This is the first game overview we have to give you the ins and outs of the available games in place for this season’s Autumn Nations Series. The makers of the official Six Nations game have opened their Fantasy game for the Autumn Nations Series to ensure that the fantasy rugby hardcore have something to scratch the fantasy rugby itch over the next 4 weeks!
If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter.
THE PREMISE
For those who have played the Official Men’s and Women’s Six Nations Fantasy Games (and indeed, the Top14’s La Grande Melee), the format of this game will be familiar.
It’s a salary-cap style game, so you have a budget of 270 stars to build a squad of 18 players. The value of the players goes up and down based on their popularity, so you have the ability to build your squad value throughout the tournament. Scoring starts from Saturday 5th November and runs for 4 weeks concluding with England v South Africa on Saturday 26th November.
The scoring is adjusted compared to last year’s Autumn Nations Series and the Six Nations. Players are still well rewarded in particular for tries (15 points) and for players on winning teams (“team points” – 8 points for a win – pro rata’d for the players on the field for the full 80 minutes), so as always study the pre-match predictions and if there are any runaway favourites, then load your team up. However there are a few new additions, including assists (worth 7 points) and 50-22’s (worth 10 points). There are also a couple of big new score updates for your forwards including lineout steals (worth 7 points) and interestingly breakdown steals, so bring in your fetchers! This year there is however no margin of victory team points.
The scoring is defintely skewed towards offensive players, with decent returns on offer for ball carriers and those making line breaks.
You have unlimited transfers between each round so make sure you take advantage of that and field the best possible team you can for each round, no need to plan ahead.
There is a bench with players scoring half points, and as you will be familiar from the Six Nations games, there is a SuperSub option getting you triple points for your chosen player coming off the bench.
THE KEY POINTS
- Site: https://gamezone.autumnnationsseries.com/
- Squad Size: Minimum of 15 (Up to 18)
- Team size: 15 (Plus 3 bench players scoring half points – One of which can be a supersub getting you triple points)
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: No
- Transfers: Unlimited per round
- Max players from one team: 3
THE EDGE
Tries, Tries, Tries
Tries are anothe route to big points in this game (15 points) so go with tryscorers wherever possible. Tackles, runs and kicks are not as well rewarded in comparison, so primarily load up with those who are known to have a good international try scoring record.
50-22’s
A new point-scoring metric in this year’s game is 10 points for every successful 50-22 kick. Don’t expect loads of 50-22’s however, out of the 15 Six Nations games this year, only 8 successful 50-22’s were completed (by Andrew Conway (x2), Henry Slade, Melvyn Jaminet, Tadhg Beirne, Johnny Sexton, Liam Williams and Dan Biggar).
The 50:22 law made its debut in the #GuinnessSixNations
— Jared Wright (@jaredwright17) March 24, 2022
8 were completed in the 15 test matches.
Liam Williams was the first player to successfully nail a 50:22 🎯
/1 pic.twitter.com/YxQ9fawwB9
Use your bench (and your Supersub) effectively
The Official ANS Game also lets you include an extra 3 players on your bench. These players will get you half points, so it is well worth saving a bit of your team’s budget for some bench players. Every point counts, and if you are not utilising the three spots on your bench, you are really losing out.
In particular, with triple points available, make sure you use your your supersub well. 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.
For me the key areas to consider in a SuperSub are…
Will they come on, and will they play a significant period of time – For this we see Props, Hookers and Scrum-Halves tend to come on typically between the 45-60 minute point, so they usually get some good game time. With Locks and Loose Forwards it is not rare to see a starting Lock or Loose Forward play the full 80. That said, Locks and Back Rowers are not typically left on the bench either. Fly Halves are a bit more unpredictable, they could come on early if the game plan is not working but, likewise, sometimes a change is too disruptive and can be left late, and in some cases not at all. Centres and Back 3 is also a bit of a lottery.
History – Take a look at previous games to see if there is any trends in how the team operates their replacements. In some cases, past matches can provide a pretty educated insight into how a team will play their bench.
Options – Is your prospective SuperSub the only option in their position? If a team is playing a 6-2 split on the bench for example, then that is probably a good time to select a utility back as they are far more likely to come on in time to make a decent impact.
Likelihood of winning – As we know, the Official ANS fantasy game rewards the winning team well in points (especially when away from home). So you want a SuperSub on a winning team. At the same time you want to find a balance between having starters likely to win, as they are guaranteed nailed on points, while the SuperSub is reliant on getting sufficient game time.
Pick players who will win
No longer essential but still important, with 8 points available for players playing a full 80 on a winning team, you should aim to load your team up with players playing for the favourites. If in doubt, check the handicap betting (a market where the bookies give the underdog a points advantage to level the match up) odds. Any team given a handicap of -10 or more you should have the full complement of 3 of their players in your team. Less than 5 and you are best spreading your team with a mix of players of the marginal favourite and players of the marginal underdog (or if you are feeling gung ho, go with you gut feeling and select 3 players from the team who you think will win). Also make sure that you select a player who will play a lot of minutes as the match result points are awarded based on how long the player is on the pitch for.
Out-of-position players are worth their weight in gold
Keep an eye on players who are classified in one position but end up playing in another position that may well provide greater returns (think a winger classified as a centre, a loose forward classified as a lock, etc)..
Play the market
The Game is a salary cap game, so how you allocate your budget is key. One key point to note is that players values go up and down throughout the tournament based on their popularity, so you can build your teams maximum value throughout the tournament. This can be of enormous value come the closing couple of rounds of the tournament, so make your transfers wisely, and if you have any players in your side who may lose value (they could be injured or out of favour with the coaches, then ship them out ASAP!).
Double check your XV is starting before the round lock
Lineups are usually all announced by Friday afternoon, so keep an eye on the lineups and make sure your full squad are all starting.
Kickers not categorised as fly-halves
Often fantasy games force you to select one kicker to gain points from conversions, penalties, drop goals etc. Not here, so if you can find kickers who play outside of the fly-half position then they are well worth picking up, as they are guaranteed points.
Make the most of the transfer allocation
Unlike other games, the Official Game allows you to completely tear up your team for no points penalty in between rounds. This means you can load your team fully optimised for each round. If you need to make 15 changes, then don’t hold back. Just do it!
Come and join the FRG league!
Join our public fantasy league on the official Autumn Nations Series game here by clicking on this link: https://gamezone.autumnnationsseries.com/fantasy/#welcome/register/?parrain=b6kzapx&ligue=32
FRG Partners
Check out our selected partners at Canterbury and LooseHeadz for all your stash needs…
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