If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our latest instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the 2026 Nations Championship. This is 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.
Before we do however, a word from the FRG editor…
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Okay, back to the picks…
What will go down…
Here are the predictions for Round 3 courtesy of our friends at Rugby4Cast...
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
HOOKERS
- Gregor Hiddleston (Scotland)
- Julian Montoya (Argentina)
- Malcolm Marx (South Africa)
PROPS
- Angus Bell (Australia)
- Ethan De Groot (New Zealand)
- Rhys Carre (Wales)
LOCKS
- Warner Dearns (Japan)
- Ollie Chessum (England)*
- Tupou Va’ai (New Zealand)*
BACK ROW
- Ardie Savea (New Zealand)
- Jasper Wiese (South Africa)
- Carlo Tizzano (Australia)
- Joaquin Oviedo (Argentina)
- Jac Morgan (Wales)
SCRUM-HALF
- Cam Roigard (New Zealand)
- Cobus Reinach (South Africa)
FLY HALF
- Mathieu Jalibert (France)*
- Damian McKenzie (New Zealand)*
CENTRES
- Selestino Ravutaumada (Fiji)*
- Fabien Brau-Boirie (France)
- Jesse Kriel (South Africa)
- Tom Jordan (Scotland)*
BACK 3
- Will Jordan (New Zealand)
- Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa)
- Max Jorgensen (Australia)
- Theo Attissogbe (France)
- Darcy Graham (Scotland)
Recommended Captain Picks
This week I’d suggest the following as Captain Pick options…
- Kurt-Lee Arendse (South Africa)
- Theo Attissogbe (France)
- Max Jorgensen (Australia)
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
Based on squads so far, the following will be in contention…
- Henry Pollock – BR – England
- Kalvin Gourges – C – France
- Damian Willemse – B3 – South Africa
- Fraser McReight – BR – Australia
- Peato Mauvaka – H – France
Bargain buys on the Official game
The following players, valued at 5M or less, have been identified as potentially scoring well for their cost in the game and should be considered as good value enablers…
- Rhys Carre (WAL) – 4.5M – P
- Ruben Love (NZL) – 5M – FH
- Marko Gazzotti (FRA) – 4M – BR
- Marcus Smith (ENG) – 4.5M – FH
- Mateo Carreras (ARG) – 5M – B3 – tbc
- Alex Coles (ENG) – 5M – SR
- Fin Smith (ENG) – 5M – FH
- Lenni Nouchi (FRA) – 5M – BR
- Tupou Va’ai (NZL) – 5M- SR
- Aaron Grandidier-Nkang (FRA) – 4M – B3
- Josh Moorby (NZL) – 5M – B3
- Maxime Lamothe (FRA) 4.5M – H
- Gregor Brown (SCO) – 4.5M – SR
- Paul de Villiers (RSA) – 4M – BR
- Jaco Williams (RSA) – 3.5M – B3
Join the FRG League!
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Nations Championship glory, then join our public fantasy league for the Nations Championship on the Official Game. To join, you can joing through this direct link or search for the league with code: JN3STJE7.
Good luck!
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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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