Fantasy Rugby Tips, Picks and Pre-match Thoughts – Guinness Six Nations 2022 Round 1

Fantasy Rugby Geekon

It’s time! If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our first 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.

What will go down…

In the bookies eyes (and in the eyes of most people) the biggest mismatch occurs in Paris, where 500-1 tournament outsiders Italy take on tournament favourites France. Paddy Power have given Les Bleus a huge 35 point handicap, suggesting Fabian Galthie’s men will run riot against an inexperienced looking Italian side. From a fantasy perspective it is time to go heavy on France.

Elsewhere, Scotland will be giving a warm welcome to England at Murrayfield. England enter the Six Nations with a point to prove after a lacklustre 2021 Six Nations and a promising Autumn, with many new faces. It’s always a tight encounter at Murrayfield and the bookies are expecting England to edge it, giving England a 3 point handicap.

Finally, Ireland host the reigning champions Wales at the Aviva. Ireland had a huge autumn and will be looking to build on that success by laying down a marker in the opening match against a Wales team shorn of the talismanic AWJ. Ireland enter the game as overwhelming favourites, giving them a 14 point handicap.

Top 10 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power)

  • 1 – Damian Penaud (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.53
  • 2= – Antoine Dupont (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.67
  • 2= – Gabin Villiere (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.67
  • 4 – Julien Marchand (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.8
  • 5 – Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.1
  • 6= – Keith Earls (Ireland) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.2
  • 6= – Gael Fickou (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.2
  • 8= – Joe Marchant (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.3
  • 8= – Max Malins (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.3
  • 8= – Mack Hansen (Ireland) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.3
  • 8= – Jonny McNicholl (Wales) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.3
  • 8= – Sam Simmonds (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.3

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)
  • Julien Marchand (France)

PROPS

  • Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
  • Andrew Porter (Ireland)
  • Ellis Genge (England)

LOCKS

  • Cameron Woki (France)
  • Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
  • Maro Itoje (England)

BACK ROW

  • Sam Simmonds (England)
  • Gregory Alldritt (France)
  • Jack Conan (Ireland)
  • Caelan Doris (Ireland)

SCRUM-HALF

  • Antoine Dupont (France) – Captain Pick for The Rugby Magazine game
  • Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland)

FLY HALF

  • Romain Ntamack (France)
  • Marcus Smith (England)

CENTRES

  • Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
  • Gael Fickou (France)
  • Joe Marchant (England)*

OUTSIDE BACKS

  • Melvyn Jaminet (France)
  • Damian Penaud (France) – Captain Pick for Superbru and the Official 6 Nations Game
  • Gabin Villiere (France)
  • Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)

Under-the-radar pick

Gabin Villiere – While many eyes will be on Damian Penaud and Melvyn Jaminet in the back 3, don’t count out Gabin Villiere, The “SuperCabbage”. He has had a meteoric rise from struggling to make the starting lineup of Pro D2 team Rouen to starting a Six Nations match as France’s first choice (as documented in Ben Mercer’s Fringes book, IMHO the best Rugby book in recent memory…)…

…he has reached the starting lineup on sheer merit. A prolific try scorer who has already proven it on the international stage, he’s up against an inexperienced Italy backline and will be expected to run riot, don’t miss out on the SuperCabbage!

 

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 Official Six Nations 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 the league here.

FRG Partners

Check out our selected partners at Canterbury, LooseHeadz and Oddballs for all your stash needs…

   

Fantasy Rugby Games for the 2022 Six Nations

A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the 2022 Six Nations…

Pre-tournament articles

In case you missed any of our other pre-Six Nations articles, make sure you check out the following to help guide your pre-tournament preparations…

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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 2022 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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