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
For Fantasy Rugby Draft managers, this week is the big one, the last round before playoffs. For many FRD players the season will be over after this week and there are 6 mouthwatering matches to be played against a backdrop of the most exciting relegation battle in years for some and a push to reach the play-offs for other. The results all could go either way, but the bookies have made some bold predictions…
- Saracens to beat Newcastle by 14 points
- Wasps to beat Worcester by 8 points
- Bath to beat Bristol by 7 points
- Exeter to beat Leicester 6 points
- Sale to beat Harlequins by 5 points
- Northampton to beat Gloucester 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
- Vincent Koch (Saracens)
- Tom Dunn (Bath)
- Tom Woolstencroft (Saracens)
- Ellis Genge (Leicester)
- Zurabi Zhvania (Wasps)
- Tom Cruse (Wasps)
- Nathan Catt (Bath)
LOCKS
- Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
- Maro Itoje (Saracens)
- Charlie Ewels (Bath)
- Joe Launchbury (Wasps)
BACK ROW
- Nizaam Carr (Wasps)
- Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
- Zach Mercer (Bath)
- Nathan Hughes (Wasps)
- Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
- Dave Ewers (Exeter)
SCRUM-HALF
- Ben Spencer (Saracens)
- Nic White (Exeter)
- Joe Simpson (Wasps)
FLY HALF
- Owen Farrell (Saracens)
- Rhys Priestland (Bath)
- Joe Simmonds (Exeter)
CENTRES
- Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
- Henry Slade (Exeter)
- Eliott Daly (Wasps)
- Joanthan Joseph (Bath)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Willie Le Roux (Wasps)
- Ruaridh McConnochie (Bath)
- Joe Cokanasiga (Bath)
- Liam Williams (Saracens)
- Marcus Watson (Wasps)
- Jonny May (Leicester)
- Santiago Cordero (Exeter)
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!
- Cadan Murley – M – Harlequins
- Matt Banahan – OB – Gloucester
- Alofa Alofa – OB – Harlequins
- Luke Daniels – OB – Bristol
- George Furbank – OB – Northampton
- Alex Tait – OB – Newcastle
- Joe Launchbury – L – Wasps
- Kahn Fotuali’i – HB – Bath
- Tom Curry – LF – Sale
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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