How did your team do? Did you make the JOE League Top Five? What about the competition between Jerry Flannery and Malcolm O’Kelly? All the details are in this week’s Fantasy Rugby Review.
And relax. Frankly we’re still coming down from the high of what was a brilliant weekend of rugby and we wouldn’t be surprised if you are too because even by the standards of past Six Nations, that was an incredible opening statement.
The Fantasy Rugby element added to the excitement of the weekend and we’re sure that those of you registered in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League had more than half an eye on stats related to tries, assists, kicks converted and man of the match awards as well as the results themselves.
As it turned out, thanks to fairly decent scoring returns in all three matches and some top notch displays from recognised top class performers, there were an awful lot of points on offer.
As long as you had him as your designated kicker – and frankly we’d be baffled if you had in him your team but didn’t give him kicking duties – Owen Farrell was the top scorer with 18 points, narrowly pipping Italy’s Luciano Orquera, whose brilliant display in the victory over France earned him 17 points.
Brian O’Driscoll was next with 16 points after a try, an assist and the man of the match award in a vintage display against Wales, while Sean Maitland and Leigh Halfpenny (including three kicks which you wouldn’t have earned points for if you didn’t have him as kicker) both reached double figures with 11 points apiece.
No forward managed to claim the man of the match award in any of the three games this weekend, meaning that they had to get on the scoresheet to rack up a significant score. That feat was managed by Italy’s Sergio Parisse and England’s George Parling (8 points), as well as our own Cian Healy (7), Louis Picamoles of France (7) and grizzly Italian prop forward Martin Castrogiovanni (6).
Jerry vs. Mal
Last week Mal spoke of his determination to get one over Jerry in the Fantasy Rugby stakes having been humiliated in the Heineken Cup predictions on the Hard Yards Podcast and he struck the first blow this weekend with a six-point win for his Fafafina’s outfit over Fla’s Fantastic Moist Makers.
Mal’s decision to go with Owen Farrell at out-half proved to be the difference between the sides, while touchdowns from Sergio Parisse and Chris Ashton also helped his cause. Jonathan Sexton’s nine-point return was good but not good enough for Jerry, who had Parisse, Simon Zebo and Ben Youngs to thank for a 66-point score that was good enough only for 285th place in the JOE League.
Jerry is not a man to take defeat very well and is already in the process of making sweeping changes to his side – well, he’s only allowed make five – but whether it’s enough to climb above the towering O’Kelly after this weekend’s games remains to be seen.
The JOE League
In total, 426 managers registered for the JOE League and at this stage, we’ll have to apologise to the 50-odd managers who attempted to register their teams after the 1.30pm deadline on Saturday; you were just that little bit late I’m afraid.
Justin Gouldsbury’s justheone stormed to the top of the charts in the JOE League with a whopping 101 points, the only man to break the ton on the opening weekend.
In Chris Ashton, Simon Zebo, Brian O’Driscoll, Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Picamoles and Sergio Parisse, Justin had try-scorers all over the shop, while he also benefitted from the selection of Owen Farrell at out-half.
The Farrell and O’Driscoll combination also worked well for Chris O’Keefe’s Sheen in second place, who finished the week one point ahead of Aidan O’Connor’s Da Sons of Pitches in third.
Not far behind those two were James McGoldrick’s Tommy Boooooooooowe in fourth and Ken Gunning’s Ireland’s Call in fifth, although nobody’s place in the top five is secure with a host of teams lurking in the background ready to pounce.
The JOE League Top 5:
- Justin Gouldsbury – justtheone: 101 points
- Chris O’Keefe – Sheen: 94 points
- Aidan O’Connor – Da Sons of Pitches: 93 points
- James McGoldrick – Tommy Boooooooooowe: 91 points
- Ken Gunning – Ireland’s Call: 90 points
175. Malcolm O’Kelly – Fafafinas: 72 points
285. Jerry Flannery – Fla’s Fantastic Moist Makers: 66 points
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