Fantasy Six Nations 2022 Preview – Ireland

Fantasy Rugby Geekon

With Saturday 5th February 2022 fast approaching, it’s time to delve a bit deeper into this year’s potential fantasy Six Nations stars. So over the next two weeks FRG is providing a quick preview of all the teams from a fantasy perspective. Today we look at Ireland…

Ireland

In a nutshell

Ireland demonstrated huge growth in 2021. After a shaky start to the Six Nations, which featured back-to-back Championship losses in the first two rounds, Ireland went on to win eight straight games. The men in green also look to have built a style of play that is perfectly in Farrell’s mould during that stretch, which featured huge triumphs over England and, most notably New Zealand, against whom they completely played off the park. Ireland’s amazing Autumn campaign has set them up well for a real run at the Six Nations crown in 2022, with a team now rich with both youth and experience.

While in the past, Farrell has been criticised for his conservative selections, he has gradually reshaped the Ireland team and blooded a number of new caps. Over the last two years, Hugo Keenan, Andrew Porter, Ronan Kelleher, Jamison Gibson-Park and Caelan Doris have all established themselves as key players for Ireland. Doris was a class apart throughout the Autumn Nations Series, gaining Player of the Match against the All Blacks and then being named Player of the Series. After a shaky start on the international stage, James Lowe had a fantastic Autumn season, scoring a fantastic try and contributing all over the field against New Zealand. If he repeats this form in the Six Nations, he will be delivering huge fantasy returns. This is before we mention the outstanding front row of Porter, Kelleher, and Tadhg Furlong, who have forged a powerful alliance for both club and country. Despite the debate about Ireland’s reliance on Sexton and his age, the veteran fly-half has played a key role in all of Ireland’s major victories in 2021 and shows no signs of slowing down. That said, the clutch performance of Joey Carbery at the close of the New Zealand game demonstrates they have top class depth at 10 too.

After such a great Autumn Nations Series the future appears bright for Ireland under Farrell. On the opening weekend in Dublin, a match against reigning Six Nations champions Wales might provide the perfect opportunity to put out a statement that the Autumn Nations weren’t just a flash in the pan. Following that, a difficult journey to Paris to face France will be followed by matches against Italy, England, and Scotland in the final three rounds of what could be the closest title race in years. They also have the benefit of three home games, so come the final day, they should be firmly in contention for the overall Championship.

Current World Ranking

4th (As of the 10th January 2022)

Performance in the 2021 Six Nations

3rd

Odds on winning Six Nations 2022

3/1 (3rd)

Six Nations History (Since start of Six Nations in 2000)

Winners x 4 (including 2 Grand Slams)

Most likely to make a fantasy impact

Andrew Conway (Outside Back – Munster)

Key players to consider

Tadhg Furlong (Prop -Leinster), Andrew Porter (Prop – Leinster), Ronan Kelleher (Hooker – Leinster), Tadhg Beirne (Lock – Munster), Iain Henderson (Lock – Ulster), James Ryan (Lock – Leinster), Caelan Doris (Loose Forward – Leinster), Josh Van Der Flier (Loose Forward – Leinster), Jamison Gibson-Park (Scrum Half – Leinster), Johnny Sexton (Fly Half – Leinster), Bundee Aki (Centre – Connacht), Robbie Henshaw (Centre – Leinster), Garry Ringrose (Centre – Leinster), Hugo Keenan (Outside Back – Leinster), Andrew Conway (Outside Back – Munster), Robert Baloucoune (Outside Back – Ireland)

Top Performers in 2021 Six Nations

  • Most Points: Johnny Sexton (65 points)
  • Most Tries: Tadhg Beirne, Keith Earls and Will Connors (2 tries each)
  • Most Assists: Jamison Gibson-Park (2 assists)
  • Successful Kicks: Johnny Sexton (25 successful kicks)
  • Most Metres Carried: James Lowe (435m carried)
  • Most Defenders Beaten: Hugo Keenan (14 defenders beaten)
  • Most offloads: Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw and Tadhg Beirne (3 offloads each)
  • Most Successful tackles: CJ Stander (44 tackles)

Six Nations 2022 Squad

Likely Kickers

Successful kicks from Ireland kickers since the start of the 2019/20 season…

Full list of Matches

  • Round 1 – Saturday February 5th, 2:15pm GMT – Ireland v Wales – Aviva Stadium
  • Round 2 – Saturday February 12th, 4:15pm GMT – France v Ireland – Stade de France
  • Round 3 – Sunday February 27th, 2:15pm GMT – Ireland v Italy – Aviva Stadium
  • Round 4 – Saturday March 12th, 4:45pm GMT – England v Ireland – Twickenham
  • Round 5 – Saturday March 19th, 4:45pm GMT – Ireland v Scotland – Aviva Stadium

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 Official Six Nations 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 the league here.

FRG Partners

Check out our selected partners at Canterbury, LooseHeadz and Oddballs for all your stash needs…

   

Fantasy Rugby Games for the 2022 Six Nations

A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the 2022 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…

Buy me a Coffee!

If you’ve been enjoying the FRG tips over the years, please consider supporting the blog and donating a coffee, all donators will receive a name drop on the next weekly tips, and your donations will help with the running of the blog (and keeping me fuelled to do so!) >>> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/FRugbyGeekBuy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee

If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all the 2022 Six Nations fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.

Found this interesting or useful and looking for more Fantasy Rugby news, tips and advice? Follow @frugbygeek on Twitter, Like us on Facebook or sign up to the newsletter below to get fantasy rugby news delivered straight to you!

SUBSCRIBE HERE FOR FANTASY RUGBY NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX