To pick a successful team in The Irish Times Fantasy League for the upcoming Six Nations, you need to be armed with all the relevant stats. Fortunately, we’ve trawled through all the recent records so you don’t have to.
Without resorting to Google, try and hazard a quick guess at which team scored the most points, the most tries and made the most line breaks in last year’s Six Nations Championship. Grand Slam winners Wales, perhaps? England?
It was neither of those sides, but in fact Ireland who finished on top of all of those categories and while those stats proved completely irrelevant in terms of the final standings – Ireland won only two games and finished five points behind Wales – they assume more importance in terms of their impact on a team’s performance in Fantasy Rugby.
The saying ‘there’s no I in team’ is a very relevant one, but it’s a pity there’s also ‘no I in Fantasy Rugby’ because it’s all about the individual. Wales, for example, could beat Ireland on Saturday, but if Jonny Sexton plays the full 80 minutes, scores two tries, sets up another, puts over three conversions and a couple of penalties and wins the man of the match award, he’ll come home with 26 points (for a rundown on how the points are scored, click here).
Granted that scenario is highly unlikely, but not completely out of the question either.
Sexton is one player who will come into most managers reckoning because of the need for every manager to pick a designated kicker and the France-bound out-half is potentially a more attractive option than the other kickers because of his try-scoring ability. Between penalties and conversions, Owen Farrell, for example, made 38 successful kicks at international level compared to Sexton’s 37 in 2012, but with only one point per kick as opposed to five points for every try, Sexton possibly has the edge.
Wesley Fofana is the form centre in Europe at the moment and a prolific try-scorer for club and country
As far as the other teams are concerned, Wales’ Dan Biggar looks set to be given the number ten shirt for Wales, but with Leigh Halfpenny and James Hook around he might have to share the kicking duties, Greig Laidlaw will likely take on the kicking responsibilites in the temporary absence of Ruaridh Jackson for Scotland, Luciano Orquera will try and kick the goals for Italy, while the enigmatic Freddy Michalak is back in favour in France.
Although managers have to select a designated kicker before every game, they would have to land five kicks a game to equal the score awarded for scoring a try so it is important not to place too much emphasis on the man wearing the shooting boots. Tries are far more important and there are plenty of players across the board who have been regularly crossing the whitewash over the last 12 months.
French centre Wesley Fofana is one of the form players in Europe at the moment and although Les Bleus endured a difficult tournament last year, Fofana still scored four tries, one behind top scorer Tommy Bowe.
At club level this season, Fofana has managed six tries in the Top 14 and four so far in the Heineken Cup, a strike rate reminiscent of Brian O’Driscoll at his peak. Closer to home, Simon Zebo has scored six tries in an inconsistent Munster side, while Wales’ giant wingers George North and Alex Cuthbert are always a threat. Much as it pains us to say it, Chris Ashton’s record of 16 tries in 29 internationals can’t be ignored, although he’s only managed one for England since the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Far harder to predict than who might score tries is who will end up with the man of the match awards, an honour that earns as many points as a try as far as Fantasy Rugby is concerned.
Italy’s Sergio Parisse is always a contender despite the fact that he’s on the losing side more often than not, England’s Chris Robshaw is being touted as a potential Lions captain for his performances for Harlequins and England, Richie Gray is normally one of Scotland’s most consisent performers, while Donnacha Ryan’s stature in the Ireland side has risen immeasurably in the last year thanks to some commanding performances in the pack.
Click here for some more tips on picking your Fantasy team and if you haven’t registered your Fantasy Rugby team yet, there’s still plenty of time left to do so over on The Irish Times Fantasy Rugby website.
If you’d like to pit your wits against fellow JOE readers and the so-called rugby experts in the JOE office, the code for entry to the JOE League is 32182.
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