The first of a series of game overviews to give you the ins and outs of the available games in place for this season’s Six Nations. If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter. First under the microscope is a game that is now well know in the world of fantasy rugby, but new to the Six Nations by the good folks at The Rugby Magazine, check it out here.
THE PREMISE
A salary cap style game with a nod to Fantasy Premier League but with a few new and innovative tweaks for rugby.
You are given squad space to build a squad of a minimum of 28 players and a maximum of 30 players, and from these you must pick a match day 23, all of whom will score for you (your bench getting you half points). As your entire match day 23 scores points, it crucial that you use your squad and limited transfers wisely (you get one free transfer each week).
A really nice touch is the allowance of players to play in multiple positions, reflecting the real life scenario that someone may be a bit of a utility player popping up in multiple positions over the course of the season. So Eliot Daly, for example, is assigned as a Full Back, Wing and Centre. This will allow a bit more flexibility when it comes to building your match day 23.
The transfer system is slightly complicated. Once the season is up and running, you are limited to releasing 5 players per week – only 1 of these are free though, the remainder will each incur a 20 point transfer penalty. You are limited to 5 players per country, hence the total squad size limitation of 30.
THE KEY POINTS
- Squad Size: A minimum of 28
- Team size: 23 – The 8 on your bench will earn half points
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: Yes
- Transfers: 1 free transfer (player release) per gameweek, up to 4 more releases allowed at a cost of 20 points per release
- Max players from one country: 5
THE EDGE
Use your squad well
It seems the most crucial observation is that you must use your squad well, it is critical that you have a match day 23 of players who should always be involved. 23 starters, even better, but what with squad rotation and injuries this is always a challenge. Given that you are charged per player released from your squad (after your first free transfer), our FRG recommendation is that you start the Six Nations with a squad of 28 in case you need to add more than one player.
Top of the Props
With a point on offer for every metre gained by props, you must bring in props who have a history of ball carrying for metres. The likes of Mako Vunipola, Tadhg Furlong, Cian Healy and Kyle Sinckler are essentials this game and are also solid captain choices. Ball-carrying locks also tend to score big. Crunch the stats and hunt down the carrying kings!
Forwards in general score well for carries – Props (1 point per 1m), Locks (1 point per 2m) and Hookers/Back Row (1 point per 8m) – so some of these high performers from last year may be well worth considering…
Multiposition players are worth their weight in gold
Given the transfer restrictions and the squad size, by filling your squad with players who can play in multiple positions, you will provide your team with a lot more flexibility in case of injury, resting and rotation.
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
Discipline wins Championships
Ill discipline is punished heavily in The Rugby Magazine with some stern points deductions – Penalty Conceded (-2 points), Yellow Card (-3 points) and Red Card (-10 points) – so tread carefully when it comes to serial sinners. Here are some of the players that were regularly pinged last year that you may want to think twice on including…
Double check your entire squad is starting (or at least involved) 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.
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Six Nations glory and win you some stash while you are at it, then join our public fantasy league on The Rugby Magazine fantasy game, where a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat will be on offer for the winner of the league. To join, Sign up to the game here & go to Leaderboards > Public Leagues and join “Fantasy Rugby Geek”.Good luck!
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2018/19 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Geek Guide to Fantasy Rugby. An exhaustive collection of wisdom and experience gained from over a decade of fantasy rugby playing. Primarily aimed at less experienced players but with enough nuggets of wisdom and insight for even the most grizzled fantasy rugby veteran. There is something here for all players. The eBook is available to download now for just £3.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and £4.99 on Amazon in Kindle format – check it out!
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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