Best Players After Round Seven

TOP FRONT ROWERS
Keven Mealamu (BLU) - 283 ><
Tatafu Polatu-Nau (WAR) - 280 ><
Andrew Hore (HUR) - 270 ><
Ti'i Paulo (CRU) - 263 >
Adrian Strauss (CHE) - 256 <

There remains very little to separate the top front rowers - the only change sees Paulo and Strauss swapping positions - but there's still no place for this week's highest earner, Bismarck du Plessis, thanks to the Sharks frustrating rotation policy.

TOP LOCKS
Dean Mumm (WAR) - 258 >
Andries Bekker (STM) - 251 <
Nathan Sharpe (FOR) - 213 ><
Danie Roussouw (BUL) - 176 *
Anthony Boric (BLU) - 175 <

Another sterling performance by Dean Mumm sees him squeak past Andries Bekker (on a bye this week) into first place. Elsewhere, the injured Tom Donnelly drops out the top five altogether and Danie Roussouw is a new entry in fourth place.

TOP LOOSIES
Pierre Spies (BUL) - 356 ><
Ryan Kankowski (SHK) - 250 ><
Juan Smith (CHE) - 247 >
Matt Hodgson (FOR) - 228 *
Rocky Elsom (BRM) - 223 <

Spies is pulling away at the top of the loosies, putting a lot of daylight between himself and the pretenders to the throne. Elsom's dire form this week sees him slump to fifth, below a surprising new entry in the form of the Western Force's Matt Hodgson.

TOP HALVES
Morne Steyn (BUL) - 448 ><
Will Genia (RED) - 338 >
Quade Cooper (RED) - 330 <
Daniel Carter (CRU) - 306 ><
Matt Giteau (BRM) - 256 *

There's no meaningful change among the halves. Morne Steyn's superb performances in the opening rounds continue to keep him at the top, even if its been many weeks since he's been in even the top five halves of the round. Genia pips his teammate Cooper to claim second and Matt Giteau makes a belated appearance in fifth place after a couple of decent games.

TOP CENTRES
James O'Connor (FOR) - 340 >
Wynand Olivier (BUL) - 312 <
Adam Ashley-Cooper (BRM) - 283 ><
Richard Kahui (CHF) - 251 *
Anthony Faingaa (RED) - 225 ><

O'Connor's inexorable rise continues and he robs Wynand Olivier of first place. Like his fellow Bull, Steyn, Olivier's been somewhat resting on the laurels of his early rounds. Kahui's been blowing hot and cold for the Chiefs but a solid round this week sees him enter the top five. The Blue's Isaia Toe'ava really deserves to be in there too - a couple of early games from the bench are pulling his average down.

TOP BACKS
Israel Dagg (HGH) - 379 >
Sitiveni Sivivatu (CHF) - 344 <
Drew Mitchell (WAR) - 334 ><
Rene Ranger (BLU) - 315 *
Cory Jane (HUR) - 303 *

It's all change among the backs as Dagg finally claims the top spot after another great performance. Mediocre scoring by the Chief's wings sees Sivivatu slip to second and Masaga fall out of the top five altogether and there are two dynamic new entries - Dangerman Rene Ranger and the returning Cory Jane - the latter displacing the elusive Digby Ioane.

Dream Team: Round Seven

FR Bismarck du Plessis (SHK) 350
FR Tatafu Polatu-Nau (BUL) 315

LK Dean Mumm (WAR) 410
LK Nathan Sharpe (FOR) 300

LF Pierre Spies (BUL) 650
LF Victor Vito (HUR) 460

HV Daniel Halangahu (WAR) 485
HV Aaron Cruden (HUR) 375

CT James O'Connor (FOR) 420
CT Isaia Toe'ava (BLU) 395

OB Rene Ranger (BLU) 500
OB Israel Dagg (HGH) 450

5 try bonus 200

Total Points 5,310

Week Seven: Kynan's Team

NO POOFTAHS - Facebook S14

*New buys in italics

FR Tatafu Polatu-Nau (WAR) - $1,270,000
FR Andrew Hore (HUR) - $1,350,000

LK Michael Paterson (HUR) - $952,500
LK Anthony Boric (BLU) - $1,007,500

LF Pierre Spies (CHF) - $1,312,500
LF Rocky Elsom (BRU) - $1,180,000

HV Quade Cooper (RED) - $1,250,000
HV Morne Steyn (BUL) - $1,565,000

CT James O'Connor (FOR) - $1,235,000
CT Michael Hobbs (HGH) - $722,500

OB Israel Dagg (HGH) - $1,147,500
OB Lelia Masaga (CHF) - $1,100,000

Team Value: $14,092,500
Cash in Bank: $127,250

I crawled up one ranking to number seven. At this rate I'll be number 1 by the semi's! My choices are all very obvious this week - Quade Cooper is back... I expect his big numbers to continue and he's already made me a fortune... the big question comes whether to stick with he and Steyn, or trade for Dan Carter...

I got Masaga while he was cheap too, but it was really just for the money. I'm not expecting big numbers from him against the Brumbies... but here's hoping.

Hobbs was the best scoring center I could afford... and he's playing against the Lions, and my best selection advice has always been "who's playing the Lions?"

I'm tempted to get Kankowski, but I'll probably wait for the Sharks bye week...

Week Seven: Predictions

Andrew: 32/39 (82%)
Kynan: 27/39 (69%)

Andrew's Predictions

Highlanders vs Lions - Highlanders by 12
Brumbies vs Chiefs - Brumbies by 5
Cheetahs vs Reds - Reds by 3
Hurricanes vs Sharks - Hurricanes by 10
Waratahs vs Blues - Blues by 7
Force vs Bulls - Bulls by 12

Kynan's Predictions

Highlanders vs Lions - Highlanders by 13+
Brumbies vs Chiefs - Chiefs by less than 7
Cheetahs vs Reds - Reds by 7+
Hurricanes vs Sharks - Sharks by less than 7
Waratahs vs Blues - Waratahs by less than 7
Force vs Bulls - Bulls by 13+

Week Seven: Andrew's Team

THE ORCADIANS - Facebook S14

*New buys in italics

FR Keven Mealamu (BLU) - $1,235,000
FR Andrew Hore (HUR) - $1,350,000

LK Dean Mumm (WAR) - $1, 132,500

LK Nathan Sharpe (FOR) - $1,157,500

LF Rocky Elsom (BRM) - $1,180,000

LF Pierre Spies (BUL) - $1,312,500

HV Matt Giteau (BRU) - $1,187,500

HV Morne Steyn (BUL) - $1,565,000

CT James O'Connor (FOR) - $1,235,000

CT Wynand Olivier (BUL) - $1,512,500

OB Drew Mitchell (WAR) - $1,225,000

OB Israel Dagg (HGH) - $1,147,500

Team Value: $15,240,000

Cash in Bank: $652,650

It's the halfway point in the competition, and things are still tight at the top of the league, with most of the top ten all swapping places last week. I'm back up to second and lurking just outside the world top 100 but I'm not making any reckless boasts this week!

I often tend to run low on trades at the climax of the competition and so I've kept changes to an absolute minimum this round. One was enforced, with Mumm replacing Bekker, an obvious choice since he is statistically the second best performing lock by a healthy margin.

I had to think long and hard about the halves. Golden Boy Morne Steyn's been seriously underperforming in recent weeks, but the prospect of the weak and wounded Western Force seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, so I've given him one week's probation. For the other slot, I was very tempted to drop Giteau for Cooper, but Gits came good for me last week, and since I'll be rebuying Carter after this round locks, I decided to limit my trades and stick with the current set-up.

My only other change was in the centres with James O'Connor coming in for Adam Ashley-Cooper. The latter has been a really good earner, but with the Brumbies on a bye next week, and O'Connor being the better of the two in recent matches, it seemed a good time to make the switch.

In the backs, players really are spoiled for choice. Again, I've been conservative and stuck with my pairing from last week - Mitchell's form has been sublime in the last couple of rounds and Dagg should run riot against the hapless Lions on Friday - but there were some mouthwatering alternatives - Ranger, Ioane, Sivivatu, Masaga at al.

Remember next week sees the Brumbies and Lions on a bye, with the Crusaders and Stormers returning to the fray. Money's probably not too much of an issue for most players these days, but if you buy early, you can pick up the likes of Carter, Read and Burger for sub-$1M, and Bekker's price is a good $300,000 less than his pre-bye value.

Good luck everyone!

Week Seven: Team Announcements

HIGHLANDERS vs LIONS, DUNEDIN, FRIDAY 06:35 GMT

Highlanders – 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Michael Hobbs, 11 James Paterson, 10 Robbie Robinson/Matt Berquist, 9 Jimmy Cowan (c); 8 Steven Setephano, 7 John Hardie, 6 Adam Thomson 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Jamie Mackintosh.

Subs: 16 Jason Macdonald, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Joe Tuineau, 19 Tim Boys, 20 Sean Romans, 21 Jason Shoemark, 22 Fetu’u Vainikolo.

Lions – 15 Michael Killian, 14 Wigan Pekeur, 13 Walter Venter, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Tonderai Chavhanga, 10 Carlos Spencer, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Todd Clever, 7 Derick Minnie, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar (c), 5 Franco van der Merwe, 4 Nico Luus, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Hannes Franklin, 1 JC Janse van Rensburg.

Subs: 16 Charles Emslie, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Willem Stoltz, 19 Robert Kruger, 20 JP Joubert, 21 Wandile Mjekevu, 22 Earl Rose.

BRUMBIES vs CHIEFS, CANBERRA, FRIDAY 08:40 GMT

Brumbies – 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Matt Toomua, 9 Josh Valentine, 8 Stephen Hoiles (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mitchell Chapman, 4 Ben Hand, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Alexander.

Subs: 16 Huia Edmonds, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Colby Faingaa, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Tyrone Smith, 22 Julian Huxley.

Chiefs – 15 Mils Muliaina (c), 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Culum Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Sona Taumalolo.

Subs: 16 Hika Elliot,, 17 Nathan White, 18 Jarrad Hoeata, 19 Luke Braid, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Mike Delany, 22 Tim Nanai-Williams.

CHEETAHS vs REDS, BLOEMFONTEIN, FRIDAY 17:10 GMT

Cheetahs – 15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Danwel Demas, 13 Robert Ebersohn, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Naas Olivier, 9 Sarel Pretorius, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Juan Smith (c), 6 Hendro Scholtz, 5 Waltie Vermeulen, 4 Nico Breedt, 3 WP Nel, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Wian du Preez.

Subs: 16 Skipper Badenhorst, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Barend Pieterse, 19 Kabamba Floors, 20 Tewis de Bruyn, 21 Corné Uys, 22 Wilmaure Louw.

Reds – 15 Peter Hynes, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Digby Ioane, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Brando Vaaulu, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (c), 8 Leroy Houston, 7 Jake Schatz, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Van Humphries, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Laurie Weeks, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.

Subs: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Adam Byrnes, 19 Ezra Taylor, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Will Chambers, 22 Rod Davies.

HURRICANES vs SHARKS, WELLINGTON, SATURDAY 06:35 GMT

Hurricanes – 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tamati Ellison, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Andre Taylor, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Victor Vito, 5 Michael Paterson, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore (c), 1 John Schwalger.

Subs: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Bryn Evans, 19 Nick Crosswell, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 David Smith.

Sharks – 15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Riaan Swanepoel, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Andy Goode, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 John Smit (captain).

Subs: 16 Tendai Mtawarira, 17 Wiehahn Herbst, 18 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Rory Kockott, 21 Waylon Murray, 22 Odwa Ndungane.

WARATAHS vs BLUES, SYDNEY, SATURDAY, 08:40 GMT

Waratahs -15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.

Subs: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 Ben Mowen, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Tom Carter, 22 Sosene Anesi.

Blues – 15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Rene Ranger, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Serge Lilo, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Anthony Boric, 4 Kurtis Haiu, 3 John Afoa, 2 Keven Mealamu (c), 1 Tony Woodcock.

Subs: 16 Tom McCartney, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Filo Paulo, 19 Peter Saili, 20 Chris Smylie/Taniela Moa, 21 Daniel Kirkpatrick, 22 Paul Williams.

FORCE vs BULLS, PERTH, SATURDAY, 11:10 GMT

Force – 15 Mark Bartholomeusz, 14 Scott Staniforth, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 James O'Connor, 11 Mitch Inman, 10 David Hill, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Stanford, 7 Matt Hodgson, 6 Ben McCalman, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Tom Hockings, 3 Tim Fairbrother, 2 Ben Whittaker, 1 Nic Henderson.

Subs: 16 Pek Cowan, 17 Kieran Longbottom, 18 Luke Jones, 19 Ted Postal, 20 Chris O'Young, 21 Sam Harris, 22 Haig Sare.

Bulls – 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gerhard van der Heever, 13 Stephan Dippenaar, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.

Subs: 16 Bandise Maku, 17 Bees Roux, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Derick Kuün, 20 Jacques-Louis Potgieter, 21 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.

Best Players After Round Six

TOP FRONT ROWERS
Keven Mealamu (BLU) - 278 ><
Tatafu Polatu-Nau (WAR) - 274 >
Andrew Hore (HUR) - 266 <
Adrian Strauss (CHE) - 265 <
Ti'i Paulo (CRU) - 263*

Things are tight at the top. Mealamu and Hore had relatively low scoring games at the weekend, allowing the others to close the gap and now an average of only 15 points per game separates the leaders. Paulo returns to the rankings, replacing Tiann Liebenburg, who slips just outside the top five.

TOP LOCKS
Andries Bekker (STM) - 251 >
Dean Mumm (WAR) - 220 <
Nathan Sharpe (FOR) - 196 ><
Anthony Boric (BLU) - 154 ><
Tom Donnelly (HGH) - 149 >

Bekker's barnstorming performance sends him back to the top, though Mumm remains close behind him and Sharpe is steady-as-a-rock in third place. Michael Paterson drops out entirely, with Tom Donnelly taking his spot.

TOP LOOSIES
Pierre Spies (BUL) - 283 ><
Ryan Kankowski (SHK) - 273 >
Rocky Elsom (BRM) - 256 >
Juan Smith (CHE) - 247 >
George Smith (BRM) - 237 <

A distinctly sub-par game at the weekend sees Spies' dominant lead at the top of the loosies shrink dramatically. Injury caused George Smith to tumble into fifth, leapfrogged by Kankowski, Elsom and Juan Smith, who remain in the same pecking order as last week.

TOP HALVES
Morne Steyn (BUL) - 479 ><
Quade Cooper (RED) - 374 ><
Will Genia (RED) - 334 >
Daniel Carter (CRU) - 306 <
Francois Hougaard (BUL) - 268 ><

There's no meaningful change among the halves. Morne Steyn put in another less-than-stellar game - outside the top 10 halves for the round - and his average score is again slashed. Carter's slump to fourth is deceptive and due to a cameo appearance from the bench. Indeed, if he'd started against the Lions, one wonders if there would be much separating him from Steyn at the top of the pile.

TOP CENTRES
Wynand Olivier (BUL) - 332 ><
James O'Connor (FOR) - 324 >
Adam Ashley-Cooper (BRM) - 293 <
Michael Hobbs (HGH) - 254 ><
Anthony Faingaa (RED) - 251 ><

Likewise, in the centres there is little movement this week. The precocious James O'Connor proves that playing in a perpetually losing side needn't affect your Test Rugby points, and moves up to second at the expense of Ashley-Cooper, otherwise, everything remains the same.

TOP BACKS
Sitiveni Sivivatu (CHF) - 403 ><
Israel Dagg (HGH) - 367 ><
Drew Mitchell (WAR) - 354 ><
Lelia Masaga (CHF) - 310 ><
Digby Ioane (RED) - 304 ><

There's absolutely no change among the backs, solid performances by Dagg and Mitchell see them retain second and third place respectively, but with Sivivatu, Masaga and Ioane back in action this week after a bye, things are sure to shake up.

Dream Team: Round Six

FR Ti'i Paulo (CRU) 400
FR Gary Botha (BUL) 365

LK Andries Bekker (STM) 390
LK Jeremy Thrush (HUR) 225

LF Jerome Kaino (BLU) 325
LF Ryan Kankowski (SHK) 300

HV Matt Giteau (BRM) 390
HV Daniel Halangahu (WAR) 340

CT Jaque Fourie (STM) 540
CT Ryan Crotty (CRU) 330

OB Sean Maitland (CRU) 500
OB Joe Rokocoko (BLU) 440

5 try bonus 200

Total Points 4,745