I have been reviewing a couple of the various virtual rugby sites in preparation for the Super 14 competition. There are a great deal of virtual rugby and virtual sports site on the web, I'm not suggesting that I've seen them all but I have seen some that I like. There are some that specialise in virtual rugby, others that are multi-sport sites, some offer the full fantasy sport experience, other the quick and easy tipping, picks or prediction competitions. If you’re like me you won’t want to sign up to all the sites only to waste half a season on an average website. So here’s what I’ve found so far. I hope it helps.
Fantasy rugby sites are all good and well. Truth is I don’t have the time to spend an hour or more every week buying and selling on form, injured, suspended or otherwise wanted or unwanted players. If you are anything like me when it comes to free time in your week, steer clear of the fantasy manager sites. If however you do have the time, fantasy rugby sites can be a great way to spend it.
What I am looking for is a quick and easy to use prediction, picks or tipping competition that covers all the major southern hemisphere rugby competitions. I am talking about Super 14, Air New Zealand Cup, Tri-Nations, and World Cup. Of the sites I have found this is what I think about them.
NZ Virtual Sport - http://nzvirtualsport.co.nz/
This site has been created to provide a fantastic user experience. The layout and navigation are designed to make it is easy as possible to get around the site, the ability to make and change predictions right up until kick off of each match gives it an edge over some of the other sites, you can create private challenges which is a unique feature of the site (these differ from private competitions that other sites offer). In addition to rugby, league, football, netball and basketball competitions are on offer, NZVS does have a little advertising on page however this is kept to a minimum. Thankfully no irritating pops up, so it’s not too invasive and definitely won’t put me off using the site.
Footytips - http://footytips.com.au/
This site offers a great deal of functionality, such as tipping competitions, fantasy competitions, player of the year comps, feeds of recent activity, team and individual statistics. The one issue I have with this site is the overbearing feel of the site. There simply too much on screen trying to all grab your attention at the same time. There are multiple competitions, various promotions and message boards, which in themselves aren’t a bad thing. It’s just a case that sometimes less is more. There’s also a significant amount of advertising, thanksfully like NZVS, there’s no pop ups. Don’t get me wrong, footytips is worth checking out; it could be your thing – especially if you want an AFL compeition. I have been tempted but perhaps next season.
Jimungo / SkySport - http://virtualrugby.jimungo.com/
This is the most popular of the NZ based prediction sites, although I can’t quite understand why – probably because of the corporate sponsorship and the official status given to them by the NZRFU but that’s not enough to entice me to use the site. Navigation is average at best, there is a Thursday cut off for entering picks for the coming weekend, the graphs are budget. It feels like the site was clumped together with all the leftovers from the 80’s. The one thing going for the site…well I can’t tell you because I’m not going to be wasting my time on the site.
SportyWeb - http://sportyweb.com/
A very limited site which appears to be run by some enthusiastic rugby fans. Unfortunately their enthusiasm for the game doesn’t convert over to brilliant web design. These guys do offer some other sports including league and soccer. Have a look but don’t spend too much time there.
I hope this helps you decide which virtual rugby site to use. I know by writing this it’s helped me make my decision and it was quite an easy one to come to really. I’ll be on NZ Virtual Sport this season and probably the coming few years if they keep up the excellent work.
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