Gallagher Premiership Fantasy League Team of the Week: Round 5

Five rounds in and the newly renamed Premiership is fast becoming our new favourite Gallagher, after Noel went a bit grumpy and Liam just carried on generally being an arse. This weekend saw headlines aplenty, as Saracens and Exeter both continued their unbeaten starts to the season, with Sarries recording bonus point victories in every game so far. At the other end of the pile, Sale remain rooted to the foot of the table after a narrow loss to a middling Leicester Tigers side. Fortunately for the Sharks, fellow northerners Newcastle had a tough weekend, losing to Wasps after a late Lima Sopoaga penalty.

There were plenty of other stories from this weekend’s action, but here at Fantasy League HQ we’re under strict doctors’ orders to disregard club performance and focus solely on those delicious, nutritious individual numbers. Here’s the Gallagher Premiership Fantasy League Team of the Week for Round 5:

Fantasy League Team of the Week: Round 5

1.Titi Lamositele (Saracens)

2. Harry Thacker (Bristol)

3. Alex Waller (Northampton)

4. Ted Hill (Worcester)

5. Will Rowlands (Wasps)

6. Jake Polledri (Gloucester)

7. Mark Wilson (Newcastle)

8. Dave Ewers (Exeter)

9. Francois Hougaard (Worcester)

10. Danny Cipriani (Gloucester)

11. Jeff Williams (Bath)

12. Will Hurrell (Bristol)

13. Nick Tompkins (Saracens)

14. Nathan Earle (Harlequins)

15. Alex Goode (Saracens)

*Please note, player positions are determined by The Scout’s statistical analysis and thus may not be accurate

It won’t be a major surprise to see 3 members of the dominant Saracens in our starting XV, with Liam Williams also on the bench. Fellow table-toppers Exeter only contribute Dave Ewers to the starting line up, though Jack Yeandle does bag a substitute berth. Worcester couldn’t repeat last week’s feat of 6 players in the Team of the Week, but with Francois Hougaard and Ted Hill making the starting line-up Warriors fans should be pleased with their performance. The latter was one of our tips as a Bargain Buy this week alongside Jake Polledri, meaning that savvy purchasers have seen a great return on their investments and also that I get to act all smug for a bit for getting it right.

Polledri has now managed to sneak into the overall Team of the Tournament so far, alongside TotT mainstay Mark Wilson, who features yet again in the Team of the Week to boot. George Ford retains the overall fly half jersey, but misses out on the position this week to Danny Cipriani, whose performance for Gloucester this weekend puts him ahead of his (supposed) England rival Ford as well as All Black Lima Sopoaga who claims the bench position.

Northampton Saints had a reasonable week, with new co-captain Alex Waller claiming a starting prop position ahead of substitute John Afoa, whilst Teimana Harrison and Taqele Naiyaravoro also make the bench (yet another prediction come true – I’m the Nostradamus of rugby statistics).

Player of the Week:

The aforementioned Liam Williams may keep his overall 15 jersey, but he’s facing close competition from fellow Saracen Alex Goode whose 32.7 points this weekend far outweighs anybody else. Will Hurrell’s 24.4 points in Bristol’s narrow loss represent the closest anybody came to overtaking Goode this weekend. With 1 try, 3 assists and 9 defenders beaten surely Goode has restated his claim to an England spot.