If you are reading this blog you are probably a fan of Fantasy Rugby. While Fantasy NFL and Fantasy Football are long part of the sporting mainstream, Fantasy Rugby is still growing and growing, and gaining exposure as part of the worldwide growth of the sport. The number of fantasy rugby games on the market are growing and the Rugby fan has never been better catered for top quality fantasy games. So in the latest of a series of interviews with the individuals behind the games, we catch up with Bruce Wilkinson, founder of Fantasy Rugby Draft, to talk Fantasy Rugby and the upcoming Super Rugby Season…
FRG: For the newbies out there, please give us a quick overview of the Fantasy Rugby Draft fantasy rugby game?
BW: FRD is based on the hugely successful NFL fantasy game where you get together with your mates (either online or at the pub) at the start of the season and draft your squad for the season. You play against another team in your league each week and pick up a win or a loss with the aim to be one of the 4 teams that make the playoffs.
FRG: What makes it different to other fantasy rugby games?
BW: The key difference between FRD and all other fantasy rugby games is that only one manager in your league can own Damian McKenzie (for example). There are a few other subtle differences too like team to team trading and the waiver wire, which is the process of adding unowned players onto your team after the Gameweek.
FRG: Any tips for any new players who have never played Fantasy Rugby Draft before?
BW: Read the rules and scoring and prepare for your draft. Create your own position rankings, even if it’s in your head. Players you want in the draft will almost always be taken from right out under your nose so you need to be able to go to Plan B, or C or M… Oh and make sure you stay hydrated during the draft. It’s a stressful time, you need to keep your fluid intake up…
FRG: For the experienced Fantasy Rugby Draft players, you have introduced a number of new features this season, can you run us through them?
BW: We’ve introduced 15 player starting lineups to go along with our default 11 player. Some positions don’t lend themselves to big fantasy points which is why we created our default 11 player starting lineup. Now managers have the option of a full rugby team, although we do suggest that you make use of another of our cool new features and tweak the scoring a little to increase the value of locks and props e.g. lineout takes and runs. Going hand in hand with 15 man lineups we now have the option of two scoring systems, our Default Scoring and our brand new Fox Scoring system. Lots of managers enjoyed playing the now defunct Fox Sports Fantasy Rugby system so we now have that as option for scoring. A great new addition that will get FRD managers feeling very nostalgic…. and excited!
FRG: To help give players an edge, you have Manager Pro. What do players get with Manager Pro?
BW: Heaps is the short answer. Each year we keep packing value into Manager PRO and this year is no different. Most managers love the team news info so they don’t need to trawl Twitter or team pages for lineups. It saves a bunch of time. This year we’ve also added a PRO Ranking into Manager PRO which gives PRO subscribers a big edge over those who use the default draft rankings which is now based on the previous seasons Total Points so players like Damian McKenzie (injured last year) don’t feature. PRO becomes a must. There are lots of other cool stats for the serious FRD manager as well including ave. PPG, ave. PPM, ADP, ADP change and FORM. League PRO is becoming more widely used as well which is great because this is where the fun is to be had. Adding a Sacko (last place playoff) is a great wrinkle to decide who pays for the draft feast + League PRO the following year. It also keeps managers’ trades honest towards the end of the season as EVERYONE has something to play for. Being able to create your own draft order is a huge bonus for a lot of leagues too. You can have some fun with this. The Old Podcast League drew lots at the Rugby World Cup to decide what the draft order should be. The previous year it was NFL teams. It’s a great way to keep engaged with your mates and fantasy rugby during the offseason.
FRG: Any bold Predictions for the 2020 Super Rugby season?
BW: Scott Robertson will sign a contract with Harlequins that will contract him to the end the Ian Foster era. Tomas Lavanini won’t be sent off in Super Rugby 2020.
FRG: Which players do you think could be good Sleeper picks in 2020?
BW: As it’s so early in the pre-season (14th Jan) and the season kicks off early, it’s very difficult to know who could be a sleeper as starting lineups aren’t clear. Looking at our PRO rankings we typically look for a ranking of over 100 to be classified as a ‘sleeper’ so players like Will Jordan and Wandisile Simelane don’t classify as they’re firmly entrenched in our Top 25. So with that in mind here are a few, that if the wind blows the right way and the stars align, could be good for your FRD team this season:
James O’Connor – outside chance he takes the goal kicks and in a backline that should shine. Worth a roll of the dice purely on the change he takes the goal kicks.
Juan Cruz Mallia – listed as an OB but Paul Tait believes he could be running out at 13 for the Jaguares not too far into the season. Usually we don’t like an OB listed in the Midfield however he’s a talent.
Etene Nanai-Seturo – he’s ranked as low as he is because of his possible commitment to the All Blacks Sevens team to play in Toyko. At the time of writing we have no clear indication of how much time he will miss. It’s a punt, but if he only misses a few weeks he’s likely a starting winger in a backline full of attacking threats.
Mark Nawaqanitawase – Young U20 Aussie prodigy. Big talent. His ranking is more based on the backline around him as well as the question around whether he’ll start or not as opposed to what he’ll do once he’s on the paddock.
Any of the Aussie ‘Wil’s’ – Will Harris, Harry Wilson, Will Harrison. All with question marks over whether they’ll start or not but if they do…
Sanele Nohamba – Should he usurp Louis Schroeder as starting HB for the Sharks he’ll score well. Going to be tough for Sean Everitt to ignore for too long. A potential goal kicker adds another string to an already powerful bow.
Muller Uys + Phepsi Buthelezi – both pegged for Springbok honours. Worth a roll as a late round flier as your third LF, if either last that deep. The question is around gametime. The talent is unquestionable.
FRG: What’s coming next for Fantasy Rugby Draft?
BW: The Kickoff Blitz Tournament kicks off the Friday morning of the first Gameweek which is exciting. One week FRD. Lose and you’re out, win and you progress to the next week to draft a new team in a new league. $250 up for grabs for the winner. Plenty of in-season content including Tuesday morning (NZ time) podcasts and our famous #startbench series on Twitter. For the site, we have many cool new features that we’re working on. Each year our aim at Fantasy Rugby Draft is to get a better than the season before. Next season will be no different.
You can play Fantasy Rugby Draft here, learn about the Super Rugby Game here, and follow Fantasy Rugby Draft on Twitter here.
Buy me a Coffee!
If you’ve been enjoying the FRG tips over the years, please consider supporting the blog and donating a coffee, all donators will receive a name drop on the next weekly tips, and your donations will help with the running of the blog (and keeping me fuelled to do so!) >>> https://www.buymeacoffee.com/FRugbyGeek 
Buy me a coffee
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 2020 Six Nations 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!