Fantasy Rugby Tips, Picks and Pre-match Thoughts – Gallagher Premiership Round 9

Our latest instalment of our weekly pre-match updates where we analyse the weekend’s lineups, crunch the stats and see what the bookies are thinking to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this weekend! By the time you finish this article you should have all the insight you need to score big fantasy points this weekend.

Make sure you come back every weekend before finalising your lineups!

Potential mismatches

The bookies are expecting some tight results this week, with the biggest favourites being Saracens at home to Wasps and Gloucester at home to Worcester. The general expectations for the match results from the bookies are as follows…

  • Saracens to beat Wasps by 14 points
  • Gloucester to beat Worcester by 12 points
  • Bath to beat Sale by 5 points
  • Northampton to beat Newcastle by 5 points
  • Leicester to beat Bristol by 3 points
  • Exeter to beat Harlequins by 2 points

Expected to go well

*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)

Recommended captain pick in bold

Please note that these picks have been published before lineups were announced, so some of these picks may not be playing. Please double check the starting XV before you commit to your teams, or check back here at 1pm BST.

FRONT ROW

Ross Harrison (Sale)
Vincent Koch (Saracens)
Fraser Balmain (Gloucester)
Nathan Catt (Bath)
Ellis Genge (Leicester)
Jamie George (Saracens)
Harry Thacker (Bristol)
Jack Yeandle (Exeter)

LOCKS

Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
Calum Green (Newcastle)
Maro Itoje (Saracens)
Ed Slater (Gloucester)

BACK ROW

Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
Zach Mercer (Bath)
Sione Kalamafoni (Leicester)
Mark Wilson (Newcastle)
Ben Morgan (Gloucester)

SCRUM-HALF

Faf De Klerk (Sale)
Cobus Reinach (Northampton)
Willi Heinz (Gloucester)

FLY HALF

Danny Cipriani (Gloucester)
George Ford (Leicester)
Rob Du Preez (Sale)

CENTRES

Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Ian Whitten (Exeter)
Ross Neal (Wasps)*
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)

OUTSIDE BACKS

Alex Lewington (Saracens)
Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
Alex Goode (Saracens)
Jason Woodward (Gloucester)
Jonny May (Leicester)
Liam Williams (Saracens)

Looking to join a competitive fantasy rugby league and win some stash while you are at it? Then join our public fantasy league on The Rugby Magazine fantasy game. Sign up to the game here & go to public leagues and join “Fantasy Rugby Geek”, a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat will be on offer for the winners of the league. Learn more about The Rugby Magazine’s Fantasy Game with our overview here.

Good luck!

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.

Found this interesting or useful and looking for more Fantasy Rugby news, tips and advice? Follow @frugbygeek on Twitter, Like us on Facebook or sign up to the newsletter below to get fantasy rugby news delivered straight to you!

SUBSCRIBE HERE FOR FANTASY RUGBY NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX

Love Stash???

In addition to stocking all of the kit for the new season, Lovell Rugby are currently running some great weekly deals, where there are some amazing bargains to be had, as well as the remainder of their end of season sale with up 80% off all kinds of great kit including rugby boots, international & club rugby shirts, protection, coaching, training, nutrition and rugby leisurewear. Don’t sleep on these amazing deals and get over to Lovell Rugby!