It was another great weekend for Ireland, but how did your own players fare in The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby League?
Have you recovered yet? Ireland’s emphatic demolition of old foes Wales leaves Joe Schmidt’s lads sitting pretty at the top of the Six Nations table after two rounds. Life is good for Irish rugby fans right now, and we have a weekend off to recuperate before facing the challenge of England in Twickenham on February 22.
But did that big win manifest itself in big Fantasy Rugby points for Irish players? Well, yes and no. In the forwards this week the top man to have was our own Peter O’Mahony. The Munster man’s deserved man of the Match display at Aviva Stadium on Saturday saw him scoop up eight points, more than any other forward, though France’s try scorer Louis Picamoles nabbed himself a magnifique seven.
For the weekend’s biggest scorers, you need to look to France’s and England’s back division. Wesley Fofana was exceptional for France and a try and a Man of the Match display against Italy saw him top score with 13. Mike Brown ended the whitewash of Scotland with a similar tally, achieved in the exact same way. The top scrum half was France’s Jean-Marc Doussain, with eight points, while Ireland did take top honours in the fly half stakes, with Jonny Sexton and Paddy Jackson both earning seven points this week.
Jerry v Mal
After Week 1, Mal held a slim two-point lead over his Munster rival and after Week 2, Jerry has reversed that situation to lead by two points now. French players drove Jerry back to the top, with Fofana, Picamoles and Huget all helping his haul reach 65 points.
A yellow card for One Direction fan Mike Phillips hurt Mal’s tally while the likes of Chris Robshaw (3 points) and Alessandro Zanni (1 point) just aren’t pulling their weight up front. With such tight margins in play, we trust the two lads will spend the next 10 days deep in thought on their next moves.
The JOE League
Despite all the many possible permutations, and the thousands of entries, our Week One leader Barry Deacy’s DC United held onto top spot. His 71 point week wasn’t as big as his opener, but it was enough to stay as top dog for another week. However, his seven-point lead has been trimmed to six, with Colm Mulkerrin’s El putto madrey shooting up the table with 75 points last weekend.
Third now is last week’s second place man Colin McDonagh’s ColysXV, tied on 153 points with Fergal Brickley’s Sam’s 15, while Paul Monahan’s Eiffel Power rounds out the Top 5 on 149 points, tied with Damien Kirwin’s Damo’s Destroyers (of pies).
Special mention must also go to Week 2 top scorer Chris Jordan, who led his Hungry Swans to 81 points, backboned by the likes of O’Mahony, Brown, Fofana and Picamoles.
The JOE League Top 5:
- DC United – Barry Deacy: 161 points
- El putto madrey – Colm Mulkerrin: 155 points
- ColysXV – Colin McDonagh, Fergal Brickley – Sam’s 15: 153 points
- Eiffel Power – Paul Monahan, Damo’s Destroyers (of pies) – Paul Davis: 79 points
Fla’s Fantastic Moist Makers – Jerry Flannery: 130points
Mal’s Malitia – Malcolm O’Kelly: 128 points