Through some great insights from Opta, we can dig into the top performers in all the fantasy scoring metrics from the first two rounds, and also use some stats from Opta’s historical database to look at some great points-scoring opportunities for the final three rounds.
Firstly, looking at the big ones that everyone is gunning for: Tries and Assists. Tries are the highest scoring metric (apart from the Player of the Match award) with 10 points apiece, and leading the way is Dan Sheehan (with 3 tries) and Duhan van der Merwe, Calvin Nash and Alex Mann (2 tries each). Sheehan has accumulated 30 points through tries alone, he’s a threat in the loose (even being on the wing for one of his tries against Italy) and on the back of a maul and is comfortably the number one fantasy option at Hooker after two rounds. Try assists have been a bit more evenly spread with 16 players recording assists, and 4 of these on 2 assists (Mathieu Jalibert, Finn Russell, Stuart McCloskey and Tomos Williams).
With the overall fantasy scoring this year generally being lower than in previous years, the value of a reliable kicker has grown significantly. Leading the way with points earned from kicking are Finn Russell and George Ford, both with 30 points gained from Conversions (2 points), Penalties (3 points) and 50-22s (7 points). Jack Crowley and Thomas Ramos have also had a good contribution with the boot, racking up 17 points each from kicking metrics.
When it comes to attacking stats like Metres Gained (1 point per 10m carried) and Defenders Beaten (2 points), unsurprisingly it is the Back Three that dominate. For metres gained, Cam Winnett leads the way with 192m carried, translating to 19 points overall, with Freddie Steward (189m) and James Lowe (187m) close behind. While for defenders beaten it is Monty Ioane and Kyle Rowe who are topping the stats so far (both on 9 defenders beaten, and so 18 points each from defenders beaten alone).
In stats that are more tailored towards the Forwards - breakdown steals, lineout steals and tackles - one of the stars of the tournament so far, Tommy Reffell, stands out heads and shoulders above the rest in terms of breakdown steals with 5 so far - 2 more than his nearest challenger, Grégory Alldritt. With 5 points per breakdown steal, Reffell has accumulated 25 points purely from his work at the breakdown. In terms of lineout steals, only 2 players have gained more than 1 lineout steal in the first 2 rounds: Tadhg Beirne and Sam Skinner. With 7 points per lineout steal, this is a huge points scoring opportunity and one to monitor carefully for the rest of the tournament. Finally, those with high tackle counts will slowly but surely rack up points over the course of the tournament. With 1 point per tackle, you’ll need to select someone who provides tackles in high volume, but the likes of Michele Lamaro (37 tackles), Gianmarco Lucchesi (30 tackles) and François Cros (30 tackles) have seriously delivered in this respect.
Finally, Supersubs have been one of the hardest areas to call this season, but one simple but effective stat to look at in order to potentially maximise your Supersub returns is simply the minutes played off the bench. The players who have accrued some large minutes off the bench include Giosuè Zilocchi (74 minutes), Dorian Aldegheri (60 minutes), Julien Marchand (59 minutes), Posolo Tuilagi (59 minutes), Sam Skinner (55 minutes), Dan Cole (53 minutes), Giacomo Nicotera (51 minutes), Paul Boudehent (47 minutes) and Nolann Le Garrec (47 minutes).
Plenty of food for thought there for your selections in Round 3 and onwards there, but the team at Opta has pulled together some fascinating insights based on recent history to throw some additional fantasy options up for the next rounds.
Looking at the Round 3 matches, there are some definite trends in the historical data worth considering. Firstly, in the Calcutta Cup match-up at Murrayfield, Huw Jones is well worth considering in your fantasy team, as he has scored more tries against England (5) than any other player in Guinness Men's Six Nations history. In addition, Duhan van der Merwe is just two behind Jones, with his three tries against England being his joint-most against any nation in the Championship (also 3 v Italy and France). In addition, also potentially starting this week is Matt Fagerson, who made 26 tackles against England last year, the joint-most by any player in a match in the Championship in 2023.
On the English side, however, there are also historical top performers to consider, including George Ford and Danny Care, who have each assisted four tries against Scotland in the Championship. Over to the Aviva, and while most will be looking to Irish players for their selection, it is worth noting that George North has scored four tries against Ireland in the Six Nations (only Vincent Clerc has scored more).
In Round 4, Wales have a tough match-up against France, but there are good reasons to invest some of your fantasy stars in them for the visit of Les Blues. Tomos Williams is one of just three Wales players to record 3+ try assists against France in the Six Nations (also Stephen Jones and Shane Williams with 4 each), while he's also scored two tries against them. His tally of 5 try involvements is more than he has against the four other nations combined in the Championship.
England also have a tough match in Round 4 with Ireland heading to Twickenham, but it is worth noting that Elliot Daly has scored four tries against Ireland in the Championship, his joint-most against any team - also 4 v Italy (again only Vincent Clerc has scored more against Ireland overall in the Guinness Men's Six Nations). Finally, if he plays - or is a Supersub option - Blair Kinghorn should be a consideration. He has scored six tries against Italy in the Championship: three times as many as he's scored against every other nation combined. He has two hat-tricks against the Azzurri, and is the only player to score multiple hat-tricks against a single nation in the Championship.
On Super Saturday in Round 5, George North could become the first player to score 10+ tries against another nation in the history of the Championship if he faces Italy. He has nine tries against the Azzurri with teammate Josh Adams having scored six. North should be a candidate for Centre in your team. Likewise James Ryan at second row: with 7 points per lineout steal, he has made seven against Scotland in the Six Nations, which is his most against any nation and the joint-most by any player against Scotland.
Finally the tournament will reach its crescendo when England visit France in Lyon, in a match where many of the likely starting line-up have a rich history. Firstly, Elliot Daly and George Ford both have four try assists against France in the Six Nations, no player has more. Gaël Fickou has made more tackles against England than any other back in Championship history. Maro Itoje has won 12 turnovers v France, equalling his most against any nation, with only Brian O'Driscoll winning more. Itoje won three turnovers against Les Bleus in 2023, a year in which no player won more in a single match in the Championship.
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