Injuries and suspensions have really put the cat amongst the pigeons as far as Fantasy Rugby is concerned, but who should managers be looking out for ahead of Matchday Three?
We’ve had nearly two weeks to digest the bitter pill served up by the defeat to England in the Aviva Stadium, so Irish rugby supporters have been imbued with a healthy sense of optimism ahead of the clash with Scotland this weekend, right? Not so much.
Well we would be if the Irish squad didn’t currently resemble an accident and emergency ward on a busy Saturday night, meaning that, like Declan Kidney, Fantasy Rugby managers are going to have to do a lot of moving and shaking with their Irish Times Fantasy Rugby teams this weekend.
Out go Simon Zebo, Gordon D’Arcy, Jonathan Sexton, Mike McCarthy and Cian Healy and even if you only have one or two or even none of those embattled Irish players, the likelihood is that you’ll have to use most if not all of the five available transfers such are the amount of changes evident in the other team selections ahead of this weekend
The absence of inspirational Italian back row Sergio Parisse for the rest of the tournament means that 99 per cent of managers will have to make a change up front, while Tom Youngs, James Haskell and Billy ‘36’ Twelvetrees have all been axed from the England team to face France, with Dylan Hartley, Courtney Lawes and Manu Tuilagi named in their stead.
Not surprisingly, Wales have named the same team after their victory in Paris last time out and equally unsurprisingly, Philippe Saint André has made seven changes in personnel in the French side after their horrendous start to the tournament.
Scotland have made just the one change to their side and Italy have made three and with so many changes made by four coaches, it’s a given that managers fighting it out at the top of their respective mini-leagues, including the incredibly competitive J-League, will need to make transfers. So who should they turn to?
Owen Farrell is almost a must-have at out-half
With Jonathan Sexton out for the foreseeable future, Owen Farrell is nearly a shoo-in at out-half. Regardless of the opposition, he will be responsible for the majority of England’s points, he is already the top scorer in the competition (Fantasy Rugby at least) and in the form he’s in at the moment, he’s a good bet to remain there until the end of the competition.
Sticking with England, Manu Tuilagi would have been a popular choice had he not started the first two games and he could do damage against a fragile French side, as could a back three of Alex Goode, Mike Brown and Chris Ashton, all of whom have impressed so far.
They’ve looked dire so far but losing three games in a row is nigh on unthinkable for the French and although we incorrectly predicted a backlash against the Welsh, we expect a better showing from them at Twickenham this weekend.
Amongst the changes made by Saint-Andre, Morgan Parra seems like a decent option at scrum-half, while we don’t need to be reminded of what Vincent Clerc is capable of.
Like Owen Farrell, Wales’ Leigh Halfpenny is almost a must-have at this stage given his brilliant performances against Ireland and France and with Parisse out, it will be up to new skipper Martin Castrogiovanni and incoming out-half Kristopher Burton to take the fight to the Welsh.
Last but not least, the most important game of the weekend as far as we’re concerned, Scotland v Ireland in Murrayfield on Sunday. Picking any of Ireland’s new kids on the block will be something of a leap of faith and instead, a punt on Craig Gilroy or Keith Earls could prove fruitful after our wingers were starved of opportunities against England last time out.
In the forwards, Sean O’Brien and Peter O’Mahony could be likely man of the match candidates given their displays in the tournament so far, while for the Scots, Stuart Hogg has looked dangerous from full-back, Greig Laidlaw has been reliable with the boot, while Richie Gray and Johnnie Beattie are their only two forwards to have completed 80 minutes in both of the opening games.
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