The third 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 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 (so don’t bank on loading your team up on players playing against the Sunwolves every week!). Once the season gets are underway, you can make a limited number of transfers each round (four per each group stage round and this increases 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: 4 free transfers per round
- Max players from one club: 4
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 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. The likes of Damien McKenzie and Izzy Folau are obvious choices here, but the likes of Dillyn Leyds, Courtnall Skosan, George Bridge and David Havili also scored highly in this area last season.
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!
*Round 1 in particular requires close attention as only Sharks, Lions, Stormers & Jaguares are playing.*
In addition to this, you should also consider how much travelling each team has when looking at some of their players, the Bulls for example face a tough stretch in 2018 when travel to NZ to face the Chiefs and Crusaders, then an away fixture against in Argentina against the Jaguares, followed by a trip to Singapore to play the Sunwolves.
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 2018 byes.
Bye weeks…
Round 1 – All NZ sides, All AUS Sides, Sunwolves and Bulls
Round 2 – Sharks
Round 3 – Highlanders
Round 4 – Chiefs
Round 5 – Hurricanes
Round 6 – Brumbies, Waratahs, Blues
Round 7 – Sunwolves, Jaguares, Reds
Round 8 – Blues, Rebels, Highlanders
Round 9 – Stormers, Lions, Crusaders
Round 10 – Hurricanes
Round 11 – Sharks, Waratahs, Chiefs
Round 12 – Sunwolves, Brumbies, Reds
Round 13 – Jaguares
Round 14 – Rebels
Round 15 – Blues
Round 16 – All SA Sides and Jaguares
Round 17 – Crusaders
Round 18 – Lions
Round 19 – Stormers
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Fantasy Super Rugby glory and win you some of this stash while you are at it, then join our Super Rugby league on SuperBru. To join the league simply go here, and if you are asked, enter the Pool name Fantasy Rugby Geek and Pool code bateacme. Good luck!
Found this interesting or useful and 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!