Welcome to our second instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the Guinness 2020 Six Nations 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…
After a gripping Round 1, we have an intriguing set of matches lying ahead in Round 2. We have 2 matches that seem to be very close call and a third that seems to be as one-sided as they come!
First up at the Aviva is an always intriguing match up between two teams still in Grand Slam contention, Wales and Ireland. Ireland ground out an unconvincing victory against Scotland in Round 1, while Wales hammered Italy in a match that truthfully gave no real indication as to Wales’ true form, Italy were that bad! Either way this match should be a close affair with the bookies making Ireland slim favourites with a 4 point handicap.
Up at Murrayfield, Scotland may find themselves on the receiving end of an England backlash. England haven’t won against Scotland since 2017 and they arrive in Edinburgh off the the back of a humbling defeat in Paris. On paper England should have too much class for Scotland, however Scotland always seem to raise their game for the Calcutta Cup, and while the bookies have favoured England with an 8 point handicap, it should still be a tight and hard fought match-up.
Finally in Sunday’s only match, the most impressive side from Round 1, France, welcomes to Paris the least impressive side from Round 1, Italy. Italy looked hopeless against Wales, ending up on the receiving end of a 42-0 hiding. France on the other hand were sensational agianst England, with the new generation of Gallic talent putting England to the sword with attacking threats all over the field. France have been characterised by an infuriating inconsistency over the years, looking like world beaters one match and wooden spooners the next. This batch of players however look to have more grit and should make light work of the hapless Azzurri. Load up.
Top 10 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power – )
- 1= – Teddy Thomas (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 1.73
- 1= – Vincent Rattez (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 1.73
- 3 – Jonny May (England) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2
- 4 – Gael Fickou (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.2
- 5= – Elliot Daly (England) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.5
- 5= – Arthur Vincent (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.5
- 5= – Antoine Dupont (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.5
- 5= – Julien Marchand (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.5
- 9 – Josh Adams (Wales) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.8
- 10= – Jacob Stockdale (Ireland) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.88
- 10= – Andrew Conway (Ireland) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.88
- 10= – Gregory Alldritt (France) – Anytime Tryscorer Odds: 2.88
- 10= – Charles Ollivon (France) – 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
- Jamie George (England)
- Julien Marchand (France)
PROPS
- Mako Vunipola (England)
- Tadhg Furlong (Ireland)
- Kyle Sinckler (England)
LOCKS
- Paul Willemse (France)
- Maro Itoje (England)
- James Ryan (Ireland)
BACK ROW
- Justin Tipuric (Wales)
- Gregory Alldritt (France)
- Charles Ollivon (France)
- Lewis Ludlam (England)
SCRUM-HALF
- Antoine Dupont (France)
- Willi Heinz (England)
FLY HALF
- Jonny Sexton (Scotland)
- Romain Ntamack (France)
CENTRES
- Jonathan Joseph (England)
- Gael Fickou (France)
- Nick Tompkins (Wales)
- Robbie Henshaw (Ireland)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Teddy Thomas (France)
- Josh Adams (Wales)
- Vincent Rattez (France)
- Jonny May (England)
Under-the-radar pick
Arthur Vincent – With Virimi Vakatawa out injured, the gap in the outside centre position has been filled by for France U20 captain Arthur Vincent. While he is still inexperienced at the highest club level and with just one cap to his name, he has demonstrated huge potential and will be looking to now make a big stam on the international stage against a woefully out of form Italy side. Those looking to fill the gap of the departed Vakatawa could do a lot worse than pick up Vincent in his absence…
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 signed paperback copy of the Fantasy Rugby Handbook and a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat, will be on offer for the winner of the league. Keep your eyes peeled for details on how to join soon!
Fantasy Rugby Games for the 2020 Six Nations
A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the 2020 Six Nations (some of these are currently unconfirmed so may not have 6 Nations games live)…
- The Rugby Magazine – Stats rich fantasy game for the purist rugby fan – Check out our 2020 review here
- ESPN – A classic and straightforward Six Nations fantasy game – Check out our 2020 review here
- SuperBru – An old favourite with fantasy rugby among other games and sports – Check out our 2020 review here
- The Irish Times – Salary cap game with a €3000 top prize – Check out our 2020 review here
- The Official Six Nations Fantasy Game – A salary cap game brought to you by the Official Six Nations organisers – Check out our 2020 review here
Pre-tournament articles
In case you missed any of our other pre-Six Nations articles, make sure you check out the following to help guide your pre-tournament preparations…
- Fantasy Six Nations 2020 Strategies and Pitfalls
- Fantasy Six Nations Preview: England
- Fantasy Six Nations Preview: France
- Fantasy Six Nations Preview: Ireland
- Fantasy Six Nations Preview: Italy
- Fantasy Six Nations Preview: Scotland
- Fantasy Six Nations Preview: Wales
- Game Reviews: The Rugby Magazine
- Game Reviews: SuperBru
- Game Reviews: Official Six Nations Game
- Game Reviews: The Irish Times
- Game Reviews: ESPN Scrum
- 2020 Six Nations Predictor Games
- Notable Fantasy Six Nations Mini Leagues
- 100 of the Best Fantasy Rugby Team Names
- 2019 Six Nations Player Stats
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Get free tickets to The Rugby Show
The Rugby Show is a two-day gathering at the Ricoh Arena, home of Wasps, in July 2020. The Rugby Show already has a fantastic range of phenomenal speakers from across the professional game. The likes of Lawrence Dallaglio, Maggie Alphonsi, current England World Cup duo, Joe Marler and George Kruis and World Cup winner Sarah Hunter will be talking about their own experiences, about coping with injury, maintaining fitness, nutrition, providing demonstrations on how to improve your skills as a player and more. The line-up also includes recent MMA convert James Haskell, Premiership regulars Jimmy Gopperth and Tommy Taylor to name a few. Registration has now gone live and as an ambassador of the Rugby Show, Fantasy Rugby Geek is offering you FREE ENTRY to the event (which usually costs £15 for an adult ticket). Click this link https://the-rugby-show-2020.reg.buzz/fantasy-rugby-geek and enter the following code TRS20GRASSROOTS to book your FREE tickets now!
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2019/20 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Handbook. 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 on Amazon in Kindle format (Free on Kindle Unlimited) – 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 the 2020 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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Hi mate! This is my first year playing fantasy rugby – finding your site very useful! I’ve just bought your book too so having a read of that now.
I just wondered what your thoughts were on taking -2 point hits when sorting out your team for the next round. I’m trying to load up on France players for the Italy game and given that a single try is gonna give you 5 or 8 points it seems fine to me to be taking these hits and making 5 or even 6 transfers.
What are your thoughts?
Hi mate, sorry I missed your comment, hope you had a good gameweek. In short I completely agree. -2 is worth it for some potentially big scorers against Italy.