Fantasy International Rugby: Round Six Preview

Argentina's Nicolas Sanchez is one of several risky, but potentially profitable, players that Dr Stats has highlighted for the round ahead. Photo / Getty Images

With just two rounds remaining in our game, your place in the overall standings or within your personal groups may dictate your tactics this weekend.

Congratulations to all of you who are competing with our overall leaders and at the head of their group standings. For you, all you need to do is hold and, hopefully, consolidate your position by playing it safe this round.

Those of you who are just working the game out or are making a late surge in the standings, now's the time to take risks.

The reason risk taking is essential for those down the standings is that, with unlimited trades available to everyone, having points of difference between your side and your rivals' is rare, and also the only way to gain ground.

Remember also, that even if you have struggled so far, there is a $50 cash prize for all round winners. We had one entrant in our Fantasy NRL game who signed up very late in the season but still took out a $50 cheque due to the availability of unlimited trades in the playoffs.

With the above in mind, below are two sets of starting XVs - the safe one and the risky one.

Firstly, our safe XV consists of in-form players with history of fantasy success - they are also widely owned within our game.

SAFE XV

Front Row
Dane Coles, New Zealand, $72,800
Bismarck du Plessis, South Africa, $78,900
Agustin Creevy, Argentina, $56,700

Second Row
Sam Whitelock, New Zealand, $64,800
Lood de Jager, South Africa, $106,300

Back Row
Kieran Read, New Zealand, $131,400
David Pocock, Australia, $93,600
Duane Vermeulen, South Africa, $102,700

Halfback
Aaron Smith, New Zealand, $75,000

First Five
Dan Carter, New Zealand, $200,400

Centre/Wings
Julian Savea, New Zealand, $219,200
Nehe Milner-Skudder, New Zealand, $167,600
Ma'a Nonu, New Zealand, $116,700
Bryan Habana, South Africa, $138,200

Fullback
Ben Smith, New Zealand, $147,000

Secondly, our risky team consists of players currently owned by under 15% of our managers and who have either strong recent form or a history of big fantasy scores.

RISKY XV

Front Row
Charlie Faumuina, New Zealand, $53,700
Frans Malherbe, South Africa, $52,400
Marcos Ayerza, Argentina, $50,000

Second Row
Tomas Lavanini, Argentina, $62,200
Dean Mumm, Australia, $59,500

Back Row
Pablo Matera, Argentina, $81,500
Francois Louw, South Africa, $84,900
Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, Argentina, $67,300

Halfback
Fourie du Preez, South Africa, $76,000

First Five
Nicolas Sanchez, Argentina, $194,600

Centre/Wings
Santiago Cordero, Argentina, $156,800
Drew Mitchell, Australia, $94,800
Juan Imhoff, Argentina, $119,500
JP Pietersen South Africa, $113,700

Fullback
Joaquin Tuculet, Argentina, $117,900

So there you have it, your best bets for both a safe team and a risky one. One middle ground is to select risky players in traditionally low-scoring positions like the front row and halfback and go for safer options in the backline and with your captaincy choice - and the opposite for those out there that are more risk averse.

As always, keep an eye on the NZ Herald Rugby site for news on team announcements and injuries before the first fixture on Sunday morning.

Listen to Radio Sport every week, the day before each fantasy round gets underway, to hear Dr Stats chat with D'Arcy Waldegrave about the latest fantasy news and advice.

On the bench:
Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand (out indefinitely)
Pieter-Steph du Toit, South Africa (dropped)
Lood de Jager, South Africa (probable)
Agustin Creevy, Argentina (probable)