UPDATE: As I’m sure you are all now aware, since publishing this article last night, Wales v Scotland has now been postponed. I’m keeping this article up for posterity, but yeah, no need to update your teams this week!
Stay safe, stay strong, be kind, big love,
FRG ❤️🏉
Welcome to our final (possibly…) instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the Guinness 2020 Six Nations 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.
As things stand, Wales v Scotland is going ahead, so this article assumes that will still be the case. If it cancelled however, which is probably more likely than not, we will keep you updated on how the fantasy games are dealing with it.
Changes to games as a result of match cancellations of Ireland v France and Italy v England in Round 5
The very unfortunate cancellations of Ireland v France and Italy v England have resulted in a lot of fantasy managers being unclear as to what will happen to their selected players in these matches. All the games have taken different approaches so please see here for a summary of the proposed adjustments…
The Rugby Magazine
Official statement from The Rugby Magazine…
“As the Italy-England and France-Ireland fixtures are the final games to be played in the competition, I have decided to keep them ‘live’, rather than cancelled. While indications suggest that these fixtures won’t be played until October, it does mean that we are set for a very long gameweek. With that in mind, I have opened up the transfers to allow for an unlimited number in this round.
Please note though, that any Wales or Scotland players you choose will still be locked in once their fixture has kicked off, but the increase in transfers should allow for any changes to squads once the postponed fixtures are played. The hope is that this still allows us to enjoy the competition as a whole without being constrained in our decision making once the games arrive.”
The Irish Times
No statement as yet, but FRG reached out to the game support last week, and this was their feedback…
“Hey there, Thanks for getting in touch. This game will be removed from this round, and, pending the re-arranged date, it will be added into a later round. We apologise for any confusion here.” 
However, logging into the game tonight it appears that the makers of the game have now taken action by increasing the total transfers up from three a round to eight.
Superbru
Official statement from Suberbru…
“Here at Superbru HQ, we have been considering what to do with our tournaments as a result of these postponements and have decided that we will be keeping all three of our tournaments (Predictor, Fantasy and Daily Fantasy) open to include the postponed fixtures as and when they’re played.
As stated above, the dates for the remaining fixtures are unknown but what we do know is that Ireland v Italy, like Wales v Scotland, will be a single-fixture round at Superbru since it will obviously not be on the same weekend as France v Ireland.
The number of transfers permitted in our Fantasy game has again increased to TEN for Round 5 (this weekend) due to only Wales v Scotland taking place. Following that fixture, our fantasy game will remain open but it will not be possible to make transfers until nearer the rearranged kick-off times. The number of transfers permitted for the remaining rounds will be decided once fixtures are confirmed but we will ensure that players are given reasonable room to put out a XV.”
ESPN
Official statement from ESPN…
“Due to the postponed games, users have been given 9 free transfers this week, and are allowed to select up to 10 players from each side. Matches postponed beyond 14/03/2020 will not count towards your total. The final round will end on 14/03/2020.”
The Official Game
Official statement from the Six Nations game is here…
“1 – If you select players from a team due to be involved in either of the Postponed matches that player will earn 10 points if you keep them in your starting XV (5 points on the bench)
2 – In all Leagues you will be able to select a total of 10 players from the same nation. That is an increase on the standard mode (4) and on the Round 4 special rules (5)
3 – Round 5 will conclude at the normal time (Sunday night) with points totals for all players calculated at that stage and prizes being awarded at that stage.
Points from re-scheduled matches will not be factored in to the Fantasy game.
The Fantasy game’s final and definitive results will be known at the end of Round 5″
What will go down…
Just one game this weekend as the Six Nations reaches its climax with no shortage of confusion and consternation. Should the remaining game even still be played? Will the postponed matches ever get re-scheduled? In any case with the Wales v Scotland game looking like it may just go ahead, the bookies are expecting Wales to round off their tournament with a win against a rejuvenated Scotland side with an 8-point victory.
Top 10 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power)
- 1= – Liam Williams (Wales) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.2
- 1= – George North (Wales) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.2
- 3= – Sean Maitland (Scotland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.7
- 3= – Blair Kinghorn (Scotland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.7
- 5 – Hadleigh Parkes (Wales) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.4
- 6= – Leigh Halfpenny (Wales) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.75
- 6= – Justin Tipuric (Wales) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.75
- 8= – Josh Navidi (Wales) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 4
- 8= – Stuart McInally (Scotland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 4
- 10 – Stuart Hogg (Scotland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 4.2
Expected to go well
And so, in what feels like a somewhat futile exercise with just one game, here are the FRG recommendations for Round 5…
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
HOOKERS
- Stuart McInally (Scotland)
PROPS
- Zander Fagerson (Scotland)
- Rory Sutherland (Scotland)
LOCKS
- Cory Hill (Wales)
- Sam Skinner (Scotland)
BACK ROW
- Justin Tipuric (Wales)
- Josh Navidi (Wales)
- Magnus Bradbury (Scotland)
SCRUM-HALF
- Rhys Webb (Wales)
FLY HALF
- Dan Biggar (Wales)
CENTRES
- Hadleigh Parkes (Wales)
- Nick Tompkins (Wales)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Liam Williams (Wales)
- Sean Maitland (Scotland)
- George North (Wales)
Fantasy Rugby Games for the 2020 Six Nations
A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the 2020 Six Nations (some of these are currently unconfirmed so may not have 6 Nations games live)…
- The Rugby Magazine – Stats rich fantasy game for the purist rugby fan – Check out our 2020 review here
- ESPN – A classic and straightforward Six Nations fantasy game – Check out our 2020 review here
- SuperBru – An old favourite with fantasy rugby among other games and sports – Check out our 2020 review here
- The Irish Times – Salary cap game with a €3000 top prize – Check out our 2020 review here
- The Official Six Nations Fantasy Game – A salary cap game brought to you by the Official Six Nations organisers – Check out our 2020 review here
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Buy me a coffee A huge thank you to Terry Gore who bought 3 coffees this week! Thanks Terry!
Rugby Warfare
Shout out to the good folks at Rugby Warfare who pulled together this insightful and timely infographic based on a survey with various pro, semi-pro and amateur players looking into the methods used to improve their playing performance. Touching on aspects of training and nutrition (as well as some eye-opening insights on PED’s, it’s a must read snapshot into the state of Rugby performance at present). Rugby Warfare themselves produce some awesome looking and high quality Rugby apparel, you can check them out at https://rugbywarfare.com/ and stay tuned for an exclusive discount code for FRG readers coming soon…
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2019/20 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Handbook. An exhaustive collection of wisdom and experience gained from over a decade of fantasy rugby playing. Primarily aimed at less experienced players but with enough nuggets of wisdom and insight for even the most grizzled fantasy rugby veteran. There is something here for all players. The eBook is available to download now for just £3.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and on Amazon in Kindle format (Free on Kindle Unlimited) – check it out!
If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all the 2020 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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