How to Bet on Rugby Union
A sport which ignites national pride like few others, rugby union is followed and respected in every corner of the planet. Fans are particularly passionate across the UK and Ireland and the ability to bet on countless markets only enhances the experience for many, whether it is on the Premiership in England or a major event such as the Six Nations, World Cup or Lions Tour.
Common Bets
Apart from when matches are very evenly contested, the main bets in rugby union are typically handicaps or wagers on the winning margin. Punters must predict the range by which the favoured team will triumph (winning margin) or bet on whether a side will either win or lose with a specified handicap or head start.
There are all sorts of other bets which can be made on each fixture, including the total number of tries or points, which team will score points first and doubles on who will win each half. There are also bets on whether the first try will be converted and a few 50-50s for those who like to trust to fate, such as whether the total points will be odd or even.
In terms of individual performances, customers can bet on whether a player will score the first try of the game, the last try or even a try at any time. In certain fixtures it is also possible to bet on the man of the match, while longer-term punts can be placed on the top tryscorer in a tournament or who might be made the next captain or manager of a leading team.
Big events such as the Premiership or Six Nations have markets on who will finish as champions, which team will score the most tries and, where relevant, who will be relegated.
Tips and Strategy
Handicaps are attractive in rugby union because the odds give punters a far better chance of a decent payout than simply betting on the match result, and the alternative handicaps in particular are worth exploring. For example, it may be that you fancy Team A to beat Team B, but the odds really aren’t tempting at 1/30. The main handicap is set at -25.5 with odds of 10/11, but you are not entirely convinced they will win by a big enough margin, so you opt for an alternative handicap of -14.5 at odds of 2/7, meaning you can still get an adequate return whilst remaining confident that your bet has a good chance of winning.
Spread betting can also be worthwhile in rugby union as it rewards the accuracy of predictions, while there are certain specific bets which also appear to offer good value. These include wagers on the top points scorer in a competition when available, as the regular goal-kickers on the strongest teams are by far the most likely to feature highly on the list. The team to score the most tries in a given event is also a market which jumps out as being one with a good chance of predicting correctly, as well as backing a drop goal to be kicked in a tight game.