Fantasy Rugby Tips, Picks and Pre-match Thoughts – Heineken Champions Cup 2020/21 Round 2

This is 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 big wins in Round 2 for Leinster and Bourdeaux. Remember as well that due to Covid cancellations, none of Exeter, Toulouse, Lyon, Glasgow, Bath or La Rochelle are playing. The general expectations for the match results from the bookies are as follows…

Mismatches expected

  • Leinster to beat Northampton by 42 points
  • Bordeaux to beat Dragons by 34 points

Comfortable wins expected (9 to 15)

  • Clermont to beat Munster by 10 points
  • Sale to beat Edinburgh by 10 points
  • Racing to beat Harlequins by 9 points
  • Ulster to beat Gloucester by 9 points

Close matches expected

  • Wasps to beat Montpellier by 7 points
  • Toulon to beat Scarlets by 4 points
  • Bristol to beat Connacht by 2 points

Expected to go well on Fantasy Rugby Draft and Superbru

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

Recommended Superbru captain pick in bold

FRONT ROW

  • Ronan Kelleher (Leinster)
  • Alfie Barbeary (Wasps)*
  • Etienne Fourcade (Clermont)
  • Andrew Porter (Leinster)
  • Cian Healy (Leinster)
  • Vadim Cobilas (Bordeaux)
  • Kyle Sinckler (Bristol)

LOCKS

  • James Ryan (Leinster)
  • Tadhg Beirne (Munster)
  • Bernard Le Roux (Racing)
  • Tevita Ratuva (Scarlets)

BACK ROW

  • Caelan Doris (Leinster)
  • Mahamadou Diaby (Bordeaux)
  • Josh van der Flier (Leinster)
  • Scott Higginbotham (Bordeaux)
  • Fritz Lee (Clermont)
  • Nathan Hughes (Bristol)

SCRUM-HALF

  • Maxime Lucu (Bordeaux)
  • Sebastien Bezy (Clermont)
  • Faf de Klerk (Sale)

FLY HALF

  • Harry Byrne (Leinster)
  • Mathieu Jalibert (Bordeaux)
  • Camille Lopez (Clermont)

CENTRES

  • Jimmy Gopperth (Wasps)
  • Romain Buros (Bordeaux)*
  • Jimmy O’Brien (Leinster)*
  • Garry Ringrose (Leinster)
  • Duncan Paia’aua (Toulon)*
  • JJ Hanrahan (Munster)*

OUTSIDE BACKS

  • Teddy Thomas (Racing)
  • Damian Penaud (Clermont)
  • Santiago Cordero (Bordeaux)
  • Kotaro Matsushima (Clermont)
  • Hugo Keenan (Leinster)
  • Alverati Raka (Clermont)
  • Ben Lam (Bordeaux)

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!

  • Jimmy O’Brien – M – Leinster
  • Harry Byrne – FH – Leinster
  • Ratu Naulago – OB – Bristol
  • Danny Care – HB – Harlequins
  • Thomas Young – LF – Wasps
  • Leigh Halfpenny – OB – Scarlets
  • Billy Burns – FH – Ulster
  • Fabien Sanconnie – LF – Racing
  • Remi Lamerat – M – Bordeaux
  • Jamison Gibson-Park – HB – Leinster
  • Faf de Klerk – HB – Sale

Come and join the FRG league!

Join our public fantasy league on the SuperBru Champions Cup Fantasy Game. Sign up to the game here.

 

Introducing The XV

The XV is a new Rugby subscription platform providing premium rugby content. The content on The XV includes long-read features, opinion pieces, in-depth analysis and columns from award-winning journalists, leading coaches, data analysts and the biggest stars in the game. Current contributors include Buck Shelford, Ben Kimber, Justin Marshall, Owain Jones, Nolli Waterman, Jon Cardinelli, Ross Harries, Chris Ashton, Gregor Paul, Liam Messam and,  host of the Fantasy Rugby Draft podcast and friend of the FRG blog, none other than Sam Roberts. In addition to this there are 3 Podcasts currently live, including The XV with Ben Kimber (which is worth the subscription fee alone), with video to come too.
 
The XV costs £3.99 a month (far less than a pint at Twickenham) or just £24.99 per annum (far far less than a ticket to a match at Twickenham!), and for a limited period of time readers of FRG can get the first month for free, and a further 20% off your first paid month for monthly subscribers and 20% of your first year for annual subscribers by entering the code FRGXV at check-out. You can cancel for nothing at the end of the month, so you can enjoy risk-free top-quality rugby journalism for a whole month before you make a call to continue your subscription.
 
Check out The XV here and don’t forget to enter the discount code FRGXV at check-out for 20% off.

Buy me a Coffee!

If you’ve been enjoying the FRG tips over the years, 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/FRugbyGeekBuy me a coffeeBuy me a coffee

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! 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