Fantasy Six Nations Rugby: who should you pick in round 3?

After a week off, the Six Nations returns this weekend, which means it’s time to be thinking about your fantasy team again. Who should you be looking to pick this weekend? Don’t roget that if you’re playing SuperBru’s Six Nations Fantasy Rugby Game, you can join our league here.

Round 2 Top Scorers

Jonathan Joseph was top of the scoring from round two, after his brace of tries – both of which included stacks of metres made, as he ran them in from about the half way line – gave him a whopping 34 points, eight more than anyone else – including the kickers. Next up was Johnny Sexton, whose boot was instrumental in Ireland’s win over France – he was their only points scorer on the day, which was reflected in his 26.5 point fantasy haul.

Leigh Halfpenny and George Ford were similarly high scorers from amongst the kickers, but elsewhere Stuart Hogg was in fine form, scoring a 50 metre try and racking up points for defenders beaten and clean breaks to finish with 23. It was enough to put him ahead of Luca Morisi, who finished with 22.5, including two tries.

Up front, the three highest scorers all came from the same game. Billy Vunipola was in rampaging form and also bagged a try, leaving him with 19 points, while somewhat surprisingly the next highest scoring forward was replacement Nick Easter, who added a try to his usual insatiable work rate. He ended up on 15 points, 2.5 more than Italian captain Sergio Parisse.

10 of the top 20 came from England, reflecting their dominant performance over Italy. Remarkably, only one Irish player – kicker Johnny Sexton – made it into the top 20, reflecting the relatively one dimensional manner of their victory over France, who themselves only contributed two.

Who should you pick in round 3?

Looking at the above, it is clear that whichever team is playing Italy is likely to score a fair few points – they have conceded comfortably the most tries so far. With that in mind, it might be worth taking a punt on a few of the Scottish backs this weekend. Vern Cotter has had them playing a much more open game anyway, and despite failing to win a game so far, they have looked dangerous. Stuart Hogg will be a popular pick, but look out for livewire centre Mark Bennett, who will be playing in the same channel in which Jonathan Joseph enjoyed such success against Italy last round (Joseph may have moved to the wing early on, but both of his tries were scored in the outside centre channel).

The French have also brought in a few new faces in their back-line, two of whom in particular are real live-wires. Both Sofiane Guitone and Brice Dulin are diminutive, elusive runners, and if they are given enough time and space (which, granted, is a big if, given the way France are playing at the moment) they have the potential to score plenty of fantasy points.

The English back row forwards currently dominate the fantasy stats, with Billy Vunipola leading the way, and although they face a tough battle against the Irish trio this weekend they can be counted on to score consistently well. With Jamie Heaslip missing (make sure you transfer him out if you have him!) and a full 80 minutes under his belt, Sean O’Brien might be worth a punt in your back-row – he will be expected to carry a lot of ball in Heaslip’s absence, and is an immensely powerful man.

The front five, in terms of points scored so far, is dominated by France and England, the former of whom have had a hugely successful lineout (a nod to hooker Guilhem Guirado), and the latter possessing several players (most notably Joe Marler) who get through a lot of work in the loose, racking up good tackle points.

Good luck with your picks this weekend!

By Jamie Hosie
Follow Jamie on Twitter: @jhosie43

Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images