The fourth of 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, which seems to have had a bit of a refresh under the their new title sponsor.
THE PREMISE
2019 will be the fourth year of the Official Six Nations Fantasy Game and it has proven to be a popular and highly competitive game with a few interesting loopholes allowing those who know what they are doing to score big.
The rules are written pretty badly, so it’s quite hard to fully grasp what is going on, but this is what we have gleaned…
It’s a salary-cap style game, so you have a budget of 240 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.
The scoring is interesting, players are well rewarded in particular for tries (Forwards – 18 points and Backs – 15 points), but as in previous years (albeit to a lesser extent), the biggest influencing factor is on offer for players on winning teams (“team points” – 12 points for a home win and 18 points for an away) , so study the handicaps and if there are any runaway favourites, then load your team up. As brilliant a player as he is, you won’t be rewarded for the likes of Sergio Parisse, you’ll be far better off with a solid but unspectacular player on a winning team. Interestingly this year the “team points” are reduced based on how long the players are on the field for, so choose players likely to play the full 80.
You have unlimited transfers between each round (it would appear…) so make sure you take advantage of that and field the best possible team you can for each round, no need to plan ahead.
You also have a bonus three spots on your bench. These players will get you half points (unless they are a supersub… more on that below), so you will be rewarded if you manage your budget well and get a full complement of players on your team.
Another new introduction is the Supersub. The rules again are quite badly written, but it seems that one player on your bench you can elect as “Supersub”. This needs to be a player starting on the bench in real life, if they come off the bench to play a part in the match then they are awarded triple points, so choose carefully a strong “impact” finisher!
THE KEY POINTS
- Site: https://fantasy.sixnationsrugby.com/
- Squad Size: Minimum of 15 (Up to 18)
- Team size: 15 (Plus 3 bench players scoring half points – including a supersub)
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: No
- Transfers: Unlimited per round
- Max players from one team: 4
THE EDGE
Above all, pick players who will win
With 18 points available for players on an away winning team (and 12 for a home win), your first port of call should be 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 4 of their players in your team. Less than 5 and you are best spreading your team with 3 players of the marginal favourite and 2 players of the marginal underdog (or if you are feeling ballsy, go with you gut feeling and select 4 players from the team who you think will win).
Tries, Tries, Tries
Tries are another route to big points in this game (Forwards – 18 points and Backs – 15 points) so go with tryscorers wherever possible. Tackles, runs and kcks are poorly rewarded in comparison, so just load up with those who are known to have a good international try scoring record. Some of these would be a good start…
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).
Use your bench (and your Supersub) effectively
The Official 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, pick someone who is guaranteed to come off the bench, and who will be likely to make an impact if they do.
Play the market
The Official 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
Once the gameweek lock has passed, you cannot change your team. Lineups are usually all announced by Friday afternoon, so keep an eye on the lineups and make sure your XV 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!
Italy
With win points so influential, those playing against Italy are easy money. Wherever possible load up with players who have a fixture against the Azzuri
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
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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 this year’s 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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