The first in a series of game overviews to give you the ins and outs of the available games in place for this year’s Rugby World Cup. If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter. First under the microscope is an old favourite of ours and a well trodden ground for all fantasy rugby players, it’s SuperBru, check it out here.
THE PREMISE
A classic and simple fantasy game, no salary limits, so you can load your team with superstars. Fill your squad with players: one in each field position plus one reserve for each grouping (So your squad is four outside backs, three centres, two fly-halves, two scrum-halves, four loose forwards, three locks, two hookers, three props), unlike some other fantasy rugby games, you do not get any points for the players on your bench, so choose your starting XV wisely.
You are limited to four players per team in the group stages and six per team in the knockout stages (unlimited for the final and 3rd place playoff). Once the tournament gets underway, you can make a limited number of transfers each round (six per each group stage round and this increases to eight once the game reaches the playoff stages).
SuperBru have been doing fantasy games for years and they know what they are doing. It’s a great little game, popular all over the world and there are plenty of extremely competitive private leagues going on. Some great private leagues include The Fantasy Rugby Yanks, The Rugby Blog, #RugbyUnited, GameTipper and of course, there’s our very own Fantasy Rugby Geek league
THE KEY POINTS
- Squad Size: 23
- Team size: 15
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: Yes (Can’t be the same player as your captain)
- Transfers: 6 free transfers per round (8 in the knockout stage)
- Max players from one team: 4 (6 in the knockout stage, unlimited for the final and 3rd place playoff)
THE EDGE
Mismatches
The Rugby World Cup provides a rare opportunity for the minnows of the Rugby World to face up against the very top of the elite, and with this provides the prospect of some considerable mismatches and some large points hauls. The biggest mismatch on paper is on Friday 15th September when the might of the All Blacks (World Ranking #2) take on Namibia (World Ranking #21). In addition to this, there are several matchups with potential for some absolutely big points hauls and when a big side lines up against the likes of Uruguay, Romania, Namibia, Portugal and Chile, then that is the time to load up.
Keep a close eye on the fixture calendar and plan ahead
Keep an eye on the fixture list when making your transfers to ensure that you get the best bang for your buck. If a certain team has a good run of games coming up bring them in. Conversely a side could have an attractive fixture that week but follows up with some tough games against the top dogs, it could be worth reconsidering!
Players who like to run with the ball have the potential to score big
With 0.5 points on offer for each 5m covered, you will be well rewarded with players who run the ball in from deep and can take on and beat players, so load your team up with fullbacks and wings who like to run with the ball.
Out of position players are worth their weight in gold
Players who are categorised in certain positions, but mostly play in others can be great value. Outside backs who generally have a high probability of scoring tries, beating players, breaking the line and carrying for metres are traditionally the highest scorers, so if you can find an Outside Back categorised as a Centre, then load up! Likewise this works well if you can find a Loose Forward categorised as a lock.
Take care of your bench
Unlike some other games, once the gameweek lock has passed, you cannot change your team, and with team announcements for the later matches occurring after the gameweek lock, make sure that you stack your bench well (potentially with guarunteed starters). If a player in your starting line-up doesn’t play in the round at all, but you have a player on the bench in the same positional group who did play, then that player will be subbed in for you. So, for example, an outside back can only be auto subbed in for an outside back etc.
Fan of SuperBru? Have a read of our interview with Hutch, one of the men behind SuperBru, here…
Want to know what it takes to finish the tournament in SuperBru as #1 in the world? Read an interview with a previous Champion here…
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Rugby World Cup glory, then join our public fantasy leagues.
We have two set up, one on the Official Game, and one on Superbru.
To join, for Superbru you can join here and for the Official game you can join the FRG league here. Good luck!
Fantasy Rugby Games for Rugby World Cup
A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the Rugby World Cup (this will update as more games are added)…
- SuperBru – An old favourite of fantasy rugby among other games and sports – Check out our review here.
- The Official Rugby World Cup Fantasy game – The official game, a salary cap style game – Check out our review here.
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If you want some more sources to help you finalise your decisions, go to our resources page where you’ll find all the Six Nations 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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