Fantasy Rugby Tips, Picks and Pre-match Thoughts – Guinness Six Nations 2022 Round 2

Fantasy Rugby Geekon

It’s time! If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our latest instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the Guinness 2022 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…

Round 2 appears to be a case of one big mismatch and two ties that could go either way.

The big mismatch occurs on Sunday where a shellshocked England will travel to Rome with a point to prove against Italy. While Italy have shown some green roots of improvement in recent months, there is still a big divide in quality and there seems to be no alternative but a big England win. A recent pattern in Italy games, as evidenced against New Zealand and France, has been a strong Italian start followed by the opposition running away with the result in the second half, and we could be witnessing the same on Sunday. The bookies are expecting a comfortable England win, giving them a 25 point handicap. Load up.

In a match-up that many are calling the unofficial “Six Nations final”, Ireland and France will showdown in Paris, with the winner putting themselves in prime position for a Grand Slam run. Ireland were more impressive in Round 1, where they continued their outstanding form from the Autumn, although they are now missing their talisman at 10 (and architect of their last minute victory at the Stade De France in 2018*), Jonny Sexton. On their day France can dispatch any team, but will they have enough to stop the emerald green juggernaut? The bookies are looking to home advantage to make the difference, giving France a 5 point handicap, but no doubt, this will be close. 

*To get you in the mood, here’s the aforementioned Sexton drop-goal and all 41 phases that lead up to it!

 

Last up we have Scotland and Wales squaring off in Cardiff. Scotland enter the game on a high after their huge win against England last Saturday while Wales are in disarray after their capitulation in Dublin. Wales have also had to make a number of changes and are probably there for the taking by Scotland, but never count out Wales at the Principality. The bookies are expecting a very cagey match-up, giving Scotland a slim victory with a 3 point handicap.

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

  • 1 – Max Malins (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.62
  • 2 – Jack Nowell (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.8
  • 3 – Jamie George (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2
  • 4 – Joe Marchant (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.3
  • 5 – Gabin Villiere (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.4
  • 6= – Damian Penaud (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.63
  • 6= – Henry Slade (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.63
  • 6= – Alex Dombrandt (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.63
  • 9 – Duhan Van Der Merwe (Scotland) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.7
  • 10 – Antoine Dupont (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.75

Expected to go well

*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)

HOOKERS

  • Jamie George (England)
  • Julien Marchand (France)

PROPS

  • Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
  • Andrew Porter (Ireland)
  • Ellis Genge (England)

LOCKS

  • Cameron Woki (France)
  • Paul Willemse (France)
  • Maro Itoje (England)*

BACK ROW

  • Alex Dombrandt (England)
  • Gregory Alldritt (France)
  • Matt Fagerson (Scotland)
  • Tom Curry (England)

SCRUM-HALF

  • Antoine Dupont (France) – Captain Pick for The Rugby Magazine game
  • Harry Randall (England)

FLY HALF

  • Marcus Smith (England)
  • Finn Russell (Scotland)

CENTRES

  • Gael Fickou (France)
  • Joe Marchant (England)
  • Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
  • Sione Tuipolutu (Scotland)* – Categorised as a Loose Forward in FRD and as a Scrum Half in the Official Game

OUTSIDE BACKS

  • Max Malins (England) – Captain Pick for Superbru and the Official 6 Nations Game
  • Melvyn Jaminet (France)
  • Gabin Villiere (France)
  • Jack Nowell (England)

Under-the-radar pick

Sione Tuipolutu – On the bench last week against England, Sione Tuipolutu this week has been promoted to the starting lineup as Inside Centre and he faces up against a Wales team shorn of confidence after a chastening Round 1 dismantling from Ireland. Tuipolotu is a powerful, quick and skillful runner with a solid defensive game that should allow him to light up proceedings at the Principality on Saturday. He has been in sensational form in the URC this season, with 4 tries in 9 games and you wouldn’t want to bet against him this weekend. 

What makes him even more fantasy relevant is that in both the Official Six Nations game and in Fantasy Rugby Draft, he is categorised out of position. In the official game he is set as a Scrum Half, while in FRD he is set as a Loose Forward.

For those playing the Official game. While Antoine Dupont will be clearly the highest owned Scrum Half in the official game, if Dupont has an off-day against the Irish and Tuipolutu flies against Wales, then he could be the ultimate differential. However, there is no doubt that this is a big gamble. Oh, and did I mention that at just 8.1 stars he’s less than half the price of Dupont? Tempted? I am…

 

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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