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
Now entering the final weeks of The Rugby Magazine league and the play-off stages of Fantasy Rugby Draft, it’s never been more crucial to build as strong a team as possible. With one of the most competitive Premiership season’s in history, both in terms of play-offs and relegation, the bookies are expecting some tight matches this weekend. With the exception of Exeter at home to Wasps and arguably Saracens away at Bristol, the rest of the matches really are too close to call…
- Exeter to beat Wasps by 14 points
- Saracens to beat Bristol by 8 points
- Gloucester to beat Bath by 7 points
- Harlequins to beat Northampton by 4 points
- Newcastle to beat Leicester by 4 points
- Worcester to beat Sale by 1 point
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
- Richard Barrington (Saracens)
- Josh Hohneck (Gloucester)
- Ellis Genge (Leicester)
- Rob Webber (Sale)
- Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter)
- Franco Marais (Gloucester)
- Ross Harrison (Sale)
- George McGuigan (Newcastle)
LOCKS
- Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins)*
- Will Skelton (Saracens)
- Christopher Vui (Bristol)
- Franco Mostert (Gloucester)
BACK ROW
- Teimana Harrison (Northampton)
- Nizaam Carr (Wasps)
- Jaco Kriel (Gloucester)
- Dave Ewers (Exeter)
- Ben Morgan (Gloucester)
- Jackson Wray (Saracens)
SCRUM-HALF
- Cobus Reinach (Northampton)
- Nic White (Exeter)
- Willi Heinz (Gloucester)
FLY HALF
- Max Malins (Saracens)
- AJ MacGinty (Sale)
- Joe Simmonds (Exeter)
CENTRES
- Cadan Murley (Harlequins)*
- Henry Slade (Exeter)
- Rory Hutchinson (Northampton)
- Luke James (Sale)*
- Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester)
OUTSIDE BACKS
- Olly Woodburn (Exeter)
- Santiago Cordero (Exeter)
- Alex Goode (Saracens)
- Taqele Naiyaravoro (Northampton)
- Bryce Heem (Worcester)
- Alex Lewington (Saracens)
Value Fantasy Rugby Draft 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!
- Cadan Murley – M – Harlequins
- Tom Seabrook – M – Gloucester
- Matt Banahan – OB – Gloucester
- Henry Purdy – OB – Gloucester
- Matt Toomua – M – Leicester
- Matt Protheroe – OB – Bristol
- Sam Hidalgo-Clyne – HB – Harlequins
- Nick Isiekwe – L – Saracens
- Jackson Wray – LF – Saracens
- Max Malins – FH – Saracens
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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