By Genius Sports Press 
- First official Rugby World Cup Fantasy game launched
- New game unveiled to appeal to both new and lifelong fans, supporting the expansion of World Rugby’s global audience from Rugby World Cup 2023, starting Friday September 8
World Rugby, the global governing body of the game, has launched a new gamification strategy to engage, entertain and retain rugby fans worldwide in partnership with Genius Sports.
Ahead of the sport’s flagship event starting this Friday, World Rugby and Genius Sports have launched the official RWC 2023 Fantasy game (https://fantasy.rugbyworldcup.com/), providing fans with an opportunity to test their knowledge, compete with friends and family and engage with the tournament in a new way.
Given a budget of 100 credits, fans can pick 15 players, utilising unlimited transfers throughout the tournament with three boosters available for ‘Triple Captain’, ‘Super Kicker’ and ‘Defensive King’, breaking down the game into detailed performance metrics. Available through English and French language versions, this interactive game is designed to attract fans that are new to the game as well as existing rugby family supporter base. The game also includes a two-step tutorial to walk players through the rules of the game, the points scoring system as well as an introduction to rugby that includes overviews on players’ positions.
As part of the launch, World Rugby has also released a one-off RWC 2023 Fantasy Showdown special hosted by Gethin Jones and featuring rugby legends Ugo Monye, Jim Hamilton and Benjamin Kayser. The show gives fans insight into their top player picks and who to watch out for at Rugby World Cup 2023. The RWC 2023 Fantasy Showdown is available to watch on World Rugby’s new streaming platform RugbyPass TV.
RWC 2023 Fantasy has been developed to help grow World Rugby’s global network of fans, enabling them to gain deeper insights of their audience demographics.
“We’re delighted to be working with Genius Sports to deliver the first official RWC Fantasy game ever created for a Rugby World Cup,” said James Rothwell, Chief Marketing and Content Officer at World Rugby. “Rugby World Cup 2023 Fantasy will allow fans worldwide to showcase their rugby knowledge and passion for the sport while also giving them a new way to engage and interact with the tournament.”
“This partnership and the launch of RWC 2023 Fantasy will be central to World Rugby’s strategy to use gamification to expand the sport’s global audience,” said Judd Goldstein, Head of Sports Fan Engagement, EMEA at Genius Sports. “We’re thrilled World Rugby has recognised Genius as the global leader in custom premium fan engagement products and selected us as their partner to acquire and engage both casual and avid rugby fans on a truly global scale, using the terrific RWC 2023 Fantasy game as a launchpad for this long-term partnership.”
