Round 1 has been and gone in a blur of last-minute drop goals, scintillating individual tries and dubious HIA’s, and this is what we learnt…
Sam Simmonds
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have been keeping a close eye on the Aviva Premiership this season but Sam Simmonds was the standout performer this weekend in his first Six Nations appearance. Simmonds has impressed all at club level with a phenomenal workrate both in attack and defence and this incredible engine was in full effect this weekend with some truly incredible stats…
Sam Simmonds, take a bow. What a talent. 2 tries. 1 assist. 23 tackles made. 80 metres carried. 14 carries. 3 clean breaks. 6 defenders beaten. He’s in your Fantasy Rugby team right? pic.twitter.com/JP79M3ENSa— Fantasy Rugby Geek (@FRugbyGeek) February 4, 2018
…he’s been a fantasy points machine all season and he seems to transferred to test rugby like a duck to water. Sterner tests certainly lie ahead but based on this performance, there should be more fantasy returns to be made by the explosive England 8.
Improved Italy?
Despite the scoreline, this seemed to be a much improved performance by the Italian side. Looking dangerous moving forwards as well as more organised in defence (albeit a defence that tired in the latter stages when England’s “finishers” made their appearance); it may be that this Italian side aren’t the whipping boys that many observers were expecting. Benetton Treviso and Zebre have impressed in Pro 14 and European action this season, so some were expecting this form to transfer, and the initial signs are promising.
England not playing badly, just Italy have improved a lot this year! Great to see!— RugbyInsideLine (@RugbyInsideLine) February 4, 2018
With this said, we have seen false dawns like this with Italy before, and despite this improved performance, this was still Italy’s largest Six Nations opening round defeat, so this may have affected their confidence. They head on the road next so we will see whether this improvement was a one off or a genuine step forward.
Wales Attack
It was a new look Welsh backline who put a highly disappointing Scotland side to the sword this weekend. Spearheaded with an unlikely brace from Leigh Halfpenny, who supplemented his ever reliable kicking returns with two tries to provide big fantasy returns for his owners. Elsewhere, Dan Biggar’s replacement at 10, Rhys Patchell looked lively and creative and will surely gather great fantasy returns as the tournament progresses. There were assists for Hadleigh Parkes, Scott Williams and Steff Evans, with the latter bringing his hot club form to the international stage with a clinical finish to round up the scoring. Finally, Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Under The Radar pick for Round 1, Gareth Davies, looked dangerous throughout and got himself on the scoresheet once again with a scintillating breakaway try…
Not a bad way to start the tournament!
🏉 Gareth Davies’ interception was the 2018 #SixNations‘ opening try!
📺 @BBCTwo; Wales
📲 LIVE: https://t.co/zxwrkFV5h2; pic.twitter.com/AnsbSpk0rk— BBC ScrumV (@BBCScrumV) February 4, 2018
There is big points in this Welsh backline for sure.
Guirado
French captain Guilhem Guirado put in a magnificent performance on Saturday putting in a gargantuan 31 tackles against Ireland. For years Guirado has put in some blockbusting performances both in attack and defence, and this workrate and effectiveness makes him an essential pick in the front row, where returns are traditionally low.
@guilhem_guirado; 31 tackles in a game! Big defensive shift!#Relentless; pic.twitter.com/UkSmmviPTU— James Alvo Alvis (@AlvoAlvis) February 5, 2018
Ireland with a point to prove
Pre-tournament, as far the bookies were concerned, it seemed to be a two horse race for the Six Nations Championship. England and Ireland. While England comfortably dispatched Italy, a much vaunted Ireland attack struggled to break down a stubborn French defence and, were it not for a moment of genius and ballsy confidence from Jonny Sexton with the last action of the game, their Grand Slam bid would have fallen at the first hurdle. Criticism will be ringing in their ears and in Round 2 they will be looking for a considerably improved attacking performance. It just so happens that next up is Italy at the Aviva Stadium and Ireland will be looking to make a statement against an improved but possibly deflated Italian side. Load up your teams with Irish options for Round 2!
Fantasy Rugby Geek Six Nations Fantasy Leagues after Round 1
Here are the standings in the Fantasy Rugby Geek Six Nations Fantasy Leagues for ESPN Scrum and SuperBru after Round 1…
There’s still time to join our Natwest Six Nations leagues on ESPN Scrum, where a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat will be on offer for the winners of each league. To join the ESPN Scrum league, simply go here, create your team, go to Leagues, select ‘Join League’ and enter the league League Password: 1304606-52973 Good luck!
Found this interesting or useful and looking for more Fantasy Rugby news, tips and advice? Follow @frugbygeek on Twitter, Like us on Facebook or sign up to the newsletter below to get fantasy rugby news delivered straight to you!