Rugby that is also known as rugby union or rugby football is a full-contact sport that is loved and played by all ages. You play it in a jersey, shorts, and boots with studs. You should wear a mouth guard to protect your teeth. The ball is oval-shaped and looks a bit like an egg. Because the game originated in England, there are lots of English expressions! The game is played on a pitch the same size as a football pitch and includes various lines. Two 15 players teams compete to score more and each team has 7 substitutes on the bench.
Two main versions of professional rugby are rugby league and rugby union. The best-known version of the game is rugby union. However, there are several other variations.
Like other sports, rugby betting adds to the fun and excitement of the game. However, there are rules you need to learn before placing your wagers. Hence, keep reading this a-z guide to rugby betting to find out all you need for your bets.
How Do You Play Rugby?
As I have said, rugby is a highly physical game. For this reason, to play and watch, you should be mentally and physically prepared.
The game objective is to score as more as possible than the opponent team. There are different ways to score in the game of rugby. Before I explain the scoring point system, let me quickly review what the pitch looks like.
As shown in the picture above, at the middle of the pitch there is the halfway line where the game starts from there or restarts after a score.
Next is a 10-meter line where the ball should cross after the kick-off. Then there is a 22-meter line. Right after, there is a Try line where you can score by touching the ball down.
On the try lines, are rugby posts; two vertical goal posts, and the crossbar.
And the last line is dead ball line and marks the end of the field. On the sides, you can see 5-meter lines and 15-meter lines where players should stay in between them during the line-out.
Now, let me quickly review how the game is played and how each line contributes to each team’s score.
As I have said, in rugby, each team tries to carry, pass, or kick a ball to the end zone to score points. A referee controls two 40-minute halves of competing, a five-minute half-time , and no time-outs. The referee will flip a coin to see which team should get the ball first. That team starts the game with a kick-off at the halfway line. Now, the team in possession of the ball tries to move forward toward the opponent’s goal. But, the point is ball cannot be passed forward. It can only be passed backward or perpendicular and a team can only advance by passing or kicking the ball. The player holding the ball passes the ball to his teammates backward while moving forward to score a try, 5 points.
This is when the player touches the ball to the ground in the opponent’s try line or try zone. After a team scored a try, they have the opportunity to kick the ball over the opponent’s crossbar and in between the goal posts which will score them an additional 2 points. The opponent team tries to stop the other team from moving forward, scoring a try, and gaining possession of the ball by tackling them. Once a player is tackled, he must release the ball or immediately pass it. Now, each team can fight to take possession of the ball. This is called Ruck and is when one to three players lock into one another right above the ball and the tackled player. They push each other back and forth until one side takes possession of the ball. The other possible scoring situations are penalty worth 3 points, conversion worth 2 points, and drop goal worth 3 points.
At the end of the 80-minute game, the team with the highest score wins.
How Do You Bet On Rugby?
Rugby betting is fun and easy to learn. However, before laying down your money, you should focus on a few things. Hence, let us get into the details of each rugby bet:
First of all, you should know how to read the odds in rugby betting. There are different ways sportsbooks list rugby odds. Moneyline or American odds, Fractional odds, and Decimal odds are the popular ways of listing rugby betting odds. However, Moneyline odds are the most commonly used format.
The Major Rugby Events You Can Bet On
Now that you know the basics, it is time for placing your bets. Luckily, you will never run out of rugby events to bet on. Let us quickly review each event.
Rugby World Cup
As the name suggests, it is an event on an international level where men’s teams compete for the crown. Similar to FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup takes place every four years. Twenty teams participate in the Rugby World Cup since 1987. New Zealand with three wins has the title of most Rugby World Cup wins.
Six Nations Championship
This is an annual international rugby union tournament where teams from England, Ireland, France, Italy, Wales, and Scotland compete for the crown.
Champions Cup
This is another annual rugby union tournament organized by the European Professional Club Rugby where national teams from the Six Nations Championship participate in it. The event is also known as a top-tier event.
Challenge Cup
This event is also held annually and is known as a second-tier competition event. Similar to the previous tournament, Challenge Cup is organized by the European Professional Club Rugby.
Rugby Handicap Betting Explained
Handicap, spread, or points betting makes games more interesting. While watching a rugby match, you should expect 3 possible results. However, often one side is much weaker than the other side. So, the betting should be adjusted to make it attractive, and bookies do this with the handicap. A handicap is used when two games have significantly different chances of winning. In other words, handicapping is used when one rugby team has significantly higher chances of winning. In this type of bet, the sportsbook determines a certain of points for the favorite team to win by. You have two options here. First, you believe that the favorite will cover the spread and defeats the underdog by more points than the predetermined points, so, you back it. Second, you want to bet on the underdog because you believe it can win the game or only lose by a certain point. So, handicapping will make the bets more even. This way, if you bet on the favorite, the team not only should win the game but also overcome the handicap for you to win the handicap bet.
Let me explain it using the following example:
In a rugby tournament, Seattle Seawolves play against San Diego Legion. In this game, Seattle is the favorite with (-10.5) 9/10 and San Diego is the underdog with (+10.5) 9/10. In this case, if you think Seattle will win the game by more than 10.5 points, you back them and lay your money on their win.
Sportsbooks can change rugby game spreads before the game begins in response to changes to the rosters or inclement weather.
Rugby Handicap Betting Odds
Typically, while searching for rugby handicap odds, you will see -2, -1, 0, +1, +2, and -3 and +3 numbers. The positive numbers represent the underdog and the negative ones represent the favorite.
An Asian handicap is represented by a .5 suffix and a tie or draw option is not present.
Match Handicap In Rugby
The match handicap applies to sports betting and more commonly soccer. For example, match handicap -1 means you are betting that the underdog will win or lose by less than the handicap.
Handicap 3-Way Rugby
First of all, you should know that there is little value in placing a bet on this market. Because even a £100 bet would only return £17. Also, you will need to bet a lot of money to make anything significant, which is a big risk in itself.
A 3-way market allows you to bet on several points to be scored. The bookmakers will set 3 different lines/margins on how many points will be scored in the game.
Handicap With The Tie
This works the same as usual handicap except for a tie or draw on the handicap is possible. Let me better explain It using an example:
Take Seatle Seawolves (-7) 19/20 VS San Diego Legion (+7) 19/20 – Draw 25-1
Now, this is a scoreline scenario:
Seatle 15 – 8 San Diego
If Seatle is (-7), then you would subtract 7 points from the San Diego score to get the scoreline as follows:
Seatle 8 – 8 San Diego, which represents a tie on handicap.
Besides, if San Diego is (+7), and you add 7 points to the San Diego score, now the scoreline is:
Seatle 15 – 15 San Diego
As you can see, the scores are a “tie” after applying the handicap. So, if you wager on the tie or draw on the handicap, you win the bet. On the other hand, if you bet on either side of the handicap, you lose the bet.
Rugby Handicap Betting Tips
Here are my few tricks to help you place smarter handicap bets:
- Study your teams well.
- Make sure you use the platform’s state. Let the bookmaker guide you.
- Come up with your handicap prediction. To do so, you should try to think of the likely outcomes by checking different statistics and handicap bets before the game starts. This way, you can place your bets with more accuracy.
Over/Under Bet Explained
In rugby and sports betting in general, over/under is betting on the total combined score of a game. In other words, sportsbooks come up with a hypothetical combined total number of points scored by both teams before the match starts and adjust the odds accordingly. They create the odds according to whether both teams will total points over or under the theoretical number.
For example, take the teams in the previous example. The sportsbooks determined that the combined total score of the game will be 43. The over bet may have odds of -120. This means you should bet $120 to receive a profit of $100.
Rugby Betting Frequently Asked Questions
What Are The Best Sportsbooks To Bet On Rugby?
There are a bunch of different bookmakers out there. However, I do not recommend betting on any site you just come across. I recommend the following sportsbooks because they have checked all the boxes:
- Betonline
- TigerGaming
- FanDuel
- Bovada
What Is United Rugby Championship Odds?
All the mentioned leading bookmakers offer odds on the United Rugby Championship competition. You can find the United Rugby Championship outright winner betting option and some match odds, like the winner, handicap, and total points to place a wager on.
What Is Oddschecker Rugby Union?
You can check the odds on the sportsbooks’ websites. However, the Oddschecker also provides the odds and predictions for rugby events.
Is Live Betting Available For Rugby Events?
Yes, it is. Under the category of live betting, you can find available rugby bets, and you can bet during the game.
To Sum It Up
I tried to arm you with the information you need to confidently bet on rugby, have fun, and win a good amount of cash. If you follow the tips and tricks I covered in this post, and sign up with the recommended trusted sportsbooks, you should not worry about anything. Remember to check your selected sportsbook odds, terms, and conditions. Take advantage of any possible bonus, study different betting option conditions, manage your bankroll, and do not take it too seriously! Have fun!