And away we go! The first Women’s Rugby World Cup instalment of our pre-match updates where we analyse the upcoming lineups and crunch the stats to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this week!
For the Women’s Rugby World Cup, I will be producing picks on a weekly basis and while I will do all I can to only select starters, there is a limitation in the fact that lineups are only announced 48 hours prior to kick-off (and while I will make it clear where players are unconfirmed), make sure you double check the starting XV’s before you finalise your team.
I will update this post as and when new teams are announced. This is the final version and is up to date as of 13:30 BST on 22nd Augsut.
Keep an eye out for the Round 2 tips which will go live on Thursday 28th August.
A reminder that the Offical Women’s Rugby World Cup fantasy game can be found here.
Before we move on to the picks…
Earlier on this year some of you may remember the podcast that I made through the Six Nations with my friend Paul Tristram, “Six Nations Fantasy Rugby: Geeks on the Go”. In the last week Paul and his family have discovered that Paul needs immediate heart surgery. He’s known about his condition for many years, but due to misreadings on his scans, its become critical he gets the surgery ASAP. Due to no fault of his own, there is no NHS appointments until January. Therefore his immediate surgery will need to be scheduled privately, costing £30k. A GoFundMe page has been set up by Paul’s fiance, family and friends to raise funds for his surgery (the GoFundMe page can be found here).
Those of you who listened to the podcast will know just how much Paul loved his fantasy rugby. So with brand new fantasy games kicking off for both The Rugby Championship and the Women’s Rugby World Cup in the next two weeks, I have set up prize leagues for both, with 50% of the prize pot going directly to Paul’s GoFundMe and the remaining 50% going to the winners.
The entry fee to join each league will be £10. You can join just the The Rugby Championship league or just the Women’s Rugby World Cup league, it’s entirely up to you. Or you can be a legend and join both!
For both leagues, the prize pot will then be distributed 25% to the overall winner of each competition, 15% to second place, 10% to third place and the remaining 50% will go directly to Paul’s GoFundMe page.
To join, please email me at fantasyrugbygeek@gmail.com or DM me on the FRG X or FRG Instagram and I will share details of my PayPal for you to send me the entry fee. Once I have received the entry fee I’ll email back the link to join the private league.
Rugby4Cast Predictions Week 1 (22nd-24th August)
Here are the match predictions courtesy of Rugby4Cast’s predictor algorithm…
- England v USA
- Backing England
- Predicted Score: England 71 USA 10
- Australia v Samoa
- Leaning Australia
- Predicted Score: Australia 28 Samoa 19
- Scotland v Wales
- Leaning Scotland
- Predicted Score: Scotland 23 Wales 14
- Canada v Fiji
- Backing Canada
- Predicted Score: Canada 44 Fiji 19
- France v Italy
- Backing France
- Predicted Score: France 30 Italy 11
- Ireland v Japan
- Leaning Ireland
- Predicted Score: Ireland 29 Japan 14
- South Africa v Brazil
- Could go either way
- Predicted Score: South Africa 28 Brazil 33
- New Zealand v Spain
- Backing New Zealand
- Predicted Score: New Zealand 52 Spain 8
Expected to go well
These are the FRG weekly tips, I typically try to offer 2-3 good options for each positional slot, also taking into account players who may be playing favourably out of position (i.e. Players categorised as Centre playing in the back 3). For the Women’s Rugby Cup given that you have a tight constraint of 3 players per nation, I have also included some strong additional options for each position.
Please note that some these picks have been published before lineups were announced, so some of these picks may not be playing – these players will have TBC beside them. Please double check the starting XV before you commit to your teams. I will update this list when TBC’s are Confirmed.
PROP
- Maud Muir (England)
- Linda Djougang (Ireland)
- Babalwa Latsha (South Africa)
Additional options if you are struggling with the 3 player constraints: Hannah Botterman (England), Assia Khalfaoui (France), Olivia DeMerchant (Canada), Amy Rule (New Zealand)
HOOKER
- Amy Cokayne (England)
- Neve Jones (Ireland)
Additional options: Vici-Rose Green (New Zealand), Manon Bigot (France), Katalina Amosa (Australia), Gillian Boag (Canada)
LOCKS
- Sophie de Goede (Canada)
- Manae Felou (France)
- Courtney O’Donnell (Canada)
Additional options: Madoussou Fall Raclot (France), Alana Bremner (Canada), Giordana Duca (Italy)
BACK ROW
- Alex Matthews (England)
- Jorja Miller (New Zealand)
- Evie Gallagher (Scotland)
- Aseza Hele (South Africa)
Additional options: Zoe Aldcroft (England), Liana Mikaele-Tu’u (New Zealand), Tabua Tuinakauvadra (Australia), Alex Callender (Wales), Teani Feleu (France)
SCRUM-HALF
- Kiera Bevan (Wales)
- Nadine Roos (South Africa)
Additional options: Alexandra Chambon (France), Justine Pelletier (Canada), Maia Joseph (New Zealand), Samantha Wood (Australia), Mo Hunt (England)
FLY HALF
- Kelly Brazier (New Zealand)
- Zoe Harrison (England)
Additional options: Libbie Janse Van Rensburg (South Africa), Faitala Moleka (Australia), Dannah O’Brien (Ireland)
CENTRES
- Meg Jones (England)
- Florence Symonds (Canada)
- Alex Tessier (Canada)
Additional options: Gabrielle Vernier (France), Marine Menager (France), Georgina Friedrichs (Australia), Alev Kelter (USA)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Ellie Kildunne (England)
- Abby Dow (England)
- Braxton Sorensen-McGee (New Zealand)
- Ayesha Leti-Iiga (New Zealand)
Additional options: Fancy Bermudez (Canada), Byrhandre Dolf (South Africa), Morgane Bourgeois (France), Maya Stewart (Australia), Jess Breach (England), Beibhinn Parsons (Ireland)
* Players who are categorised in a different position in some games but are starting in a potentially more favourable position to accumulate fantasy points (i.e. A centre on the wing)
Booster Options
For a reminder of each of the Boosters, check out this guide on the FRG TikTok, each round I’ll provide 3 options for the Boosters…
@fantasyrugbygeek Fantasy Women’s @Rugby World Cup is here! Now live on the FRG YouTube channel is a look at How To Win The Fantasy Women's Rugby World Cup. A quick run through how to play and a load of tips to give you the edge. Check it out on the FRG YouTube and make sure you join the league #womensrugby #fantasyrugby #rugby #rugbyunion #womensrugbyworldcup ♬ original sound – Fantasy Rugby Geek
Triple Captain – Ellie Kildunne (England), Abby Dow (England), Braxton Sorensen-McGee (New Zealand)
Super Kicker – Sophie de Goede (Canada), Zoe Harrison (England), Kelly Brazier (New Zealand)
Defensive Pro – Evie Gallagher (Scotland), Erica Jarrell-Searcy (USA), Giordana Duca (Italy)
Each booster can be used once for the pool stage and once for the knockout stage of the tournament giving you the opportunity to play with boosters 6 times. So you can use a booster in every round.
Value Picks
On the official game, not only is budget tight, but you must select a maximum of 3 players from every country. Below are a list of good value options to allow you to spend big elsewhere, but also from this list you should find some options from some of the lower-ranked countries…
- Tiana Robanakadavu (Fiji) – Prop: 3.o
- Ana Mamea (Samoa) – Prop: 3.0
- Katalina Amosa (Australia) – Hooker: 4.5
- Bitila Tawake (Fiji) – Hooker: 3.0
- Mereoni Nakesa (Fiji) – Second Row: 4.0
- Evie Gallagher (Scotland) – Back Row: 4.5
- Aseza Hele (South Africa) – Back Row: 5.0
- Leia Brebner-Holden (Scotland) – Scrum Half: 4.0
- Libbie Janse Van Rensburg (South Africa) – Fly Half: 6.0
- Emma Orr (Scotland) – Centre: 5.5
- Eloise Webb (South Africa) – Centre: 5.5
- Byrhandre Dolf (South Africa) – Back Three: 5.0
- Ilisapeci Delaiwau (Fiji) – Back Three: 4.5
Come and join the FRG league for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup!
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Women’s Rugby World Cup glory, then join our public fantasy league. To join, Sign up to the game here. Good luck!
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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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