Six Nations 2024 fantasy rugby: Cheat sheet with the best tips

A new Six Nations brings with it another official fantasy game, which is slightly different from the one that had me tearing my hair out in France at the World Cup. Why, oh why did I captain Matthieu Jalibert instead of Damian Penaud for the hosts’ defeat of Namibia? Never mind, here are some tips for the Six Nations.

How to select players

Users are given a budget of 240 stars to pick a starting line-up from all six squads. The most expensive players, James Lowe and Damian Penaud, cost 20 stars, and all of them have been categorised by position. You need three back three players, two centres, a fly-half and a scrum-half in the backline. Up front, the pack must be made up of three back-rowers, a pair of locks, two props and a hooker. Do not get hung up over tighthead and loosehead props if you do not want to. There does not need to be one of each.

As for bonus roles, the captain tag does what it has done in most fantasy games across sports down the years; it doubles that player’s score. A very interesting wrinkle for this Six Nations game, which adds a strategic element, is the ‘supersub’ chip. This triples the points of an additional player that comes off the bench. However, if that player starts, they will only return half of the points they earn.

How to score points

The Six Nations game is more stripped back than the World Cup one. That said, as well as metrics like tries, assists, tackles and turnovers, the scoring index includes 50:22 kicks, which are worth a significant boost of seven points. Line-out steals are worth the same. Most valuable, though, are coveted player-of-the-match awards. These net you a whopping 15 points. As ever, cards will cost the most. Yellows set you back three points, with a sending-off carrying a six-point sanction.

Tips

Damian, Duhan and James are all worth it
Do not try to be too clever or baulk at the price of premium wings. Damian Penaud now costs 18.4 stars, down from the initial maximum of 20 after two underwhelming games to begin the tournament. He still registered 17 points in round one and a further 11 at Murrayfield thanks to 75 running metres and four beaten defenders. Each of the latter ticks over two points. Penaud glides past opponents at will. Keep the faith. Duhan van der Merwe (18.3 stars) slips tackles for fun. He returned 38 points from the Cardiff thriller in round one, amassing 95 metres on the way to two tries. He was reasonably quiet against France, which has seen his price drop to 16.9 stars, yet loves facing England. James Lowe (19.9 stars) bagged a round 50 points thanks to a player of the match award and a bulldozing try against Italy.

Consider kicking full-backs
Thomas Ramos (17.4 stars) was not particularly eye-catching against Scotland, but still amassed 31 points thanks to his accuracy from the tee and 165 running metres. Tommaso Allan landed 24 points in round one… before dropping out of Italy’s squad altogether.

Back yourself with newbies
A scan of the scoring lists suggests that relatively unproven internationals come cheap. Joe McCarthy and Tommy Freeman were at 11 and 8 stars, respectively, before round one began. They proved to be rewarding bargains straightaway. McCarthy scored 33 points, boosted by his player of the match award. Freeman landed 27 points himself. Prices shift up and down, just as they do on Fantasy Premier League (FPL), so move quickly. McCarthy is now at 11.9 stars, with Freeman at 9.2. Jack Crowley (13.5 stars) and Calvin Nash (12.1) have been big climbers, and could keep rising with Wales next for Ireland. Alex Mann, the 22-year-old back-rower, has scored twice in his first two Tests and still costs only 10 stars.

Positional flexibility
Just as Fantasy Premier League (FPL) players scour databases for midfielders that are labelled as defenders or forwards that have been put into the midfielder bracket, rugby presents similar opportunities. Tommaso Menoncello (now 11.5 stars) is down as a back three player. The explosive Italy star has been exclusively at centre for Benetton this season and punched holes superbly against England before moving to the wing later. He registered 35 points in defeat.

Magic metrics
Finn Russell will be kicking at goal for Scotland and is sure to keep putting himself in the frame for further points with try assists. He is also reasonably prolific when it comes to 50:22s, a seven-point feat that could make your week. Russell began the Championship with 40 points as Scotland edged Wales. With breakdown steals worth five and line-out steals seven, disruptors such as Maro Itoje (16.0 stars), Tadhg Beirne (16.6 stars) and Tommy Reffell (13.7 stars) will be tempting. Beirne amassed 44 points at Stade Vélodrome, while Reffell has picked up 34 in each of his first two appearances. Rory Darge (11.4 stars) began his campaign with 24 points against France, forcing a breakdown turnover and making 13 tackles.

Supersub options
One name springs to mind immediately at the thought of the ‘supersub’ bonus; that of Nolan le Garrec (9.3 stars). The scampering scrum-half has plundered six tries for Racing 92 in the Top 14. He added spark upon replacing Maxime Lucu against Ireland, introducing himself with a jackal turnover to score 5 points, and then helped France rescue victory over Scotland. His returns will surely improve as and when France do so as a collective. Ronan Kelleher (12.7 stars) scored from the bench in round one for Ireland, as did Mann (10 stars) for Wales. The latter has been promoted into Warren Gatland’s starting line-up.

Keep an eye out for updates
Le Garrec could well usurp Lucu soon enough, so keep an eye out for announcements towards the end of match weeks. Unlike FPL, one can change a Six Nations fantasy team mid-round, as long as players’ teams have not already taken the field. That means, if you are alert enough, you can step in to withdraw those that have withdrawn themselves in real life.

Engine men
One point per tackle, as opposed to one every five tackles as other rugby games have awarded, makes the defensive grafters more valuable. Michele Lamaro (11.5 stars) is worth considering, here. Italy’s skipper has completed 37 tackles across the first two rounds, seven more than anyone else. He has scored well enough to enhance his value despite two Italy losses. Ben Earl (17.8 stars) racked up 46 points with a try-scoring, play-of-the-match effort against Wales.

Respect mauling
An obvious one, but Dan Sheehan (18 stars) is the tournament’s top try-scorer after three rounds. The marauding hooker offers far more than just mauling, too.

Can you second-guess player of the match winners?
The value of a player-of-the-match award in this game means it is worth trying. They usually go to someone on the winning side – which made Aaron Wainwright’s gong against Scotland particularly rare – and poor front-rowers are mostly ignored. Gaël Fickou’s recognition against Scotland boosted the centre’s overall score to 44 points after 13 in the first round. His value, 17.7 stars, remains among the highest in the game.