At the midway stage of the Autumn Nations Series, Fantasy Rugby players are nervously opening their accounts to check their scores.
And whether they fist pump the air or hang their head in dismay, there are still two more Rounds to extend leads or claw back precious points.
There are no prizes after Round 2 but congratulations are in order if you picked the following players in your team.
And beneath these three shrewd signings are a trio you wish you’d never selected.
WINNERS
Ange Capuozzo (Italy)
Ange Capuozzo was the hero for Kieran Crowley and Italy back in March when his match-winning break set up Edoardo Padovani to cross in the dying stages of the match against Wales.
And his timely return from injury was crucial to the Azzurri claiming their first ever win over Australia on Saturday.
The 23-year-old full-back ran in two tries against the Wallabies, boosting his points tally to 85 for the match – an average higher than any other player.
His three line-breaks are only bettered by Monty Ioane, Darcy Graham and Vinaya Habosi, all of whom have played twice.
Toulouse’s summer signing also made a whopping 80 metres and one of his three tackles was classed as dominant.
Mark Telea (New Zealand)
Mark Telea had a dream debut for the All Blacks on Sunday and was a whisker away from matching Capuozzo’s 85-point haul.
The 25-year-old also went over twice in New Zealand’s 31-23 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh, including a close-range effort in the 74th minute to seal the result.
And like the Italian, Telea made three line-breaks, while recording a round-high 124 metres carried to take his total to 84.8 points.
The Blues winger was available for just 10.8 stars after Round 1, surely the bargain of the Autumn Nations Series so far.
Nick Timoney (Ireland)
Or for the same price, Fantasy Rugby managers could have plumped for loose forward Nick Timoney.
The Ulster flanker was making just his second start for Ireland and his first since a 71-10 victory over the USA last summer.
Timoney was on the scoresheet that day in July and crossed twice for Andy Farrell on Saturday, as Fiji were defeated 35-17 at the Aviva Stadium.
The 27-year-old made 11 tackles, more than any of his teammates, and had a single line-break to add to a healthy 59 metres made, bringing his total to 67.8 points.
LOSERS
Antoine Dupont (France)
Antoine Dupont’s value dropped from 17.9 stars to 16.6 stars after collecting 31.2 points in France’s narrow 30-26 victory over South Africa.
But those who stuck with the World Rugby Player of the Year would have been tearing their hair out when the scrum-half upended Cheslin Kolbe while the Springbok was in the air.
The ensuing red card was devastating for the 25-year-old’s points total, as even with a try assist the Frenchman was awarded just 7.8 points.
Pieter-Steph du Toit (South Africa)
The previous World Rugby Player of the Year fared even worse than Dupont in Marseille, undoing managers’ hard-earned points with a -6.8 score.
The flanker gave Wayne Barnes with no choice but to give the 30-year-old his marching orders after just 11 minutes when Du Toit left Jonathan Danty with a fractured eye socket.
And after a 14.4-point haul in Round 1, Du Toit has an average of just 3.8 – only Lucas Paulos (2.1) and Livai Natave (2.0) have lower from all players involved in two matches.
Allan Ala’alatoa (Australia)
Named Australian captain for the very first time for the Wallabies clash with Italy on Saturday, Fantasy Rugby managers may have been tempted to select Allan Ala’alatoa.
But according to the statistics, there are 35 better choices for your prop as the tighthead posted just 10.6 points in the 28-27 loss in Florence.
In defence of the 28-year-old, from his teammates only Darcy Swain and Fraser McReight could better his seven tackles in the match, but unfortunately there was little else to shout about in terms of Fantasy points.
