Super Rugby Fantasy round three: Must-haves and avoids

There have been two rounds of scintillating rugby throughout Super Rugby Pacific thus far, and with the addition of the Fantasy game, there has been even more discussion around the league.

The first two weeks on Super Rugby Fantasy have showcased that rewarding consistency by keeping players for more than one week in your team has been a path to success.

As you can change all 15 of your players for each week this season, here are some more “Must haves” and “Avoids” for your team in round three of the competition. 

Must-haves

Fraser McReight – Reds – Price: $7m

McReight is on this list again, and for good reason. The Wallabies loose forward was everywhere in a high-scoring fixture against Moana Pasifika last weekend that proved to be a fantastic fixture for Fantasy managers.

McReight received a yellow card, but still racked up a mammoth 71 points, scoring a try and getting an assist to add to his huge workload on the defensive end. The 26-year-old may not get those attacking stats every week, but the matchup this weekend against the Force promises to be another opportunity for the Wallaby to shine.

Kyren Taumoefolau – Moana Pasifika – Price: $4m

The highest scorer in this year’s Fantasy game after two rounds has been absolutely unstoppable for Tana Umaga’s Moana Pasifika. Everything that Taumoefolau has touched, has turned to gold so far and this weekend against the Highlanders should be no different.

Despite Moana Pasifika losing both of their opening two games, they play their first game of the season at home this weekend in a particularly special week, culture round.

There will be lots of points in this game and the 21-year-old speedster will look to improve on his already impressive 155 Fantasy points for 2025.

Tupou Vaa’i – Chiefs – Price: $5m

It would have been pretty easy to chuck in another high-flying outside back, but All Blacks lock Tupou Vaa’i has put his hand up as one of the more consistent locks in the Fantasy game this year. It’s a difficult position to pick, with little to no upside in the position without tries scored, but Vaa’i’s 29-point performance last week against the Crusaders (with a yellow card) is enough to provide solid cover at the lock position. The Brumbies will be highly motivated heading to Hamilton for this one and as Josh Lord has come off in both games so far, Vaa’i is certain for 80 minutes.

Honourable mentions: Filipo Daugunu (RED), Carlo Tizzano (FOR), Matt Faessler (RED).

Avoids

Finn Hurley – Highlanders – Price: $4m

The man of the moment from last weekend’s historic victory over the Blues in Dunedin is in 9.6% of people’s teams for their round three matchups.

Hurley’s performance was magical against the Blues and there’s a chance he replicates that once again, but there are so many other outside back matchups for round three that are more favourable.

Outside back is the place to spend the remaining cash you have left, considering the very kind $100m budget given to us by Super Rugby Fantasy. Look towards more reliable options in Daugunu from the Reds or Taumoefolau from Moana Pasifika in your back three this week.

Rieko Ioane – Blues – Price: $8.5m

Astonishingly, someone who has 32 points in two weeks is owned by 29% of the game heading into round three of Super Rugby Pacific this weekend. Ioane hasn’t fired at all this season, looking relatively unproductive from a Fantasy perspective. In another tough matchup this weekend against the Hurricanes in Wellington, there are safer options this week with more upside than Ioane.

If the Blues can start firing from a backline perspective, there will be a time when Ioane becomes more fantasy-relevant in 2025. In the meantime, while the Blues have struggled to gain any momentum, he is a strong avoid for now.

Honourable mentions: Beauden Barrett (BLU), Folau Fakatava (HIG).

Note: Crusaders players are unavailable to pick on Super Rugby Fantasy due to their round three bye.

Here are the specific performance scoring categories:

Playing 1-60 minutes: 1 point

Playing 61+ minutes: 2 points

For each try: 15 points

For each try assist: 9 points

For each conversion: 2 points

For each missed conversion: -1 point

For each penalty goal: 3 point

For each missed penalty: -1 point

For each drop goal: 3 point

For each missed drop goal: -1 point

Yellow Card: -5 points

Red Card: -10 points

For each turnover forced: 4 points

For each interception: 5 points

For each lineout won on own throw: 1 point

For each lineout steal on the opponent throw: 5 points

For each lineout error (includes handling error, not straight or lost outright): -2 points

For each tackle made: 1 point

For each tackle missed: -1 point

For each defender beaten: 2 points

For each offload: 2 points

For each line break: 7 points

For each line break assist: 5 points

For every 10 metres gained: 1 point

For each penalty conceded: -1 point

For each error (knock on or forward pass): -1 point

For scrum won outright (awarded to entire front row): 3 points