With the Six Nations just around the corner and new games now starting to pop up, it’s never too early to start planning ahead for your team and strategy ahead of the start of the tournament. When drafting your initial team, the temptation is to load up your team with the biggest of names, however the Six Nations is a unique beast, with various perils that the seasoned fantasy manager should consider before finalising their team. At Fantasy Rugby Geek we’re here to help, and to guide you to Six Nations success, so here’s 5 tips to consider when creating your Six Nations team…
Do your research and get familiar with your game’s scoring model
A golden rule of Fantasy Rugby that bears repeating… thoroughly understanding where the points will be scored in each game is key.
Every game is different; some games only award points for tries, assists and winning, while other games, as The Rugby Magazine was, are far more granular in awarding points for tackles made, lineouts won, metres gained, defenders beaten, scrums won etc. In the Rugby Magazine, you’ll need to look at way more than just those likely to score tries (e.g. in The Rugby Mag a Lock who carries well, wins his lineouts and puts in plenty of tackles will always outscore a winger scoring tries from a few metres out).
Look at the points available and pick your team accordingly. For example, if lots of points are on offer for metres gained (which can often be a goldmine) then check out the stats to understand who the big ball carriers and gainers are in each position, and load your team up. Likewise, games often penalise you heavily for penalties conceded, yellow cards and red cards, so keep an eye of those players with a reputation and history of ill-discipline and don’t let them near your side! Have a read of how previous games have been won here (Six Nations on SuperBru and Premiership on The Rugby Magazine) and make sure you apply their tips.
Make sure you do your research too. Know the players called up in the squads, see who is in form, know who’s kicking and know who’s likely to get plenty of playing time. You can find a lot of that information on this site, both in our Resources section, in our pre-tournament articles and pre-Round tips and we would be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn’t mention the FRG Premium Subscription membership on Buy Me A Coffee, where you’ll see the exact teams that I am playing with, get access to further private posts, and I will also offer you a personalised review of your teams, outlining any opportunities for improvement. All your subscriptions go back into the costs of running fantasyrugbygeek.com!
Rotation and Injuries
Always be wary of the prospect of squad rotation. One of the inevitabilities of Rugby will be injuries, and while there is little you can do about these, you can aim to make your team as bulletproof as possible by only selecting players that are likely to play in every game, fitness permitting. Keep a close eye on news sources regarding any rotation risks, and always wait until teams are announced before making any transfers into your team.
Italy
Oh Italy, I love you, but when it comes to the Six Nations they remain the perennial whipping boys, and this year this looks set to continue.
In such a competitive competition, you need to find any potential mismatches where you can, and unfortunately Italy (who are currently 275-1 outsiders to win the Six Nations with the bookies) provide the best opportunity for a mismatch. Wherever possible load up with players who have a fixture against the Azzuri. If nothing else have at least one back 3 player facing Italy that round in your side (A good rule of thumb is to go with whoever the bookies have identified with the lowest odds in the “Anytime tryscorer” market) and whoever is kicking sticks against them.
Team limits and Transfers
Another key rule to familarise yourself with in the games you choose to play, are team limits (how many players you can choose from one team) and how many transfers you are allowed. With regards team limits, some games are very strict in how many players you can choose from one nation, so don’t expect to load your team up with only players showing up against Italy.
Choose carefully and if the team has one truly outstanding player in a position, then try to select them; try to resist the temptation to pick up an average winger from a big team in the hope that they will get some big scores in one or two games when they have a world class prop or lock elsewhere. Over the course of the tournament, having a good depth of quality in all positions is crucial. When it comes to transfers, again, planning is key. Some games will give you a tournament-wide allowance while others give you a per-round allowance (in which case bring in players with a good selection of matches over the next 2-3 rounds so that you don’t have to transfer them out straight after transferring them in, this is where bringing in players free of the risk of rotation is key).
Out-of-position players
Keep an eye on players who are classified in one position but end up playing in another position that may well provide greater returns (think a winger classified as a centre, a loose forward classified as a lock, etc).
In previous years, great examples have included Keith Earls (categorised as a Centre but playing on the wing), Elliot Daly (categorised as a Centre but playing at Fullback), Maro Itoje (categorised as a Lock but playing in the Back Row), Damian Penaud (categorised as a Centre but playing on the wing) and Owen Farrell (categorised as a Fly Half but playing as a Centre).
Please note, Mauro Bergamasco playing at scrum half is the “exception that proves the rule”!
So there’s 5 tips to follow, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to strategies for playing Fantasy Rugby for the Six Nations. Stay tuned to FantasyRugbyGeek.com throughout the build up to and during the Six Nations to see team previews, weekly tips and plenty of other advice ahead of the big kick-off!
Six Nations 2024 is coming soon! Join the FRG leagues!
With the 2024 Six Nations just around the corner, make sure you join the FRG leagues which are now live on Superbru and the Official Six Nations game.
Join the Superbru league here and the Official Six Nations league here.
FRG Six Nations Guest posts
In the lead up to the Six Nations, George from FRG has been writing some guest posts for the Official Six Nations site and also contributing to an excellent Fantasy Six Nations post on W-Rugby. Have a read here 👇
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Guide to the Game
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s Six Nations Value Picks
- W-Rugby: Six Nations Fantasy 2024: The Ultimate Guide
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s 5 to watch
- Six Nations Website: Fantasy Rugby Geek’s MORE Six Nations Value Picks
Help shape the future of Fantasy Rugby!
The good folks at Dream XV Rugby need your help to input on their future fantasy game, please spare 5 minutes to fill out this quick survey. Your feedback is hugely valued!
You can access the survey 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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