Fantasy Rugby
Fantasy Rugby: Team of the Tournament
John Griffiths
March 23, 2015
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In April 2002, the International Rugby Board announced plans to stage a biennial northern hemisphere v southern hemisphere fixture. The matches were pencilled in to bring down the curtain on the autumn internationals, but selection processes for the battle of the hemispheres were never finalised and the idea of the match never caught on owing to the ever-increasing pressures on players' busy playing-schedules.

Had a fixture between the hemispheres been due to take place next week, however, the north could do little worse than look at the Fantasy 2015 Six Nations Team of the Tournament for selection inspiration.

What we learned from Fantasy Week 5

Ben Youngs was the pick at scrum-half on Super Saturday © Getty Images
  • That outside backs are the most likely units in a team to last a full shift
  • Front-rows, second-rows and back-rows are the most likely units to be substituted. The fly-halves and scrum-halves rarely put in full shifts either, leaving the outside backs and centres as the most likely players to earn full appearance tariffs for Fantasy purposes.
  • That the Super Saturday formula is perfect
  • Some argued that the staggered format was a disadvantage to the teams playing earlier in the afternoon, and that kick-off times should coincide. Not after Saturday. The build up of excitement - for real and Fantasy fans - proved that Six Nations Super Saturday's format has nothing to learn from Premiership Football's formula.
  • Saturday's top scorers:
  • George Ford (Eng, 26)
  • Ben Youngs (Eng, 20)
  • George North (Eng, 18)
  • Sean O'Brien (Ire, 17)
  • Jack Nowell (Eng, 13)
  • Dan Biggar (Wal, 13)

Welshmen Leigh Halfpenny and George North would reprise their 2013 Lions roles by teaming up with Italy's Giovan Venditti among the back-three. Halfpenny's goal-kicking and North's rare three-in-a-row hat-trick against Italy showed that they were still in the sublime form that helped the Lions to their series victory in Australia two years ago, while Venditti's try in Italy's away victory against Scotland was an important moment in the high point of the season for the Azzurri.

Based on his form in Ireland's key victory over England, Robbie Henshaw joins England's Jonathan Joseph in the centre. Joseph scored more Six Nations tries than any other player this season and earned high praise from many critics, some comparing him with his Bath and England predecessor, Jeremy Guscott. The jury is still out on that one, but the fantasy scores place this inexperienced pair ahead of the tried-and-tested Welshmen, Jonathan Davies and Jamie Roberts.

There is no argument about the half-backs where the numbers do not lie. England supply George Ford and Ben Youngs, who were the top two performers in fantasy with 76 and 41 points respectively. Ford was the Six Nations leading scorer on the field collecting two tries, 13 conversions, a dozen penalty goals and one dropped goal. Ben Youngs finished the season with man-of-the-match awards against both Scotland and France, and chipped in with three tries to help England finish as Six Nations runners-up.

The front-row is arguably the hardest position from which to claim fantasy points. Players there are always likely to be subbed, they have few chances to make assists and even fewer to score tries. It was the only part of fantasy team units that failed to pick up a man-of-the-match award in the season's 15 games. Few, though, could argue with the choice of Vincent Debaty and Guilhem Guirado of France to join Scotland's Euan Murray in the front-row. Murray became his country's most-capped prop against Ireland and he and Debaty were the only props to register any fantasy points for try assists.

Paul O'Connell and Alun-Wyn Jones, another established Lions combo, would be first choices for any Northern Hemisphere team. Jones was the line-out king of this Six Nations with 25 takes - a third more than his nearest rival. O'Connell, for his leadership and stamina, would have to captain the side after leading Ireland to back-to-back title wins.

That leaves the back-row where Welshman Sam Warburton would fit in as blind-side with Ireland's Sean O'Brien on the open and England's Billy Vunipola at No 8. Warburton is equally at home on either side of the back-row while O'Brien, a late starter in this year's tournament after pulling out at the eleventh hour of Ireland's opener in Italy, is the out-and-out open-side in the team.

Finally, at No 8 Billy Vunipola stands alone. He worked wonders for England in the open and off the back of the scrum where his carries and tackles made him one of the stand-out players of the tournament. He and O'Brien were fantasy's most valuable forwards of the Six Nations.

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