Here we go, Round 1!
If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our first instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the Guinness 2023 Six Nations. This where we analyse the weekend’s lineups, crunch the stats and see what the bookies are thinking to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this weekend! By the time you finish this article you should have all the insight you need to score big fantasy points this weekend.
What will go down…
Into the first round of the 2023 Six Nations and we have 3 mouthwatering ties to kick us off.
First up we have Wales taking on Ireland at the Principality Stadium. The bookies are predicting a straight Championship shoot-out between Ireland and France this year, and Ireland will be looking to make a statement in their opener. Wales have named an experienced side following the return of Warren Gatland, but Ireland should simply have too much for Wales. The bookies are backing the visitors, giving Ireland a 6 point handicap.
Then the action moves to London for the Calcutta Cup. England have had a touch time against Scotland in recent years with only one win since 2017. However with home advantage and the promise of a fresh regime under Steve Borthwick, the expectation is for a revived England to grind out a win. The bookies give England an 8 point handicap.
On Sunday, the action heads to Rome as the defending champions, France, take on a resurgent Italy. Italy will have their heroics in Cardiff from last March in mind, howver, while they are much improved, the France team has class all over the team and will likely have a comfortable win. The bookies agree, giving France a 21 point handicap.
What are your predictions? Make sure you join the FRG league on FANZO (download Fanzo from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store). Make your picks and win pints, simply download the App and join our league with the code FANTASY.
Top 10 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power)
- 1 – Damian Penaud (France) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 1.73
- 2 – Ethan Dumortier (France) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 1.8
- 3 – Antoine Dupont (France) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2
- 4 – Max Malins (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.2
- 5 – Yoram Moefana (France) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.25
- 6 – James Lowe (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.4
- 7= – Ollie Hassell-Collins (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.5
- 7= – Gael Fickou (France) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.5
- 9 – Dan Sheehan (Ireland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.6
- 10= – Freddie Steward (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.88
- 10= – Duhan Van Der Merwe (Scotland) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.88
- 10= – Alex Dombrandt (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.88
- 10= – Jamie George (England) – Anytime tryscorer odds: 2.88
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
HOOKERS
- Dan Sheehan (Ireland)
- Julien Marchand (France)
PROPS
- Ellis Genge (England)
- Andrew Porter (Ireland)
- Pierre Schoeman (Scotland)
LOCKS
- Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
- Maro Itoje (England)
- Lorenzo Cannone (Italy)*
BACK ROW
- Alex Dombrandt (England)
- Gregory Alldritt (France)
- Josh Van Der Flier (Ireland)
- Charles Ollivon (France)
SCRUM-HALF
- Antoine Dupont (France)
- Ben White (Scotland) – Late edit as Jamison Gibson-Park has withdrawn injured
FLY HALF
- Marcus Smith (England)
- Jonny Sexton (Ireland)
CENTRES
- Ethan Dumortier (France)*
- Joe Marchant (England)
- Gael Fickou (France)
BACK 3
- Thomas Ramos (France) – Official Game Captain Pick
- Damian Penaud (France) – SuperBru Captain Pick
- James Lowe (Ireland)
- Ollie Hassell-Collins (England)
Supersub Strategy
For those playing the Official Game, we look at potential options for the SuperSub role.
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 his backs on the bench for the entire 80 minutes, so you have to play the percentages and consider the risks.
As covered in detail in a previous post, for me the key areas to consider in a SuperSub are…
- Will they come on, and will they play a significant period of time
- How the team has used their bench in previous games
- The split of subs on the bench
- How likely the team are to win
With this in mind, I will be looking to the following candidates to give the SuperSub selection to in Round 5…
- Anthony Watson – B3 – England
- Matthieu Jalibert – FH – France
- Ben Earl – BR – England
- Rob Herring – H – Ireland
- Gaëtan Barlot – H – France
Under-the-radar pick
Ollie Hassell-Collins – Set to gain his first cap, Hassell-Collins has been a consistent performer in the Premiership and Europe and now is ready to make a huge impact at International level. The numbers speak for themselves; in the Prem this season he has played 13 matches (playing the full 80 for all) and scored 9 tries, with an average metres carried per match >50m, 3 defenders beaten average per game and an impressive 95% Tackle success rate. He rarely puts a foot wrong, and brings offloads, turnovers and line breaks; he has it all in his locker. I’m backing OHC to have a breakthrough tournament, kicking off against Scotland on Saturday.
Come and join the FRG leagues for the 2023 Six Nations!
It seems that there are multiple FRG 6N leagues set up (I think because the leagues are usually capped at 100 players). The good folks at @SixNationsRugby have removed the cap on the main league, so please join this one if you haven’t already -> click here to join for the Official Six Nations game. Also, if you are playing SuperBru click here to join the FRG league.
In addition, join the FRG Pick 4 league 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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I find it interesting you’ve gone for Ramos as a captain for the official game.
What’s your reasoning? I would’ve thought than Penaud would make a stronger choice.
Great read as always, thanks!
Oh aye Anthony Watson what a great shout bloody pish. No prizes for guessing where the person who gave that tip is from. COME ON SCOTLAND