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. After some barren year, we are starting to see some new fantasy rugby games on the market, and the newest on the block is Dream XV Rugby. So in the latest of a series of interviews with the individuals behind the games, I caught up with Chris, one of the founders of Dream XV Rugby alongside Ni, to talk Fantasy Rugby, the upcoming Premiership Rugby Season, their new game, and much more…
FRG: In a nutshell, give us an overview of the Dream XV Rugby fantasy rugby game…
DXV: DXV Fantasy is a weekly Fantasy game based on the Gallagher Premiership. The concept is the same as Fantasy Rugby you’ll recognise with some improvements and added features. You pick your Dream XV for the week plus a super sub and watch the points tally up in real time as the games go on each round. We’ve tried to make it a game made by fans, for fans. We’ve involved fantasy fans throughout the whole process to make the game as fan centric as possible.
FRG: What makes Dream XV Rugby different to other fantasy rugby games?
DXV: There’s quite a bit that’s different without re-inventing the wheel. We’ve removed team limits for a start, mostly to allow people to get as close to their Dream XV as possible but have introduced dynamic pricing to keep player selection challenging. Players’ cost is based off of a model produced by Oval Insights, where we get all our data, which gives a value to a player based on 18 months of performance stats, so, their price will go up and down over the season depending on how they perform.
We’ve introduced prizes as part of the game and the club competition is something new in Fantasy Rugby in recognition of how important the grassroots game is. With the DXV scoring metrics there are now over 20 ways a player can score points and some of them we haven’t seen in any other game, and we’ve played a few! The scoring is balanced so the big boys up front have a good chance of scoring well as well as the back 3. Finally, the game has a weekly and seasonal element, so you can dip in and out, round by round or play every round (our preferred option) of the season and really go for the end of season prize! In summary it’s a familiar fantasy concept you’ll know and love, but with some serious upgrades.
FRG: Starting a new Fantasy Rugby game up is a huge commitment, tell us the story behind how you came up with the idea and why you went for it?
DXV: Both Ni and I are massive rugby fans and had been playing the Fantasy Six Nations together for a while. I was looking for a Fantasy game for the Prem at the time and I genuinely couldn’t believe there wasn’t one. Then one evening I was chatting to Ni about it and after a beer or 2 we came to the conclusion that we were going to start our own (because apparently, we hate money and spare time), blissfully unaware of the task ahead as we were. 1.5 years later we have the game live and ready to be played. We’re always improving though, so there’s lots more crazy ideas to come!
FRG: Many would have spotted the cash prizes on offer in the game, how do prize awards work?
DXV: So, there are 2 types of prizes, round and season. Each round of the prem there’s £500 to be won and at the end of the season there’s the big one of £2,500, so a total of £12,500 over a prem season. The way it works is, every round you play you’re given an entry into the draw and a winner is randomly selected from all entries, so you don’t need to win the round to win the cash. However, if your team finishes between 1st and 25th in the prize league you’ll win additional entries into the draw and boost your chances to win. At the end of the season all your entries are put together and a winner drawn from there. In short, the better your fantasy team performs, the more chance you have of winning the money.
FRG: Grassroots Rugby is a subject close to mine and many other hearts, so seeing the Grassroots league competition is great to see. How does that work?
DXV: It’s really important to us as well and that’s why we really wanted to include the grassroots clubs. Both Ni and I have grown up playing grassroots rugby and Ni is still really active, he played 2 games the other weekend! In our heads Fantasy sport should be an opportunity to get closer to the game and be another vehicle for engagement so it didn’t make sense to us to exclude some of the biggest rugby fans there are. It’s a great way to get a bit of extra competition, engagement in the clubhouse and some banter. The way it works is that anyone who plays DXV Fantasy can choose to support a club in the grassroots competition. Once you do, your points will also contribute to the clubs’ points as they compete against each other to win £2,000 of stash of their choosing made for them courtesy of the legends at Pronto Teamwear. So if you’re reading this and are a member of, play for or even just support a club and think your club would like to have a bit of fun and some free stash then reach out either on socials or via admin@dreamxvrugby.com and we’ll get your club league set up.
FRG: Any tips for any new players who are looking for a bit of an edge?
DXV: One tip is to look out for new players in the prem. The rating system becomes more accurate the more games a player plays, so they are likely to be undervalued earlier in the season. It’s a good chance to get some potentially excellent players for value prices, for example Waisea Nayacalevu is just joining the Prem…Other than that, have a good read of the scoring metrics, and track that against historic performances. We give you all the data for all the players and some assessments of their strengths in defence, kicking etc. so have a good look at those. Finally we’ve balanced scoring a bit more than you might be used to so try not to spend all your budget on wings and hookers, there are plenty of positions that score big in DXV.
FRG: Any bold Predictions for the 2024/25 Prem Rugby season?
DXV: Sale to win the league, although that’s probably more wish than prediction as a Sale fan. Ni will back Bears to go well this season, and with their run at the end of last season it would be hard to disagree!
FRG: Which players will be the first names on your teamsheet in your 2024/25 Prem Rugby Dream XV Rugby team?
DXV: I’m really excited about Nayacalevu joining the Prem, so he’ll definitely be in my team. It’ll be tough to ignore the top try scorer from last season in Ollie Sleightholme for a captain choice and Thomas Du Toit has been pretty reliable up front as well. The highest rated players and thus most expensive in the game are, Henry Slade, Ellis Genge and Maro Itoje, worth it if you can get them in your budget.
FRG: Where can readers follow you to learn more and engage further with the game?
DXV: We’re pretty active on most socials, X, Insta, Facebook and TikTok are the main ones (links here), but we also do a little podcast when the season is on which you can find on YouTube and Spotify. The game is online at Dreamxvrugby.com and you can find out more about all of the above there.
A big thank you to Chris from Dream XV Rugby for his time. You can learn more about Dream XV Rugby in the latest FRG Game Review here.
Come and join the FRG league for 2024/25!
If you back your Fantasy Rugby skills to lead you to Premiership glory, then join our public league on Dream XV Rugby. To join, go to the Leagues section, click “Join a Private League”, and enter the code cjqxwh.
FRG Premium – Join today to elevate your Fantasy Rugby performance
Now live on Buy Me A Coffee, unlock further fantasy rugby insights with Fantasy Rugby Geek Premium! Covering The Rugby Championship, URC, Premiership Rugby, Champions Cup and Men’s and Women’s Six Nations. With your subscription, you’ll see the exact teams that I am playing with, get access to further private posts, and I will also offer you a personalised review of your teams, outlining any opportunities for improvement. All your subscriptions go back into the costs of running fantasyrugbygeek.com!
Elevate your fantasy rugby game – subscribe to Fantasy Rugby Geek Premium today and embark on a winning journey like never before! Act fast, and seize your ticket to fantasy rugby glory today!
A big thank you to all the FRG Members who have signed up to FRG Premium (Keeping you anonymous in case anyone in your mini leagues is reading! 🤫)
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/FRugbyGeekBuy me a coffee
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.
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!