Our latest instalment of our weekly pre-match updates where we analyse the weekend’s lineups, crunch the stats and see what the bookies are thinking to help you optimise your lineups for peak performance this weekend! By the time you finish this article you should have all the insight you need to score big fantasy points this weekend.
Make sure you come back every weekend before finalising your lineups!
Potential mismatches
We now reach the great unpredictable part of the season where swathes of players are away on international duty and opportunities arise for up-and-coming talent and established but out of favour stars alike. Tread carefully as form often goes completely out of the window at this time of year. Despite this, the bookies have made some bold predictions ahead of the weekend. The general expectations for the match results from the bookies are as follows…
- Saracens to beat Leicester by 15 points
- Harlequins to beat Worcester by 10 points
- Bath to beat Newcastle by 9 points
- Northampton to beat Sale by 5 points
- Bristol to beat Wasps by 3 points
- Newcastle to beat Harlequins by 2 points
Expected to go well
*Players who are starting favourably out of position (i.e. Hooker in back row, Centre on wing, etc.)
Recommended captain pick in bold
Please note that these picks have been published before lineups were announced, so some of these picks may not be playing. Please double check the starting XV before you commit to your teams, or check back here at 1pm BST.
FRONT ROW
Vincent Koch (Saracens)
Ross Harrison (Sale)
Henry Thomas (Bath)
Greg Bateman (Leicester)
Harry Thacker (Bristol)
Max Crumpton (Harlequins)
Jack Yeandle (Exeter)
LOCKS
Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
Jonny Hill (Exeter)
Calum Green (Newcastle)
Will Rowlands (Wasps)
BACK ROW
Ruan Ackermann (Gloucester)
Zach Mercer (Bath)
Thomas Young (Wasps)
Freddie Clarke (Gloucester)
SCRUM-HALF
Faf De Klerk (Sale)
Cobus Reinach (Northampton)
Danny Care (Harlequins)
FLY HALF
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Danny Cipriani (Gloucester)
Joe Simmonds (Exeter)
CENTRES
Joe Marchant (Harlequins)
Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester)
Sam James (Sale)*
Michele Campagnaro (Wasps)*
Alex Lozowski (Saracens)
OUTSIDE BACKS
Alex Goode (Saracens)*
Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
Alex Lewington (Saracens)
Ollie Thorley (Gloucester)
Semesa Rokodunguni (Bath)
Nathan Earle (Harlequins)
Value FRD Free Agent Pick-ups
Please note that not all of these players may be available as free agents in your leagues, but if they are, then move quickly!
Semi Kunatani – LF – Harlequins
Gabriel Ibitoye – OB – Harlequins
Tom Hudson – M – Gloucester*
Jack Maunder – HB – Exeter
Sean Lonsdale – LF – Exeter
Francois Louw – LF – Bath
Perry Humphreys – OB – Worcester
Fraser Dingwall – M – Northampton
Owen Williams – FH – Gloucester
Mark Atkinson – M – Gloucester
Joe Launchbury – L – Wasps
Premiership Rugby Injury News
Gaining reliable Injury news for the Premiership is extremely difficult, and while we don’t have a database of the latest injuries at Fantasy Rugby Geek, we would highly recommend The Rugby Magazine’s injuries page which remains the most exhaustive source of Premiership injury news that can be found. Details of this and many other useful Fantasy Rugby resources can be found at our Resources page.
Looking for more Fantasy Rugby insight and Resources?
New for the 2018/19 season, we are proud to present the The Fantasy Rugby Geek Guide to Fantasy Rugby. 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 £3.99 on Gumroad as a PDF and on Amazon in Kindle format – 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 this year’s Gallagher Premiership 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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Love Stash???
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