Week Two: Andrew's Team

THE ORCADIANS - Facebook S14

*New buys in italics

FR Keven Mealamu (NZL) - $1,197,500
FR Gurthro Steenkamp (SAF) - $822,500

LK Tom Donnelly (NZL) - $835,000
LK Victor Matfield (SAF) - $1,175,000

LF Ritchie McCaw (NZL) - $1,107,500
LF Kieran Read (NZL) - $1,015,000

HV Dan Carter (NZL) - $1,350,000
HV Morne Steyn (SAF) - $1,242,500

CT Ma'a Nonu (NZL) - $1,222,500
CT Rene Ranger (NZL) - $840,000

OB Cory Jane (NZL) - $1,150,000
OB Mils Muliaina (NZL) - $1,257,500

Team Value: $13,215,000
Cash in Bank: $88,350

I had a great first week, with my All Black heavy side taking me to the top of the league and a world ranking of 16th. Financially I had a good week too, with my squad increasingly in value by over $1M.

I made a total of four changes this week. Immediately after last week's game, I sold Rokocoko and bought Muliaina, and just as well since the latter's price has risen over $100,000 since then and the former ended up injured. The All Blacks' fullback was in electric form and the highest points earner of the round by a healthy margin, so I just couldn't resist having him in my team for the next game.

With Rene Ranger's introduction to the squad, I swapped out Conrad Smith for his teammate. I thought Smith had a great game last week and there's no reason to expect any different tomorrow, but Ranger's cheap price made the transaction a financially necessary one.

With my extra cash I intended to buy a Springbok lock but I was still a little short, so I replaced Pierre Spies with Richie McCaw, who was a couple of hundred thousand cheaper but earned the same amount of points last week. In doing so I was able to afford Victor Matfield, who despite a seemingly anonymous game made decent points, and is almost certain to score more than a benched Sam Whitelock.

The Boks take on the Wallabies next week, so remember to sell your All Blacks as soon as the round locks and their prices start to drop. You might even think about buying a few players from the Aussie squad before their value rises. Although a lot of uncertainty surrounds the Australian starting XV, the likes of Sharpe, Moore, Elsom, Cooper and Genia seem pretty safe bets.

Good luck everyone!