The official Women’s Six Nations Fantasy game has returned for its fourth year! This article gives an overview of the game itself as well as giving you a few pointers as to how to maximise your points so that you can reach the top of your mini leagues! If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter.
THE PREMISE
The Six Nations Fantasy Game is now a regular staple of the Women’s Six Nations and it has grown to be a popular and highly competitive game. The format of the Women’s fantasy game is the same as the Men’s, so if you played the Men’s Six Nations game, you should be very familiar with how it works.
It’s a salary-cap style game, so you have a budget of 240 stars to build a squad of 16 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 also mirrors the format of the Men’s game, players are well rewarded in particular for tries (10 points) and Player of the Match performances (15 points). Also keep an eye out for Breakdown Steals (5 points) and Lineout Steals (7 points).
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.
A key area to monitor is the Supersub. Your bench player can be elected 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://fantasyw6n.sixnationsrugby.com/
- Squad Size: 16
- Team size: 15 (Plus 1 supersub)
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: No
- Transfers: Unlimited per round
- Max players from one team: 4
THE EDGE
England
In the Women’s Six Nations, England are big favourites, with their closest rivals France somewhat behind if the bookies are to be believed. England have class all over the park (The editor of FRG may be biased considering that some of the current England squad came from the same club that he coaches the minis at. Cmon PRFC!) and the likes of Marlie Packer, Abby Dow, Holly Aitchison, Jess Breach and Ellie Kildunne should gather plenty of points for their fantasy managers.
Tries, Tries, Tries
Tries are another route to big points in this game (10 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.
In last year’s tournament, the following would have helped you hugely;
- 7 tries
- Marlie Packer (England)
- 6 tries
- Abby Dow (England)
- 5 tries
- Gabrielle Vernier (France)
- 4 tries
- Claudia MacDonald (England)
- Jess Breach (England)
- Tatyana Heard (England)
- Charlotte Escudero (France)
- Emilie Boulard (France)
- Sisilia Tuipulotu (Wales)
- Lana Skeldon (Scotland)
Out of position players
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)..
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 (For example, Kiera Bevan, Emily Scarratt, Emma Sing and Michela Sillari).
Supersub Strategy
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 their 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 early on in the secomd half, 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 match. 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
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
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.
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 for the 2024 Women’s Six Nations!
With the 2024 Women’s Six Nations just around the corner, make sure you join the FRG league which is now live on the Official Women’s Six Nations game.
Join the Official Women’s Six Nations league here.
FRG Women’s Six Nations Guest posts
In the lead up to the Women’s Six Nations, George from FRG has been writing some guest posts for the Official Women’s Six Nations site. Have a read here 👇
- Women’s Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Guide to the Game
- Women’s Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Women’s Six Nations Value Picks
- Women’s Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s 5 to watch
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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