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ESPN Fantasy Rugby 2019: Team of Week 1

Blair Kinghorn was the top scoring player in the first weekend of ESPN Fantasy Rugby 2019. Stu Forster/Getty Images

The opening round of ESPN Fantasy Rugby 2019 is done and dusted after what could best be described as a dramatic start to the Six Nations.

And while the action on the field brought a record comeback in Paris, a rare Scotland hat-trick at Murrayfield and a stunning upset in Dublin, for many people it was how individual players fared that will have had them cheering or groaning.

Such is the thrill of fantasy rugby. So, without further ado, here are the top scorers across Week 1.

Outside Backs

Blair Kinghorn (Scotland)

28 points, 3.7% owned

A hat-trick - Scotland's first since the Six Nations began in 2000 - is guaranteed to bag a player plenty of Fantasy Rugby points. He also ran more than 50m with ball in hand, for more points, and did his fair share of tackling ... for yet more points - and was named man of the match. Could Kinghorn be to Fantasy Rugby this year what Jacob Stockdale was last? Ireland next Saturday should provide a tougher challenge, but another good performance there, and who knows?

George North (Wales)

18 points, 22.7% owned

A brace of tries, courtesy of a late interception of Sebastien Vahaamahina's ill-advised miss-pass and Yoann Huget's on-the-line hand-eye malfunction, gave the winger a second-half kickstart in the Fantasy Rugby stakes in Paris, following an opening period that the hosts had dominated.

Jonny May (England)

11 points, 36.8% owned

The Leicester man has his critics - but he's got five tries in his last five Six Nations appearances, and his touchdown after just two minutes was England's first at the Aviva since 2011. Any concerns over his ability to handle aerial bombing raids have surely been silenced, after he coped with everything Conor Murray could fire at him.

Centres

Henry Slade (England)

14 points, 1% owned

The Exeter man, finally, laid down a marker at outside centre with a two-try performance -- including the bonus-point touchdown -- at the Aviva Stadium. The 1% of you who picked him should feel pretty special.

Chris Harris (Scotland)

7 points, 0.1% owned

A surprise name in the first Fantasy Rugby team of the week sheet for 2019 -- but he's not the only nought-point-one-percenter to make this list. Harris only came on in the 58th minute for Huw Jones -- but had plenty of time to score a try and make several tackles. Sometimes, you don't need to start to make a mark.

Fly-Half

Finn Russell (Scotland)

9 points, 25.3% owned

What can we say? We've championed the Racing fly-half in the lead up to the 2019 Six Nations and he didn't let us down, with nine more-than-useful Fantasy Rugby points in a typically Russell performance.

Scrum-Half

Guglielmo Palazzani (Italy)

9 points, 0.1% owned

Zebre's Palazzani was everywhere in Italy's opener against Scotland. He's not the fastest scrum-half you'll ever see but he did little wrong and plenty right in a livewire performance at Murrayfield. Thoroughly deserved his try.

Front Row

Cian Healy (Ireland)

11 points, 10.5% owned

Tries from forwards are gold dust for Fantasy Rugby managers so Healy's 25th-minute shove over the line from inches out is worth more than a George North 50m intercept any day of the week.

Mako Vunipola (England)

12 points, 56.7% owned

Crikey, Vunipola major was good in Dublin. His tackle count after 58 minutes was already at an astonishing 18 -- and he played on for another 19 minutes. His final tackle count of 27 is frankly bonkers.

Leonardo Ghiraldini (Italy)

5 points, 9.4% owned

The Toulouse man will willingly do all the grunt work all day for any side that asks it of him. Replaced on the hour after another heavy shift at the front row coal face, club side Toulouse will hope he comes through the rest of the tournament relatively unscathed after losing France's Julien Marchand to what looks a lot like an ACL injury.

Second Row

Grant Gilchrist (Scotland)

5 points, 3.4% owned

We've said it before: this is not a position for sackfuls of Fantasy Rugby points. Gilchrist did what all engine room players should -- tackled, supported, jumped and shoved. You may not have seen or heard much of him on the pitch, but his performance will have been noted where it matters.

Alun Wyn Jones (Wales)

4 points, 59.9% owned

Alun Wyn Jones did as Alun Wyn Jones does -- as he has done in 130-odd internationals for Wales and the British and Irish Lions since 2006. Few do it better, fewer still do it for as long.

Back Row

Louis Picamoles (France)

11 points, 25.4% owned

When Picamoles crashed over six minutes into the Six Nations opener against Wales, few could have predicted what would happen later in what was, frankly, an extraordinary game. He did a lot of close-quarter work, too.

Arthur Iturria (France)

6 points, 1.4% owned

Probably the best French player on the pitch at Stade de France on Friday but that, sadly, doesn't score any Fantasy Rugby points on its own. Smart offloads that lead to a try do, though, and he did that and put in a solid defensive shift, to boot.

Mark Wilson (England)

6 points, 1.4% owned

A more than decent effort for the Cumbrian on his Six Nations debut - who is quickly establishing himself as a must-have player for Eddie Jones. Like most blindsides, a lot of what he does goes unnoticed - until you watch the game over again.