Make Sure You Give Betting on Rugby a Try

Rugby is a great sport to watch regardless of whether it is union or league that you support. It’s also a sport that offers people numerous betting opportunities. If that’s something as a rugby fan you haven’t indulged in, then this article will show you just what is on offer. It will also show you how it differs from betting on other sports.

Plenty of Different Markets Available

When you consider placing bets on rugby, you might think it’s just a case of who’s going to win the match or will it end in a draw?  Those markets are available of course, but there’s a lot more available for you to be placing bets on. 

Some don’t even require you to correctly predict the final outcome of the match. The way in which points are scored in rugby makes betting a different experience from other sports. In football and ice-hockey, it’s all about scoring goals. With rugby though, there are tries, conversions. penalties and drop goals. Some bookmakers will offer odds on how the first points in the game will be scored.

It’s also possible to bet on which team will be the first to score ten points, the first, last and anytime try scorers, the winning margin (at both half and full time) and whether there will be a sending off in the match. You can even place a bet on whether the shirt number of the first try scorer will be odd of even!

Events to Bet On

Both forms of the game have plenty of events to place bets on. With Rugby Union, you can bet on the English Premiership, international matches, the Six Nations Championship, European Rugby Cup and of course the Rugby World Cup. 

Rugby league fans can try to get winners from Super League games, the Rugby Challenge Cup, international matches and the Rugby League World Cup.

The Excitement of In-Play Betting

In-play Betting is both exciting and entertaining. You can place bets as the match is taking place. Odds will continually be fluctuating depending on what is happening in the match Live streaming of matches is also available on some sites.  There’s also the chance to cash out your bet before the game ends.

Why Betting on Rugby is so Different

One characteristic of rugby that needs to be addressed betting wise is the gap in class that sometimes exists between the two teams. This is where handicap betting becomes extremely important.

For example, the pool stages of the recent Rugby Union World Cup or a Rugby League Challenge Gup tie. This features plenty of games where it was anything but a level playing field. A match between New Zealand and Namibia was always going to end in a comprehensive win for the All Blacks, even with a weakened line-up. 

This and other matches such as Scotland v Russia and South Africa v Canada were games when simply placing a bet on the stronger side to win wasn’t going to produce anything like a decent profit, though it would still be an entertaining experience.

Plenty of rugby games are like that, so handicap betting becomes extremely important. With this type of bet, the weaker side is given a certain number of points start. This results in the odds being offered being a lot more even and attractive to bet on.

In the New Zealand match, Namibia could have received a 65-point start. This would require New Zealand to win by 66 points to ‘win’ the match. In this example, it would have been Namibia who ran out the winners as the actual match was lost by 62 points.  Just imagine the excitement that bet would have had, even though the actual match was one-way traffic and the end result in no doubt.

• Handicap Betting - A Bet of Margins

Plenty of Matches to Bet On

There will be odds available on matches from all over the world, whether it be the UK, France, South Africa or New Zealand. It will be possible to place what are called ante-post bets on future tournaments. So, if you think the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be won by New Zealand, you can already place a bet.

Do your Research

When you are placing bets on rugby, there are several factors that need to be taken into consideration. The strength of the line-ups is important of course. Does a team have injury problems or players missing due to international call-ups? 

The latter is important because rugby isn’t like football. When there are international football games being played, the club games don’t take place. That’s not the case in rugby though just as it is in cricket. Teams will play their league games despite being without their international stars.

Current form is important as is the home and away form of a team. Checking statistics before placing a bet is vital. Finding out a team hasn’t won an away match for ages isn’t much use after you have bet on them to win their next away game.

Those statistics are so important for many other reasons. They can be used to determine which players are in form and may well score tries in their next game. You can place bets on how many points will be scored in a game. 

This is important in rugby because of the number of points that can be scored via penalties. Look at how many points a side is giving away in penalties and if a side contains a player who regularly scores penalties earning their team valuable points.

In Conclusion

You can see therefore, that betting on rugby is an exciting and entertaining experience. An end-to-end game with lots of points scored will be great to follow when betting in-play. With a wide range of markets to bet on including handicap betting, even a 68-0 win can become exciting.