Outbid your friends. Build the best XV. Best team wins.

How the rugby auction works

1. 📲Create a game and send the link. Put the link in the group chat before kick-off. Everyone joins on their own phone, on the sofa or at the pub.
2. 🔨Bid on one rugby player at a time. Props, hookers, locks, back-rowers, half-backs, centres, wings and fullbacks go under the hammer one by one, legends from 1971 next to today's stars. Two of you chasing the same fly-half is where the budget goes.
3. 🏟️Pick your XV. The final is two halves of 40 minutes: tries, conversions, penalties and the odd drop goal. There are no draws, and the stronger XV always wins.

Plus three more rugby games

• 🕵️Guess the player. Six clues about a mystery rugby player, one at a time. Name them first — a wrong guess hands everyone else the point.
• ❤️This or That. Two rugby players, same position, same era. One of you picks in secret, the rest guess which.
• 🎭Imposter. Everyone gets the same rugby player except one bluffer. One word each, then vote.

Why rugby fans keep playing the auction

• ⚡Real bidding wars. There are only so many good props. Leave the front row late and your scrum is built from what the others left.
• 🏆201 rugby players to fight over. 26 props, 14 hookers, 25 locks, 24 flankers, 14 number 8s, 16 scrum-halfs, 16 fly-halfs, 24 centres, 26 wings and 16 fullbacks. Drawn at random, so no two auctions are the same.
• 📣Every manager gets a verdict. Paid 40M for a reserve? The whole group will know.
• 📺Put it on the big screen. Open deadlineday.app/tv and the auction, every XV and the result play out on the TV while you bid on your phones.
• 🤖Only two of you? Add computer managers, each with their own bidding style.
• 🚫No ads. Ever. Nothing gets between you and the hammer.

What does the rugby auction cost?

The rugby auction rules in one minute

• Budget: every manager starts with 100M of play money. You always keep enough to fill the rest of your squad, so you can never go broke.
• Squad: 18 players: your XV and three on the bench. Want it quicker? Quick draft is a seven-player sevens side.
• Bidding: the clock starts at 10 seconds and every bid restarts it. Tap Pass when you are out, and when everyone has passed the hammer falls straight away.
• Hidden ratings: you never see a rugby player's rating during the auction. You bid on what you know.
• The last manager standing: when everyone else has a full squad, the last manager gets random rugby players to fill theirs. Bid while you can.
• Lineup: Pick your XV. A forward in the backs or a back in the pack costs a lot, the front row are specialists, and neighbours like wing and fullback cost almost nothing.
• The result: a season of matches and a final between the top two. There are no draws: the stronger XV always wins.

Rugby auction questions