Hello #DreamTeam
It’s been a while since our last post. We missed last week due to a busy few weeks, which despite meaning we couldn’t get a blog out, is good news for the fantasy game. This week we’ll talk you through what we’ve been up to and a look at the week’s fantasy and the upcoming changes for the quarterfinals and who we’ve picked.
Lille
We journeyed to Lille this week, and by we I mean the whole DTR family. Ni, Cat (Ni’s wife), Chloe (Chris’ wife) and I went for the weekend and went to both games in Lille this weekend. We had been planning this trip for some time before Dream Team was even in a twinkle in our eye. The trip started at a much more reasonable hour, as allowed by the relatively simple trip over to Lille. Heading over on Le Tunnel for 15:00 we made it to Lille, checked in, by about 16:00 and we were straight out to find some dinner and a place to watch the France V Italy game. I had suspected we might struggle to find somewhere with both, but we were pleasantly surprised to see the level of engagement in Lille for the Rugby World Cup. Most restaurants and bars had a screen of some description, shop windows had jerseys and balls, not for sale but just in a show of solidarity for Rugby (albeit mostly Les Bleu).
The next day we walked around the city and the love of Rugby was even more clear. There was a sea of white in the England supporters, much to the dismay of the Welsh half, Ni. We took the moment to speak to some fans and were really pleased to see the engagement and the fun that was being had by all. Just before the Welsh game we travelled to a bar near the stadium to watch the Wales v Georgia game and had a beer or two while there. Again, a great atmosphere, with plenty of support for Georgia, despite our best attempt to cheer for Wales (I had no desire to face the Welsh in the quarter finals!). It was then off to the stadium for the England V Samoa game.
It was a genuine pleasure to be there and see the Samoan response to the Siva Tau, I love that the team calls out to the fans, made all the more potent by the comparatively small number of Samoan fans being interspersed around the stadium. The game started off well with the Chessum try, but maybe not the greatest spectacle for the English supporters amongst us. That being said, we won and go 4 from 4 in the pool stages with the Fijians in the way of the Semis, could England get retribution from their defeat at Twickenham…here’s hoping as otherwise it’s a fair bit of cash spent on our part, to go watch England go home. We finished watching the Ireland V Scotland game at the same bar, rooting for a Scotland win, but no such luck with the Irish being just too much.
On the final day we met up with some friends, had a lovely meal with one of the best burgers I have ever had and a restaurant that allowed you to pour your own beer at will…which is dangerous for Ni and I at the best of times never mind with 10% Belgian beers! We of course watched the Japan V Wales games from our phones, which was arguably one of the most exciting games of the World cup so far! We then made our way back to Lille stadium for the Tonga V Romania game. The game probably had one of the best atmosphere’s I’ve experienced, bar probably the Argentina v England game (which was a much more confrontational atmosphere than a joyous one). Supporters from all over the world were there and had chosen a team to support, the Mexican wave made more rounds than I have ever seen and just a general atmosphere of enjoyment. I am really glad I went and had the pleasure of seeing both these teams play, an opportunity I am unfortunately unlikely to get again for a long time.
There were a couple of particularly amazing moments worth noting on their own. Firstly, massive congratulations to Own Farrell who surpassed Jonny Wilkinson to become the highest ever point scorer for England and the second highest point scorer in World Rugby history! What an achievement and a privilege to be there when the milestone was achieved. Secondly, this World Cup is the first time all pools have been topped by a Northern Hemisphere team, quite an achievement and means that another northern hemisphere win is still very much on the cards and we may yet have an all northern hemisphere semi-final round!
Dream Team Rugby Business Week in Review
Quite a lot has been happening this week, although if you asked me for tangible output it would be difficult to show. One of the main things is we may have found another partner to bring into the fold, which adds so many strengths to the team and we look forward to announcing him to you all when everything is settled. We have also made some significant progress in the branding sphere with out design partners, Hubble, on how the brand will feel. Much more of that to come and as soon as we have something more concrete, we will look forward to sharing it with you.
We will also be on the lookout for some great web developers in the next few weeks so if you or someone you know would be interested please get in touch with me at chris@dreamteamrugby.com and we would love to have a chat.
We’ll also be starting a podcast in the very near future so keep your ears and eye’s peeled on Youtube and Spotify to hear Ni and I chat rugby for a bit over a beer.
Fantasy Rugby World Cup in Review
So this week I had a decent week, fairly average if I’m being honest. I had opted for Ramos as triple kicker and Penaud as captain, with highlights being Will Jordan and Cam Roigard. I came away with a total of 710 points from the round and 3499 overall. That puts me 209th out of 3,853 from the Dream Team, just marginally outside the top 5%. I did also make a terrible error, I was caught out by Anscombe being subbed last minute due to being on the way to the bar…which I was obviously very unhappy about! Looking back I would have selected more Tongan players and I will certainly miss Theo Mcfarland and Nicholas Martins going forward!
Fantasy Rugby World Cup Going Forward.
This week there are a few changes to the game itself. The big ones are that your credit limit is extended from 100 to 115 and that you can select four players per team instead of three. That will increase to 5 in the Semi’s and 6 in the Final and Bronze Final. The other significant development is the return of your boosters, Triple Kicker, Defensive King, and the all-important triple captain. The decision of when you use these boosters is likely to be a game changer, given you have 3 and there are 3 weeks to use them.
Many of my choices will come from England v Fiji and Wales V Argentina as they are likely to be the more open games. At the time of writing half the squads have not been announced so do keep an eye out for announcements. The players I think might be the ones to watch are below;
Props
1. T Francis: Try scorer against Georgia, Wales use their props well and Francis has consistently scored in the 20s which is fairly solid for a prop.
2. E. Genge: The baby rhino has yet to show his rampaging best this tournament. That being said, back in Twickenham England went unrewarded for a dominant scrum and if that changes Genge could rack up some decent scrum points as well as hopefully some strong carrying metres.
3. E. Mawi: Strong player for Saracens and deceptively mobile for a man of his size. A solid choice, despite me expecting England to have the better of it in the Scrum.
Hooker
1. D. Sheehan: An incredible player and in my opinion probably the best hooker in world rugby. The Irish are also big fans of the maul, which is a weapon I would expect them to turn to in what promises to be a close game.
2. J. Montoya: The Argentina and Leicester Tigers Hooker is a talismanic player for both teams. A dangerous carrier, jackaling threat and impressive leader I would expect him to have a big game against Wales.
Second Row
1. E. Etzebeth: A spine of the Springbok pack, strong carries and excellent defence are all part of his game.
2. O. Chessum: Excellent carrier and industrious around the park. Scores a decent amount of tries for a second row as well.
3. T Beirne: Has been excellent throughout the tournament and shows now signs of slowing down. I’d expect him to rise to the occasion against the All blacks.
Back Row
1. J Morgan: I selected him as my defensive king in the group stages and he did me proud there. He leads from the front which he will need to do against Los Pumas, expect a big game from him.
2. L Botia: An absolute monster over the ball and a strong carrier. He will be a key part of a very strong Fijian backrow. If you’re going to use DK this round he might be good shout, a turnover is worth 4 points, 8 with DK and he’s good for plenty of those.
3. S Kolisi: One of the megastars of World Rugby, I have yet to see him have a bad game and a solid choice in anyone’s backrow.
4. C Ollivon: Very quick for a forward, and often finds himself on the end of a pass just before the line. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a huge score on Sunday.
5. A Savea: Ask most people who would make their world dream team and Savea is almost certainly one of the first on the list. Has a knack for finding his way over the line, coupled with his work rate he is a solid choice.
Scrum Half
1. A Dupont: The man, the myth, the legend…he’s back! His many incredible strengths do not need listing but the only worry I have is how long he will play given his recent return from injury and the form of Lucu as a capable replacement. Still the first name on my team sheet though.
2. A Smith: As good as Dupont is (and he is VERY good) Smith is no slouch himself. He arguably got the better of Dupont in their clash in the opening game and is an experienced and very capable player. He also runs excellent support lines which often sees him soaring over the goal line.
Fly Half
1. M Jalibert: After Ntamack’s injury many were worried about what it meant for France’s prospects; they need not have been. Jalibert has provided flare and capable game management and is a very capable 10 for the hosts. He also has a knack for a try assist.
2. M Smith: Rumoured to be first choice at 15 against Fiji, Smith provides an opportunity to get an additional Back three player in your team and one with electric pace, and incredible dynamism at that. He scored 2 Try’s in his first start at FB, albeit against Chile. You’ll miss kicking points here though with Farrell likely to take the points from the tee so I’d suggest a kicker like Boffelli or Ramos if you do choose him.
Centres
1. L Am: A welcome return from injury from the Springboks, in knock-out rugby there’s not many I’d rather have in my team than him.
2. J Danty: All the qualities of a top-class centre, powerful carrying, good hands and pace and he is a capable Jackler to boot. A good choice whether you expect a dominant French of Springbok side.
3. J Marchant: Commonly selected on the wing for both England and Harlequins, Marchant has great speed and evasiveness with the ball and has been one of England’s stand out performers in what has been a lacklustre (albeit winning) campaign so far.
4. G Ringrose: Great work rate, smart positioning and good power and gas have seen Ringrose do well so far over the tournament, I’d expect that to continue against NZ.
Back Three
1. D Penaud: He has scored in every game he has played so far this world cup (and a bit before), Whether his positioning is excellent of his team just look to get him the ball I don’t know but he has a way of getting to the line even if he has to create it himself!
2. W Jordan: Similar to Penaud one of the tournament’s top scorers and an incredible talent for NZ. A shoe in for most Fantasy teams.
3. J Lowe: He was feared injured after coming off against Scotland, but he’s back in against NZ. A prolific try scorer and is also a fan on a 50/22, certainly won’t let you down. My only concern is similar to Dupont around game time.
4. M Carrerras: Two of the fastest wingers from the Premiership meet on Saturday, in Carrerras and LRZ. He scored a hat trick against Japan and may be a point of difference for your team where many will have chosen Jordan, Penaud and Lowe/Hansen.
The Return of the Premiership
For the many of you who are as excited for the return of the premiership as we are, this is a massive weekend! Your Rugby calendars are going to, once again, be full and the battle for the title begins this Friday with Bristol Bears vs Leicester Tigers. It may be difficult to catch them all between the games in Marseille, but rest assured we will do our upmost! Even if we can’t, between that and the new premiership documentary on Amazon Prime, that’ll be my weeks viewing sorted for mid-week!
There is also an official fantasy game for the prem now hosted through SuperBru. I’ve put my starting lineup below for those of you playing, and for those of you who aren’t I’d urge you to give it a go. It’s good fun and a good stop gap until we launch next season.
As always, thanks for reading and let us know your thoughts, they are always appreciated!
DTR