You wait years for Draft fantasy game for the URC and then suddenly you have two! This week we are looking at Draft Rugby, a new Draft game launched in Beta for the 2025/26 URC Season. This has been several years in the making, something you would be well aware of if you have ever listened to Harry, Nelson and Cargie’s excellent podcast.
The Draft Rugby lads have been a huge part of the fantasy community for years now and if you have every played Super Rugby fantasy, either draft or salary cap, then you will definitely know then from their Draft Rugby blog, podcast and the famous Casualty Ward. They love the game and the fantasy community is excited to see their game come to fruition, so let’s dig into it!
THE PREMISE
A draft style Fantasy Rugby league. Draft Rugby is quite different to traditional salary cap style fantasy rugby as you know it. The key aspects of it are:
- You are competing in a private league from 8 to 12 playes, not against the rest of the world
- You draft your squad over 23 rounds
- Unlike in salary cap style games, there is only one player per league (i.e. only one team can have Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu)
- You can change your squad via trades, the “trade night” and free agents
- Each week you go head to head vs another team in your league, the winner of this matchup picks up the win in the league table, the top 2 in each league faces off in a set of knock-out play-off phases
The best part of the Draft experience, and you’ll know this if you’ve played before, is drafting. One-by-one in order (as a result of a random draw), the managers pick the players that make up their team. In order to keep things fair, at the end of each round the order of picks is reversed (so if you picked the first player in Round 1, then you’ll get last pick in Round 2). The draft usually goes on for a couple of hours and is always a great laugh.
The game is in Beta so don’t expect a fully flawless experience, but the team is working on Draft Rugby everyday adding any fixes and new features. They’d love to hear from you with any ideas, so send them through any ideas, bugs, feature requests or just to say hi!
If you are looking for more insights, then head to the Draft Rugby YouTube page where you can watch some very helpful userguides.
As with Draft XV if you are looking for Draft Rugby leagues to join, then you can head over to the Fantasy Rugby Discord where there are groups set up to unite leagues looking for players and players looking for leagues…
THE KEY POINTS
- Squad Size: 23
- Team size: 15 (3 x Outside Backs, 2 x Midfielders, 1 x Fly-half, 1 x Scrum-half, 3 x Loose Forward, 2 x Lock, 2 x Prop & 1 x Hooker)
- Double scoring captain?: No
- Designated Kicker?: No, you can have unlimited kickers
- Transfers: Unlimited transfers (but only if the players you want are free agents or you have agreed a trade)
- Max players from one club: Unlimited
THE EDGE
Don’t ignore the Tight Five
Often in Fantasy Games, Props and Locks in particular tend to score low. The Draft Rugby scoring format is set up so all positions have a fair chance to score well (for example, while the backs and Loosies get 1 point per 10 metres carried, the tight five get 1 point per 5 metres carried, in addition there is good points on offer for lineout steals, lineout takes and scrums won). So don’t leave your top performing Locks, Hookers and Props to the end of the draft!
Be cautious around the internationals
Don’t overload on players likely to form a key part of their international team — they’re great, but they’ll miss large chunks of the season. Especially in the URC, and ESPECIALLY with Leinster.
Kickers outside of fly-half
In many fantasy formats, the main source of kicking points comes from your fly-half. Draft Rugby is different — kicking duties aren’t tied to one position. If you can spot a reliable kicker who isn’t listed at 10 (think the likes of George Horne or Nathan Doak), they can be a brilliant asset. They’ll still rack up the points, but without costing you one of the highly competitive fly-half slots.
Draft day discipline
Turn up to your league draft with a plan, but don’t be too rigid. If all the fly-halves are being snapped up early, adjust quickly so you don’t miss out. Spread your picks across different clubs and be wary of stacking your side with internationals who could disappear during Test windows. Injuries matter too — so do your research ahead of time.
Rankings with perspective
Every draft platform comes with rankings, and you may also have your own list (or someone else’s). They’re useful, especially early on, but don’t treat them as gospel. Once you’ve locked in your first half-dozen players, you’ll need to balance squad structure, positional needs, and how risky your current picks are against what’s left in the pool.
Hidden gems in the late rounds
The gold isn’t always at the top. Scan the lower reaches of the rankings — you’ll often find undervalued talent there. Think new arrivals, players bouncing back from injury, or those under-the-radar types ready to explode in the new season.
Mastering the trade night
The season will be won and lost on the “trade night”. It basically runs like a mini draft where you can swap up to 5 players for free agents, pick order is from bottom ranked manager to top ranked, not in a snake draft style (so basically the worse ranked managers get a slight advantage to get them back in the game). Managers can take part live in a time set by the commish, or they can preset their trades so it plays through when they are not present. Every week, new opportunities appear — maybe a starter replacing an injured player, maybe someone with a dream matchup. Check the fixture list at the start of the week, then plan the trade night for bargains.
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