1. Don't Be Biased. If you care about scoring high, then don't select players just because you like them or because you support the team they play for, and remember that the best players don't necessarily get the highest points. Always check a player's past and current Test Rugby point scoring form and don't forget that the average points scored is a more important statistic than total points.
2. Winning Isn't Everything. Players from the winning team don't always get more points than those from the losing side. Just because you feel certain that one team will be victorious, don't ignore form players from the weaker side. Even if they aren't crossing the try line, individual players can still earn big points from tackles, scrums and the breakdown. etc.
3. Timely Trading. Buy your players whenever the teams are announced (or even make an educated guess and pick a few beforehand) so you're not forced to buy them at inflated prices. Similarly, sell those players who have a bye next week or picked up an injury as soon as the current round locks before their prices drop.
4. Double Check Line-Ups. Players picking up injuries on the training field or failing a late fitness test can lead to a last-minute reshuffle of the starting XV and can leave you with a man down. Keep an eye on team news throughout the week, right up until the round is locked.
5. Wise Transfer Management. It's easy to get transfer happy, to chop and change your team a lot, especially in the early rounds, but be careful. You might need those transfers in the end and there's nothing worse than being stuck with players who aren't earning points at the end of the tournament just because you haven't any transfers left. At the beginning of the tournament, calculate on average how many transfers you can make each round - for the Tri-Nations, this will probably be 6 players a round - and try and stick to this. And remember that you don't get all your transfers at the beginning of the tournament, so keep an eye on when the additional trades are released.
6. Money Matters. Especially at the start of the competition, your total cash can be a huge factor in the quality of your team. Earn money by buying and selling intelligently. Look for players who are priced lower than they should. Remember that Test Rugby allows you to earn up to $300,000 by inviting ten friends to the game. If you don't have ten friends then invite yourself ten times, setting up dummy teams, but remember that you can't set up more than five teams from one email account.
7. Leave Locks Till Last. Statistically locks are the lowest point scoring position - rarely scoring over 200. So when money's tight, it is better to go with a cheap player from the locks than any other position.
8. Pick Place Kickers. Whenever possible select place kickers for your team whatever position they play. 25 points per successful kick adds up quickly when combined with points scored in their all-round play.
9. Positional Blunders. Occasionally, Test Rugby categorises players incorrectly. Pay attention to where this can be used to your advantage - a back among the centers or a loosie like Kieran Read listed among the locks.
10. Cross Your Fingers. Even following all the above, luck still has a lot to do with it. Big players will have bad days and less consistent players will sometimes play an unexpected blinder. Picking one wild card player in each team is one possible way to mitigate against this.
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