Six Nations Fantasy Rugby 2017 Guide

For those keen to play the Six Nations Fantasy game on Superbru this year, here’s a guide to picking your squad and some player recommendations to consider.

Join the FFS league

This can be done by clicking here. Also check out the scoring system and note that you get points for more than just tries and kicks. Unlike some games – you can score for metres gained, defenders beaten, tackles made and so on, and you obviously need to factor this into your selections.

Choose your Outside Backs

Full-backs can often score well for metres gained if they are retrieving a lot of kicks, and some of them will regularly run the ball back rather than kick, and worth looking at over a comparable winger.

Players to consider:
Stuart Hogg – usually runs, always beats defenders
Mike Brown – similar running full-back, and usually clocks up plenty of metres gained
Virimi Vakatawa – Fijian-born 7s player, and the French will get the ball to him as often as they can
Anthony Watson – should be on the end of plenty of England’s tries
Simon Zebo – similar for Ireland
Tommy Seymour – in great form for his club, and worth considering in Scotland’s home games as they’ll play a very attacking style
George North – not on great form, but will have a high ownership and could score well against Italy in Round 1
Leigh Halfpenny – provides a kicking option at full-back if you want to pick a non-kicking fly-half (George Ford, Finn Russell), should score well against Wales, but probably not worth a prime position after Round 1 (if at all)
Liam Williams – one to watch if Wales have a good tournament, but I’d pick North against Italy because of ownership

Pick a fly-half

Only your designated kicker will earn kicking points, and that is the main thing to consider here.  Owen Farrell is listed as a fly-half, although he often plays at centre, and is probably the go-to pick here for someone to keep throughout the tournament.

Jonny Sexton is the other strong pick, although is a slight injury doubt (team selections will be announced a few days before each match), and you could rotate the England and Ireland kickers based on fixtures each week.

Choose your back row

Ignore the rest of the backs for now and skip to the forwards, because the back row can make all the difference – there are plenty of scoring opportunities for them, even if they don’t score as many tries as the backs.

Billy Vunipola is usually the go-to pick here, but will sadly be absent, so it’s worth looking for other players in his mould.

Players to consider:
CJ Stander – very strong candidate, will make a lot of yards carrying the ball
Nathan Hughes – will be a good differential, because he isn’t very well-known, but will be asked to play like Vunipola at Number 8
Sean O’Brien – big ball-carrier, tackler and turnover merchant
Louis Picamoles – will make plenty of yards and one to watch if France have a good tournament
Sergio Parisse – will be a popular pick, and will likely get Man of the Match if Italy win, but I don’t think they will.  Good bench fodder.
James Haskell – tackle-machine, and will also need to carry the ball more without Vunipola
Taulupe Faletau – gets plenty of ball for Wales, and worth considering if Wales are playing well

Pick your centres

You can sometimes get an out-of-position prospect in the centres, and Elliot Daly is one to watch for England in this respect, as is Wesley Fofana usually, but he’s been ruled out through injury.

Players to consider:
Elliot Daly – dangerous runner, particularly if selected in the back three
Rob Henshaw – he’ll make a lot of carries and tackles
Mark Bennett – he’ll do a similar job for Scotland
Jonathan Joseph – always good at finding gaps, and England often chip over the defence looking for Joseph to catch it and break away

Pick a scrum-half

There’s a lot of luck involved at scrum-half, so the best bet is to choose one decent one, one Italian for the bench and then hope for the best.

Players to consider:
Conor Murray – in pole position for the Lions jersey, scores a few close range tries
Ben Youngs – has an eye for a gap and makes a few breaks
Rhys Webb / Gareth Davies – both decent options for Wales, depending on team selection
Italian 9 – for the bench

Select Locks

In the Superbru Fantasy rugby game, locks can score points for line out steals, as well as tackles made, scrums won and everything else, and these can be a reasonably fruitful source of points.

Maro Itoje is a must in your engine room. He is a phenomenal player and could take the tournament by storm, he’ll win at least one Man of the Match award and moreover, there’s a chance he’ll play in the back row, so it’s definitely worth saving one of your England spots for him.

Players to consider:
Maro Itoje – essential
Jonny Gray – usually less popular than his brother, but a better pick
Alun Wyn Jones – Welsh captain, good all-round option
Iain Henderson – strong ball-carrier, makes lots of tackles
Devin Toner – loves a line out steal, he’s 6’10″

Pick up a couple of Hookers

Players to consider:
Guilhem Guirado – best player for France last year, scored a couple of tries
Rory Best – another captain, and more likely to play the full 80 minutes

Select Props

The team limits are fairly generous in Superbru (six), but even so, you might be limited by the time you get to the lowest-scoring category.

Players to consider:
Tadhg Furlong – great Irish prospect, and will be better-known after this tournament
Zander Fagerson – Scottish prop who could shine in the absence of WP Nel
Rabah Slimani – big French chap
Cian Healy – he’ll be a popular pick if he starts for Ireland, so keep an eye on selection
Kyle Sinckler – another under-the-radar option, but check team selection, and might be better to use your England allocation in the higher-scoring positions.

Let me know if there’s anyone I’ve missed, or any other advice to share.  Good luck!