Anglo Welsh Cup - Semi Finals

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Worcester Warriors vs Saracens
Sixways Stadium
Sunny Intervals - 13 degrees, 15mph South Westerly Winds

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Worcester Warriors
Manager - Prop

01. Val Ruskin	09. Bryn Hall
02. Ross Batty	10. Owen Williams (k)
03. WP Nel
04. Tom Savage	11. James Short
05. Mike Williams	12. David Havilli
06. Jackson Wray	13. Anton-Leniert Brown
07. Matt Todd	14. Sergeal Petersen
08. Warren Whiteley (c)	15. Nehe Milner-Skudder

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16.Codie Taylor 17. Luca Paz 18. Henry Thomas 19. Leone Nakawara 20. George Smith 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jules Plisson 23. Waisaki Naholo

Season's Attributes-
Offloading in the Tackle
Breakdown (Turnovers)
Blitz Defence
Choke Tackle
*Our 'finishers' on the bench will be looking to make a huge impact with quality all over, bringing on Nakawara, Smith and Naholo against tired legs.
*We have picked an in form back row to counter the Sarries back row with Wray and Whiteley in great form IRL and Short running them in for fun.
*Hall is playing his second game with us and has had a couple of weeks to get into sync with Williams.
*Looking for a high tempo game with Hall and Williams playing heads up rugby.


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

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Dylan Smith	09. Morgan Parra
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Paul Hill
04. Ed Slater	11. Teddy Thomas
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg
06. Guy Thompson	13. Conrad Smith
07. John Hardie	14. Telusa Veainu
08. Dave Denton	15. Delon Armitage

:-
16. Scott Spurling 17. Alex Waller 18. Ben Franks 19. Geoff Parling 20. Sam Underhill 21. Lee Dickson 22. Ollie Devoto 23. Pat Lambie

Tactics:

Defensive:
Blitz Defence - Get in the face of the opposition and allow them very little time on the ball.
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Attacking:
Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch
Offloading in the tackle: Moving the point of attack preventing a defence to set and keeping play fluid

TARGET WUSS HALFBACKS - Put pressure on WUSS halfbacks from the off with physical runners and off the base. First game for Hall with his new club so look to disrupt his links with the no8 and FH. Moves off the base of the scrum especially.

TARGET LINEOUT - No real lineout leader/operator for Wuss and we'll look to take advantage with arguably the best operator in world rugby right now in Whitelock.

General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. We'll look to tie the opposition in with our physical pack/carrying options and then get at their outisde backs, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their defence. Look to control the tempo and areas we play with kicking options at halfback.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for safe ball with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo.

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Wasps vs Gloucester Rugby
Ricoh Arena
Light Cloud - 12 degrees, 15mph South Westerly Winds

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Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Sebastien Tillous Borde
02. Bismarck Du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Bryan Habana
05. Dom Barrow	12. Brad Barritt
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Henry Slade
07. Fulgence Ouedraogo	14. Marland Yarde
08. Nazeem Carr	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

.
16. Harry Thacker, 17. Dave Wilson, 18. Fraiser Bailmen, 19. Andrew Kitchener, 20. Will Owen, 21. Mitchell Drummound, 22. Nick Evans, 23. Luther Burrell

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

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Gloucester Rugby 
Manager - Driver

01. Tandai 'Beast' Mtawariria	09. Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowen Dickie	10. Danny Cipriani (k)
03. Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Isreal Folou
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Matt Toomua
06. Tom Croft	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Ardie Sevea	14. Will Addison
08. Willem Alberts (c)	15. Izzy Dagg

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16.Joe Grey 17.Coenie Oosthuizen 18.Titi Lamositele 19.Tomas Lavanini 20.Sam Dickinson 21.TJ Penerana 22.Dan Carter 23.Ryan Crotty

Updated - weather will do tomorrow

mark

Gloucester Team to play London Wasps....

01. Tandai 'Beast' Mtawariria	09.Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowen Dickie	10. Danny Cipriani (k)
03.Juan Figallo
04. Eben Etzbeth	11. Isreal Folou
05. Elliott Stooke	12. Matt Toomua
06. Tom Croft	13. Tevita Kurindrani
07. Ardie Sevea	14. Will Addison
08. Willem Alberts (c)	15. Izzy Dagg

16.Joe Grey 17.Coenie Oosthuizen 18.Titi Lamositele 19.Tomas Lavanini 20.Sam Dickinson 21.TJ Penerana 22.Dan Carter 23.Ryan Crotty

Conditions updated

01. Val Ruskin	09.Bryn Hall
02. Ross Batty	10. Owen Williams (k)
03.WP Nel
04. Tom Savage	11. James Short
05. Mike Williams	12. David Havilli
06. Jackson Wray	13. Anton-Leniert Brown
07. Matt Todd	14. Sergeal Petersen
08. Warren Whiteley (c)	15. NMS

16.Codie Taylor 17. Luca Paz 18. Henry Thomas 19. Leone Nakawara 20. George Smith 21. Sam Harrison 22. Jules Plisson 23. Waisaki Naholo

Season's Attributes-
Offloading in the Tackle
Breakdown (Turnovers)
Blitz Defence
Choke Tackle
*Our 'finishers' on the bench will be looking to make a huge impact with quality all over, bringing on Nakawara, Smith and Naholo against tired legs.
*We have picked an in form back row to counter the Sarries back row with Wray and Whiteley in great form IRL and Short running them in for fun.
*Hall is playing his second game with us and has had a couple of weeks to get into sync with Williams.
*Looking for a high tempo game with Hall and Williams playing heads up rugby.


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

Would see it, as that you have named your side so afraid not.

Ok no worries. I guessed that I wouldn't be able to seeing as my team as to be in today and the bid will be accepted/rejected tomorrow should have gotten it in sooner!!

4 EQ starters isn't it?

Yes

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Dylan Smith	09. Morgan Parra
02. Richard Hibbard	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Paul Hill
04. Ed Slater	11. Teddy Thomas
05. Sam Whitelock	12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg
06. Guy Thompson	13. Conrad Smith
07. John Hardie	14. Telusa Veainu
08. Dave Denton	15. Delon Armitage

:-
16. Scott Spurling 17. Alex Waller 18. Ben Franks 19. Geoff Parling 20. Sam Underhill 21. Lee Dickson 22. Ollie Devoto 23. Pat Lambie

Tactics:

Defensive:

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

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

Attacking:

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

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

TARGET WUSS HALFBACKS - Put pressure on WUSS halfbacks from the off with physical runners and off the base. First game for Hall with his new club so look to disrupt his links with the no8 and FH. Moves off the base of the scrum especially.

TARGET LINEOUT - No real lineout leader/operator for Wuss and we'll look to take advantage with arguably the best operator in world rugby right now in Whitelock.


General - We'll be playing a structured physical game from the off, look to get at the opposition and target the breakdown. We'll look to tie the opposition in with our physical pack/carrying options and then get at their outisde backs, more so in their half. Look to keep it tight in the forward pack and grind through work. Looking to bring in the opposition pack and then use big carrying options to punch holes through their defence. Look to control the tempo and areas we play with kicking options at halfback.

Scrum - Look to get a platform from the off with a strong scrummaging unit. Strong front 5 with big locks will look for the big push once the ball is in and drive the opposition back. Our TH and Hooker will look to target LH and try to get between him and Hooker to allow LH to work on TH If no weakness seen will use as restart.

Line out – Look for safe ball with world class line out options and experience. Will allow SH good clean ball and have big carriers running off the 9 at angles. Look to target opposition throw and put pressure on the hooker.

Defence - Blitz defence with high intensity and big hits, looking to drive past the ball player if the ball hits the deck. physical pack that can look to get at the collision and breakdown allowing a chance to slow down/steal ball. Put pressure on SH's basics and force him into errors. Scrum half to sweep behind the defensive line.

Attack - Keep things simple in our own half then look to unleash backs in opp 22 territory. Scrum half to dictate play from the breakdown and runners on his shoulder. Huge carrying pack to get us over the gain line after front 5 set a platform. Midfield to run angles off the 9/10, allowing us gain line breakers. Look to keep opposition guessing with clever lines through midfield. Wingers will look to track the midfield combo.

Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Marcos Ayerza	09. Sebastien Tillous Borde
02. Bismark Du Plessis	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Frans Malherbe
04. Jim Hamilton	11. Bryan Habana
05. Dom Barrow	12. Brad Barritt
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Henry Slade
07. Fulgence Quedraogo	14. Marland Yarde
08. Nazeem Carr	15. Tim Nani-Williams

_
16. Harry Thacker, 17. Dave Wilson, 18. Fraiser Bailmen, 19. Andrew Kitchener, 20. Will Owen, 21. Mitchell Drummound, 22. Nick Evans, 23. Luther Burrell

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

Don't forget your tactics lads

Will try to get them in tonight if not then before 9 tomorrow if ok?

Perfect mate

TACTICS UPDATED

Same

Teams updated. Predictions in to me by Sunday evening please. 

Worcester Warriors 22 - 25 Saracens
The Worcester front 5 looks weak to me, just a lack of real quality with Nel's form a problem for him. Back rows pretty even, with Whiteley the standout. Sanchez the class act at half back and will really control the game with Parra alongside him against a weaker Wuss unit. Worcester have the advantage in the outside backs. Good impact from the Worcester bench but Saracens target the right areas and take the win on the road

Worcester Warriors 23 - 28 Saracens
Feel Saracens have more about them upfront with a strong and dynamic pack with the experience in key positions and their is a real physicality to their pack which gets them go forward. There is also a gap between the half backs with Sanchez pulling the strings behind a pack on top. Outside backs also see's a advantage to Sarries though Worcester have some players who can create out of nowhere. 

Worcester Warriors 20 - 20 Saracens
Worcester have picked a gnarly pack, learnt from their mistakes and picked a slightly more specialised second row with Nakawara a "finisher" with his offloading skills. Their promise in the scrum and balance in the backrow will help them win the pack battle against Saracens, though Whitelock remains the best forward on the pitch, and with the lineout as a target this area WILL see some love for Saracens. Saracens also doing well to target the HBs, an area that Saracens are on top and Worcester vulnerable. The Worcester back 3 are dangerous instinct players though and will be hard to shackle. It's tough, but I think the front and back rows would just see Worcester home and dry but Saracens have a slight tactical edge and push the match to extra time

Worcester Warriors 18 - 23 Saracens
Looking at the packs can see a small scrum advantage for Wuss in the props. Good even backrow battle. But the Sarries 2nd row is a big step up and will cause problems at the lineout. Similar in the halfbacks and throwing Hall in in such an important position is a big ask. 11-15 both sides have danger men and some in form players. Feel the Wuss bench offers more impact and perharps they should of started some more of these lads. Both sides looking for a controlled big ball carrying approach.  Feel the Sarries halfbacks will dictate the game more and will take advantage of their lineout advantage.  

Worcester Warriors 24 - 22 Saracens
Pretty even packs so will be a decent battle there. Sarries have more quality in the back line but I think Worcester's bench is stronger, so they have just enough to sneak it in the last 20.

Worcester warriors 24 - 23 Saracens
Warriors might lack a little up front in comparison to the Sarries pack, but they provide a strong enough platform to allow their backs good ball. The bench is also full of impact, from both sides, but with the home ground Worcester just edge it.

Wasps 27 - 24 Gloucester Rugby
Wasps close to full strength, and up against their former manager they'll be a tough proposition. The back 5 of the Wasps pack still looks unbalanced to me, but Cruden is back in form and a big help for them, and against a team without tactics and direction they have enough to win at home even though on paper the Glos side arguably sneak it

Wasps 25 - 23 Gloucester Rugby
No tactics kills Gloucester. Sides are really well-matched on paper, with maybe a slight advantage to Gloucester but the set up from Wasps suits their side and guides them to victory.

Wasps 35 - 30 Gloucester Rugby
The backrow remains an area of concern for Gloucester - not the players themselves but the lineup and balance of players - I'd go with a proper 8 (Dickinson or an academy player), Croft as impact off the bench and keep Savea at 7, and not be afraid to use Curry in this sort of game. I just don't like unbalanced backrows unless how they are being utilised is very clear in tactics, another issue. 

Both front rows have class but shaky form, which makes the battle there hard to call. Gloucester ahead in teh locks and lineout (Croft helps here) but certainly losing the backrow battle for me, also because Wasps are strong here. I like both pairs of halfbacks, going to be a very attacking game, without many kicked points I'd say! That might make the Gloucester lineout a weapon, but again it's hard to say without tactics. As usual, Gloucester's backs will create havoc in this kind of attacking game, but with another playmaker at 13 and hardworking and canny back 3 players, and more importantly home advantage and tactics and a much better backrow platform, can't see beyond Wasps


Wasps 25 - 21 Gloucester Rugby
Looks like Driver has started out as he left last time, no tactics! Shame really as it's a real contest and a game plan for Gloucester would have made a real interesting affair. As it stands, there's little in packs with Gloucester looking a touch better in the backline.


Wasps 24 - 22 Gloucester Rugby
Tactics are huge in this sort of game and it's a shame that Gloucester do not get any in especially given it is a semi-final. Glos could cause quite a bit of problems in the front 5 but Wasps have some good form and a better balance to their back-row to meet each area needed. Half backs one a piece with the influence of Cruden helping Wasps a lot. Centres solid, not a lot getting through those pairings. Slightly more from Glos out wide but not a huge amount. Solid impact from both benches. Seeing how Wasps will play and counter the Glos strengths really helps in tactics and will get them the game with structure to how they play.

Wasps 24 - 23 Gloucester Rugby
Wasps front row looking stronger as a unit but prefer the Glaws 2nd row and backrow and they have a good carrying advantage in the forwards for me. Wasps stronger at halfback but Glaws stronger 11-15. Addison looks out of place in that line up though. Much stronger impact from the Glaws bench. No tactics is a killer though from the new Glaws management. Would expect a good win for them based on sides but a rudderless performance costs them.

Wasps 26 - 23 Gloucester Rugby
The lack of tactics from Gloucester was always going to hurt them here. However, despite that they are a strong out fit and will cause the Wasps some issues. Being at the Ricoh obviously helps Pull, but Gloucester will be stronger when Driver can get his feet under the table.

Well done to both Pull and Pooly for getting into the first final of this season 

Commiserations to Prop and Driver 

Congrats Pooly. I'll get a final one day! Interesting how I was picked up on Hall being thrown in after he has already started a game for me but hey ho.

Unlucky mate, close game.