The Six Nations is back for another year and with it comes the official Six Nations Fantasy Rugby game.
With a host of star players at your disposal, it's up to you to build a formidable squad that could earn you some amazing prizes, with a lot of pride also at stake.
There have been some changes to the game this year, however, so it's worth getting to know the rules and regulations a little better before you get involved.
Luckily, we've got you covered. Here's everything you need to know about this year's fantasy rugby game, including how to play, what you can win and the top picks for every position.
How does Six Nations Fantasy Rugby work?
In the official Six Nations fantasy game, you have a budget of 245 stars to assemble a starting XV, as well as three subs. As a result, you need to choose wisely to create a balanced team and not go over budget, although in a private league, the creator can set the amount of stars they want.
The best players can go for around 17-20 stars, with their value evolving according to their performances in each game. Depending on the number of points he wins and his starting value, a player will see his star value increase or decrease after a match.
You can modify team selections at any time between match rounds. So long as a player's match has not started, you can add or remove him from your team in between rounds, as long as this change is within your budget and meets other limits.
These limits include only picking a maximum of four players from one nation - so you can’t just pack your team with one nation and be done with it. Also every positions on the field needs to be filled - so you can't just flood your team with fly-halves and rake in the points.
Each round, you have the choice to pick a captain from among your 15 regular players, with any points that they score being doubled. If no captain has been selected from your team, the player with the highest purchase price will be automatically chosen, and in case of players having the same purchase price, the selection is made in alphabetical order.
On each game day, you also have the opportunity to choose a Supersub from the players on your bench, with these points then tripled if they actually get into the game. If he is a starter or does not play, his points will be divided by two as for all other substitutes.
Win a Wales rugby shirt for the Six Nations below. You can also access it here.
How are points scored in Six Nations Fantasy Rugby?
Obviously, the aim of the game in Six Nations Fantasy Rugby is scoring points. When putting together your side, it is vital that you are aware of how ‘team’ points and ‘player’ points can help your cause, with a new points system introduced for the 2023 edition of the game.
While team points are dictated by the result of the match, player points are down to each player's individual statistics during a match. It should be noted that the 'team' points are applied in proportion to involvement in the match - i.e. if a player only plays half of the match, he will only get half of the 'team' points.
Again, your selected captain will score double points, while your supersub's score will be tripled. Here's the breakdown of how both 'team' points and 'individual' points are scored in the game.
Team points:
Win: 8 points
Draw: 4 points
Defeat: 0 points
'Individual' points:
Tackles: 1 point per tackle
Dominant tackles: 7 points per dominant tackle
Line-breaks: 7 points per line-break
Carried metres: 0.2 points per carried metre with the ball
Breakdown steals: 7 points
Lineout steals: 7 points
50-22: 10 points
Try: 15 points
Try conversion: 2 points
Try assist: 7 points
Penalty kick: 5 points
Drop goal: 7 points
Official Guinness Six Nations Player of the Match: 15 points
Yellow cards: -5 points
Red cards: -10 points
What prizes can be won?
In terms of prizes to be won, finishing first in the rankings at the end of the tournament will win you two tickets to a 2024 Six Nations match of your choice, as well as flights within Europe and one night hotel accommodation for 2 people.
Meanwhile, finishing first in the rankings at the end of an individual round of fixtures will land you a £100 voucher to spend in the Six Nations' online store.
Who are the best Six Nations Fantasy Rugby players to pick?
With budgetary restrictions and constraints on nationality, it's impossible to pick a dream XV made up entirely of the Six Nations' best players. However, it's still possible to field a strong side that can bring home plenty of points.
To help you make your decisions, we've listed the most expensive option in each position, as well as a solid cheaper choice.
FULL-BACK
Most expensive: Stuart Hogg (Scotland - 18.0 stars)
Value player: Ange Capuozzo (Italy- 15.0 stars)
WINGS
Most expensive: Damian Penaud (France - 18.0 stars)
Value players: Mack Hansen (Ireland - 14.0 stars) and Rio Dyer (Wales - 12.0 stars)
CENTRES
Most expensive: Owen Farrell (England), Gael Fickou (France) and Gary Ringrose (Ireland) (all 16.0 stars)
Value player: Joe Marchant (England- 13.0 stars)
FLY-HALF
Most expensive: Marcus Smith (England) and Johnny Sexton (Ireland) (both 18.0 stars)
Value player: Paulo Garbisi (Italy - 13.2 stars)
SCRUM-HALF
Most expensive: Antoine Dupont (France - 20.0 stars)
Value players: Jamison Gibson-Park (Ireland - 15.0 stars) and Tomos Williams (Wales - 12.0 stars)
PROPS
Most expensive: Ellis Genge (England - 16.0 stars)
Value players: Uini Antonio (France- 12.0 stars) and Danilo Fischetti (Italy - 10.0 stars)
HOOKER
Most expensive: Dan Sheehan (Ireland - 15.0 stars)
Value player: Ken Owens (Wales) and Jamie George (England) (both 13.0 stars)
SECOND-ROWS
Most expensive: Maro Itoje (England - 17.0 stars)
Value players: Grant Gilchrist (Scotland - 12.0 stars) and Christ Tshiunza (Wales - 9.0 stars)
BACK-ROW
Most expensive: Josh van der Flier (Ireland - 18.0 stars)
Value player: Matt Fagerson (Scotland - 13.0 stars) and Jac Morgan (Wales - 11.0 stars)
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