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 three players per team in the group stages and six per team in the knockout stages. 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 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 club: 3 (6 in the knockout stage)
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 Sunday the 6th October when the might of the All Blacks (World Ranking #1) take on Namibia (World Ranking #23). In addition to this, there are several matchups with potential for some absolutely huge points hauls and when a big side lines up against the likes of Uruguay, Russia, Namibia and Canada, 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!
It is also worth noting that the matches are unevenly spread throughout the tournament, so there are opportunities to have one team potentially play twice in the same “Gameweek”. Likewise, there are some weeks where certain teams will have “blanks”, drastically hindering your points potential. For SuperBru, below are the doubles and blanks, take advantage of these where you can!
Double weeks…
- Round 1 (20th-25th September) – Russia & Fiji
- Round 2 (26th-30th September) – None
- Round 3 (2nd-6th October) – France & New Zealand
- Round 4 (8th-13th October) -Scotland, USA, Wales & Canada
Blank weeks…
- Round 1 (20th-25th September) – USA & Canada
- Round 2 (26th-30th September) – France, New Zealnd, Russia & Fiji
- Round 3 (2nd-6th October) – Scotland & Wales
- Round 4 (8th-13th October) – None
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. The players on your bench will not come in if you have a member of your XV not playing, so this is an essential tactic to maximise points.
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.
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…
Other Fantasy Rugby Games for Rugby World Cup
A summary of the top games that you can play fantasy rugby for the Rugby World Cup…
- The Rugby Magazine – Stats rich salary cap style game – Check out our review here
- 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 (Rugby World Cup review coming…).
- The Irish Times – Salary cap game with a €3000 top prize – Check out our review here.
- The Daily Telegraph – Salary cap game with a £5000 top prize – Check out our review here.
Pre-tournament articles
In case you missed any of our other pre-World Cup articles, make sure you check out the following to help guide your pre-tournament preparations…
- Play fantasy rugby to help England deaf Rugby International Ben Lawniczak go on tour to South Africa
- Pool A Preview
- Pool B Preview
- Pool C Preview
- Pool D Preview
- Finalised Rugby World Cup 2019 Squads
- Game Reviews: The Rugby Magazine
- Game Reviews: The Daily Telegraph
- Game Reviews: PlayOn
- Game Reviews: The Irish Times
- Rugby World Cup Likely Kickers
- Notable Fantasy Rugby World Cup Mini Leagues
- Pre-tournament interview with the Fantasy Rugby Yanks Podcast
- 100 of the Best Fantasy Rugby Team Names
- Fantasy Rugby World Cup 2019 Strategies and Pitfalls
- Fantasy Rugby Geek’s 2019 Rugby World Cup Stash Watch
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 2019 Rugby World Cup 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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If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Rugby World Cup 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 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!