Welcome to Day 8 of FRG’s Fantasy Rugby World Cup Diary! A daily post during the World Cup in which I will be previewing the upcoming games, looking back at the previous matches and sharing the progress, trials and tribulations of all my teams across the 4 games live for the World Cup…
Match Day 8 Preview
Rugby World Cup action returns tomorrow!!
We have three matches to sink our teeth into on a massive Saturday.
First up, Argentina will be looking to bounce back after their heartbreaking loss against France when they take on Tonga. The bookies are expecting a comfortable 26 point victory and players I’m expecting to make an impact include Julian Montoya, Guido Petti, Pablo Matera, Matias Moroni, Santiago Carreras and Emiliano Boffelli.
Next the hosts Japan welcome Ireland to Shizuoka. There is talent in spades on either side, and this may not be the complete walkover that many are predicting. Japan have some great fantasy options in Amanaki Mafi, Kazuki Himeno, Shota Horie and Kotaro Matsushima. Ireland, ranked number 1 in the world, obviously have class everywhere you look, and you should be well rewarded if you have any of Jacob Stockdale, Keith Earls, Garry Ringrose, Conor Murray, CJ Stander, Josh Van Der Flier, or any of their front 5 in your team.
Finally, one of the biggest mismatches in the tournament lurches into view with South Africa taking on Namibia. This has potential to be a hiding and the bookies are expecting a huge 59 point win for South Africa. Get as many of their players as possible; the back 3 of Nkosi, Mapimpi and Gelant all have every chance of a huge haul, while elsewhere Kwagga Smith and Herschel Jantjies are potent attacking threats. RG Snyman is always a threat as a carrier and in the lineout, Schalk Brits intriguingly lines up at Number 8 and Elton Jantjies should notch up plenty of kicking points. Even their bench is loaded with danger including Cheslin Kolbe and Cobus Reinach. Definitely get 2-3 of these players in your team or miss out on some massive points potential.
FRG’s Teams
The Rugby Magazine – Points: 667 – Ranking: 275
Serves me right for being cocky, the Georgian team selection has shaken things up again and now I’m short of a benched prop. I will leave it empty as I intend to bring in 3 All Blacks next round and I don’t want to incur a points hit for a backup prop!
Tomorrow I’ll have Petti (C), E Jantjies (K), Murray, Furlong, Stockdale, Carreras and Boffelli starting, with Leitch, Tamura, Matsushima and Kolbe on my bench. Should be a good day!
SuperBru – Points: 301.5 – Ranking: 7,011
Fortunately the Australian team announcement kept Kerevi and Ala’alatoa in the starting XV so I have a full strength squad, with appearances tomorrow from Mapimpi (C), Kolbe, E. Jantjies (K), Murray, Himeno, Petti, Ryan & Montoya. Feeling quietly confident…
The Daily Telegraph – Points: 573 – Ranking: 338
I’m still weighing up what to do tomorrow, but I’m tempted to make a big dent in my remaining 30 transfers and go big on South Africa (and possibly Ireland too…). I’m quite happy with my ranking at the moment, and think that with so many transfers left, it is time to play a bit more aggressively.
The Irish Times – Points: 359 – Ranking: 2743
Three subs today to prepare for the new gameweek, in comes Siya Kolisi (on the bench, but given the minimum amount of transfers I’ll keeping him with one eye on the double gameweek in round 3) for Braam Steyn, Keith Earls for Jonny May and Richie Mo’unga for Owen Farrell. I’ll be making Keith Earls my captain for the double gameweek. Tomorrow I’ll have Inagaki, Furlong, Kolisi, Leitch, Ringrose, and Earls in action, so hoping for a high-scoring day!
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Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2019/20 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Handbook. An exhaustive collection of wisdom and experience gained from over a decade of fantasy rugby playing. Primarily aimed at less experienced players but with enough nuggets of wisdom and insight for even the most grizzled fantasy rugby veteran. There is something here for all players. The eBook is available to download now for just £3.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and on Amazon in Kindle format (Free on Kindle Unlimited) – check it out!
If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all the 2019 Rugby World Cup fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.
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