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How to Bet on Rugby – Rugby Betting Guide & Betting Strategies
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Here in the United States, we have our main four sports: football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Then, we have our “up and coming” sports: soccer, MMA, lacrosse, etc. However, there are TONS of other sports markets that we can bet on! Introducing rugby betting!
Rugby
Rugby is a contact team sport with its origins centered in England. The game consists of two teams with 15 players each, with an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field. On either side of the oval is an H-shaped goal. Don’t get it twisted with rugby, it is not an “up and coming” sport — it is one of the MOST popular sports in the world!
Rules of Rugby
The objective of rugby is to score the ball in various ways. There are 80 minutes total in a rugby match divided into two 40-minute halves. There are quite a few different point values:
| Type of Score | # of Points | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Try | 5 | Crossing the opponent’s goal line with the ball. Similar to a touchdown in American Football. |
| Conversion | 2 | After a Try is scored; kick the ball through the H-shaped goal post. |
| Penalty Kick | 3 | Occurs after a penalty; kick the ball through the H-shaped goal post. |
| Drop Goal | 3 | Kicking the ball through the H-shaped goal during normal play |
Union vs. League
It is important to note that there are two different entities when you are betting on rugby — the Rugby Union and the Rugby League. They are all basically the same with the big difference being Rugby Union plays with 15 players and Rugby League plays with 13.
MAKE SURE you are on the correct page as they are often split off like this example from Caesars below:
Betting on Rugby
“Okay, so, maybe rugby is super popular. I’ve never bet on it though.”
No need to worry! We are going to go through all of the betting markets, how to bet on them, what to look for and where to bet!
Outright Result
Just like the moneyline in your favorite American sports wagers, there is an outright result bet for every rugby game. Who is going to win or lose? That’s what this market is covering. Favorites are designated with a (-) symbol, and underdogs are designated with a (+) symbol.
Spread Betting
This is the exact same as point spread betting. Take a look at this example courtesy of FanDuel
Here the Gold Coast Titans are favorites. In order for a bet on them to hit, they have to win by 12 or more.
The Wests Tigers are a large underdog. In order for a bet on them to hit, they have to either win or lose by less than 12.
Points
Over/under and points are the exact same thing. Bet the over if you think both teams’ points combined will be larger than the given number. Bet the under if you think both teams’ points combined will be smaller than the given number.
Half-Time/Full-Time
Similar to 1H/2H in most popular American sports, this is all about what is happening in the halves. These bets can be set up in three different ways
- Half 1
- Half 2
- Half-Time/Full-Time
Half 1 and Half 2 are all about the outcome of the HALF. If you bet on Team A to win Half 2 but they lost Half 1 — don’t worry! Not a single second of your bet has been played yet.
Half-Time/Full-Time is about who will be leading at the half and at the end of the game. Just because the team you bet on is leading at the half does NOT mean the bet has hit yet. The team still has to be leading at the end of the game, too.
Try Scorer
As stated above think of a try as a touchdown if you are having trouble understanding what a try is. Try scorer bets are the same as touchdown scorer bets! This is wagering that a certain player is going to score a try.
Live Betting
Live betting is betting on the match in progress WHILE it’s happening. Live betting is where you get the greatest edge, but everything will also move incredibly fast. Be vigilant, be ready.
Future Betting
This is, shockingly, betting on future outcomes. Who will win the National Rugby League World Cup? If you think you know, you should go place a future on it.
All The Books
As is our mantra at OddsJam: “More books = more money!” Make sure you are signing up for ALL of the books you can.
You need every book available to you so you can shop around for the best lines. Now that you have your rugby betting game plan, get out there and make some wagers!