Aviva Premiership - Round 11 - Six Nations

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Gloucester Rugby vs Worcester Warriors
Kingsholm Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 6 degrees, 9mph Easterly Winds

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Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Prop_Lyd

01. Val Ruskin	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Richie Mo'unga (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Jeremy Thrush	11. Tom Marshall
05. Franco Mostert	12. Owen Williams
06. Jake Polledri	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Ruaan Ackermann	14. Henry Purdy
08. Ben Morgan (c)	15. Jason Woodward

_
16. James Hanson 17. Josh Honeck 18. Gareth Denman 19. Tom Savage 20. Gareth Evans 21. Willie Heinz 22. Billy Burns 23. Charlie Sharples

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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 Heinz and Sharples who will be given a run out towards the end,
*Keep the scoreboard ticking over.

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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. GJ Van Velze	15. Chris Pennell

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

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Bath Rugby vs Newcastle Falcons
The Rec
Sunny Intervals, 5 degrees, 13mph Easterly Winds

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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

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Newcastle Falcons
Manager – 

01. Rob Vickers	09. Sonatane Takulua
02. Kyle Cooper	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. Santiago Socino 17. Sami Mavinga 18. David Wilson 19. Sean Robinson 20. Opeti Fonua  21. Micky Young 22. Joel Hodgson 23. Adam Radwan

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Harlequins vs Leicester Tigers
Twickenham Stoop
Sunny Intervals, 6 degrees, 10mph Easterly Winds

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Harlequins
Manager – CJ

01. Mark Lambert	09. Will Chudley
02. Dane Coles	10. Marcus Smith
03. Will Collier
04. James Horwill (c)	11. Alex Lewington
05. George Merrick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Mat Luamanu	13. Francis Saili
07. Sam Cane	14. Tim Visser
08. Renaldo Bothma	15. James Lowe

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16.  Lewis Boyce 17. Dave Ward 18. Kyle Sinckler 19. Stan South 20. Jack Lam 21. Charlie Mulchrone 22. James Lang 23. Charlie Walker

TACTICS

We have picked a balanced side this week, with solid technical scrummagers, grit in the second row, carrying from Coles, Bothma, Roberts and Luamanu, physical defence in the backrow, Cane leading the breakdown, measured allround ability in Lowe and Saili and sparks at 9/10 with finishers outwide. This is to allow us to play a flexible gameplan, with more playmaking/attacking in the backs and powerful carrying and linkplay in the forwards on the bench to change the game up. We are looking to play adaptive, heads up but attacking rugby

Breakdown: All pack effort with hard clearing out from 2/4/6/8 especially to enable Cane to get good access to the ball and keep it quick. In defence, we can look for turnovers through Cane outwide, or slowing the ball and pressing for team turnovers with counterrucking throughout the pack if it is tight and slow. Key is to see what is on and only commit the numbers needed and be patient.

Attack: Phase attack, with close carrying phases when it is slow and the defence set. 
Cane chasing the ball, where he can either win quick ball as first man to the breakdown or be there to link up and take offloads
We play with twin playmakers at 9 and 10.

When we get momentum and suck in defenders, look to attack at multiple foci in the backs, Saili and Lowe coming in at angles and support running, and using big carriers off Smith and Chudley, who can either dummy run to create space for the backs or Smith to go alone, or smash it up flat and at pace to test their backs' tackling.

Once there is wide space, spin the ball quickly to the wingers to finish, with Saili + Lowe in support and always looking to recycle once the line is broken. Or if there is an inside gap in a stretched wide defence, flood it with inside runners and offloads.

We are equipped however for a grinding tight game if we need it, and a kicking game to our rapid kickchasing wings as another plan

Defence: Blitz, led by Roberts, tight fringes, Luamanu looking to neutralise Kalamafoni off the scrum, Bothma and Coles helping Smith and allowing Roberts to help choke tackle Manu for turnovers - he's unlikely to pass, struggling for fitness so if we catch him with 2 men early we can make him a weakness. 

Setpiece: We've pick a technical scrum to match Tigers, and get Bothma running off our ball. No funny business. In the lineout, we will pressurise Youngs' throws early with Horwill at the front and look to affect his confidence for the game. We will set up a lot of our attacks with the maul

Kicking: We will happily kick low and deep and chase with our rapid wingers, and run back kicks in our 22. We have the chip kick as an attacking option and will keep for the corner, trusting our lineout and attack, where an option though won't dismiss points in the middle of the pitch.

Other: Subs bring power in the front row to keep up scrum pressure and awesome carrying to bust apart their tired defence, with Lang able to add another playmaker at 12 for their defence to keep an eye on as a focus, and Walker's pace burning men chasing kicks. Lam and Ward looking to chip in with more turnovers and linkplay as we go all out attack at the end. We think their subs are much weaker than ours so this is when we will finish the game off.

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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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Saracens vs Sale Sharks
Allianz Park
Sunny Intervals, 5 degrees, 10mph Easterly Winds

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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. Mike Ellery

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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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 Sale Sharks
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ross Harrison	09. Faf Du Klerk
02. Malcolm Marx	10. Nicolas Sanchez (k)
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. Antoine Dupont 22. Will Addison 23. Byron McGuigan

Tactics

Look to move the ball around the park. In good conditions, we want to move Saracens around the pitch and keep ball in hand with our very mobile and strong carrying pack.

Du Klerk will set the tempo and look to play at a real pace. He will look for runners off 9 and will constantly be looking to snipe for gaps.

We have loads of ball players in the back line to keep the ball alive, Sanchez, James, JOC and Haley are all comfortable with ball in hand and we will look to vary who stands at pivot in order to keep Saracens honest in defence.

Whilst we want to play quickly, we will be alive to space behind and will use chip and chases to gain territory and ensure Saracens sweepers remain honest and in position.

We will look to put huge pressure on the Saracens lineout who we feel really lack jumpers. In Du Toit, Beaumont, Strauss, Cancoriet and Curry we have 5 genuine jumping options who can get up quickly and steal the ball from Saracens.

In defence, we will look to chop and get the first man over the ball to force a turnover/penalty. In Curry, Strauss and Marx we have three really strong jacklers.

Use the boot pinpoint of Sanchez to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

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Exeter Chiefs vs Wasps
Sandy Park
Sunny Intervals, 6 degrees, 16mph Easterly Winds

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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. James Short
08. Dave Ewers	15. Lachlan Turner

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16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Moray Low, 19. Jonny Hill 20. Thomas Waldrom, 21. Jack Maunder 22. Ollie Devoto, 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 Wasps 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 Wasps defenders. 
  
• Scrum - Keep low and both flankers to stay bound and pushing and look to really get below the Wasps 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 Wasps 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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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. Guy Thompson	15. Willie Le Roux

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16. Tom Cruse, 17. Matt Mullan, 18. Paul Doran-Jones, 19. Kearnen Myhall, 20. Jack Willis, 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

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London Irish vs Northampton Saints
Madjeski Stadium
Sunny Intervals, 7 degrees, 13mph North Easterly Winds
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, going wider in the 22 and backing our backline to have the skills to get us points - Retallick, Franks, Treviranus, 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 putting kicks on a 6 pence if they want to get into a kicking duel.. 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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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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Mark

Team pending call ups (may lose Marler and Visser)

Harlequins
Manager – CJ

01. Mark Lambert	09. Will Chudley
02. Dane Coles	10. Marcus Smith
03. Will Collier
04. James Horwill (c)	11. Alex Lewington
05. George Merrick	12. Jamie Roberts
06. Mat Luamanu	13. Francis Saili
07. Sam Cane	14. Tim Visser
08. Renaldo Bothma	15. James Lowe

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16.  Lewis Boyce (Mark Lambert if Marler called up) 17.  Dave Ward 18. Kyle Sinckler   19. Stan South 20. Jack Lam  21. Charlie Mulchrone 22. James Lang 23. Charlie Walker (Joe Marchant if Visser called up)

TACTICS


We have picked a balanced side this week, with solid technical scrummagers, grit in the second row, carrying from Coles, Bothma, Roberts and Luamanu, physical defence in the backrow, Cane leading the breakdown, measured allround ability in Lowe and Saili and sparks at 9/10 with finishers outwide. This is to allow us to play a flexible gameplan, with more playmaking/attacking in the backs and powerful carrying and linkplay in the forwards on the bench to change the game up. We are looking to play adaptive, heads up but attacking rugby

Breakdown: All pack effort with hard clearing out from 2/4/6/8 especially to enable Cane to get good access to the ball and keep it quick. In defence, we can look for turnovers through Cane outwide, or slowing the ball and pressing for team turnovers with counterrucking throughout the pack if it is tight and slow. Key is to see what is on and only commit the numbers needed and be patient.


Attack: Phase attack, with close carrying phases when it is slow and the defence set. 
Cane chasing the ball, where he can either win quick ball as first man to the breakdown or be there to link up and take offloads
We play with twin playmakers at 9 and 10.

When we get momentum and suck in defenders, look to attack at multiple foci in the backs, Saili and Lowe coming in at angles and support running, and using big carriers off Smith and Chudley, who can either dummy run to create space for the backs or Smith to go alone, or smash it up flat and at pace to test their backs' tackling.

Once there is wide space, spin the ball quickly to the wingers to finish, with Saili + Lowe in support and always looking to recycle once the line is broken. Or if there is an inside gap in a stretched wide defence, flood it with inside runners and offloads.

We are equipped however for a grinding tight game if we need it, and a kicking game to our rapid kickchasing wings as another plan


Defence: Blitz, led by Roberts, tight fringes, Luamanu looking to neutralise Kalamafoni off the scrum, Bothma and Coles helping Smith and allowing Roberts to help choke tackle Manu for turnovers - he's unlikely to pass, struggling for fitness so if we catch him with 2 men early we can make him a weakness. 

Setpiece: We've pick a technical scrum to match Tigers, and get Bothma running off our ball. No funny business. In the lineout, we will pressurise Youngs' throws early with Horwill at the front and look to affect his confidence for the game. We will set up a lot of our attacks with the maul

Kicking: We will happily kick low and deep and chase with our rapid wingers, and run back kicks in our 22. We have the chip kick as an attacking option and will keep for the corner, trusting our lineout and attack, where an option though won't dismiss points in the middle of the pitch.

Other: Subs bring power in the front row to keep up scrum pressure and awesome carrying to bust apart their tired defence, with Lang able to add another playmaker at 12 for their defence to keep an eye on as a focus, and Walker's pace burning men chasing kicks. Lam and Ward looking to chip in with more turnovers and linkplay as we go all out attack at the end. We think their subs are much weaker than ours so this is when we will finish the game off.

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. Mike Ellery

:-
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.

Gloucester Rugby
Manager - Prop_Lyd

01. Val Ruskin	09. Aaron Smith
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Richie Mo'unga (k)
03. John Afoa
04. Jeremy Thrush	11. Tom Marshall
05. Franco Mostert	12. Owen Williams
06. Jake Polledri	13. Jon Davies
07. Ruaan Ackermann	14. Henry Purdy
08. Ben Morgan (c)	15. Jason Woodward

_
16. James Hanson 17. Josh Honeck 18. Gareth Denman 19. Tom Savage 20. Gareth Evans 21. Willie Heinz 22. Billy Burns 23. Charlie Sharples

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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 Heinz and Sharples who will be given a run out towards the end,
*Keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Newcastle Falcons make one change ahead of their game with Bath Rugby this weekend. 
They bring in South African Kyle Cooper to the starting line up, following some strong displays in the A-League. 

Newcastle Falcons
Manager – 

01. Rob Vickers	09. Sonatane Takulua
02. Kyle Cooper	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. Santiago Socino 17. Sami Mavinga 18. David Wilson 19. Sean Robinson 20. Opeti Fonua  21. Micky Young 22. Joel Hodgson 23. Adam Radwan

TACTICS

Exeter Chiefs name a relatively unchanged side from last weekends victory against Worcester Warriors. The starting pack remains the same, with one change coming in the back line, as James Short comes in for England's Jack Nowell. 
On the bench with Six Nations call-ups affecting this area more for the Chiefs Moray Low, takes the place of Harry Williams. With Short being called into the XV, Ollie Devoto takes up the spare spot on the bench for the game against the league leaders this weekend. 

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. James Short
08. Dave Ewers	15. Lachlan Turner

. 
16. Jack Yeandle, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Moray Low, 19. Jonny Hill 20. Thomas Waldrom, 21. Jack Maunder 22. Ollie Devoto, 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 Wasps 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 Wasps defenders. 
  
• Scrum - Keep low and both flankers to stay bound and pushing and look to really get below the Wasps 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 Wasps 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.
  

Wasps name their side for the top-of-the-table clash against Exeter Cheifs

Manager Pullthestrings makes a few changes from an otherwise stable and consistent side for their trip down to Sandy Park. The reliable Guy Thompson comes in for Nathan Hughes, who has been pulled away for England duty, whilst Jack Willis, who has been tearing up trees in the Premiership, is named on the bench from where he is sure to get a chance to impress some more.  Finally, Tom Cruse replaces Ashley Johnson on the bench to add some grunt to the front row.

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. Guy Thompson	15. Willie Le Roux

_
16. Tom Cruse, 17. Matt Mullan, 18. Paul Doran-Jones, 19. Kearnen Myhall, 20. Jack Willis, 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

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. GJ Van Velze	15. Chris Pennell

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

Sale Sharks
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Ross Harrison	09. Faf Du Klerk
02. Malcolm Marx	10. Nicolas Sanchez (k)
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. Antoine Dupont 22. Will Addison 23. Byron McGuigan

Tactics

Look to move the ball around the park. In good conditions, we want to move Saracens around the pitch and keep ball in hand with our very mobile and strong carrying pack.

Du Klerk will set the tempo and look to play at a real pace. He will look for runners off 9 and will constantly be looking to snipe for gaps.

We have loads of ball players in the back line to keep the ball alive, Sanchez, James, JOC and Haley are all comfortable with ball in hand and we will look to vary who stands at pivot in order to keep Saracens honest in defence.

Whilst we want to play quickly, we will be alive to space behind and will use chip and chases to gain territory and ensure Saracens sweepers remain honest and in position.

We will look to put huge pressure on the Saracens lineout who we feel really lack jumpers. In Du Toit, Beaumont, Strauss, Cancoriet and Curry we have 5 genuine jumping options who can get up quickly and steal the ball from Saracens.

In defence, we will look to chop and get the first man over the ball to force a turnover/penalty. In Curry, Strauss and Marx we have three really strong jacklers.

Use the boot pinpoint of Sanchez to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Tactics added

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, going wider in the 22 and backing our backline to have the skills to get us points - Retallick, Franks, Treviranus, 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 putting kicks on a 6 pence if they want to get into a kicking duel.. 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

I am literally doing these now, if anyone is around to stick in their scores.