Aviva Premiership - Round One

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Gloucester Rugby vs Exeter Chiefs
Kingsholm Stadium
Sunny - 19 degrees, 4mph North Westerly Winds

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Gloucester Rugby 

01. Val Ruskin	09. Bryn Hall
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. WP Nel
04. Tom Savage	11. Nehe Milner Scudder
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Huw Jones
06. Jordan Taufua	13. David Havilli
07. Matt Todd (c)	14. James Short
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nahuel Chapparo 18. Henry Thomas 19. Leone Nakawara 20. Sam Warburton 21. Sam Harrison 22. Owen Williams 23. Mathew Tait

*We see our back row as the main impact with the balance and ability to slow their ball whilst keeping the route to our 9 clear.
*We have a big carrying, hard working pack to stop them in their tracks and put a lot of pressure on 9 to prevent the quick ball.
*Bench-we have huge impact on our bench able and will use Paz, Nakawara, Warburton and Tait to cause all sorts of trouble in the last 20 minutes minimum.

-We have selected a heavy, hard working pack looking to nullify the danger from their big carriers and set piece,
-We will play a controlled game, offloading-only when on. Biggar 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 they 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 Payne allowing the chance to apply the choke tackle to stop them playing a quick tempo game,
-Backs to play what is in front of them, runners off Jones and Havilli, we will use the back three as strike runners 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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Exeter Chiefs 

01. Jefferson Poirot	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Tom Youngs	10. Camille Lopez
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. James Lowe
05. James Horwill	12. Remi Lamerat
06. Dave Ewers	13. Damien Penaud
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Chris Ashton
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Jared Payne

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Replacements: 16 Nathan Catt 17 Ricky Riccitelli 18 Ben Tamiefuna 19 Juandre Kruger 20 Steffon Armitage 21 Ruan Pienaar 22 Alex Lozowski 23 Ma'a Nonu

Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch.
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line.

We will play a forward based and territory based game to get in the right positions of the pitch.

We have picked the players to do this. Big carriers and a mobile back and hard working back row. Laidlaw is the perfect controlling 9 and will give good service to Lopez . Lozowski is in at 15 for his boot and counter attacking ability. He will also come in as a receiver at times, a la Alex Goode for Sarries.

We have picked a big pack and are targeting the forward battle as key to the win. We have a solid scrum to build from and two big locks who are both good lineout options.

The set piece will be important and we will look to use this as a weapon to attack from and gain territory. Our back row are all big carriers and we will use them all to gain hard yards and tire out Glos defenders. Messam, Coles, Sinckler, Coetzee, Parisse are all good strong ball carriers and will look to get us front foot ball for Lopez to work with.

In the backs we will use Nonu as a crash ball option and a decoy runner to open up space for the likes of Penaud, Lowe and Ashton to exploit. Laidlaw will kick all pens for goal if in range and if not look to kick deep to gain territory.

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Newcastle Falcons vs Worcester Warriors
Kingston Park
Sunny - 18 degrees, 5mph South Easterly Winds

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 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Rhys Webb
02. Jamie George	10. Owen Farrell
03. Vincent Koch
04. Michael Fatiolofa	11. Hallam Amos
05. Lood De Jager	12. Scott Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Vince Aso
07. Francois Louw	14. Denny Solomona
08. Elliott Dixon	15. Charles Piutau

:-
16. Camille Chat 17. Alec Hepburn 18. Davit Kubriashvili 19. Matt Symons 20. Tom Curry 21. Will Chudley 22. Otere Black 23. Sam James

Attributes
Counter Attacking: Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces.
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises.
Breakdown: Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it

Game plan

Key points

Target their midfield - Havili has been playing a lot in the back 3, and Jones isn't a regular 12. Send Williams and Aso on lines back against the grain to mix it up, and have Piutau attacking the 12-13 channel to try and cause confusion

Look for turnovers and attack - We've got some very good turnover merchants in Clark and Louw, pinch the ball at the breakdown and get it out wide for the lethal pace we have from 11-15

Home form - We're the champions and we're at home in our first game - put down a marker for the rest of the season

Set piece - Look to really put their props under maximum pressure with our strong front row, we've got a great scrummaging lock pairing to help. If no weakness, use as restart. On their ball, mark their second rows and force long throws. On our ball, use the back row options to mix it up.

Breakdown - Back row and hooker to lead the way on turnovers. Others focus on strong clear outs and maintaining a strong defensive line. . On our ball, smash them off the ball, use pod system to ensure support if they are having success. Our openside is charged with keeping their main breakdown threat off our ball, and target turnovers if one of their carriers gets isolated

Kicking - Options throughout the backs . Kick in behind the wings for territory, aim for space not the man. Challenge wings positioning, Wings free to drop back for the counter off their kicks

Attack - Run our attack off 9 who sets the tempo, constantly change the point of attack and get our 10 quick ball.. Challenge their 10 defensively with our power backs cutting in running hard lines at his channel with the full back coming into the line. Big carrying forwards to set a platform, run at 10/12 all day long to put them on the back foot off first phase, see how they handle it.  

Defence - no weak links in the backline, use the blitz defence to put them on the back foot,  

Bench - Big carrying forwards throughout and talented, pacy backs to see us home

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Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Manuel Montoya	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Will Collier
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Courtnall Skosan
05. Luke Charteris	12. Jimmy Gopperth
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Duncan Taylor
07. Kevin Gourdon	14. Charlie Sharples
08. John Barclay (c)	15. Dane Haylett-Petty

:-
16. Loni Uhila 17.  Rob Buchanan 18. Sekope Kepu  19.  Kearnan Myall 20  Josh Van Der Flier 21. Ben Spencer 22. Christian Lealiifano 23. Chris Pennell

Attributes:

Attack:
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 

Defence:
Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set
Maul Defence: Legally can slow up a maul or stop them gaining headway.

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Saracens vs Northampton Saints
Allianz Park
Sunny Intervals - 18 degrees, 6mph North Westerly Winds

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Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Mohamed Boughanmi	09. Baptise Serin
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Ed Slater	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock(c)	12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg
06. James Haskell	13. Sonny Bill Williams
07. Hamish Watson	14. Telusa Veainu
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

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16. Richard Hibbard 17. Alex Waller 18. Paul Hill 19. Marcos Kremer 20. Sam Underhill 21. Morgan Parra 22. Pat Lambie 23. Nathan Earle

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

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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Northampton Saints

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Conor Murray
02. Dylan Hartley	10. George Ford (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Joe Launchbury (c)	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Facundo Isa	13. Elliott Daly
07. Schalk Burger	14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Leigh Halfpenny

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Replacements
16. Ox Nche 17. Zander Fagerson 18. Ashley Johnson 19. Paul Jedrasiak 20. James Davies 21. Joe Simpson 22. Harry Mallinder 23. Manu Tuilagi

Tactics
- Priority One – The Gain Line.  In attack and defence we will look to hit with intensity, be it carrying, clearing in attack or smashing back in defence.
- Priority Two – Make Saracens best attacking threats defend. Use big carriers (forwards) slightly further out from the ruck area, down the channels defended by backs, forcing them to work hard in defence and thereby disrupting their attacking concentration/flow.

Set Piece Specifics
- Scrum.  8 man shove in attack and defence.  Keep straight in defence and hold, forcing Saracens to get the ball out and play. In attack flankers to stay down and push, if we get forward momentum but penalty does not look likely, ball out quickly to attack them whilst on the back foot.
- Lineout. In attack mix it up shortening the lineout at times, using BV as a ball carrier through the midfield. In defence look to contest and make any ball off the top as messy as possible.

General
- Conor Murray to sweep behind the blitz along with the blindside winger for any chips, grubbers through from Saracens.

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Wasps vs Sale Sharks
Ricoh Arena
Sunny Intervals - 19 degrees, 4mph North Westerly Winds

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Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Joe Marler	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Tatafu Polota Nau	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Wilco Louw
04. Scott Barrett	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastian Vahaamahina	12. Henry Slade
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Tom Wood	14. Anthony Watson
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

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16. Harry Thacker, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Dave Wilson, 19. Alun-Wyn Jones, 20. Sean O'Brien, 21. Sebastian Tillous Borde, 22. Luther Burrell, 23. Marland Yarde

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Tactics
Attack:
- Mix up our lines of attack, sometimes with two lines with forwards as options
- Likes of Kaino and Thacker (later) 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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 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Danny Care
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Johnny Sexton (k)
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Iain Henderson	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Maro Itoje	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony (c)	13. Gary Ringrose
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. CJ Stander	15. Nick Abendanon

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Subs: 16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Ross Harrison 18. Davit Zirakishvilli 19. Dave Attwood 20. Duane Vermulean 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Quade Cooper 23. Joe Marchant

Attack: We will be playing a high intensity phased attacking game. Look to use a rugby league shape with runners on the gain line and out the back door to force the opposition into making defensive decisions. Care to keep the fringe defence honest with his snipping runs.

Breakdown: Quick ball is the aim on attack. Mobile pack and physical back line to clear out rucks and ensure we get it. We will look to get over the gain line off all carries to give a target to hit. Defensively when the initial contact is won we will look to commit numbers and get over the ball turning it over or at least slowing opposition ball up. 

Defence: Straight line blitz defence focused on winning the gain line collisions and driving the ball carrier back. Care will sweep behind the line to cover chips and grubbers. Sexton & Bendy to cover the background dropping deep to cut off the green grass available to kick into.

Scrum: Strong scrummaging unit in the front row with the support of a powerful 4-8 will look to get the better of the opposition and build a strong attacking platform. 

Lineout: Four mobile, athletic jumpers allows us to genuinely mix it up on attacking ball. Primarily looking to get the backs on the ball in space. Defensively POM to get up in the air at the front and challenge on opposition ball while Itoje marshals the middle looking to make it as messy as possible.

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London Irish vs Harlequins
Madejski Stadium
Sunny Intervals - 19 degrees, 5mph Northerly Winds

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London Irish

01. Rob Evans	09. Dan Robson
02. Luke Cowan-Dickie	10. Danny Cipriani
03. Juan Figallo
04. Elliot Stooke	11. Johnny May
05. Richie Gray	12. Matt Toomua (k)
06. Ross Moriarty	13. Matt Scott
07. Ben Curry	14. Charlie Walker
08. Jamie Heaslip	15. Sam Davies

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Replacements: 16. Adriann Strauss 17. Titi Lamositele 18. Uini Atonio 19. Ruan Ackerman 20. Yacouba Camara 21. Matt Protheroe 22. Billy Burns 23. Will Addison

High tempo game with bags of fitness/pace in the back row and backs, look to run the legs off the opposition and use this to our advantage 
- Set the tone in the set-piece with a strong foundation. Attack the opposition scrum and lineout and exploit weaknesses as seen.
- Strong defensive to shut out any space for opposition on the drift defence. Look to squeeze space rather than rushing, make the opposition break us down. Moriarty, Curry, Gray and Cowan-Dickie to give us real bite in the tackle.  
- Look to bring our exciting backs into the game at any point. Strong kicking from the halfbacks gives us the option to keep the opp defence on their toes and we'll look to use this to our advantage with Cipriani pulling the strings. 
- We have picked some strong running backs, like May and Scott, whilst Davies brings a lot of control from 15. 
- Plenty of impact from the bench to carry on with the high tempo game

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Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cyrill Baille	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rob Webber	10. Ihaia West
03. Tadhg Furlong
04. Ultan Dillane	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Jack Clifford	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Dan Leavy	14. Yoann Huget
08. Damien Chouly (c)	15. Mike Haley

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16. Jack Singleton 17. Cian Healy 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Mitchel Karpik 21. Luke McGrath 22. Dan Jones 23. Jack Goodhue

Tactics

• Look to play with width and move London Irish around the pitch. Play with forward runners off 9 and 10 before spreading the ball wide when we have go forward utislising the pace in our outside backs.
  

• Look to carry in numbers so we have the option to offload or to recycle the ball quickly. Look to attacks gaps in the defence and look to offload before and out of contact if required to keep the momentum of our attack. 
  

• Look to keep ball in hand outside of our own 22, Only kicks are straight to touch or with the aim of retaining the ball through cross-fields or up and under kicks.
  

• Look to set up one or two hard runners and then a play maker out the back. Allows us variety in our attack to keep the Irish defence honest.
  

• Whilst we are looking to run in tries, this is an away game so we will look to keep the scoreboard ticking over to build pressure on London Irish.
  

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Leicester Tigers vs Bath Rugby
Welford Road
Sunny Intervals - 19 degrees, 5mph North Westerly Winds

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Leicester Tigers
Manager – Fluxy

01. Mikheil Nariashvili	09. Tawera Kerr-Barlow
02. Rory Best	10. Francois Trinh-Duc
03. Harry Williams
04. Dominic Bird	11. Jason Woodward (k)
05. Jake Ball	12. Ben Te'o
06. Mark Wilson	13. Gael Fickou
07. Don Armand (c)	14. Sean Maitland
08. Samu Manoa	15. Mike Brown

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Subs: 16. Asafao Aumua 17. Max Lahiff 18. Lasha Tibadze 19. Stan South 20. Fritz Lee 21. Antoine Dupont 22. Piers Francis 23. Joey Carbery

Basic Game Plan
In good conditions we will be looking to play a possession based, fast offloading game, keeping the ball alive moving the point of attack and preventing Bath from setting their defence. When in our half we won't take chances with open play, but will make ground carrying close to the ruck and recycling quickly,to create the angle for the half backs to achieve territory. 
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. Kerr-Barlow will sweep in behind the defensive line to counter any chips/grubbers.

Specifics

• Lineout - In decent conditions we will mix it up on our ball, utilising Ball, Armand and Wilson as jumpers, whilst also at times shortening the line and using our big forwards as crash ball options off first phase. Defensively we will look to compete for the ball and disrupt wherever possible, making any ball secured by Bath as scrappy as we can.
  
• Scrum - Hit channel one ball and get it to the back quickly, looking to maximise the space available with the opposition forwards packed down. On their ball, 8 man shove and look to drive them off as their hooker lifts his foot to hook the ball. Williams to stay tight and straight. Flanker on that side to stay bound and keep Williams square.
  
• Breakdown - When we carry in, we will flood the breakdown rucking well past the ball to free it up quickly, so that Kerr-Barlow can feed the ball quickly to forwards or the first receiver. In defence, if we have made a passive tackle and the carrier has momentum we will not over commit, 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 slow up momentum, or turn over possession. Key for us is being selective, and only committing men to a contestable ruck. 
  
• Attacking Play - We will be looking to play a fast offloading game, with the ball shifted on to the support runner just prior to the point of the tackle with the defender already committed. However this will only be implemented within the opposition half. We will also utilise the pick and go, on slow ball to regenerate quicker and cleaner possession.
  Then look to shift the direction of play and pull their defenders out of position to create gaps. Kerr-Barlow to also look to snipe around the fringes, to keep the defence honest and keep us going forwards all the time. 
  

• Tactical Kicking - As mentioned above, playing in the rights areas is key for our success. If we kick, we will look to kick for the corners and contest the opposition lineout. If our kicks can go in behind the opposition wingers, with the aim of the ball bouncing into touch, or having to force their back three to chase and concede a line out by being tackled into touch, or rushing their kick.
  
• Rugby Championship Players - Some of the Bath players will have travelled half way around the world to play this game, and missed a chunk of the Bath pre-season. They won't be quite up to speed, so we will need to capitalise early on. 
  

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Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Aaron Smith
02. Stephen Moore	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Josh Beaumont	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. Liam Squire	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Liam Williams
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

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16. Ellis Genge 17. Mikey Haywood 18. Allan Alaatoola 19. Will Skelton 20. Liam Gill 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Sam Hill 23. George Moala

Attributes: First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Leicester under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece where we expect to be dominant and finish strongly off the bench 

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. We will look to get more power from our back five. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets. Try to isolated EBA on Harry Williams

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Beaumont, Falateu, Squire and Kitchener options in the lineout. Beaumont will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. We think we can dominate here against a poor set of jumpers. Kitchener will offer quick ball option at the front. 

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tipuric is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Smith to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Smith will set the tempoand play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Barrett will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. He will be given a freedom to be creative. Look to bring in the rest of the back line, especially De Allende and Kriel who we would like to get running at defenders.  Wade and Williams are very skilful and if the ball gets to them will look to draw in defenders. The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of EBA, Kitch and Squire in order to break the line and make yards. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Leicester which can help nullify their offensive threats. 

Kicking: Barrett will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Smith, Goode and Williams all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need. 

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo off the bench. We want our high class front row to come on late and really impact the game.

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Northampton Saints

01. Mako Vunipola	09. Conor Murray
02. Dylan Hartley	10. George Ford (k)
03. Jake Cooper-Wooley
04. Joe Launchbury (c)	11. Julian Savea
05. Jonny Gray	12. Wesley Fofana
06. Facundo Isa	13. Elliott Daly
07. Schalk Burger	14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
08. Billy Vunipola	15. Leigh Halfpenny

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Replacements
16. Ox Nche 17. Zander Fagerson 18. Ashley Johnson 19. Paul Jedrasiak 20. James Davies 21. Joe Simpson 22. Harry Mallinder 23. Manu Tuilagi

 Sale Sharks
Manager – SJE

01. Jack McGrath	09. Danny Care
02. Tommy Taylor	10. Johnny Sexton (k)
03. Rabah Slimani
04. Iain Henderson	11. Nemani Nadolo
05. Maro Itoje	12. Kyle Eastmond
06. Peter O'Mahony (c)	13. Gary Ringrose
07. Matt Kvesic	14. Semesa Rokoduguni
08. CJ Stander	15. Nick Abendanon

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Subs: 16. Benjamin Kayser 17. Ross Harrison 18. Davit Zirakishvilli 19. Dave Attwood 20. Duane Vermulean 21. Faf De Klerk 22. Quade Cooper 23. Joe Marchant

Exeter Chiefs 

01. Jefferson Poirot	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Tom Youngs	10. Camille Lopez
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. Jamex Lowe
05. James Horwill	12. Remi Lamerat
06. Dave Ewers	13. Damien Penaud
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Chris Ashton
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Jared Payne

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Replacements: 16 Nathan Catt 17 Ricky Riccitelli 18 Ben Tamiefuna 19 Juandre Kruger 20 Steffon Armitage 21 Ruan Pienaar 22 Alex Lozowski 23 Ma'a Nonu

Harlequins
Manager – Steven_Sharks

01. Cyrill Baille	09. Ben Youngs
02. Rob Webber	10. Ihaia West
03. Tadhg Furlong
04. Ultan Dillane	11. Jack Nowell
05. George Kruis	12. Robbie Henshaw
06. Jack Clifford	13. Jonathan Joseph
07. Dan Leavy	14. Yoann Huget
08. Damien Chouly (c)	15. Mike Haley

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16. Jack Singleton 17. Cian Healy 18. Kieran Brookes 19. Mamuka Gorgodze 20. Mitchel Karpik 21. Luke McGrath 22. Dan Jones 23. Jack Goodhue

Tactics

• Look to play with width and move London Irish around the pitch. Play with forward runners off 9 and 10 before spreading the ball wide when we have go forward utislising the pace in our outside backs.

• Look to carry in numbers so we have the option to offload or to recycle the ball quickly. Look to attacks gaps in the defence and look to offload before and out of contact if required to keep the momentum of our attack.

• Look to keep ball in hand outside of our own 22, Only kicks are straight to touch or with the aim of retaining the ball through cross-fields or up and under kicks.

• Look to set up one or two hard runners and then a play maker out the back. Allows us variety in our attack to keep the Irish defence honest.

• Whilst we are looking to run in tries, this is an away game so we will look to keep the scoreboard ticking over to build pressure on London Irish.

 Newcastle Falcons
Manager – Bambam

01. Matt Mullan	09. Rhys Webb
02. Jamie George	10. Owen Farrell
03. Vincent Koch
04. Michael Fatiolofa	11. Hallam Amos
05. Lood De Jager	12. Scott Williams
06. Callum Clark	13. Vince Aso
07. Francois Louw	14. Denny Solomona
08. Elliott Dixon	15. Charles Piutau

:-
16. Camille Chat 17. Alec Hepburn 18. Davit Kubriashvili 19. Matt Symons 20. Tom Curry 21. Will Chudley 22. Otere Black 23. Sam James

Attributes
Counter Attacking: Receiving the ball down field, your players will look to attack with ball in hand, thriving in the broken field and open spaces.
Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises.
Breakdown: Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it

Game plan

Key points

Target their midfield - Havili has been playing a lot in the back 3, and Jones isn't a regular 12. Send Williams and Aso on lines back against the grain to mix it up, and have Piutau attacking the 12-13 channel to try and cause confusion

Look for turnovers and attack - We've got some very good turnover merchants in Clark and Louw, pinch the ball at the breakdown and get it out wide for the lethal pace we have from 11-15

Home form - We're the champions and we're at home in our first game - put down a marker for the rest of the season

Set piece - Look to really put their props under maximum pressure with our strong front row, we've got a great scrummaging lock pairing to help. If no weakness, use as restart. On their ball, mark their second rows and force long throws. On our ball, use the back row options to mix it up.

Breakdown - Back row and hooker to lead the way on turnovers. Others focus on strong clear outs and maintaining a strong defensive line. . On our ball, smash them off the ball, use pod system to ensure support if they are having success. Our openside is charged with keeping their main breakdown threat off our ball, and target turnovers if one of their carriers gets isolated

Kicking - Options throughout the backs . Kick in behind the wings for territory, aim for space not the man. Challenge wings positioning, Wings free to drop back for the counter off their kicks

Attack - Run our attack off 9 who sets the tempo, constantly change the point of attack and get our 10 quick ball.. Challenge their 10 defensively with our power backs cutting in running hard lines at his channel with the full back coming into the line. Big carrying forwards to set a platform, run at 10/12 all day long to put them on the back foot off first phase, see how they handle it.  

Defence - no weak links in the backline, use the blitz defence to put them on the back foot,  

Bench - Big carrying forwards throughout and talented, pacy backs to see us home

01. Val Ruskin	09. Bryn Hall
02. Ken Owens	10. Dan Biggar (k)
03. WP Nel
04. Tom Savage	11. NMS
05. Yohann Maestri	12. Huw Jones
06. Jordan Taufua	13. David Havilli
07. Matt Todd (c)	14. James Short
08. Warren Whiteley	15. Brice Dulin

:-
16. Jack Yeandle 17. Nahuel Chapparo 18. Henry Thomas 19. Leone Nakawara 20. Sam Warburton 21. Sam Harrison 22. Owen Williams 23. Mathew Tait

*We see our back row as the main impact with the balance and ability to slow their ball whilst keeping the route to our 9 clear.
*We have a big carrying, hard working pack to stop them in their tracks and put a lot of pressure on 9 to prevent the quick ball.
*Bench-we have huge impact on our bench able and will use Paz, Nakawara, Warburton and Tait to cause all sorts of trouble in the last 20 minutes minimum.

-We have selected a heavy, hard working pack looking to nullify the danger from their big carriers and set piece,
-We will play a controlled game, offloading-only when on. Biggar 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 they 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 Payne allowing the chance to apply the choke tackle to stop them playing a quick tempo game,
-Backs to play what is in front of them, runners off Jones and Havilli, we will use the back three as strike runners 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.

Bath Rugby
Manager – CJB

01. Eddy Ben Arous	09. Aaron Smith
02. Stephen Moore	10. Beauden Barrett
03. Samson Lee
04. Josh Beaumont	11. Christian Wade
05. Graham Kitchener	12. Damian De Allende
06. Liam Squire	13. Jesse Kriel
07. Justin Tipuric	14. Liam Williams
08. Toby Falateu	15. Alex Goode

16. Ellis Genge 17. Mikey Haywood 18. Allan Alaatoola 19. Will Skelton 20. Liam Gill 21. Richard Wigglesworth 22. Sam Hill 23. George Moala

Attributes: First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.
Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown
Blitz Defence: Your side is known for Blitz and excels at it
Breakdown - Turnover possession: Your side is recognised to pick off turnovers at the breakdown, by getting the ball and gaining the penalty

Overall: We are gonna be looking to play front foot rugby and put Leicester under immense pressure with our energy. Look for big carries looking to create space and break the defense. Attack the set piece where we expect to be dominant and finish strongly off the bench 

Scrum: Use the set piece to get quick ball to restart our play. We will look to get more power from our back five. Falateu will look to attack off the quick ball he gets. Try to isolated EBA on Harry Williams

Lineout: We will look to switch up the lineup with Beaumont, Falateu, Squire and Kitchener options in the lineout. Beaumont will run the line out. Look to get up into the air quickly and down for a quick maul. We think we can dominate here against a poor set of jumpers. Kitchener will offer quick ball option at the front. 

Breakdown: Look to generate quick ball for our backs to take advantage of. Tipuric is brilliant at the breakdown and we will also look to get the rest of the pack looking to help and clear out.

Defence: Run a blitz defence. Smith to drift behind expecting kicks.

Attack: Our half backs will control our rugby. Smith will set the tempoand play what he sees in front of him. Outside of him, Barrett will play flat and use his creativity to bring in the back line and make plays. He will be given a freedom to be creative. Look to bring in the rest of the back line, especially De Allende and Kriel who we would like to get running at defenders.  Wade and Williams are very skilful and if the ball gets to them will look to draw in defenders. The pack will also be involved when we have the ball for a prolonged period. We have strong carriers who excel in the loose. Look to get the ball in the hands of EBA, Kitch and Squire in order to break the line and make yards. Throughout them team look to Keep the ball alive and look for offloads. Look to play with a high tempo and get the ball moving across the back line. Exploit the holes we create and look to tire out Leicester which can help nullify their offensive threats. 

Kicking: Barrett will be our chosen place kicker. We will chuck in the occasional grabber to chase. Smith, Goode and Williams all have the boots necessary to try and put us in a good position territorially if need. 

Substitutes: Keep a high tempo off the bench. We want our high class front row to come on late and really impact the game.

Bristol Team 
Manager: CJ

01. David Kilcoyne	09. Kahn Fotuali'i
02. Manuel Montoya	10. Freddie Burns (k)
03. Will Collier
04. Donnacha Ryan	11. Courtnall Skosan
05. Luke Charteris	12. Jimmy Gopperth
06. Chris Robshaw	13. Duncan Taylor
07. Kevin Gourdon	14. Charlie Sharples
08. John Barclay (c)	15.  Dane Haylett-Petty

:-
16. Loni Uhila 17.  Rob Buchanan 18. Sekope Kepu  19.  Kearnan Myall 20  Josh Van Der Flier 21. Ben Spencer 22. Christian Lealiifano 23. Chris Pennell

Attributes for Summer Cup:

Attack:

Breakdown - Clearing: Ensuring the possession is clean and quick with quick support to the breakdown

Phase Attack: Attacks build momentum until an opportunity arises. 

Defence:

Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set

Maul Defence: Legally can slow up a maul or stop them gaining headway.

Saracens
Manager – Pooly

01. Mohamed Boughanmi	09. Baptise Serin
02. Guilhem Guirado	10. Nicolas Sanchez
03. Dan Cole
04. Ed Slater	11. George North
05. Sam Whitelock(c)	12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg
06. James Haskell	13. Sonny Bill Williams
07. Hamish Watson	14. Telusa Veainu
08. Nathan Hughes	15. Stuart Hogg

:-
16. Richard Hibbard 17. Alex Waller 18. Paul Hill 19. Marcos Kremer 20. Sam Underhill 21. Morgan Parra 22. Pat Lambie 23. Nathan Earle

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

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.

Exeter Chiefs
Manager – StNick

01. Jefferson Poirot	09. Greg Laidlaw
02. Dane Coles	10. Camille Lopez
03. Kyle Sinckler
04. Courtney Lawes	11. James Lowe
05. James Horwill	12. Ma'a Nonu
06. Liam Messam	13. Damian Penaud
07. Marcell Coetzee	14. Chris Ashton
08. Sergio Parisse	15. Alex Lozowski

.
Subs: 16. Tom Youngs, 17. Nathan Catt, 18. Ben Tameifuna, 19. Kane Douglas, 20. Teimana Harrison, 21. Nic White, 22. Maxime Mermoz, 23. Olly Woodburn

Territorial Kicking: Looking to pin back sides and kick for open spaces or touch.
First phase attack/strike moves: Will look to break the defence, with either a bust through or a clever move to create a gap.

Breakdown - Slowing up ball: The defenders can get over the ball to slow it up and prevent the attack from building momentum and allowing your defence to set.
Chop Tackle: Tacklers look to get low and chop down attackers before gaining momentum or metres over the gain line.

- With Glos effectively relegated, they have nothing to play for. We are fighting for top 6 and players will be motivated to achieve this after being in 6th for so long this season.
- Glos have 2 new players in the backrow and two in the backs. They also have 2 new signings on the bench. We will look to exploit these new combinations.

We will play a forward based and territory based game to get in the right positions of the pitch.

We have picked the players to do this. Big carriers and a mobile back and hard working back row. Laidlaw is the perfect controlling 9 and will give good service to Lopez . Lozowski is in at 15 for his boot and counter attacking ability. He will also come in as a receiver at times, a la Alex Goode for Sarries.

We have picked a big pack and are targeting the forward battle as key to the win. We have a solid scrum to build from and two big locks who are both good lineout options.

The set piece will be important and we will look to use this as a weapon to attack from and gain territory. Our back row are all big carriers and we will use them all to gain hard yards and tire out Glos defenders. Messam, Coles, Sinckler, Coetzee, Parisse are all good strong ball carriers and will look to get us front foot ball for Lopez to work with.

In the backs we will use Nonu as a crash ball option and a decoy runner to open up space for the likes of Penaud, Lowe and Ashton to exploit. Laidlaw will kick all pens for goal if in range and if not look to kick deep to gain territory.

Wasps
Manager - Pullthestrings

01. Joe Marler	09. Maxime Machenaud
02. Tatafu Polota Nau	10. Aaron Cruden (k)
03. Wilco Louw
04. Scott Barrett	11. Bryan Habana
05. Sebastian Vahaamahina	12. Henry Slade
06. Jerome Kaino	13. Jonathan Davies
07. Tom Wood	14. Anthony Watson
08. Louis Picamoles	15. Tim Nanai-Williams

_
16. Harry Thacker, 17. Ben Moon, 18. Dave Wilson, 19. Alun-Wyn Jones, 20. Sean O'Brien, 21. Sebastian Tillous Borde, 22. Luther Burrell, 23. Marland Yarde

---

Tactics
Attack:
- Mix up our lines of attack, sometimes with two lines with forwards as options
- Likes of Kaino and Thacker (later) 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

Am I ok
To still add tactics? Sorry, in highland Scotland, not the most consistent access to wifi or data but I really should have done them in the way up, my fault

Tactics:

Overall- continuing from our consistent approach last season but aiming to build on it, we play a game that sees us slow ball and defend the fringes aggressively in defence and look to hit rucks hard and keep quick ball and manipulate space outside with multiple playmakers. We hope we've added a little power in the pack to suck in players and flair outwide to make advantage of this space.

Breakdown- work as a team, spoil in defence, have one of our back row (all adept at the breakdown) chasing the bAll to make sure we have experience and class at the breakdown to keep quick ball. Play it as we see it with lots of nous

Attack- keep slow ball in the pack with carrying through Gourdon, Buchanan, Ryan etc and build into quick ball.
Quick ball spread wide with Kahn pulling the strings, with Burns and Gopperth as dual playmakers playing flat and manipulating space.
Very attacking 11, 13-15 to manipulate space. Then quickly recycle and use the other playmaker to switch the direction of attack
Lots of players coming into the line, esp Haylett-Petty.
Back up gameplans- with Barclay and Charteris, happy to use the maul. Multiple kickers, so happy to switch to a kicking plan and use pace outwide to chase this.
Look to flood the blindside wing with powerful carriers when attacking there to take advancer of their wings' relatively weak defence

Defence- blitz, tight at fringes, led by Taylor, Kahn sweeping.

Lineout- we are happy to maul a lot, look to defend their throw on the ground using Charteris to attack it.

Scrum- get the ball out quickly to restart and use to play backrow moves

Other- Aso and wings not the best in defence or under pressure in air for Newcastle, so when we are kicking look to go wide, with a high kick and aggressive chase.
Webb and Farrell will be knackered after the Lions, so look to really make them work hard in defence and get in their faces
On the bench we have powerful carriers in pack to take advantage of tiring legs to bust through gaps

I wouldn't worry CJ, I've just realised that I wrote tactics against Prop's former Worcester team rather than your current one

These are open until midday, want as many set of predictions in as possible.

Gloucester Rugby 24 - 21 Exeter Chiefs
Tough old Gloucester pack, but their backs look like they have some defensive weakness in those positions. Luckily for them, Exeter haven't gone out of their way to target Jones/Havili, and are looking to go toe to toe with the pack, which I think plays into Glos hands a bit. Think Glos will get enough territory against a kicking based game plan from Chiefs, and their backs have the talent to score the points. Glos take this at home

Gloucester Rugby 22 - 23 Exeter Chiefs
Battle of two differing packs here key- Gloucester power vs Exeter dynamism. As expected think Gloucester will edge tight carrying and scrum but Chiefs can win line out and get more in the loose. Lineout close but maybe just won by Gloucester? Just prefer Exeter backs and in attack with their pack they will be dangerous. Laidlaw may slow it though. Not sure about Gloucester centres at all. Jones more a 13? Tactics are simple, and similar. Think Exeter just have the bench to overcome the breakdown edge with a late surge 

Gloucester Rugby 23 - 25 Exeter Chiefs
A bit more across the whole side for Chiefs. Both sides missing RC players which hurts Gloucester a bit more. Good away win for Nick.

Gloucester Rugby 26 - 27 Exeter Chiefs

Gloucester Rugby 25 - 26 Exeter Chiefs
I like the Gloucester pack, however the strength of the Chiefs pack is their carrying and this will gain good momentum for the visiting back line. The Glaws midfield will be a little out of sorts, but offer a threat from bal in hand. The Chiefs midfield is very strong, although didn't show up too well in the Summer against South Africa. The quality of the Chiefs bench is the sealing factor, the experience and the impact is a turning factor.

Newcastle Falcons 26 - 25 Worcester Warriors

Newcastle Falcons 24 - 20 Worcester Warriors
Front 5 Falcons get the edge with better all round units. Closer in the back row but think Falcons will get on the front foot. Step up at half back as well for Falcons but centre partnership can improve Worcester's defence and attack. Solid out wide from both. Falcons with more in their tactics take the win.

Newcastle Falcons 25 - 24 Worcester Warriors
Last seasons champions look strong even without RC stars. A good balance across the pitch. Tactics for wrong opposition bring in the score. Worcester will be competitive this year but miss some of their stars.

Newcastle Falcons 29 - 28 Worcester Warriors

Newcastle Falcons 24 - 23 Worcester Warriors
The Warriors are much improved over the Summer period and provide a much sterner test for the Premiership champions. Not surprised to see Bam starting his Lions, and not like many would not start their Lions currently. The Falcons back three is a cutting edge, but the electric pace of the Warriors unit is scary. The worcester bench is much more impactful than the Falcons, and they come close to nicking this one, but Falcons hold on at home.

Saracens 28 - 28 Northampton Saints

Saracens 22 - 20 Northampton Saints
Managerless Saints have a very strong side, but lack real direction. Saracens can match them physically around the park, and think they'll have the edge at the set piece. Behind the scrum, Saints are better, but the Sarries back 3 carries a real threat. Saracens pick up a good home win to start the season

Saracens 25 - 22 Northampton Saints
Front row is quite even but will edge second row to Sarries with the impact Slater has made already. Two solid back rows with Sarries set up for a dog fight. Not really much between the half backs or centres. Form issues for both out wide in North and 1/2p. More ability for structure in Sarries tactics although would like to see them specifically target areas.

Saracens 19 - 19 Northampton Saints
Sarries very direct, Saints too, lots of defence, carriers hitting the line and carrying at the fringes. 
Saints pack power just helps them more than Saracens in that quite direct contest. But Saracens will turn a lot of BD ball. 2 settled backlines with the ability to finish chances out wide- Saints probably fit the game plan better but Sarries can cause damage at the fringes. Neutral venue, this goes to Saints. But a draw today

Saracens 32 - 32 NorthamptonSaints
Feel this is a high scorer. Sarries backs a bit 1 dimensional but will be powerful with ball in hand. Saints have a bit more craft and x factor and will unlock Sarries defence. Dont feel i can split the sides.

Saracens 21 - 20 Northampton Saints
Tight affair this one, and has always been a bit niggly in the past. The Saints pack have great points of difference, but lacking a man at the top hurts them a little. The back line of Saints is much more adept in attacking, however the bench of the Sarries will help them snatch this late on.

Wasps 30 - 30 Sale Sharks

Wasps 24 - 24 Sale Sharks
This is difficult to call. Sale are the best side in the league on paper, but Wasps look strong throughout. The Sale side would usually take this with some quality tactics, but I can't give this to them without direction. Don't think Wasps are quite good enough to beat them, so I'll sit on the fence

Wasps 25 - 23 Sale Sharks
Front 5 to Sale although a bit closer than it should be with them playing a lot of Lions players in one pack. Back row I'm swaying towards Wasps. Fairly even in the half backs. One a piece in centres and even in the back three. Feel Wasps can get the upset here with their tactics of bringing forwards into play as distraction runners.

Wasps 25 - 27 Sale Sharks
Most interesting set up here is the contrasting approach to the breakdown. Now, with new rules, I think the attacking breakdown gets a bit of a boost which helps Sale more. Could be ref dependence.
I love the Wasps front row in the loose, close battle at scrum time. Hard to beat Sale at the lineout. And Sale's backrow can execute their rucking plan very well.
Biggest weakness in Sale is their centres in defence, but although a strong Wasps pair will make some headway with guile of Slade and power of JD2, in attack Sale get too much quick ball to powerful back 3 and win away.

Wasps 28 - 26 Sale Sharks
A bit more across the backs for Wasps and two packs which are pretty well matched. I really like the balance of the Wasps unit and they offer constant threat to Sale which i feel is enough to edge a tight contest.

Wasps 25 - 26 Sale Sharks

Wasps 25 - 25 Sale Sharks
A solid Sale pack will make this hard work for the Wasps side, but that back row will get the home side on the front foot. Cruden can orchestrate his side in to good places and the midfield will cause the Sale midfield issues. Tough one in the end, however cannot see a separating factor for either side to win out.

London Irish 24 - 25 Harlequins

London Irish 19 - 25 Harlequins
Quins are far too strong a side for the managerless Irish. Quality throughout the pack and a lethal backline gives them a comfortable away win

London Irish 24 - 23 Harlequins
Irish could get on top in the front row but the second row brings Quins back into it. Prefer the Irish back row. Half backs just swaying to Irish on form. Not a lot in the centres or outside backs with Quins going for a lot of Lions in their back line. Pretty even tactics, can see Irish nicking this.

London Irish 26 - 28 Harlequins
Very solid pack from Irish, agree they have an aggressive defence. Quins have more pace and x-factor there, and will probably edge the set piece. Hard to call breakdown and Irish nous not to be underestimated- it's a very hard pack to dominate and will trouble any side. 

Both backlines very attacking, more playmaking for Irish, but Quins have a proven backline with more power and finishing. With their tactics I think they can make holes in Irish wide defence and out score them. Irish will test sides this season, especially that 9-12 axis.

London Irish 28 - 27 Harlequins

London Irish 26 - 28 Harlequins
Irish are a solid set up, however Quins are so strong at the minute, despite the Rugby Championship on at the moment. West can be flakey, but there is enough in the tank for Quins to take victory.

Leicester Tigers 26 - 27 Bath Rugby

Leicester Tigers 26 - 21 Bath Rugby
Both sides look good, but can't ignore the RC players in the Bath side, will be a real struggle getting them up to speed, and in such key positions at halfback its a big error from Bath stronger on paper, but Leicester no mugs and will exploit this for a good win

Leicester Tigers 27 - 23 Bath Rugby
Prefer the layout of the Tigers front 5 and feel they offer more around the park. Bath just edge the back row. Half backs to Tigers with Barrett and Smith coming off 2 games for N.Z. Not much in the centres, maybe a bit more to Bath out wide. Tigers correctly target the Bath half backs and get the win.

Leicester Tigers 21 - 20 Bath Rugby
Gritty pack from Tigers with powerful running from back 3, and what looks like a really solid centre combo that will work well. Bath have utter class at 9-10 but they will be tired. The rest of the Bath back line has an abundance of flair, and if they get good ball they will score a lot of tries. But think the backrow lacks some power and rucking, which will help a very adept Tigers backrow. The set piece is a tough one. Think Tigers just hold out by exploiting tired key players

Leicester Tigers 24 - 24 Bath Rugby
Bath have a stronger side but RC players hurt them here through fatigue and travel. Leicester lack a couple of top quality individuals in their 23 but have a lot of underrated players who can push through for them this season.

Leicester Tigers 27 - 28 Bath Rugby

So just people know, I did have tactics! But to be fair they were late, so probably shouldn't have been added anyway

Well won, Bam