Although it was very much a crappy weekend from an Irish rugby perspective, some supporters could take consolation from their performances in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League.
As you would expect, there wasn’t much of a return from the Irish players in the Fantasy Rugby stakes this week, with only Craig Gilroy (7 points) and Conor Murray (5) making any sort of impression on the scoreboard, although considering that they only scored 12 points, the Scottish contingent didn’t have much to offer either, with only man of the match Jim Hamilton (7) and Greig Laidlaw (7) making any sort of an impact.
Selecting players from an ever improving Wales side was the way to go for most managers as they picked off Italy in Rome, with try-scorers Alex Cuthbert and Jonathan Davies both scoring eight points, the same total as man of the moment Leigh Halfpenny, who would also have added an extra six points for managers cute enough to select him as their designated kicker this weekend.
Like Halfpenny, England’s Chris Robshaw picked up his second man of the match award in two games for an eight-point haul, a score also managed by Manu Tuilagi and French centre Wesley Fofana after his magnificent try at Twickenham.
If you had a handful of those players in your team then you can take a small crumb of comfort from the weekend’s action; otherwise you’ll have to wallow in the fallout from Sunday like the rest of us.
Jerry vs. Mal
A little like the Irish team itself, Jerry and Mal didn’t make the most of the opportunities that presented themselves, with both of them now lying deep in the bottom half of the JOE league after an underwhelming showing this weekend.
Malcolm just about hit the half century after a single try from Alex Cuthbert for Wales against Italy, while the inclusion of Wesley Fofana and Chris Robshaw salvaged 40 points for Fla’s Fantastic Moist Makers, a score that sees him slip six points and 30 places behind Mal with only two games remaining to make a comeback.
The JOE League
Unlike Jerry and Mal, the teams pushing for places at the top of the JOE League all posted decent showings in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League this week, none more so than Jason McGoldrick’s outfit, Tommy Boooooooooowe, whose 73 points catapulted them to second place behind leading side justtheone, who have been impressively marshalled by Justin Gouldsbury to date.
A solid 69 points sees Darragh O’Connor’s Heaslip’s Hairdressers slot into third place ahead of Carl Duggan’s BDT in fourth, with David Payne’s Wikipotamuses and Ken Gunning’s Ireland’s Call neck and neck in fifth spot.
All managers have a fortnight with which to ponder potential switches before squeaky bum time comes around on the penultimate weekend of the competition.
The JOE League Top 5:
- Justin Gouldsbury – justtheone: 225 points
- James McGoldrick – Tommy Boooooooooowe: 219 points
- Darragh O’Connor – Heaslip’s Hairdressers: 212 points
- Carl Duggan – BDT: 212 points
- David Payne – Wikipotamuses, Ken Gunning – Ireland’s Call: 211 points
287. Malcolm O’Kelly – Fafafinas: 170 points
317. Jerry Flannery – Fla’s Fantastic Moist Makers: 164 points
