If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our first instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the 2026 Nations Championship. This where we analyse the weekend’s lineups, crunch the stats and see what the bookies are thinking to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this weekend! By the time you finish this article you should have all the insight you need to score big fantasy points this weekend.
Before we do however, a word from the FRG editor…
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Okay, back to the picks…
What will go down…
Here are the predictions for Round 1 courtesy of our friends at Rugby4Cast...
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
HOOKERS
- Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
- Codie Taylor (New Zealand)
- Julian Montoya (Argentina)
PROPS
- Angus Bell (Australia)
- Thomas Du Toit (South Africa)
- Rhys Carre (Wales)
- Fletcher Newell (New Zealand)
LOCKS
- Jack Cornelsen (Japan)*
- Jeremy Williams (Australia)
- Ollie Chessum (England)*
- Joe McCarthy (Ireland)
BACK ROW
- Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
- Jack Conan (Ireland)
- Ben Earl (England)
- Jac Morgan (Wales)
- Alex Mann (Wales)
SCRUM-HALF
- Cam Roigard (New Zealand)
- Maxime Lucu (France)
- Jamie Dobie (Scotland)*
FLY HALF
- Damian McKenzie (New Zealand)*
- Mathieu Jalibert (France)
CENTRES
- Tommaso Menoncello (Italy)
- Jamie Osborne (Ireland)*
- Quinn Tupaea (New Zealand)
- Selestino Ravutamada (Fiji)*
BACK 3
- Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
- Jiuta Wainiqolo (Fiji)
- Will Jordan (New Zealand)
- Mateo Carreras (Argentina)
- Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa)
Recommended Captain Picks
This week I’d suggest the following as Captain Pick options…
- Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
- Cheslin Kolbe (South Africa)
- Damian McKenzie (New Zealand)
Supersub Strategy
For those playing the Official Game, we look at potential options for the SuperSub role.
Ultimately SuperSub is a bit of a lottery. You could luck out if one of the starting XV needs to go off in the early stages of the game, but likewise you could be at the mercy of a coach who decides to leave his backs on the bench for the entire 80 minutes, so you have to play the percentages and consider the risks.
As covered in detail in a previous post, for me the key areas to consider in a SuperSub are…
- Will they come on, and will they play a significant period of time
- How the team has used their bench in previous games
- The split of subs on the bench
Based on squads so far, the following will be in contention…
- Asafo Aumua – H – New Zealand
- Cameron Hanekom – BR – South Africa
- Nick Timoney – BR – Ireland
- Kalaveti Ravouvou – B3 – Fiji
- Tadhg Beirne – SR – Ireland
Bargain buys on the Official game
The following players, valued at 5M or less, have been identified as potentially scoring well for their cost in the game and should be considered as good value enablers…
- Max Spring (FRA) – 4M – B3
- Jamie Osborne (IRE) – 5M – C*
- Robert Baloucoune (IRE) – 5M – B3
- Rhys Carre (WAL) – 4.5M – P
- Ruben Love (NZL) – 5M – FH
- Dylan Riley (JPN) – 5M – C
- Marko Gazzotti (FRA) – 4M – BR
- Monty Ioane (ITA) – 5M – B3
- Jamie Dobie (SCO) – 5M – SH*
- Tom Jordan (SCO) – 4.5M – C*
- Mateo Carreras (ARG) – 5M – B3
- Jock Campbell (AUS) – 4M – B3
- Selestino Ravutamada (FIJ) – 5M – C*
- Blair Murray (WAL) – 4.5M – B3
- Alex Coles (ENG) – 5M – SR
- Maxime Lamothe (FRA) – 4.5M – H
- Cian Prendergast (IRE) – 4M – BR
Join the FRG League!
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Nations Championship glory, then join our public fantasy league for the Nations Championship on the Official Game. To join, you can joing through this direct link or search for the league with code: JN3STJE7.
Good luck!
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If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all the Six Nations fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.
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