There is no need to dwell on the heartbreaking mistakes of my World Cup fantasy campaign. I have completely given up favoring Max Malins over Henry Arundell, who scored five tries for England to beat Chile. Will there be a replacement for Shannon Frizell, who received an early yellow card as a substitute for Ardie Savea before the final? Completely forgotten.
The new Six Nations brings with it another official fantasy game that is slightly different from the one I was tearing my hair out of in France. Why, oh why did I choose Matthieu Jalibert as captain over Damian Penaud in the home defeat to Namibia? Never mind, here are some tips for the Six Nations.
How to choose players
Users are given a budget of 240 stars to choose a starting lineup from all six teams. The most expensive players James Lowe and Damian Penaud cost 20 stars and are all categorized by position. You need three players at the back, two centres, a fly half and a scrum half in the back line. Up front the pack needs to consist of three back rowers, a pair of locks, two backs and a hooker. Don’t hang on to tight and loose-headed supports if you don’t want to. There is no need to have one of each.
When it comes to bonus roles, the captain tag does what it has done for most fantasy games across sports over the years; doubles that player’s score. A very interesting feature of this Six Nations game that adds a strategic element is the ‘super sub’ chip. This triples the points of an additional player coming off the bench. However, if this player starts, he will only return half of the points he earned.
How to earn points
The Six Nations match is simpler than the World Cup match. However, alongside metrics such as tries, assists, tackles and turnovers, the scoring index also includes strikes 50:22, which is worth a significant seven-point increase. Steals off the line are worth the same. But most valuable are the coveted player of the match awards. These get you a whopping 15 points. As always, the cards will cost the most. The Yellows put you three points behind with a sending-off that required a six-point sanction.
Tips
Choose Damian and/or Duhan
Don’t try to be too smart or pay the price for premium wings. Penaud’s price has now dropped from an initial maximum of 20 stars to 19.4 stars after an unforgettable night in Marseille. He still recorded 17 points on Friday. Each defeated defender ticks more than two points. Penaud glides past his opponents at will. He finished as top scorer in the last Championship and is also an effective link man who will be surrounded by his Bordeaux counterparts. Keep the faith.
Duhan van der Merwe (18.3 stars) struggles to have fun. He collected 95 meters in two tries, taking 38 points from the Cardiff thriller.
Brace yourself with beginners
Looking at the scoring charts, relatively unproven international players seem to come cheap. Before the first round started, Joe McCarthy and Tommy Freeman were at 11 and 8 stars respectively. They have proven that bargains pay off quickly. McCarthy scored 33 points, influenced by the player of the match award. Freeman himself scored 27 points. Prices go up and down just like in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), so act quickly. McCarthy is currently at 12.1 stars, while Freeman is at 9.1 stars. Ethan Roots increased his starting count to 9.7 after his 37-point haul in Rome.
Positional flexibility
Just as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players search databases for midfielders tagged as defenders or forwards categorized as midfielders, rugby offers similar opportunities. Tommaso Menoncello (now 12.1 stars) remains as the back three player. The explosive Italy star has exclusively been Benetton’s center this season, opening holes superbly against England before later moving to the wing. He recorded 35 points in the defeat.
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Finn Russell will kick on goal for Scotland and is confident of continuing to include himself in the squad to get more points with try assists. He’s also pretty prolific when it comes to 50:22s, a seven-point achievement that could make your week. Russell started the Championship with round 40 as Scotland edged Wales.
With five tackles and seven tackles from the line-out, hitters like Maro Itoje (16.1 stars), Tadhg Beirne (17 stars) and Tommy Reffell (13.1 stars) will be tempting. Beirne collected 44 points at the Stade Vélodrome, while Reffell struggled to collect an impressive 34 points.
Super subscriber options
When it comes to ‘super sub’ bonus, one name immediately comes to mind; Nolan le Garrec’s (9.2 stars). The speedy attacker plundered six tries for Racing 92 in the Top 14. He increased the spark further when he replaced Maxime Lucu against Ireland and introduced himself with a dodgy turnover to take 5 points. When France does this collectively, their returns will certainly increase.
Watch out for updates
Le Garrec could be promoted to Murrayfield’s starting XI, so keep an eye out for announcements towards the end of match weeks. Unlike the FPL, you can change your Six Nations fantasy team mid-round as long as the players’ teams do not take to the field. This means that if you are alert enough, you can step in to pull back those who are holding themselves back in real life. For example, it would have been a real shame if anyone had kept Ellis Genge in their team after England’s loose-headed player withdrew from the match against Italy with a foot injury.
engine men
One point per tackle, compared to every five tackles made in other rugby games, makes defensive tackles more valuable. Michele Lamaro (11.2 stars) is worth considering here. Italy’s captain completed 19 tackles against England and scored well enough to increase his value despite a late trip to the sin bin. Grégory Alldritt’s performance (17.5 stars) has also always been tremendous and is unlikely to diminish with his captaincy of France.
Looks can be deceiving
Alldritt is a good place to finish. Many might think that Caelan Doris (17 stars) surpassed him on Friday. However, she returned home with 31 points. Doris is down to 20. Difference? Time spent on defense. Alldritt had 16 steals and forced a Coyote turnover, while Doris had eight steals and did not qualify for any.
A surprise pacesetter?
Frantic, topsy-turvy matches yield huge individual scores and Aaron Wainwright became the first man to reach the half-century mark this season. A try and 97 running metres, five defenders beaten and one player from the game’s gong brought the total to 56 points despite remaining on the losing side. Next station; Twickenham.