Challenge Cup - Round 2

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Enisei-STM vs Newcastle Falcons
Galway Sportsground
Light Cloud, 8 degrees, 13mph South Westerly Winds

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Enisei-STM

01. Andrei Polivalov	09. Alexey Shcherban
02. Stanislav Selskii	10. Ramil Gaisin
03. Innokentiy Zykov
04. Uldis Saulite (c)	11. Sergey Trishin
05. Evgeny Elgin	12. David Kacharava
06. Mikheil Gachechiladze	13. Aleksei Mikhaltsov
07. Dmitrii Krotov	14. Jurijs Baranovs
08. Anton Rudoi	15. Iurii Kushnarev

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Replacements: 16 Nazir Gasanov, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Jake Grey, 19 Vitalii Orlov, 20 Aleksandr Budychenko, 21 Konstantin Uzunov, 22 Evgeny Nepeivoda, 23 Maxim Gargalic

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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Ozzy

01. Sam Lockwood	09. Sonatane Takulua
02. Santiago Socino	10. Craig Willis
03. David Wilson
04. Will Witty	11. Sinoti Sinoti
05. Iain Henderson	12. Toby Flood
06. Steven Luatua	13. Maxine Mermoz
07. Will Welch	14. Adam Radwan
08. Rob Burrows	15. Alex Tait

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16. Kyle Cooper 17. Rob Vickers 18. Jon Welsh 19. Sean Robinson 20. Mark Wilson 21. Micky Young 22. Joel Hodgson 23. DTH Van Der Merwe

TACTICS
- Blitz defence with good line speed with 9 and 15 sweeping.
- Big runners carrying close to the ruck but looking to keep the ball alive with offloads to runners on their shoulder.

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Toulouse vs Sale Sharks
Kingspan Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 7 degrees, 11mph North Westerly Winds

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Toulouse

01. Clément Castets	09. Sébastien Bézy
02. Leonardo Ghiraldini	10. Jean-Marc Doussain
03. Charlie Faumuina
04. Florian Verhaeghe	11. Sofiane Guitoune
05. Richie Gray	12. Gael Fickou
06. Semi Kunatani	13. Jarrod Poi
07. Louis Madaule	14. Cheslin Kolbe
08. Joe Tekori	15. Thomas Ramos

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Replacements: 16 David Roumieu, 17 Maxime Duprat, 18 Piula Faasalele, 19 Carl Axtens, 20 Rynhardt Elstadt, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Paul Perez, 23 Maks Van Dyk

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ross Harrison	09. Antoine Dupont
02. Malcolm Marx	10. AJ MacGinty (k)
03. Will Griff John
04. Josh Beaumont	11. Keelan Giles
05. Pieter Steph Du Toit	12. Mark Jennings
06. Judicael Cancoriet	13. Sam James
07. Ben Curry	14. Will Addison
08. Jono Ross (c)	15. Mike Haley

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16. Rob Webber 17. Greg Bateman 18. Halani Aulika  19. Bryn Evans 20. Josh Strauss 21. Will Cliff 22. Cameron Redpath 23. Paolo Odwogu

Tactics

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Gloucester Rugby vs Pau
Parc y Scarlets
Light Cloud, 8 degrees, 15mph North Westerly Winds

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Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Prop_Lyd

01. Josh Hohnek	09. Ben Vellacott
02. James Hanson	10. Billy Burns (k)
03. Gareth Denman
04. Tom Savage (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Jeremy Thrush	12. Owen Williams
06. Jake Polledri	13. Henry Trinder
07. Jacob Rowan	14. Henry Purdy
08. Gareth Evans	15. Tom Marshall

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16. Motu Ma'tu 17. Val Ruskin 18. John Afoa 19. Ed Slater 20. Ruaan Ackermann 21. Aaron Smith 22. Richie Mo'unga 23. Jonathan Davies

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Pau 

01. Jamie Mackintosh	09. Clovis Lebail
02. Laurent Bouchet	10. Brandon Fajardo
03. Lourens Adriaanse
04. Fabrice Metz	11. Watisoni Votu
05. Masalosalo Tutaia	12. Jale Vatubu
06. Daniel Ramsay	13. Florian Nicot
07. Giovanni Habel Kuffner	14. Frank Halai
08. Peter Saili	15. Mathias Colombet

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Replacements: 16 Lucas Rey, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Matthew Tierney, 19 Ben Mowen, 20 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 21 Christopher Kaiser, 22 Antoine Hastoy, 23 Bastien Pourailly

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Krasny Yar vs London Irish
Scotstoun Stadium
Sunny, 4 degrees, 6mph Westerly Winds

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Krasny Yar

01. Grigory Tsnobiladze	09. Vasilii Dorofeev
02. Valeriy Tsnobiladze	10. Fangatapu Apikotoa
03. Sione Fukofuka
04. Andrei Mahu	11. Vas Artemyev
05. Andrei Garbuzov	12. Lasha Malaguradze
06. Viktor Gresev	13. Giorgi Pruidze
07. Viktor Arhip	14. Igor Galinovskiy
08. Aleksandr Khudiakov	15. Soso Matiashvili

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Replacements: 16 Andrei Kondakov, 17 Oleg Prepelitse, 18 Mikheil Tsiklauri, 19 Alexander Ilin, 20 Rushan Iagudin, 21 Anton Riabov, 22 Sunia Latu, 23 Kirill Golosnitskii

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London Irish
Manager – Bambam

01. Danny Hobbs Ayowemi	09. Ben Meehan
02. David Paice	10. James Grayson (k)
03. Ben Franks
04. Sebastien De Chaves	11. Joe Cokanasiga
05. Josh McNally	12. Fegus Mulchrone
06. Mike Coman	13. Tom Fowlie
07. Luke Wallace	14. Ben Loader
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Tom Parton

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16. Sala Fainga 17. Gordon Reid 18. Tadgh Furlong 19. Brodie Retallick 20. Jack Conan 21. Scott Steele 22. James Marshall 23. Johnny Williams

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Brive vs Worcester Warriors 
Thomond Park
Light Cloud, 9 degrees, 10mph Westerly Winds

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Brive

01. Julien Brugnaut	09. Florian Cazenave
02. Thomas Acquier	10. Nicolas Bézy
03. James Johnston
04. Peet Marais	11. Guillaume Namy
05. Jan Uys	12. Seremaia Burotu
06. Péniami Narisia	13. Felix Le Bourhis
07. Poutasi Luafutu	14. Benito Masilevu
08. Etienne Herjean	15. Alfifeleti Mafi

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Replacements: 16 Louis Martin, 17 Na’ama Leleimalefaga, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Dominiko Waqaniborutu, 21 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 22 Franck Romanet, 23 Gaetan Germain

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – CJB

01. Ethan Waller	09. Peter Stringer
02. Matt Williams	10. Jono Lance
03. Gareth Milasinovich
04. Andrew Kitchener	11. Tom Howe
05. Donnacha O’Callaghan	12. Ben Te’o
06. Peter O’Mahoney	13. Jackson Willison
07. Sam Lewis	14. Wynard Olivier
08. Alafoti Fa’isilivia	15. Perry Humphreys

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16. Ryan Bower 17. Jack Singleton 18. Biyi Alo 19. Will Spencer 20. David Denton 21. Jonny Arr 22. Jamie Shilock 23. Chris Pennell

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Ozzy

01. Sam Lockwood	09. Sonatane Takulua
02. Santiago Socino	10. Craig Willis
03. David Wilson
04. Will Witty	11. Sinoti Sinoti
05. Iain Henderson	12. Toby Flood
06. Steven Luatua	13. Maxine Mermoz
07. Will Welch	14. Adam Radwan
08. Rob Burrows	15. Alex Tait

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16. Kyle Cooper 17. Rob Vickers 18. Jon Welsh 19. Sean Robinson 20. Mark Wilson 21. Micky Young 22. Joel Hodgson 23. DTH Van Der Merwe

TACTICS


- Blitz defence with good line speed with 9 and 15 sweeping.
- Big runners carrying close to the ruck but looking to keep the ball alive with offloads to runners on their shoulder.

Worcester Warriors
Manager – CJB

01. Ethan Waller	09. Peter Stringer
02. Matt Williams	10. Jono Lance
03. Gareth Milasinovich
04. Andrew Kitchener	11. Tom Howe
05. Donnacha O’Callaghan	12. Ben Te’o
06. Peter O’Mahoney	13. Jackson Willison
07. Sam Lewis	14. Wynard Olivier
08. Alafoti Fa’isilivia	15. Perry Humphreys

16. Ryan Bower 17. Jack Singleton 18. Biyi Alo 19. Will Spencer 20. David Denton 21. Jonny Arr 22. Jamie Shilock 23. Chris Pennell

Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Prop_Lyd

01. Josh Honchek	09. Ben Vellacott
02. James Hanson	10. Billy Burns (k)
03. Gareth Denman
04. Tom Savage (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Jeremy Thrush	12. Owen Williams
06. Jake Polledri	13. Henry Trinder
07. Jacob Rowan	14. Henry Purdy
08. Gareth Evans	15. Tom Marshall

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16. Motu Ma'tu 17. Val Ruskin 18. John Afoa 19. Ed Slater 20. Ruaan Ackermann 21. Aaron Smith 22. Richie Mo'unga 23. Jon Davies

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London Irish
Manager – Bambam

01. Danny Hobbs Ayowemi	09. Ben Meehan
02. David Paice	10. James Grayson (k)
03. Ben Franks
04. Sebastien De Chaves	11. Joe Cokanasiga
05. Josh McNally	12. Fegus Mulchrone
06. Mike Coman	13. Tom Fowlie
07. Luke Wallace	14. Ben Loader
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Tom Parton

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16. Sala Fainga 17. Gordon Reid 18. Tadgh Furlong 19. Brodie Retallick 20. Jack Conan 21. Scott Steele 22. James Marshall 23. Johnny Williams

Sale Sharks
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ross Harrison	09. Antoine Dupont
02. Malcolm Marx	10. AJ MacGinty (k)
03. Will Griff John
04. Josh Beaumont	11. Keelan Giles
05. Pieter Steph Du Toit	12. Mark Jennings
06. Judicael Cancoriet	13. Sam James
07. Ben Curry	14. Will Addison
08. Jono Ross (c)	15. Mike Haley

16. Rob Webber 17. Greg Bateman 18. Halani Aulika  19. Bryn Evans 20. Josh Strauss 21. Will Cliff 22. Cameron Redpath 23. Paolo Odwogu

Tactics

Predictions Open - best of luck gents!  

Enisei-STM 12 - 35 Newcastle Falcons
The Russian side have been some decent value this season, but they are no match for the power that Falcons provide. Sinot and Radwan are both too electric as well to not get a hat full of tries each. 

Enisei-STM 16 - 29 Newcastle Falcons
Newcastle get lucky with conditions on their Russian trip, and even a weakened side has enough to win comfortably

Enisei-STM 47 - 48 Newcastle Falcons

Enisei-STM 9 – 27 Newcastle Falcons
Must admit, hard to know how to rate a lot of Enisei’s side but assume Newcastle will have enough, even away from home. Bench sees them pull away in last 20.

Enisei-STM 9 - 38 Newcastle Falcons
Even resting a few, Falcons have way too much.

Enisei-STM 12 - 35 Newcastle Falcons
I watched the game yesterday and they're not a bad outfit at home. The just lack the finishing touches in the opposition half which Falcons have in abundance. Radwan is a future star that is for sure. 


Enisei-STM 34 - 35 Newcastle Falcons

Toulouse 20 - 25 Sale Sharks
Probably the toughest fixture in this round of the Challenge Cup. Toulouse have a handy unit out up front and will make this a real arm wrestle for the Sharks. Likewise in the back line, there is some pace on show for the french side. However, there is just anough quality up front for the Salford based side to snatch victory. 

Toulouse 20 - 24 Sale Sharks
The French side aren't quite the swaggering beast they were 10 years ago, Sale look strong in a number of areas with a strong spine. Wouldn't have said this a while ago, but Sale win this on the road

Toulouse 20 - 21 Sale Sharks

Toulouse 19 – 18 Sale Sharks
Strong side from Toulouse and I think Sale would be a bit under-powered in the pack.

Toulouse 23 - 25 Sale Sharks
That Toulouse pack doesn’t fill me with fear the way i expect one to, and Sale can scrap with the best and hit Tououse with a flying backrow. Toulouse probably have a better back line but the grit of Sale and dynamism from 6-8 pips it 

Toulouse 27 - 25 Sale Sharks
Hardest game of the draw and Sale will match Toulouse for much of it, just too much for the home side though. 

Toulouse 28 - 27 Sale Sharks

Gloucester Rugby 43 - 26 Pau
Gloucester have put a decent side out, to help ensure they get a spot in the knockout stages. The game will be over, even before they empty their star-studded bench on to the field. 

Gloucester Rugby 26 - 22 Pau
Pau are a good side, but tend not to travel well. Gloucester have gone with a strong enough pack to secure a bit of a platform, and their backs look a lot more dangerous for a good win

Gloucester Rugby 26 - 25 Pau 

Gloucester Rugby 22 – 14 Pau
Even with the stars rested, Glouc have enough at home.

Gloucester Rugby 30 - 18 Pau
Again Gloucester have a decent side out and I don’t think outside of Pau, Pau have much to scare them with 

Gloucester Rugby 20 - 24 Pau
Pau are playing some great rugby at the minute and this isn't far off the side Gloucester put out the other night. Fancy an away win with Gloucester's bench not able to fully save the day. 

Gloucester Rugby 27 - 26 Pau

Krasny Yar 15 - 37 London Irish
As I mentioned with Enisei, these far-flung European sides have been relatively hard nuts to crack in their games, and I can't see it being much different here. Irish have a strong front five to build a solid platform to play from. This will allow an inexperienced Grayson to build into the game. The quality off the bench will help seal the result after 60 mins. 

Krasny Yar 40 - 41 London Irish


Krasny Yar 18 - 19 London Irish
Krasny make it tough for Irish but fall just short

Krasny Yar 10 - 37 London Irish
Very much a second team for Irish but I know nothing about their opposition and can’t see them losing 

Krasny Yar 6 - 45 London Irish
Easy win for the Irish. 

Krasny Yar 35 - 36 London Irish

Brive 15 - 28 Worcester Warriors
French sides in the Challenge Cup aren’t usually too flattering as they tend to focus on the Top 14. Can see the same here, with some of the Brive bigger names on the bench. Warriors have rotated as well, however still have some quality on show. POM and that backrow will cause chaos all day for Brive, and Te'o will help get the Warriors on the front foot. Lance can pull strings and get the Warriors a win. 

Brive 22 - 20 Worcester Warriors
Think Brive have a good pack, and its tough to win in France without a good platform. Worcester need a bit more up front to win this kind of road game, and I think they'll just come up short

Brive 20 – 22 Worcester Warriors
Worcester bench wins it for them 

Brive 22 - 33 Worcester Warriors
Brive have a few gems but Worcester enough top class players and cohesion never to be threatened

Brive 22 - 24 Worcester Warriors
Another tight game but Worcester have just gauged this one right for me. 

Brive 28 - 29 Worcester Warriors