First announced in November, Super Rugby Fantasy has finally been launched just two weeks before the competition kicks off.
Already established in other professional codes and leagues like the NRL, Super Rugby Fantasy is something fans, like myself, have been asking for for a long time.
On a recent episode of the What A Lad podcast, Super Rugby CEO Jack Mesley said: “I know the competition has wanted it for a while. I’m really excited to be able to bring everyone's passion for it together.”
How does Super Rugby Fantasy Work:
Here are the basics: you have a budget of $100m to build a team consisting of 15 players. Each player has a set value, and you can select a maximum of four players from each team so if you’re a die-hard Highlanders fan, you’ll need to choose wisely.
If you’re a fantasy veteran and commonly experience the pain of trying to fit all your favourite players into the salary cap only to go broke before you’re halfway through, they’ve made it easy for anyone to take part with an ‘Autofill’ feature.
One of the big talking points has been Super Rugby Fantasy’s unlimited transfers - where you can ditch your entire team after the first week.
Unlike other fantasy platforms, which limit trades and essentially lock in the bulk of your team for the season, this flexibility adds a whole new dynamic to the competition.
There are also three boost options to use throughout the season:
Triple Captain – Your captain will score you triple points for their next match
Limitless – You will have an unlimited budget for one round only.
Co-Captains – For one round, you can select two captains, both earning double points.
Our review of Super Rugby Fantasy:
Jumping into the game first thing this morning, I discovered Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie are the most expensive, being priced at $10M each.
However, some player valuations seem a bit off. For example, All Black Ethan de Groot is priced at $4 million—the same as Blues rookie Reon Paul, who has yet to play a Super Rugby game.
After selecting my dream team that featured 12 All Blacks out of 15 I was quite surprised to see I still had 5 million left - which goes to show the values aren’t quite right.
It probably comes as no surprise that 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year Ardie Savea is so far the most commonly selected player with Will Jordan and Cam Roigard close behind
With the game launching today, there are still a few glitches that will likely be ironed out soon. Notable issues include:
Crusaders' Cullen Grace is listed as a lock, despite playing as a loose forward.
No injury indicators for players like Sam Darry, who is out for the season.
Despite this, I still think it is a great addition to the competition. It adds some much-needed hype and another reason to tune in and follow the competition week to week.
