Rugby Championship Fantasy - Who to pick in your forward pack
With the start of the Rugby Championship this weekend brings a new edition of Fantasy Rugby with RugbyPass. With a salary cap of $150 million to spend on a squad of 25 players, here are some of the best buys and undercover value picks.
In Part 1 we will build the perfect pack for Fantasy followed by the backs in Part II.
Props
The foundation of your team will be the front row, but don’t expect massive hauls of points from them. Look for steady and reliable earners who will play long minutes and have a track record of staying healthy.
Whilst Wallaby sensation Taniela Tupou ($5.3m) is known for scoring amazing tries and is a dynamic force in hand in Super Rugby, he will probably be used as an impact player on the bench. Same goes for Waratahs prop Tom Robertson ($5.1m) who would otherwise be a great buy but only received minimal minutes from the bench in last year’s Rugby Championship. Keep these two on your radar if the Wallabies have any front row injuries.
Scott Sio, Tendai Mtawarira and Ofa Tuungafasi are the most likely starters week in, week out.
Steven Kitsoff ($4.5m) is a dark horse who started only once last year but still managed to play 216 minutes coming off the bench, not much less than starter Tendai Mtawarira (263 mins).
The Crusaders pair Owen Franks ($6.0m) and Joe Moody ($6.8m) look set to get significant game time along with Ofa Tu’ungafasi who was one of the few players to start every game for the All Blacks.
2017 starters
South Africa – Tendai Mtawarira (5 starts), Coenraad Ooshuizen (3 starts)
All Blacks – Ofa Tuungafasi (6 starts), Nepo Laulala (5 starts)
Wallabies – Scott Sio (6 starts), Sekope Kepu (4 starts)
Argentina – Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Enrique Pieretto Heilan
Hookers
The premiere ‘buy’ will be Malcolm Marx ($6.5m) who is an undoubted freak of nature likely to rack up points across the board in positional categories (scrummaging and lineouts) but also attacking stats like tries and clean breaks.
Marx is the perfect hooker for a Rugby Championship Fantasy team and should be the cornerstone of your front row. Only injury could de-rail this pick.
The Sharks Akker van der Merwe ($4.3m) is the kind of player you want to keep in reserves as Marx insurance. He won’t see much game time unless Marx goes down, but if he does van der Merwe will end up a very valuable pick.
With Dane Coles ($6.5m) still recovering from a long-term injury, he is a risky buy. Codie Taylor ($6.2m) should be your pick if you want an All Black hooker.
Last year’s Wallaby hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau started four games but spent two behind the now-retired Stephen Moore. He looms as the primary option for Cheika but with the emergence of Brendon Paenga-Amosa, the Wallabies situation is unclear and worth staying away from until teams are named.
Argentina’s captain Agustin Creevy is sure to be a reliable option but with Marx available, you couldn’t pass on him for Creevy.
2017 Starters
South Africa – Malcolm Marx (6 starts)
All Blacks – Dane Coles (5 starts), Codie Taylor (1 start)
Wallabies – Tatafu Polota-Nau (4 starts), Stephen Moore (2 starts)
Argentina – Agustin Creevy (6 starts)
Locks
Sam Whitelock ($7.1m) is coming off a tremendous season with the Crusaders but Brodie Retallick ($6.8m) is a cheaper option who may provide more value. Retallick proved more in attack with more offloading and tackle busts whilst Whitelock hammered out 33% more tackles in defence.
Retallick also proved to be a more frequent lineout target in last year’s Rugby Championship. Both are quality players, but Retallick gives more bang for your buck here. The All Blacks will rest both at some stage, with Scott Barrett to benefit with a couple of starts. You will need to keep another starting lock in reserves to prepare for that.
With Eben Etzebeth ($7.1m) supposedly making a return to the Springbok fold, you can’t go past him. The South African is central to the lineout and is sure to receive a heap of carries off 9. He won’t be cheap but will provide consistent performances throughout the tournament.
If you need to save cap room, opt for the cheaper Argentinian pair of Guido Petti or Matias Alemanno.
2017 Starters
South Africa – Eben Etzebeth (6 starts), Franco Mostert (4 starts), Lodewyk De jager (1 start), Pieter-Steph du Toit (2 starts)
All Blacks – Brodie Reallick (4 starts), Sam Whitelock (4 starts), Scott Barrett (2 starts), Luke Romano (2 starts)
Wallabies – Adam Coleman (5 starts), Rory Arnold (3 starts), Izack Rodda (2 starts), Rob Simmons (2 starts)
Argentina – Guido Petti (4 starts), Matias Alemanno (4 starts), Tomas Lavanini (3 starts), Marcos Kremer (1 start)
Flankers
Big names in the flanker department could well deliver small fantasy rugby performances. Michael Hooper ($8m) and David Pocock ($8.5m) will give you consistent starts but won’t score as many fantasy points as some of the other available flankers. Siya Kolisi ($7.0m) is also overpriced and should be avoided.
The best strategy is to target dynamic flankers that possess X-factor in attack, and keep a rotating stable of loosies. Pick these guys up when they get a start – Ardie Savea ($6.4m), Shannon Frizell ($5.5m) and Jean Luc Du Preez ($5m).
Frizell and Du Preez, in particular, could end up being the buys of the season if they get at least 3-4 starts. With only Warren Whiteley as a specialist Number 8 in the Springbok squad, and Duane Vermuelen unavailable, Du Preez could potentially spend time at the back of the scrum.
If you can’t find a dynamic flanker starting, Pocock and Sam Cane ($6.8m) will offer reliable performances.
Pablo Matera ($6.3m) is an undervalued pickup for someone who started all 6 games for the Pumas last year and can anchor your second row. He ended up sixth in carries, fifth in offloads and fourth in tackles in the tournament last year and is a high value buy. Javier Desio if starting is a big part of the Pumas lineout, and could be a versatile flanker option if in the lineup.
2017 Starters
South Africa – Siya Kolisi (6 starts), Jean-Luc Du Preez (1 start), Francois Louw (2 starts)
New Zealand – Sam Cane (4 starts), Liam Squire (4 starts), Ardie Savea (1 start), Matt Todd (1 start), Vaea Fifita (2 starts)
Australia – Michael Hooper (6 starts), Jack Dempsey (2 starts), Ned Hanigan (4 starts), Sean McMahon (6 starts)
Argentina – Pablo Matera (6 starts), Javier Desio (3 starts), Juan Manuel Leguizamon (3 starts)
Number 8
Kieran Read ($8m) is a big money spend like Malcolm Marx, is a must-have.
The All Blacks captain is strong in every area of the game as well as being the All Blacks most targeted lineout jumper last season by some margin. If he can stay fit and play all six games again, he will be well worth shelling out for.
The Wallabies double-openside arrangement in the back row makes looking for an Australian Number 8 a bad option. Caleb Timu is listed as a flanker, while available options Lukhan Tui and Pete Samu may only spend time on the bench. If Samu gets a start, he could be a valuable quick flip for one week.
If you can’t afford Read, your only other option is Warren Whiteley ($7.0m) or newcomer Rodrigo Bruni ($5.3m) for a regular starter.
2017 Starters
South Africa – Uzair Cassiem (5 starts)
New Zealand – Kieran Read (6 starts)
Australia – Sean McMahon (6 starts)
Argentina – Tomas Lezana (5 starts), Benjamin Macone (1 start), Leonardo Senatore (1 start), Juan Manuel Leguizamon (2 starts)
Think you can build a Super team? Join The Rugby Championship Fantasy now and you’ll stand to win $1000s in prizes! It’s not hard: https://fantasytab.
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments