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 expect around 300,000 players to pick a line-up for the first round and tinker with it over the next 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.
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. Ben Earl, who will set you back 20.4 stars for round three, is the most expensive.
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.
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. Earl and Italy centre Juan Ignacio Brex (13.6 stars) were the most prolific with two apiece.
Thomas Ramos (19.6 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.
Versatile players must be categorised somehow and you might be able to take advantage. Tadhg Beirne (17.6 stars) and Ollie Chessum (13.1 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.
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. Antoine Dupont (19.6 stars) has looked irresistible for Toulouse, even if he committed errors last time out. Duhan van der Merwe (19.1 stars) has plundered six tries in his last four matches against England and should be a shoo-in for round three at Twickenham. Finn Russell (19.1 stars) has also relished the rivalry with Steve Borthwick's men.
Dan Sheehan (18.2 stars) has returned strongly from injury and will captain Ireland against Wales. The rampaging hooker proved his fitness in a big boost to Ireland. He was level with Van der Merwe on five tries last season, and would have amassed more fantasy points because of the bonus given to forwards.
Damian Penaud (18.6 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 was ruled out of round one with a toe injury and has been dropped for round three. Théo Attissogbe (12.3 stars), a 20-year-old from Pau, was the beneficiary of Penaud's absence. He scored 38 points against Wales.
Watch out too for suspensions. Romain Ntamack (17 stars) is still serving one for his high shot on Ben Thomas in round one. 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.
Jac Morgan (17 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. Rory Darge (15.5 stars) passed a half-century that weekend, finishing on 52 after Scotland's win over Italy thanks to a try, turnovers and link play. Tom Curry has been irrepressible as well. His value is up to 15.8 stars as a result.
Grégory Alldritt (19.1 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 (16.3 stars) bagged 67 points in round two against Wales, despite conceding two penlaties. He completed 17 tackles and carried for 104 metres, shrugging off seven defenders along the way.
Tireless tacklers will reward you. Josh van der Flier (15.8 stars) completed 19 against Scotland for a total of 34 points. Tom Willis (11.3 stars) was replaced before the final quarter against France, yet registered 16 tackles to hit 34 for round two as well.
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 (17.4 stars) was the second highest scorer of round two, with a 56-point return boosted by two tries. Blair Kinghorn, the Scotland full-back, was 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.
It is shrewd to devote budget to the bench, because those returns can catapult you up the rankings. Julien Marchand (13.8 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.
Sheehan and Jack Conan (13.4 stars) will have rewarded shrewd players over rounds one and two, but are both starting in Cardiff. 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.
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.
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 16.6 stars after a 42-point haul, including a player of the match award, against England. Tomos Williams (14.1 stars) has been superb for Gloucester, offering less a extravagant option. Alex Mitchell is even cheaper at 13.3 stars.
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 Danilo Fischetii (12.9 stars), who bagged two breakdown steals against Scotland, go ahead. Fantasy league: the clue is in the name.