6 Nations
Week for the Subs; Fantasy Rugby Week 2 Guide
With teams making changes to their starting line-ups from last weekend, substitutes could be the area that you splash the cash on this week
As we head into round two of this year’s 6 Nations campaign, there are questions to be answered, teams are looking to build but who should you pick for your fantasy team?
The first game of the weekend sees Ireland head to Scotland in search of their first points of the championship against the current table-toppers. You have until the kick-off at 14 15 tomorrow to select your team.
Between these two teams you have a number of quality players to pick from. For the hosts, full-back Staurt Hogg will cost you 17.1 stars after going up in value following his impressive display last weekend.
With the metres he runs in a match and his ability to make chances out of nothing it could be money well spent.
Elsewhere for the Scots, fly-half Finn Russell will cost you 15.3 stars, while the ever reliable Greig Laidlaw comes in at 15.4.
A man to look out for is the returning Jonny Gray, who comes into the second-row and will only cost 12.7 stars.
BREAKING | Scotland make four changes for this Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland @BTMurrayfield.
? Berghan and Strauss replace injured Nel and Skinner, Gray & Maitland return from injury for Toolis and Kinghorn who move to the bench.
➡️ https://t.co/y0gRovACwY pic.twitter.com/wob5Ffn4JO
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 7, 2019
Ireland are a team looking for result and that means that the entire starting XV could be dangerous news for the Scots.
In terms of the best to pick from that 15 you would have to look towards last years player of the tournament Jacob Stockdale, who is 14.7 stars, and is on a mission to make up for his costly mistake last weekend.
Other players searching for self-improvement are the likes of Johnny Sexton, 14.7 stars, and Conor Murray, 14.2 stars.
In terms of players that have come into the team, watch out for Rob Kearney, 12.7 stars, who has a point to prove. Chris Farrell, 11.7 stars, who won man of the match in his only previous 6 Nations start, and Jack Conan, 10.8 stars, who will be hoping to impress as the only out and out No 8 in the current squad.
Here's the @IrishRugby team to play @Scotlandteam on Saturday.#TeamOfUs #ShoulderToShoulder #SCOvIRE pic.twitter.com/LQWUS28tMs
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) February 7, 2019
Later that evening Italy host a much-changed Wales team.
Sergio Parisse is always a player to look out for at 11.6 stars, along with Michele Campagnaro, 12.2 stars, as the Italians look for an upset.
Jayden Hayward, 11 stars, is down as wing but starts at full-back, while Tommaso Allan is always a live-wire at out-half and is only 10.9 stars.
? #Italrugby: annunciati i titolari in campo sabato all’Olimpico per #ITAvWAL, secondo appuntamento del @SixNationsRugby 2019 ➡ https://t.co/w5dGkNxx9q#insieme #rugbypassioneitaliana @SeiNazioniRugby pic.twitter.com/XUrfBBCw7l
— Italrugby (@Federugby) February 7, 2019
With the Welsh making 10 changes there will be players hoping to impress. Dan Biggar, 14.5 stars, comes in at fly-half and is a reliable source of points, while Jonathan Davies, 14.8 stars, starts in the centre and usually puts in a good shift.
Last weeks top performer George North misses out through injury, so if you want other Welsh players to put into your starting 15 maybe consider Josh Navidi, 13.8 stars, who was impressive against France. While Aaron Wainwright, 10.8 stars, has been in good form this season and would be worth taking a gamble on.
TEAM NEWS ??????? @JonFoxDavies will lead Wales for the first time against @Federugby this Saturday. #ITAvWAL
? Capteiniaeth am y tro gyntaf i'r gŵr o'r gorllewin ar gap rhif 70 am y gêm @SixNationsRugby.#HWFN #ForTheJersey pic.twitter.com/h3aa0Qyb2A
— Welsh Rugby Union ? (@WelshRugbyUnion) February 7, 2019
The final game of the weekend is the clash of England and France.
England will hope to build on last weekend’s win over Ireland and top performers, Jonny May, 16.4 stars, Owen Farrell, 16.2 stars, and Billy Vunipola, 15.9 stars, all start.
A player to watch is Courtney Lawes, 14.4 stars, who puts in an incredible amount of work and will want to make sure he starts the next game too with a big performance.
Your England team to face France on Sunday in the #GuinnessSixNations
K.O 15:00 GMT, LIVE on @ITV.
Preview ➡ https://t.co/5Ovvau7823#ENGvFRA #CarryThemHome ? pic.twitter.com/nQD44UMqha
— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) February 8, 2019
The visitors have a point to prove after letting a 16-point lead go against Wales. Mathieu Bastareaud, 13.7 stars, comes into the centre and will be a constant threat to the English following his omission last time out.
Louis Picamoles, 14.8 stars, was incredible even in defeat and will surely give another stellar performance this week. Guilhem Guirado, 14.4 stars, is another big-game player, while wing and try scorer last weekend, Yoann Huget, 13.6 stars, switches to full-back and is worth a look.
????????? Dimanche, c’est le crunch ! Voici votre #XVdeFrance pour défier les anglais ce week-end à Twickenham ! #NeFaisonsXV #ANGFRA pic.twitter.com/k8YQMvxsCI
— Fédération Française de Rugby (@FFRugby) February 8, 2019
As mentioned at the top the key this week could be your bench and there are some serious options to pick from.
Last week’s player of the round, Blair Kinghorn, who scored a hat-trick against Italy, drops to the Scottish bench and will cost you 14.5 stars. He might be worth a gamble but is down as a fly-half.
Ireland’s Josh Van Der Flier, who made 19 tackles against England last Saturday, is also on the bench and is available for only 10.8 stars.
Italy’s Edoardo Gori, 10 stars, is a constant ball of energy when unleashed onto the pitch and could cause the Welsh problems in the latter stages of the game.
Wales’ stand-out player on the bench is captain Alun Wyn Jones, however, he is a pricy 15.6 stars.
England have the powerful Nathan Hughes, 12.6 stars, to come on and could be an option.
While France’s Romain Ntamack, 11.9 stars, is the top pick on their bench and could gain a lot of metres while running if he comes on against tired English legs.
Make sure to have a look through the teams before selecting your own, but with the power of the benches and the games super-sub option, it would seem that splashing the cash on a couple of hard-hitting subs might be worthwhile.
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) is delighted to announce the return of the ‘A’ Interprovincial Men’s Championship which will kick off next month.
The times and dates of the opening three rounds of the Championship before Christmas have been confirmed, with a similar points-scoring system as used in the URC. A Championship winner will be declared after the final round of matches in May and the IRFU will be commissioning a legacy trophy to mark the 150th anniversary celebrations.
Welcoming the news, IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys commented:
“We’re delighted to kick-start the Men’s ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship which will provide a host of players with a further means of developing in a meaningful competition. With the success of the Emerging Ireland Tours, coupled with the return of an ‘A’ international against England next year, it is vital that we continue to provide players at provincial and Club levels with opportunities to impress outside of the traditional URC and EPCR fixture windows.
“Discussions have been ongoing for some time to provide players with meaningful games and all four provinces are unanimously supportive of this competition. It is also great to see provinces taking matches around their local Clubs.
“It is anticipated that as the competition progresses over the coming seasons these fixtures won’t clash with Energia All-Ireland League fixtures for the most part, thus potentially also offering players from the Club game with an opportunity to impress.
“This competition will form another important part of the representative pathway from Energia AIL to URC levels for Academy players upwards over the coming seasons.”
The dates for the post-Christmas fixtures will be confirmed in due course. Ticket details will be confirmed via the respective provinces.
IRFU 150 Interprovincial ‘A’ Championship Fixtures:
Saturday, 16th November:
Connacht Eagles v Leinster ‘A’ (Creggs RFC, 1pm)
Friday, 22nd November:
Ulster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ballymacaran Park, 3pm), Leinster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (Lakelands, 5pm)
Friday, 29th November:
Munster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (New Ormond Park, 3pm)
Friday, 20th December:
Ulster ‘A’ v Munster ‘A’ (tbc, 3pm)
Saturday, 21st December:
Leinster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (Ollie Campbell Park, 2pm)
Weekend of 28/29 December:
Connacht Eagles v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc), Munster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 9/10 May:
Connacht Eagles v Munster ‘A’ (tbc), Leinster ‘A’ v Ulster ‘A’ (tbc)
Weekend of 16/17 May:
Munster ‘A’ v Connacht Eagles (tbc), Ulster ‘A’ v Leinster ‘A’ (tbc)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
The Emerging Ireland team to face the Cheetahs in the final game of the three-match series in Bloemfontein on Wednesday evening (kick off 6pm Irish time, 7pm local time) has been named.
Leinster’s James Culhane will lead the team and he forms a new back-row alongside Harry Sheridan and Sean Edogbo, who makes his first start of the tour having come on as a replacement in the 29-24 win over Western Force on Sunday afternoon. Former Ireland Under-20 captain Evan O’Connell locks down with Darragh Murray, who featured in the opening 36-24 victory over the Pumas, with Alex Usanov named in the front row alongside hooker Stephen Smyth and Jack Aungier.
Darragh Murray of Emerging Ireland scores his sides second try – Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Darren Stewart
In the backline, Sam Prendergast starts his third game of the tour at out-half and he will be partnered by Cormac Foley, who featured as a second half replacements against the Australian Super Rugby side last time out. Connacht’s Hugh Gavin forms a midfield partnership with Hugh Cooney, with Ulster’s Zac Ward named in an exciting back tree alongside the returning Ben O’Connor at full-back and Andrew Osborne who moves to the right wing.
Munster loosehead prop George Hadden, who was called up to the squad last weekend, is set to make his first appearance after being named on the bench alongside Conor O’Tighearnaigh and Alex Soroka who started Sunday’s win. Hadden’s provincial team-mate Danny Sheahan provides cover once more at hooker, while Scott Wilson and Charlie Tector are also named on the bench for the Toyota Stadium clash alongside out-half Jack Murphy.
Looking ahead to the game, Emerging Ireland Head Coach Simon Easterby said: “When we set out at the beginning of our pre-camp in Dublin, we knew about the challenge of facing three sides in a week and we knew that every player in the group would have the opportunity to play his part. To a man each player has given his all so far and we are aiming to finish off the series with another positive performance on Wednesday.
The Cheetahs are a fiercely proud and strong side and it should be a lively game with a vocal home support behind them. It has been a fruitful past few weeks to date and we have learned a lot. While our performances haven’t been perfect, the players have embraced the challenge and played some brilliant rugby at times. The action has come thick and fast and we know that we have to be clinical in our execution. We will need to go up another level on Wednesday to get the performance we want and hopefully finish the tour on a high.”
Wednesday’s game will be broadcast once more on IrishRugby+ – click here.
Emerging Ireland (v The Cheetahs, Wednesday, October 9, 7pm local time, 6pm Irish time)
15: Ben O’Connor (UCC RFC/Munster)
14: Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC/Leinster)
13: Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
12: Hugh Gavin (Galwegians RFC/Connacht)
11: Zac Ward (Ballynahinch RFC/Ulster/Ireland Sevens)
10: Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
9: Cormac Foley (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
1: Alex Usanov (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
2: Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley RFC/Leinster)
3: Jack Aungier (Clontarf FC/Connacht)
4: Evan O’Connell (Young Munster RFC/Munster)
5: Darragh Murray (Buccaneers RFC/Connacht)
6: Harry Sheridan (Dublin University FC/Ulster)
7: Sean Edogbo (UCC RFC/Munster)
8: James Culhane (UCD RFC/Leinster) (captain)
Replacements:
16: Danny Sheahan (Cork Constitution FC/Munster)
17: George Hadden (Garryowen FC/Munster)
18: Scott Wilson (Queen’s University Belfast RFC/Ulster)
19: Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC/Leinster)
20: Alex Soroka (Clontarf FC/Leinster)
21: Matthew Devine (Corinthians RFC/Connacht)
22: Jack Murphy (Clontarf FC/Ulster)
23: Charlie Tector (Lansdowne FC/Leinster)
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Following Emerging Ireland’s 29-24 victory over Western Force in Bloemfontein on Sunday three players, Gus McCarthy (Leinster), Sean O’Brien (Munster) and Jude Postlethwaite (Ulster) will return to their provinces.
The trio will leave South Africa on Monday afternoon and will be available for selection for their respective URC fixtures this weekend.
The squad will visit Heidedal Township this afternoon and will conclude the three-match series on Wednesday evening against The Cheetahs (kick off 7pm local, 6pm Irish time). That match will be live on irishrugby+
Watch the full match back here on irishrugby+
Check out the highlights from the win against Western Force below.
Images & Content from Irish Rugby & Images © Inpho Photography
Jordan signs for Bristol Bears
IRFU Announces Return Of ‘A’ Interprovincial Championship
