4 Fantasy Rugby Tournaments
Rugby union’s popularity has been increasing around the world, and so has the need to actively take part in this sport in one way or the other. If you’re not one of the 9,600,000 registered players, you can still participate in your favourite sport without actually entering the pitch.
One of the ways is to bet on rugby or play fantasy rugby tournaments. As you probably know, there are several popular rugby competitions worldwide, and we’ve selected the ones that are eligible for fantasy betting.
Let’s check them out.
Six Nations Championship
Also known as Guinness Six Nation, this is perhaps one of the most popular international rugby tournaments. The current participants are England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales.
Six Nations has a long history. Namely, the first one officially took place in 1883, when the tournament was called Home Nations Championship and included only England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. France was added in 1910 and Italy in 1947.
The format is pretty simple — every participating member needs to play every other team once.
The competition starts on the first week of February and ends on the second Saturday in March, called Super Saturday.
Even though there are some rules for fantasy players that might differ slightly depending on your fantasy league, some general ones always apply. For example, every fantasy team needs to consist of 15 regular players, who then receive fantasy points based on their real-life performance throughout the tournament.
Premiership Rugby
Founded in 1987, Gallagher Premiership Rugby (or just Gallagher Premiership) is a professional rugby union competition in England. It is a top division of the English rugby union system and currently features 12 active clubs that compete every year for the trophy.
The competition usually starts in September and finishes in June. Each club will play a total of 22 rounds of matches (home and away fixtures against the other 11 clubs).
Of course, Premiership Fantasy Rugby is a popular fantasy tournament that’s based on its real-life counterpart. You’ll receive a budget and buy players who are members of the Premiership Rugby league.
Playing this league requires a bit more skill and devotion than international rugby competitions, simply because Premiership Rugby lasts for months. It means players are likely to get injured or have their ups and downs that can affect your fantasy performance.
Therefore, you’ll have to do extensive research before the start of the season and act as a fantasy manager throughout the competition to get the best possible results.
The Rugby Championship
Another huge international rugby union competition is called The Rugby Championship. It features the four highest-ranked national teams in the southern part of the globe — New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, and Australia. Before Argentina joined in 2012, the competition was known as the Tri Nations.
The two original competitors were Australia and New Zealand, but that eventually increased as rugby’s popularity grew in other countries. The competition is played on a home-and-away basis, with NZ being the most successful team of all time.
Even though there are just four teams, there are still fantasy leagues that revolve around The Rugby Championship.
Rugby World Cup
Unlike other tournaments listed here, the Rugby World Cup is the only one that doesn’t occur every year. In fact, it’s a quadrennial competition that has been around since 1987.
It’s also the most comprehensive international cup, hosting a total of 20 teams, including New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, England, France, Wales, Argentina, Scotland, Ireland, Fiji, Samoa, Canada, Japan, Italy, Tonga, Georgia, the US, Uruguay, Namibia, and Russia.
Of course, we’ve listed just the ones that took part in the last tournament. However, some other countries also took part in the previous Rugby World Cups.
As a fantasy player, you’ll have an opportunity to play the fantasy World Cup once every four years, meaning you’ll have to prepare rather well for it. You should start by examining all qualified nations and their players.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of opportunities to participate in fantasy rugby tournaments, so feel free to examine them and select the one you like. More importantly, make sure to choose the fantasy sports platform that supports fantasy rugby and offers a safe and secure betting experience.
Once you enroll in a fantasy rugby league, you’ll have to choose your players carefully and follow their performance throughout the tournament to manage your fantasy team properly.
