Friday, September 28, 2012

The Rugby Championship Rd 5

The Rugby Championship Rd 5
Saturday
South Africa* v Australia     10:00
Argentina v New Zealand*     18:10
* denotes fav
All times Houston Tx


Preview: Argentina v New Zealand


This courtesy of Planet rugby
It will by no means be a stroll to 2012's Rugby Championship trophy for the All Blacks when they take on the Pumas at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata.
Granted they are hot favourites to wrap up the title a week ahead of schedule. But as we saw in the reverse, Los Pumas can cause them problems.
What adds further fuel to that outlook - something that's already been highlighted by our prediction man - is that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen criticised Argentina this week for their thwarting tactics against them. What a fillip that is for the hosts, knowing they have him openly worried.
So don't expect them to stray from that style this Saturday, with a forward battle set to be played out while Juan Martin Hernandez and Dan Carter collide. Carter, alongside Aaron Smith, will be looking to impose a quick tempo on proceedings while El Mago and Martin Landajo go for territory. Despite the fact Smith has now paid his dues for breaking a curfew, one feels that going for Piri Weepu over the quicker Smith would have played into Puma hands. Therefore, expect more threats in the backs than previous visitors to Argentina, South Africa, who this week face Australia.
Yes, I hold my hands up to going for Argentina to prevail by two points against the Wallabies on the Gold Coast, but hopefully their performance has created a few more believers.
A boost to their cause is the return of Marcos Ayerza to bench duty, which arguably frees up Rodrigo Roncero to put in another of those 50 minute barnstormers. Ayerza was absent last time out and it came as a double blow in some respects as Roncero played for longer, subsequently thinning out his impact. Such is the boost that we are going for the veteran's battle with Owen Franks as our head-to-head, with both props having solid tournaments.
Ayerza is joined on the bench by Tomas Vallejos in the only changes made by head coach Santiago Phelan for their penultimate outing before they watch the Jaguars (second XV) in their upcoming Americas Rugby Championship, which takes place in Canada. That will be where the Pumas will hope to build up a squad depth for future campaigns, which look exceedingly bright following what has been an impressive debut term with the big boys.
Of course there's a long journey ahead until they can be challenging year-in-year-out with the probable champs. But now that they have the sure footing of the Rugby Championship to begin their ascent up the standings, those Hansen headaches are expected to become a regular occurrence. Hansen won't need the Nurofen just yet though, as it is a measure of these special All Blacks that their 14-game unbeaten run exudes an air of dissatisfaction.
A title with a round to spare might help with that.
Ones to watch:
For Argentina: While the likes of number eight Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and loosehead Rodrigo Roncero have stood out up front, centre Marcelo Bosch and right wing Gonzalo Camacho are two of the men typifying this Pumas debut season in the Rugby Championship. Bosch has covered well and communicated superbly defensively and his battle with Conrad Smith sees two similar players collide. But it is the threat Camacho poses on the wing that Argentina will hope is prominent in Buenos Aires. Exeter will be proud of their man and want him to bring this form back with him for the Heineken Cup.
For New Zealand: He's baaaaack! New Zealand's maestro is back after missing his side's previous two wins over the Pumas and Boks due to a calf injury and the timing couldn't be better. Whilst Aaron Cruden did an admirable job in Dan Carter's absence, it's clear the world champs have missed their number one pivot, who brings a wealth of experience and is a more composed presence in the number ten jersey. The 30-year-old will start in his 90th Test, as the All Blacks vice-captain closes in on his international century.
Head-to-head: As mentioned in the body of this preview, Rodrigo Roncero against Owen Franks whets the appetite. Two props who are at opposite ends of their careers meet on Saturday in what could provide valuable on-the-job training for the Cantabrian. Roncero has just two games left in his Test career yet his tackle count for each of his four Rugby Championship appearances thus far has him making over ten tackles. Should be good.
Previous results:
2012: New Zealand won 21-5 in Wellington
2011: New Zealand won 33-10 in Auckland (RWC)
2006: New Zealand won 25-19 in Buenos Aires
2004: New Zealand won 41-7 in Hamilton
2001: New Zealand won 24-20 in Buenos Aires
2001: New Zealand won 67-19 in Christchurch
1997: New Zealand won 62-10 in Hamilton
1997: New Zealand won 93-8 in Wellington
1991: New Zealand won 36-6 in Buenos Aires
1991: New Zealand won 28-14 in Buenos Aires
1989: New Zealand won 49-12 in Wellington
Prediction: Oodles of passion with a great deal of entertainment but the special day will not result in a victory for Argentina. New Zealand have too much class wider out - win by 10!
The teams:
Argentina: 15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements: 16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Tomas Vallejos, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Martin Rodriguez, 22 Juan Imhoff.
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.
Date: Saturday, September 29
Kick-off: 20:10 local (00:10 BST, 23:10 GMT)
Venue: Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
 Pete says;
Argentina can proudly claim that they have not conceded a single try in the first halve in any of their matches so far and it is testament to their exceptional defensive team effort. As I have stated before, intensity and cohesion in defence is one of the best barometers of the internal motivation of a rugby team and the Pumas have shown bucketloads of guts in every game. Although individual defence comes down to technique and the innate desire to be an impenetrable force (which no coach can impart), team defence is a "coachable" area where many defensive coaches have made a name for themselves in the business.
So long as this game is not played in another monsoon I expect ABs to win by 28.
I am unhappy that AB coach didn't bring Zac Guildford or Aaron Cruden as starters. They are the future and they are very exciting players. Glad to see Savea and Smith starting
I bet an Argentinian buddy copious amounts of beer if the Argies even scored one try in the whle tournament. I'm paying dearly.
The ABs will concentrate on NOT running into the Argies as that is their strong point....they do not miss tackles regularly.
Just saw that weather will be showers most of the day. this will probably crimp AB style.
If I could pick now i would go ABs by 21 
No showers...go figure that the weather forecast could be so bad
At long last.
It's taken six at times agonising weeks, but the All Blacks have finally delivered the complete performance we all knew they were capable of in La Plata  today.
The New Zealanders ran in seven tries all told as they put a game Argentina outfit to the sword 54-15 with their best performance of the Rugby Championship.


South Africa v Australia

If the history books are anything to go by, we're set for a cracking game at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday as the Wallabies go in search of their sixth consecutive win over the Springboks.
Positive team selections, bone-dry weather, a venue with a history of high-scoring fixtures (especially between these sides) and two coaches looking to prove a point: all the indicators suggest we're in for a treat and probably the highest scoring game of the Rugby Championship to date.
Both Heyneke Meyer and Robbie Deans said they expect a fast-paced game. The South Africa coach is eager to show Bok fans that his team can dance to more than one tune while his Wallaby counterpart has a long track record of leading sides that play positive rugby, despite what Quade 'I-think-I'm-Sonny-Bill-Williams-but-you-should-treat-me-like-Dan-Carter' Cooper would have us believe.
Fly-halves (as they tend to do) have been in the headlines this week and the spotlight will be firmly fixed on Johan Goosen and Kurtley Beale. Many fans and pundits firmly believe that the Cheetahs pivot is the embodiment of the path they hope the Boks will follow over the next for years. Considering Cooper's fall-out with Deans and the ARU, Beale could well find himself in a similar position for the Aussies, (assuming the current coaching staff manage to hang around.)
But we're getting ahead of ourselves and Bok fans in particular shouldn't delude themselves by thinking the wunderkind from Bloem is going to transform the way the Boks play overnight. As Meyer stressed at Wednesday's team announcement, Test rugby is a very different level to the Currie Cup and no one should expect Goosen to be cutting Australia's defence apart at will.
The Wallabies have won seven of the last eight Tests between these sides, including the previous two on South African soil. During the Deans era, Australia have claimed the spoils in three of their six games in the Republic. Prior to his arrival, they had won just once in SA in the professional era.
But they've never won at Loftus.
Even though victory in Bloemfontein two years ago ended their Highveld hoodoo, the thin air and hostile crowd in the South African capital have seen the home side to victory on all five previous Wallaby visits.
Deans has long maintained that teams of the past have made too much of the altitude factor and ended up psyching themselves out of the contest. When I spoke to young wing Dom Shipperley on Thursday, he had a similar take on the crowd, insisting the atmosphere wasn't an issue unless you made it one for yourself.
Fair points from both, but the numbers don't lie. Our tipster dug up some interesting stats for internationals in Pretoria, where the Boks are outscoring visiting teams by an average of 13 points in the second half. That number climbs to 16 against the Wallabies.
So it seems no matter their mental approach, the Wallabies will still have to overcome that lungs-on-fire sensation that is unavoidable in the last 20 minutes at 4,500 feet above sea level.
They've been on the Highveld for ten days, so they should be acclimatised. But even if they had been here for a year, handing out free Wallaby jerseys, it wouldn't make the 52,000-strong crowd any friendlier.
However if this injury-depleted Aussie squad can get that record-setting sixth straight win over the Boks, it'll be an occasion to be remembered.
Players to watch:
For South Africa: As mentioned above, all eyes will be on Johan Goosen, who at the tender age of 20 will be tasked with igniting the Bok attack. You have to be pretty special to replace Morne Steyn for a Test at Loftus. Expectations are sky-high but his team-mates reckon he thrives under pressure. Francois Louw played for Bath last week, meaning he's done a lot of traveling in the last fortnight. It'll be interesting to see when Marcell Coetzee needs to take over from the bench. Zane Kirchner is next in line to get the axe if public pressure has anything to do with Bok selections, but he's usually very solid on his home turf.
For Australia: Another young gun, Kurtley Beale will run the Wallabies backline, but his big boot is also set to come in handy in a territorial battle that will see punts fly 70ms when struck sweetly. He'll interchange positions with Berrick Barnes fairly regularly with the latter set be tested under the high ball. Up front Benn Robinson becomes the third Australian prop to reach his half century of international appearances and will want to build on the solid performance from the Wallaby scrum in Perth.

Head-to-head: With both teams set to use the favourable kicking conditions to seek out territory, the line-outs could make or break the attacking plans. South Africa have recalled their first-choice lock pairing of Eben Etzebeth and Andries Bekker, with the former returning from suspension and the latter looking to make amends for his nightmare game in Mendoza after a solid stint off the bench against the All Blacks. Meyer said earlier this week that Bekker was suited to the open game we all expect because his "strong point is to pitch up as a centre, ala Victor Matfield, on the wing sometimes!" Wallaby skipper Nathan Sharpe joins former openside George Smith as the most capped forward in the green and gold (playing his 110th Test), but it remains to be seen if the old warhorse will go the distance. 23-year-old Kane Douglas wins just his second cap, but at 122kg he's got the tools to make an impact.
Previous results:
2012: Australia won 26-19, Perth
2011: Australia won 11-9, Wellington
2011: Australia won 14-9, Durban
2011: Australia won 39-20, Sydney
2010: Australia won 41-39, Bloemfontein
2010: South Africa won 44-31, Pretoria
2010: Australia won 30-13, Brisbane
2009: Australia won 21-6, Brisbane
2009: South Africa won 32-25, Perth
2009: South Africa won 29-17, Cape Town
2008: South Africa won 53-8, Johannesburg
Prediction: There has been an average of 53 total points per game in Tests at Lofus and 50 between these sides, so the safe money is on a high-scoring game. We reckon the Boks looked good enough against the All Blacks to merit their favourites tag. South Africa by ten points!
The teams:
South African (revised): 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.
Australia: 15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Dominic Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.
Date: Saturday, September 29
Venue: Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Kick-off: 17.00 (15.00 GMT ; 01.00 NSW/ACT)
Weather: Dry. Clear skies, 21°C
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)

Pete says
Australia arrive in Pretoria with five consecutive wins under their belt against the South Africans (and I backed the Aussies for a win in Perth), but they will meet a different team at Loftus this Saturday. The conditions will be superb for the Aussie flyers like Digby Ioane and Dom Shipperley, but I think the loss of Steven Moore will leave a deep scar in a team that is already missing star players like Horwill, Genia, Cooper, O'Connor, Mitchell, Pocock, Timani, Palu and Kepu. Moore is the type of player you want in your side when you face a wounded Springbok at Loftus. But the silent death and great equaliser on the Highveld - altitude - will take its toll in the last quarter and will definitely favour the Boks when it matters. Moreover the almost messianic starting debut of Johan Goosen may just be the spark that can unlock the two veteran centres outside him (assuming Frans Steyn is fit ) - but I would not get my hopes up just yet that they will be able to run circles around the talented Wallaby backline. I do however believe it is the right move and if he can be joined by Pat Lambie at full-back soon, we may see a renaissance in South Africa's attacking game.
Steyn is injured and Taute takes his place. A different kind of centre and one who hopefully can dodge and dive better.
I have to agree with the Planet rugby writer.
Look no further than a Bok victory but only by 9. It might well be a game of penalties.

Game over
Boks scored 5 tries. Habana  was a workhorse turning up at all the right moments. I'm a huge fan. this man goes looking for work.
Aussies hardly ever in Bok 22. Too much kicking the ball away and running into boks. Surely Coach deans needs to go and a man like campese take over.
The biggest humiliation was the Bok, not renown for their running rugby, nearly scoring an 80 yard try from deep within their own 22.
Bok won easily 31-8. Aussies picked up many injuries. Deans couldn't even manage their reserves properly. They used up all 8 reserves and had to play one man down for last 8 mins...pathetic

Currie Cup preview Rd 8

Currie Cup Rd 8
Friday

Sharks* v Blue Bulls     12:10
Tomorrow Saturday
Cheetahs* v Griquas      07:00       
Western Province* v Lions     12:15
All times Houston Tx
* fav

 

Currie Cup preview: Round Eight

There's plenty of interest in this year's Currie Cup as all six teams can still qualify for the semi-finals with only three rounds of league matches left.
With the Springboks hosting the Wallabies in their Rugby Championship clash in Pretoria on Saturday, it means that there will be a Friday night game for the first time since Round Four.
That clash is between the Sharks, who are in second spot in the standings, and the fifth-placed Blue Bulls in Durban.
Due to the Test at Loftus Versfeld - which starts at 17:00 SA time (15:00 GMT) - it also means that both Saturday matches will kick-off at the same time (14:00, 12:00 GMT).
The Lions have opened up a slight gap at the top of the table but face a tough assignment against third-placed Western Province in the weekend's marquee fixture.
At the same time, Griquas will try return to winning ways when they do battle with the tournament's bottom-placed team, the Free State Cheetahs.


Fixtures:
Friday, 28 September
Sharks v Blue Bulls
Saturday, 29 SeptemberWestern Province v Golden Lions
Free State Cheetahs v Griquas
Standings:
1. Golden Lions 24
2. Sharks 21
3. Western Province 20
4. Griquas 15
5. Blue Bulls 13
6. Free State Cheetahs 12

Previews:
Sharks v Blue Bulls
Kings Park Stadium, Durban
The Sharks are eager to return to the victory trail, after their defeat to the Lions last week.
However, last year's finalists face a difficult task against a rejuvenated Blue Bulls side who are on a high afer claiming a deserved victory against the Cheetahs last week.
The corresponding match between these two sides earlier this season was a high-scoring affair with the Blue Bulls eventually triumphing 42-31 in Pretoria.
After that result, however, the Bulls lost their next three matches and were in serious danger of facing relegation until they registered that win over the Cheetahs last week.
Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford expects the Bulls to enter this clash high on confidence, despite their lowly position in the standings.
"It's always difficult against the Bulls," he said. "They're a tough team and I think that win for them on the weekend was huge.
"They responded well to the pressure they were under to win it. I heard their coach (Pine Pienaar) say it was a final for them.
"They backed themselves and they got it."
The Sharks suffered a setback earlier this week when speedster Lwazi Mvovo and hooker Craig Burden were recalled to the Springbok squad. But despite losing those players they can still call on the experience of captain and number eight Keegan Daniel as well as Meyer Bosman - who will play at fly-half in this match.
The Bulls impressed in their win over the Cheetahs and their key player is fly-half Louis Fouchè, who is a doubtful starter due to injury. Fouchè is the tournament's leading points-scorer with 102 points and if he is declared fit the visitors' chance of victory will be boosted.
Prediction: The Sharks seldom play poorly in Durban and should be too strong for the Bulls, who have struggled to build momentum this season. Sharks to win by 10 points.
The teams:
Sharks: 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Paul Jordaan, 12 Tim Whitehead, 11 Louis Ludik, 10 Meyer Bosman, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Keegan Daniel (c), 7 Jean Deysel, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Anton Bresler, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Pieter Dixon, 1 Dale Chadwick.
Replacements: 16 Kyle Cooper, 17 Julian Redelinghuys, 18 Jandre Marais, 19 Lubalalo Mtembu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 S'bura Sithole.
Blue Bulls: 15 Jürgen Visser, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Francois Venter, 11 Sampie Mastriet, 10 Louis Fouchè/Lionel Cronjè, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Arno Botha, 6 Dewald Potgieter (c), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Mornè Mellett.
Replacements: 16 Bongo Mbonambi, 17 Frik Kirsten, 18 Grant Hattingh, 19 Warwick Tecklenburg, 20 Ruan Snyman, 21 Lionel Cronjè/Willie du Plessis, 22 Ulrich Beyers.
Kick-off:19:00 (18:10 BST, 17:10 GMT)
Referee: Mark Lawrence
Pete says;
 If the Bulls can continue to cause woes for the John Plumtree’s heavies, they’ll be competitive. But fail, and the Sharks will return to winning ways, and the men from Pretoria will come under fire AGAIN (as I think they will)
Sharks by 5
Western Province v Golden Lions
Newlands Stadium, Cape Town
With fly-half Elton Jantjies and utility back Jaco Taute on Springbok duty this weekend, Western Province will fancy their chances of claiming a win against the table-toppers.
The Lions, however, will be keen to extend their three-match winning streak after recent victories over the Blue Bulls, Free State Cheetahs and Sharks.
WP coach Allister Coetzee deserves credit for making his team a competitive unit despite several setbacks throughout their campaign. Injuries, Springbok call-ups and even poor discipline by his troops has forced Coetzee to chop and change his side on a weekly basis.
But despite that, Coetzee has reason to smile as he has also unearthed some raw talent who have impressed throughout the campaign.

Players like midfield duo Marcel Brache and JP du Plessis have been at the forefront of WP's revival and if the Lions want to be successful they will have to keep these two players in check.
The Lions will rely heavily on former Springbok Butch James to launch attacks. Another player who could prove a handful for the home side's defenders is Lions centre Lionel Mapoe whose attacking skills has torn several defences to shred this year.
Prediction:This clash is difficult to call but being without Jantjies and Taute could lead to the Lions' downfall.WP to win by six points!
The teams:
Western Province: 15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gerhard van den Heever, 13 JP du Plessis, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 Damian de Allende, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Jebb Sinclair, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 6 Deon Fourie (c), 5 De Kock Steenkamp, 4 Don Armand, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Deon Carstens, 17 Brok Harris, 18 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 19 Helmut Lehmann, 20 Nic Groom, 21 Berton Klaasen, 22 Pat Howard.
Golden Lions: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Deon Helberg, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Dylan des Fountain, 11 Ruan Combrinck, 10 Butch James, 9 Michael Bondesio, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Franco Van der Merwe, 4 Michael Rhodes, 3 Jacobie Adriaanse, 2 Callie Visagie, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg (c).
Replacements: 16 Martin Bezuidenhout, 17 Ruan Dreyer, 18 Ettienne Oosthuizen, 19 Willie Britz, 20 Ross Cronje, 21 Deon van Rensburg, 22 James Kamana.
Kick-off:14:00 (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Marius Jonker
Pete says;
This will be the closest game of the weekend. It’s the clash between two of the most consistent teams this month.
Province have surprisingly emerged as the best attacking (scored 214 points and 22 tries) and defensive (conceded 163 points and 15 tries) side of the tournament. The Golden Lions, who have grabbed the most four-try bonus points (four), have also done well on attack and defence, and their overall records also look impressive.
WP by 3


Free State Cheetahs v Griquas
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
These teams are locked in a battle with the Blue Bulls for the final play-off berth so an exciting clash can be expected as both teams go in search of victory.
Griquas have punched above their weight since the start of the tournament and will be eager to exact revenge on their neighbours who beat them 29-16 in Kimberley in the corresponding match earlier this season.
Pote Human's charges suffered a 45-21 loss to WP in Cape Town last week, which was their first defeat since going down to the Cheetahs in Round Three.
The Cheetahs have several exciting attacking players in their starting XV. Captain Robert Ebersohn and SA U20 stalwart Raymond Rhule combined well in the midfield against the Bulls last week.
It was the first time that they played together as a centre pairing and they will be looking to continue where they left off last week. Rhule, in particular, has been impressive with ball in hand and if Griquas give him too much space they will pay dearly.
Amongst the forwards, the battle for the loose ball between Springbok loose forward Heinrich Brussouw and Griquas flank Marnus Schoeman could have a huge bearing on the outcome of this match.
Prediction:This will be the closest match of the round but we think the Cheetahs will sneak in by three points!
The teams:
Free State Cheetahs: 15 Hennie Daniller, 14 Nico Scheepers, 13 Raymond Rhule, 12 Robert Ebersohn (c), 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Sias Ebersohn, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Philip van der Walt, 7 Lappies Labuschagne, 6 Heinrich Brussow, 5 Izak van der Westhuizen, 4 Francois Uys, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Hercu Liebenberg, 1 Marcell van der Merwe.
Replacements:
16 AJ le Roux, 17 Brummer Badenhorst, 18 Carl Wegner, 19 Hendro Scholtz, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Philip Snyman, 22 Andries Strauss.
Griquas: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jannie Boshoff, 13 Jean Stemmet, 12 Walter Venter, 11 Rocco Jansen, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Marnus Hugo, 8 Leon Karemaker, 7 Wesley Wilkins, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Martin Muller, 4 Rynhardt Landman, 3 Lourens Adriaanse, 2 Ryno Barnes (c), 1 Janro van Niekerk.
Replacements: 16 Matt Dobson, 17 Ivann Espag, 18 Edwin Hewitt, 19 Justin Downey, 20 Jacques Coetzee, 21 Marnitz Boshoff, 22 JP Nel.
Kick-off:14:00 (13:00 BST, 12:00 GMT)
Referee: Jason Jaftha
Pete says;
In terms of achieving a top-four place, this result is vital for both teams.
A desperate Cheetahs team will triumph on Saturday.
Cheetahs at home by 9

 

French Top 14 Rd 7


French Top 14 Rd 7
Friday
Clermont Auvergne* v Stade Francais     13:50
Saturday
Agen* v Bordeaux Begles     11:30
Grenoble* v Racing Metro 92*     11:30
Montpellier* v Castres     11:30
Perpignan* v Mont-de-Marsan     11:30
Toulouse* v Toulon                   13:45
Sunday
Biarritz* v Bayonne                   10:00

 

Preview: Clermont v Stade Français

Clermont will be aiming to set a new record for consecutive home matches without a loss in Friday's Top 14 clash against Stade Français at Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin.
Les Jaunards have not lost on home soil since November 2008, an unbeaten streak that includes 44 victories and two draws.
Indeed, the task at hand seems mighty steep for the Parisian visitors who have lost on their last ten visits to the Auvergne.
Stade Français have struggled this season and are lying a lowly tenth in the standings, despite a morale-boosting win over Perpignan last week. And things are not likely to get much better in the near future with clashes against Toulouse and Toulon on the menu in the next three rounds.
Clermont have yet to hit top form yet but nevertheless lie second, with five wins from their six games.
In team news, the hosts have to make do without skipper Aurelien Rougerie, who has a back injury, but they have quality replacement in the form of former Blues centre Benson Stanley.
Stade Français coach Richard Pool-Jones has chosen to rotate his squad, leaving first-choice full-back and goal-kicker Jerome Porical on the bench while the likes of Felipe Contepomi and Sergio Parisse have not been included.
Kiwi Aled De Malmanche returns to the starting XV (at hooker) while Geoffrey Doumayrou and Jeremy Sinzelle form a new-look midfield.
The teams:
ASM Clermont Auvergne: 15 Lee Byrne, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Benson Stanley, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 David Skrela, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 3 Daniel Kotze, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements: 16 Benoit Cabello, 17 Raphael Chaume, 18 Loic Jacquet, 19 Elvis Vermeulen, 20 Ludovic Radosavljevic, 21 Brock James , 22 Regan King, 23 Vincent Debaty.
Stade Français Paris: 15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Waisea Vuidravuwalu, 13 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 12 Jeremy Sinzelle, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Paul Warwick, 9 Jerome Fillol, 8 David Lyons, 7 Scott Lavalla, 6 Antoine Burban, 5 Pascal Pape, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Aled De malmanche 1 Stanley Wright.
Replacements: 16 Remi Bonfils, 17 David Attoub, 18 Pierre Rabadan, 19 Leiataua Tomiki, 20 Nicolas Bezy, 21 Jerome Porical, 22 Paul Williams, 23 Zurabi Zhvania,
Date: Friday, September 28
Venue: Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, Clermont Ferrand
Kick-off: 20.50 (20.50 GMT)
Referee: Sébastien Clouté
Pete says. What a great side Cllermont is on paper. Yet they let in 20 pts by newly promoted grenoble last week
Clermont by 15

Clermont steal dramatic late win

A dramatic last-gasp drop goal from fly-half Brock James gave Clermont Auvergne a dramatic 28-25 win over Stade Francais in their Top 14 clash at the Stade Marcel Michelin.


Defending champions Toulouse host Top 14 leaders Toulon on Saturday while the stakes are high in Sunday's Basque derby in Biarritz.
There were fears that Toulon's trip to the sold-out Stadium de Toulouse would become a non-event when RCT coach Bernard Laporte announced he was resting a raft of his top players after six wins on the trot, but a glance at this weekend's squad - featuring names like Michalak, Giteau, Jenkins, Hayman and Bastareaud - should reassure fans they'll get a quality contest.
Elsewhere, play-off hopefuls Montpellier and Castres will do battle on the Mediterranean coast while Perpignan will expect to win at home to struggling Mont-de-Marsan.
Racing face a tricky trip to Grenoble while Agen and Bordeaux-Begles are hoping to stay clear of the relegation zone.
Sunday's Basque derby, which has been moved from Spain back to Biarritz, is a huge game for Bayonne, who have had a terrible start to the season.
Fixtures:
Friday, September 28

Clermont v Stade Français -
Saturday, September 29
Agen v Bordeaux-Bègles
Grenoble v Racing Métro 92
Montpellier v Castres
Perpignan v Mont-de-Marsan
Toulouse v Toulon
Sunday, September 30
Biarritz v Bayonne


Standings:
1 Toulon 27
2 Clermont 23
3 Toulouse 20
4 Biarritz 18
5 Racing-Metro 18
6 Castres 15
7 Montpellier 15
8 Grenoble 14
9 Perpignan 11
10 Stade Français 10
11 Agen 10
12 Bordeaux-Begles 9
13 Bayonne 7
14 Mont-de-Marsan 0
Previews:
SU Agen v Union Bordeaux-Bègles
Stade Armandie, Agen
After a slow start to the season, Agen have picked up back-to-back wins (over Grenoble and Mont-de-Marsan) and will fancy their chances against a Bordeaux side that have blown hot and cold this term.
Agen's resurgence has a lot to do with sorting out their defensive issues. After conceding 94 points and 12 tries in two games, they've got their ducks - and defenders - in a row.
Bordeaux-Begles have won just once in their last five visits to Agen.
It's a crucial clash for both teams as the losers risk dropping into the relegation zone while the winners should climb into mid-table.
Results last season: Agen won 24-15 at home; Bordeaux won 29-15 at home
Prediction: Agen is looking better every week. Agen by seven points
Kick-off: 18:30 (16.30 GMT)
Referee: Philippe Bonhoure
Goosen starts for Agen so Agen by 5

FC Grenoble v Racing Métro 92
Stade des Alpes (Grenoble)
After completely dominating Stade Français at home last month, Grenoble - who have the joint-best attack in the championship so far - will be hoping for a repeat against the other club from Paris.
The hosts are feeling confident as they have moved the clash to the much larger Stade des Alpes for the first time this season.
But les Grenoblois will probably start as the underdogs against the Racing team that has been in good form on the road having won twice and picked up a bonus point outside the capital.
Victory over Biarritz last week was further proof that Racing are genuine title contenders this season.
Previous result: Racing won 15-7 (ProD2 in 2009)
Prediction: Les Fanciliens are traveling well at the moment. Racing by less than seven points
Kick-off: 18:30 (16.30 GMT)
Referee: Gérard Borreani
Pete agrees based on limited info ofeither teamsheet

Montpellier Hérault Rugby v Castres Olympique
Stade Yves Du Manoir, Montpellier
Level on points after six rounds, Montpellier and Castres have become accustomed to racing each other for a spot in the play-offs.
Montpellier were disappointed to be left empty-handed at home to Toulon but made up for that loss somewhat with a big win on the road to Bordeaux last week.
Inconsistency has long been a problem for les Héraultias but Fabien Galthié's team are starting to gather some momentum.
Castres have made a solid start to the season and won't be too worried by the hiding received in Toulon last week since they sent a rather below-strength side.
Castres have won the last three meetings between these sides, including their last game in Montpellier.
Results last season: Castres won both games, 21-16 away and 31-15 at home
Prediction: Montpellier are still missing a bunch of Pumas, but should have enough firepower at home. Montpellier by five points
Kick-off: 18:30 (16.30 GMT)
Referee: Salem Attalah

USA Perpignan v Stade Montois
Stade Aimé Giral, Perpignan
Perpignan are going from strength to strength having claimed victory over Toulouse and a bonus point in Paris last week.
With an ambitious game plan and a positive attitude, the Catalans are playing entertaining rugby but are being punished for their indiscipline and are struggling at scrum time.
USAP were given a boost this week with the news that French international centre David Marty has extended his contract by three years.
Mont-de-Marsan need a win badly to revive their morale and their chances of avoiding relegation, but it's unlikely to come this weekend.
Previous result: Perpignan won 44-3 (in 2009)
Prediction: Mont-de-Marsan can't buy a win at the moment. Perpignan by fifteen points
Kick-off: 18:30 (16.30 GMT)
Referee: Bernard Dal Maso
Perps with their superstars and at home will win by 18

Stade Toulousai v Rugby Club Toulonnais
Stadium de Toulouse
All the headlines in France this week have focused on Toulon's decision to rest 14 top players for the biggest game of the season. Toulouse aren't complaining - Guy Novès is renowned for choosing his battles and rotating his squad.
The Toulon stance has received sympathy from none other than France coach Philippe Saint-André, who said it was understandable given the number of matches played every season at club level.
"The problem is that they play 40 matches a year, which is too many," said Saint-André, who coached Toulon before taking over as France boss.
"Would you ask a boxer to fight 40 times a year? No, because if they did, they wouldn't be champion for long.
"If Toulon finished the first phase of the Top 14 20 points ahead but with 10 players injured and go on to lose in the semi-finals, they won't be champions of France."
Fear not for the contest however because RCT are still sending a star-studded team with former Toulouse favourite Fred Michalak returning home to start at fly-half.
For the hosts, props Antoine Guillamon and Vasil Kakovin, hooker Gary Botha, fly-half Lionel Beauxis and centre Yann David have all been ruled out with injury.
Good news is that Clément Poitrenaud should be fit despite missing training this week
Toulon squad:
Forwards: Steffon Armitage, Virgile Bruni, Sébastien Bruno, Xavier Chiocci, Florian Fresia, Pierrick Gunther , Carl Hayman, Gethin Jenkins, Nick Kennedy, Mickael Ivaldi, Chris Masoe, Kote Mikautadze, Simon Shaw, Joe van Niekerk.
Backs: Mathieu Bastareaud, Nicolas Durand, Matt Giteau, Benjamin Lapeyre, Vincent Martin, Geoffroy Messina, Frédéric Michalak , Alexis Palisson, Luke Rooney, David Smith.
Results last season: Toulouse won 18-12 at home; Toulon won 25-22 at home
Prediction: Toulon's winning streak could finally come to an end. Toulouse by six points in a low-scoring clash
Kick-off: 20:45 (18.45 GMT)
Referee: Mathieu Raynal
weakened Toulon team so Toulouse with superstars and a win by 15

Biarritz Olympique v Aviron Bayonnais
Parc des Sports d'Aguilera, Biarritz
Sunday sees Bayonne bidding to take a further step to kick-start their disastrous season which has featured just one victory in six outings.
And it won't be an easy task, with an "away" trip across the river to near neighbours Biarritz,who have claimed the spoils in 10 of the 14 Basques derbies since the creation on the Top14.
Second last, Bayonne went down 34-6 to Toulouse last weekend, giving a performance coach Christian Lanta said was "not sufficient".
"We learned a rugby lesson and came across a team that mastered everything that rendered us powerless," said Lanta.
The game has been moved back to Biarritz after initially being scheduled for Stadio Anoeta in Saint-Sébastien, due to slow ticket sales. A sign of the difficult financial times or Bayonne's poor form?
Biarritz have lost two in row after their strong start to the season but they will take encouragement from the narrow defeat (13-12) to Racing in Paris last week.
Results last season: Biaritz won 21-19 at home; Bayonne won 24-19 at home
Prediction: Bayonne are a disorganised rabble these days. Biarritz by eight points
Kick-off: 17:05 (15.05 GMT)
The 2 teams are seperated by 5km and there is fierce rivalry here. The team sheet llisted below does not match with that on lnr.fr.
Biarritz by 5. I know they will win but there is an outside chance of a draw and I just need to come within 5 points of the winning points difference to get an extra 1/2 a point.

Team sheets thanks to a superbru captain. Even then many were missing...what the heck is wrong with Top 14 marketing?
Montpellier
Bérard ; Nagusa, Combezou, Hape, Audrin ; (o) Trinh-Duc, (m) Escande ; Gorgodze, Tulou, Ouedraogo ; Privat, Fakaté ; Jgenti, Ladhuie, Lobo.

Remplaants: Van Vuuren, Watremez, De Marco, Bias, Paillaugue, Carraro, Peyras, Bustos.
Castres
Teulet; Garcey, Cabannes, Sanchou, Andreu; (o) Bernard, (m) Kockott; Caballero, Tekori, Bornman; Capo Ortega, Samson, Wihongi, Bonello, Forestier.

Les remplaants: Mach, Lazar, Faasalele, Wannenburg, Kirkpatrick, Tals, Martial, Coetzee.
*****************************************************
Perpignan

Mont de Marsan
Lucu ; Price, Baleinadogo, Rabeni, Cabannes ; (o) Claverie, (m) Magnaval ; Brits, Taulanga, Bost ; Liebenberg, Lewaravu ; Grobler, Caudullo, Fiorini.

Remplaants: Bordes, Correia, De Chaves, Brethous, Pic, Dubié, Durquet, Giudicelli.
*****************************************************
Agen
Goosen; Vaka, Roux, Robinson, Coux; (o) Barnard, (m) Lorée; Giraud, Fonua, Monribot (cap); Skeate, Lozada; Falefa, Narjissi, Cabarry.

Les remplaants: Janaudy, Afatia, Lagrange, Fono, Bals, Pelesasa, Agulla, Garcia.
Bordeaux
Reihana ; Talebula, Le Bourhis, Rey, Connor ; (o) Lopez, (m) Saubusse ; Purll, Clarkin, Madaule ; Jaulhac, Treloar ; Toetu, Avei, Delboulbes.

Remplaants: Forbes, Navickas, Koyamaibole, Kitshoff, Seron, Brousse, Poirot.
*****************************************************
Toulouse
Huget ; Clerc, Fritz, Fickou, Matanavou ; (o) McAlister, (m) Doussain ; Dusautoir, Galan, Nyanga ; Maestri, Millo-Chluksi ; Johnston, Tolofua, Poux.

Remplaants: Lacombe, Steenkamp, Monts, Lamboley, Picamoles, Burgess, Jauzion, Poitrenaud.
Toulon
Rooney; Smith, Bastareaud, Messina, Lapeyre; (o) Michalak, (m) Durand; Kennedy, Bruni, Gunther; Shaw, Mikautadze; Chiocci, Bruno (cap), Jenkins.

Les remplaants: Ivaldi, Fresia, Masoe, Van Nierkerk, Giteau, S.Armitage, Palisson, Hayman.
*****************************************************
Biarritz
Balshaw ; Ngwenya, Gimenez, Traille, Brew ; (o) Barraque, (m) Lesgourges ; Dubarry, Lakafia, Guyot ; Taele, E. Lund ; Broster, Héguy, Blaauw.

Remplaants: Barcella, Genevois, Thion, M.Lund, Peyrelongue, Burotu, Haylett Petty, Gomez Kodela.
Bayonne

SUMMARY courtesy of superrugbytipping. thansk mate.....good precis.
This week’s interests centred on close TMO calls, a couple of game saving tackles and misery for the Welsh overseas contingent.

Clermont 28 - 25 Paris
Friday’s game was not what was scripted. Paris threw out a bunch of kids in the backline and the proceeded to run rings around the home side. Thirce the unpronounceable Vuidravuwalu got the ball and 3 trys resulted: 2 to him. Fofana and Sivivatu made to look foolish more than any.

Clermont responded with a brilliant try, keeping the ball alive despite desperate Paris infringements and rounded off by the excellent Domingo.

At 22-10 down at ½ time, the 3 year home streak looked doomed. But Paris infringed. Again and again and the boot did for them. Clermont carried on their trend of white line fever to waste other chances but the biggest criminal was Fofana. Twice there was a 2-3 man overlap, stroll to the line. Both times he showed why he is not a 12 by throwing the ball aimlessly either behind all his players or in to touch.

Byrne (Welsh) had a shocker, including knocking the ball on under no pressure twice to put his side in the poo.

The other interest was the TMO’s decision to deny Fofana a try on a fairly dubious call that he’d been lifted (with the ball) before he crossed the line. Chalk up wonder tackle to someone (I can’t remember who!!).

Grenoble 27 - 13 Racing Metro 92
Grenoble played all the rugby and were more than a match for Racing’s limited game plan.

Montpellier 19 - 12 Castres
Heavy rain at Yves du Manoir and you fear for Montpellier with Tin-Duck’s total absence of a tactical kicking game. Castres on the other hand have the boots of Kockottt, Bernard and Robocop (Teulet) to rely upon. It was going to be close.

Tin-Duck made up for his lack of boot options with some brilliant counter attacks showing why he is better suited to 12 than 10. A wonder tackle by Ouedraogo brought down Kockott when you thought the 9 must be over the whitewash. The game was settled when a Tin-Duck bomb was bombed by Castres in their end goal and Nagusa reacted first. 11 picks for Castres who could have been smiling with a bit more fortune or composure by their side.

Perpignan 15 - 6 Mont-de-Marsan

Very heavy rain at Aime. But that did not excuse the very heavy weather USAP made of this. Having hammered ST in their last home game, everyone expected a cricket score against hapless MDM. It didn’t happen. Tchale-Watchou pulled of the 2nd wonder save of the weekend to deny a 9 when Magnaval took the wrong option to go by himself but looked like he must score from 3m. He didn’t and despite being unable to put any points on against 13 men (2 yellows to MDM), the home side eked home on pens.

Agen 19 - 15 Bordeaux Begles
Bordeaux tried to play rugby as usual with Agen being the more conservative. This game was decided by the TMO and one of the freakiest trys of all time. First Lopez broke through and slid across the line whilst being tackled. Looked certain that it was a try but the TMO ruled he’d lost control and not recovered in time for a knock on.

Then, a rather poor up and under was launched by Agen outside their own 22 with players in pursuit. Robinson of Agen was their lead player. The ball bounced and went back behind him some 10m. As it was dropping, it looped over the head of Bordeaux prop Delboulbes who had worked his socks of getting back. The ball hit Delboulbes’ heel which launched it back in a perfect arc from whence it came. Straight in front of Robinson (who was now onside) who gleefully grabbed it and ran in to the posts.

Toulouse 32 - 9 Toulon
Probably a 2nd string Toulon even if on paper it looked very much galacticos. Another bad day for the Welsh. Toulon lost their foundation: their scrum as Jenkins was destroyed by Johnston for pen after pen. The Welshman’s day got worse with fumbles and a yellow for a high tackle.

Fluke ran through a huge gap which Michalak could not cover for the opening try. A raft of pens put Toulon out of the game and any chance of salvaging anything disappeared with the appearance of Giteau. Michalak, how had played well, kicked his chance and put some good interventions, went to SH. Inexplicably, Giteau took the next, easy pen and missed. He went on to make other key errors as he possibly tried too hard to make up for the howler.

Toulouse kept up that freak statistic of scoring 50% of their trys in the last 15 mins when Maestri crashed over with 3 mins left to make the score look a bit lop sided.

Special mention to young Fickou who looked utterly composed and put in the odd crunching tackle too and Galan (sadly injured) who did all his stuff.

Biarritz 15 - 16 Bayonne
The Basque derby. Plenty of nonsense before this game. The home side messing around at the last minute in moving the venue from San Sebastien in Spain (they will wish they’d stayed there now). Bayonne had suspended Heymans (and reinstated him) as well as Phillips: the 3rd in our Welsh sorrows. Drinking nights out, half hearted performances, insulting the fans and getting into a fracas with the club’s other SH have made Phillips less than popular.

So, with 4 losses on the bounce and in turmoil plus away to the early T14 leaders, this was a foregone conclusion, right?
 BO conceded a pen for pulling down a maul with zero on the clock (smart, eh?) and Boyet was never going to miss from 30m.

 

RaboDirect Pro 12 Rd 5

 Rabo Direct Pro 12 Rd 5
Friday
Newport Gwent Dragons* v Edinburgh     13:00
Cardiff Blues* v Ulster     13:05
Glasgow Warriors* v Zebre     13:35
Connacht Rugby v Leinster*     14:00
Saturday
Benetton Treviso v Scarlets *    12:05
Ospreys* v Munster                   12:30

 

Preview: Dragons v Edinburgh

Edinburgh coach Michael Bradley has challenged his charges to take another win away from Wales as the side travel to Newport to face the Dragons.
The club opened their competitive account with an away win over Cardiff at the re-inauguration of the old Arms Park, before a five-try win over Zebre.
Bonus points from the losses to Munster and Leinster keep the club mid-table ahead of their trip south to face the tenth-placed Welshmen, whose round one win over Zebre is their only success in the last eight games in the competition.
However, despite their slow start, the Dragons have a formidable record against the men from Murrayfield, celebrating a home and away double last season, and keeping their visitors from an away win since 2006.
"This is a critical match," said Bradley.
"I've been satisfied with our performances so far this season but we must continue to improve if we are to fulfil our ambitions of making the play-offs, and that means winning away from home.
"There are no easy contests in this division, especially when you're on the road, and Dragons are notoriously difficult to break down.
"Their defensive approach is quick and aggressive and puts a lot of pressure on the opposition, so the fundamentals of our game will have to be very well executed.
"We will have to be sharp and clinical to make the most of any manufactured or opportunistic chances. It will be very tough game."
Bradley's team features seven changes to the side that started last week's narrow loss to Leinster at the RDS, with Scotland trio Ross Rennie, Allan Jacobsen and top try-scorer Tim Visser returning to the front-line.

Outbound are their international colleagues Greig Laidlaw, Ross Ford and Matt Scott, who have each been rested for the match, with Bradley calling on quality replacements in their stead.

The front-row swaps one British Lion for another, as Andy Titterrell makes his first competitive start at hooker and former All Black centre Ben Atiga returns from a hip strain to operate at inside centre alongside Nick De Luca.
At pivot, 20-year-old Harry Leonard has the chance to recapture the form that saw him start three of last season's Heineken Cup pool matches, while lock Robert McAlpine completes the pack alongside Sean Cox, who takes on the captaincy from Laidlaw.
Form: The Dragons have won just one of their last eight matches in the RaboDirect PRO12: 37-6 at home to new franchise Zebre on 31 August. Dragons are unbeaten in their last three games against Scottish opponents. Edinburgh tripped up at Leinster on Saturday to end a two-game winning run. The Scotsmen's solitary away victory in the competition since last November was 21-19 at Cardiff Blues on 7 September. The Dragons achieved the double over Edinburgh last season, whilst Edinburgh's only victory over the Men from Gwent since May 2009 came in April 2011. The Scotsmen's most recent victory at Rodney Parade was way back in May 2006.
The teams:
Dragons:
Dragons: Dan Evans; Adam Hughes, Pat Leach, Andy Tuilagi, Tom Prydie; Steffan Jones, Jonathan Evans; Phil Price, Steve Jones, Dan Way, Ian Nimmo, Adam Jones, Dan Lydiate, Toby Faletau, Lewis Evans (capt).
Replacements : Sam Parry, Aaron Coundley, Nathan Buck, Jevon Groves, Tom Brown, Liam Davies, Ashley Smith, Will Harries.
Edinburgh: 15 Greig Tonks, 14 Tom Brown, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Ben Atiga, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Harry Leonard, 9 Richie Rees, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Stuart McInally, 5 Sean Cox (c), 4 Robert McAlpine, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Andy Titterrell, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Alun Walker, 17 John Yapp, 18 Lewis Niven, 19 Dimitri Basilaia, 20 Roddy Grant, 21 Chris Leck, 22 John Houston, 23 Dougie Fife.
Date: Friday 28 September
Venue: Rodney Parade
Kick-off: 19:00

Edinburgh head coach Michael Bradley has made seven changes following last week's narrow loss to Leinster for Friday night's RaboDirect PRO12 clash against Newport. 

Scotland trio Ross Rennie, Allan Jacobsen and top try scorer Tim Visser all return to the front-line.
Outbound are their international colleagues Greig Laidlaw, Ross Ford and Matt Scott, who have each been rested for the match.
In the front-row, Andy Titterrell makes his first competitive start at hooker and Ben Atiga returns from a hip strain to operate at inside-centre alongside Nick De Luca.
At stand-off, Harry Leonard has the chance to recapture the form that saw him start three of last season's Heineken Cup pool matches, while lock Robert McAlpine completes the pack alongside Sean Cox, who takes on the captaincy from Laidlaw.

Pete says:
This is a hard game to pick
Dragons keep letting me down. Crap coaching.
I'll take the form line of Edinburgh beating blues and Dragons at home losing to Blues to call this a win for away side...Edinburgh by 5 
Dragons come good this week. Go figure and Edinburgh rubbish lost 32-12



Preview: Cardiff Blues v Ulster

Ulster have named Tommy Bowe on the wing for their trip to Cardiff Blues, which is their first rugby action since the recent death of Nevin Spence.
Mark Anscombe has continued the rotation policy which has served his side so well since the start of his tenure. The New Zealander has made five personnel changes and a further three positional switches to the starting line-up which started in the 20-19 home win over Munster two weeks ago.
Bowe will start in his familiar position of right wing, with Andrew Trimble switching to the left to accommodate him. As a result, Michael Allen moves into outside centre and Darren Cave shifts in to fill the number twelve jersey worn by Luke Marshall in the first three games of the season.
Scrum-half Paul Marshall, fly-half Paddy Jackson and full-back Jared Payne have all retained their places from the Munster match.
Up front, captain Johann Muller has picked up a knock and is replaced in the second-row by Neil McComb. Ireland lock Dan Tuohy will make his first appearance of the season after being named alongside McComb in the engine room. Fellow international Chris Henry will also play for the first time this season and will captain in the absence of Muller. Stephen Ferris has been rested so Iain Henderson joins Henry and Nick Williams in the back-row.
Meanwhile, Bradley Davies will make his 100th appearance for the Blues on Friday.
The Blues go into the match with confidence, with their only defeat in the opening four rounds a 19-21 loss at home to Edinburgh in round two.
"Friday I think will be our sternest test against the Heineken Cup finalists," said coach Phil Davies.
"It's going to be Ulster's first game back since the tragic news they received a fortnight ago about Nevin Spence.
"We are paying due respect to the situation Ulster are in and how they feel by matching that emotion and that level of performance.
"Hopefully we will have a great game as a tribute to a great rugby player and a great Ulsterman."
On Davies becoming a centurion, Davies added words of praise for the powerful lock.
"Bradley was one of the first players to have come through the system at the Blues, playing age grade rugby for Blues North and Under 18's before joining the Blues academy," he said.
"He has gone on to perform consistently for the Blues as well as for Wales and I'm sure it's a big day for him.
"Bradley is one of the stalwarts of the Cardiff Blues and I'd like to congratulate him on reaching a landmark 100 games for the region."


Form: Cardiff Blues only defeat in the opening four rounds of this season's RaboDirect PRO12 was 19-21 at home to Edinburgh in round two. The Blues have won just two of their last five home games, but have been victorious in their last two home fixtures with Irish provinces. Ulster return to action following the tragic circumstances of last week's postponement of the clash with Zebre in Italy. The Ulstermen have won all three PRO12 encounters so far this season, whilst their only defeat in their last five clashes with Welsh regions came in this equivalent fixture last season. Each side won its respective home game when the two teams met last campaign, whilst Ulster's only win at the Arms Park since 2003 came on 9 September 2005.
The teams:
Cardiff Blues: 15 Dan Fish, 14 Harry Robinson, 13 Dafydd Hewitt, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Jason Tovey, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Andries Pretorius (c), 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Robin Copeland, 5 James Down, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Andi Kyriacou, 1 Nathan Trevett.
Replacements: 16 Rhys Williams, 17 Campese Ma'afu, 18 Scott Andrews, 19 Lou Reed, 20 Rory Watts-Jones, 21 Rob Lewis, 22 Gareth Davies, 23 Tom Williams.
Ulster: 15 Jared Payne, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Michael Allen, 12 Darren Cave, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Paul Marshall, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Chris Henry (c), 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Dan Tuohy, 4 Neil McComb, 3 John Afoa, 2 Nigel Brady, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Callum Black, 18 Adam Macklin, 19 Lewis Stevenson, 20 Mike McComish, 21 Michael Heaney, 22 Paddy Wallace, 23 Craig Gilroy.
Date: Friday, September 28
Kick-off: 19:05 BST
Venue: Cardiff Arms Park

Its quite obvious Blues will take on Ulster in the forwards. 
Blues by 3. Hoping Ulster are starved of ball and cannot uinleah their backs.
Blues really suck. hard to know when they will win. Lost 48-19. Abysmal


Preview: Glasgow v Zebre

Glasgow Warriors are gunning for their second home PRO12 victory in seven days when they face Zebre at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday.
Gregor Townsend's men secured a first success in their great new home last week, claiming a bonus-point win over Connacht, and are now looking for their third straight tournament victory.
New signing Josh Strauss will start Friday's match at number eight, with Fiji scrum-half Niko Matawalu and Tonga prop Ofa Fainga'anuku in line to make their Warriors debuts from the bench.
In all, there are 13 changes to the starting XV that ran out against Connacht, with Scotland international Stuart Hogg named among the replacements having made a prompt recovery from his recent ankle injury.
Young backs Byron McGuigan, part of the Scotland 7s squad last season, and Scottish Rugby Elite Development players Fraser Thomson and Sean Kennedy will be making their first competitive starts.
Up front, former All Black back-rower Angus Macdonald will make his first start for the Warriors at blindside flanker, with the team set to be captained by inspirational openside Chris Fusaro.
"First and foremost, we've picked a team that we strongly believe has the right attributes to win Friday's game against Zebre," said Townsend.
"We're fortunate this season to have such a good amount of strength in depth, and the players we've brought in this week have all been chomping at the bit to get out there and prove they're worthy of regular selection.
"Our aim is to be competing at the business end of both the RaboDirect PRO12 and Heineken Cup season, and as such we have to manage the workload of our players while maintaining a high level of consistency on the pitch regardless of the team we send out.
"We have a lot of faith in the side that will take the field on Friday, both individually and collectively. We're excited to see them in action in what will be another extremely tough test for us."
More to follow...
The teams:
Glasgow: 15 Fraser Thomson, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Byron McGuigan, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 DTH van der Merwe, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Sean Kennedy, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Chris Fusaro (c), 6 Angus Macdonald, 5 Tim Swinson, 4 Tom Ryder, 3 Mike Cusack, 2 Finlay Gillies, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements: 16 Dougie Hall, 17 Ofa Fainga'anuku, 18 Moray Low, 19 James Eddie, 20 Ryan Wilson, 21 Niko Matawalu, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Stuart Hogg.
Zebre: tbc
Date: Friday, 28 September
Venue: Scotstoun Stadium
Kick-off: 19:35 BST
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Not the strongest Warriors team but good enough to win by 18. Josh Strauss will be all over Zebre
Glasgow crap, were behind aall game and finally won 22-19.


Preview: Connacht v Leinster

Dan Parks will make his debut for Connacht in Friday's Irish derby against Leinster at the Sportsground.
Speaking to the Irish Times, Parks said that he is delighted to be fit for the highly anticipated fixture.
"With the injury it's been 16 weeks since I've played, now I'm dying to get out there. I never really lost it, but I feel revitalised. It's made me appreciate how much I still love playing and being around rugby," said Parks.
Connacht coach Eric Elwood has made a number of changes to his side as they prepare to take on the European Champions.
Robbie Henshaw replaces an injured Gavin Duffy at full-back. 19-year-old Henshaw earned his first competitive start in Glasgow last week and had made a notable impact from the bench in all three previous league matches.
Both Tiernan O'Halloran and Fetu'u Vainikolo return to their starting positions on the wing while Eoin Griffin joins Dave McSharry in the centre.
Up front, Brett Wilkinson makes way for Denis Buckley as loosehead prop while former Leinster prop Nathan White, who also captains the side, starts again as tighthead.
Michael Swift, who earns his 150th league appearance on the eve of this derby game, slots back into the second-row and is joined Mike McCarthy.
Eoin McKeon who started the last two weeks in the number eight position moves to blindside flanker and joins Johnny O'Connor and George Naoupu in the back-row.
Meanwhile, Ireland full-back Rob Kearney will make his first for Leinster this season. Kearney will make his 121st Leinster appearance for the province while Fergus McFadden starts on the right wing.
In midfield Gordon D'Arcy will be partnered by Brendan Macken, who scored a brace of tries last weekend, with Isa Nacewa moving to the left wing.
Ian Madigan is at fly-half with John Cooney on his inside.
In the pack, Shane Jennings leads the team and he is joined in the pack by Ben Marshall and Quinn Roux - with the South African lock set to make his second appearance for the province.
Heinke van der Merwe comes into the front-row, while the visitors can call on an all-Ireland international front-row off the bench in ex-Connacht hooker Sean Cronin, Cian Healy and Mike Ross.
Form: Connacht ended an unwanted run of ten straight defeats against fellow Irish provinces with their victory over Ulster at the Sportsground in April. Leinster have recorded three successive wins against the Dragons, Treviso and Edinburgh. The Leinstermen achieved a clean sweep of six straight wins against their Irish provincial rivals last season in the RaboDirect PRO12. Connacht have not beaten Leinster since a 27-13 victory at the Galway Sportsground on 21 April 2010.
The teams:
Connacht: 15 Robbie Henshaw, 14 Tiernan O'Halloran, 13 Eoin Griffin, 12 Dave McSharry, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 George Naoupu, 7 Johnny O'Connor, 6 Eoin McKeon, 5 Mike McCarthy, 4 Michael Swift, 3 Nathan White (c), 2 Adrian Flavin, 1 Denis Buckley.
Replacements: 16 Jason Harris-Wright, 17 Brett Wilkinson, 18 Ronan Loughney, 19 Dave Gannon, 20 Willie Faloon, 21 Dave Moore, 22 Miah Nikora, 23 Mata Fifita.
Leinster: 15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Brendan Macken, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Isa Nacewa, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 John Cooney, 8 Leo Auva'a, 7 Shane Jennings (c), 6 Ben Marshall, 5 Tom Denton, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Jamie Hagan, 2 Thomas Sexton, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Sean Cronin, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Mike Ross, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Noel Reid, 23 Fionn Carr.
Date: Friday, September 28
Venue: Sportsground, Connacht
Kick-off: 20.00 (19.00 GMT)
Referee: Peter Fitzgibbon
Pete says.
Leinster are saving many of their players for the coming weeks.
But when push comes to shove, having so many internationals on the bench that should sway things their way.
Leinster by 2 
Leinster awful lost by 34-6...humiliating.

Preview: Treviso v Scarlets

 

The Scarlets have made six personnel changes to their line-up that will take on Treviso, with a number of players swapping positions on Saturday.
Up-and-coming young back Jordan Williams, gets a start at full-back after his impressive form away in Connacht which won him the man of the match gong. Liam Williams moves to the right wing.
Last year's vice-captain Gareth Maule comes into the centre to partner Jonathan Davies who switches to inside centre. Rhys Priestland is at fly-half with Gareth Davies, who achieved his 50th appearance for the region last week, getting his chance at nine. Tavis Knoyle moves to the bench.
Matthew Rees starts at hooker and Sione Timani partners with George Earle in the second-row. Experienced Scarlets back-rower Johnathan Edwards comes back into the line-up with Josh Turnbull moving to six and captain
"There are some changes to ensure we give game time to as many of the squad as we can before Europe and it takes into account the amount of rugby some of our players have already put in; so George (North) and Scott (Williams) get some time off the field this weekend," said head coach Simon Easterby.
"It's great to see young talent like Jordan Williams stepping up; he's impressed us and he has great versatility as a player which we want to encourage. He's still developing and we need to be mindful of that but we also know he has the ability do things that not many players can.
"This region has consistently invested in its younger players and given opportunities with the philosophy that if you're good enough you're old enough."
Meanwhile, Treviso head coach Franco Smith has brought in Tommaso Iannone on the left wing in the only change to the backline while he tweaks a few in the forward pack.
Lorenzo Cittadini is back as tighthead prop, while Michele Rizzo is loosehead.
Captain Antonio Pavanello and Valerio Bernabò form a completely new second-row, with Simone Favaro returning in the back-row.
Form: Benetton Treviso have won just one of their last six RaboDirect PRO12 encounters: 12-6 over Ospreys at Stadio Monigo on the opening day of the new season. Treviso have won two of their last three games against the Welsh regions. Scarlets' four game winning run ended at home to Ospreys on Friday, but they still sit atop the PRO12 table. Scarlets have won their last three away games but have not won four in a row on the road in the tournament since May 2004. Each side won its respective home game when the two teams met last season, whilst the men from West Wales' only previous win in Treviso came during the pool games in the 2010/11 European Cup.


The teams:
Treviso: 15 Luke McLean, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Alberto Sgarbi, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Valerio Bernabò, 4 Antonio Pavanello (capt), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements: 16 Franco Sbaraglini, 17 Ignacio Fernandez-Rouyet, 18 Pedro Di Santo, 19 Francesco Minto, 20 Dean Budd, 21 Paul Derbyshire, 22 Fabio Semenzato, 23 Alberto Di Bernardo.
Scarlets: 15 Jordan Williams, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Gareth Maule, 12 Jon Davies, 11 Andy Fenby, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Rob McCusker (capt), 7 Johnathan Edwards, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 George Earle, 4 Sione Timani, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Phil John.
Replacements: 16 Ken Owens, 17 Peter Edwards, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Kieran Murphy, 21 Tavis Knoyle, 22 Adam Warren, 23 Kristian Phillips.
Date: Satuday, September 29
Kick-off: 19:05 local (18:05 BST)
Venue: Stadio Monigo Pete says this may go to 4/1 shot Treviso at home. Treviso so strong in pack and have named a strong squad vs Scarlets who are mising good players....resting them for European rugby....
Treviso by 2

Preview: Ospreys v Munster

Ospreys hooker Richard Hibbard will make his 100th league appearance for the region when they take on Munster at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Hibbard starts alongside Aaron Jarvis and Ryan Bevington while there is reward for Welsh back-row Ryan Jones following his try off the bench against Scarlets last week as he is in the XV.
That 23-16 win pleased backs coach Gruff Rees, who wants more from his team this weekend.
"We were delighted with the win last Friday but that's forgotten about now, we've had to put that one to bed and move on. There's still a lot of work to be done, it was a better performance against the Scarlets but there's still a lot of room for improvement needed," he said.
"We've said all along that these opening weeks of the season would see us looking at the wider squad, giving people a chance, and despite some disappointing results we believe it's been the right thing to do as we've learned a lot about the group moving forward.
"What you'll see from selection now though is a far more settled group starting to come together as we move into what is a crucial month of the season. We've got some big games coming up, starting this weekend, and we need big performances to match."
More to follow...
Form: Ospreys got off the mark with a first victory of the RaboDirect PRO12 season at Scarlets on Friday. The defending champions have lost their two games at Liberty Stadium so far this campaign but have never lost three successive home matches in the history of the tournament. Munster's only defeat this season was a narrow 19-20 at Ulster on 7 September. The Munstermen have won just one of their last four away games: 23-18 at Edinburgh on 1 September. Ospreys achieved a treble over Munster in the PRO12 last season having also met them in the Play-Offs, whilst the Irishmen's only win at Liberty Stadium since 2009 was 22-20 on 23 April 2011.


The teams:
Ospreys: 15 Richard Fussell, 14 Hanno Dirksen, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Tom Isaacs, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Joe Bearman, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones (capt), 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Ryan Bevington.
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Adam Jones, 19 Jonathan Thomas, 20 George Stowers, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Matthew Morgan, 23 Ross Jones.
Munster: tbc
Date: Saturday, September 29
Kick-off: 18:30 BST
Venue: Liberty Stadium
munster team from Now rugby

Munster: D Hurley; D Howlett Capt., K Earls, C Laulala, S Zebo, R O’Gara, C Murray; W Du Preez, M Sherry, S Archer, D O’Callaghan, B Holland, T O’Donnell, N Ronan, P Butler.
Replacements: D Varley, D Kilcoyne, BJ Botha, D Ryan, P O’Mahony, P Stringer, I Keatley, J Downey

Pete says ospreys are just too  irregular.
munster have sent a strong side so Munster by 3

 

 


 

 

Aviva Premiership Rd 5

Aviva Premiership Rd 5
Friday
Worcester Warriors*v London Irish     14:00
Northampton Saints* v London Wasps     13:45
Tomorrow Saturday
Bath* v Sale Sharks                                 08:15
Leicester Tigers* v Exeter Chiefs     08:15
Sunday
Harlequins* v Saracens                   08:00
London Welsh v Gloucester Rugby*     09:00
* Denotes Fav
All times Houston Tx
   
Preview: Northampton v Wasps

From Planet Rugby
Northampton director of rugby Jim Mallinder has named his starting XV for Friday's Aviva Premiership clash with London Wasps at Franklin's Gardens.

The Saints go into the match-up as one of only two teams currently unbeaten in the Premiership.

But, according to Mallinder, London Wasps will be challenging opponents for his team on Friday.

"Wasps have started the season well," he said.

"They have been very competitive in every game and shown their willingness to play as a team for the full 80 minutes.

"They soundly beat London Irish two weeks ago and put over 40 points past Harlequins in Round one as well.

"They have some of the most dangerous runners in the league, experienced playmakers at half-back and a pack which has the ability to produce quality ball.

"They have shown several times what can happen if they are given the chance to play and put 40 points on both Harlequins and London Irish. "So we know that we will have to be on top form in every minute. We certainly cannot afford a repeat of the last 20 minutes of the game against Worcester, where we nearly threw away all the hard work that had been put in during the first hour.

"That said, in the opening 60 minutes we played some excellent rugby and scored some good tries, and we will be looking to build on that side of our performance tomorrow night."

Meanwhile, Tim Payne will make his 250th appearance for Wasps in this encounter. Payne - who is in his tenth season at Wasps - has won an array of domestic and European titles with the club, and continues to be its first choice loose-head prop.

"Tim has been a tremendous servant to London Wasps and English rugby and he continues to perform at the very highest level for his club," said director of rugby Dai Young.

"He has been an ever-present in the front row since I have been here and is one of the key leaders within the group we have here."

In other changes to the side, wing James Bailey makes his Wasps debut while there are also starts for Chris Bell, Tom Lindsay, Billy Vunipola and Nick Robinson while Joe Launchbury comes into the back-row in place of Jonathan Poff, who has picked up a knock.

Sam Jones is in line to make his first appearance this season with a place on the replacements bench.

Ashley Johnson is unavailable this weekend for family reasons, while Stephen Jones has recovered in time from a stomach illness which has forced him to miss training this week, to take his place on the bench.

Form: Northampton Saints have really hit the ground running in Aviva Premiership Rugby this season with a perfect played four, won four record. The Saints have now won their last six regular season matches in the competition. Northampton's solitary home Premiership defeat in the last twelve months was 21-35 to Leicester on 14 April. London Wasps' only victory in their last eight encounters in all competitions was 43-14 over London Irish at Adams Park in round three. The Londoners have not won an away game since they visited Rovigo in the European Challenge Cup on 14 January. Northampton have won their last six fixtures with Wasps in all competitions, whilst Wasps most recent victory at Franklin's Gardens came on 12 November 2005.

The teams:

Northampton: 15 James Wilson, 14 Ken Pisi, 13 Dom Waldouck, 12 Luther Burrell, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Stephen Myler, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Rhys Oakley, 7 Tom Wood, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Christian Day, 4 Samu Manoa, 3 Paul Doran Jones, 2 Dylan Hartley (capt), 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements: 16 Mike Haywood, 17 Alex Waller, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Mark Sorenson, 20 Phil Dowson, 21 Martin Roberts, 22 Ryan Lamb, 23 Tom May.

Wasps: 15 Tommy Bell, 14 Christian Wade, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Chris Bell, 11 James Bailey, 10 Nick Robinson, 9 Joe Simpson, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Joe Launchbury, 4 Tom Palmer, 4 Marco Wentzel (c), 3 Zak Taulafo, 2 Tom Lindsay, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements: 16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Simon McIntyre, 18 Fabio Staibano, 19 Sam Jones, 20 James Cannon, 21 Charlie Davies, 22 Stephen Jones, 23 Elliot Daly.

Date: Friday, September 28
Top Try Scorers (This Season): Luther Burrell (Northampton) 3; Christian Wade (Wasps) 4.
Top Point Scorers (This Season): Stephen Myler (Northampton) 29; Stephen Jones (Wasps) 34.

Pete Says;
Saints are one of only two unbeaten teams in the Aviva Premiership but their director of rugby Jim Mallinder expects a tough test from Wasps.
They have been very competitive in every game and shown their willingness to play as a team for the full 80 minutes. They soundly beat London Irish two weeks ago and put over 40 points past Harlequins in Round 1 as well
saints easy winners although it took awhile 24-6

Preview: Worcester v London Irish

Richard Hill has made three changes to his Worcester Warriors starting side for the Aviva Premiership clash with London Irish at Sixways on Friday.
Josh Matavesi is recalled after his impressive try scoring exploits off the bench at Northampton last weekend and will partner Alex Grove in midfield.
Scrum-half Jonny Arr is also handed a starting spot, forming a half-back pairing with Andy Goode.
One change in the pack will see Matt Kvesic named at number eight. Dean Schofield will once again captain the side from the second-row.
Two notable call-ups in the replacements are centre Jon Clarke, who could make his league debut for Warriors after a switch from Northampton, and scrum-half Ollie Frost.
Scrum-half Shaun Perry and wing Josh Drauniniu are among those ruled out of the game.
"You can't ignore the fact that those players that came on at Northampton really turned the game around and many of those deserve selection so there are some changes to the starting line-up," said Hill.
"Matt Kvesic, Jonny Arr and Josh Matavesi are all recalled while others like Craig Gillies are pushing very hard for starting spots and Josh Drauniniu would have been in contention before he unfortunately picked up an injury in training this week.
"Friday night games under the floodlights at Sixways always create a brilliant atmosphere so we're all looking forward to the game with London Irish," he added.
"We have performed well on home soil so far this season, but are yet to reap the rewards we feel we deserve.
"We know we're performing well and doing the things we should be doing. The morale is terrific and the players are working very hard. Everything is going the right way, but we want that first win to really kick us on."
Meanwhile, Sailosi Tagicakibau and David Paice have both been named in the London Irish starting line-up for the game at Sixways.
Samoa International, Tagicakibau, will start his first competitive match of the season on the wing after playing in the centre for his previous three appearances. David Paice replaces Scotland International, Scott Lawson, as hooker.
"Worcester have been highly competitive so far this season and played some good rugby. We played well last weekend but we know that counts for nothing, we have to front up again tomorrow night against the Warriors in their own backyard," said Director of Rugby Brian Smith.
Form: Worcester Warriors are still searching out their first Aviva Premiership Rugby win since round 18 last season against relegated Newcastle. The Warriors are winless at Sixways since beating Saracens there 16-11 on 24 February. London Irish opened their 2012/13 winning account at home to Bath on Saturday, but have not managed back to back victories since September 2011. The Exiles have won just once on the road in any tournament in 2012: 25-16 in this equivalent match back in April. London Irish are unbeaten in their last eleven Premiership encounters with the Warriors, Worcester's most recent win over Irish in the tournament was way back on 11 September 2005 at Madejski Stadium.


The teams:
Worcester: 15 Chris Pennell, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Alex Grove, 12 Josh Matavesi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Jonny Arr, 8 Matt Kvesic, 7 Sam Betty, 6 Chris Jones, 5 Dean Schofield (c), 4 James Percival, 3 John Andress, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Matt Mullan.
Replacements: 16 Ollie Hayes, 17 Ceri Jones, 18 James Currie, 19 Craig Gillies, 20 Semisi Taulava, 21 Ollie Frost, 22 Joe Carlisle, 23 Jon Clarke.
London Irish: 15 Tom Homer, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Steven Shingler, 11 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 10 Ian Humphreys, 9 Tomás O'Leary, 8 Ofisa Treviranus, 7 Jamie Gibson, 6 Declan Danaher (capt), 5 Matt Garvey, 4 Bryn Evans, 3 Halani Aulika, 2 David Paice, 1 Max Lahiff.
Replacements: 16 Shaun Malton, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Alan Cotter, 19 George Skivington, 20 Alex Gray, 21 Topsy Ojo, 22 Shane Geraghty, 23 Jack Moates.
Date: Friday, September 28
Kick-off: 20:00 BST
Venue: Sixways Stadium
Top Try Scorers (This Season): Jonny Arr, James Currie, Josh Drauniniu, Alex Grove, Ollie Hayes, David Lemi, Joshua Matavesi, James Percival (Worcester) 1; Halani Aulika (London Irish) 2.
Top Point Scorers (This Season): Andy Goode (Worcester) 51; Steven Shingler (London Irish) 44.
Pete says
This is a hard game to predict. Iirish have great backs but warriors not too shabby.
 Worcester Warriors are still searching out their first Aviva Premiership Rugby win since round 18 last season against relegated Newcastle.
Irish forwards are doing a good job and their backs just need a sniff of the ball.
Irish by 1 
Another miserable performance by Irish losing 35-11


Preview: Bath v Sale

Olly Barkley will start his final game for Bath at fly-half against Sale Sharks at the Recreation Ground on Saturday.
Barkley, is leaving to join Top 14 side Racing Metro 92, has amassed over 230 appearances for Bath and scored over 2160 points in his time.
He re-joins Michael Claassens in the half-backs, with Stephen Donald switching to inside centre, partnering Dan Hipkiss in the midfield. Tom Biggs and Kyle Eastmond line up on the wings, as Nick Abendanon starts at full-back.
In the pack, David Wilson is back at tighthead, with Paul James handed the loosehead shirt.
Dave Attwood makes his first start of the season at lock, combining with captain Stuart Hooper.
"I've had an amazing time here and I've made some fantastic memories, played in some amazing teams and met some wicked people, and I leave with nothing but absolute love for this place and these people," said Barkley.
"The task for me now is really to just concentrate on the game. It's a big occasion for me and for my family, but most important is getting four points. We need to get back on the horse after losing the last two on the bounce and have been working very hard to right the wrongs. It's not about me leaving, it's about the four points, and if I can say goodbye having helped the team to a win, then I'll be happy."
Meanwhile, Sharks' Director of Rugby Bryan Redpath has made six changes to his side with Nick Macleod and Cillian Willis forming a new half-back partnership.
21-year-old former Leicester flanker James Doyle is set to make his senior debut for the club. 19-year-old scrum-half Nathan Fowles will make his first appearance in the Aviva Premiership if he comes off the bench. Fowles, a used replacement in the club's Amlin Challenge Cup game at C.R.La Vila last January, comes from Rochdale and gained experience with Preston Grasshoppers last season.
Will Addison returns to the squad after a two game absence, whilst Dwayne Peel, Richie Gray and Henry Thomas are ruled out through injury.
"There are opportunities for some of the younger boys in the club. It's been tough after last Friday's match and what followed at the weekend," said Redpath.

"We're desperate to get another game under our belt because some of the parts of last week's match weren't what we expected.
"James Doyle and Nathan Fowles are two young members of the group. James has played exceptionally well for the Jets. He's come in and worked really hard to put pressure on others at the club. They both need to go out and enjoy the game as much as they can.
"Last season, Sale Sharks went to Bath on the back of a disappointing home performance and won, later going on to complete a double. As I've said, last week was unacceptable and hopefully we can show a big improvement."
Form: Bath have slipped to a pair of losing bonus point reversals to Northampton and London Irish in recent weeks. Bath have not suffered back to back defeats at The Rec in Aviva Premiership Rugby since last December. Sale Sharks have made their poorest ever start to a league season since they lost all eleven division one matches in the inaugural season for the RFU leagues in 1987/88. Sale's most recent away win came at Gloucester on 21 April. Sale achieved the Premiership double over Bath last season for the first time since 2005/06, and are going for successive wins at The Rec for the first time in their history.
The teams:
Bath: 15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Kyle Eastmond, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Stephen Donald, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Michael Claassens, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Ben Skirving, 6 Carl Fearns, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Stuart Hooper (c), 3 David Wilson, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Paul James.
Replacements: 16 Ross Batty, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Dominic Day, 20 Will Skuse, 21 Mark McMillan, 22 Sam Vesty, 23 Jack Cuthbert.
Sale: 15 Rob Miller, 14 Tom Brady, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Nick Macleod, 9 Cillian Willis, 8 Andy Powell, 7 David Seymour (capt), 6 James Doyle, 5 Kearnan Myall, 4 Fraser McKenzie, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Eifion Lewis-Roberts.
Replacements: 16 Joe Ward, 17 Vadim Cobilas, 18 Aston Croall, 19 James Gaskell, 20 Mark Easter, 21 Nathan Fowles, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Will Addison.
Date: Saturday, September 29
Kick-off: 14:15 BSTpete says.
Sharks are horrible aided by one of the worst coaches in Redpath. bath play boring shit rugby, but have to go with bath by 15...should be more if they were ever to use their backs well.
Game over Bath won by 21

Preview: Leicester v Exeter

New signing Dan Bowden will make his Leicester debut in the Tigers' home game against Exeter Chiefs.
Former London Irish centre Bowden is named in the Tigers line-up for this Round Five fixture and will run out at Welford Road for the first time.
Front-rowers George Chuter and Logovi'i Mulipola come into the Tigers forward pack and there is a return for Thomas Waldrom at number eight with Jordan Crane moving across the back-row to 6.
Ed Slater is included in the squad for the first time this season after recovering from a knee injury.
"We've all been very honest about the performance against Harlequins last week and the only way we know to correct that is to work hard in training and to front-up again on Saturday," said Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill.

"Exeter had an excellent win last week and they are a team to be respected. They're tough opponents and they've added to their game again this season.
"We've played some decent rugby in the season so far and we've been resilient in defence but we need to be more accurate and composed on the ball."
Anthony Allen and Steve Mafi took knocks in the game against Harlequins last week, while Tigers are also without injured club captain Geordan Murphy, Miles Benjamin, Tom Croft, Louis Deacon, Rob Hawkins, Manu Tuilagi, Micky Young and Ben Youngs.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs will travel to the East Midlands having been forced to make one change to their winning line-up.
Back-row James Phillips injured his knee in the Saracens encounter and is set for a prolonged spell on the sidelines, but Exeter have a more than able replacement in the shape of England international Tom Johnson, who himself was forced to sit out last week's action.
The only other change in personnel comes in the back division where Kiwi centre Jason Shoemark returns to the fold at the expense of Phil Dollman.
Shoemark's inclusion in the midfield alongside Sireli Naqelevuki means summer signing Ian Whitten is switched to the right wing. Dollman, meanwhile, starts on the bench in place of Mark Foster.
So with a familiar feel to the Exeter line-up, coaches Rob Baxter and Ali Hepher are hoping their troops will perform in the heat of battle.
"Last week was good, but equally we've kept level headed about it all. Like always we didn't get carried away when we lost at London Welsh - and equally we haven't got carried away having beaten Saracens," said Hepher.
"We're well aware going to Leicester is always a tough ask. Yes, we may have won there last season, but at the same time you have to remember they were numbers down on that day because of the World Cup.
"It will be a different story this weekend, we know that, but equally we're in good form ourselves and we've played some good rugby apart from one game.
"As always we will look to play our game and challenge Leicester in different ways."
Form: Leicester Tigers have not scored a try for 166 minutes - their longest barren spell in the Premiership since November 2010. The Tigers' 9-22 home defeat to Harlequins on Saturday was only the sixth time in Premiership history that Leicester have come away from a game at Welford Road with no league points. Exeter Chiefs' last five games have all been won by the home side on the day, whilst the Chiefs have lost their last three away games. The Devonians achieved the Aviva Premiership Rugby double over the Tigers last season and are attempting to join a select band of clubs who have managed back to back Premiership wins at Welford Road after Northampton, Harlequins, Saracens and Wasps.
The teams:
Leicester: 15 Scott Hamilton, 14 Niall Morris, 13 Matt Smith, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Sam Harrison, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Jordan Crane (c), 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Graham Kitchener, 3 Dan Cole, 2 George Chuter, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements: 16 Tom Youngs, 17 Boris Stankovich, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Brett Deacon, 21 Patrick Phibbs, 22 George Ford, 23 Adam Thompstone.
Exeter: 15 Luke Arscott, 14 Ian Whitten, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Matt Jess, 10 Ignacio Mieres, 9 Haydn Thomas, 8 Richard Baxter, 7 James Scaysbrook, 6 Tom Johnson, 5 James Hanks, 4 Tom Hayes (c), 3 Carl Rimmer, 2 Chris Whitehead, 1 Brett Sturgess.
Replacements: 16 Simon Alcott, 17 Ben Moon, 18 Chris Budgen, 19 Aly Muldowney, 20 Ben White, 21 Will Chudley, 22 Gareth Steenson, 23 Phil Dollman.
Date: Saturday, September 29
Kick-off: 14:15 BST
Great to see Bowden play but Leic missing so many good backs. Their fwd pack is strong enough and should hold Exeter. Leic at home and should win by 5. 
Leic won easily 30-8

Preview: Harlequins v Saracens

Harlequins have made two changes to their starting line-up for their hugely-anticipated Premiership clash with Saracens at the Stoop on Sunday.
Among the backs, Seb Stegmann comes in for the injured Tom Williams and in the forwards, Tom Guest starts at blindside, with the dynamic Maurie Fa'asavalu covering from the bench.
With Ross Chisholm unavailable through injury for up to eight weeks, Sevens specialist Ollie Lindsay-Hague is among the replacements from where he will hope to make his first appearance as a senior squad member following promotion from the Academy this season.
Meanwhile for Saracens, Rhys Gill gets his first start of the season while Schalk Brits, Petrus du Plessis, Ernst Joubert, Richard Wigglesworth, Chris Wyles, Joel Tomkins and captain Steve Borthwick also return to the line-up for the match against the reigning champions.
On the bench, John Smit comes into the matchday 23 while there are also first outings of the season for second-row George Kruis, flanker Andy Saull and wing David Strettle after the trio missed the start of the term through injury.
Form: Harlequins, the defending Aviva Premiership champions, have made the perfect start to their defence with five straight wins. Quins have lost just one Premiership encounter at the Twickenham Stoop since Saracens won there in round 22 of the 2010/11 campaign. Saracens have gone 180 minutes without scoring a try - their longest tryless spell for two years. Sarries are winless in their last two games and have not had a three game run without a victory in the competition since March 2010. Harlequins ended a five game losing run against Saracens with their 24-19 win at Wembley Stadium in March, whilst Saracens have won on four of their last five visits to The Stoop.


The teams:
Harlequins: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Seb Stegmann, 13 Matt Hopper, 12 Jordan Turner-Hall, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Nick Evans, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Tom Guest, 5 George Robson, 4 Olly Kohn, 3 James Johnston, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements: 16 Rob Buchanan, 17 Mark Lambert, 18 Will Collier, 19 Charlie Matthews, 20 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Rory Clegg, 23 Ollie Lindsay-Hague.
Saracens: 15 Alex Goode, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Joel Tomkins, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Wyles, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Ernst Joubert, 7 Will Fraser, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steve Borthwick (capt), 3 Petrus du Plessis, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements: 16 John Smit, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Matt Stevens, 19 George Kruis, 20 Andy Saull, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 Charlie Hodgson, 23 David Strettle.
Date: Sunday, September 30
Kick-off: 14:00 BST
Venue: Twickenham StoopPete says either team could win this. Quinns by 3

Preview: London Welsh v Gloucester

London Welsh will be chasing a third consecutive Premiership win when they welcome the Cherry and Whites to the Kassam Stadium on Sunday.
Exiles coach Lyn Jones makes one change to the starting line-up that beat Sale 29-19 - a result that saw Welsh back up their win over Exeter Chiefs.
Seb Jewell comes into the side at full-back for his first start of the season, with Tom Arscott moving to the wing in place of Phil MacKenzie. The Canadian is named among the replacements.
The only other change to Welsh's matchday 23 sees back-row forward Alfie To'oala restored to the bench in place of Ed Williamson.
Among the other replacements is scrum-half Nick Runciman, who began his career at Gloucester before spending three seasons at London Welsh. He re-joined the Cherry and Whites in 2011 for a season before recently returning to the Exiles.
Welsh will gladly take a repeat of the last time the two sides met, at Kingsholm in a pre-season in August 2011. The Exiles came out on top, 24-23, thanks to tries from Mike Powell, Vili Ma'asi and a late effort from Rob Lewis, with Ross kicking the winning conversion.
It's more than fourteen years since London Welsh and Gloucester faced each other in a competitive match when Gloucester ran out 34-18 winners
Meanwhile, Gloucester director of rugby Nigel Davies keeps faith with the majority of the line-up that defeated Wasps, but does introduce three new faces. The only change to the backline sees Mike Tindall swap places with Henry Trinder to partner Billy Twelvetrees.
Up front, Australian Huia Edmonds is in for Darren Dawidiuk who picked up a knee injury against Wasps while number eight Ben Morgan is ruled out with a dead calf.
Finally, Peter Buxton, who has been in fine form in the Aviva Premiership A League, is named at blindside flanker with Sione Kalamafoni moving across to number eight.
It will be Gloucester's first clash with London Welsh in the Premiership at Kassam Stadium.
"It's very important that we've got the right mindset going into Sunday to play London Welsh," said Redpath.
"It's going to be a physical encounter. I think that the two sides that they've beaten probably didn't give them enough respect and, because of that, they finished on the wrong end of the result.
"They're a very strong team, a proud side. They've got a lot of points to prove, individually and collectively, and, if you get it wrong against them, they will beat you."
Form: London Welsh have now recorded successive Aviva Premiership victories over Exeter and Sale. The Exiles have won two of the three league games they have played at Kassam Stadium. Gloucester are unbeaten in their last three encounters since their opening day defeat at home to Northampton. Gloucester's most recent away loss was to London Irish at Madejski Stadium on 5 May. The two clubs have not clashed in competitive rugby since a 4th round tie in the Tetley's Bitter Cup at Old Deer Park on 3 January 1998 where Gloucester ran out 34-18 victors.


The teams:
London Welsh: 15 Seb Jewell, 14 Tom Arscott, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Hudson Tonga'uiha, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Gordon Ross, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Ed Jackson, 7 Michael Hills, 6 Daniel Browne, 5 Matt Corker, 4 Jonathan Mills (capt), 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Neil Briggs, 1 Frank Montanella.
Replacements: 16 Dan George, 17 Tom Bristow, 18 Arthur Joly, 19 Kirill Kulemin, Alfie To'oala, 21 Nick Runciman, 22 Ryan Davis, 23 Phil MacKenzie.
Gloucester: 15 Rob Cook, 14 Jonny May, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 James Simpson-Daniel, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Sione Kalamafoni, 7 Andy Hazell, 6 Peter Buxton, 5 Jim Hamilton (capt), 4 Tom Savage, 3 Rupert Harden, 2 Huia Edmonds, 1 Nick Wood.
Replacements: 16 Koree Britton, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Shaun Knight, 19 Will James, 20 Akapusi Qera, 21 Dave Lewis, 22 Henry Trinder, 23 Martyn Thomas.
Date: Sunday, September 30
Pete says. I am not a fan of London welsh. Their 3 wins to date have been flukes and I foresee them eventually going back down to lower divisions.
Gloucester to win by 12. 

A big thanks to superrugbytips for giving us all a quick precis/summary of the weekend's games. They are pretty accurate.

 Summary
- Saints 24 - 6 Wasps
Friday kicked off with 2 games. Wasps off to a terrible start when an aimless kick was run back by Pisi before passing to Wilson to score in the corner. Wasps didn′t help their cause when Payne was yellowed (should have been red) for dropping his knees on to Artemeyev who was trapped in a ruck. IIRC, Payne was done for stamping against Glaws a few seasons back. Something nags me that he did something like this against Biarritz in an HEC game? Anyone? This game, Saints didn′t allow an opposition comeback. Lawes made a shambles of Wasps′ previoulsy good lineout.



- Warriors 35 - 11 Irish.
. Wuss have suddenly developed a habit of scoring trys although they seem to take a while coming each game and then arrive in numbers like buses. Bar 2 awful reffing decisions in earlier games, they′d be in a lofty top 6 position now. Irish were 8-0 up and that was pretty much it. 2 yellows was never going to make their leaky defence any easier.

- Bath 31 - 10 Sale Sharks
Olly′s last match and a run out for Donald at 12.  This was only ever about the margin. Little of interest in the 1st half but Sale′s indiscipline allowing Bath to rack up points from the boot. When prop Wilson twice made massive gains through feeble tackling, the 2nd effort found him over the whitewash. Game over. Sale look the worst side in the comp at present.

- Tigers 30 - 8 Exeter
 2 losses on the bounce at home for the Tigers? Not sure when this last happened. This was one way traffic with a hat trick for newbie wing Thompstone as Flood found some form. Interesting that Austin Healey is saying that Ford needs to find a new club to get game time. Saints could do with a FH...... Tigers scrum and Goneva were dominant throughout. Exeter proving a bit erratic this year.

- Harlequins 16 - 18 Saracens.
At this point, several players were on for a Grand Slam. Unbeaten and on fire Quins at home to Safacens: surely no upset here? All the talk in the run up was about Farrell′s unreliable kicking at FH and being selected over Hodgson. Instead, it was Evans who folded up. The best FH (probably in the NH) for the past few years went all Brock James. Missed 5 pens and immediately after the last one, he sliced an up and under that went backwards which caught Brown offside: pen to Safacens. Game over.

The men in red continue to prove their are the best defensive outfit in Europe; conceding no trys despite playing with 14 for 20 mins against the best side in Eng.

- Welsh 25 - 31 Gloucester.
 A sign of the times when that would have been zero at the start of the season. They won′t lie down and die and were 25-24 up with 6 on the clock. A midfield turnover saw a break from Simpson-Daniel which led to a ruck deep in Welsh 22. At this point, Welsh looked to have legitimately won the ball but Glaws, perhaps fortunately, were allowed to claw it back and this led to sub Knight, who hadn′t touched the ball having come on as sub, to go over for the game winner.
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