If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our latest instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the 2026 Nations Championship. This is 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…
FRG Premium – Join today to elevate your Fantasy Rugby performance
Now live on Buy Me A Coffee, unlock further fantasy rugby insights with Fantasy Rugby Geek Premium! Covering The Rugby Championship, URC, Premiership Rugby, Champions Cup and Men’s and Women’s Six Nations. With your subscription, you’ll see the exact teams that I am playing with, get access to further private posts, and I will also offer you a personalised review of your teams, outlining any opportunities for improvement. All your subscriptions go back into the costs of running fantasyrugbygeek.com!
Also in 2026, all members have access to an exclusive members only prize league to get a year’s free FRG Premium Access and an FRG Trucker Hat
A big thank you to all the FRG Members who have signed up to FRG Premium (Keeping you anonymous in case anyone in your mini leagues is reading! 🤫)
Okay, back to the picks…
What will go down…
Here are the predictions for Round 2 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
- Johan Grobbelaar (South Africa)
- Codie Taylor (New Zealand)
- Peato Mauvaka (France)
PROPS
- Angus Bell (Australia)
- Boan Venter (South Africa)
- Rhys Carre (Wales)
- Ellis Genge (England)
LOCKS
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
- Emanuel Meafou (France)
- Ollie Chessum (England)*
- Tupou Va’ai (New Zealand)
BACK ROW
- Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
- Evan Roos (South Africa)
- Ben Earl (England)
- Jac Morgan (Wales)
- Sean Jansen (Ireland)
SCRUM-HALF
- Cam Roigard (New Zealand)
- Embrose Papier (South Africa)
FLY HALF
- Mathieu Jalibert (France)*
- Tomas Albornoz (Argentina)
CENTRES
- Billy Proctor (New Zealand)
- Fabien Brau-Boirie (France)
- Stuart McCloskey (Ireland)
- Jamie Osborne (Ireland)*
BACK 3
- Will Jordan (New Zealand)
- Jiuta Wainiqolo (Fiji)
- Tommy Freeman (England)
- Theo Attissogbe (France)
- Leroy Carter (New Zealand)
Recommended Captain Picks
This week I’d suggest the following as Captain Pick options…
- Will Jordan (New Zealand)
- Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
- Tommy Freeman (England)
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…
- Samisoni Taukei’aho – H – New Zealand
- Henry Pollock – BR – England
- Vincent Tshituka – BR – South Africa
- Josh Moorby – B3 – New Zealand
- Kalvin Gourges – C – France
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…
- Jamie Osborne (IRE) – 5M – C*
- Rhys Carre (WAL) – 4.5M – P
- Sean Jansen (IRE) – 3.5M – BR
- Ruben Love (NZL) – 5M – FH
- Marko Gazzotti (FRA) – 4M – BR
- Marcus Smith (ENG) – 4.5M – FH
- Mateo Carreras (ARG) – 5M – B3
- Alex Coles (ENG) – 5M – SR
- Jimmy O’Brien (IRE) – 4M – B3
- Fin Smith (ENG) – 5M – FH
- Nick Timoney (IRE) – 5M – BR
- Boan Venter (RSA) – 4M – P
- Johan Grobbelaar (RSA) – 5M – H
- Lenni Nouchi (FRA) – 5M – BR
- Embrose Papier (RSA) – 4M – SH
- Tupou Va’ai (NZL) – 5M- SR
- Jacob Stockdale (IRE) – 5M – B3
- Leroy Carter (NZL) – 5M- B3
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!
FRG Partners
Buy me a Coffee!
If you’ve been enjoying the FRG tips over the years, please consider supporting the blog and donating a coffee, all donators will receive a name drop on the next weekly tips, and your donations will help with the running of the blog (and keeping me fuelled to do so!) >>> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/FRugbyGeekBuy me a coffee
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.
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!