Six Nations fantasy: Is it worth keeping the top performers from Round Two?

Dylan Coetzee
Split with Thomas Ramos (France), Jack Crowley (Ireland) and Ben Earl (England)

Split with Thomas Ramos (France), Jack Crowley (Ireland) and Ben Earl (England)

The second round of the Six Nations is long gone and after a fallow week, the action returns this weekend, meaning it is time for fans to ready their Fantasy team ahead of the third round.

Yet another weekend of drama is set to unfold and Planet Rugby breaks down which of the top Fantasy stars are worth keeping, benching and selling.

Round Two’s top-performing Fantasy XV

Back-three: Thomas Ramos (FRA): 31pts, Kyle Rowe (SCO): 25pts, James Lowe (IRE): 50pts

Centres: Stuart McCloskey (IRE): 28pts, Gaël Fickou (FRA): 44 pts

Fly-half: Jack Crowley (IRE): 34pts

Scrum-half: Ben White (SCO): 22pts

Back-row: Ben Earl (ENG): 46pts, Tommy Reffell (WAL): 34pts, François Cros (FRA): 29pts

Second-row: Maro Itoje (ENG): 18pts, Niccolò Cannone (ITA): 20pts

Front-row: ​Cyril Baille (FRA): 15pts, Dan Sheehan (IRE): 37pts, Danilo Fischetti (ITA): 18pts

Keep

There are some new names featuring on the list this week as the quality superstars start to shine for their respective teams.

One of the new faces is Frenchman Ramos, who as everyone will know is an absolute points machine and is only behind the top points-scorer by six points. His influence in a misfiring France side has not been as magnified as it usually is, however, one can bank on the full-back to constantly return especially with Italy on the cards for Round Three, this also makes the consistent Les Bleus veteran Fickou a clear keep. It would be criminal to leave the duo out.

The same can be said for Irishman Lowe who was player of the round last time out. He is such a complete player on both sides of the ball and is ultra-consistent to match. With Ireland’s dominance it is obvious, do not get rid of Lowe if you have him and if he is not in your side find a way to get him in. Fly-half Crowley falls in the same bracket as he appears to be Johnny Sexton in disguise during this campaign. The young fly-half will go from strength to strength the entire way through.

The only Scottish star in this category is White, who seems to play very well in tandem with Finn Russell. At 11.2 stars and especially with England’s Alex Mitchell out, White is an absolute bargain.

Only one loose forward made back-to-back weeks in the top performers and it’s none other than turnover machine Reffell. The Leicester Tiger has been immense on both sides of the ball and at the breakdown. An obvious keep especially considering his elevated importance for Wales. Similarly is Earl’s importance to the England back-row makes him a safe bet to leave in your line-up.

Earl’s team-mate Itoje needs no introduction and if England goes on and does something special this Six Nations the second-row will be at the heart of it. He may be expensive but he is world-class.

Unsurprisingly, two front-rows stay in the keep section this week in France star Baille and Ireland’s Sheehan, both of whom are absolutely world-class and very important to their teams. They have the capacity to gather the most points every single week in their respective positions.

Bench

Only one player makes this category after the second round and it is Italian Cannone, who is an absolutely brilliant player. He gets around the park well, is solid in the set-piece and is accomplished in most facets of the game, but (and there was always going to be a but), Italy’s struggle for dominance reduces his potential points haul. Keep him on the bench because he does have the capacity to bring in points against the correct opposition which unfortunately for the Azzurri is not France who they face this weekend.

Sell

McCloskey is unlucky in some ways as whenever thrown in the mix for Ireland he performs, but the reality is that he has to wait in the queue behind Bundee Aki. That is the only reason to sell him as he is unlikely to get game time in the important fixtures.

Les Bleus star Cros is brilliant but at 15.4 stars is probably overpriced when players like Reffell and Aaron Wainwright cost 13.7 stars and 12.9 stars respectively. Simply put, as good as he is there are more budget-friendly options.

Fischetti is another great player but when Italy face France that monstrous Les Bleus scrum will be tough to match and ultimately reduce the front-row points haul. A great player but not for Round Three, The same goes for Scotsman Rowe, who was brilliant against France but the revolving door between Scotland’s talented wings means his selection is not guaranteed.

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