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
With the Six Nations over, the big guns are back and with just 5 rounds left of the regular season (and two matches left before the Fantasy Rugby Draft playoffs), every little point counts. Some tight looking matchups this week and the general expectations for the match results from the bookies are as follows…
- Saracens to beat Harlequins by 11 points
- Exeter to beat Bath by 11 points
- Gloucester to beat Wasps by 9 points
- Bristol to beat Worcester by 7 points
- Leicester to beat Northampton by 3 points
- Sale to beat Newcastle 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
- Ellis Genge (Leicester)
- Nathan Catt (Bath)
- Ross Harrison (Sale)
- Vincent Koch (Saracens)
- Alec Hepburn (Exeter)
- Harry Thacker (Bristol)
- Jack Yeandle (Exeter)
- Jamie George (Saracens)
LOCKS
- Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
- Ed Slater (Gloucester)
- Calum Green (Newcastle)
- Franco Mostert (Gloucester)
BACK ROW
- Zach Mercer (Bath)
- Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
- Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
- Nizaam Carr (Wasps)
- Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
SCRUM-HALF
- Ben Spencer (Saracens)
- Cobus Reinach (Northampton)
- Francois Hougaard (Worcester)
FLY HALF
- Gareth Steenson (Exeter)
- George Ford (Leicester)
- Danny Cipriani (Gloucester)
CENTRES
- Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
- Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester)
- Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
- Henry Slade (Exeter)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Olly Woodburn (Exeter)
- Ollie Thorley (Gloucester)
- Vereniki Goneva (Newcastle)
- Santiago Cordero (Exeter)
- Liam Williams (Saracens)
Value Fantasy Rugby Draft Free Agent Pick-ups
Please note that not all of these players may be available as free agents in your leagues, but if they are, then move quickly!
- Ross Chisholm – OB – Harlequins
- Harry Randall – SH – Bristol
- Jono Lance – FH – Worcester
- Rob Miller – OB – Wasps
- Tom Pincus – OB – Bristol
- Jordan Olowofela – OB – Leicester
- Jamie Roberts – M – Bath
- Sam Harrison – SH – Leicester
- Dave Ewers – LF – Exeter
- Jono Ross – LF – Sale
- Ed Slater – L – Gloucester
Premiership Rugby Injury News
Gaining reliable Injury news for the Premiership is extremely difficult, and while we don’t have a database of the latest injuries at Fantasy Rugby Geek, we would highly recommend The Rugby Magazine’s injuries page which remains the most exhaustive source of Premiership injury news that can be found. Details of this and many other useful Fantasy Rugby resources can be found at our Resources page.
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 £3.99 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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Love Stash???
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