BigDia put in a request to see what a Lions XV would like like based on the Superbru Fantasy Rugby scores for the Six Nations so far, and here it is.
15. Stuart Hogg
14. Liam Williams
13. Jonathan Davies
12. Alex Dunbar
11. Elliot Daly
10. Paddy Jackson
9. Conor Murray
1. Joe Marler
2. Fraser Brown
3. Tadhg Furlong
4. Joe Launchbury
5. Courtney Lawes
6. CJ Stander
7. Sean O’Brien
8. Jamie Heaslip
Players are grouped on Superbru by Outside Backs, Props etc, but I’ve split them out here to make a sensible team. Mike Brown is currently scoring higher than Elliot Daly, but Stuart Hogg is the best full-back in the game, and nobody wants to see Brown on the wing for the Lions.
Similarly, Dan Cole is ahead of Joe Marler, but behind fellow tighthead Tadhg Furlong, and Nathan Hughes is ahead of Sean O’Brien but behind Jamie Heaslip.
Paddy Jackson tops the scoring charts so far, but Jonny Sexton was the highest-scoring fly-half in Round 3, and if Jackson remains on the sidelines, we could see Owen Farrell or Finn Russell in this fantasy lineup.
Another point to note is that Scotland remain the only team that hasn’t had the opportunity to play Italy, which has generally been a high-scoring opportunity for Ireland, Wales and England.
Some notable names missing include Alun Wyn Jones, with 6 other locks ahead of him in the standings, and Sam Warburton, behind James Haskell, John Barclay, Hamish Watson, as well as Hughes and the Irish trio. These are two captaincy candidates some way off the pace so far.
Let me know what you think of this side, with 6 Irishmen, 4 Englishmen, 3 Scots and 2 Welshmen.
Photo by: Patrick Khachfe / Onside Images
Thanks Hutch. Pretty much what I would have expected, pick from what has been seen over the opening 3 weekends. Going to be interesting to see how much this changes after next weeks games and then after super Saturday once the Scots have played Italy.
I think this is very accurate so will be intereating to see how the remaining 6nations games play out and if these guys continue in this form will this be acknowledged by the coach!
I would put Jack Nowell ahead of Liam Williams
I would agree but he just hasn’t been given the minutes to impact on thhe fantasy rankings thingy-ma-giggers (maybe)
Yes, this. Nowell’s not actually too far behind, after his brace from the bench last weekend.
Understand but its good to see he is in the frame
Interesting to see Brown is out in front of his fellow Hookers but otherwise looks as per expectations.
I am not sure that there is a stand out Hooker in the 6 Nations at the moment. I would imagine that Brown has as good a chance as any of them at actually making the starting line-up.
I know that Jamie George always gets the calls, and good that he is, I do wonder how much of this is because he is not Dylan Hartley.
I rate George as a player he is a dynamic ball carrier, deceptively quick, has good hands and vision.
Interesting to see JD in there? Not surprised by Williams but JD has had very little impact.
are you able to break the data down into per minutes played? Might be a better sign of effectiveness as I imagine a lot of players benefit from having played a whole match
Here goes..
My 38 man squad for the tour would be:
LHP: M.Vunipola, J.McGrath, C.Healy
HKR: J.George, F.Brown, K.Owens
THP: T.Furlong, D.Cole, Z.Fagerson*
LK: M.Itoje, J.Gray, J.Launchberry, A.Wyn Jones, R.Gray
BFL: CJ Stander, C.Robshaw, S.Warburton
OFL: H.Watson, S.O’Brien, J.Tipuric
NO8: B.Vunipola, T.Falatau
SCH: C.Murray, R.Webb, A.Price*
FLY: J.Sexton, F.Russell
CEN: O.Farrell(C), R.Henshaw, J.Joseph, A.Dunbar, H.Jones, D.Taylor*
WNG: J.Nowell, T.Seymour, A.Watson, E.Daly
FB: S.Hogg, L.Williams
*Bolters
Some good choices there. Personally I would swap out AWJ for Kruis and Price for Dan Robson. Robson should already be in the England set up and as Gatland is a former Wasps coach I’m sure he’s been watching Robson closely.
Talyor is the biggest surprise on your list. An interesting choice, hope he finds some form because he could be great for the Lions as he can cover from 11 to 15.
I Know it’s not going to happen but would prefer to See Thomas Youngs as a ‘bolter’ and Warburton as a seven, not Tipuric.
Billy is playing for Sarries this weekend and could be ready to go against Scotland! What a morale boost that would be!