The third of a series of game overviews to give you the ins and outs of the available games in place for this season’s Premiership.
If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter.
Next to look at is a well established game from the rugby OTT trailblazers Rugby Pass.
THE PREMISE
Rugby Pass have previously produced games for the Rugby Championship, Pro 14 and the Six Nations, and they are back, better late than never, for the Gallagher Premiership. Not quite as exhaustive and polished as The Rugby Magazine game, or as engaging and addictive as Fantasy Rugby Draft, it’s still a very enjoyable game for the fantasy rugby hardcore.
It’s a salary-cap style game, so you have a budget of $150m to build a squad of 25 players. Your bench doesn’t score points but the large bench will be invaluable for planning for the rounds ahead given the maximum of 3 transfers between round. The large bench also provides the opportunity to add some super cheap players that you will probably never use to enable you to select more expensive players elsewhere. That said, the budget stretches far and for Team Fantasy Rugby Geek, I have built a side I’m very happy with and that still has $10m in the bank!
The scoring is quite granular, so gives a satisfying and rewarding experience for the hardcore fantasy rugby fan. When reviewing the scoring we found that you should look for players known for breaking the line, beating defenders, making offloads, winning turnovers and making tackles for a good points return. Points are awarded for carries rather than metres, so you won’t be rewarded for a big lung bursting run like in other games.
THE KEY POINTS
- Site: https://fantasy.rugbypass.com/
- Squad Size: 25
- Team size: 15
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: Yes
- Transfers: 3 between each round
- Max players from one team: 5
THE EDGE
Plan ahead
Keep an eye on the fixture list when selecting your 10-man bench and also making your transfers to ensure that you get the best bang for your buck and that the players in teams with favourable runs of fixtures are in your side
Double check your XV is starting before the round lock
Once the gameweek lock has passed, you cannot change your team. Lineups are usually all announced by Friday afternoon, so keep an eye on the lineups and make sure your XV are all starting.
Out-of-position players are worth their weight in gold
Keep an eye on players who are classified in one position but end up playing in another position that may well provide greater returns (think a winger classified as a centre, a loose forward classified as a lock, etc).
Check the stats with the potential to score big
Looking at the points available, certain players should do well. In particular players know for breaking the line as well as top tacklers…
Also, with 1.5 points on offer for each turnover won, the likes of Jamie Gibson and Brendan O’Connor should score very highly. Check out the Top Performers from 2017/18 to help you make your choices.
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2018/19 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Geek Guide to Fantasy Rugby. An exhaustive collection of wisdom and experience gained from over a decade of fantasy rugby playing. Primarily aimed at less experienced players but with enough nuggets of wisdom and insight for even the most grizzled fantasy rugby veteran. There is something here for all players. The eBook is available to download now for £4.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and on Amazon in Kindle format – check it out!
If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all this year’s Gallagher Premiership fantasy games, all the stats sources, injury news, team news, fantasy relevant rugby betting odds and tons of other useful information.
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