Fantasy Rugby Tips, Picks and Pre-match Thoughts – Guinness Six Nations 2021 Round 1

Fantasy Rugby Geekon

It’s time! If you are new to Fantasy Rugby Geek, then welcome to our first instalment of our weekly pre-match updates for the Guinness 2021 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…

In the bookies eyes (and in the eyes of most people) the biggest mismatch occurs in Rome, where 500-1 tournament outsiders Italy take on a France side who have high hopes and general expectations to run England to the wire in this year’s Six Nations.  Paddy Power have given Les Bleus a 21 point handicap, suggesting Fabian Galthie’s men will run riot against an inexperienced looking Italian side. From a fantasy perspective it is time to go heavy on France.

Elsewhere, England welcome Scotland to Twickenham. England enter the Six Nations as Champions and tournament favourites, and while Scotland have undoubted and mecurial* abilities (see Finn Russell), England should have too much grunt to see off an inconsistent Scotland side. The bookies agree, giving England a 15 point handicap.

The closest game to call is at the Principality where Wales take on Ireland. Wales had a turgid 2020 with some extremely disappointing results, they also are missong some key players while Ireland are not far off full strength. It should be a close battle but the bookies are leaning towards the away team, giving Ireland a 4 point handicap.

Top 10 most likely to score (Odds via Paddy Power)

  • 1 – Teddy Thomas (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.83
  • 2 – Gabin Villiere (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 1.91
  • 3 – Jonny May (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2
  • 4 – Anthony Watson (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.1
  • 5= – Julien Marchand (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.63
  • 5= – Antoine Dupont (France) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.63
  • 7 – Jamie George (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 2.88
  • 8= – George North (Wales) – Anytime scorer odds: 3.3
  • 8= – Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales) – Anytime scorer odds: 3.3
  • 8= – Ollie Lawrence (England) – Anytime scorer odds: 3.3
  • 8= – Keith Earls (Ireland) – Anytime scorer odds: 3.3
  • 8= – James Lowe (Ireland) – Anytime scorer odds: 3.3

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

  • Cian Healy (Ireland)
  • Andrew Porter (Ireland)
  • Ellis Genge (England)

LOCKS

  • Paul Willemse (France)
  • Tadhg Beirne (Ireland)
  • Maro Itoje (England)

BACK ROW

  • Charles Ollivon (France)
  • Gregory Alldritt (France)
  • CJ Stander (Ireland)
  • Dylan Cretin (France)

SCRUM-HALF

  • Antoine Dupont (France) – Captain Pick for The Rugby Magazine game
  • Ben Youngs (England)

FLY HALF

  • Mathieu Jalibert (France)
  • Owen Farrell (England)

CENTRES

  • Garry Ringrose (Ireland)
  • Gael Fickou (France)
  • Ollie Lawrence (England)

OUTSIDE BACKS

  • Teddy Thomas (France) – Captain Pick for Superbru and the Official 6 Nations Game
  • Gabin Villiere (France)
  • Jonny May (England)
  • Anthony Watson (England)

Under-the-radar pick

Gabin Villiere – The “SuperCabbage” has had a meteoric rise from struggling to make the starting lineup of Pro D2 team Rouen to starting a Six Nations match in front of the likes of Damian Penaud (as documented in Ben Mercer’s Fringes book, IMHO the best Rugby book in recent memory…)…

…he has reached the starting lineup on sheer merit. A prolific try scorer who has been in hot form in the Top14 for Toulon this season, he’s up against an inexperienced Italy backline and will be expected to run riot, don’t miss out on the SuperCabbage!

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. Join it here!

Fantasy Rugby Games for the 2021 Six Nations

A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the 2021 Six Nations…

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…

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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 2021 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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