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The opening weekend of the World Cup delivered.
France handing the All Blacks their first-ever loss in the pool stages of a World Cup, George Ford’s drop goal masterclass, South Africa quelling Scotland’s attacking flair and Fiji’s dramatic ending in their clash against Wales – rugby fans were treated well.
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However, in the fantasy world, it was a minefield.
Neither of Ireland’s wingers scoring a try despite them crossing the line 12 times in the win over Romania was the tip of the iceberg as injuries, yellow and red cards all made for a tricky first gameweek.
Despite that, three fantasy owners managed to cross the 800-point mark in the opening round whilst the top eight players in the world all had one thing in common – triple-captaining Bundee Aki for a mammoth 339-point return. Expert decision-making.
Week two now gives those who wobbled in the opening round a chance to redeem themselves and with some of the best sides in the world facing lopsided matchups, there’s a substantial opportunity to rack up a monstrous points tally this week.
Here is your fantasy guide which delves into each matchup in the second week of the tournament.
Round 2 News
Gameweek two will begin on Thursday night when France look to back up their impressive win over the All Blacks as they face Uruguay, who make their tournament debut. Then after seven more games, England and Japan’s clash in Nice will conclude the round.
There are five matchups where a Tier One nation squares off against a Tier Two side, which will provide a magnitude of fantasy opportunities for owners as powerhouses are set to produce an avalanche of points against the minnows.
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The four teams that won’t be a part of round two are Italy, Georgia, Scotland and Argentina meaning players from those countries should not be part of your plans heading into this week.
As always, make sure to keep an eye on the starting lineups as heavy rotation is expected from some of the top nations after a brutal opening round.
Fantasy Team Selection
New Zealand vs Namibia
With the All Blacks looking to avenge their first-ever loss in the pool stages of a World Cup, expect fireworks against a Namibian defence who shipped 52 points to Italy last week.
Head coach Ian Foster has made nine changes to the starting lineup which includes an all-new halfback pairing of Cam Roigard (7.0 Credits), who makes his first international start, and Damian McKenzie (10.0 Credits). The pair have the ability to run riot this week given their willingness to keep ball in hand and should be heavily considered for fantasy selection.
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Elsewhere, wingers Leicester Fainga’anuku (7.0 Credits) and Caleb Clarke (8.0 Credits) will look to replicate Mark Telea’s sensational performance last week after recording 90 fantasy points, the second-highest tally of any player.
Samoa vs Chile
Samoa make their World Cup debut this week and are loaded with fantasy firepower.
The back row options are plentiful with the human highlight reel Theo McFarland (6.0 Credits), Fritz Lee (6.0 Credits) and Chris Vui (6.0 Credits) all set to light the tournament on fire.
Elsewhere, Paul Alo-Emile (3.0 Credits) is one of the best value picks in the game given his world-class scrummaging, his ability to play extended minutes and his quality in the loose.
In the backs, European champion Ulupano Seuteni (6.5 Credits) will look to shred Chile’s defence apart in the wide channels with his elusive running and is certainly an alluring option at the price.
Chile unearthed a few hidden gems in their spirited performance against Japan with hooker Diego Escobar (3.5 Credits) announcing himself on the world stage, top scoring for the side with 37 points whilst fullback Inaki Ayarza (4.0 Credits) also impressed with 35 points. Those two will be solid options once again.
Wales vs Portugal
Wales come into week two off the back of their gruelling encounter with Fiji in which they made 252 tackles, the most ever in a Rugby World Cup game, and as a result, 13 changes have been made to the starting lineup.
Louis Rees-Zammit (8.0 Credits) is one of the two players who retain their spot and will look to imitate his tryscoring performance last week as he registered 55 fantasy points, the third-highest amount of any outside back.
Dewi Lake (7.0 Credits) returns to captain the side and will be a popular selection amongst fantasy owners with his threat of scoring from the back of the maul, especially given Wales’ dominance in that department last week.
Lock Christ Tshiunza (5.5 Credits), scrum-half Tomos Williams (6.0 Credits) and winger Rio Dyer (6.5 Credits) also provide great options at their respective prices.
As for Portugal, winger Rodrigo Marta (4.0 Credits) provides excellent value given his outstanding tryscoring ability having scored eight tries in his last six international appearances.
Ireland vs Tonga
Last week, Ireland were at the peak of their attacking powers in their demolition of Romania as they ran in 12 tries with some of the stars handsomely rewarding fantasy owners.
Bundee Aki was the highest-scoring player of the round and was the only player to record a triple-digit points tally with 113 whilst seven other players registered scores over 50 points.
This week, James Lowe (9.0 Credits) should be turned to again. Despite not scoring last week, Lowe still accumulated 44 points after carrying for 132 metres and registering a try assist.
You can’t go wrong with either of the other two outside backs in Mack Hansen (8.0 Credits), who scored 50 points last week despite starting on the bench, and Hugo Keenan (8.0 Credits) with both hoping to benefit from Ireland’s lethal attack.
As for Tonga, there are some serious value picks.
Vaea Fifita at only 3.5 Credits could be the steal of the round given his special running and offloading abilities whilst Adam Coleman (3.5 Credits) and Sam Lousi (3.0 Credits) will provide valuable defensive points.
Charles Piutau’s blistering pace and wicked footwork also make him a tempting selection at outside back at just 5.5 credits.
Rugby World Cup
Pool A
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
France
2
2
0
0
8
2
Italy
1
1
0
0
5
3
New Zealand
1
0
1
0
0
4
Uruguay
1
0
1
0
0
5
Namibia
1
0
1
0
0
Pool B
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Ireland
1
1
0
0
5
2
South Africa
1
1
0
0
4
3
Tonga
0
0
0
0
0
4
Scotland
1
0
1
0
0
5
Romania
1
0
1
0
0
Pool C
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Australia
1
1
0
0
5
2
Wales
1
1
0
0
5
3
Fiji
1
0
1
0
2
4
Portugal
0
0
0
0
0
5
Georgia
1
0
1
0
0
Pool D
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Japan
1
1
0
0
5
2
England
1
1
0
0
4
3
Samoa
0
0
0
0
0
4
Argentina
1
0
1
0
0
5
Chile
1
0
1
0
0
South Africa vs Romania
After the reigning champions’ world-class defensive display against Scotland last week, they now have a chance to flex their attacking muscles as they face a Romanian side who conceded 82 points to Ireland.
Jacques Nienabar has opted for complete chaos with his team selection, making 14 changes to the starting lineup and including four scrum-halves in the match-day 23.
One of those is Grant Williams (7.5 Credits) who makes his first-ever start on the wing and given his lightning-quick pace, he makes an attractive fantasy choice.
The Springboks’ ‘Bomb Squad’ of Ox Nche (5.5 Credits), Bongi Mbonambi (9.5 Credits), and Vincent Koch (5.5 Credits) should also be in popular demand with the Springboks’ maul set to overawe the Romanian forward pack.
Flanker Kwagga Smith (6.0 Credits) is also an enticing selection at that value as his dynamism in the loose will perfectly suit the expected openness of the game.
Despite Romania’s heavy loss, Hinckley Vaovasa (5.0 Credits) was outstanding in just his second international start at flyhalf scoring 63 fantasy points, the fifth-highest of the round, and once again could present a cheap alternative for owners this week.
Australia vs Fiji
Fiji have to dust themselves off after their heartbreaking loss against Wales and now face a do-or-die situation against the Wallabies if they have any hope of making the knockout stages.
The Fijian flair was on full display last week and saw centre pairing Semi Radradra (10.0 Credits) and Waisea Nayacalevu (7.0 Credits) top scored for their side with 54 and 36 points respectively and there’s no reason why they won’t mirror their efforts this week.
Powerhouse winger Josua Tuisova (8.0 Credits) racked up 32 points in less than half an hour last against Wales and is set to wreak havoc once again.
As for Australia, Ben Donaldson (8.5 Credits) was the fantasy revelation of the round after scoring twice and adding 16 points off the boot to accumulate 75 fantasy points, the third-highest of any player.
Popular selections Samu Kerevi (8.0 Credits) and Angus Bell (4.5 Credits) struggled last week scoring just 8 and 12 points respectively but given their class, expect them to bounce back this week.
England vs Japan
George Ford’s kicking masterclass sent English fans into a frenzy last week as they demolished Argentina despite playing with 14 men for the majority of the contest.
Ford (10.0 Credits) top scored with 41 fantasy points and could be on for another big score against a Japan side whom England scored 52 against in their last matchup.
Jamie George (10.0 Credits) also impressed with his 39 points last week and may be in line for a similar, if not better, score this week with England’s set-piece advantage.
In the backs, Alex Mitchell’s sniping and support game could see him make inroads into Japan’s defence, making him a great option at seven credits whilst Joe Marchant (7.0 Credits) and Freddie Steward (8.5 Credits) should provide stellar attacking returns.
As for Japan, Amato Fakatava (5.0 Credits) recorded the fourth-highest fantasy points tally last week after his double and is a premium choice in the centres, despite playing in the second row.
Captain Michael Leitch (5.0 Credits) is another great value pick after registering 51 points last week as he will rack up points in the defensive categories and may even be a good call to use the defensive king booster on this week.
