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 players of Fantasy Rugby Draft it doesn’t get any bigger, its Finals week. Likewise for The Rugby Magazine, time has almost run out to make a march up the global rankings, so everything to play for. Unfortunately for some Premiership teams, with playoff positions solidified and relegation all but settled, a number of teams will more than likely be fielding weakened teams, so tread carefully this weekend. The expected results from the bookies are as follows…
- Northampton to beat Worcester by 18 points
- Gloucester to beat Newcastle by 10 points
- Harlequins to beat Leicester by 8 points
- Bath to beat Wasps by 4 points
- Bristol to beat Sale by 3 points
- Saracens to beat Exeter 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
- Alex Waller (Northampton)
- Josh Hohneck (Gloucester)
- Tom Dunn (Bath)
- Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
- Franco Marais (Gloucester)
- Harry Thacker (Bristol)
LOCKS
- Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
- Franco Mostert (Gloucester)
- Courtney Lawes (Northampton)
- Chris Vui (Bristol)
BACK ROW
- Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
- Teimana Harrison (Northampton)
- Jack Clifford (Harlequins)
- Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
- Zach Mercer (Bath)
SCRUM-HALF
- Danny Care (Harlequins)
- Cobus Reinach (Northampton)
- Faf de Klerk (Sale)
FLY HALF
- Dan Biggar (Northampton)
- Danny Cipriani (Gloucester)
- Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
CENTRES
- Billy Tweletrees (Gloucester)
- Rory Hutchinson (Northampton)
- Alapeti Leiua (Bristol)*
- Mark Atkinson (Gloucester)
- Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
- Jason Woodward (Gloucester)
- Mike Brown (Harlequins)
- Charles Piutau (Bristol)
- Tom Collins (Northampton)
- Gabriel Ibitoye (Harlequins)
- Joe Cokanisiga (Bath)
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!
- Charlie Walker – OB – Harlequins
- Max Malins – FH – Saracens
- Ian Whitten – M – Exeter
- Gabriel Ibitoye – OB – Harlequins
- Alex Dunbar – M – Newcastle
- Ed Slater – L – Gloucester
- Callum Braley – HB – Gloucester
- Alex Cuthbert – OB – Exeter
- Jack Clifford – LF – Harlequins
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.
Rugby Box – The World’s first Rugby Subscription Box…
You may be familiar with Subscription Boxes, a service which for a regular subscription fee, a box of curated goodies are sent out on a regular basis. Common in fashion, food, tech and bear for example, but up until now, not for Rugby. This has all changed… Rugby Box is the world’s only Subscription Box for Rugby Players and is now live… 
Rugby Box’s team of experts will, on a quarterly basis, put together and send out a personalised box full of great Rugby Gear and other cool stuff. Each box contains 7-10 items including Clothing, Accessories, Nutrition and everything else you need through the season. Each box is tailored depending on the time of year and the good guys at Rugby Box like to keep the contents a surprise until it is in your hands. It is part of the fun! Some of the brands featured in their boxes include Canterbury, Gilbert, Samurai, Bulldog Skincare, Eat Natural and Bulk Powders. The Rugby Box subscription service is £50 per box with free delivery. Boxes are billed and delivered every 3 months. Rugby Box currently deliver to the UK with Free Delivery. Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy costs £8 for delivery. If you are from a country outside of these then please reach out to the team at Rugby Box will try and arrange a special delivery. You can learn more about Rugby Box at www.rugbybox.co.uk
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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