Team-of-the-Championship split
The official Six Nations ‘Team of the Championship’ exposed a clear split — fan-voted XV vs a statistically optimal Oval Insights XV — highlighting where analytics and public opinion disagree on key selections (sixnationsrugby.com).
Antoine Dupont (8.2), Louis Bielle‑Biarrey (8.5), Tommaso Menoncello (7.9) and Thomas Ramos (8.2) were the four players named in both the fan XV and Oval Insights’ performance-rated side. (sixnationsrugby.com) Oval Insights put Matthieu Jalibert at fly‑half with a 7.9 efficiency rating while the public vote went for Finn Russell, the article citing Russell’s match‑defining tactical plays such as precise 50‑22s as the reason for his popularity. (sixnationsrugby.com) At number eight Oval’s data model preferred Italy’s Lorenzo Cannone (7.1) for a high work‑rate and dominant‑carry percentage, whereas fans selected Ireland captain Caelan Doris for leadership and red‑zone turnovers. (sixnationsrugby.com) The biggest schism showed up in the tight five, but Wales prop Rhys Carré was a unanimous inclusion after scoring in three consecutive matches and finishing as Wales’ leading try‑scorer in the Championship. (sixnationsrugby.com) The fan‑voted XV (revealed 19 March) lists Rhys Carré, Giacomo Nicotera, Simone Ferrari, Tadgh Beirne, Mickaël Guillard, Jack Conan, Rory Darge, Caelan Doris, Antoine Dupont, Finn Russell, Louis Bielle‑Biarrey, Stuart McCloskey, Tommaso Menoncello, Kyle Steyn and Thomas Ramos. (sixnationsrugby.com); voting opened from a 45‑man shortlist and closed 19 March. (sixnationsrugby.com) Six Nations’ write‑up says Oval Insights “crunched every carry, tackle and turnover” to build its XV, highlighting that the data model surfaced contributions — work‑rate, efficiency and dominant carries — that often differed from the eye‑test choices made by thousands of fan voters. (sixnationsrugby.com)
