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
What could be better than a Christmas feast of Premiership Rugby? This week we have 6 matches that the bookies are finding it hard to call with some very tight handicap lines. The best chance of the bunch seems to be with Bristol, looking to bounce back from last week’s hiding at the Allianz and hosting a slightly inconsistent Wasps side…
- Bristol to beat Wasps by 11 points
- Northampton to beat Gloucester by 6 points
- Worcester to beat London Irish by 6 points
- Harlequins to beat Leicester by 5 points
- Bath to beat Sale by 3 points
- Saracens to beat Exeter by 1 point
Expected to go well on Fantasy Rugby Draft and The Rugby Magazine
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
Recommended The Rugby Magazine captain pick in bold
FRONT ROW
- Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins)
- John Afoa (Bristol)
- Mako Vunipola (Saracens)
- Ellis Genge (Leicester)
- Harry Thacker (Bristol)
- Akker Van Der Merwe (Sale)
- Jamie George (Saracens)
LOCKS
- Maro Itoje (Saracens)
- Christopher Vui (Bristol)
- Nick Isiekwe (Saracens)*
- Franco Mostert (Gloucester)
- Albert Tuisue (London Irish)*
BACK ROW
- Billy Vunipola (Saracens)
- Teimana Harrison (Northampton)
- Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
- Nathan Hughes (Bristol)
- Daniel du Preez (Sale)
- Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester)
SCRUM-HALF
- Ben Spencer (Saracens)
- Francois Hougaard (Worcester)
- Cobus Reinach (Northampton)
FLY HALF
- Callum Sheedy (Bristol)
- Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
- Owen Farrell (Saracens)
CENTRES
- Rohan Janse Van Rensburg (Sale)
- Rory Hutchison (Northampton)
- Mark Atkinson (Gloucester)
- Elliot Daly (Saracens)*
- Cadan Murley (Harlequins)*
- Ashley Beck (Worcester)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Charles Piutau (Bristol)
- Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
- Stuart Hogg (Exeter)
- Luke Morahan (Bristol)
- George Furbank (Northampton)
- Chris Ashton (Sale)
- Jonny May (Leicester)
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!
- Toby Fricker – OB – Bristol
- Thomas Young – LF – Wasps
- Vereniki Goneva – OB – Harlequins
- Paul Lasike – M – Harlequins
- Kyle Eastmond – M – Leicester
- Ross Chisholm – OB – Harlequins
- Jake Heenan – LF – Bristol
- Charlie Sharples – OB – Gloucester
- Taulupe Faletau – LF – Bath
- Jaco Taute – M – Leicester
- Tom Howe – OB – Worcester
- Stephen Myler – FH – London Irish
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.
Come and join the FRG league!
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Premiership glory and win you some stash while you are at it, then join our public fantasy league on The Rugby Magazine fantasy game, where a Fantasy Rugby Geek Trucker Hat, and a signed paperback copy of the Fantasy Rugby Handbook will be on offer for the winner of the league. To join, Sign up to the game here & go to Leaderboards > Public Leagues and join “Fantasy Rugby Geek”. Good luck!
Buy me a Coffee!
If you’ve been enjoying the FRG tips over the years or during the RWC, please consider supporting the blog and donating a coffee, all donators will receive a name drop on the next weekly tips, and your donations will help with the running of the blog (and keeping me fuelled to do so!) >>> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/FRugbyGeek 
Buy me a coffee
Get free tickets to The Rugby Show
The Rugby Show is a two-day gathering at the Ricoh Arena, home of Wasps, in July 2020. The Rugby Show already has a fantastic range of phenomenal speakers from across the professional game. The likes of Lawrence Dallaglio, Maggie Alphonsi, current England World Cup duo, Joe Marler and George Kruis and World Cup winner Sarah Hunter will be talking about their own experiences, about coping with injury, maintaining fitness, nutrition, providing demonstrations on how to improve your skills as a player and more. The line-up also includes recent MMA convert James Haskell, Premiership regulars Jimmy Gopperth and Tommy Taylor to name a few. Registration has now gone live and as an ambassador of the Rugby Show, Fantasy Rugby Geek is offering you FREE ENTRY to the event (which usually costs £15 for an adult ticket). Click this link https://the-rugby-show-2020.reg.buzz/fantasy-rugby-geek and enter the following code TRS20GRASSROOTS to book your FREE tickets now!
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2019/20 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Handbook. 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 just £3.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and on Amazon in Kindle format (Free on Kindle Unlimited) – 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 the 2019/20 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!