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 big news ahead of the Boxing Day Round is the cancellation of Leicester v Newcastle and Bath v London Irish, with other matches also at risk. So keep a close eye on all announcements. As things stand, there are 4 matches still on course to take place.
Here are the projected lines from the bookies…
- Exeter to beat Gloucester by 15 points
- Northampton to beat Worcester by 7 points
- Bristol to beat Harlequins by 2 points
- Wasps to beat Sale by 2 points
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
- Tom West (Wasps)
- Ethan Waller (Worcester)
- Wilco Louw (Harlequins)
- John Afoa (Bristol)
- Alfie Barbeary (Wasps)*
- Akker van der Merwe (Sale)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter)
LOCKS
- Ed Holmes (Bristol)
- Sam Skinner (Exeter)
- David Ribbans (Northampton)
- Jannes Kirsten (Exeter)*
BACK ROW
- Sam Simmonds (Exeter)
- Nathan Hughes (Bristol)
- Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)
- Dan Du Preez (Sale)
- Lewis Ludlam (Northampton)
- Marco Mama (Worcester)
SCRUM-HALF
- Francois Hougaard (Worcester)
- Danny Care (Harlequins)
- Harry Randall (Bristol)
FLY HALF
- Joe Simmonds (Exeter)
- AJ McGinty (Sale)
- Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
CENTRES
- Matt Proctor (Northampton)*
- Rohan Janse Van Rensburg (Sale)
- Sam James (Sale)*
- Semi Radradra (Bristol)
- Piers O’Conor (Bristol)
- Ollie Lawrence (Worcester)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Tom O’Flaherty (Exeter)
- Max Malins (Bristol)
- Stuart Hogg (Exeter)
- Melani Nanai (Worcester)
- Ioan Lloyd (Bristol)
- Perry Humphreys (Worcester)
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!
- Ratu Naulago – OB – Bristol
- Perry Humphreys – OB – Worcester
- Cobus Wiese – LF – Sale
- Sam Hill – M – Sale
- Louis Lynagh – OB – Harlequins
- Fraser Dingwall – M – Northampton
- Matt Kvesic – LF – Worcester
- Luke James – OB – Sale
- Ed Holmes – L – Bristol
- Kyle Moyle – OB – Gloucester
- Ben Morris – LF – Wasps
- Sam Skinner – L – Exeter
- Mark Atkinson – M – Gloucester
The Rugby Magazine News…
This season, The Rugby Magazine have announced an excellent initiative to support the RPA’s charity, Restart Rugby
🔴 𝗦𝗢𝗠𝗘𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 🔴 🚨 We’re delighted to announce we’ve teamed up with @RestartRugby, the official charity of the Rugby Players’ Association, and will donate 50% of every upgrade within our Premiership fantasy game. 👉 https://t.co/r00vCf0Bcs pic.twitter.com/Y7Ke5DPPn2
— The Rugby Magazine (@therugbymag) November 13, 2020
This season, the Rugby Magazine have teamed up with Restart, the official charity of the Rugby Players’ Association, and will donate 50% of every upgrade within their Premiership fantasy game. They are aiming to raise enough money to pay for their confidential counselling service for six months, but with the players of the Rugby Magazine’s help, the aim is to cover it for the full year. In this, we as Fantasy Rugby players have the chance to give back to those who give so much to us. Furthermore, in an exciting new launch for the 2020/21 season, The Rugby Magazine has now launched an iPhone app. The App is free to download in the App Store with Android coming soon… 
Finally, if you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Premiership glory in The Rugby Magazine 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!
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!
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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!