Fantasy International Rugby: Round Four Preview

Fijian wing Nemani Nadolo looms as a premium target for round four of Dream Team Fantasy International Rugby. Photo / Getty Images

With another round down in Fantasy International Rugby, we welcome the remaining round-robin fixtures and strategise before the playoffs.

Round 3 saw Tonga's double-header pay off for those who took a punt on their lineup. Five of their squad featured in our 'Team of the Week' while just five from real title-contenders made the cut - in other words, the minnows (quite unexpectedly to me) provided some serious value.

The only way I can explain this is the fact that highly-ranked teams are resting their stars, or giving them reduced minutes, and the minnows are competing much better than expected.

We also saw New Zealand seem to use the Georgia game as a way to test themselves against certain strategies of attack and pressure and, as a result, they were not so focused on scoring points.

Round 4, the last of the round-robin phase of play, sees four minnows play twice - Romania, USA, Uruguay and Namibia.

I've done my best to be optimistic about the players in these sides but I can't quite bring myself to recommend any of their players.

Just eight of these players from these four countries are averaging over 20 points and only three of these have a chance of playing twice in Round 4 after recent team announcements and injuries.

If you feel like taking a massive punt on these players, they are Romanian captain Mihai Macovei and Namibians Theuns Kotze and Tijuee Uanivi.

Outside of the double-headers; Fiji, South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and England look likely to put big points on the board against lesser rivals.

Fijian lock Leone Nakarawa has been one of the game's MVPs over the first three rounds while Nemani Nadolo could go very large against Uruguay. Ben Volavola and Asaeli Tikoirotuma are also great bets for points.

South Africa have named an almost unchanged side to face the USA and have a bevy of options for you to take a punt on. Pretty much any one of their backs could have huge games while their second row is one of best in fantasy.

New Zealand's usual suspects have the chance to big against Tonga but be wary of making moves until their team is named. I'm predicting big things from Ma'a Nonu who may be out to prove he's the team's first choice second-five ahead of the quarter finals.

Argentina's backs have been some of the best in our game so far with four averaging over 40 points per game. If they play against Namibia then Nicolas Sanchez, Santiago Cordero, Joaquin Tuculet and Juan Imhoff are all outstanding pickups.

Finally, England face Uruguay on Sunday morning in their tournament swansong. Again, wait until their team's announced, but there could be some gold to be mined from the likes of Mike Brown, Anthony Watson and Jonny May.

Remember, don't be afraid to pick up players from teams that may not be progressing through to the quarter finals. Once Round 4 is complete, you'll have an unlimited amount of transfers available for you to re-jig your squad ahead of Round 5.

Listen to Radio Sport every week, the day before each fantasy round gets underway, to hear Dr Stats chat with D'Arcy Waldegrave about the latest fantasy news and advice.

Teams going twice:
Romania
USA
Uruguay
Namibia

Mismatches:
Fiji v Uruguay
South Africa v USA
NZ v Tonga
Argentina v Namibia
England v Uruguay

On the bench:
Martin Castrogiovanni, Italy (out of tournament)
Michele Rizzo, Italy (out of tournament)
Gonzalo Garcia, Italy (out of tournament)
Felipe Berchesi, Uruguay (out of tournament)
Brad Barritt, England (out of tournament)
Ben Morgan, England (out of tournament)
Ben Youngs, England (out of tournament)
Michael Hooper, Australia (suspended 1 match)
Alesana Tuilagi, Samoa (suspended 5 weeks)
Manasa Saulo, Fiji (suspended 10 weeks)
Faifili Levave, Samoa (cited for foul play)
Waisake Naholo, New Zealand (questionable)
Stuart Hogg, Scotland (questionable)
Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand (questionable)
Israel Folau, Australia (questionable)
Rob Horne, Australia (out 1 match)
JP Pietersen, South Africa (out 1 match)
Jannie du Plessis, South Africa (out 1 match)
Sam Burgess, England (dropped)
Jonny May, England (dropped)
Mike Brown, England (benched)