Fantasy Rugby World Cup 2019 Preview – Pool D

Fantasy Rugby Geekon

With Friday 20th September fast approaching, it’s time to delve a bit deeper into the potential fantasy Rugby World Cup stars. So over the next two weeks FRG is providing a quick preview of all the teams from a fantasy perspective. Finally we look at Pool D, featuring Australia, Wales, Georgia, Fiji and Uruguay. 

Australia

In a nutshell

Two time Champions and also twice finalists, Australia in the top echelon of Rugby World Cup nations. Despite this, they have suffered a barren period since reaching the final in 2015 and have suffered multiple defeats on the road as well as at home to the likes of Argentina, England, Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland. Blessed with great size in the back line and class throughout, they should cause problems for most teams they face up against, however it would be a brave person to bet on them repeating their 2015 performance and reaching the final again. They will miss one of their best attacking assets following their highly-publicised loss of Israel Folau, and may find it hard going against a confident and well drilled Wales side. They will also need to be on top form against the likes of Fiji and Georgia, both of whom have the potential for a big shock in them. 
 

Odds on winning RWC 2019

14/1

Best previous RWC performance

Winners (1991, 1999)

Most likely to make a fantasy impact

Samu Kerevi (Centre – Suntory Sungoliath)

Key players to consider

Folau Fainga’a (Hooker – Brumbies), Taniela Tupou (Prop – Reds), Michael Hooper (Loose Forward – Waratahs), Will Genia (Scrum Half – Melbourne Rebels), Samu Kerevi (Centre – Suntory Sungoliath), Tevita Kuridrani (Centre – Brumbies), Dane Haylett-Petty (Outside Back – Melbourne Rebels)

Matches with best potential for points returns

Sept 21 – Australia v Fiji – Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
Oct 05 – Australia v Uruguay – Oita Stadium, Oita
Oct 11 – Australia v Georgia – Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka

Wales

In a nutshell

Currently ranked 2nd in the world and, at the time of writing, also on a 14-match winning streak, Wales have enjoyed a magnificent 12 months and Welsh fans will be desperate to see this form converted to the RWC. A team built by Warren Gatland on a water tight and aggressive defense and strewn with attacking talent all over the back line, including Liam Williams, George North, Steff Evans, Gareth Davies and Jonathan Davies. There will be names in this side who should be the bedrock of many a fantasy team.
 

Odds on winning RWC 2019

6/1

Best previous RWC performance

Semi-Final (1987, 2011)

Most likely to make a fantasy impact

Liam Williams (Outside Back – Saracens)

Key players to consider

Alun Wyn Jones (Lock – Ospreys), Toby Faletau (Loose Forward – Bath), Josh Navidi (Loose Forward – Cardiff Blues), Justin Tipuric (Loose Forward – Ospreys), Gareth Davies (Scrum Half – Scarlets), Jonathan Davies (Centre – Scarlets), Hadleigh Parkes (Centre – Scarlets), Steff Evans (Outside Back – Scarlets), Leigh Halfpenny (Outside Back – Scarlets), George North (Outside Back – Scarlets), Liam Williams (Outside Back – Saracens)

Matches with best potential for points returns

Sept 23 – Wales v Georgia – Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Oct 9 – Wales v Fiji – Oita Stadium, Oita
Oct 13 – Wales v Uruguay – Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto

Georgia

In a nutshell

A side that continue to grow in ability and reputation, many will fear Georgia and in particular their hugely impressive pack. With every World Cup that goes by, Georgia have improved notably, and thus far this has been demonstrated in a number of wins. This time may be harder in a tough group and a difficult piece of scheduling leaving them with some tight recovery periods. They will be earmarking Uruguay for a win, but Fiji will be a hard nut to crack, while Wales and Australia will be very hard nuts to crack indeed. Either way, Georgia should not let any teams walk over them.
 

Odds on winning RWC 2019

500/1

Best previous RWC performance

Group Stage (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)

Most likely to make a fantasy impact

Beka Gorgadze (Loose Forward – Bordeaux)

Key players to consider

Mikheil Narisahvili (Prop – Montpellier), Levan Chilachava (Prop – Montpellier), Beka Gorgadze (Loose Forward – Bordeaux), Gela Aprasidze (Scrum Half – Montpellier), Mamuka Gorgodze (Loose Forward – Toulon)

Matches with best potential for points returns

Sept 29 – Georgia v Uruguay – Kumagaya Stadium, Kumagaya
Oct 03 – Georgia v Fiji – Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osakao

Fiji

In a nutshell

On paper, the strongest of the Pacific nations with top class talent throughout and some great results recorded since the last RWC. In Leone Nakarawa they have one of the most obscenely gifted players in the sport and as a Lock, an absolutely nailed on fantasy pick. More than capable of generating a shock against one of the big guns, it is fair to say that no team will be looking forward to a matchup with the Flying Fijians. 
 

Odds on winning RWC 2019

500/1

Best previous RWC performance

Quarter-Finals (1987, 1999, 2007)

Most likely to make a fantasy impact

Leone Nakawara (Lock – Racing 92)

Key players to consider

Leone Nakarawa (Lock – Racing 92), Viliame Mata (Loose Forward – Edinburgh), Levani Botia (Loose Forward/Centre – La Rochelle), Josua Tuisova (Centre/Outside Back – Lyon), Semi Radradra (Centre/Outside Back – Bordeaux Bègles), Vereneki Goneva (Outside Back – Harlequins), Josua Tuisova (Outside Back – Toulon)

Matches with best potential for points returns

Sept 25 – Fiji v Uruguay – Recovery Memorial Stadium, Kamaishi
Oct 3 – Fiji v Georgia – Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka

Uruguay

In a nutshell

Along with Namibia, Canada and Russia, Uruguay are one of the biggest outsiders in the tournament. Despite impressing in qualifying, including a back-to-back set of wins against Canada, gaining a win this year could be a bridge too far. Their best bet is probably against Georgia, but they should have too much class. Los Teros should have limited appeal from a fantasy perspective.
 

Odds on winning RWC 2019

500/1

Best previous RWC performance

Group Stage (1999, 2003, 2015)

Most likely to make a fantasy impact

Santiago Arata (Scrum Half – Houston SaberCats)

Key players to consider

Best to steer clear, there are far better Pool D options!

Matches with best potential for points returns

Sep 29 – Uruguay v Georgia – Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya

POOL D PREDICTIONS…

  1. Wales
  2. Australia
  3. Fiji
  4. Georgia
  5. Uruguay

If you want to learn more about the other Pools, check out our overview of Pool A here, Pool B here and Pool C here

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…).
  • SuperBru – An old favourite with salary cap fantasy rugby among other games and sports – Check out our review here.
  • 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…

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.

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!

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!

SUBSCRIBE HERE FOR FANTASY RUGBY NEWS STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX