Rugby
James Harrington 5y

Fantasy Rugby 2019 - Players to avoid

Rugby, Six Nations

The secret to picking a winning Fantasy Rugby team is more than simply recognising those players who will earn you those big points - it's also about knowing which players you would be wise to avoid.

That may seem a bit harsh - after all, the coaches have picked the players they think will help them win the Six Nations title, maybe even go unbeaten to claim a Grand Slam. But what's needed on the pitch is not necessarily what you need as a Fantasy Rugby manager.

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Your first-round of selections are by far the most important. After that initial squad is locked in when France v Wales kicks off, you can only make three free transfers between fixtures. Any more will cost you potentially vital points.

So while you're making those final team calls in the lead up to the tournament opener at Stade de France on the evening of February 1, here are four players who could be a Fantasy Rugby liability, despite being regarded as an asset in the eyes of the coaches.

England - Dylan Hartley

Unfortunate for the England captain, who has the rather dubious honour of making this list for the second year in a row. Quite apart from missing the opening match against Ireland through injury, his disciplinary record should be enough to make Fantasy Rugby manager think again - for all that he has avoided serious trouble with the authorities since 2016. Eddie Jones might like a bit of mongrel in his side, but you should not. Besides, when he does play, he barely manages 50 minutes most of the time. That's nearly half of a game in which he will not be generating points.

France - Uini Atonio

Another nation, another front-row forward. Atonio is a decent scrummager, and isn't bad in the loose for a seriously big fella - but he's dropping down the pecking order for France in an era in which 'not bad in the loose' is no longer good enough. In a position that doesn't generally garner many Fantasy Rugby points, you really do need a starter. Or someone who's going to make a massive and instant impact off the bench - in the style of Ellis Genge, or potentially France's new prop Demba Bamba.

Wales - Leigh Halfpenny

Wait... what? Mr Consistent? The British and Irish Lion? The boot of an angel? Number 15 in last year's Fantasy team of the tournament? A liability? Well, actually, on the pitch, no. But, this is Fantasy Rugby, and you get what you pay for, figuratively at least. There are two reasons not to have Halfpenny in your team. One, he's a doubt for the opener in Paris. Two, while his kicking has been a major plus, the rest of his game is not comfortably geared towards fantasy rugby points - his return, for a regular kicker, was the second-worst in the tournament, ahead only of France's Maxime Machenaud. Our advice: find your kicker elsewhere, and give the fullback slot to an attack merchant who'll gain metres by the tonne, and is more likely to score tries.

Italy - Sergio Parisse

Ah, Captain Invincible does get a mention, after all. But, here, in the castaways list. Heresy! But, wait, hear us out. There's no denying Parisse is one of the all-time great rugby players - but age, repeated injuries and nearly 20 years of international rugby have wearied him. He told reporters at the Six Nations media launch that the 2019 tournament could well be his last - but there's no room for sentimentality in ESPN's Fantasy Rugby. And the inconvenient truth is he's unlikely to win you enough points to stay in the running for any of the prizes, let alone weekly bragging rights in your mini league... Now, watch him score a hat-trick in Italy's opener at Murrayfield.

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