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 Natwest 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 a well established game, but new for the Six Nations, a game from the rugby OTT trailblazers Rugby Pass.
THE PREMISE
Rugby Pass have previously produced games for the Rugby Championship, Pro 14 and Aviva Premiership, but this is their first crack at the Six Nations.
It’s a salary-cap style game, so you have a budget of $150m to build a squad of 25 players. Your bench doesn’t score points but the large bench will be invaluable for planning for the rounds ahead given the maximum of 3 transfers between round. The large bench also provides the opportunity to add some super cheap players that you will probably never use to enable you to select more expensive players elsewhere.
The scoring is far more granular than the likes of the ESPN game, so gives a more satisfying and rewarding experience for the hardcore fantasy rugby fan. When reviewing the scoring we found that you should look for players known for breaking the line, beating defenders, making offloads, winning turnovers and making tackles for a good points return.
You are limited to five players per team, so you can get some good coverage on players lining up against perennial whipping boys Italy, however you will also need to choose carefully elsewhere.
The game has some excellent prize leagues on offer including Tickets to Bilbao for the overall winners, tickets to a recording of the Rugby Pod for winners of the Pod Pod Pod league as well as a number of leagues with stash on offer for the winners.
THE KEY POINTS
- Site: https://fantasy.rugbypass.com/
- Squad Size: 25
- Team size: 15
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: Yes
- Transfers: 3 between each round
- Max players from one team: 5
THE EDGE
Italy
Sadly, the strength of the Italian team does not seem to be improving and has regressed in recent years. In such a competitive competition, you need to find any potential mismatches where you can, and unfortunately Italy, who are currently 500-1 outsiders to win the Six Nations provide the best opportunity for a mismatch. Wherever possible load up with players who have a fixture against the Azzuri
Plan ahead
Keep an eye on the fixture list when selecting your 10-man bench and also making your transfers to ensure that you get the best bang for your buck and that the players in teams with favourable runs of fixtures are in your side
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.
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).
Check the stats with the potential to score big
Looking at the points available, certain players should do well. In particular players know for breaking the line as well as top tacklers…
Also, with 1.5 points on offer for each turnover won, the likes of Maro Itoje and Kevin Gourdon should score very highly. Check out the Top Performers from 2017 to help you make your choices.
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