Welcome to our third instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the Guinness 2021 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.
Changes to games as a result of match postponement of Scotland v France
The unfortunate postponement of Scotland v France has 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…
Quick update for 6N fantasy: If the France Scotland game is played next weekend, we’ll keep it as an extra long gameweek; if it’s pushed through beyond then, we will likely treat it as cancelled. We’ll keep you posted.
— The Rugby Magazine (@therugbymag) February 25, 2021
…so it is a case of waiting and seeing, although if the game is treated as cancelled, the Rugby Magazine has a mechanism in place that awards the average player gameweek score to each of the players involved in any cancelled fixture (this score is the average of all the scores achieved by players playing in the gameweek, not the average score for the individual player, or the average score for your team). This means you can effectively still choose those players involved in the cancelled fixture and earn points (or release them and choose others if you think they’ll perform better…)
Superbru
Official statement from Suberbru…
This weekend’s #SixNations match between France and Scotland is officially off 🚫
— Superbru (@Superbru) February 25, 2021
As explained in the ‘transfer limits’ info section on our website, we will be providing all players with 4 additional transfers in our fantasy game as a result of this postponement. pic.twitter.com/Wrhek8zZEG
The Official Game
Official statement from the Six Nations game is here…
Fantasy Rugby Draft
Fantasy Rugby Draft are treating the game as a bye. So all France and Scotland players will get 0 points in Round 3. Replace those players with anyone in the match day 23’s for England, Wales, Ireland and Italy if you can.
🛠As with all Covid affected games, all players from France and Scotland will now be on a BYE https://t.co/fjHnW4Vajd
— Fantasy Rugby Draft 🏉 (@FantasyRugDraft) February 25, 2021
What will go down…
Into Round 3 and with just two games being played, the opportunities to steal a march over your fantasy rugby rivals are drying up. That said we have two games this weekend that could result in some great attacking rugby and points potential.
First up in Rome, the two teams yet to claim a win, Italy and Ireland, face off. Ireland have endured a frustrating Six Nations so far and will be looking to end the losing streak with a convincing win over the struggling Azzurri on Saturday. This match is your best bet for big attacking returns, with many expecting a big win for Ireland. The bookies have given Ireland an expected 22 point margin, but in truth it could be a greated margin if the exciting Irish back line clicks.
In the later game on Saturday, England are heading to Cardiff to face Wales who remain unbeaten despite two close games (and a couple of Red cards in their favour). Neither of the two teams have set the world alight in the tournament so far, but the bookies are leaning towards England, expecting them to win by 6. In truth it could be much closer, and Wales will be feeling quietly confident that they can take down their big rivals at home.
Top 10 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power)
- 1 – James Lowe (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 1.73
- 2 – Jordan Larmour (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 1.83
- 3= – Garry Ringrose (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.1
- 3= – Ronan Kelleher (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.1
- 5 – Hugo Keenan (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.5
- 6 – Jonny May (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.2
- 7= – Robbie Henshaw (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.3
- 7= – Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.3
- 7= – CJ Stander (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.3
- 10 – Anthony Watson (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 3.5
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
HOOKERS
- Ronan Kelleher (Ireland)
- Jamie George (England)
PROPS
- Kyle Sinckler (England)
- Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
- Mako Vunipola (England)
LOCKS
- Iain Henderson (Ireland)
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)*
- Jonny Hill (England)
BACK ROW
- Billy Vunipola (England)
- Will Connors (Ireland)
- Justin Tipuric (Wales)
- CJ Stander (Ireland)
SCRUM-HALF
- Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland) – Captain Pick for The Rugby Magazine game
- Ben Youngs (England)
FLY HALF
- Jonny Sexton (Ireland)
- Paolo Garbisi (Italy)
CENTRES
- Owen Farrell (England)
- Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
- Henry Slade (England)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Jordan Larmour (Ireland)
- Jonny May (England)
- James Lowe (Ireland) – Captain Pick for Superbru and the Official 6 Nations Game
- Hugo Keenan (Ireland)
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Six Nations glory and win you some stash while you are at it, then join our public fantasy league on The Rugby Magazine fantasy game, where a signed paperback copy of the Fantasy Rugby Handbook and a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat, will be on offer for the winner of the league. Join it here!
Fantasy Rugby Games for the 2021 Six Nations
A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the 2021 Six Nations…
- The Rugby Magazine – Stats rich salary cap style game – Check out our 2021 review here
- SuperBru – An old favourite with salary cap fantasy rugby among other games and sports – Check out our 2021 review here
- The Official Guinness 6 Nations Fantasy Game – The official game, salary cap style fantasy game – Check out our 2021 review here
- Fantasy Rugby Draft – The only Draft style game in place for the 6 Nations – Check out our 2021 review here
FREE BEER!
People’s Captain are a new craft beer company led by ex-Leicester prop Greg Bateman (who is currently playing for Dragons in Wales). Greg got a bunch of his friends together (who just so happen to play rugby for the nation) to sign their team shirts so that they can give them away to 3 lucky winners. Which they are also giving a way with a case of their awesome beer. Simply sign up here to go into the hat for the shirts and beer!
Buy me a Coffee!
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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 2021 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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