Week One: Andrew's Team

THE ORCADIANS - Facebook S14

FR Keven Mealamu (NZL) - $1,140,000
FR Gurthro Steenkamp (SAF) - $750,500

LK Tom Donnelly (NZL) - $740,950
LK Sam Whitelock (NZL) - $510,500

LF Pierre Spies (SAF) - $1,170,000
LF Kieran Read (NZL) - $905,750

HV Dan Carter (NZL) - $1,275,000
HV Morne Steyn (SAF) - $1,190,000

CT Ma'a Nonu (NZL) - $1,190,000
CT Conrad Smith (NZL) - $1,140,500

OB Cory Jane (NZL) - $1,105,500
OB Joe Rokocoko (NZL) - $1,130,950

Team Value: $12,241,650
Cash in Bank: $58,350

With money tight, I had to make some sacrifices in this opening round. Unable to choose both hookers, I picked Mealamu over Smit as the Kiwi still has the edge, at least where Testrugby point scoring is concerned. Gurthro Steenkamp and Tony Woodcock seemed like the best choices among the props and in the end I chose the former (even if he does resemble a Turkish prison guard who enjoys raping the inmates) because he was marginally cheaper and I expect the Boks to have the upper hand come scrumtime.

Locks are notoriously the lowest scoring position in TR and so I made some compromises here. Tom Donnelly was by far the cheapest of the starting locks, and though he's certain to have a hard day at the office, I'd wager money that he'll still earn more than Bakkies. Bench-warming Sam Whitelock gets the other spot. He's likely to get a wee bit of game time and earn a handful of points but he's really just there as a makeweight.

My frugailty thus far allowed me to afford one of the tournament's "must have" players - Pierre Spies. Second only to Carter as the best average point scorer in 2009, and the most valuable loosie in this year's S14 by some margin, his price is sure to rise and if I didn't buy him now, I'd likely not be able to do so until after the bye in round 5. In the other slot, I picked Kieran Read, taking advantage of the fact that he's been criminally under-priced - nearly $250,000 cheaper than Thomson and Kaino, which doesn't seem right, does it?

There was little decision making to be done for my halves - Carter and Steyn - enough said.

Despite returning from injury, Nonu still seems the best bet as the biggest earner among the centres. It was a toss up between Conrad Smith and Jaque Fourie for the other berth - there's usually very little to separate them as far as point scoring goes. Fourie's probably the only Springbok back worth having - Kirchner and Olivier are too lightweight for this level and I'd be surprised if either of the wings see much of the ball - but I have a gut feeling that Smith might just shine in this game or the next.

In the backs, I chose Rokocoko and Jane. Rokocoko's indifferent form of late aside, he has the potential at least to score some serious points and Jane's another player who seems a relative steal, and I expect him to be battling O'Connor as the best scoring back of the competition.

Good luck, everyone! Let battle commence...