Aviva Premiership - Round Ten

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Northampton Saints vs Bath Rugby
Franklin Gardens
Sunny Intervals, 8 degrees, 7mph South Westerly Winds

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Northampton Saints
Manager: StNick

01. Alex Waller	09. Cobus Reinach
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Paul Hill
04. Api Ratuniyarawa	11. Ben Foden
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Teimana Harrison	13. Rob Horne
07. Kwagga Smith	14. George North
08. Facundo Isa	15. Alex Goode

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16 Campese Ma'afu, 17 Reece Marshall, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Christian Day, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Tom Collins

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Driver

01. Beno Obano	09. Kahn Fotuali
02. Tom Dunn	10. Rhys Priestland (k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Luke Charteris	11. Semesa Rokoduguni
05. Matt Garvey	12. Max Clark
06. Francois Louw (c)	13. Matt Banahan
07. Zac Mercer	14. Aled Brew
08. Toby Faletau	15. Freddie Burns

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16. Jack Walker, 17.Nick Auterac, 18. Scott Andrews 19. Dave Attwood, 20. James Phillips 21. Chris Cook, 22. Rory Jennings, 23. Tom Homer

Tactics:

• Bath have picked a big physical pack to take on opp and disrupt game.
• Plenty of carriers and work rate in pack, backrow to target isolated runners for the turnover
• Kahn to look for the short runners following his snipe the generate quick ball to slow opp line speed down and isolate runners.
• Freddie Burn’s to chip the ball over the top and in behind wingers specifically to test his positioning out.
• Using a blitz defence when short on numbers to put pressure on opp 10
• Pick and Game will be effective for us today and Burns will look to put us in the corners but moving the ball when its on.
• Burns to punish opp indiscipline’s with shots at goal.
• Attwood/Ewels to go up on opp lineout and put pressure on

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Worcester Warriors vs Exeter Chiefs
Sixways Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 9 degrees, 6mph South Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager – CJB

01. Ethan Waller	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Jack Singleton	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Nick Schonert
04. Will Spencer	11. Bryce Helen
05. Guido Petti	12. Ngani Laumape
06. Blake Gibson	13. Wynard Olivier
07. Michael Hopper	14. Dean Hammond
08. Dave Denton	15. Chris Pennell

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16. Ryan Bower 17. Matt Williams 18. Biyi Alo 19. Donnacha O’Callaghan 20. GJ Van Velze 21. Jonny Arr 22. Jamie Shilock 23. Ryan Mills

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Fluxy

01. Alec Hepburn	09. Nic White
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Gareth Steenson (k)
03. Greg Holmes
04. Mitch Lees	11. Olly Woodburn
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Henry Slade
06. Don Armand (c)	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Jack Nowell
08. Dave Ewers	15. Lachlan Turner

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Harry Williams, 19. Jonny Hill 20. Thomas Waldrom, 21. Jack Maunder 22. Joe Simmonds, 23. Sam Hill

Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based, fast offloading game, keeping the ball alive moving the Warriors 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 Steenson, and Slade to take us up the field.
In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence. Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle. Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us. White will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.
Specifics

• Lineout - Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure our ball. Look to use our powerful maul to make yards and suck in Worcester defenders.
  
• Scrum - Keep low and both flankers to stay bound and pushing and look to really get below the Warriors props and force an advantage. If we get going forward, mix up between forcing the penalty and getting the ball out quickly, to keep the tempo of the game high.
  
• 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 the 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 - With quick ball we will look to move the ball from side to side, with pods of forwards across the field, either looking to create a mis-match or to help secure possession. We want to keep the ball alive as much as possible, and run the Worcester front five off their feet. We know they are defensively strong in the midfield so will look to shift the point of attack and try to attack the wide areas off earlier phases and draw their stronger defenders into those channels before going back inside and exploiting the gaps created. If they don't come out to cover the wide men, we will look to really target their defensive abilities out wide, with our roaming pods of forwards. If the ball is slow and Warriors, we will also utilise the Chiefs pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out. White to also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time. 
  
• Tactical Kicking - If we kick, we will look to kick for the corners and contest the opposition lineout and put pressure on their clearances.
  

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Sale Sharks vs London Irish
AJ Bell Stadium
Cloudy, 8 degrees, 6mph Westerly Winds

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 Sale Sharks
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ross Harrison	09. Faf Du Klerk
02. Malcolm Marx	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Halani Aulika
04. Josh Beaumont	11. James O'Connor
05. Pieter Steph Du Toit	12. Sam James
06. Judicael Cancoriet	13. Jack Goodhue
07. Tom Curry	14. Denny Solomona
08. Josh Strauss	15. Mike Haley

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16. Rob Webber 17. Greg Bateman 18. Will Griff John  19. Jono Ross 20 Ben Curry 21. Will Cliff 22. Will Addison 23. Keelan Giles

We will look to use the kicking game of Du Klerk and Sanchez to pin Irish in their own half and trust our defence and line out to put huge pressure on them to escape from their own territory. We will look to counter attack when Irish kick loosely and test their kick defence.

Use our pack to get us over the gain line will ball in hand and tire the Irish defence. Look to get the ball to the backs when their is quick ball and an organised back line ready to strike.

use Sanchez to kick all points on offer. Scoreboard pressure is key to putting Irish under pressure.

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London Irish
Manager – Bambam

01. Danny Hobbs-Ayowemi	09. TJ Perenara
02. Asafo Aumua	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Ben Franks
04. Franco Van Der Merwe	11. Joe Cokanasiga
05. Brodie Retallick (c)	12. Fergus Mulchrone
06. Jack Clifford	13. Johnny Williams
07. Luke Wallace	14. Marland Yarde
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Jordie Barrett

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16. David Paice 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Ollie Hoskins 19. Sebastian De Chaves 20. Mike Coman 21. Scott Steele 22. James Grayson 23. Tom Parton

Using big carriers to make ground in the wet, going wider in the 22 and backing our backline to have the skills to overcome the conditions - Retallick, Furlong, Conan, Aumua to lead us here

Scrappy breakdown players in Clifford and Wallace to get us surprise turnovers which we'll look to either kick through and chase or put through the hands

Strong kicking game with Perenara, Cruden and Barrett used to the NZ rainstorms, putting kicks on a 6 pence if they want to get into a kicking duel. We'll look to pressure Sanchez and see if their other backs can cope with kicking regularly. Barrett at FB for his kicking game

Don't be afraid to counter attack if they kick poorly.

Barrett and Cruden to act as first receiver options, Perenara snipe if its on

Big carriers and a game breaker in Larmour off the bench late on

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Leicester Tigers vs Gloucester Rugby
Welford Road
Sunny Intervals, 9 degrees, 7mph South Westerly Winds

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Leicester Tigers

01. Ellis Genge	09. Ben Youngs
02. Tom Youngs	10. Matt Toomua
03. Pat Cilliers
04. Dominic Barrow	11. Tom Brady
05. Vaea Fifita	12. Matt Smith
06. Mike Williams	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Brad Shields	14. Adam Thompstone
08. Sione Kalamafoni	15. Telusa Veainu

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Subs: 16. Harry Thacker 17. Simon McIntyre 18. Chris Baumann 19. Matt Symons 20. Valentino Mapapalangi 21. Jono Kitto 22. Joe Ford 23. Nick Malouf
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Tactics:
- Solid set piece to set tone and provide solid platform
- Look to play high intensity rugby with a drift defence, not allowing for space for the opp
- Attack the breakdown when it's on with numerous option
- Physical pack to win collision and numerous carrying options to get us over the gain line
- Keep the intensity up with a strong bench
- Get Telusa Veainu into the game whenever possible, he's a match winner in these conditions

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Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Prop_Lyd

01. Josh Honeck	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Richie Mo'unga (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Franco Mostert	12. Owen Williams
06. Lewis Ludlow	13. Jon Davies
07. Jake Polledri	14. Henry Purdy
08. Ruaan Ackerman	15. Jason Woodward

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16. Motu Ma'atu 17. Val Ruskin 18. Gareth Denman 19. Jeremy Thrush 20. Gareth Evans 21. Ben Vellacott 22. Billy Burns 23. Tom Marshall

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Tactics
*Look to grind them down in the front 5 with a hefty pack not afraid to do dirty work,
*Forwards to work in pods round the corner 2 phases then wide and hit gaps,
*JD2 and Williams to play what's in front of them and look to put runners through,
*Mo'unga to look to get quick ball out, if it isn't on then tactical kicking to corners,
*We have selected Williams as a stronger defensive option to stop the centre's attack,
*Defence led by JD2 and with a back rower on Mo'unga's shoulder to assist tackle and get over the ball,
*Look to slow them down with a well balanced back row,
*Use bench wisely with experience to come on and pace in the backs to target tired legs especially Vellacott who will be given a run out towards the end,
*Keep the scoreboard ticking over.

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Newcastle Falcons vs Saracens
Kingston Park
Sunny Intervals, 7 degrees, 10mph Westerly Winds

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Ozzy

01. Rob Vickers	09. Sonatane Takulua
02. Santiago Socino	10. Toby Flood
03. Owen Franks
04. Dominic Bird	11. Sinoti Sinoti
05. Calum Green	12. Juan Pablo Socino
06. Steven Luatua	13. Máxime Mermoz
07. Gary Graham	14. Vereniki Goneva
08. Mark Wilson	15. Simon Hammersley

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16. Ben Sowery 17. Sami Mavinga 18. David Wilson 19. Sean Robinson 20. Opeti Fonua  21. Micky Young 22. Joel Hodgson 23. Adam Radwan

TACTICS

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Richard Barrington	09. Ben Spencer
02. Schalk Brits	10. Alex Lozowski
03. Vincent Koch
04. Will Skelton	11. Chris Wyles
05. Eben Etzebeth	12. Brad Barritt
06. Michael Rhodes	13. Damian Penaud
07. Schalk Burger	14. Nathan Earle
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Liam Williams

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16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Hayden Thompson-Stringer 18. Juan Figallo 19. Nick Isiekwe  20. Callum Clark 21. Henry Taylor 22. Max Malins 23. Harry Mallinder
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Tactics:

- Play the Saracens way, keep it tight in the pack and earn the right to go wide.  
- Strong, physical pack to set a tone in the collisions. High intensity rugby, with big carries from numerous options. Will look to dominate the opposition pack and lay a foundation for our backs.
- Target Set piece and go for the jugular if a weakness is seen. Kicking for corners and territory if able to exert pressure in this area.
- Strong impact from the bench to keep intensity up.
- Typical Sarries blitz defence, squeezing the life out opposition and forcing errors.
- Play the game in the right areas of the pitch. Low error rugby and go through the phases when required.

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Wasps vs Harlequins
Ricoh Arena
Sunny Intervals, 8 degrees, 5mph North Westerly Winds

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Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Logovi'i Mulipola	09. Dan Robson
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. James Gaskell	11. Elliot Daly
05. Scott Barrett	12. Jimmy Gopperth (k)
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Thomas Young	14. Christian Wade
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Willie Le Roux

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16. Ashley Johnson, 17. Matt Mullan, 18. Paul Doran-Jones, 19. Kearnen Myhall, 20. Brendon O'Conner, 21. Joe Simpson, 22. Kyle Eastmond, 23. Josh Bassett

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Tactics
Attack:
- Mix up our lines of attack, sometimes with two lines with forwards as options
- Loose forwards 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 too 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
Harlequins
Manager – CJ

01. Lewis Boyce	09. Will Chudley
02. Dane Coles	10. Demetri Catrakalis (k)
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. James Horwill (c)	11. Tim Visser
05. George Merrick	12. Francis Saili
06. Mat Luamanu	13. Joe Marchant
07. Sam Cane	14. Charlie Walker
08. Renaldo Bothma	15. James Lowe

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16. Mark Lambert 17. Elia Elia 18. Will Collier 19. Charlie Matthews  20. Jack Lam 21. Charlie Mulchrone 22. Marcus Smith  23.  Alex Lewington 

TACTICS

Worcester Warriors
Manager – CJB

01. Ethan Waller	09. Francois Hougaard
02. Jack Singleton	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Nick Schonert
04. Will Spencer	11. Bryce Helen
05. Guido Petti	12. Ngani Laumape
06. Blake Gibson	13. Wynard Olivier
07. Michael Hopper	14. Dean Hammond
08. Dave Denton	15. Chris Pennell

16. Ryan Bower 17. Matt Williams 18. Biyi Alo 19. Donnacha O’Callaghan 20. GJ Van Velze 21. Jonny Arr 22. Jamie Shilock 23. Ryan Mills

Harlequins
Manager – CJ

01. Lewis Boyce	09. Will Chudley
02. Dane Coles	10. Demetri Catrakalis (k)
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. James Horwill (c)	11. Tim Visser
05. George Merrick	12. Francis Saili
06. Mat Luamanu	13. Joe Marchant
07. Sam Cane	14. Charlie Walker
08. Renaldo Bothma	15. James Lowe

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16. Mark Lambert 17. Elia Elia 18. Will Collier 19. Charlie Matthews  20. Jack Lam 21. Charlie Mulchrone 22. Marcus Smith  23.  Alex Lewington 


TACTICS;

After losing to Wasps at home playing attacking rugby, it seems madness to expect a better result away with the same players available. So we will do what they won’t expect and play territory and the power game.

Breakdown- all smashing Wasps off the breakdown with raw power and Cane looking to sneak in to steal some key ball unexpected

Attack- we have picked Catrakalis to use his top class boot to put us in the right parts of the field. In our half we are very happy to kick chase, with rapid and lethal wingers who can catch the back 3 unaware.

We are happy to kick for touch as well, as we have faith in our lineout.

In their half, we will focus more on heavy carrying off 9 and pick ups at the fringes with our great carrying pack, willing to spread it out when there is space using Saili as an extra threat at 12 and Lowe coming into the line at speed, then pummelling and kicking through to the wings again.

In their 22, more focus on their midfield and attacking the blindside with simple pops off 10-12 to the forwards at speed. No misdirection but hit away and if a gap on a fringe appears, Chudley to exploit it. Then when we truly have the right to go wide, we have the hands in the backs and finishers at 11, 13, 14 and 15 to make every chance hurt Wasps.

Take any kicks for points we can.

At the set piece, we will use Horiwll to attack Wasps in the lineout at the front and force them to throw long. With the best Hooker in the world, our lineout is safe and we will use the maul a lot. Our young props to hammer away at the scrum, we can tire them and get a gain later on, also secure that if we tire we have solid scrummagers on the bench

Blitz defence, with Luamanu looking to smash Cipriani out of the game. Cane to keep an eye on Robson. Early push on their wingers to catch them before they get space to run.

Then when the huge collisions have tired Wasps light backs, we exploit heavy legs with Smith and Lewington and more pacy carrying from Elia Elia etc

Sale Sharks
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ross Harrison	09. Faf Du Klerk
02. Malcolm Marx	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Halani Aulika
04. Josh Beaumont	11. James O'Connor
05. Pieter Steph Du Toit	12. Sam James
06. Judicael Cancoriet	13. Jack Goodhue
07. Tom Curry	14. Denny Solomona
08. Josh Strauss	15. Mike Haley

16. Rob Webber 17. Greg Bateman 18. Will Griff John  19. Jono Ross 20 Ben Curry 21. Will Cliff 22. Will Addison 23. Keelan Giles

We will look to use the kicking game of Du Klerk and Sanchez to pin Irish in their own half and trust our defence and line out to put huge pressure on them to escape from their own territory. We will look to counter attack when Irish kick loosely and test their kick defence.

Use our pack to get us over the gain line will ball in hand and tire the Irish defence. Look to get the ball to the backs when their is quick ball and an organised back line ready to strike.

use Sanchez to kick all points on offer. Scoreboard pressure is key to putting Irish under pressure.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly
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01. Richard Barrington	09. Ben Spencer
02. Schalk Brits	10. Alex Lozowski
03. Vincent Koch
04. Will Skelton	11. Chris Wyles
05. Eben Etzebeth	12. Brad Barritt
06. Michael Rhodes	13. Damian Penaud
07. Schalk Burger	14. Nathan Earle
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Liam Williams

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16. Christopher Tolofua 17. Hayden Thompson-Stringer 18. Juan Figallo 19. Nick Isiekwe  20. Callum Clark 21. Henry Taylor 22. Max Malins 23. Harry Mallinder
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Tactics:

- Play the Saracens way, keep it tight in the pack and earn the right to go wide.  
- Strong, physical pack to set a tone in the collisions. High intensity rugby, with big carries from numerous options. Will look to dominate the opposition pack and lay a foundation for our backs.
- Target Set piece and go for the jugular if a weakness is seen. Kicking for corners and territory if able to exert pressure in this area.
- Strong impact from the bench to keep intensity up.
- Typical Sarries blitz defence, squeezing the life out opposition and forcing errors.
- Play the game in the right areas of the pitch. Low error rugby and go through the phases when required.

Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Logovi'i Mulipola	09. Dan Robson
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. James Gaskell	11. Elliot Daly
05. Scott Barrett	12. Jimmy Gopperth (k)
06. Sean O'Brien	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Thomas Young	14. Christian Wade
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Willie Le Roux

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16. Ashley Johnson, 17. Matt Mullan, 18. Paul Doran-Jones, 19. Kearnen Myhall, 20. Brendon O'Conner, 21. Joe Simpson, 22. Kyle Eastmond, 23. Josh Bassett

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Tactics
Attack:
- Mix up our lines of attack, sometimes with two lines with forwards as options
- Loose forwards 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 too 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

Just checking, is Hughes available? In the England training squad but no 6N game this weekend....

He would be

Just bear in mind he would have been training quite heavily with England and coming straight back from injury. But that is my view point.

Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Prop_Lyd

01. Josh Honeck	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Richie Mo'unga (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Ed Slater (c)	11. Charlie Sharples
05. Franco Mostert	12. Owen Williams
06. Lewis Ludlow	13. Jon Davies
07. Jake Polledri	14. Henry Purdy
08. Ruaan Ackerman	15. Jason Woodward

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16. Motu Ma'atu 17. Val Ruskin 18. Gareth Denman 19. Jeremy Thrush 20. Gareth Evans 21. Ben Vellacott 22. Billy Burns 23. Tom Marshall

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Tactics
*Look to grind them down in the front 5 with a hefty pack not afraid to do dirty work,
*Forwards to work in pods round the corner 2 phases then wide and hit gaps,
*JD2 and Williams to play what's in front of them and look to put runners through,
*Mo'unga to look to get quick ball out, if it isn't on then tactical kicking to corners,
*We have selected Williams as a stronger defensive option to stop the centre's attack,
*Defence led by JD2 and with a back rower on Mo'unga's shoulder to assist tackle and get over the ball,
*Look to slow them down with a well balanced back row,
*Use bench wisely with experience to come on and pace in the backs to target tired legs especially Vellacott who will be given a run out towards the end,
*Keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Exeter Chiefs 
Manager – Fluxy

01. Alec Hepburn	09. Nic White
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Gareth Steenson (k)
03. Greg Holmes
04. Mitch Lees	11. Olly Woodburn
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Henry Slade
06. Don Armand (c)	13. Michele Campagnaro
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Jack Nowell
08. Dave Ewers	15. Lachlan Turner

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Harry Williams, 19. Jonny Hill 20. Thomas Waldrom, 21. Jack Maunder 22. Joe Simmonds, 23. Sam Hill

Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based, fast offloading game, keeping the ball alive moving the Warriors 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 Steenson, and Slade to take us up the field.
In defence, as always we will be running a blitz defence. Our focus will be on the gainline collisions and driving back in the tackle. Line speed and no dog-legs will be key components for us. White will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.
Specifics

• Lineout - Hit our front and middle jumpers and ensure that we secure our ball. Look to use our powerful maul to make yards and suck in Worcester defenders. 
  
• Scrum - Keep low and both flankers to stay bound and pushing and look to really get below the Warriors props and force an advantage. If we get going forward, mix up between forcing the penalty and getting the ball out quickly, to keep the tempo of the game high.
  
• 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 the 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 - With quick ball we will look to move the ball from side to side, with pods of forwards across the field, either looking to create a mis-match or to help secure possession. We want to keep the ball alive as much as possible, and run the Worcester front five off their feet. We know they are defensively strong in the midfield so will look to shift the point of attack and try to attack the wide areas off earlier phases and draw their stronger defenders into those channels before going back inside and exploiting the gaps created. If they don't come out to cover the wide men, we will look to really target their defensive abilities out wide, with our roaming pods of forwards. If the ball is slow and Warriors, we will also utilise the Chiefs pick and go, with the aim of keeping the blitz honest and forcing them slowly onto the back foot before going wider out. White to also look to snipe around the fringes and keep us going forwards all the time.  
  
• Tactical Kicking - If we kick, we will look to kick for the corners and contest the opposition lineout and put pressure on their clearances.
  

Need: Saints, Irish, Falcons and Bath side please

Northampton Saints
Manager: StNick

01. Alex Waller	09. Cobus Reinach
02. Mikey Haywood	10. Steven Myler (k)
03. Paul Hill
04. Api Ratuniyarawa	11. Ben Foden
05. Michael Paterson	12. Luther Burrell
06. Teimana Harrison	13. Rob Horne
07. Kwagga Smith	14. George North
08. Facundo Isa	15. Alex Goode

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16 Campese Ma'afu, 17 Reece Marshall, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Christian Day, 20 Tom Wood, 21 Nic Groom, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Tom Collins

Bath Rugby
Manager – Driver

01. Beno Obano	09. Kahn Fotuali
02. Tom Dunn	10. Rhys Priestland (k)
03. Ramiro Herrera
04. Luke Charteris	11. Semesa Rokoduguni
05. Matt Garvey	12. Max Clark
06. Francois Louw (c)	13. Matt Banahan
07. Zac Mercer	14. Aled Brew
08. Toby Faletau	15. Freddie Burns

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16. Jack Walker, 17.Nick Auterac, 18. Scott Andrews 19. Dave Attwood, 20. James Phillips 21. Chris Cook, 22. Rory Jennings, 23. Tom Homer

Tactics:

• Bath have picked a big physical pack to take on opp and disrupt game.
• Plenty of carriers and work rate in pack, backrow to target isolated runners for the turnover
• Kahn to look for the short runners following his snipe the generate quick ball to slow opp line speed down and isolate runners.
• Freddie Burn’s to chip the ball over the top and in behind wingers specifically to test his positioning out.
• Using a blitz defence when short on numbers to put pressure on opp 10
• Pick and Game will be effective for us today and Burns will look to put us in the corners but moving the ball when its on.
• Burns to punish opp indiscipline’s with shots at goal.
• Attwood/Ewels to go up on opp lineout and put pressure on

London Irish
Manager – Bambam

01. Danny Hobbs-Ayowemi	09. TJ Perenara
02. Asafo Aumua	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Ben Franks
04. Franco Van Der Merwe	11. Joe Cokanasiga
05. Brodie Retallick (c)	12. Fergus Mulchrone
06. Jack Clifford	13. Johnny Williams
07. Luke Wallace	14. Marland Yarde
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Jordie Barrett

:-
16. David Paice 17. Alex Lundberg 18. Ollie Hoskins 19. Sebastian De Chaves 20. Mike Coman 21. Scott Steele 22. James Grayson 23. Tom Parton

Using big carriers to make ground in the wet, going wider in the 22 and backing our backline to have the skills to overcome the conditions - Retallick, Furlong, Conan, Aumua to lead us here

Scrappy breakdown players in Clifford and Wallace to get us surprise turnovers which we'll look to either kick through and chase or put through the hands

Strong kicking game with Perenara, Cruden and Barrett used to the NZ rainstorms, putting kicks on a 6 pence if they want to get into a kicking duel. We'll look to pressure Sanchez and see if their other backs can cope with kicking regularly. Barrett at FB for his kicking game

Don't be afraid to counter attack if they kick poorly.

Barrett and Cruden to act as first receiver options, Perenara snipe if its on

Big carriers and a game breaker in Larmour off the bench late on

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Ozzy

01. Rob Vickers	09. Sonatane Takulua
02. Santiago Socino	10. Toby Flood
03. Owen Franks
04. Dominic Bird	11. Sinoti Sinoti
05. Calum Green	12. Juan Pablo Socino
06. Steven Luatua	13. Máxime Mermoz
07. Gary Graham	14. Vereniki Goneva
08. Mark Wilson	15. Simon Hammersley

:-
16. Ben Sowery 17. Sami Mavinga 18. David Wilson 19. Sean Robinson 20. Opeti Fonua  21. Micky Young 22. Joel Hodgson 23. Adam Radwan

TACTICS

Predictions Open - to me please 

Can I add tactics quickly?

Get them in CJ, doubt many have predicted.

Tactics;

After losing to Wasps at home playing attacking rugby, it seems madness to expect a better result away with the same players available. So we will do what they won’t expect and play territory and the power game.

Breakdown- all smashing Wasps off the breakdown with raw power and Cane looking to sneak in to steal some key ball unexpected

Attack- we have picked Catrakalis to use his top class boot to put us in the right parts of the field. In our half we are very happy to kick chase, with rapid and lethal wingers who can catch the back 3 unaware.

We are happy to kick for touch as well, as we have faith in our lineout.

In their half, we will focus more on heavy carrying off 9 and pick ups at the fringes with our great carrying pack, willing to spread it out when there is space using Saili as an extra threat at 12 and Lowe coming into the line at speed, then pummelling and kicking through to the wings again.

In their 22, more focus on their midfield and attacking the blindside with simple pops off 10-12 to the forwards at speed. No misdirection but hit away and if a gap on a fringe appears, Chudley to exploit it. Then when we truly have the right to go wide, we have the hands in the backs and finishers at 11, 13, 14 and 15 to make every chance hurt Wasps.

Take any kicks for points we can.

At the set piece, we will use Horiwll to attack Wasps in the lineout at the front and force them to throw long. With the best Hooker in the world, our lineout is safe and we will use the maul a lot. Our young props to hammer away at the scrum, we can tire them and get a gain later on, also secure that if we tire we have solid scrummagers on the bench

Blitz defence, with Luamanu looking to smash Cipriani out of the game. Cane to keep an eye on Robson. Early push on their wingers to catch them before they get space to run.

Then when the huge collisions have tired Wasps light backs, we exploit heavy legs with Smith and Lewington and more pacy carrying from Elia Elia etc

Please get your predictions in to me lads

I'll get them in tomorrow first thing if ok

Have I done mine?

prop_lyd wrote:Have I done mine?

No haven't got a set from you mate.

Any more for any more?

Northampton Saints 23 - 24 Bath Rugby

Northampton Saints 20 - 21 Bath Rugby

Northampton Saints 28 - 27 Bath Rugby

Northampton Saints 24 - 27 Bath Rugby
Bath are going to get on top in the scrum and have a pack advantage overall with some good quality on show. I'm not keen on the Bath centre pairing but the halfbacks and back 3 are arguably a step up and help record a good away win for Bath. 

Northampton Saints 22 - 23 Bath Rugby
Tough game between these two sides, who aren't in the best of form at the minute. Saints get some real momentum from Isa and the pace of Smith in the back row, but lack something else in the front five for me. Bath are quite good around the park, but again, I feel are reliant on one or two players for the moment of magic. Out wide, Bath provides more of a spark at the moment, with only really Goode and Burrell offering anything from Northampton. Wouldn't be the most exciting game, but Bath to snatch this one.

Worcester Warriors 26 - 27 Exeter Chiefs

Worcester Warriors 22 - 23 Exeter Chiefs

Worcester Warriors 23 - 22 Exeter Chiefs

Worcester Warriors 23 - 23 Exeter Chiefs
Really good contest up front with some class acts for both sides. I think Exeter just shade the front 5 but the backrow is pretty even (is Denton available??). Halfbacks are a big step up to Wuss and they possibly just shade the backs making this a real contest.

Sale Sharks 25 - 25 London Irish

Sale Sharks 24 - 25 London Irish

Sale Sharks 29 - 25 London Irish
Retallick aside, it's pretty much Sale's pack and Irish will struggle to get a foothold in the game early on. Both have outstanding halfbacks but Irish's centres let them down slightly in an otherwise good unit. Sale have a quality 6N side. 

Sale Sharks 25 - 24 London Irish
Sale look quite strong here, with a solid set piece and some good pace in the pack to challenge Irish, and test them to make mistakes. Irish are set up for a wet game, when it is just a cloudy fixture, with no precipitation. I think that they are looking to kick more, falls into the Sharks hands more. Close matched game, but Sale to secure the home victory.

Leicester Tigers 22 - 21 Gloucester Rugby

Leicester Tigers 20 - 19 Gloucester Rugby

Leicester Tigers 26 - 24 Gloucester Rugby
Good mix of power and pace in the Tigers pack, gives them a good advantage and enough to get on top here. Gloucester have some good quality backs and they make a real fist of it.

Leicester Tigers 29 - 31 Gloucester Rugby
A class little match up here. I like how the Tigers pack has a nice balance, with power and dynamism of Genge, Fifita, and Shields. Gloucester, on the other hand, are strong in the front five and will pressure the Tigers set piece. I feel the Tigers back row will get an upper hand over the Glaws trio, but they won't match them for work rate. The Smith/mo'unga axis is the real difference here, along with the strong Gloucester spine. Tigers are no slouches, yet, they can't quite match the ability to get the ball down the line to their wingers like the visitors.

Newcastle Falcons 23 - 24 Saracens

Newcastle Falcons 22 - 23 Sarries

Newcastle Falcons 23 - 24 Saracens

Newcastle Falcons 25 - 28 Saracens
Falcons put up a good fight and challenge for the visiting Sarries, however, after a while, this strong Saracens side will break down the Falcons. I fancy the Falcons to get a few scores themselves, as they have the ability to score from nothing. But in the end, there is too much quality from Saracens.

Wasps 28 - 27 Harlequins

Wasps 27 - 26 Harlequins

Wasps 25 - 23 Harlequins 
A cracking game with Quins just getting a nudge on in the front 5 but things very even in the backrow with two quality outfits. I prefer the Wasps halfbacks and they take the back 3 with the centres to Quins. Too much for Wasps though.

Wasps 33 - 29 Harlequins
The Wasps look too strong at the moment, and despite Quins putting up a fight, they can't match the Wasps firepower here. The home side just has quality players in most positions, which will test their opposite numbers. That, in turn, will create mistakes and turnovers and with Robson and Cipriani in place to make the most of these, it will be a good day for the home side. Quins have some sparks themselves but need to get through the Six Nations period.