RUGBY STATS is the ultimate in Fantasy Rugby. YOU are a team manager/coach. YOU sign real-life stars, select them for your team and their performances each week determine your success. It's your chance to coach the real life stars, and show that YOU are the best coach in your league.

RUGBY STATS has been running for over ten years and we're looking for NEW coaches to run teams made up of the real life stars. Every week YOU have to decide which players to select, signing new players, doing trades with other coaches and predictions for the results of top real life games.

RUGBY STATS has two versions, RUGBY UNION STATS (running from September to May) and RUGBY LEAGUE STATS (running from March to September). The two games, as in real life, are very similar, with many similarities but differences in lineups (15 players for Union, 13 for League) and scoring. Whether you' re a Rugby Union fun or Rugby League fan you , 11 enjoy playing Rugby Stats.

Rugby Stats is a game of management. Your squad is made up of current stars and your performances are determined solely by their performances in real-life every week. Each turn you have to select a lineup from your squad of English Premiership players, made up of two props, a hooker, two locks, two flankers, one No.8. one scrum half, one fly half, two centres, two wings and one fullback. Certain players are able to play in more than one position (fly halves can be selected at fullback, flankers at No.8, etc)- You also have to decide who will be your "designated kicker" for that week - only the designated kicker can score with the boot.

Your players stats for the week are taken from their real-life performances in all games involving Premiership teams (league, cup and European Cup games all count), with a season running from September through to May- Player.~ score tries if they scored in real-life, and your designated kicker scores any penalty goals, drop goals or conversions he kicked in real-life (subject to the restriction that he cannot kick more conversions than your team scored tries). You can select players from Premiership Two sides, but their scores are only counted half. You also select a "backup designated kicker", whose kicking only counts if your "designated kicker" fails to score (this covers you in case your designated kicker is dropped, or injured, at the last minute and doesn't play)

In Rugby League Stats scores are taken from all Superleague games, with the season running from March through to September. Team selections are thirteen players; six forwards, two half backs and five backs, though some players (known as "utility players" can play at half-back or back). All goals (penalty goals and conversions) are counted in full, as statistics in Rugby League don't differentiate between penalty goals and conversions. all are simply recorded as " goals". As in Rugby Union Stats you have to select a designated kicker and backup designated kicker.

Rugby Stats is a trading game, and the management rules are the same for Rugby Union Stats as they are for Rugby League Stats. You Have a limited income every turn (Which is biased towards helping losing teams to recover by giving them more income, though you can increase your income by investing in marketing, merchandising and so on) with which to pay your players. The more successfully your players are the higher their wage demands, so you need to continually be signing players and shuffling your roster to keep your finances under control, and keep your team competitive. Rugby Stats isn't a game where you can sign the "perfect team" and then simply watch them win all season.

If a player is drastically undervalued then other teams can approach them and tempt them away by offering the player a significantly higher salary. The player's current team always have a chance to match the offer, and if they do decide not to match the offer they receive compensation when the player moves teams, so they'll have more money available to go out and find a replacement. Every player has a value, and it's up to you to decide how much a player is worth to you.

Every turn you've got decisions to make about signing, trading or waiving players. You can offer your own players for trade, make bids for unsigned players or approach underpaid players from other clubs.

In addition to the trading and selection part of Rugby Stats there's also a tipping competition which runs parallel to the season. Each week you have to choose the winners from up to ten real life games, with the best teams over a season getting an income bonus for the following season. The tipping competition is essentially a separate game within a game and offers a diversion, particularly towards the end of the season for those coaches who are looking to rebuild their squads for the following year.