale 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.

Exeter Chiefs 
         
Manager – Fluxy

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Nic White
02. Rob Webber	10. Otere Black (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Jake Ball	11. James Lowe
05. Lood de Jager	12. Ma'a Nonu (c)
06. Tom Wood	13. Sam James
07. Steffon Armitage	14. JP Pietersen
08. Fritz lee	15. Mike Haley

_
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nic Auterac 18. Vincent Koch 19. James Horwill 20. Luke Wallace 21. Chris Cook 22. Nick Evans 23. Teddy Thomas

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Tawera Kerr Barlow
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Nepo Laulala
04. Will Skelton	11. Juan Imhoff
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Sam Hill
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Damian De Allende
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Christian Wade
08. Josh Beaumont	15. Alex Goode

16. Steven Kitchoff 17. Rory Best 18. Samson Lee 19. James Gaskell 20. Toby Falateu 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Jonathan Davies 23. Liam Williams

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Gloucester 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 where we expect to be dominant and finish strongly off the bench

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. Skelton will add a lot of power to the scrum and we will look to get more power from our back five. Beaumont will look to attack off the quick ball he gets. EBA to relentlessly target Oosthuizen.

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Kolisi, 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. We think we can dominate here against a poor set of jumpers. Skelton will offer quick ball option at the front.

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tipuric is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out.

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

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. TKB 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. Wade and Imhoff 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 EBA, Skelton and Kolisi 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 Gloucester which can help nullify their offensive threats. Imhoff will look to punish Walkers defence.

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

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo with all our internationals off the bench.

Tactics done for Gloucester. Won't be predicting on the game Pooly as feels like a conflict of interest.

Yea that's fine Steve

In good conditions we will be looking to get use the power of our pack, especially the backrow to get at the breakdown and unleash our backline with handling and pace galore.

In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence. Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle. Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us. Smith will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.


Specifics

Lineout. Look for safe ball with numerous good lock options and Vermeulen offering at the tail. Look to attack the opposition and put pressure on thir throw.

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. Malherbe 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. In the opposition half we will play a Super Rugby type offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed. We will look to get big carriers down the 10 channel and use Habana and Yarde in particular trying to isolate front 5 forwards in the defensive line and use their pace, power and footwork to go past them and get us on the front foot. We will also If the ball is slow and opposition 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.

short on time Pooly, could you please chuck in last weeks tactics unless I'm allowed to do some brief ones in the morning!

I won't be up too early mate, heavy night. If not I'll bang last weeks in

Du Preez and Benjamin need to be replaced Luke/Pooly. You can name replacements as retirements are certainly out of your own control!

What do you mean replacements Johnny? We have an extra foreign or something?

In your sides this week I thin he means

Predictions open

Pooly can you add last week's tactics for me please, only got my phone so can't do it

Managed to add them to my post if you can update the thread, if not then please scroll down!

I'm not on laptop mate, prob not till tomorrow

Sgt_Pooly wrote:What do you mean replacements Johnny? We have an extra foreign or something?

Nice try! Steve was bang on.

RESULTS:

Sale 31 (T:4 C:4 P:1)
Leicester 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Gloucester 25 (T:2 P:5)
Bath 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Northampton 24 (T:2 C:1 P:4)
Harlequins 25 (T:2 P:5)

Saracens 30 (T:4 C:2 P:2)
Exeter 22 (T:1 C:1 P:5)

Worcester 24 (T:2 C:1 P:4)
Irish 27 (T:3 C:3 P:2)

Newcastle 27 (T:3 C:3 P:2)
Wasps 20 (T:1 P:5)


Full prediction:

CJB, Flux, Steve, Pooly, SJE, Bam, CJ, Driver, Prop

Half:

Matt

No prediction:

Chris, Luke

I'll get the breakdowns up later

Gets a little tighter at the top for the 2nd home semi.

I might have to start picking 23 players in my match day squad again! Completely missed the Mulipola citing. You've got some players coming into some great form atm Steve.

Sorry I missed the predo, haven't been able to get online that much over the weekend and for some reason thought they were open until today.

Irish storm back into things! KAPOW!

Sale 27 - 21 Leicester

Sale have a clear advantage at the set piece, though the breakdown is close and the carrying battle essentially evens out. Sale also have the advantage in the halfbacks. The rest of the backs are close but Sale's platform is too good

Sale 27-23 Leicester

Sale look to have a step up in class throughout the front 5, back rows more even. FDP a big loss, and Leicester lose out pretty much throughout the backs man for man. Sale the class of the league and tells again

Good battle up front. Much more experience for the Leicester pack but a small edge in quality for Sale. Not much in the half backs for me and whilst Du Preez is a loss Phipps is still a stronger option than Care but half backs overall are even. Centres to Leicester with a combo which offers everything with Sale having the stronger back 3. Bench is strong for Sale which gets them over the line. 

Sale 28-21 Tigers
Prefer the Sale front five, do think Nariashvilli could have done with another week. As a unit I prefer the Sale back row. Half backs to Sale and think their outside backs can take advantage of all the ball.

Sharks 26-24 Tigers
Pretty even up front in the front row battle. Second row sees a great lineout battle, back row for Sale very well balanced although Tigers also have great experience, feel that Sale could just get an edge here. Half backs one a piece but think Sale will just get the better ball. Centres see Sale having a bit more again although Tigers could get a good way through Basteraud to get over the gain line. Good form for both back 3's but again a bit more for Sale. Sharks will get the quick ball they need to get their expansive game going, Tigers did rely on Du Preez in their tactics and this will cause some issues with the late retirement, looking to use big carriers although think Sale have enough to stop it. Slight mark down for Zebo starting.


Sale 28-22 Leicester

Have to give Sale a front row edge with Niri playing his first game but a good option for Tigers moving forward. Big advantage for Sale in the engine room room with both Tigers locks bang out of form. Little in a good backrow battle, Tigers perhaps lack a genuine 7 option to put some pressure on at the breakdown and get on top in these games. Not too much in the 9-13 axis, slight edge to Sale perhaps but they step it up in the back 3.


Sale Sharks 25 - 21 Leicester Tigers

Good contest up front between these two sides. Tigers do look strong with their front row allowing them to get a good foothold in the game. Tigers are hit hard by the retirement of FdP, however Phipps is not a bad back up to have at all! The contest in midfield is relatively even, but Sharks will get the best go forward by having a go at the Tigers back three. Tigers will push Sharks and keep them honest, but Sale will secure victory.
Sale Sharks 28 Leicester 25

Home advantage takes this for sale. Backs are better set out for me and not sure on Drew Mitchell at full back. Can see Sale picking up a few penalties at the scrum and getting a few pots at goal.

Sale 23 - 21 Leicester

Gloucester 28 - 29 Bath


Especially with their second rows, Bath win the scrum, Gloucester just win the lineout though. I think Bath's backrow balance is a bit better and they take the breakdown too. Like both sets of halfbacks, Bath more pace but Gloucester safer. Lots of tries with those attacking, pacy, defensive variable backlines. Bath just edge it

Gloucester 27-24 Bath

Bath got some new props in and will take some time to be fully firing. Glos a step up in power across the back 5 of the pack although not sure about Alberts at 8. One a piece at half back, outside backs close. At home Glos take it

Glos 25-23 Bath
Better for Glos in the front row, 2nd row again see's Glos on top. Looking at the back row this is where Bath could get it back a bit causing slower ball for Glos. Half back pairing for Glos better but Bath no shirkers, think Glos will have better go forward ball for their half backs. 2 good centre pairings both looking to run the ball, same in the back 3 and it all comes down to how much better ball Glos get on the front foot. Very strong Bath bench makes it closer. Glos using their carriers well and Bath using a great impact bench option.

Gloucester 20-14 Bath
Slight advantage for Glaws at both set pieces but not sure on their backrow balance. Halfbacks one a piece and fairly even as combos but Glaws edge the midfield with the real life link up in good form. Defensive issues for both back threes. Bath bench is a big step up late on. Glaws defensive set up works well with the conditions and they are generally set up better for heavy rain.

Gloucester 23-26 Bath

Good front row battle but both TH's not the best at anchoring the set piece. Prefer the Bath engine room and similar in the backrow with Alberts/Croft not quite the players of previous seasons holding Gloucester back a little. Bath just take the halfbacks with a better combo and very little in two good centre combinations. Bath will get a bit more in the back 3 also with May struggling for form, good game.


Gloucester Rugby 21 - 19 Bath Rugby

Gloucester have a heavy and suitable pack for this game, but Bath have also selected wisely. A lot of the tight carrying will be relied upon by Skelton, and put a lot of pressure on Bath to get any momentum. Cherry and Whites will struggle a little at scrum time but will be fine in other departments. A bit of the master and the apprentice in the conditions at fly half, but Goode does help to play the intelligent game for Bath. Both back threes probably not best suited to a game which will require tactical kicking. The introduction of Wigglesworth and Davies will help steady the Bath ship in gaining territory, however Glaws will hold on for the win.
Gloucester 14 Bath Rugby 9

Bath are a good team on paper but there tactics of a high tempo offloading game are totally wrong for monsoon conditions. Carter playing well for Racing as well helps them through.

Saints 30 - 24 Harlequins

Very interesting pack battle with both sets looking class in te loose and the backrow especially with a very close breakdown battle and lots of link work. I think Saints might just tilt the breakdown and they are ahead in the scrum. Harlequins definitely win some Saints' ball at the lineout. Joseph worked very hard this 6n, risk to have him back. Saints look so classy throughout backline, can't really see them losing.

Saints 24-26 Quins

This is desperately tight on paper, really difficult to split the sides on paper. Very well matched across both pack and backs. Ultimately the man down on the bench costs Saints, and Quins tactical game will really come to the fore giving them the win


Saints 23-23 Quins
Prefer the Quins front five. The back rows units are incredibly tough to call. One each in the half backs. Outside of that Saints are stronger. Not having both props hinders Saints here and costs them the win.

Saints 23-26 Quins
Marks down for Vunipola and Healy playing after being away for a long time. Other than that Quins get the go forward up front in the front 5. Back row much closer seeing a great battle between Pocock and Hooper, think they will equal each other out and it is down to the better ball for Quins. Two very solid half back pairings wanting to play heads up rugby, Sopoaga very strong but Myler great at controlling the game. Marks down in centres for the England players but 2 great pairings all the same, not a lot between it. Back 3 to Saints with Nowell marked down. Saints wanting solid rugby and they would have had it if not a player down on the bench, Quins using the boot alot annd Myler excels at this, Quins lucky Saints made a selection error though and get a good win.

Saints 22-23 Quins
Not an awful lot between the set pieces and the breakdown battle worth the entry price although Saints more likely to turn ball over. Not sold on SHC this year but Sopoago in good form. Quins with a good advantage through the backs. Savea really not bothered this season so far for Canes. No LH cover an issue. Feel Quins can get the better of the game terriotorially with the back threes on show and the targetting of Tuilagi works well.

Northampton 18-21 Quins

Have to mark down the 6N players, both managers quite surprisingly going with these, more so in the forwards. Both LH's not the greatest in the scrum and get marked down for being away. Quins with the lock advantage with Launchbury away and hard to rate. Good backrow contest, I'd move Burger away from 8, Clifford marked down. Quins stronger at 9 and little in the 10's, players marked down in the backline. Some poor calls playing so many 6N players which could hinder in games over the next few weeks. Saints a man down costs them in the end with Quins stronger in the pack.


Northampton Saints 20 - 21 Harlequins

Game of the round between these two teams. Saints just get a nudge in the scrum but otherwise both are even in terms of securing their possession. A great cont on the decks, between Pocock and Hooper, with Clifford and Isa providing support. The control from the Halfbacks means both sides are probing and the game is mostly played between the 22's. A little more penetration from the Saints back three but the elusive Quins wings are dangerous on the counter. A really tight game and with Saints a man short, Quins will just edge this one away from home.

Northampton Saints 23 Harlequins 19

Northampton well set out with two good boots in 10/12 and a big packs. Quins are really abrassive in there forwards and it keeps the game close. Lack a route one option in the backs and for me it holds them back a bit.

Saracens 27 - 22 Exeter

Close scrum battle, maybe Saracens just on top. Not much in the lineout though I think Saracens front 5 offer more around the park, maybe. Exeter give it a good go at the breakdown but Saracens as usual too strong here. Nonu>SBW playing 7s, but otherwise Saracens have an edge outside 9, and will win at home

Saracens 24-21 Exeter

Sarries stronger in front 5, back rows even with quality flankers for Chiefs. Halfbacks even, Sarries stronger in outside backs, with Veianu a great signing. At home, Sarries strong enough to take this

Upfront Saracens have the stronger front 5 De Jager aside but Exeter have the stronger back row. Set piece will be edged to Saracens in scrum and line with breakdown tough to call. Step up for Saracens at 10 which hurts the Chiefs. Prefer the Saracens centres though Chiefs have a real threat with ball in hand. Prefer the Chiefs back three. At home across the pitch Saracens have more.

Saracens 26-19 Exeter
Prefer the Sarries front five. Like the balance of the back row but Satries have a bit more quality. Half backs go to Sarries and with their outside backs they can punish Exeter.

Sarries 25-23 Chiefs
Evens in the front row, 2nd row goes to Sarries, just! Awesome back row battle, Armitage seems to be having a quieter season which brings this battle closer and think, with the option of Hughes, Sarries can edge this. Half backs to Sarries currently and this will release a good centre pairing although SBW in 7s brings it closer as tough to rate, solid from Chiefs. Back 3 to Sarries with Veaniu a great signing. Two great benches. Chiefs want intensity and territory which may prove difficult, end of tactics refer to a home game vs Bath too! Sarries focusing on stopping Armitage and for pack dominance which I feel they will just get the upper hand here.

Sarries 22-20 Exeter
Not an awful lot between the packs at the set piece or breakdown but possibly carrying to the Chiefs 8. Halfbacks one a piece but Sarries the stronger as a combo. Questions over both 12s since the world cup. Chiefs wingers stronger in the air and with the boot. Both sides very structured but Sarries at home with the halfbacks on show should take this.

Saracens 34 Exeter 27

Really good game this, Plenty of turnovers in it and Sanchez best in the world at opening the game up from turnovers. More quality in the positions that make the spine sees Saracens take the win.

Saracens 26 - 23 Exeter

Worcester 23 - 24 London Irish

Irish win the scrum, evens lineout. Worcester on top at the breakdown and both packs good at breaking the gainline. However, Nakawara may give Worcester an advantage with his offloading. Pretty even back 3s but Irish have the edge at HB and an excellent centre pairing. I think Irish just do enough to win away

Worcester 22-22 London Irish

Irish stronger at scrum, lineout evens. Irish better carriers but the dual openside approach for Wuss will pay dividends. Irish take the halfbacks, and as a whole the outside backs. Very tough to call with benches even, I'll sit on the fence

Worcester look really strong up front in the loose and will dominate the breakdown with Warburton and Smith in tandem. Feel that Irish lack mobility in the pack but have a real physical edge to them. Quite a significant half back advantage for Irish and they are stronger in the outside backs across the board. Overall I think Irish edge the contest but don't have enough to win away.

Warriors 22-30 Irish
Prefer the Irish front five. They have an advantage at the breakdown but the back row lacks a lot for me. Half backs go to Irish and the outside backs turn it on.

Worcester 25-30 Irish
Slight scrum advantage for Irish. Worc should cause issues at the breakdown but Irish with more of a carrying game in the backrow. Halfbacks a big step up for Irish. Worc back three dangerous but Watson in good form. Good conditions for a running game and can see Irish doing well here.

Worcester 24-24 Irish

Good front row contest siding to the away side but got back somewhat in the locks with Worcester stronger. Edge to Irish in the backrow but not by a great deal and a good contest. Youngs marked down but Cruden finally finding some form will help Irish over the next few weeks. Irish miss a physical option in midfield and Wuss stronger in the back 3.

Worcester Warriors 20 - 22 London Irish

Warriors imperiously strong up front and the acquisition of Nakwara gives them a little X-factor that was once missing. The back row contest is a tasty one, with Smith in good form for Wuss. The midfield contest is a good one with a lot of creativity in the Irish 10 & 12 shirts. This allows both dynamite sets of back threes get good ball and gain some good yards. This game comes really close, although the boots will tell the difference. Cruden will push Irish home.

Worcester 24 - 24 London Irish

Wasps edge the front row with Falcons looking stronger in the back row with a excellent trio on show. Evens at half back and in the outside backs and its a narrow victory for the Falcons at home.

Falcons 26-23 Wasps
Front row to Wasps, second row to Falcons. Falcons have the edge in the back row. Falcons slightly better in both half back positions, Hodgson is a weakness to start in this league. Outside backs to Wasps

Falcons 22-21 Wasps
Front row edge to Falcons with a solid front 5 option as well, Wasps have good lineout options to keep this closer. Starting Flip VDM instantly could cause some problems with Falcons' balance bringing the back row battle a bit closer. Half backs close with Cubelli a great signing and Wasps can control well here. Feel Falcons are stronger with back 3 and centres although a lot of mistakes in their tactics naming players who aren't playing up against Wasps clear with their blitz defence and looking to share the breakdown duties brings it very close and they almost nick it.

Newcastle 20-18 Wasps
Looking at the packs nothing between the set piece but Falcons edge the breakdown. Good control for Wasps from 9-12 and Campagnaro in good form but there are definitely teething issues. More of a threat from the Falcons back three and with a strong showing from the pack they should close Wasps out as they stutter a bit through this one on attack.

Newacstle 25-22 Wasps

Not easy to read the Falcons team at all!!! Falcons stronger in the pack in general but much improved backline for Wasps overall, this will stand them in good stead in future games. If Wasps could get one top lock and a genuine 7 they'd have a great chance of getting some wins under their belt before the end of the season.

Newcastle Falcons 20 - 18 Wasps

Wasps much stronger as of late, and can see their energetic pack causing Falcons eight some issues. The Cubelli Hodgson combo is great at dictating play for Wasps, and the midfield battle is an intriguing one. Falcons are a step up in the back three, although Wasps no slouches. Falcons bench will edge the contest, especially in the front compared to the young Wasps replacements.
Newcastle 24 London Wasps 20

Falcons have quality across the board where Wasps lack it in some positions. Not sure on tactics as Wasps have no Barrett too run at? Can see Piatatau getting a brace.

Newcastle 22 - 21 Wasps

Sorry for the slightly lopsided explanations. I had to move a few around in the spreadsheet and they've went a little crazy.

Worth pointing out that most 6n players played this week. Not sure why this is still considered a problem.

Did you not see half of them Steve?

Ben Youngs was a good example, he was hanging out of his ass. Sarries players looked ok but they have a great rotation policy.

All opinions I guess.

Apologies for the lack of formatting!

Wouldn't worry about it Bam. This website tends to change up the formatting from time to time depending on what browser your using etc!