Another weekend, more disappointment for Irish rugby fans, but with only one week to go, things are hotting up in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League.
Given the manner of Ireland’s draw with France on Saturday, the reaction to the result was nowhere near as vociferous as the outcry that greeted Ireland’s defeat to Scotland two weeks earlier. So we didn’t get the win, but there was a lot of Irish players that did us proud on Saturday and others that rewarded managers in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League with some much-needed points while they were at it.
Captain Jamie Heaslip led the way with eight points after he scored Ireland’s only try of the game, while man of the match Conor Murray wasn’t far behind with seven. Managers who trusted Paddy Jackson with the kicks would have earned six points, while on the French side, another excellent display by Louis Picamoles, including a try, yielded eight points for the barnstorming number eight.
England’s predicted domination of Italy didn’t materialise, but Toby Flood’s six penalties still earned nine points for managers who selected him as kicker, while for Italy, try-scorer Luke McLean (7) and man of the match Andrea Masi (8) were the stand-out performers.
The actual award hasn’t been decided yet, but there is little disputing the Fantasy Rugby man of the tournament so far. Leigh Halfpenny kicked seven penalties and a conversion (scoring 11 points if you had him as kicker) on Saturday to take his tally of converted kicks to 21 in the competition to date and with 48 points overall, he is by far and away the highest scoring individual of all six competing nations.
His nearest challenger, it might surprise you to learn, is Greig Laidlaw, who kicked six penalties for nine points against Wales, while try-scorer Richard Hibbard (7) and man of the match Sam Warburton (8) also made their mark.
Jerry vs. Mal
Much like the average bandwagon-hopping Irish rugby fan’s relationship with the national team, the enthusiasm of both Jerry and Mal for Fatasy Rugby seems to have waned somewhat the longer the Six Nations has gone on.
Still, despite being placed way down the JOE League table, Malcolm looks like he’ll get sweet revenge for the ass-kicking he took off Fla during the Hard Yards Podcast Heineken Cup predictions, having earned a solid 51 points this week thanks to tries from Heaslip and Picamoles, a score which extended his lead over Jerry to 19 points with one week left.
The less said about Fla’s 38 points the better and only a man of the match display from Sam Warburton saved him from a complete disaster. Safe to say that, barring a complete miracle on Paddy’s weekend, Mal’s got this one in the bag.
The JOE League
While Jerry and Mal are battling it out at the lower reaches of the JOE League, it’s all happening amongst the elite as Justin Gouldsbury’s Just the One held onto top spot after 57 points.
Ken is Gunning (see what we did there) for Justin in second spot as his Ireland’s Call outfit lie only four points behind the top dogs and have six points to spare over a scrum of sides in third spot, with James McGoldrick’s Tommy Boooooooooowe, David Payne’s Wikipotamuses and Fergal Brickley’s Ferns XV all locked on 272 points.
Darragh O’Connor’s Heaslip’s Hairdressers are a point further back in fourth and Stephen Hunt’s Scrum Bag prop up the top five but with only fourteen points between fifth and top spot, things could all kick-off on the final weekend.
The JOE League Top 5:
- Justin Gouldsbury – Just the One: 282 points
- Ken Gunning – Ireland’s Call: 278 points
- James McGoldrick – Tommy Boooooooooowe, David Payne – Wikipotamuses: 272 points, Fergal Brickley – Ferns XV: 272 points
- Darragh O’Connor – Heaslip’s Hairdressers: 271 points
- Stephen Hunt – Scrum Bag: 268 points
257. Malcolm O’Kelly – Fafafinas: 221 points
335. Jerry Flannery – Fla’s Fantastic Moist Makers: 202 points
