The latest in a series of game overviews to give you the ins and outs of the available games in place for this season’s Guinness Six Nations.
If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter.
Next to look at is the official game of the Guinness Six Nations…
This is an extract from FANTASY RUGBY GEEK’S GUIDE TO THE GAME that was origianlly posted on the Official Six Nations website, you can head to the link here for the full post…
A quick overview of the core rules of the game: You have a budget of 240 stars to build a squad of 15 starters and 1 player on your bench. You can select any player named in the Guinness Six Nations squads; however, each player has a different price (based on the player’s reputation and likely performance in the game), so you need to manage your budget wisely and work to identify value players. Your team must consist of 3 back-three players, 2 centers, 1 fly-half, 1 scrum-half, 3 back rows, 2 second-rows, 2 props, and 1 hooker; while your bench player can be from any position. It is important to note that you can only select a maximum of 4 players from the same country. You can also use the auto-pick function if you want to quickly select your team before you do any tinkering.
In addition, for each round, you will have two bonus chips you can assign to your selection. These are the Captain and the Supersub. These will be familiar to those who have played the game before, but for the uninitiated, the player you select as Captain will have their points doubled, while the player you select as Supersub will have their points TREBLED. There is a wrinkle with the Supersub rules, however; you must select a player who is beginning the match on the bench. If you select a starter in the Supersub position, you will only get half their points. There are strategies to the Supersub selection, but more on that later!
Points are awarded for a variety of Attacking actions and Defensive actions. From an attacking perspective, points are awarded for Tries (10 pts), Try assists (4 pts), Try conversion (2 pts), Penalty kick (3 pts), Drop goal (5 pts), Defenders beaten (2 pts), Carried meters (1 pt per 10m made), and 50-22 kicks (7 pts). While on the defensive side, points are awarded for Tackles (1 pt), Breakdown steals (5 pts), and Lineout steals (7 pts). You will also need to be careful if you have players prone to disciplinary issues, as there are points deductions in place for conceded penalties (-1 pt), yellow cards (-3 pts), and red cards (-6 pts). Finally, there is a massive 15 points on offer for the Official Player of the Match, so choose carefully!
Two important changes to note from the 2023 game are that, firstly, you will now only have one substitute on your bench, as opposed to the three substitutes previously available for selection. Secondly, when it comes to scoring, there have been some slight alterations, the biggest being the removal of what was known in previous years as ‘team’ points for the team’s victories and draws; these no longer apply so outstanding performers on losing teams will now score on an even level compared to their victorious counterparts.
In terms of tips for the game…
Firstly, above all, it’s key that you hold off finalising your team until all the starting lineups are announced. It’s definitely a good thing to build some drafts before the tournament to familiarize yourself with the player pool and the prices, but don’t finalize your team until you know everyone playing. You will know if a player is selected to start or be on the bench for each round, as an icon next to the player will indicate if the player is a starter, a substitute, or not called-up in the matches. In addition, occasionally a player will suffer an injury between the announcement and kick-off, for example, like Jamison Gibson-Park for Ireland in their opening game against Wales last year and will have a late replacement, so keep a close eye on the team news and be ready for any switches needed.
Next up, don’t feel bound to make a limited number of transfers. Unlike other games, Guinness Six Nations Fantasy Rugby 2024 allows you to completely tear up your team for no points penalty in between rounds. This means you can load your team fully optimized for each round. If you need to make 15+ changes, then don’t hold back. Just do it!
Guinness Six Nations Fantasy Rugby 2024 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 team’s 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! Play the market – each player’s value will evolve, increasing or decreasing, according to their real performance. This means you’ll make a profit – or a loss – after each round if you decide to sell a player.
Another top tip is around kickers. Very often in fantasy rugby games, you are obliged 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 (for example, Thomas Ramos), then they are well worth picking up, as they are guaranteed kicking points.
Finally, have a strategy for your Supersub, which when played well, can be an absolute game-changer. There is often luck involved, for example, 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, there are three key areas to consider in a Supersub. Firstly, 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 (and often hookers find themselves on the end of a driving maul and so bring an added try threat). 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 are also a bit of a lottery.
Next up, take a look at previous games to see if there are 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.
Finally, is your prospective Supersub the only option on the bench 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.
Good luck, with triple points on offer, a successful Supersub pick can propel you to the very top!
To read more, including some initial recommended players, head on over to the Six Nations website for FANTASY RUGBY GEEK’S GUIDE TO THE GAME.
Six Nations 2024 is coming soon! Join the FRG leagues!
With the 2024 Six Nations just around the corner, make sure you join the FRG leagues which are now live on Superbru and the Official Six Nations game.
Join the Superbru league here and the Official Six Nations league here.
FRG Six Nations Guest posts
In the lead up to the Six Nations, George from FRG has been writing some guest posts for the Official Six Nations site and also contributing to an excellent Fantasy Six Nations post on W-Rugby. Have a read here 👇
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Guide to the Game
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Six Nations Value Picks
- W-Rugby: Six Nations Fantasy 2024: The Ultimate Guide
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s 5 to watch
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s MORE Six Nations Value Picks
Help shape the future of Fantasy Rugby!
The good folks at Dream XV Rugby need your help to input on their future fantasy game, please spare 5 minutes to fill out this quick survey. Your feedback is hugely valued!
You can access the survey here.
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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 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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