A Super Rugby Fantasy team

One of the advantages the information age has brought to the world of sports is the invention of the Fantasy League. America could arguably be said to have pioneered the concept. The internet first came to prominence there and with the United States being home to some of the richest sporting leagues in the world (NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball), the Fantasy League became a way for fans to fulfil their ultimate ambition of feeling like more than an armchair critic. The difference is that instead of competing against the other teams, they compete against other would-be Al Pacinos a la the film Any Given Sunday. It’s also provided advertisers another pathway into the homes of millions of sports fans, which makes the idea very viable for all concerned.

The Super 14 competition was no different, and the same applies to the new Super 15. SuperSport runs its own Fantasy League, as does the Australian broadcaster Fox. Last year I gave the SuperSport version a go, but switched to Fox this year. The Fox version gives points for everything from offloads, tackles and try assists while also punishing knock-ons and missed tackles among other infringements. The SuperSport version is more points orientated, which doesn’t tell us enough. It’s more detailed, and as the season has progressed players have been ranked according to the total number of points that have accumulated up to that point.

An important factor when picking players (notwithstanding the salary cap … a standard for most Fantasy sims) is knowing which players are going to see the most ball during a match, since it is those players that will typically score higher than those who don’t. Sure, there are some tackling machines out there who will make upward of 25 tackles a game, but they are few and far between.

As an indicator of which players have had the best seasons, it isn’t the best measure since it doesn’t attribute points for everything a player does (forward play especially), which all add up to the total performance of a team on any given day. However, as a measure of which players get involved the most with ball in hand, it has few competitors that go into a player’s performance in such detail and quantifying it for all to see.

The following is a list of the top-scoring players per position. Would you agree that these individuals have had stellar seasons?

Props:

1. Coenraad Oosthuizen (Cheetahs) – 280

2. Ben Alexander (Brumbies) – 278

3. Benn Robinson (Waratahs) – 244

4. Ben Daley (Reds) – 234

5. John Afoa (Blues) – 211

6. Jamie Mackintosh (Highlanders) – 210

Hookers:

1. Keven Mealamu (Blues) – 450

2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies) – 420

3. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs) – 415

Locks:

1. Andries Bekker (Stormers) – 377

2. Nathan Sharpe (Force) – 327

3. Mark Chisholm (Brumbies) – 322

4. Franco van der Merwe (Lions) – 320

5. Dean Mumm (Waratahs) – 315

6. Sam Wykes (Force) – 277

Flankers:

1. Liam Messam (Chiefs) – 552

2. Adam Thomson (Highlanders) – 415

3. Scott Higginbotham (Reds) – 372

4. Jarrod Saffy (Rebels) – 363

5. Jack Lam (Hurricanes) – 355

6. Joshua Strauss (Lions) – 340

No 8:

1. Victor Vito (Hurricanes) – 396

2. Nasi Manu (Highlanders) – 366

3. Pierre Spies (Bulls) – 348

Scrum-half:

1. Sarel Pretorius (Cheetahs) – 370

2. Luke Burgess (Waratahs) – 306

3. Will Genia (Reds) – 303

Flyhalf:

1. Quade Cooper (Reds) – 519

2. Matt Giteau (Brumbies) – 479

3. Morne Steyn (Bulls) – 416

Centres:

1. Wynand Olivier (Bulls) – 455

2. Doppies la Grange (Lions) – 434

3. Digby Ioane (Reds) – 411

4. Tom Carter (Waratahs) – 406

5. Jared Payne (Blues) – 382

6. Sonny Bill Williams (Crusaders) – 368

Wings:

1. Rene Ranger (Blues) – 366

2. Kade Poki (Highlanders) – 348

3. David Smith (Force) – 329

4. Sitiveni Sivivatu (Chiefs) – 323

5. Hosea Gear (Hurricanes) – 315

6. Zac Guildford (Crusaders) – 313

Full Back:

1. Kurtley Beale (Waratahs) – 601

2. Pat McCabe (Brumbies) – 385

3. Ben Smith (Highlanders) – 324

As you can see, the players that played the most (generally) accumulated the most points, hence the table above. It doesn’t leave room for a rotation policy, like the Crusaders have been employing in their front row all season. Still, if you had to pick a team from the above, it would certainly know how to go forward with the ball. Would you agree?