The Autumn Nations Series came to a thrilling conclusion in week four with Fantasy Rugby participants experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions.
France stunned the All Blacks in Paris, while England trumped world champions South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.
Wales beat Australia at the death while Stuart Hogg became Scotland’s record try scorer in their victory over Japan and Italy gave coach Kieran Crowley a first victory against Uruguay in Parma.
The final match saw Ireland run out convincing winners against Argentina, leaving the owners of Irish stars very happy. Here’s who topped the fantasy performance charts across the six fixtures during an enthralling final weekend.
Caelan Doris (Ireland) 17 stars
In the absence of Jack Conan, Caelan Doris shifted to No.8 but still delivered another eye-catching performance.
The Leinster man backed up his terrific showing in the historic victory over the All Blacks with another dominant display against Argentina at the Aviva Stadium.
Not only did he cross the try line once again but Doris made a week-high 14 tackles and carried five times for 63 metres.
Doris reeled in 86.9 points for his gleeful fantasy owners, but only just snared the No.1 spot ahead of his teammate Joey Carbery.
Joey Carbery (Ireland) 15.4 stars
Carbery shone in place of Johnny Sexton at fly-half for Andy Farrell’s Ireland, pulling the strings perfectly against an ill-disciplined Argentina side.
Carbery has recovered from 18 months of injury hell to show why many had tipped the 26-year-old to be the Emerald Isle’s next No.10.
The Munster man showed signs of his glittering best and was imperious from the tee, striking the ball beautifully as he converted eight out of nine kicks to pick up an 18-point haul.
Awarded the official Player of the Match, Carbery showed his versatility by playing the last 30 minutes at full-back and putting in an equally impressive stint.
Despite making five tackles and 51 metres, Carbery was still 0.6 points short of Doris’ tally, recording 86.3 points for his efforts.
Melvyn Jaminet (France) 16.9 stars
The only non-Irishman to make the top five performers this week, full-back Melvyn Jaminet was integral in the victory over New Zealand.
Jaminet nudged four conversions and as many penalties to help scoop a personal haul of 20 points at the Stade de France.
The No.15 also made a very impressive 120 metres from just four carries, helping him record a points total of 82.5 on a famous evening for Les Bleus.
Josh van der Flier (Ireland) 16.3 stars
Flanker Josh van der Flier crossed for two tries as Ireland got the better of Los Pumas in Dublin.
Van der Flier also put in four tackles and made 59 metres from three carries as Andy Farrell’s men dominated their South American opponents.
Van der Flier’s efforts at the Aviva earned Fantasy players who had him in their side a very respectable 79.5 points.
Tadhg Beirne (Ireland) 16.2 stars
A late injury replacement for Iain Henderson, you would have needed a crystal ball to foresee British & Irish Lion Tadhg Beirne bagging a start on Sunday.
But he certainly did not waste the opportunity, putting in a very complete performance in the Irish engine room.
Beirne did the grunt work for his side, making 10 tackles in defence and carrying for 56 metres in attack.
All of that meant that he finished the weekend with 70.8 points.
Others
Outside the top five, Welsh centre Nick Tompkins – who capitalised on a fortuitous bounce to score against Australia – and Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg were also big points scorers.
French fly-half Romain Ntamack wowed the crowd with an audacious break and also pleased Fantasy players with a return of 68.1 points, while centres Rieko Ioane and Garry Ringrose were also shrewd picks for the final outings.
