Summer Cup Round 4

Team Sheets due by Saturday
Predictions open Sunday. Results due Tuesday

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Gloucester Rugby v Northampton Saints

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Gloucester
Manager – Prop

01. Nick Wood (c)	09. Dimitri Yachvilli
02. Scott Lawson	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Sam Whitelock	11. Ian Clark
05. Alex Brown	12. Jamie Roberts
06. JVN	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Cane	14. Johnny May
08. Luke Narraway	15. Pat Lambie

16. Korree Britton 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Tom Savage 20. Akapusi Qera 21. Dan Robson 22. Ryan Mills 23. JSD

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Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Sonny Bill WIlliams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Scott Armstrong
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. S. Kitshoff 17. R. Strauss 18. B. Mujati 19. J. Craig 20. P. Dowson 21. M. Roberts 22. S. Myler 23. J. Elliot

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Leinster Rugby v Leicester Tigers

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Leinster Rugby
Manager –

01. Cian Healy	09. Issac Boss
02. Richardt Strauss	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Mike Ross
04. Leo Cullen	11. David Kearney
05. Brad Thorn	12. Fergus McFadden
06. Kevin McLaughlin	13. Brian O'Driscoll
07. Sean O'Brien	14. Isa Nacewa
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Rob Kearney

16. Heinke Van Der Merwe 17. Sean Cronin 18. Nathin White 19. Devin Toner 20. Shane Jennings 21. Eoin Reddan 22. Ian Madigan 23. Luke Fitzgerald

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismark du Plessis	10. Berrick Barnes
03. Dan Cole
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Christian Wade
05. Richie Gray	12. Jordan Turner-Hall
06. Maurie Fa’asalavu	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. James O’Connor
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Tom Youngs 17. Aaron Jarvis 18. Marco Ayerza 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 21. Karl Dickson 22. Toby Flood 23. Miles Benjamin

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London Irish v London Wasps

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London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Max Lahiff	09. Joe Simpson
02. James Buckland	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Regan King
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Marland Yarde
08. Tom Guest	15. Tom Homer

16. Polota-Nau, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Clarke Dermody, 19. Tom Palmer, 20. Ally Hogg, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Daniel Bowden, 23. Delon Armitage
Tactics
To follow.

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Bath Rugby v Waikato Chiefs

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens
02. L.Mears	10. J.Hook
03. O.Franks
04. J.Muller	11. M.Banahan
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (k)
06. C.Fearns	13. C.Laulala
07. F.Louw (c)	14. T.Biggs
08. S.O'Brien	15. I.Dagg

16. A.Perenise 17. C.Tolufua 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20. M.Lund 21. M.McMillan 22. K.Eastmond 23. O.Woodburn

TACTICS TBC

General
- Going full strength for the win, no more experimentation!
- We want to make sure that we play rugby in the opposition half and force handling errors, where we can attack the scrum and use the boot of Steyn to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Use the physicality of our pack to our advantage, keeping the ball tight in the middle section of the pitch to retain possession and build a platform to attack from. In our third clear to touch and challenge for the ball at lineout.
- Look to interchange 10 and 12 as the situation sees fit. Utilise Hook as a playmaker on the wrap around and Steyn as a physical threat and cannon of a boot.
- Hook and Steyn to ensure we play sensible rugby in the right areas, kicking long for touch in our 22, using the up and under in the centre of the pitch and delicate grubbers in behind centres to chase and force kickable penalties.
- Steyn leads the rush defence, with Louw/Fearns flying up to cramp 10 for time and space and ensuring he takes the ball deep behind the gainline and starving their outside backs of ball.

Forwards
* Franks to target LH in the scrum. Look to draw penalties for Steyn to gain position and points. Look for a yellow card early on.
* Picked a very physical pack to make sure that we defend strongly and smash over the gainline. O'Brien to lead pack from base of scrum making hard yards and setting up the ruck for Louw and Fearns to clear out. SOB to mark opposite 8 in defence to prevent charges from base of scrum
* At the lineout, Muller will lead the calls and look to pressurise oppoistion hooker and compete at every throw
* Louw is a breakdown specialist and will look to stay on his feet at the ruck and slow opposition ball down. Fearns and Lund to guard to the fringes of the ruck
* Use ball carriers of Franks, Louw, Tolufua, O'Brien, Fearns to make hard yards up the pitch and draw defenders into the ruck area, looking to create space around the fringes for Laulala to exploit

Backs
* Dagg given free rein in attack, looking to come into the line either side of Laulala. Laulala to look for the half gap with power and offload (only if on), with the pace of Biggs and Woodburn on their shoulder to make the break
* Hook to take the ball flat on the gainline, drawing defenders and buying time and space for Steyn in the 2nd playmaker role. Steyn not afraid to bosh it up if nothing on and set up the ruck.
* Vary the point of attack with 10/12 interchanging, look to keep it unpredictable on the gainline + difficult to defend against. Use the inside pass with forward runners of Franks, Caldwell, SOB to keep the inside shoulder honest and force the 10 to make tackles.
* Get Laulala on the ball early on and encourage a very pacy back three to run off his shoulder. Only offload if it is on, otherwise, crash it up and use SOB, Fearns, Caldwell to clear out and Louw to secure.
* Banahan is a huge physical threat. Encourage him to run into the 10 channel early on and test Cruden defence and to see SBW fly up and create a gap behind. Eastmond to come on for last 30 mins in a free role, acting as 2nd receiver, popping up wherever to use his pace, step and get more experience

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Chiefs
Manager –

01. Sona Taumalolo	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02. Hika Elliot	10. Aaron Cruden
03. Ben Tameifuna
04. Brodie Retalick	11. Asaeli Tikoirotuma
05. Michael Fitzgerald	12. Sonny Bill Williams
06. Tanerau Latimer	13. Richard Kahui
07. Sam Cane	14. Lelia Masaga
08. Liam Messam	15. Tim Nanai Williams

16. Toby Smith 17. Mahonri Schwalger 18. Ben Afeki 19. Craig Clarke 20. Kane Thompson 21. Brendon Leonard 22. Jackson Willison 23. Andrew Horrell

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Sale Sharks v Ulster Rugby

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Sale Sharks
Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Aaron Cruden
03.Matt Stevens
04.Kearnan Myall	11.Cameron Shephard
05.Dean Schofield	12.Jonothan Davies
06.Schalk Burger	13.Jaque Fourie
07.Hendrie Fourie	14.Tom Brady
08.Jordan Crane	15.Rob Miller

Subs

16.Marc Jones 17.Henry Thomas 18.Logovoii Mulipola 19.James Gaskell 20.Dave Seymour 21.Scott Mathie 22.Johan Goosen 23.Will Addison

Tactics
Cruden to play flat. To bring in exciting centres.
Schofield, Crane, Burger, Stevens and Davies give us lots of ball carriers and go forward.
Look to target Gilroy defensively as he is weak positionally.
Ball carriers to target Jackson and Wallace axis to expose their defensive frailties against bigger men.

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Ulster Rugby
Manager –

01. Tom Court	09. Ruan Pienaar
02. Rory Best	10. Paddy Jackson
03. John Afoa
04. Johann Muller	11. Craig Gilroy
05. Dan Tuohy	12. Paddy Wallace
06. Stephen Ferris	13. Darren Cave
07. Chris Henry	14. Andrew Trimble
08. Pedrie Wannenburg	15. Jared Payne

16. Paddy McAllister 17. Nigel Brady 18. Declan Fitzpatrick 19. Lewis Stevenson 20 Willie Faloon 21. Paul Marshall 22. Niall O'Connor 23 Adam D'Arcy

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Saracens v Exeter Chiefs

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Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullan	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Alex Goode
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Vereniki Goneva
05. Charlie Matthews )	12. Anthony Allen
06. Richie McCaw (c.)	13. Chris Wyles
07. Will Fraser	14. Sam Smith
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Kelly Brown 21. Ben Spencer 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Conrad Smith

Tactics
Last time out, Exeter beat us for several reasons. We were light in carrying in the pack, lightweight in the second row, outclassed in the halfbacks and vulnerable down the 10-12 channel.
This time out our second rows are both athletic but with plenty of power and carrying ability, the pack has powered up its carrying through these players and Brown on the bench, and the 10-12 channel is improved with Allen there.

We will adopt the old Sarries' Wolfpack approach, using Fraser, Joubert and McCaw as a unit to cut down Exeter in the tackle, win the ball and secure our own with effectively 2 7s on the pitch against Scaysbrook.

In attack we will use the likes of Brits, Joubert and Ryan to batter the Ex defence in the tight with hard yards, then when quick ball can be secured by McCaw or Fraser, to spread it immediately where Goode and Allen will attack with Wyles on their shoulder.

Joubert and Brits will also join the line in more broken play to give crash ball options to Goode. Our HBs are good kickers and Parra will dictate the pace of the game- he will decide whether to stay slow and tight, kick for the corners or give it to Goode who is to attack.

In defence, we will blitz, with Halfpenny covering for any chips. Exeter have some large players but they can't break the line without any momentum

Scrums- we will be targeted, but our second row has the grunt to stop us being dominated. Fraser and McCaw to bind very loosely to protect Parra and cut down their backrow. Lineouts- Good options on own ball with Matthews and Ryan and McCaw. Let them have their ball, aim to pressurise Peel instead.

2 quick players on the flank plus the wily Parra means we should be able to put Peel under pressure. If Johny gets bad ball, he'll have to kick it, and our back 3 can run it back. Box kicks will be dealt with by our players experienced at playing fullback- Goode, Wyles, Halfpenny and Mitchell. With such strength in the air, in the opposition 22, let's use crossfield kicks from 9 or 10

If we lose possession in the ruck, don't fight too much. Get out quickly and pressurise the line.

Subs- get Brown on and move Richie to 7 and play a more traditional back row game. Bring on Smith at 60 minutes or if we are chasing. Geraghty to break the game up.

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Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Luke

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Hoani Tui
04. Loius Deacon	11. Paul Sackey
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Richard Kahui
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Luke Arscott

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Neil Clark 18. John Afoa 19. James Hanks 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Gonzalo Camacho

Tactics

We will play a structured game built around our massive ball carriers, the strength of our set piece and getting our lightning backline into space.

- Attack the scrum as a weapon - and call when we can. Look to really get the shove on.

- Use Wilkinson's boot to attack our strong lineout with Horwill, Deacon, Scaysbrrok and Johnson. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down Sarries defence. We will use our big carriers consistently to tire down Sale .
The likes of Tui, Trev, Scaysbrook, Beast, Horwill, Johnson and Naqelevuki used off the shoulder crashing through the opposition defence.

- Scaysbrook is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.

- Box kicks from Peel and up and unders from Wilkinson to give the opposition problems in the air.
Lightning back line to really get the chase on.

- Look to play attacking rugby in the backs, getting the likes of Lowe, Kahui and Arscott on the ball when we can.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

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Worcester Warriors v Harlequins

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Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Alex Corbisero	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.Joe Grey	10.Owen Farrell (K)
03.James Johnstone
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.James Short
05.George Robson	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Alex Grey	13.George North
07.Chris Robshaw(c)	14.Ollie Lindsey Hague
08.Willem Alberts	15.Adam Ashley Cooper

16.John Smit 17.Rhys Gill 18.Mark Lambert 19.Mauritz Botha 20.Matt Kvesic 21.Luke Burgess 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Jared Payne

Tactics

Can i have feed back on

- Balance of pack (mainly back row)
- 9/10 combo
- North at 13 and Coops at 15.

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Stormers v London Welsh

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Stormers
Manager –

01. Steven Kitshoff	09. Dewaldt Duvenage
02. Tiaan Liebenberg	10. Peter Grant
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Eben Etzebeth	11. Bryan Habana
05. Andries Bekker	12. Jean De Villiers
06. Siya Kolisi	13. Juan De Jongh
07. Duane Vermulean	14. Gio Aplon
08. Schalk Burger	15. Joe Pietersen

16. Deon Carstens 17. Deon Fourie 18. Brok Harris 19. De Kock Steenkamp 20. Rynhardt Elstadt 21. Louis Schreuder 22. Burton Francis 23. Gerhard van den Heever

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London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Ruan Pienaar (K)
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. David Wilson
04. Steve Mafi	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Paul O'Connell (C)	12. Gavin Henson
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Dominic Waldlouck
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Cory Jane
08. Nick Easter	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Shawn Pittman 17. Tom Mercey 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Dean Mumm 20. Chris Hala'ufia 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Steven Shingler 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics

• James and Wilson are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possesion for our backs. James will look to put pressure on the Stormers feed.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, O'Connell will lead the lineout and use Mumm as a banker ball at the front of the line with POC jumping in the middle. If winning own ball POC will look to cut the lineout to five, to allow Easter to get a chance to run at the defence in open field.
  
  
• With the selection of Brussow and Gibson they'll attack breakdowns, their skills will provide another source of possesion from turnovers. Pienaar will be behind the rucks to supply any turnover possesion to our wide men as soon as possible why the defence is in disarray.
  
  
• Off any first phase possesion, there will be a strike runner to get over the gainline to provide quick ball whilst the opposition defence is still organising itself.
  
  
• Evans and Pienaar will direct traffic and marshall the attacking forces. Pienaar will marshall the forwards and Evans will pull the strings, looking for the runs of Waldlouck and Henson off his shoulder or to allow Wald to release our dangerous roaming back three.
  
  
• Pienaar and Evans will kick all points, unless POC dictates we have a dominate set piece at the moment in time.

Saracens
Manager – ChequeredJersey

01. Matt Mullan	09. Morgan Parra (k.)
02. Schalk Brits	10. Alex Goode
03. Carlos Nieto
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Vereniki Goneva
05. Charlie Matthews )	12. Anthony Allen
06. Richie McCaw (c.)	13. Chris Wyles
07. Will Fraser	14. Sam Smith
08. Ernst Joubert	15. Leigh Halfpenny

16. Mako Vunipola 17. Rob Buchanan 18. Kieran Brookes 19. George Kruis 20. Kelly Brown 21. Ben Spencer 22. Shane Geraghty 23. Conrad Smith

Tactics
Last time out, Exeter beat us for several reasons. We were light in carrying in the pack, lightweight in the second row, outclassed in the halfbacks and vulnerable down the 10-12 channel.
This time out our second rows are both athletic but with plenty of power and carrying ability, the pack has powered up its carrying through these players and Brown on the bench, and the 10-12 channel is improved with Allen there.

We will adopt the old Sarries' Wolfpack approach, using Fraser, Joubert and McCaw as a unit to cut down Exeter in the tackle, win the ball and secure our own with effectively 2 7s on the pitch against Scaysbrook.

In attack we will use the likes of Brits, Joubert and Ryan to batter the Ex defence in the tight with hard yards, then when quick ball can be secured by McCaw or Fraser, to spread it immediately where Goode and Allen will attack with Wyles on their shoulder.

Joubert and Brits will also join the line in more broken play to give crash ball options to Goode. Our HBs are good kickers and Parra will dictate the pace of the game- he will decide whether to stay slow and tight, kick for the corners or give it to Goode who is to attack.

In defence, we will blitz, with Halfpenny covering for any chips. Exeter have some large players but they can't break the line without any momentum

Scrums- we will be targeted, but our second row has the grunt to stop us being dominated. Fraser and McCaw to bind very loosely to protect Parra and cut down their backrow. Lineouts- Good options on own ball with Matthews and Ryan and McCaw. Let them have their ball, aim to pressurise Peel instead.

2 quick players on the flank plus the wily Parra means we should be able to put Peel under pressure. If Johny gets bad ball, he'll have to kick it, and our back 3 can run it back. Box kicks will be dealt with by our players experienced at playing fullback- Goode, Wyles, Halfpenny and Mitchell. With such strength in the air, in the opposition 22, let's use crossfield kicks from 9 or 10

If we lose possession in the ruck, don't fight too much. Get out quickly and pressurise the line.

Subs- get Brown on and move Richie to 7 and play a more traditional back row game. Bring on Smith at 60 minutes or if we are chasing. Geraghty to break the game up.

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Bath Rugby
Manager – Bathite

01. C.Healy	09. M.Classens
02. L.Mears	10. J.Hook
03. O.Franks
04. J.Muller	11. M.Banahan
05. D.Attwood	12. F.Steyn (k)
06. C.Fearns	13. C.Laulala
07. F.Louw (c)	14. T.Biggs
08. S.O'Brien	15. I.Dagg

16. A.Perenise 17. C.Tolufua 18. N.Catt 19. R.Caldwell 20. M.Lund 21. M.McMillan 22. K.Eastmond 23. O.Woodburn

TACTICS TBC

General
- Going full strength for the win, no more experimentation!
- We want to make sure that we play rugby in the opposition half and force handling errors, where we can attack the scrum and use the boot of Steyn to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Use the physicality of our pack to our advantage, keeping the ball tight in the middle section of the pitch to retain possession and build a platform to attack from. In our third clear to touch and challenge for the ball at lineout.
- Look to interchange 10 and 12 as the situation sees fit. Utilise Hook as a playmaker on the wrap around and Steyn as a physical threat and cannon of a boot.
- Hook and Steyn to ensure we play sensible rugby in the right areas, kicking long for touch in our 22, using the up and under in the centre of the pitch and delicate grubbers in behind centres to chase and force kickable penalties.
- Steyn leads the rush defence, with Louw/Fearns flying up to cramp 10 for time and space and ensuring he takes the ball deep behind the gainline and starving their outside backs of ball.

Forwards
* Franks to target LH in the scrum. Look to draw penalties for Steyn to gain position and points. Look for a yellow card early on.
* Picked a very physical pack to make sure that we defend strongly and smash over the gainline. O'Brien to lead pack from base of scrum making hard yards and setting up the ruck for Louw and Fearns to clear out. SOB to mark opposite 8 in defence to prevent charges from base of scrum
* At the lineout, Muller will lead the calls and look to pressurise oppoistion hooker and compete at every throw
* Louw is a breakdown specialist and will look to stay on his feet at the ruck and slow opposition ball down. Fearns and Lund to guard to the fringes of the ruck
* Use ball carriers of Franks, Louw, Tolufua, O'Brien, Fearns to make hard yards up the pitch and draw defenders into the ruck area, looking to create space around the fringes for Laulala to exploit

Backs
* Dagg given free rein in attack, looking to come into the line either side of Laulala. Laulala to look for the half gap with power and offload (only if on), with the pace of Biggs and Woodburn on their shoulder to make the break
* Hook to take the ball flat on the gainline, drawing defenders and buying time and space for Steyn in the 2nd playmaker role. Steyn not afraid to bosh it up if nothing on and set up the ruck.
* Vary the point of attack with 10/12 interchanging, look to keep it unpredictable on the gainline + difficult to defend against. Use the inside pass with forward runners of Franks, Caldwell, SOB to keep the inside shoulder honest and force the 10 to make tackles.
* Get Laulala on the ball early on and encourage a very pacy back three to run off his shoulder. Only offload if it is on, otherwise, crash it up and use SOB, Fearns, Caldwell to clear out and Louw to secure.
* Banahan is a huge physical threat. Encourage him to run into the 10 channel early on and test Cruden defence and to see SBW fly up and create a gap behind. Eastmond to come on for last 30 mins in a free role, acting as 2nd receiver, popping up wherever to use his pace, step and get more experience

Harlequins

Manager – Driver

01.Alex Corbisero	09.Richard Wrigglesworth
02.Joe Grey	10.Owen Farrell (K)
03.James Johnstone
04.Eben Etzebeth	11.James Short
05.George Robson	12.Wesley Fofana
06.Alex Grey	13.George North
07.Chris Robshaw(c)	14.Ollie Lindsey Hague
08.Willem Alberts	15.Adam Ashley Cooper

16.John Smit 17.Rhys Gill 18.Mark Lambert 19.Mauritz Botha 20.Matt Kvesic 21.Luke Burgess 22.Tom Heathcote 23.Jared Payne

Tactics

Can i have feed back on

- Balance of pack (mainly back row)
- 9/10 combo
- North at 13 and Coops at 15.

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Mark: should get team in tomorrow, work's manic as I've got to go to a funding application meeting monday instead of my a.d or manager so mad weekend coming up!!

Take it Falcons are meant to be Welsh SJE?

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – Luke

01. Tendai Mtawarira	09. Dwayne Peel
02. Rob Webber	10. Jonny Wilkinson (k)
03. Hoani Tui
04. Loius Deacon	11. Paul Sackey
05. James Horwill (c)	12. Sireli Naqelevuki
06. Tom Johnson	13. George Lowe
07. James Scaysbrook	14. Richard Kahui
08. Ofisa Treviranus	15. Luke Arscott

16. Brett Sturgess 17. Neil Clark 18. John Afoa 19. James Hanks 20. Steffon Armitage 21. Kevin Barrett 22. Ian Humphreys 23. Gonzalo Camacho

Tactics

We will play a structured game built around our massive ball carriers, the strength of our set piece and getting our lightning backline into space.

- Attack the scrum as a weapon - and call when we can. Look to really get the shove on.

- Use Wilkinson's boot to attack our strong lineout with Horwill, Deacon, Scaysbrrok and Johnson. We will relentlessly target the opposition's throws.

- Massive line-breakers right throughout the side that will look to tire down Sarries defence. We will use our big carriers consistently to tire down Sale .
The likes of Tui, Trev, Scaysbrook, Beast, Horwill, Johnson and Naqelevuki used off the shoulder crashing through the opposition defence.

- Scaysbrook is the man charged with reaching the breakdown first and look to turnover possession. We will always look to attack quickly off turnover ball.

- Box kicks from Peel and up and unders from Wilkinson to give the opposition problems in the air.
Lightning back line to really get the chase on.

- Look to play attacking rugby in the backs, getting the likes of Lowe, Kahui and Arscott on the ball when we can.

- Our back three are encouraged to do what they do best - counter attacking and running the ball back. If isolated all have good kicking games, but the counter is what we ask them to look for.

- Wilkinson to kick all penalites.

01. Nick Wood (c)	09. Dimitri Yachvilli
02. Scott Lawson	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Adam Jones
04. Sam Whitelock	11. Ian Clark
05. Alex Brown	12. Jamie Roberts
06. JVN	13. Henry Trinder
07. Sam Cane	14. Johnny May
08. Luke Narraway	15. Pat Lambie

16. Korree Britton 17. Rupert Harden 18. Dan Murphy 19. Tom Savage 20. Akapusi Qera 21. Dan Robson 22. Ryan Mills 23. JSD

London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Max Lahiff	09. Joe Simpson
02. James Buckland	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Regan King
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Marland Yarde
08. Tom Guest	15. Tom Homer

16. Polota-Nau, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Clarke Dermody, 19. Tom Palmer, 20. Ally Hogg, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Daniel Bowden, 23. Delon Armitage
Tactics
To follow.

Leicester Tigers
Manager – Sgt_Pooly

01. Thomas Domingo	09. Ben Youngs
02. Bismark du Plessis	10. Berrick Barnes
03. Dan Cole
04. Joe Launchbury	11. Christian Wade
05. Richie Gray	12. Jordan Turner-Hall
06. Maurie Fa’asalavu	13. Manu Tuilagi
07. Liam Gill	14. James O’Connor
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Rob Kearney

16. Tom Youngs 17. Aaron Jarvis 18. Marco Ayerza 19. Ed Slater 20. Luke Wallace 21. Karl Dickson 22. Toby Flood 23. Miles Benjamin

Tactics

Northampton Saints
Manager – SirJohnnyEnglish

01. Soane Tonga'uiha	09. Lee Dickson
02. Dylan Hartley	10. Johnny Sexton
03. Paul Doran-Jones
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Chris Ashton
05. Andries Bekker	12. Sonny Bill WIlliams
06. Stephen Ferris	13. George Pisi
07. Tom Wood	14. Scott Armstrong
08. Kieran Read	15. Ben Foden

16. S. Kitshoff 17. R. Strauss 18. B. Mujati 19. J. Craig 20. P. Dowson 21. M. Roberts 22. S. Myler 23. J. Elliot

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Sale Sharks
Manager – LondonIrishOllie

01.Andrew Sheridan	09.Hadyn Thomas
02.Gary Botha	10.Aaron Cruden
03.Matt Stevens
04.Kearnan Myall	11.Cameron Shephard
05.Dean Schofield	12.Jonothan Davies
06.Schalk Burger	13.Jaque Fourie
07.Hendrie Fourie	14.Tom Brady
08.Jordan Crane	15.Rob Miller

Subs

16.Marc Jones 17.Henry Thomas 18.Logovoii Mulipola 19.James Gaskell 20.Dave Seymour 21.Scott Mathie 22.Johan Goosen 23.Will Addison

Tactics
Cruden to play flat. To bring in exciting centres.
Schofield, Crane, Burger, Stevens and Davies give us lots of ball carriers and go forward.
Look to target Gilroy defensively as he is weak positionally.
Ball carriers to target Jackson and Wallace axis to expose their defensive frailties against bigger men.

London Welsh

Manager – Fluxy

01. Paul James	09. Ruan Pienaar (K)
02. David Paice	10. Nick Evans (k)
03. David Wilson
04. Steve Mafi	11. Topsy Ojo
05. Paul O'Connell (C)	12. Gavin Henson
06. Jamie Gibson	13. Dominic Waldlouck
07. Hienrich Brussow	14. Cory Jane
08. Nick Easter	15. Nick Abendanon

16. Shawn Pittman 17. Tom Mercey 18. Tom Lindsay 19. Dean Mumm 20. Chris Hala'ufia 21. Paul Hodgson 22. Steven Shingler 23. Ben Ransom

Tactics

• James and Wilson are solid technicians and will secure our own feed, to provide first phase possesion for our backs. James will look to put pressure on the Stormers feed.
  
  
• With a strong lineout, O'Connell will lead the lineout and use Mumm as a banker ball at the front of the line with POC jumping in the middle. If winning own ball POC will look to cut the lineout to five, to allow Easter to get a chance to run at the defence in open field.
  
  
• With the selection of Brussow and Gibson they'll attack breakdowns, their skills will provide another source of possesion from turnovers. Pienaar will be behind the rucks to supply any turnover possesion to our wide men as soon as possible why the defence is in disarray.
  
  
• Off any first phase possesion, there will be a strike runner to get over the gainline to provide quick ball whilst the opposition defence is still organising itself.
  
  
• Evans and Pienaar will direct traffic and marshall the attacking forces. Pienaar will marshall the forwards and Evans will pull the strings, looking for the runs of Waldlouck and Henson off his shoulder or to allow Wald to release our dangerous roaming back three.
  
  
• Pienaar and Evans will kick all points, unless POC dictates we have a dominate set piece at the moment in time.

We'll kick this off, default 30-0 wins for games with only one side named

Leinster 24-27 Tigers

Quality front 5 battle. Tigers edging the front row but Leinster the 2nd row. Backrow even overall. As a combo prefer the Tigers halfbacks. 10s tight but Youngs offers alot more at 9. Not a lot of guile from the Tigers midfield but will get them over the gain line and Joc can add the creativity. Form issues for the Leinster midfield. Both back 3s dangerous. Think bit more on current form for Tigers at 9 and midfield see them do a bit more with the ball.

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London Irish 30-0 London Wasps

Default win.

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Bath Rugby 25-25 Waikato Chiefs
Strong set piece for Bath should see them get a good platform. On current form Chiefs can edge the backrow though overall and get at the breakdown. In the backs Bath looking very strong but on current form Chiefs shade 9-13. Back 3s tighter with Chiefs shading the wings but Dagg the outstanding player on show. Tough game to call both sides will see good ball but can't see either pulling away

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Sale Sharks 22-23 Ulster Rugby

See the irish men with an edge across the pack with more form in most positions. In the backs more at 10 and midfield for Sale but Pieneer classy at 9 and back 3s fairly even. Goosen the main man from the bench but Ulster have the forwards to consolidate. Sale will pay some good rugby when on the ball but possession will be limited and Ulster have enough to squeeze out a narrow win

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Saracens 16-19 Exeter Chiefs

Can see chiefs getting the shove on at scrum time. Sarries can edge the breakdown but haven't the carrying of Chiefs. In the backs 11-15 is fairly even but Goode at 10 lets Sarries down somewhat up against Wilko. Better platform and game management see Chiefs win.

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Worcester Warriors 0-30 Harlequins

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Stormers 21-19 London Welsh

Welsh have improved the set piece big time over the summer and its a fairly even battle here. Think Stormers have a bit more across the park and the loose though. Halfbacks to Welsh with one of the best combos in the league now but the Stormers combo can set their on tempo when on the ball. Outside of that only Jane shades his opposite number. Just a bit more for Stormers sees them win.

The default wins seems a little harsh on Irish and Quins who miss out on feedback on their teams

Feel free to give feedback mate

Gloucester 16 - 19 Saints
Saints have the advantage in the tight 5 and in the loose in the back row but Gloucester better on the floor. Different but even HBs, same applies in the back 3. Saints just edge centres and look a bit stronger overall

Leinster 20 - Leicester 25

Tigers ahead just all across the board but Leinster at home. JOC class as ever but a bit boshy in the centre for Tigers

Feedback on Irish team available if wanted

Chiefs 26-27 Bath
Bath stronger all over the pack, not sure about Fearns at 6. I'd switch him with SOB. Chiefs have an advantage at 9/10, very close outside them. Bath tactics good, use physicality to expose the likes of Cruden defensively. Just beats home advantage.

Sale 26 -17 Ulster
Sale lose out in tight 5 but come out on top in all areas of backrow.Clearly better HBs and marginally better backs. Simple tactics but that Ulster team looks defensively fragile and with Cruden bringing in JD2 and Fourie, both powerful, Sale win happily.

Quins feedback available on request.

Stormers 18 - 19 Welsh

Stormers have front 5 advantage but equal overall in pack due to great back row of Welsh. We saw with the Sharks that canny half-backs can shoot down the Stormers and Pienaar and Evans are as canny and talented as any. Stormers slightly better generally pudgier but 6-10 edge it for Welsh

Gloucester 23-27 Saints

Fantastic packs and backlines. Main difference is 10 here, Burns just not consistant at this high level, I'd def start Lambie at 10 prop.

Bath 31-32 Chiefs

Nothing in two v strong packs. Chiefs have edge at halfback and centre and enough to see them through a great match up.

Sale 25-25 Ulster

Sale would struggle in set piece and front 5 but some serious quality past there. Enough in backs to get draw, good game. Cruden/Davies/Fourie would be immense.

Saracens 21-24 Exeter

Pretty even front 5 match up. Both backrows need tweaking but McCaw would carry Sarries through. Exeter a little better oiled in the back line and sees them through.

Stormers 19-17 Welsh

Welsh improving but Stormers strong throughout and will tighten this one up. Hard to rate Welsh midfield, needs soome good AP form.

Quins:

Balance of pack (mainly back row) - Alberts better at 6 but still v strong at 8, Gray not up to level yet Driver. Need a starting 6 or 8. Love your engine room.

- 9/10 combo - Good off your pack, not massivley creative but can see Farrell improving there this season.

- North at 13 and Coops at 15 - North would be great 13, can't rate against top players there as he hasn't played there at high level but would be immense. I'd play AAC there. AAC equally good at 11/13/15, world class performer.

ChequeredJersey wrote:Gloucester 16 - 19 Saints
Saints have the advantage in the tight 5 and in the loose in the back row but Gloucester better on the floor. Different but even HBs, same applies in the back 3. Saints just edge centres and look a bit stronger overall

Leinster 20 - Leicester 25

Tigers ahead just all across the board but Leinster at home. JOC class as ever but a bit boshy in the centre for Tigers

Feedback on Irish team available if wanted

Chiefs 26-27 Bath
Bath stronger all over the pack, not sure about Fearns at 6. I'd switch him with SOB. Chiefs have an advantage at 9/10, very close outside them. Bath tactics good, use physicality to expose the likes of Cruden defensively. Just beats home advantage.

Sale 26 -17 Ulster
Sale lose out in tight 5 but come out on top in all areas of backrow.Clearly better HBs and marginally better backs. Simple tactics but that Ulster team looks defensively fragile and with Cruden bringing in JD2 and Fourie, both powerful, Sale win happily.

Quins feedback available on request.

Stormers 18 - 19 Welsh

Stormers have front 5 advantage but equal overall in pack due to great back row of Welsh. We saw with the Sharks that canny half-backs can shoot down the Stormers and Pienaar and Evans are as canny and talented as any. Stormers slightly better generally pudgier but 6-10 edge it for Welsh

Yes please Chequers

pullthestrings wrote:London Irish

Manager – Pullthestrings

01. Max Lahiff	09. Joe Simpson
02. James Buckland	10. Quade Cooper
03. Euan Murray
04. Bryn Evans	11. Sailosi Tagicakibau
05. Nick Kennedy	12. Regan King
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Aurelien Rougerie
07. David Pocock (c)	14. Marland Yarde
08. Tom Guest	15. Tom Homer

16. Polota-Nau, 17. Gethin Jenkins, 18. Clarke Dermody, 19. Tom Palmer, 20. Ally Hogg, 21. Darren Allinson, 22. Daniel Bowden, 23. Delon Armitage
Tactics
To follow.

Good props, maybe improve at hooker. I like the balance of second row but maybe lacking some star quality in the front 5.Great backrow, got breakdown skills at 7, power and hits at 6 and atheleticism at 8 with carrying all across it, which covers for the front 5. HBs fantastic in attack but weak in defence, I really like the centres and back 3 though. Nice different options on the bench

Leinster 20-24 Leicester

Great front row battle here but Leicester's edge in the back row takes the pack. Another good match-up in the backs but Youngs should dominate Boss giving Tigers the win. Centres edged to Leinster but Tigers take the back 3.

Bath 24-25 Chiefs

Bath are coming up against a fantastic Chiefs side. Can't split the pack with both sides even. At half back and outside backs I feel that Chiefs edge Bath here to win a very close battle.

Sharks 20-19 Ulster

Can see Sale struggling up front here but their back row will keep them in the game. Different story with the outside backs with Sale edging this giving them a very close victory.

Sarries 16-19 Exeter

Front rows I see as even and Exeter will edge the 2nd row battle. Sarries take the back row however; In the backs Wilko will school Goode and Exeter seem to have the better combo's and overall talent to win here.

Stormers 25-26 Welsh

Welsh will edge the back 5 but struggle in the front row here. 9-10 are the positions which will see Welsh over the gain-line and steer them to victory. As mentioned perviously the centres do need some form to be rated but could click really well. This is where the Stormers will keep the game very very close with only the controlling hb's helping Welsh.

I'll try and do these later this afternoon

Bathite, cause of mistake, you actually win 26-24

Thanks! Wasn't expecting that, but cheers all the same

Gloucester 22 - 24 Saints

Great front row battle, tough to pick a winner. Advantage Saints in the 2nd row for me with Gloucester playign two 5's and Brown way past his best. Saints edge the back row too with a very strong unit. One apiece in the HB's with Yach and Sexton much better than their counterparts. Nice centre battle that both teams will make headway with, and two decent back threes too. Saints' back 5 in the pack sees them take a close game.


Leinster 23 - 20 Leicester

Great front row battle that Tigers edge with nice unit. As a pair side with Leinster in the 2nd row. Four 4's on show which is fairly brutal. Edge to Leinster in the back row with a great unit - Tigers strong, but weaker on the flanks. Tough to call HB's, prefer Barnes at 12 personally and haven't been convinced by Youngs of late so edge to leinster. Great centre battle, and two great back threes see back lines pretty even. Think Leinster have too much in the back 5 for Tigers.


Irish 30 - 0 Wasps



Bath 27 - 23 Chiefs

Edge to Bath in the front row despite Eliot getting at Mears. Not sure on Attwood at 5, but as a unit edge to Bath in the 2nd row. Chiefs have a top back row on display but I really like Bath's back row - bit of everything in there and I like SOB at 8. HB's go to Chiefs with some great form there, and the centre battle is amazing with 4 sensational players.For me Banahan and Biggs aren't offering enough out wide for Bath, and is their weakest position. Bath's pack wins them a great game.


Sale 22 - 26 Ulster

Great front row battle with not much give in either sides. Edge to Ulster in the engine roon with a great pairing that outclasses Sale. Sale have zero formin their back row and Ulster dominate here. One apiece in the HB's where Pienaar and Cruden come out on top. Beyond there good options for both sides, some great runners, edge to Sale overall. Think Ulster win this in the pack.



Worcester 0 - 30 Harlequins



Stormers 28 - 26 Welsh

Right battle up front with no real standouts to push their side forward. Wow what a second row battle, tough to pick a winner. Not sure why Stormers are playing all their back row out of position? Two strong units with top players from both sides though. Welsh take the HB's with a top pairing. Stromers dominate in the midfield by some margin. Slight edge to Stormers in the back three, but nice balance to the Welsh attack. Stormers take this in the backs, just.

Glos 19 - 17 Saints
Leinster 22 - 17 Tigers
Irish XX - XX Wasps
Sale 18 - 20 Ulster
Sarries 18 - 16 Exeter
Worcs XX - XX Quins
Stormers 22 - 17 Welsh

Driver - Not a fan of North at 13. He's great on the wing and comes in looking for work anyways, so I'd want to keep a traditional 13 there to help fix defenders. Big fan of AAC in general, think 13 is his best position, but great at 15 as well.

Predictions closed knocking up results now

Bathite: any chance you could let me know what edged the match for Glos please just so I can build on it?! Cheers fella.

This new scoring system definatley works better, going to be a lot of bonus points coming up this season!!

prop_lyd wrote:Bathite: any chance you could let me know what edged the match for Glos please just so I can build on it?! Cheers fella.

+1 please

SJE and Prop, will do, just packed at the moment. Home advantage was big though, especially at Kingsholm. Form in outside backs was good for Glos as well

Sorry I didn't predict guys, busy past few days!

No worries Flux mate.
To save Pooly looking back.

Prediction Bonus: Bathite, Luke, Prop, Pooly, SJE and CJ