The next of a series of game overviews to give you the ins and outs of the available games in place for this season’s Super Rugby. If any new games pop up, please let us know at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or @frugbygeek on Twitter. Next under the microscope is a game that has found popularity with some of the previous players of the well loved Fox Sports Super Rugby game, it’s Sports Deck, check it out here.
THE PREMISE
A salary-cap game much in the mould of the gone but not forgotten Fox Sports Suoer Rugby game. You have a budget of $4m to 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. Your bench however, does provide automatic emergency substitutes and will automatically have their score added (as long as they score greater than 0) to replace a player in your starting 15 who doesn’t play – in their matching position only.
Once the season gets are underway, you can make a limited number of transfers each round (three per each group stage round and this increases once the game reaches the playoff stages). A notable point is the rolling lockout; players may be traded, substituted, named Captain/Vice Captain/Reserve, up until the time of the start of their team’s actual match. Players are locked into your team only at the time that their real match has started, key with any late changes. The scoring is quite similar to the Fox game too
THE KEY POINTS
- Squad Size: 23
- Team size: 15
- Double scoring captain?: Yes
- Designated Kicker?: No
- Transfers: 3 transfers per round
- Max players from one club: Unlimited
THE EDGE
Double check your XV is starting before the round lock
Unlike some other games, once the gameweek lock has passed, you cannot change your team. Lineups are usually all announced by Friday afternoon, so keep an eye on the lineups and make sure your XV are all starting. The players on your bench will come in if you have a member of your XV not playing, so should there be a last minute change it is also worth checking that you have some playing options on your bench.
Use your budget carefully
You have a budget of $4m for 23 players, which gives you $173,913 per player. Unsurprisingly the premium players come with premium price tags, however, there are also potential bargains to be had, including the likes of Nawaqanitawase, Kellaway, Roberts, Toomua, Marchant and Buthelezi All availabe for under $75k, all worth a look in, and should allow you to bring in some premium stars.
Kickers not categorised as fly-halves
Often fantasy games force you to select one kicker to gain points from conversions, penalties, drop goals etc. Not here, so if you can find kickers who play outside of the fly-half position then they are well worth picking up, as they are guaranteed points.
Metre makers, line breakers and tryscorers have the potential to score big
Some big points are on offer for certain activities; try scorers get 12 points per try, 6 points are on offer for line breaks and for metres gained there are 2 Points for Total metres run divided by 10, rounded down to nearest whole number. So crunch the stats and choose the top performers in these areas.
Play the market
This is a salary cap game, so how you allocate your budget is key. One key point to note is that players values go up and down throughout the tournament based on their popularity, so you can build your teams maximum value throughout the tournament. This can be of enormous value come the latter rounds of the tournament, so make your transfers wisely, and if you have any players in your side who may lose value (they could be injured or out of favour with the coaches, then ship them out ASAP!).
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.
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!
Finally, in every week of the regular season at least one team will be on a bye, so ensure a good even spread of representatives from each team so that you don’t get stung if several teams are on a bye. Below is a full list of 2020 byes.
Bye weeks…
- ROUND 1 – Bye: Highlanders
- ROUND 2 – Bye: Sunwolves
- ROUND 3 – Bye: Bulls
- ROUND 4 – Bye: Lions, Waratahs & Hurricanes
- ROUND 5 – Bye: Brumbies, Crusaders & Chiefs
- ROUND 6 – Bye: Stormers
- ROUND 7 – Bye: Rebels
- ROUND 8 – Bye: Reds
- ROUND 9 – Bye: Jaguares, Sharks & Blues
- ROUND 10 – Bye: Highlanders
- ROUND 11 – Bye: Stormers, Sunwolves & Crusaders
- ROUND 12 – Bye: Bulls, Brumbies & Chiefs
- ROUND 13 – Bye: Lions, Waratahs & Hurricanes
- ROUND 14 – Bye: Reds
- ROUND 15 – Bye: Rebels
- ROUND 16 – Bye: Jaguares
- ROUND 17 – Bye: Blues
- ROUND 18 – Bye: Sharks
If you are looking for a competitive Group to play in for Super Rugby 2020, come and join our FRG Group on SportsDeck here…
Fantasy Rugby Games for Super Rugby
A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for Super Rugby…
- Fantasy Rugby Draft – The original draft style Fantasy Rugby Union game – Check out our 2020 review here.
- Sports Deck – Salary-cap style game reminiscent of the old Fox Sports Super Rugby game – Check out our 2020 review here.
- The Rugby Magazine – Stats rich salary cap style game – Check out a previous review here. (TBC if the game is returning in 2020)
- Draft Rugby – Brand new draft style game from the minds behind the Casualty Ward and the Draft Rugby podcast – Review coming soon when game launches
- PlayOn – Daily Fantasy for Rugby – Sign up today here to receive a free $22 entry with a first-time deposit – Check out a previous review here.
- SuperBru – An old favourite with salary cap fantasy rugby among other games and sports – Check out a previous review here.
Super Rugby Injury News
Gaining reliable Injury news is never easy, and while we don’t have a database of the latest injuries at Fantasy Rugby Geek, we would highly recommend Draft Rugby’s Casualty Ward, Fantasy Rugby Draft’s Injury List and The Rugby Magazine’s injuries page. Details of these and many other useful Fantasy Rugby resources can be found at our Resources page.
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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 2020 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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