Ireland’s last two performances have sapped much of the enthusiasm we have for the rest of the Six Nations, but thankfully there’s still Fantasy Rugby to keep us entertained.
At the start of the Six Nations, even the bleakest of pessimists wouldn’t have foreseen that Ireland’s clash with France would represent a race to avoid the Wooden Spoon, but with only one win between the two sides after six matches between them, here we are.
But still, finishing ahead of your mates in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League standings and winning the bragging rights and potentially a few quid while you’re at it must act as some consolation, right?
As far as that game itself is concerned in Fantasy Rugby stakes, if Declan Kidney can’t decide on his team and takes the GAA approach of naming AN Others all over the place, how the hell are Fantasy managers supposed to cope?
In all seriousness though, there aren’t many contenders from either side jumping out as obvious selection choices, although the French back row of Nyanga, Dusautoir and Picamoles looks pretty tasty, Wesley Fofana looked hot to trot whenever he got the ball against England and despite some trouble with the boot, Morgan Parra was very lively last time out.
For Ireland, Sean O’Brien looks the most likely to earn a man of the match award on the back of his displays to date, Cian Healy will be a scoring threat on his return to the front row and if Luke Marshall can break the line as he did against Scotland and be a little more clinical with his end product, he might be a decent left-field shout.
Although they still trail England, Wales are the form team at the moment and with one try, two man of the match awards and 13 successful kicks, Leigh Halfpenny has been their standout performer to date.
Baby-faced assassin? Luke Marshall could well make a telling impact against France
With doubts over Owen Farrell and with Scotland culpable of conceding penalties, Halfpenny seems the most sensible choice as kicker this weekend, although you can leave that until the last minute when it’ll be clearer who will be filling the England number 10 shirt. Stuart Lancaster to name AN Other at out half anyone?
None of Wales’ forwards have offered much in the point-scoring department to date, while behind the scrum Alex Cuthbert has been more consistent than George North with two tries in three games so far.
It was more a case of Ireland losing the match than Scotland winning it a fortnight back, but the likes of Jim Hamilton stood up to be counted, while Euan Murray will need to justify his inclusion at the expense of Geoff Cross, who can count himself very unlucky to be left out. They didn’t get much ball against Ireland, but Sean Maitland and Stuart Hogg remain threats on the counter attack if Wales’ kicking game, much like Ireland’s, is a bit off-kilter in Murrayfield.
Finally to England and it would be a major surprise if they don’t set themselves up for a tilt at the Grand Slam with victory over Italy in Twickenham this weekend. Many managers will be concerned about the fitness of Owen Farrell but if Lancaster’s men can break Italy’s will early on it could be a landslide, even if Sergio Parisse’s return is a huge boost to the Azzurri.
After two man of the match awards to date, captain Chris Robshaw is no doubt a feature of the majority of Fantasy Rugby teams at the moment, while along with Louis Picamoles and Alessandro Zanni, Geoff Parling is the second highest scoring forward behind Robshaw so far.
Sunday might be a day for those behind the scrum to flourish and the likes of Manu Tuilagi, Mike Brown and as much as it pains us to say it, Chris Ashton, will be looking to pounce on the plentiful opportunities that will likely come their way.
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