Here we look at the rugby competitions in more detail that are generally available to gamble on on-line all over the betting planet.
International Outright markets
In terms of general outright betting markets the following popular bets are available:
To win the World Cup (RU & RL)
Both Rugby Union and Rugby League have world cups.
The Rugby union world cup is held in October every 4 years – the next one will be held in Japan in 2019. The ante-post betting market currently offers betting to win or each way on 22 countries.
The Rugby League world cup has been held at different intervals however the next one will be held in Australia, New Zealand and New Guinea in October to December, 2017. It is then scheduled to be held every four years, the 2021 world cup is to be staged in England.
The ante-post betting market currently offers betting to win or each way on 14 countries – but please note that only three countries have won the World Cup in Rugby League so far, Australia (10) , Great Britain (3) and New Zealand (1).
The ante-post markets available are the same as most sporting cup competitions these include:
To win outright (with Each way at 1/3 of the odds offered)
To reach the final, semi-finals, quarter-finals.
To win the Group (or) “Pool” outright
To qualify for the next round
To win the Six Nations (RU)
The Six Nations is a “Round Robin” event (all the teams play each other only once) so 15 matches are played every year in February and March between France, Italy, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Bets available include:
To win the Grand Slam – The country that wins all 5 matches
To win the Six Nations – The country that wins the league.
To win the Triple Crown – (Does not include Italy and France – the country that wins all 3 matches against the others from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland)
To “win” the wooden spoon – The country that finishes bottom of the league.
To win the Rugby Championship (RU)
The Rugby Championship is like the Six Nations but is between the four countries in the Southern Hemisphere – Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. It is a “Double Round Robin” so each team plays each other twice – Home and Away.
Three other trophies are awarded and can be gambled on during the Rugby Championship, these are:
To win the Bledisloe Cup – the winner over two matches played between New Zealand and Australia.
The Freedom Cup - the winner over two matches played between New Zealand and South Africa.
The Mandela Challenge Plate - the winner over two matches played between South Africa and Australia.
To win The British & Lions Tour (RU)
This is a “Test” series (see cricket betting for more information about “Test Series”)
A team called “The Lions” is made up of players chosen from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and every four years they “tour” a host nation of any from South Africa, New Zealand or Australia. The test series is 3 matches.
To win the Test Series (RU & RL)
(See Cricket for information about “Test Series”) Every year the rugby playing nations play each other around the world. The series are always 3 matches. *Please note that Test Series can end in ties or draws.*
Domestic (Home) Rugby Outright markets
In terms of general outright betting markets the following popular bets are available:
To win The Challenge Cup – (RL)
This similar to the F.A. Cup in soccer where both amateur and professional teams are in the cup competition. The stronger teams that play in the Super League enter the competition in later rounds. There are a total of eight rounds. There are match bets available throughout the competition.
To win the [European] Super League (RL)
A league of the best teams in Europe. The league has 12 teams, 11 from England and 1 from France. The league is also called European Super League on European betting websites.
The season is February to July. The teams play each other twice – home and away so they each play 23 games.
After the 23 games have been played – the league positions decide what play-offs the teams qualify for. The top eight teams enter the SUPER 8 play-offs and play each other again. The top four then enter the play-off series leading to the Grand Final.
The bottom four teams play the top four Championship teams to decide which teams will play in the Super League the next season.
To win the NRL (RL)
Similar to the Super League but is based in Australia. It has 16 teams including one from New Zealand. The season runs from March to October. The teams play each other twice, home and away and the top 8 then play each other at the end of the season until the final.
The winners also play against the Super League winners in the following pre-season.
To win the State of Origin (RL)
An annual 3 match series played every year in June between the Australian players selected by Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues.
To win the European Rugby Champions Cup (RU)
There are two stages, a group stage (5 groups of 4 teams) and then a knockout stage – similar to the Champions League in soccer.
There are 20 teams. The teams qualify by their national league positions from England (6 teams), France (6 Teams) and 7 teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The 20th team qualifies via a play-off.
The competition is played from November through to May.
To win the Super Rugby final (RU)
This is a rugby union cup knockout competition between 16 teams from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Argentina.
Its format seems to change twice a week so we are not going to explain it here.
To win the Premiership (RU)
The number one Rugby union league in England – it has 12 teams.
To win the Top 14 (RU)
The number on Rugby union league in France – it has 14 teams.
To win the Currie cup (RU)
The number one Rugby union league in South Africa – it has 9 teams.
To win the Pro12 cup (RU)
12 teams from Italy, Wales, Ireland and Scotland compete in a league. The season is played from September to May.
To win the Mitre 10 cup (RU)
A New Zealand knock out cup competition.
To win the NRC (RU)
Australia’s number one league has 9 teams.
Match Markets
The match markets are the same as soccer however a draw or tie offers very high odds of nearly always 16/1 or more. Here are some of the more popular match market bets available for both Rugby Union and Rugby League:
Team A to Win / Lose / Draw
Handicap Team A to Win / Lose / Draw
Score first, lead half time and win match
Double Result
Team A winning margin
Half Time result
2nd Half Result
Try Scorer Markets
Player A to score the First try
Player A to score the Last try
Player A to score a hat-trick
Player A to score 2 or more
Player A to score anytime
Try markets
First team try – Team A or Team B
Last team try – Team A or Team B
Total Tries – ODD / EVEN
First Video Ref decision – Try / No Try
Points Markets
Match Result and both teams to score 20 points or more
First scoring play – Try? or Penalty? or Drop Goal?
First team to score points
Last team to score points
Will the first try be converted? – Yes / No
Total points – Odd / Even
Race to 10 points
Highest scoring half – First Half / Tie / Second Half
In Conclusion
Online bookmaker offers many betting markets for both Rugby Union and Rugby League. RU and RL rule are slightly different, but most of the betting odds are same. There are plenty of handicap odds for matches, and sometimes you can find good value from them.
