RBS has created a custom algorithm with the help of Accenture – the official Technology Partner of the RBS 6 Nations – which combines social listening technology and official Opta match statistics to give fans more influence than ever before.

The RBS 6 Nations Player of the Championship shortlist will be compiled through technical statistics, and crucially, fan opinion.

In addition to the player’s technical score, we will record and score the public’s social media opinion – measured through the volume of positive sentiment about a player and positive/negative ratio of their comments on the social forums of the web; Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.

Player’s ratings are calculated by awarding (or deducting) points throughout the Championship matches for 17 different action categories – which include attacking moves, scrums, passes, tries and tackles – to create the index.

To ensure fairness, the RBS 6 Nations analysts have weighted the importance of different actions depending on different positions and their impact; so whilst some positions will not score strongly in a certain action category they can make up for it in other areas.

On the last day of the Championship the shortlist (based on the players who have the highest scores) will be sent out to fans to then award the coveted title of RBS 6 Nations 2013 Player of the Championship.

Make your thoughts count towards RBS 6 Nations Player of the Championship by keeping up to date with the latest rugby conversation through twitter: @rbs_6_nations, #RBS6Nations.

• Follow us on Twitter: @rbs_6_nations
• Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/rbs6nations
• Download the Live Challenge app 2.0 version: www.rbs6nationslivechallenge.com
• Visit our Trophy Tour blog: http://rbs6nationstrophy.tumblr.com
• Join in with our Trophy Tour using the hashtag #trophytour