Bragging rights make the Six Nations go round, and there are two types for supporters to savour.
The traditional ones are inherited, and enjoyed when your country wins matches. Then you have the competition’s fantasy game, which allows you to earn additional bragging rights by selecting a side from all the players in action and watching it accrue points.
Insiders expected around 300,000 players to pick a line-up for the first round and tinker with it over the ensuing couple of months. This is a number that represents a rise on last season and offers more evidence that rugby union should lean further into these games.
The sport suits them, because it lends itself well to data-driven insights that highlight the actions of individual players. Whether you are pondering a first foray into fantasy rugby or you are a veteran striving for an edge, hopefully this guide helps you out.
How to assemble a team
Each team must contain 15 players, comprising three back-three players, two centres, one fly-half, one scrum-half, three back-rowers, two locks, two props and a hooker.
You can add a ‘supersub’, who is eligible for triple points if he comes off the bench at some stage during the match in question. If he starts, however, you only pick up half what he scores.
A maximum of four players is permitted from any one Six Nations team, and each option is priced according to a stars system. These values fluctuate according to events during the tournament and you have a total budget of 230 stars. Antoine Dupont, who will set you back 21.5 stars for round three, is the most expensive.
How to score points
The first interesting wrinkle is that a try by a forward (15 points) is worth more than a try by a back (10 points) for the first time. Assists are worth four points, with conversions worth two and penalties three. A drop goal will earn you five. Staying with the boot, a 50:22 is worth seven.
Players gain two points every time they beat a defender and one for every 10 metres they make with ball in hand. An offload that goes to hand adds two points as well, while every attacking scrum won – not including penalties, free-kicks or resets – is worth one point to the forwards on the pitch.
Defensive graft is also recognised. Tackles are one point each, with breakdown steals bringing five points. Line-out steals are especially valuable, offering up seven points, and discipline is vital. Players will be docked one point for conceding a penalty, with yellow cards minus five points and red cards minus eight points.
…and bag big boosts
As with most fantasy games, there is a captaincy chip that doubles the output of one designated player. The supersub can be a real game-changer for your week if deployed shrewdly. Finally, an official player-of-the-match gong piles on 15 points. There was a nice spread to these in 2024.
Five went to centres and four to back-rowers, with two each to scrum-halves and wings and one each to locks and full-backs. Ben Earl (20.6 stars) and Italy centre Juan Ignacio Brex (13.9 stars) were the most prolific with two apiece.
Telegraph Sport’s top tips
Sneak in kickers…
Thomas Ramos (20 stars) would be in a recommended starter pack for anyone. He is listed as a back-three player, which means you can also select a fly-half to accumulate kicking additional points. Ramos was the top points scorer in 2024, with 63, and will be prominent as part of a dashing France attack this campaign. Anticipate tries, assists and running metres.
…and look for other positional wrinkles
Versatile players must be categorised somehow and you might be able to take advantage. Tadhg Beirne (16.9 stars) and Ollie Chessum (12.8 stars) are both termed as second rows, for instance. They snared three line-out steals each in 2024 and could well be deployed at blindside flanker in real life.
Jamie Dobie (11 stars) is a scrum-half for the purposes of the fantasy game, yet has started Test matches for Scotland on the wing. He would seem to be a strong choice for the supersub role.
Big names are worth it…
The total budget is generous, meaning you are likely to run into problems and make serious compromises only if you want to splash out on a supersub. Dupont plundered 90 points in Rome. Duhan van der Merwe (20.2 stars) thoroughly relishes facing England and racked up 62 at Twickenham.
Dan Sheehan (17.8 stars), the rampaging hooker, finished level with Van der Merwe on five tries last season, and would have amassed more fantasy points because of the bonus given to forwards.
…but stay on your toes
Damian Penaud (18.5 stars) came into the Six Nations in phenomenal form and was close to the top of many metrics last season. He registered 422m with ball in hand (second of all players) three assists (joint top) and 11 offloads (top). But he missed round one with a toe injury and was dropped for round three.
Théo Attissogbe (12.3 stars), a 20-year-old from Pau, has been the beneficiary of Penaud’s absence. He scored 38 points against Wales and 42 more in round three. Those who were on their toes and drafted in Leo Barré (13.7 stars) for France’s thrashing of Italy were rewarded with a 56-point haul
Watch out too for suspensions. Romain Ntamack (16.6 stars) has served one for his high shot on Ben Thomas in round one. Garry Ringrose (13.5 stars) will miss this weekend due to his 20-minute red card against Wales. The game does its best to flag availability, with icons illustrating whether players are starting, on the bench or overlooked entirely. But it pays to stay on top of the latest news.
Saddle up the workhorses...
Jac Morgan (17.7 stars) sits among the dearest back-rowers for a reason. The Wales captain is mightily industrious, recording huge tackle tallies. He amassed 49 points in round one and 37 in round three. Rory Darge (15.1 stars) passed a half-century on the opening weekend, finishing on 52 after Scotland’s win over Italy thanks to a try, turnovers and link play. Earl completed 17 tackles over a tense Calcutta Cup encounter, boosting his return to 34 points despite conceding a couple of penalties.
Grégory Alldritt (20 stars) topped the charts after round one with a massive 71 points. In defence, he completed 18 tackles and snatched a breakdown steal as well as beating two defenders, offloading once and scoring a try. Add a player of the match award and you have a formidable total. Lorenzo Cannone (16.2 stars) bagged 67 points in round two against Wales. He completed 17 tackles and carried for 104 metres, shrugging off seven defenders along the way.
...but covet the flashy stuff
Many will remember Cadan Murley’s hiccups in the back-field, but a try and an assist in Dublin gave the wing a respectable 38 points in round one. Louis Bielle-Biarrey (17.7 stars) was the second highest scorer of round two, with a 56-point return boosted by two tries. Blair Kinghorn, the Scotland full-back, has been another to score heavily in defeat. Four defenders beaten, three offloads and 159 running metres as well as a conversion and two penalties all added up to 38 points against Ireland and he accumulated 44 more in the loss to England.
Supersubs change the game
It is shrewd to devote budget to the bench, because those returns can catapult you up the rankings. Julien Marchand (13.9 stars) would have been the highest scorer across round one if you had him in the supersub slot to triple his output. His try brought him 27 points, which would have been worth a mammoth 81.
Jack Conan (14.5 stars) will have rewarded shrewd players over rounds one and two, with Bundee Aki (15.3 stars) is on Ireland’s bench. Fin Baxter (10 stars) was the highest-scoring replacement of round two, with 21 points. Stafford McDowall (9.6 stars) came off the bench to bag 16 points against England.
Marcus Smith (16.9 stars) has been dropped to England’s replacements for this weekend and will bid to stretch tired Italy defenders. That could be an especially cute supersub if he takes over the kicking duties as well.
Track emerging players
An awareness of domestic and Champions Cup form will serve you well and there is always value in backing players that are establishing (or re-establishing) themselves. Indeed, these are the most satisfying picks when they come off.
Monitor sniping scrum-halves
One of the law changes coming into effect for this Championship should allow scrum-halves more freedom around the breakdown as well as a bit more space at scrums and line-outs.
Clearly, Dupont will be in most teams. Jamison Gibson-Park now costs 17.2 stars after a 42-point haul, including a player of the match award, against England and more plaudits against Wales. Tomos Williams (13.5 stars) has been superb for Gloucester, offering less a extravagant option. Alex Mitchell is even cheaper at 13 stars.
Roll with the form book and flout convention
Transfers between rounds are unlimited, so be ruthless if you sense a chance to pile on points and use captaincy chips wisely. And do not be too proud to assemble a funky team, either. There are no prizes for balance here. If you want two loosehead props, such as Andrew Porter (15.4 stars) and Nicky Smith (7.4 stars), go ahead. Fantasy league: the clue is in the name.
