What is Draft XV?
Draft XV is a rugby game built around real professional rugby players from either the URC or English Premiership.
You become the manager of your own hand picked "fantasy" squad, and when your players perform well on the pitch in real life, you earn points. When they have a nightmare, so do you.
What makes Draft XV better than other fantasy games is the draft format. Instead of playing against thousands of other managers - all of whom have mostly the same players on their team, you play in a private league of 4-12* managers - ideally with friends, family or colleagues.
To pick your squad, everyone in your league takes turns selecting from the same shared pool of players (this process is called the "draft"). Each real-life rugby player can only be owned by one manager. If an opponent takes the player you wanted before your turn comes around - tough. That's the game.
It's competitive, strategic, and social. But most importantly, it's fun — and you don't need to be a rugby expert to enjoy it. In fact, playing fantasy is one of the best ways to become one.
That's absolutely fine. The app's player rankings will steer you in the right direction during the draft. You'll quickly find yourself following matches, players, and results you never would have before — and arguing about selection in your group chat by Round 2, whether you like it or not.
At a Glance
| What You Do | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Join a League | Compete with 4–12 friends or strangers, each managing their own fantasy team. *(for Prem leagues, we recommend a max of 8 due to a smaller player pool) |
| Draft Your Squad | Take turns picking real rugby players before the season starts. Once someone picks a player, nobody else in your league can have them (unless you trade for them, or their manager cuts them!). |
| Score Points | Your players' real-life performances — tries, tackles, metres run, etc — convert directly into fantasy points (in real time!) each gameweek. |
| Win Matchups | Each gameweek your squad faces off against one other manager's. More points than your opponent = a league win. |
| Manage Your Team | Trade players, follow injury and selection news, claim free agents, set lineups each week, and try to win the league. |
Key Concepts & Glossary
Before diving into the detail, here are the key terms you'll encounter throughout this guide.
Setting Up Your League
Creating a League
Anyone can create a league in Draft XV. When you do, you become the Commissioner — responsible for sending invites, setting options, and overseeing the draft.
When setting up, you'll need to choose:
- Which competition to play: URC or English Premiership (each fantasy league is separate and can only play in one competition)
- League size: URC supports 4–12 managers; Premiership supports 4–10 (smaller player pool). 6-8 players is strongly recommended
- Privacy: Private leagues are invite-only and won't appear publicly. Public leagues can be discovered by anyone using the "join league" feature. Both can be joined via invite code or link.
Most great leagues have 6-8 managers. The more managers, the fewer free agents available during the season — which makes draft strategy and in-season management significantly more difficult.
Joining a League
You can join an existing league by using an invite code or link shared by the Commissioner, or by browsing public leagues in the join league page. You can also check our Discord server for leagues with open spots.
You can join and manage multiple leagues simultaneously — useful for playing both URC and Premiership, or competing with different groups of people.
Once a draft begins, the league is closed to new managers. Make sure everyone has joined before you start the draft.
Intra-League Communication
There is a chat feature in the app which allows you to communicate with other managers in your league.
We strongly recommend setting up a WhatsApp group or email thread with your league (get everyone's permission first, if you don't know them), because at times you'll want to remind people to set their lineups, discuss trades, gloat, or just have fun!
Draft XV does not offer monetary prizes. Leagues are welcome to organise their own rewards or wooden spoon forfeits — the app provides the game, your league provides the stakes.
How the Draft Works
The draft is how you build your squad. It should happen before the real-life season kicks off, which is 25th September for both PREM and URC.
If your league can't draft by then don't worry, your league will start scoring from the first full gameweek after you complete your draft.
Every manager starts with an empty squad and takes turns picking real rugby players to fill it. Once a player is picked, they belong to that manager for the season — no one else in the league can have them, unless a trade happens later.
At the end of the draft, any unpicked players become free agents, available to claim through the waiver system during the season.
Snake Format
Drafts use a snake format. In Round 1, managers pick in order from position 1 to N (the number of managers). At the end of Round 1, each manager will have picked 1 player for their squad. In Round 2, the order reverses — whoever picked last in Round 1 will pick first in Round 2, and so on. This pattern continues until every squad is full.
| Round | Pick Order (6-manager example) |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | Manager 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 |
| Round 2 | Manager 6 → 5 → 4 → 3 → 2 → 1 |
| Round 3 | Manager 1 → 2 → 3 → 4 → 5 → 6 |
| …and so on until all squads are full | |
Picking 1st overall (Round 1, Pick 1) gets you the best player available — but you'll wait the longest for your second pick. Picking last means you get back-to-back picks at the turn of each round.
Draft Position & Waiver Priority
Here's something important to understand early: your draft position determines your waiver priority.
Waiver priority (explained fully in the Waivers section) determines who gets first pick of free agents when multiple managers want the same player. It starts as the inverse of your draft order:
- Picked 1st in the draft? You start the season with the lowest waiver priority.
- Picked last in the draft? You start with the highest waiver priority.
This is deliberate — it partially balances the advantage of having the first pick.
In simple terms: if you got to pick before another manager when drafting, that manager will get priority over you when claiming free agents (to start with).
Draft Settings (For Commissioners)
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Pick Timer | Set a custom countdown per pick, or allow unlimited time. If a manager doesn't make their pick in time, the first eligible player on their watchlist will be auto-picked; if none is available, the highest-ranked eligible player is chosen and the draft will move on. |
| Draft Order | Random draw, or set manually by the Commissioner |
Having unlimited time is useful for "slow drafts" where managers take their time to make their picks, and not everyone has to be available or online at the same time.
On Draft Day
Before the Draft
- Have a shortlist of 20–30 players you'd like to target, in rough priority order
- Think about positional balance - but don't worry about filling every position slot straight away. Some positions are more valuable than others.
- The draft room shows live rankings and available players to help you choose on the fly
During the Draft
- When it's your turn, the countdown timer starts (if one is enabled)
- If your timer expires, auto-pick tries your first eligible available watchlist player, then the highest-ranked eligible player.
- The Commissioner can pause the draft at any time
- Can't make the draft? Let your Commissioner know in advance — they can make picks on your behalf
Do the draft in person if you can. It's the best part of the whole season — and the arguments about who should have gone where are half the experience. If you can't all be in the same room, get everyone on a group call.
After the Draft
- Your 18-player squad is set: 12 starters, 6 bench players
- Points start accruing from the next full gameweek after the draft completes. If the draft finishes mid-gameweek, that gameweek doesn't count — your season starts fresh from the next one
Draft Strategy
The draft is a major factor in your success or failure for the season. Here's some tips on how to approach it.
- Have a list, but stay flexible. Your top targets will get picked before your turn at some point — it's not if, it's when. Be ready to pivot - to another position, if necessary - to get the most value from your picks.
- Don't overload one position early. Drafting three OBs with your first 3 picks might give you the best OB corps in your league, but you've likely left elite talent on the board at other positions for your opponents to snap up.
- Think consistency, not just ceiling. A player who reliably scores 10 points a week is often more valuable than a boom-or-bust star who gets scores 30 one week but misses the next 3 rounds.
- Look for strategic advantages. Centres/OBs who regularly take kicks are gold. Look for "handcuffs" - backups for key players (good examples are Jurie Matthee in the URC or Archie McParland in the PREM) - one injury to the main man and these guys become priceless.
- Draft for depth at key positions. Pay particular attention to "specialist" positions: FH, SH and Hooker. In the PREM, there are only 10 starters in these positions each gameweek (16 in the URC) - but you can only play one, so you'll have to weigh up the pros and cons of spending a pick on a reliable backup vs filling needs at other positions.
Your Squad
Roster Positions
Each squad has 18 players: 12 starters and 6 bench players. Your 12 starters must fill the following positions:
| Slots | Position(s) |
|---|---|
| 3 | Outside Backs — Wings or Fullbacks |
| 2 | Centres |
| 1 | Fly Half |
| 1 | Scrum Half |
| 1 | Hooker |
| 1 | Prop |
| 1 | Lock |
| 2 | Loose Forwards — Flankers or Number 8s |
Your 6 bench players can be any mix of positions — they're your injury insurance, rotation cover, and emergency options.
Multiple Position Eligibility
Every player in the game begins the season with a single, official position designation - and for most players that works just fine. But some players will be listed at one position by their team (or based on their history), but end up playing most or all of the season at another. Examples from last season include Bristol's Kalaveti Ravouvou, the Bulls' Sebastian de Klerk and Exeter's Campbell Ridl (all listed as Centres, played mostly as Outside Backs), Glasgow's Jamie Dobie (listed as a Scrum Half, played on the wing).
There is a new rule this season that allows players to be listed at multiple positions. If a player is a named starter at a position other than their official Draft XV designation for 3 games (not necessarily consecutively), they will then receive a "secondary position" - allowing their owners to play them at either position from the next gameweek.
For example, Tommy Freeman is an Outside Back, and Freeman owners can only play him in their OB slot on their roster. However, supposing he starts 3 Prem games at Centre at any point in the season, from then on, Freeman owners will be able to play him as a Centre or an Outside Back - no matter which position he's selected at in each real life game.
Starting Lineup vs Bench
Your selected starters normally earn your gameweek points. Bench scores are visible, and an eligible bench player may replace a starter under your league's automatic substitution settings when the round is finalized.
You can swap players between your starting lineup and bench at any point during a gameweek, as long as:
- Neither player has played yet in the current gameweek
- The swap happens before kickoff for both players
Once a player's match has kicked off, they are locked. You cannot move, trade, or drop them — even if they end up not getting any game time — until after the gameweek ends. Depending on your league's settings, an eligible bench player may be substituted automatically at round finalization if a starter is withdrawn or does not play.
No Injured Reserve
There are no separate Injured Reserve (IR) slots in Draft XV. If a player is injured or unavailable, you have two choices: keep them on your bench and hope for a quick return, or drop them to the waiver wire and claim a free agent replacement. There's no right answer — it depends on the player, the injury timeline, and what free agents are available.
How Scoring Works
Points are awarded entirely from real-life match statistics. There are no captain bonuses, no milestone points, and no position multipliers — every player scores the same points for doing the same actions.*
Live scores remain provisional until the scheduled round-processing run succeeds after a final provider refresh.
Points Table
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Try | +5 |
| Try Assist | +4 |
| Conversion | +2 |
| Penalty Goal | +3 |
| Drop Goal | +3 |
| 50/22 | +3 |
| Clean Break | +3 |
| Lineout Steal | +2 |
| Turnover Won | +2 |
| Defenders Beaten | +1 |
| Offload | +1 |
| Lineout Won (Own Throw) | +0.4 each |
| Successful Lineout Feed | +0.3 each |
| Tackle | +0.3 each |
| Metres Carried | +0.1 per metre |
| Scrum Penalty Won *(Props only) | +3 |
| Dominant Tackle | +1 |
| Line Break Assist | +1 |
| Try-Saving Tackle | +3 |
| Missed Tackle | −0.8 each |
| Turnover Conceded | −1 |
| Penalty Conceded | −1 |
| Yellow Card | −7 |
| Red Card | −15 |
What Each Metric Means
New to rugby? Here's a plain-English guide to the less obvious stats and what they mean for your team selection.
Metres Carried +0.1/m
How far a player runs with the ball. Ball-carrying forwards and elusive backs accumulate these constantly. A player who carries for 80 metres earns 8 points from this stat alone — making it one of the most consistent sources of points in the game.
Clean Break +3
When a player breaks through the defensive line and into open space. A high-value, high-excitement play that frequently leads directly to try-scoring opportunities.
Defenders Beaten +1
Every time a player beats a defender in one-on-one contact. Elusive, step-happy runners score heavily here — look for players with high beats-per-game averages.
Offload +1
Passing the ball to a teammate while still being tackled. Players who do this regularly generate a point every time — a deceptively powerful and consistent source of points, especially for back-rowers.
Turnover Won +2 / Conceded −1
Winning or losing possession at a ruck, maul, or tackle. Turnovers won are extremely valuable for breakdown specialists — think flankers and fetchers. Turnovers conceded is penalised, so be careful with ball-carrying players who can be clumsy in contact.
Lineout Steal +2
Winning possession at a lineout thrown in by the opposition. A premium play — mainly for tall locks and athletic back-rowers who can jump and compete in the air.
Lineout Won +0.4 / Lineout Feed +0.3
Reliable lineout work for hookers and locks. Not flashy, but these accumulate consistently week after week — making a reliable lineout hooker a very steady points scorer.
50/22 +3
A kick from your own half that travels past the opposition's 22-metre line and goes into touch. High-skill, high-reward. Kicking fly halves and box-kicking scrum halves can land these regularly.
Scrum Penalty Won +3
New this season - awarded to Props (only) who are part of a scrum that wins a penalty. Designed to reward dominant scrum performances by Props. For clarity, at the point a team wins a scrum penalty, 3 points will be awarded to both that team's Props currently on the field of play.
Dominant Tackle +1
New this season - a little fantasy bonus to reward hard-hitting rugby - usually incurred by Loose Forwards and other physically dominant players (though any player can log one).
Try-Saving Tackle +3
New this season - if your player makes a tackle that directly prevents a try being scored on that play, 3 points. Because obviously this is a valuable skill.
Line Break Assist +1
New this season - and designed to boost points for playmakers who are constantly creating opportunities for their teammates.
Yellow Card −7 / Red Card −15
These hurt badly. A yellow card can wipe out an otherwise solid performance in one moment. A red card is catastrophic. Players with poor disciplinary records carry real fantasy risk — factor that in when drafting or considering a trade.
Weekly Gameplay
Head-to-Head Format
Each gameweek, you face one other manager in your league in a head-to-head matchup. Your players' combined score versus their players' combined score. Higher score wins the matchup and earns a Win in the league standings.
Your league position is based on your win-loss record, not total points accumulated across the season. You could have the highest-scoring team in the league and still be mid-table if you keep facing high-scoring opponents on their best weeks. It happens. It's infuriating. It's also part of what makes it interesting.
The head-to-head gameplay is one of the main things we love about this format. It means that one disastrous week doesn't put you in a hole for the rest of the season - no matter how badly you get buried in a given week, you can always break even by winning your next matchup.
The Weekly Timeline
| When | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Fri–Sun | Real-life matches take place. Your players earn points live, updating in the app as on-field events happen. |
| Mon 12:00 UTC | Round processing refreshes provider data and finalizes scores and league standings after it succeeds. Festive and rearranged fixtures may alter the round schedule; check the app for the exact status. |
| Mon 19:00 UTC | The early-week waiver run processes & successful claims are awarded. Eligible free agents can then be picked up instantly while the free-agent window is open. |
| Thu 11:00 UTC | The global waiver lock takes effect. Available players move to claims rather than instant pickup. |
| Fri 14:00 UTC | The late-week waiver run processes & successful claims are awarded. Eligible free agents can be picked up instantly while their player windows remain open. |
During the festive period or after rearranged fixtures, a round may follow a different timetable. Check the app for the exact status and deadlines.
Setting Your Lineup
You can adjust your lineup at any point during the gameweek by moving individual players in and out of your starting lineup — right up until that player's real-team kickoff. Once a player's team has kicked off, that player is locked regardless of whether they are involved in the game, and they cannot be moved until after the gameweek ends.
Because fixtures happen across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, players lock at different times. A player with a Friday evening match locks Friday evening; a Sunday afternoon player locks Sunday afternoon. This gives you useful flexibility: you can react to late team news, injury updates, or selection surprises right up to kick-off.
Live Scoring
Scores update in the app along with real-life events (roughly 2 minutes after the event actually happens, and up to a minute after you see it on a TV broadcast). Scores become final after the round-processing run scheduled for Monday 12:00 UTC succeeds, following a final provider refresh. Don't worry if you swear you saw your guy get a 50-22 but it hasn't shown up yet - it will do. Do worry if you're ahead in your matchup by 0.01 points - the rugby gods might give your opponent an extra couple of metres.
Trades
How Trades Work
A trade is an agreement between two managers to swap players. All trades are one player for one player — no multi-player packages.
Trades can be proposed at any time during the season, including during playoffs. The only restriction is that neither player involved can be currently locked — their game this gameweek hasn't kicked off yet. There are no trade deadlines.
Trade Approvals
By default, accepted trades go through immediately with no delay. Leagues can optionally enable Commissioner trade approval — a setting where the admin must sign off on each trade before it processes. This is useful for leagues that want a safeguard against lopsided deals or collusion.
If you enable trade approval, stay responsive — a manager trying to complete a last-minute trade before a gameweek doesn't want to wait 48 hours for sign-off. Discuss trade expectations with your league before the season starts and set your settings accordingly.
Fair Play
Because there's no mandatory approval system by default, leagues are encouraged to establish their own norms. If a trade looks suspiciously one-sided, other managers can raise it in the league chat and agree on an offline resolution. We strongly recommend discussing this before the season begins.
Waivers
This is the part of Draft XV that trips up most new managers. Once you understand it, it becomes one of the most strategic and enjoyable parts of the whole game. Give this section a proper read.
What Are Waivers?
Not all players get drafted, so there is always a pool of "Free Agent" players in the Player Hub. You can bring these players into your squad for injury cover or tactical reasons, in exchange for one of your existing players.
After the Monday 19:00 UTC waiver run until the Thursday 11:00 UTC lock, and after the Friday 14:00 UTC waiver run while an eligible player's window remains open, you can swap a free agent for one of your existing players.
A dropped player normally spends 12 hours on waivers. If the next Thursday lock is less than 12 hours away, their deadline extends to the next scheduled waiver run. The window can close one hour before their next real-team kickoff so the winning manager has time to put them in a lineup. If a player is dropped inside that final hour, their claim waits for the next end-of-round run. Always use the exact deadline shown in the app.
But when a player is on the "Waiver Wire," although they are still a Free Agent, you can't simply pick them up immediately. Instead, you submit a waiver claim, and those claims are processed in order of waiver priority. The manager with the highest priority who submitted a valid claim gets the player when "waivers process" (Monday 19:00 UTC or Friday 14:00 UTC).
Waivers exist for two reasons:
1. Fairness after gameweeks
From the point games kick off, people start wanting to tinker with their squads. Maybe a free agent is having a breakout game in real-life, or a starter gets injured leading to their backup becoming suddenly valuable. Without waivers, whoever opens the app first would snap up all the best free agents, while other managers are putting their kids to bed, leaving work, etc. Waivers give everyone until the Monday evening waiver run to submit claims for the players they want — levelling the playing field regardless of time zones, work schedules, or how quickly you check your phone.
2. Fairness during team announcements
Real-life clubs typically announce their matchday squads during Thursday working hours. A manager who happens to see an announcement the moment it drops could immediately grab a player just named in the starting XV. The Thursday waiver window (11:00 UTC–Friday 14:00 UTC) prevents this — not everyone is able to manage their fantasy teams during the working day!
Waiver Priority: How It Works
Every manager in your league has a waiver ranking from 1 (highest priority) to 12 (lowest). Rankings start as the inverse of your draft order and update after every waiver run. So if you picked first in your draft, you'll start with the lowest waiver ranking.
When waivers process (Monday 19:00 UTC or Friday 14:00 UTC), any manager who put in a claim for a player that no-one else wanted gets that player, with no change to their waiver ranking.
Any manager who put in a claim for a player that someone else also put in a claim for will win the player IF they have a higher waiver ranking than the competing manager(s).
As soon as you win a player via waivers, you drop to the bottom of the waiver rankings - even if you have other claims in - so make sure you use the Waiver Priority wisely.
| Situation | Effect on Your Ranking |
|---|---|
| You claim a player, and nobody else wanted them | You get the player. Your ranking stays the same. |
| You claim a player, and others also claimed them | You get the player (you had the highest rank). You drop to the bottom. Everyone else moves up one place. |
| Your claim fails (someone ranked higher got them) | No change to your ranking. |
Waiver priority is a strategic resource, not just a mechanism. Spending it on a player nobody else wants costs you nothing. Spending it on a contested player sends you to the back of the queue for the following run. Save your ranking for the moments that matter.
The Waiver Calendar
| Time Window | Free Agent Access |
|---|---|
| Monday 19:00 UTC → Thursday 11:00 UTC | ✅ Eligible free agents can be picked up instantly |
| Thursday 11:00 UTC → Friday 14:00 UTC | 🕐 Waivers only — submit a claim; processed Friday 14:00 UTC |
| After Friday 14:00 UTC | ✅ Eligible free agents can be picked up instantly until their individual lock |
| Recently dropped players | 🕐 Normally 12 hours on waivers, capped one hour before their next kickoff; check the exact deadline in the app |
How to Submit a Claim
All waiver transactions are strictly one-in, one-out. You cannot pick up a free agent without simultaneously dropping a player from your squad.
- Find a free agent you want to add
- Choose which player from your current squad you'll drop to make room
- Submit your claim — it joins your personal queue for the upcoming waiver run
- Optionally add backup claims for other players, in priority order
- Wait for the waiver run to process
Always submit backup claims alongside your primary one. If your first choice goes through uncontested, you keep your ranking — and your second claim might also succeed at no extra cost. You can potentially pick up two players in one run without losing any ranking position.
Waivers: Worked Example
Let's walk through a complete waiver run so you can see exactly how priority and contested claims work in practice.
The gameweek has just ended. Three free agents are available: Marcus Smith, Hamish Watson, and Jack Willis.
| Rank | Manager | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1st (highest) | Fatima | |
| 2nd | Callum | |
| 3rd | Jorge | |
| 4th | Priya | |
| 5th | Tom | |
| 6th (lowest) | Sarah | Picked 1st overall in the draft |
| Manager | Claim (priority order) | Player to Drop |
|---|---|---|
| Fatima | Marcus Smith — 1st claim | David Ribbans |
| Callum | Marcus Smith — 1st claim | A bench prop |
| Jorge | Marcus Smith — 1st claim | A lock |
| Priya | Hamish Watson — 1st claim | A wing |
| Tom | Jack Willis — 1st claim | A centre |
| Tom | Marcus Smith — 2nd claim | A flanker |
Four managers want him: Fatima (rank 1), Callum (rank 2), Jorge (rank 3), and Tom (rank 5, as his second claim).
Fatima has the highest priority. Fatima gets Marcus Smith
The claim was contested, so Fatima drops to rank 6. Everyone else moves up one place.
Only Priya submitted a claim.
Priya gets Hamish Watson. Uncontested — her ranking stays exactly the same.
Only Tom submitted a claim. (His second claim for Marcus Smith failed in Step 1, but that doesn't affect this.)
Tom gets Jack Willis. Uncontested — his ranking stays exactly the same.
| New Rank | Manager | Change | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Callum | ↑ was 2nd | Claim failed — no ranking cost |
| 2nd | Jorge | ↑ was 3rd | Claim failed — no ranking cost |
| 3rd | Priya | ↑ was 4th | Got Watson — uncontested, no cost |
| 4th | Tom | ↑ was 5th | Got Willis — uncontested, no cost |
| 5th | Sarah | ↑ was 6th | No claims submitted |
| 6th | Fatima | ↓ was 1st | Won contested claim — dropped to bottom |
Fatima got Marcus Smith — probably worth using her top priority. But she's now last in line if a great player becomes available next week.
Tom got Jack Willis without spending any ranking priority at all. His backup claim for Marcus Smith failed, but listing it cost him nothing.
Callum and Jorge both moved up the rankings despite not picking anyone up — simply because Fatima dropped. You can improve your position without doing anything.
The Season
Structure
The Draft XV season is split into two phases: the "Regular Season" and the "Playoffs".
The Regular Season runs for the first 15 gameweeks, during which you compete against other managers in your league for league position. The top 4 managers in the Regular Season qualify for the Playoffs.
The Playoffs run for the final 3 gameweeks of the season - Rounds 16, 17 and 18 of the real-life seasons - where the top 4 managers in the Regular Season compete in knockout rounds to determine who wins the championship.
Regular Season
Your position in the league table is determined by your win-loss record from weekly head-to-head matchups. If two managers are level on wins and losses, the tiebreaker is total points scored across the season.
Two managers tied on record are separated by total points scored — not by their head-to-head result against each other. This means playing your strongest lineup every week matters, even in comfortable positions.
The regular season runs for 15 gameweeks.
Regular Season End Dates
| Competition | Round 15 Ends |
|---|---|
| URC | Weekend of 17th April 2027 |
| English Premiership | Weekend of 8th May 2027 |
The Playoffs
Qualifying
The top 4 managers in your league after Round 15 qualify for the main playoffs. In leagues with 8 or more managers, the bottom 4 also enter a separate playoff — for the Wooden Spoon.
Semi-Finals: Rounds 16 & 17
The playoffs use a two-leg semi-final format. Your combined score across both gameweeks determines who advances — not a single week's result.
Seedings:
- Semi-final A: 1st place vs 4th place
- Semi-final B: 2nd place vs 3rd place
A single gameweek of fantasy rugby involves a lot of luck — star players can get injured, carded, or rested on any given weekend. Two legs reduces that variance and makes it more likely the two best-performing managers over the season reach the Grand Final. By the time the final rolls around, both managers deserve to be there.
| Competition | Round 16 | Round 17 |
|---|---|---|
| URC | 23-24 April | 7-8 May |
| English Premiership | 14-16 May | 28-30 May |
If a semi-final ends level on aggregate, the manager who finished higher in the regular season standings advances. Note: this is different from the regular season tiebreaker — in playoffs, it's league position, not total points, that decides ties.
The Grand Final: Round 18
Winner of Semi-final A plays Winner of Semi-final B. One leg. One shot.
| Competition | Grand Final |
|---|---|
| URC | Fri 14th & Sat 15th May 2027 |
| English Premiership | Sat 5th June 2027 |
Regular season points do not carry over — each playoff matchup starts from zero. Transfers and lineup management remain just as critical. Real clubs are still rotating players and managing injuries through Rounds 16–18, so stay active.
The Wooden Spoon Playoff
In leagues with 8 or more managers, the bottom 4 teams after Round 15 enter the Wooden Spoon playoff — a lower-bracket competition running alongside the main playoffs, using the same two-leg semi-final format.
The twist: the losers of each semi-final advance to the final. The loser of the Round 18 final takes the Wooden Spoon — also known in various leagues as the Sacko, the Chumpionship, the Toilet Bowl, or whatever your league decides to call it.
This keeps every manager engaged through the final rounds of the season. Even if you're not fighting for the title, you're fighting to not finish last — and that turns out to be just as entertaining.
In smaller leagues (4 or 6 managers), non-qualifying teams' seasons end at Round 15. Extended playoff formats for smaller leagues are in development.
Strategy Tips
In-Season Management
- Check Thursday announcements. Watch Thursday team announcements for Friday's games. The waiver window that follows is your chance to react. Make it a weekly habit.
- Don't panic drop. If your star winger has a quiet week, don't immediately cut them. Check their fixture list and any injury news before making a move.
- Monitor the injury list proactively. The app sends push notifications for injury alerts. After the Monday 19:00 UTC waiver run and before the Thursday 11:00 UTC lock, eligible free agent pickups are instant — act quickly when a key player goes down.
- Use your bench proactively. If your starter has a tough fixture and your bench player has an easier one, consider swapping them. You have flexibility until either player's real-team kickoff.
- Think about fixture runs. Before a trade or waiver claim, check who your players face over the next few gameweeks. A player with a brutal stretch might be worth dropping for someone with better upcoming matchups.
Waiver Strategy
- Treat waiver priority like a budget. Using it on a contested player sends you to the back of the queue. Use it only when you expect genuine competition for a player.
- Submit multiple ordered claims. Always add backups — they're free if they go through uncontested. You could pick up two players in one run without losing any ranking position.
- The Thursday window is prime time. A player named in a strong starting XV can go from ignored to highly contested in minutes. You have until Friday 14:00 UTC to submit — use the full window.
Playoff Push
- Total points tiebreaker matters in the regular season. If you're neck-and-neck on wins with another manager, your total points could determine whether you finish 4th (playoffs) or 5th (wooden spoon). Play your strongest lineup every week.
- In the semi-finals, both legs count equally. Don't treat Round 16 as a throwaway — a poor week makes Round 17 a mountain to climb.
- Stay active through the playoffs. Real-life coaches are still rotating and resting players unpredictably in Rounds 16–18. An active manager who spots a rested key player early can often pick up a replacement before anyone reacts.
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FAQs
Can I join more than one league?
Can I join a league after the draft has started?
What happens if my draft timer runs out?
Can I drop a player without picking someone up?
Can I swap a starter and a bench player mid-gameweek?
Do bench players' scores count?
Is there a captain or vice-captain mechanic?
Do regular season points carry into the playoffs?
What if a playoff semi-final ends in a tie on aggregate?
Why doesn't the fantasy season follow the real-life playoffs?
What happens if a manager stops playing mid-season?
I've found a bug. What do I do?
Still have questions? Head to the support centre in the app or email support@draftxv.com.
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Account and other help
Keeper leagues
Keeper behavior is commissioner depth and does not always follow a standard snake round.
A keeper league is intended to let managers retain selected players into a later season instead of redrafting every squad from scratch. First-season keeper leagues with no declarations can draft normally. Renewed drafts with declared or locked keepers currently stop before creation until retained-pick support is complete.
Pro, billing, and account support
The core game is free; Pro adds optional tools and analysis.
Pro can add cross-league matchup views, player ownership and transaction trends, waiver popularity, live matchup event detail, fixture-status insights, and paid keeper controls. Availability depends on the current plan and account state, so use the signed-in Pro and account pages for the live feature list, regional price, subscription management, purchase restore, and support.
Troubleshooting
Refresh authoritative HTTP views once before repeating an ambiguous action.
Draft, ownership, claim, trade, lineup, and score state can change in another tab or server process. Reload the affected view, read the current status, and contact support with non-sensitive IDs and the visible error if it still disagrees.