Aviva Premiership Round Twenty

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Gloucester Rugby vs Sale Sharks 
Kingsholm Stadium
Light Cloud - 12 degrees, 13mph North Westerly Winds

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Gloucester 
Caretaker Manager - Pooly

01. Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira	09. Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. Richie Grey	11. Johnny May
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Ryan Crotty
06. Ross Moriarty	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Ardie Savea	14. Israel Dagg
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Israel Folau

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Replacements: 16. Titi Lamisotele, 17. Adriann Strauss, 18. Coenie Ousthuizen, 19. Sam Dickinson, 20. Tom Croft, 21. TJ Penerara, 22. Danny Cipriani, 23. Will Addison

Defence
• Drift Defence: Your side is known for the drift and maintaining the line and excels at it.
  
• Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty. 
  
  Attack
  
• Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
  
• Counter Attacking: Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces.
  

- High tempo game with bags of fitness/pace in the back and backs, look to run the legs off the oppsotion and use this to our advantage

- Set the tone in the set-piece with a strong foundation. Look to attack the opposition scrum and lineout and exploit weaknesses as seen

- Strong defensive to shut out any space for opposition on the drift defence. Look to squeeze space rather than rushing, make the opposition break us down. Moriarty/Savea to give us physicality in the tackle and look to pounce on this

- Look to bring our exciting backs into the game at any point. Strong kicking from the halfbacks gives us the option to keep the opp defence on their toes and we'll look to use this to our advantage with Carter pulling the strings

- Folau to come into the line and cause disruption

- Plenty of impact from the bench to carry on with the high tempo game

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Scott Sio	09. Danny Care
02. Malcolm Marx	10. Bernard Foley
03. Martin Moore
04. Iain Henderson	11. Ruan Combrinck
05. Dave Attwood	12. Malakai Fekitoa
06. Sean McMahon	13. Gary Ringrose
07. Sam Cane	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Duane Vermulean	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Tommy Taylor 17. Ross Harrison 18. Atu Moli 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Quade Cooper 23. Joe Marchant

Attributes:
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises.
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown.

Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it.
Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.  

Attack: We will be playing a high intensity phased attacking game. 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 and restructure our attacking phases. Care to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

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

Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. Bendy & Foley to cover the background dropping deep to cut off the green grass available to kick into.

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 Attwood to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball while Henderson marshals the middle looking to make it as messy as possible.

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Harlequins vs Exeter Chiefs
Twickenham Stoop
Light Cloud - 13 degrees, 12mph North Westerly Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cian Healy	09. Luke McGrath
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Elton Jantjies
03. Tadhg Furlong
04. Pieter Steph Du Toit	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Jaco Kriel	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Santiago Cordero
08. Jack Clifford	15. Damian McKenzie (k)

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16. Rob Webber 17. Richard Barrington 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Ruan Pienaar 22. Juan Martin Hernandez 23. Yoann Huget

Attributes

Phase Attack - Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Counter Attack - Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces. 

Breakdown (Turnover Possession) -  Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line. 

Game Plan

• We are going to look to play a fast-paced game based around quick recycling of the ball and using the pace of our side to move Chiefs around the field. Our pack is full of players comfortable with ball in hand and our back line is full of electric runners who will enjoy the open space and dry conditions with ball in hand.

• Up front, we will look for our pack to carry hard off 9, 10 and 12 to get us going forward. McGrath will look to snipe around the fringes using his electric pace and feed runners or provide Jantjies with quick service. Jantjies will look to stand flat and put others into space. Once we tie in Chiefs defenders or break the line, we will look to get the ball wide to our outside backs.

• McGrath and Jantjies have been picked for their ability to play at pace and control the tempo. They are charged with getting us playing through quick taps and getting quick ball

• We will be looking to run the ball from everywhere and starve Chiefs of the ball. We have the more mobile pack and a back line with elusive and strong runners who can make breaks and use the space available. We won’t allow Chiefs to dictate the pace of the game.

• We have a solid set piece with Creevy and Furlong arguably the best in the world in their positions and Kruis running the line out. We know we will be able to guarantee our own ball to launch attacks from.

• Look for our back three to come looking for work. McKenzie to offer as a first receiver and Nowell and Cordero to come looking for the ball when they are on the blind side offering options out the back for Jantjies.

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Nathan Catt	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Dane Coles	10. Camille Lopez
03. Ben Tameifuna
04. Courtney Lawes	11. James Lowe
05. Kane Douglas	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Liam Messam	13. Maxime Mermoz
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Chris Ashton
08. Thomas Waldrom	15. Alex Lozowski

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Subs: 16. Tom Youngs, 17. Jefferon Poirot, 18. Brian Mujati, 19. James Horwill, 20. Teimana Harrison, 21. Chris Cook, 22. Colin Slade, 23. JP Pietersen

Exeter Chiefs have freshened their side up after a tough win at home to Bristol by bringing in Nathan Catt, Kane Douglas, Liam Messam, Thomas Waldrom and James Lowe for Jefferson Poirot, James Horwill, Dave Ewers, Sergio Parisse and Noa Nakaitaci.

Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch.
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line.

We will play a forward based and territory based game to get in the right positions of the pitch.

We have picked the players to do this. Big carriers and a mobile back and hard working back row. Laidlaw is the perfect controlling 9 and will give good service to Lopez . Lozowski is in at 15 for his boot and counter attacking ability. He will also come in as a receiver at times, a la Alex Goode for Sarries.

We have picked a big pack and are targeting the forward battle as key to the win. We have a solid scrum to build from and two big locks who are both good lineout options.

The set piece will be important and we will look to use this as a weapon to attack from and gain territory. Our back row are all big carriers and we will use them all to gain hard yards and tire out Quins defenders. Messam, Coles, Ben T, Coetzee, Waldrom are all good strong ball carriers and will look to get us front foot ball for Lopez to work with.

In the backs we will use Nonu as a crash ball option and a decoy runner to open up space for the likes of Mermoz, Lowe and Ashton to exploit. Laidlaw will kick all pens for goal if in range and if not look to kick deep to gain territory.

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Leicester Tigers vs Newcastle Falcons 
Welford Road
Light Cloud - 11 degrees, 15mph North Westerly Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Fluxy

01. Mikheil Nariashvili	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Hika Elliott	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Owen Franks
04. Jake Ball	11. Henry Purdy
05. Dominic Bird	12. Ben Te'o
06. Don Armand (c)	13. Gael Fickou
07. Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe	14. Sean Maitland
08. Samu Manoa	15. Mike Brown

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Subs: 16. Dave Ward 17. Gethin Jenkins 18. Harry Williams 19. Stan South 20. Sam Jones 21. Antoine Dupont 22. Joey Carbery 23. Kurtley Beale


Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based, fast offloading game, keeping the ball alive moving the Falcons 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 Trinh-Duc, Fickou and Brown to take us up the field. Our general play however this week will be about keeping the ball away from the Falcons back three, unless we have a good chase on the kick - the chase makes the kick. We want our pack to dominate and suffocate the Newcastle pack, to prevent them getting a platform for their back line. 

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. Hougaard 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 Bird, Armand and Lobbe as receivers, whilst also at times shortening the line and using our big 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 Falcons as scrappy as we can.
  
  
• Scrum - Hit channel one ball and get it to the back quickly, looking to maximise the space available with the opposition forwards packed down. On their ball, 8 man shove and look to drive them off as their hooker lifts his foot to hook the ball. Franks to stay tight and straight. Flanker on that side to stay bound and keep Franks square.
  
  
• Breakdown - When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly, so that Hougaard can feed the ball quickly to forwards, the first receiver, or snipe through a hole. In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not over commit, 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 slow up momentum, or turn over possession. Key for us is being selective, and only committing men to a contestable ruck. 
  
  
• Attacking Play - We will be looking to play a fast offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed. However this will only be implemented within the opposition half. We will also utilise the pick and go, meaning their defensive line cannot blitz efficiently. We will then we will look to exploit the delay in their blitz that results. We will then look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps. Hougaard to also look to snipe around the fringes, to keep the defence honest and keep us going forwards all the time.
  
  
• Tactical Kicking - If we kick, we will look to kick for the corners and contest the opposition lineout.
  

Key Points

• High Quality Spine - In those key jerseys, 2,8,9,10,15 we have top class operators. In big games, when things get tight, those guys can be the difference between winning and losing.
  
  
• Impact Bench - 4 full internationals. All can have a huge impact on this game.
  
  
• Forward Domination - We will look to use our highly experienced international quality pack to dominate proceedings and be a nuisance at all opportunities, this is to prevent the Falcons back line getting any headway or clean possession. 
  
  
• Home Form - We haven't lost at home many times this season, and will look to avenge the early season loss to Falcons in the reverse fixture, with the 16th man helping us on. 
  

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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
02. Jamie George	10. Owen Farrell
03. Vincent Koch
04. Flip Van Der Merwe	11. Charles Piutau
05. Lood De Jager	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Pablo Matera	13. Scott Williams
07. Callum Clark	14. Denny Solomona
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Ben Smith

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16. Camille Chat 17. Nic Auterac 18. Davit Kubriashvili 19. Matt Symons 20. Jordi Murphy 21. Dave Lewis 22. Ian Madigan 23. David Strettle

Attributes
Counter Attacking: Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces.
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises.
Breakdown: Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it

Game plan

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

Breakdown - Back row and hooker to lead the way on turnovers. Others focus on strong clear outs and maintaining a strong defensive line. . On our ball, smash them off the ball, use pod system to ensure support if they are having success. Our openside is charged with keeping their main breakdown threat off our ball, and target turnovers if one of their carriers gets isolated

Kicking - Options throughout the backs . Kick in behind the wings for territory, aim for space not the man. Challenge wings positioning, Wings free to drop back for the counter off their kicks

Attack - Run our attack off 9 who sets the tempo, constantly change the point of attack and get our 10 quick ball.. Challenge their 10 defensively with our power backs cutting in running hard lines at his channel with the full back coming into the line. Big carrying forwards to set a platform, run at 10/12 all day long to put them on the back foot off first phase, see how they handle it.  

Defence - no weak links in the backline, use the blitz defence to put them on the back foot,  

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

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Northampton Saints vs Saracens
Franklin Gardens
Light Cloud - 11 degrees, 14mph North Westerly Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Conor Murray
02. Dylan Hartley	10. George Ford
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury(c)	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Schalk Burger	13. Elliot Daly
07. David Pocock	14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
08. Facunda Isa	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

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Replacements:
16. Schalk Brits 17. Logi Mulipola 18. Zander Fagerson 19. Vaea Fifita 20. Brendon O'Connor 21. Joe Simpson 22. Lima Sopoaga 23. Manu Tuilagi

Attributes:
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty.

Tactics
* Play the game with a real physical intensity, with big ball carriers smashing into the away sides defence and playing a very aggressive defence, led by our back row. We've picked a big impact bench to really up the tempo in the final quarter and place increasing pressure on the Saracens front five.

* With the big ball carriers our aim is to suck in the Saracens defenders and create space outwide, Daly to exploit SBW's rustiness/lack of game time and attack his outside, with AAC and Savea offering strong ball carriers out wide as we look to work overlaps and look to really test Armitage on the wing. SBW hasn't played a game of union since the 2015 WC final, 17 months ago...

* Target the away sides backrow, hit Hughes early and remove his influence from the game and stop Saracens getting over the gainline. We've seen the last few seasons that Hughes can be taken out in physical games and we want to stop Saracens best ball carrier from the outset.

* Look at going after the away sides halfbacks. It is a relatively new combination with Serin only recently signed and we will look to really blitz the Saracens midfield to test the 9/10 understanding and put pressure on the Saracens 12/13 combination with SBW only just returning to the fold and again not having had many games with his midfield partner.

Set Piece and Pack Battle
Hartley in to keep the scrum and lineout functioning, before Brits replaces him in the second half for impact. We've picked a huge pack to take on Saracens upfront and will look to really turn the screw when we release the impact from the bench, particularly in the front five. We will have Gray leading the lineout (as he does for Scotland and club), whilst Mako, Launchbury, Burger and Pocock return after being rested last week to add some freshness at this point of the season.

Gain-line/Physical Battle
Like Saracens in real life we'll look to send big runner after runner at the Saracens defence to suck in players and create space out wide. We want to really target Hughes in this area and stop him from having any joy on the gain line. We've got a very aggressive back row and will look to have their presence felt throughout the game.

Breakdown
Per tactics above, Burger and Pocock rested from last week where we will really target the breakdown battle to get quick ball to launch attacks. Will look to entice Haskell into the breakdown to seek penalties. Look to Pocock to dominate.

Attack/Points
* Looking to get success on the gain line to create a good platform for Ford to prise open the Saracens defence with his passing and kicking game. Really looking to get Daly with his hands on the ball attacking SBW and using his pace to exploit his rustiness, looking for Daly's creativity to bring AAC and Savea into the game.

* Counter attack by placing Sarries halfbacks under pressure, trying to force mistakes when away side are in possession and exploit any lack of understanding between the 12/13 channels.

* Will look to start targeting Armitage's wing when we attack, see whether we can exploit his positioning and lack of out and out pace.

* Halfpenny to keep scoreboard ticking over, with Daly's boot meaning Saracens will get punished from 55-60 metres out.

Defence
Aggressive blitz defence, with Murray sweeping behind. Putting a lot of pressure on the Sarries halfback combination.

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Dylan Smith	09. Baptise Serin
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrick Tuipultou	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg
06. James Haskell	13. Sonny Bill Williams
07. John Hardie	14. Delon Armitage
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

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16. Richard Hibbard 17. Simon McIntyre 18. Paul Hill 19. Geoff Parling 20. Sam Underhill 21. Lee Dickson 22. Pat Lambie 23. Teddy Thomas

Tactics:

Defensive:

Blitz Defence - Get in the face of the opposition and allow them very little time on the ball.

Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Attacking:

Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch

Offloading in the tackle: Moving the point of attack preventing a defence to set and keeping play fluid

HOW DO YOU RATE POCOCK? - Impossible to rate and in theory shouldn't be available due to taking a timeout from rugby and living in Zimbabwe. Saints are basically a man down.

TARGET FORD & DALY DEFENCE - Two big defensive weaknesses in the Saints backline. Look to get after both players who can really struggle in defence, especially against the big runners. Our bruising midfield will look to punch holes and offload when on, making Saints think about their defensive strategies.

TARGET LINEOUT ALL GAME - No recognized leader in the Saints pack. Target and kick for corners if weakness seen in. We think we can stop Saints momentum early on.

PRESSURE ON FORD - Look to put in the big hits and really put Ford off his game. Haskell and Hardie tasked with hammering him early on.  

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 with our physical pack/carrying options and then get at their outisde backs, 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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Worcester Warriors vs Bath Rugby
Sixways Stadium
Light Cloud - 12 degrees, 13mph North Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Val Palma Ruskin	09. Gareth Davies
02. Codie Taylor	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. Nahuel Chapparro
04. Yohann Maestri	11. James Short
05. Devin Toner	12. Anton Leniert Brown
06. Jackson Wray	13. David Havili
07. Sam Warburton	14. Sergeal Petersen
08. Ben Morgan	15. Jarrad Payne

:-
16. Ken Owens 17. Joe Moody 18. Henry Thomas 19. Tom Savage 20. Warren Whiteley 21. Bryn Hall 22. Jules Plisson 23. Matthew Tait


Season's Attributes-
Offloading in the Tackle
Breakdown (Turnovers)
Blitz Defence
Choke Tackle
*Rotation is everything coming into this stage of the season and we have selected some fresh legs with players able to play longer and being managed with their game time.
*We see our back row as the main impact with the balance and ability to slow their ball whilst keeping the route to our 9 clear.
*We have a big carrying, hard working pack to stop them in their tracks and put a lot of pressure on 9 to prevent the quick ball.
*Bench-we have huge impact on our bench able and will use Nakawara, Taufua and Biggar to cause all sorts of trouble in the last 20 minutes minimum.

-We have selected a heavy, hard working pack looking to nullify the danger from their big carriers and set piece,
-We will play a controlled game, offloading-only when on. Plisson will look for territory,
-Big carriers up front looking to offload if the conditions allow possible although being mindful of the encroaching defence and we will have support runners on their shoulders,
-Back row looking to be balanced with carrying, tackling and Warburton bringing the turnover attribute,
-The breakdown is likely to be scrappy and the first man there will look to go for the ball using our turnover attribute. If it is obviously lost we will fan out. If they under-commit we will look to drive through them for the turnover,
-Look to not commit too much to their breakdown if the ball is lost and use blitz defence led by Jones allowing the chance to apply the choke tackle to stop them playing a quick tempo game,
-Backs to play what is in front of them, runners off ALB and Payne, we will use the back three as strike runners and know the pace of our back three to put pressure with quick ball,
-When nothing is on  go for territory and also use  'bombs' to challenge and turn their backlline,
-We will the wingers to come into the line and switch things up to keep them guessing and allow us the chance to hit from deep at times and not be predictable,
-We have selected a huge bench which will be used for impact and to maintain a high tempo game running against tired legs,
-Take all kickable penalties.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Aaron Smith
02. Rory Best	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Josh Beaumont	12. Damian De Allende
06. Liam Squire	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Liam Williams
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

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16. Ellis Genge 17. Mikey Haywood 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Will Skelton 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Sam Hill 23. George Moala

Attributes: First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Warriors under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries 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. 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 Beaumont, Falateu, Squire and Kitchener options in the lineout. Beaumont 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. Kitchener 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. Smith to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Smith 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 and Kriel who we would like to get running at defenders.  Wade and Williams 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, Kitch and Squire 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 Warriors which can help nullify their offensive threats. 

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

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo off the bench. We want our high class front row to come on late and really impact the game.

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Bristol Rugby vs Wasps 
Ashton Gate Stadium
Light Cloud - 12 degrees, 12mph North Westerly Winds

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Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Tomas Cubelli
02. Manuel Montoya	10. Jimmy Gopperth (vc, k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Digby Ioane
05. Sam Carter	12. Piers Francis
06. Chris Robshaw (vc)	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Josh Van Der Flier	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Victor Vito (c)	15. Dane Haylett-Petty

:-
16. Will Collier 17. Richardt Strauss  18. Loni Uhila 19.  Kearnan Myall 20  Carl Fearns 21. Ben Spencer 22. Josh Matavesi 23. Craig Gilroy

Tactics:
Attributes:

Attacking:
1) Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
2)  Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Defending:
1) Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set. 
2) Breakdown - Organised Ruck defence: with guards and body guards set, allowing the rest of the line to set off them.

Tactics:

Breakdown- Wasps have no real 7 or breakdown expert against our twin Fletcher's who work in tandem and a team highly focussed on the breakdown, so we will look to blitz them here.

Attack- we have 3 quality in form playmakers at 9, 10 and 12, who allow us to constantly have someone to set up our next phases in our relentless phase attack, carrying slower ball directly to keep it safe and speed it up and then spinning quicker ball out and look to use our play making options to mix up the focus of attack and manipulate space for our finishing back 3 to exploit. DHP has been picked at FB to add a direct attacking threat coming into the line at angles to change the direction of attack

Plan B is flooding Cruden's channel and looking to batter him with carrier after carrier 

Defence: blit, 9 sweeping, tight fringe defence and the back row to be all over Cruden

Set piece: we look to match them at the scrim and get our ball out quickly to attack. On line out ball, I think we can really test them
In the air and will compete on every throw, whilst mixing up pur options. 

Generally we will run back balls and take any points on offer

---

Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Joe Marler	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Bismarck Du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Wilco Louw
04. Sebastian Vahaamahina	11. Bryan Habana
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Henry Slade
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Tom Wood	14. Anthony Watson
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

_
16. Tatafu Polota Nau, 17. Marcus Ayerza, 18. Dave Wilson, 19. Dom Barrow, 20. Sean O'Brien, 21. Sebastian Tillous Borde, 22. Brad Barritt, 23. Marland Yarde

---

Tactics
Attack:
- Mix up our lines of attack, sometimes with two lines with forwards as options
- Likes of Kaino, Du Plessis to offer extra pair of hands in the backline when required
- Mix up forward runners off 9 and 10 to give go forward and tie in defence. When space opens up, go wide and utilise pace of back three.
Defence:
- Quick line speed, getting up to the 10 and putting pressure on.
- Only step out of the line for big hit opportunities.
Breakdown:
- Be disciplined at the breakdown and do not give away penalties in our half
- Compete for the turnover if it's on, even if it's only to slow down the ball
- If ruck is lost, don't compete and fan out in defence
Territory:
- Use box kicks from 9 and nudges from 10 out of hand to pin them back.
- Play rugby in their half and make them attack from deep
- Full back to marshall the back 3 and make sure our positioning is spot on for kick returns

---

Northampton Saints
Manager: Dammit Chris

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Conor Murray
02. Dylan Hartley	10. George Ford
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Joe Launchbury(c)	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Schalk Burger	13. Elliot Daly
07. David Pocock	14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
08. Facunda Isa	15. Leigh Halfpenny(k)

.
Replacements:
16. Schalk Brits 17. Logi Mulipola 18. Zander Fagerson 19. Vaea Fifita 20. Brendon O'Connor 21. Joe Simpson 22. Lima Sopoaga 23. Manu Tuilagi

Attributes:
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty.

Tactics
* Play the game with a real physical intensity, with big ball carriers smashing into the away sides defence and playing a very aggressive defence, led by our back row. We've picked a big impact bench to really up the tempo in the final quarter and place increasing pressure on the Saracens front five.

* With the big ball carriers our aim is to suck in the Saracens defenders and create space outwide, Daly to exploit SBW's rustiness/lack of game time and attack his outside, with AAC and Savea offering strong ball carriers out wide as we look to work overlaps and look to really test Armitage on the wing. SBW hasn't played a game of union since the 2015 WC final, 17 months ago...

* Target the away sides backrow, hit Hughes early and remove his influence from the game and stop Saracens getting over the gainline. We've seen the last few seasons that Hughes can be taken out in physical games and we want to stop Saracens best ball carrier from the outset.

* Look at going after the away sides halfbacks. It is a relatively new combination with Serin only recently signed and we will look to really blitz the Saracens midfield to test the 9/10 understanding and put pressure on the Saracens 12/13 combination with SBW only just returning to the fold and again not having had many games with his midfield partner.

Set Piece and Pack Battle
Hartley in to keep the scrum and lineout functioning, before Brits replaces him in the second half for impact. We've picked a huge pack to take on Saracens upfront and will look to really turn the screw when we release the impact from the bench, particularly in the front five. We will have Gray leading the lineout (as he does for Scotland and club), whilst Mako, Launchbury, Burger and Pocock return after being rested last week to add some freshness at this point of the season.

Gain-line/Physical Battle
Like Saracens in real life we'll look to send big runner after runner at the Saracens defence to suck in players and create space out wide. We want to really target Hughes in this area and stop him from having any joy on the gain line. We've got a very aggressive back row and will look to have their presence felt throughout the game.

Breakdown
Per tactics above, Burger and Pocock rested from last week where we will really target the breakdown battle to get quick ball to launch attacks. Will look to entice Haskell into the breakdown to seek penalties. Look to Pocock to dominate.

Attack/Points
* Looking to get success on the gain line to create a good platform for Ford to prise open the Saracens defence with his passing and kicking game. Really looking to get Daly with his hands on the ball attacking SBW and using his pace to exploit his rustiness, looking for Daly's creativity to bring AAC and Savea into the game.

* Counter attack by placing Sarries halfbacks under pressure, trying to force mistakes when away side are in possession and exploit any lack of understanding between the 12/13 channels.

* Will look to start targeting Armitage's wing when we attack, see whether we can exploit his positioning and lack of out and out pace.

* Halfpenny to keep scoreboard ticking over, with Daly's boot meaning Saracens will get punished from 55-60 metres out.

Defence
Aggressive blitz defence, with Murray sweeping behind. Putting a lot of pressure on the Sarries halfback combination.

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cian Healy	09. Luke McGrath
02. Agustin Creevy	10. Elton Jantjies
03. Tadhg Furlong
04. Pieter Steph Du Toit	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Jaco Kriel	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Michael Hooper (c)	14. Santiago Cordero
08. Jack Clifford	15. Damian McKenzie (k)

16. Rob Webber 17. Richard Barrington 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Ruan Pienaar 22. Juan Martin Hernandez 23. Yoann Huget

Attributes

Phase Attack - Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Counter Attack - Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces. 

Breakdown (Turnover Possession) -  Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line. 

Game Plan

• We are going to look to play a fast-paced game based around quick recycling of the ball and using the pace of our side to move Chiefs around the field. Our pack is full of players comfortable with ball in hand and our back line is full of electric runners who will enjoy the open space and dry conditions with ball in hand.

• Up front, we will look for our pack to carry hard off 9, 10 and 12 to get us going forward. McGrath will look to snipe around the fringes using his electric pace and feed runners or provide Jantjies with quick service. Jantjies will look to stand flat and put others into space. Once we tie in Chiefs defenders or break the line, we will look to get the ball wide to our outside backs.

• McGrath and Jantjies have been picked for their ability to play at pace and control the tempo. They are charged with getting us playing through quick taps and getting quick ball

• We will be looking to run the ball from everywhere and starve Chiefs of the ball. We have the more mobile pack and a back line with elusive and strong runners who can make breaks and use the space available. We won’t allow Chiefs to dictate the pace of the game.

• We have a solid set piece with Creevy and Furlong arguably the best in the world in their positions and Kruis running the line out. We know we will be able to guarantee our own ball to launch attacks from.

• Look for our back three to come looking for work. McKenzie to offer as a first receiver and Nowell and Cordero to come looking for the ball when they are on the blind side offering options out the back for Jantjies.

Weather Conditions updated

Exeter Chiefs side

1 Nathan Catt
2 Dane Coles
3 Ben Tameifuna
4 Courtney Lawes
5 Kane Douglas
6 Liam Messam
7 Marcell Coetzee
8 Thomas Waldrom
9 Greg Laidlaw
10 Camille Lopez
11 James Lowe
12 Ma'a Nonu
13 Maxime Mermoz
14 Chris Ashton
15 Alex Lozowski

16 Jefferson Poirot
17 Tom Youngs
18 Brian Mujati
19 James Horwill
20 Teimana Harrison
21 Chris Cook
22 Colin Slade
23 JP Pietersen

Exeter Chiefs have freshened their side up after a tough win at home to Bristol by bringing in Nathan Catt, Kane Douglas, Liam Messam, Thomas Waldrom and James Lowe for Jefferson Poirot, James Horwill, Dave Ewers, Sergio Parisse and Noa Nakaitaci.

Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch.
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line.

We will play a forward based and territory based game to get in the right positions of the pitch.

We have picked the players to do this. Big carriers and a mobile back and hard working back row. Laidlaw is the perfect controlling 9 and will give good service to Lopez . Lozowski is in at 15 for his boot and counter attacking ability. He will also come in as a receiver at times, a la Alex Goode for Sarries.

We have picked a big pack and are targeting the forward battle as key to the win. We have a solid scrum to build from and two big locks who are both good lineout options.

The set piece will be important and we will look to use this as a weapon to attack from and gain territory. Our back row are all big carriers and we will use them all to gain hard yards and tire out Quins defenders. Messam, Coles, Ben T, Coetzee, Waldrom are all good strong ball carriers and will look to get us front foot ball for Lopez to work with.

In the backs we will use Nonu as a crash ball option and a decoy runner to open up space for the likes of Mermoz, Lowe and Ashton to exploit. Laidlaw will kick all pens for goal if in range and if not look to kick deep to gain territory.

Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Tomas Cubelli
02. Manuel Montoya	10. Jimmy Gopperth (vc, k)
03. Sekope Kepu
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Digby Ioane
05. Sam Carter	12. Piers Francis
06. Chris Robshaw (vc)	13. Nick Tompkins
07. Josh Van Der Flier	14. Charlie Sharples
08. Victor Vito (c)	15. Dane Haylett-Petty

:-
16. Will Collier 17. Richardt Strauss  18. Loni Uhila 19.  Kearnan Myall 20  Carl Fearns 21. Ben Spencer 22. Josh Matavesi 23. Craig Gilroy

Tactics:
Attributes:

Attacking:
1) Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
2)  Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 
Defending:
1) Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set. 
2) Breakdown - Organised Ruck defence: with guards and body guards set, allowing the rest of the line to set off them.

On phone.....
1. Ruskin
2. Taylor
3. Chaparro
4. Maestri
5. Toner
6. Wray
7. Warburton
8. Morgan
9. Davies
10. Bigger
11. Short
12. All
13. Jones
14. Naholo
15. Payne

16. Owens 17. Moody 18.. Thomas 19. Savage 20. Whiteley 21. Hall 22. Poisson 23. Tait

Same tactics as last time please if that can be copied.

Sure prop

 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne
02. Jamie George	10. Owen Farrell
03. Vincent Koch
04. Flip Van Der Merwe	11. Charles Piutau
05. Lood De Jager	12. Jan Serfontein
06. Pablo Matera	13. Scott Williams
07. Callum Clark	14. Denny Solomona
08. Kieran Read (c)	15. Ben Smith

:-
16. Camille Chat 17. Nic Auterac 18. Davit Kubriashvili 19. Matt Symons 20. Jordi Murphy 21. Dave Lewis 22. Ian Madigan 23. David Strettle

Attributes
Counter Attacking: Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces.
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises.
Breakdown: Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it

Game plan

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

Breakdown - Back row and hooker to lead the way on turnovers. Others focus on strong clear outs and maintaining a strong defensive line. . On our ball, smash them off the ball, use pod system to ensure support if they are having success. Our openside is charged with keeping their main breakdown threat off our ball, and target turnovers if one of their carriers gets isolated

Kicking - Options throughout the backs . Kick in behind the wings for territory, aim for space not the man. Challenge wings positioning, Wings free to drop back for the counter off their kicks

Attack - Run our attack off 9 who sets the tempo, constantly change the point of attack and get our 10 quick ball.. Challenge their 10 defensively with our power backs cutting in running hard lines at his channel with the full back coming into the line. Big carrying forwards to set a platform, run at 10/12 all day long to put them on the back foot off first phase, see how they handle it.  

Defence - no weak links in the backline, use the blitz defence to put them on the back foot,  

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

Gloucester 
Caretaker Manager - Pooly

01. Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira	09. Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Dan Carter
03. Juan Figallo
04. Richie Grey	11. Johnny May
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Ryan Crotty
06. Ross Moriarty	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Ardie Savea	14. Israel Dagg
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Israel Folau

.
Replacements: 16. Titi Lamisotele, 17. Adriann Strauss, 18. Coenie Ousthuizen, 19. Sam Dickinson, 20. Tom Croft, 21. TJ Penerara, 22. Danny Cipriani, 23. Will Addison

Defence

• Drift Defence: Your side is known for the drift and maintaining the line and excels at it.
  
• Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty. 
  
  Attack
  
• Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
  
• Counter Attacking: Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces.
  

- High tempo game with bags of fitness/pace in the back and backs, look to run the legs off the oppsotion and use this to our advantage

- Set the tone in the set-piece with a strong foundation. Look to attack the opposition scrum and lineout and exploit weaknesses as seen

- Strong defensive to shut out any space for opposition on the drift defence. Look to squeeze space rather than rushing, make the opposition break us down. Moriarty/Savea to give us physicality in the tackle and look to pounce on this

- Look to bring our exciting backs into the game at any point. Strong kicking from the halfbacks gives us the option to keep the opp defence on their toes and we'll look to use this to our advantage with Carter pulling the strings

- Folau to come into the line and cause disruption

- Plenty of impact from the bench to carry on with the high tempo game

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Dylan Smith	09. Baptise Serin
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Patrick Tuipultou	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg
06. James Haskell	13. Sonny Bill Williams
07. John Hardie	14. Delon Armitage
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Simon McIntyre 18. Paul Hill 19. Geoff Parling 20. Sam Underhill 21. Lee Dickson 22. Pat Lambie 23. Teddy Thomas

Tactics:

Defensive:

Blitz Defence - Get in the face of the opposition and allow them very little time on the ball.

Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Attacking:

Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch

Offloading in the tackle: Moving the point of attack preventing a defence to set and keeping play fluid

HOW DO YOU RATE POCOCK? - Impossible to rate and in theory shouldn't be available due to taking a timeout from rugby and living in Zimbabwe. Saints are basically a man down.

TARGET FORD & DALY DEFENCE - Two big defensive weaknesses in the Saints backline. Look to get after both players who can really struggle in defence, especially against the big runners. Our bruising midfield will look to punch holes and offload when on, making Saints think about their defensive strategies.

TARGET LINEOUT ALL GAME - No recognized leader in the Saints pack. Target and kick for corners if weakness seen in. We think we can stop Saints momentum early on.

PRESSURE ON FORD - Look to put in the big hits and really put Ford off his game. Haskell and Hardie tasked with hammering him early on.  

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 with our physical pack/carrying options and then get at their outisde backs, 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.

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Aaron Smith
02. Rory Best	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Graham Kitchener	11. Christian Wade
05. Josh Beaumont	12. Damian De Allende
06. Liam Squire	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Liam Williams
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Ellis Genge 17. Mikey Haywood 18. Nepo Laulala 19. Will Skelton 20. Siya Kolisi 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Sam Hill 23. George Moala

Attributes: First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Warriors under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries 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. 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 Beaumont, Falateu, Squire and Kitchener options in the lineout. Beaumont 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. Kitchener 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. Smith to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Smith 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 and Kriel who we would like to get running at defenders.  Wade and Williams 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, Kitch and Squire 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 Warriors which can help nullify their offensive threats. 

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

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo off the bench. We want our high class front row to come on late and really impact the game.

Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Joe Marler	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Bismarck Du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Wilco Louw
04. Sebastian Vahaamahina	11. Bryan Habana
05. Alun-Wyn Jones	12. Henry Slade
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Tom Wood	14. Anthony Watson
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

_
16. Tatafu Polota Nau, 17. Marcus Ayerza, 18. Dave Wilson, 19. Dom Barrow, 20. Sean O'Brien, 21. Sebastian Tillous Borde, 22. Brad Barritt, 23. Marland Yarde

---

Tactics
Attack:
- Mix up our lines of attack, sometimes with two lines with forwards as options
- Likes of Kaino, Du Plessis to offer extra pair of hands in the backline when required
- Mix up forward runners off 9 and 10 to give go forward and tie in defence. When space opens up, go wide and utilise pace of back three.
Defence:
- Quick line speed, getting up to the 10 and putting pressure on.
- Only step out of the line for big hit opportunities.
Breakdown:
- Be disciplined at the breakdown and do not give away penalties in our half
- Compete for the turnover if it's on, even if it's only to slow down the ball
- If ruck is lost, don't compete and fan out in defence
Territory:
- Use box kicks from 9 and nudges from 10 out of hand to pin them back.
- Play rugby in their half and make them attack from deep
- Full back to marshall the back 3 and make sure our positioning is spot on for kick returns

Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Scott Sio	09. Danny Care
02. Malcolm Marx	10. Bernard Foley
03. Martin Moore
04. Iain Henderson	11. Ruan Combrinck
05. Dave Attwood	12. Malakai Fekitoa
06. Sean McMahon	13. Gary Ringrose
07. Sam Cane	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. Duane Vermulean	15. Nick Abendanon

Subs:
16. Tommy Taylor 17. Ross Harrison 18. Atu Moli 19. Matt Garvey 20. Matt Kvesic 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Quade Cooper 23. Joe Marchant

Attributes:
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises.
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown.

Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it.
Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.  

Attack: We will be playing a high intensity phased attacking game. 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 and restructure our attacking phases. Care to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

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

Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Line speed is crucial. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. Bendy & Foley to cover the background dropping deep to cut off the green grass available to kick into.

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 Attwood to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball while Henderson marshals the middle looking to make it as messy as possible.

Will update page tomorrow at 1000, so please get tactics in by then.

Sorry Flux, can I still do tactics? If not then I understand but if so then I can get them
Up in the next 30 mins or so

If you're quick

Tactics:

Breakdown- Wasps have no real 7 or breakdown expert against our twin Fletcher's who work in tandem and a team highly focussed on the breakdown, so we will look to blitz them here.

Attack- we have 3 quality in form playmakers at 9, 10 and 12, who allow us to constantly have someone to set up our next phases in our relentless phase attack, carrying slower ball directly to keep it safe and speed it up and then spinning quicker ball out and look to use our play making options to mix up the focus of attack and manipulate space for our finishing back 3 to exploit. DHP has been picked at FB to add a direct attacking threat coming into the line at angles to change the direction of attack

Plan B is flooding Cruden's channel and looking to batter him with carrier after carrier

Defence: blit, 9 sweeping, tight fringe defence and the back row to be all over Cruden

Set piece: we look to match them at the scrim and get our ball out quickly to attack. On line out ball, I think we can really test them
In the air and will compete on every throw, whilst mixing up pur options.

Generally we will run back balls and take any points on offer

Thanks Flux

Will be back about 9ish and aware that my tactics are copied so doesn't get the names right...guessing I can't edit them now? No worries if not!

Sorry guys, page amended and predictions open. Will keep them open until Wednesday morning as that's when I'll next be able to tot up scores!

Gloucester Rugby 23 - 27 Sale Sharks 
Slight advantage to Sale in the frontfives. Back row goes to Sale. Sale have a strong set of half backs but Gloucester are dangerous. 

Gloucester Rugby 24 - 25 Sale Sharks

Gloucester Rugby 25 - 27 Sale Sharks
Still a little rudderless at Gloucester, can't see either pack really dominating but difference is out in the backline where Ringrose's form will have a big say in the game. Not a great deal of impact from either bench, but quality of the Sale backline will see them get a good away win. 

Gloucester Rugby 30 - 30 Sale Sharks
Nice to see a balanced back row from Gloucester, makes a big difference . Sale will win the scrums and may target LCD at the lineout but Gloucester ahould be secure their and test Sale's own throws with a weaker than usual jumping second row for Sale. The back row battle is good, Sale maybe edge the breakdown but Gloucester back row work well together and good form from Moriarity helps. Both bavklines very strong, Carter getting on now and Sale probably have an edge there too but it's amazing how much better the home side look with a little balance. Both sides look to play with lots of tempo off the bench. I think we e.g. A very exciting draw, home advantage just neutralising a better Sale side 

Gloucester Rugby 24 - 23 Sale Sharks
A really well-balanced contest on paper. I think Gloucester will have the better of the scrum with the line outs lining up pretty evenly. There are some very physical carriers in both packs but Vermuelen and McMahon struggling for form hurts the Sale back row. Half backs even for me with Carter having the skills to put the dangerous Gloucester outside backs into space. It's an intriguing contest which I see a desperate Gloucester taking the points from Sale with eyes on other things. 

Gloucester Rugby 27 - 25 Sale Sharks
With Sale missing quite a few players I think the pack battle may actually side to the home side in a good contest. This gives them a great platform to unleash their creative backs, something they've not had often this season. A rare defeat for the champions as we come towards the business end. 

Gloucester Rugby 25 - 26 Sale Sharks

Harlequins 30 - 23 Exeter Chiefs
Scary front five from Quins has the edge. Slight edge in the back row as well. Do prefer the Exeter half backs but outside of that and on the bench, Quins are dangerous. 

Harlequins 25 - 21 Exeter Chiefs
Quins pack is built perfectly for the end of season games, very mobile and dynamic and will really take some beating. Teams can still get at the Quins halfback combination, but the outside backs work together perfectly - one of the best in the league. Tactics fit in perfectly, playing a fast game, Exeter do have some big tacklers and carriers in their team but can't see them keeping Quins out when legs tire. 

Harlequins 30 - 26 Exeter Chiefs
2 very different packs- Quins manage to both win the set piece, I think, and have a lot of pace and mobility that perfectly suits their approach but may struggle at fringe defence especially with the power carrying of Exeter. I can see both packs being tired with this approach and so forward subs are key. With the power from the likes of Nonu/Mermoz and playamking, learning from recent targeting, in Loz at FB, Chiefs can really test the Quins defence. At 9-10 this could result in easy ground and I think that the ruck area is where I would target this match if I were Exeter, but Exeter's midfield centre defence is very strong. Quins can attack from anywhere with their. A Kline set up and are hugely dangerous. Another thriller, I think, super 15 style, but Horwill aside, Exeter aren't quite as good off the bench as Quins and Quins can capitalise on this in the last quarter.

Harlequins 25 - 24 Exeter Chiefs

Harlequins 24 - 24 Exeter Chiefs
Both sides have issues at LH but prefer the Quins front row as a unit. Kruis lacking form evens up the locks and Exeter with the better backrow with Clifford not playing well. I love the Quins backline but their lack of quality at HB is a real issue. This keeps the game very tight and allows Exeter back in.

Leicester Tigers 23 - 24 Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle have the better front five, especially the lock combination. Slight edge in the back row as well. It is so close in the half backs but edge to Tigers. Outside of that Newcastle have the advantage. 

Leicester Tigers 26 - 26 Newcastle Falcons

Leicester Tigers 30 - 30 Newcastle Falcons
Tigers so much better with Armand playing in the back row, but a few positions like Purdy where they can be got at. Can see this being a high scoring affair, with Read and Clark not having too much game time recently there is a bit more edge to Tigers there. Both backlines have tries all over them, but it is with the introduction of Beale and Carberry from the home bench that makes this game too close to call. 

Leicester Tigers 22 - 24 Newcastle Falcons
I think Leicester would benefit from a n extra playmaker for their style of play. Nonetheless, they have the attacking end points to be dangerous. The pack is very hardworking and well utilised but I think is outstepped a touch by Newcastle with a dangerous set piece and back row.
In the backs, I see a halfback a piece but good combos, an edge to the Tigers' centred and a an edge to the Newcastle back 3 who are 3 of club rugby's best finishers around. Newcastle also edge the bench and will win this. I think with this game plan, Tigers would have had a much better chance and possibly won if they'd had Beale somewhere like 12 or 15

Leicester Tigers 22 - 22 Newcastle Falcons
Another really tough game to call. Not a lot between the packs at all with the physical Leicester pack difficult to shove off the ball at rucks and the set piece. Expect Matera and Clark to get a few turnovers and penalties on the ground though. Farrell the step above at half back for Falcons and lack of a renowned goal kicker hurts Leicester here. Newcastle lack creativity in midfield against a very solid Leicester midfield. Farrell's boot gets Newcastle a useful draw away from home.

Leicester Tigers 21 - 20 Newcastle Falcons
A little bit more in the Tigers front row with Mullen not fully firing in the scrum this season. The Falcons engine room has a bit more and similar in the backrow although a tight contest. Good contest at 9 but Farrell a step up. Tigers with the better centres although Purdy stands out as a weakness, just enough to shade this one.

Northampton Saints 28 - 18 Saracens
Northampton have the edge in the front fives with a stronger front row. Also close in the back rows but prefer Saints. Both combos are strong but would rather have the Saints pair. Both are dangerous outside of that but the Saints have more than enough 

Northampton Saints 28 - 27 Saracens

Northampton Saints 27 - 24 Saracens
Pooly makes a good point re Pocock, though actually we have players out between Super 15 seasons longer than that retaining ratings and Pocock is always consistently excellent after a layoff and one of the best 7s ever, so I think he gets more slack than most. But yes, it's been a while since we last saw him. I'm also not sure that Saints pack lacks a leader. At all. 
Allowing for Pocock being hard to rate, Sarries excellent breakdown can flourish but the Saints pack is immense in terms of scrum, line out and carrying and will win tbese areas. I think both managers pick sensible players to target, and SBW could be defensively exposed by Saints, the centres are incredibly hard players to mark and Saints have power players galore to send at his channel and test his UNION tackling technique. Pressurising Ford seems an option at the moment and will disrupt Saints and Sarries can make headway through that Saints midfield. Overall though, if everything falls apart, Saints can just rumble with their pack and I can't see them losing this at home. 

Northampton Saints 26 - 24 Saracens
Pocock not a good option on sabbatical. Hurts Saints pack despite his quality. Besides that, Saints are very strong up front with some guys in excellent form and I don't think that quality is quite matched by the Saracens pack overall. Half backs are one a piece with Murray streets ahead of Serin and Sanchez ahead of Ford. Sonny Bill Williams is a strange pick at 13 for me and will have a tough time against Daly in defence in the outside channel. Armitage stands out as the poor option on the wing with 3 other top class finished with Hogg ahead of Halfpenny. Hard to see anything other than a home win. 

Northampton Saints 28 - 27 Saracens

Worcester Warriors 27 - 26 Bath Rugby

Worcester Warriors 28 - 29 Bath Rugby

Worcester Warriors 23 - 25 Bath Rugby
Conditions better suit the away side, with Tipuric a great option in games like this. A slightly stronger pack with some good players picking up some form will give Bath a decent platform. But the halfback combination for Bath is just fantastic and could open the game up for guys like Wade. 

Worcester Warriors 28 - 28 Bath Rugby
Bath look light at second row- would help them a lot to have some more bulk, especially as they flourish on go forward with a very creative back line. Worcester back line lacks a bit of spark.
Close set piece battle, exciting back row contest that I think Wuss edge. Wuss make a good point re rotation, and their back line is nice and in form, but I get the sense, with a close pack contest, that Bath have enough game breakers who can score with a moment of individual brilliance (even if they are all a bit suspect defensively) and Worcester not looking quite attacking enough at 9-10 to punish the fallible defence, that Bath will steal this one. But then I think that Worcester can stabilise with their subs and am not sure Bath can hold onto a late lead- it's very hard to call. In the end, I'm going to say a second draw

Worcester Warriors 24 - 27 Bath Rugby
Vital win for Bath. They have a high quality starting XV which causes any side in the league problems with the world's best half backs pulling the strings. Worcester are lacking a bit of quality across their side and struggle to match Bath across 80 mins. 

Worcester Warriors 23 - 25 Bath Rugby
Bath with a edge in the front and backrow although lack a bit of quality/beef in the engine room which may cost them around the park. Outstanding attacking backline from Bath and when they get parity up front will rip teams to shreds. I've got Bath winning this one but they need a quality lock to toughen up the pack. 

Bristol Rugby 17 - 24 Wasps 
Prefer the Wasps front five. Very tight in the back row but Wasps just edge it. Bristol need to improve on half backs in this league they are slightly outclassed.

Bristol Rugby 26 - 26 Wasps

Bristol Rugby 32 - 34 Wasps
Another top game with a lot of tries to be scored - prefer the Wasps options as maybe the 12/13 channel for Bristol can be got at - Slade is playing very well in real life and having that extra controller at no12 will steer Wasps through. 

Bristol Rugby 23 - 24 Wasps

Bristol 24 - 25 Wasps
Another real tight affair. I find it hard to separate the packs with more star names for Wasps but a better balance to the Bristol 8. Gopperth has been on such good form this year which is vital for Bristol and Cubelli is a great 9 to have for a slugfest like I feel this will be. There is more quality to the Wasps outside backs though I find Nanai-Williams a bit suspect at full back. It's a hard one to call but I think Wasps just have that bit more quality which will get them home in the narrowest of wins.

Bristol Rugby 24 - 27 Wasps
Competitive front row contest but Wasps just with a touch more. Similar story in the back 5 with the away side just having a bit more physicality across the board. Wasps ramp it up in the backline and unconvinced with the Bristol midfield defensively. Tough outing for Bristol against a good Wasps side.

Delighted with that win considering the players rested!

doesn't make that much difference with your squad mate!

28-18.........wow!

I'm getting really confusing feedback on my halfbacks, guys...