ASX Fantasy Rugby: The best pick-ups in Round 4 of the Super Rugby Pacific season
ASX Sports Fantasy Rugby is up and running in the Southern Hemisphere with two Kiwi and two Australian derbies from Round 4 of Super Rugby Pacific available for investing.
The Blues will host the Highlanders and the Rebels will host the Brumbies on Friday night while on Saturday, the Crusaders will play the Chiefs in Christchurch and the Reds will take on the Drua in Queensland.
Users in ASX Sports earn points (called ‘dividends’) for how well their players perform, but the big money comes from buying and selling players at the right time, whether that’s offloading them when their value is plummeting downwards, or bringing them on board when you know they’re about to contribute in a big way on the field.
Who might be some of the best picks for Round 4 of Super Rugby Pacific?
Blues v Highlanders
The Highlanders will roll out the same front row for the fourth week in succession, with Ethan De Groot, Liam Coltman and Jermaine Ainsley performing admirably in their games to date. Coltman could be the pick of the bunch with the former All Black hitting his lineout targets time after time last weekend and nabbing plenty of points in the process.
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Perhaps the best pick-up might be Highlanders flanker Shannon Frizell, however, who is notorious for dotting down for five-pointers at Eden Park.
In the backs, the Blues may have lost Roger Tuivasa-Sheck but his replacement, Bryce Heem, is no slouch. His combination with Rieko Ioane could prove decisive in the match and that midfield pairing will be expected to do some damage against their opposites. Don’t be surprised if it’s Highlanders inside centre Thomas Umaga-Jensen who runs away with the most dividends, however, after seemingly breaking tackles at will against the Hurricanes last weekend.
Then there’s returning man Beauden Barrett, who perhaps wasn’t up to his usual standards off the bench last weekend but that’s no surprise when you’re on the mend from concussion. While Barrett will have a big influence on how the Blues perform, there’s a very good chance that Steven Perofeta will retain goal-kicking duties after nailing a sideline conversion last weekend to effectively win the Blues their match against the Chiefs.
Crusaders v Chiefs
Expect a battle of attrition in Christchurch on Saturday night in a rematch of last year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa final.
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With rain forecast for the weekend, the ball is likely to be kept in close to the breakdown which means any players who are fond of putting in tackles will likely reap huge dividends. That means Sam Cane and Tom Christie, two of the busiest exponents of the game, should rake in the points.
With kicking likely to feature heavily, expect a significant number of lineouts too – which could pave the way for All Blacks hookers Codie Taylor and Samisoni Taukei’aho to be asked to deliver plenty of balls into the set-piece.
And while expansive play may not be on the menu, one man that’s always worth investing in is Crusaders fullback Will Jordan, who has been at his elusive best throughout the season to date. His outside backs partner, Leicester Fainga’anuku, tends to fluctuate between quiet and spectacular but could be worth a punt while the Chiefs midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown will make his first start of the season and will be looking to kick things off with a bang.
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Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
56 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to comments