Hello #DreamTeam,
What a weekend of rugby! Between Ireland’s defeat of the World Champion Springboks, Wales’ quarter-final qualification and Australia’s first ever pool stage exit there is lots to talk about. This weekend saw Chris journey to Lille for the England V Chile game and we'll look at the Fantasy Rugby week ahead.
The Lille Trip
The weekend promised to be a good one if you’re an England fan. This is Chile’s first ever world cup, and they are the lowest ranked team in the tournament so there was sure to be lots to cheer about for me, perhaps too much as my hoarse voice come Sunday can attest to.
This was a much more reasonable journey than either of DTR’s previous two to Marseille and Nice, a short 1 hour from Calais it was a pleasant drive across northern France. That meant I could break the trend of un-holy early starts to get to the game for which I am very grateful. Setting off at 7 am we caught the 10:40 ferry which I had thought would give us enough time to get to Lille, meet up with some England fans, catch the first game of the day, Georgia V Portugal (What a game by the way, if you haven’t already go and watch it!) and then head to the stadium for the game. Only one of those happened.
We arrived in Lille in good time, but parking proved to be an issue. We had planed to park in one of the many park and rides in and around Lille which are set up for users of the Metro. Basically, you can, supposedly, use them for free as long as you have a validated metro ticket for that day, sounds perfect right…read on. Turns out that unbeknownst to us or apparently to the webpage this is not true on game day, unless you arrive 4 hours before the game. We now had to scramble to find new parking that wasn’t super expensive. By the time we had finished I had watched the Georgia V Portugal game on my phone and it was pretty much time to head to the stadium, no time for a pre-match pub visit.
Lille stadium is different to others in that there is no separation between the stadium and the city, those of you have been to Twickenham will know there is the area behind the barriers with food and drink stalls, games etc…not in Lille. Vendors had set up food trucks and there were a few bars outside the stadium selling beer (a lot of it by the scenes) but all just in the town next to the stadium, it was quite nice. Around the stadium there was a sea of white as the bulk of the attendees were clearly England fans but there were a reasonable amount of Chile supporters and they were mingling nicely, England fans joining in on their songs and taking pictures with them. A very friendly atmosphere, which I suppose is in no small part to everyone being pretty aware of what the result would be before the game had started.
Our seats were excellent, directly on the try line and the first row. If you look carefully you can see our flag waving after each try in the first half. The atmosphere throughout was good, people enjoying themselves although it did lack the tension and subsequent release of the game in Marseille. The crowd attempted to get swing low going but it stuttered and fizzed out quickly, I think most people were enjoying the social rather than the game in this instance. The Mexican wave however was very successful and made its way around the crowd quite a few times over the course of the match.
After the game we hung around to see the players, and it was nice to see Danny Care and Owen Farrell enjoy the moment with their children. The Chilean players made a particular effort to engage with the fans, making their way over to our section and taking multiple photos with the small crowd of supporters who had gathered at the side. We made our way out and it was on our way home, catching the 22:35 ferry where I watched the Ireland V South Africa game…what a test match!
No England or Wales games this week so we will be staying in the UK. We will however be at Vets-fest with Wooden Spoons Charity. Ni has been a long time supporter of the charity and it’s a really great opportunity to enjoy some rugby and get involved with such a deserving charity. You can read more about their work here.
Fantasy Rugby World Cup Week in Review
Not to brag but, not a bad week for me on the fantasy game, I came away with a healthy total of 915 points. Penaud as captain gave me a very healthy start to the week’s games and having Arundell in the team was definitely a boost as well, special shout out to anyone who had Penaud as the triple captain, what a shout! I wasn’t sure we’d get a better opportunity than Damian Mackenzie against Namibia but oh how wrong I was. It was also a decent outing for my back-row players, with Ollivon, Rory Darge and Jac Morgan as Defensive King and all three try scorers, I was pretty content with the scores there. I could have done better with my back three however, backing Ange Capuozzo didn’t pay off as much as I would have liked and similar with Sione Tuipulotu who brought in 14 and 19 points respectively.
There was also a brilliant update on the game, in that players now have their photos on the game itself which is great for fan and player engagement. I love the personality as well and that they are not all the standard crossed arms shot!
Fantasy Rugby World Cup Week ahead
So another week, another round. As usual in the group stages there are plenty of games that are likely to be high scorers. The blog will be released post the Uruguay V Namibia game unfortunately but we wouldn’t have picked from those teams anyway, with both chasing their first ever world cup win I think there are better opportunities to rack up points. It’s worth noting that at the time of writing many squads haven’t been announced so there will inevitably be some tinkering needed later on in the weekend.
This week’s games I’ll be targeting are;
1. Argentina Vs Chile
2. New Zealand vs Italy
3. Scotland Vs Romania
4. South Africa Vs Tonga
5. Fiji Vs Georgia
6. Australia vs Portugal
So without further ado the team I have selected is…
I’ll continue in the same vein as last week by going through a few players in each position who I think might do well this week.
Props:
Eroni Mawi: Plays for Saracens so experienced in big games and the associated pressure. Fiji are also chasing a bonus point to ensure qualification and they have had a solid scrum to work from, which Mawi is a pivotal part of.
Vincent Koch: A key part of the infamous springbok pack, should have a solid game against Tonga.
Pierre Schoeman: An excellent prop and consistent performer for Scotland. I have opted to use most of my Scotland players in the backline in a game where they must score a bonus point and will need to rack up a significant amount of points, and it’s the right game to do it!
Beka Gigashvili: A solid and affordable choice, he has averaged 31 points a game so far this tournament and having him and a Fijian ensures I’m getting some points any time a scrum is won.
Hooker:
Julian Montoya: A fairly obvious choice for me (pending selection), Captain for Argentina and Leicester Tigers, a menace at the breakdown, strong carrier and all-around excellent hooker. A very strong choice I reckon. Agustin Creevy as a back up isn’t a bad option either.
George Turner or Ewan Ashman: This is pending selection, the Scots will be seeking trys wherever they can get them and say what you like about a maul, they are an extremely effective try scoring weapon, and more often than not it’s the hooker you find on the scoring end of them!
Lock:
Eben Etzebeth: A now iconic member of the springbok pack, strong carrier, and presence around the field. I expect after his run in with James Lowe last weekend he will have a point to prove!
Theo Mcfarland: Going against my own advice here but Theo is such an excellent player I can’t help myself. He hasn’t really had an AMAZING game yet this tournament and I suspect he is due one and for Samoa, having lost last week to Argentina, every game is now a must win for qualification!
Scott Barrett: A key part of the New Zealand squad and set piece in particular, many seem to have written off the all blacks, they do so at their peril.
Back Row:
Rory Darge: Try scorer last week, he maintains a consistently high work rate and is very capable of racking up a significant number of points against Romania.
Jasper Wiese: Having watched him play for Leicester for a while now, he is a menace around the park. A powerful carrier who is deceptively nimble.
Siya Kolisi: I’m not sure there is a more iconic player in world rugby at the minute. Captaining the springboks, he is hugely industrious and if something is going particularly well for the Boks have a look, he’ll almost certainly be involved. One that almost certainly won’t let your fantasy team down.
Levani Botia: I had wanted to have this man as defensive king against Wales, but they didn’t select him to start in the game. Probably the best jackaller in world rugby in my opinion and a serious carrying threat as well, able to play in the backrow and centre. If selected, he is a shoe in for my team almost regardless of who Fiji play.
Scrum Half:
Cobus Reinach: A real running threat, and we saw what he can do when he played against Romania where he was scoring trys almost at will.
Grant Williams: Choosing between him and Reinach is a difficult choice, and I still haven’t made my mind up, but with Williams selected on the wing you get another back three player in your team which is a significant bonus.
Simione Kuruvoli: A solid performer as scrum half and was selected to kick for Fiji against Australia where he maintained an excellent success rate. Kicking points from your scrum half is definitely a big bonus!
Fly Half:
Tomasso Allan: A fly-half selected at 15 seems to be all the rage now with Beauden Barrett and Marcus Smith now being selected there. Tomasso Allan is the same, except he is also the choice kicker so you will get the added bonus of those points as well! I suspect that Italy will be looking to take points wherever they can get them, and that often means lots of penalty kicks when they are on offer. If you’re a gambler he’s also not a bad shout for the triple kicker for those that have it
Handre Pollard: After what can only be described as a sub-optimal kicking display from the Springboks so far this Rugby World Cup, Handre is brought back in to sort that out I suspect. Triple kicker might not be a bad shout in this game.
Finn Russell: Finn is capable of what us mere mortals can only understand as magic. His vision and ability to find space is unmatched in World Rugby and that’s before we even start to talk about his attacking kicking game. I’d expect some big points from try assists and conversions in particular, but he does also offer a running threat of his own.
Centre:
Andre Esterhuizen: Plays his club rugby at Harlequins and is one of the best if not the best centres in the league. Powerful carrier who runs intelligent lines and has the pace to take advantage when he breaks through. His performances so far for the Springboks have been nothing short of impressive.
Fiji: I started selecting centres and realised I was naming all available Fijian centres. If ever there was a country blessed in this position, it is this Fiji team. Tuisova has never even heard of the concept of skipping leg day and brings the trifecta of power, pace and skill. Nayacalevu is consistently excellent and has the pace of a winger, and Radrada is a great choice that, if he plays on the wing as he did against Australia, gives you another potential back three player in your team. Which means for this round you could potentially have 6 of a possible 7 of your backline playing in the back three. It is also worth noting that, as good as all these players are they come with the price tag to match!
Huw Jones: An excellent attacking centre who runs smart lines. With Scotland looking for as big a points differential as possible against Romania I’m ready to wager Huw Jones will have quite the outing
Back Three:
Emiliano Bofelli: A man who is almost always heavily involved whenever Argentina have a good day. Arguably one of the best kickers in world rugby he is also a fairly prolific try scorer. Should be a reliable source of points if selected to play against Chile, hence being my captain for this week.
Blair Kinghorn: An intelligent player, also capable of playing at 10. Should be a good source of try assist points and the all-important 15 points from trys.
Makazole Mapimpi: You can feel Bok supporters get excited when he gets the ball. An excellent finisher who puts himself in positions to contribute. Always a good choice, he does also come with a hefty price tag though.
Matteo Carreras: Another player from the Gallagher Premiership, he plays for Newcastle Falcons where he was only just pipped to the post for the leagues top try scorer. He is quick and nimble, against Chile I’d back him to have a good day.
Will Jordan: Excellent for the all Blacks and a strong option for try points this week.
Mark Nawaqanitawase: One positive to come out of Australia this year, is this winger. Industrious, strong and with electric pace, a strong option against Portugal when Australia will want to take at least some positives from this tournament.
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DTR