Rugby is fast becoming one of the most popular sports to take advantage of the live inplay betting
markets on offer by many bookmakers. The fast paced, aggressive nature of the game makes it an
ideal opportunity for rugby fans to use their knowledge and passion for the game to turn that into
bets of which will provide good value.
Whilst rugby betting isn’t as popular as say football or horse racing, the markets over the past
couple of years have definitely been on the increase. You’ll be hard pushed to find one of the more
established online bookmakers not offering live rugby betting with most offering plentiful markets
to satisfy pretty much every rugby bettor.
Rugby is broken down into two codes, Rugby League and Rugby Union. Whilst both have similar
principals, the games follow different rules meaning more scope to place a live rugby wager.
Rugby union is more popular amongst the northern hemisphere countries with competitions such
as the Rugby World Cup, Aviva Premiership, Heineken Cup and LV cup all prominent dates in any
rugby fans diary. The southern hemispheres countries boast their own competitions of the Super 15
and Tri Nations, respectively.
Rugby League, whilst still very popular in the northern hemisphere, has more of a following in the
southern hemisphere with competitions such as the NRL, NSW Cup and Queensland Cup all being
the highlights of the rugby league calendar.
With an array of high profile competitions around the world, betting on rugby has become a top
sport in which bettors can wager on high profile matches all year round. Even tournaments outside
the UK are starting to be covered in live betting formats on many online bookmakers’ interfaces.
Best Rugby Live Betting Sites
#
Betting Site Name
Bonus
Bonus Code
Visit Site
1.
bet365
100% up to €100
Not Needed
2.
WilliamHill
€50 Free Bet
Not Needed
More Information about Rugby
What is live rugby betting?
Live rugby betting is an opportunity to bet on rugby matches as they play out in real time. The score
and general swings of the game are reflected in the odds and price that bookmaker’s offer to their
punters.
The pull of rugby to the discerning fan is that of the fast paced and unpredictable nature of how
the games can pan out. In a split second a game can be changed on its head with just one try,
resulting in the live betting markets offering some extremely good value.
Often internet bookmakers have been known to dramatically overreact to changes in the game andthe score meaning betting live can be a great way to sniff out that value bet before the bookmaker
decides to realign their odds.
How does live rugby betting work?
At the start of a rugby match, the bookmaker will open a series of markets of which will be live (or
inplay). Once an initial line is set you then get the opportunity to look through the odds and prices to
see which offer best market value.
As games start and begin to develop, the odds will fluctuate greatly and markets will start to close
and open depending on how the game is panning out. It’s important that if you are betting live you
are able to watch the game you are betting on so you can get a feel of how the bookmaker may
react to a certain market. It’s often rule number one when betting live on any sport.
Where can I find live rugby betting markets?
As the game of rugby continues to boom, so do the internet betting markets. Most major online
bookies now offer a comprehensive live or inplay rugby betting markets for both League and Union.
Some may specialise in one code or the other, but finding the market you are looking for and in a
specific discipline shouldn’t be too tough in today’s betting climate.
Whilst the larger online bookmakers do lead the way in terms of live betting, often smaller sites
can lead to some better value bets. It’s common knowledge that bookmakers compete within their
industry to entice people to place wagers with them and one of their methods to get people in is
that of producing better odds for the punter. The smaller betting sties won’t have the pulling power
or the client base to compete with the larger sites, however they will look at specific markets where
they can look to undercut that of their larger rivals. Rugby betting has been known to be one of
these markets, so spending time searching for the best odds can reap some very profitable rewards.
Why does live betting work well with Rugby?
Well, for one there are two different codes to bet on (League and Union) meaning the amount of
markets are vast. Rugby is synonymous for the amount of rules it implores in its games which gives a
host more markets to be able to bet on.
The live betting rugby market is a fairly un-tapped resource in the betting world at the minute.
Compared to the likes of football and horse racing, it comes nowhere near in terms of revenue
generated for the bookmaker. It’s for this reason that odds on any market have a high chance of
being inaccurate and produce some really strong value for the punter.
The competition in rugby is also like very few other sports. Just looking at the Aviva Premiership
over the past 10 years there have been 5 different winners of the league. Now when you take into
account the league only has twelve teams, this is a pretty high percentage of teams that have at
some point won the league showing their to be little dominance in the sport. Compare that to the
English Premier League (football) which has had just 4 winners in its near 20 year existence (with just
two different clubs in the last 6 years), underlining the dominance of just a few clubs.
What live rugby betting markets are available?
Live rugby betting markets continue to grow as the popularity of betting on the sports also sees an
upward incline over the past few years. With more and more markets becoming available for the
majority of the high profile games, bettors around the globe are continuing to be treated to diverse
range of markets. Let’s take a look at a few:
--> Handicap Betting – A popular choice for many sport markets, the handicap betting market
is one that allows punters to back a team with a handicap of either plus or minus a certain
amount of point. These points are either deducted or added onto the final score to
determine the true handicap score.
--> Mat Betting – A pretty standard choice is the match betting option. This market will
fluctuate throughout the game giving you the opportunity to either back a winner or the
draw.
--> To qualify – Some markets are dependent on cup competition such as the to qualify market.
It takes the draw equation out of the game should the match need to head to extra time
or a replay to decide the winner. This market is often popular with people looking for an
arbitrage bet.
--> Alternative handicap – This market allows you to select the amount fot eh handicap you
want to set on each team. A range of lines are available all with contrasting odds. As the
game continues to progress, the live market for the alternative handicap will close and open
markets respectively.
--> First half match betting - This market allows you to bet on the outcome of the first half.
Teams who are notoriously good starts of games are often good picks for this market.
--> Double result – The double results market allows you to select the results at both halt time
and full time of who you think will be leading each. Again at the end of the first half markets
will start to close on this as the result is conformed for that half.
--> Winning Margins – The winning margins market allows you to choose by how many points
exactly, the winning margin will be. This market is one of the most popular to bet on in live
rugby betting as points and games can change quickly and with bigger margins compared
to that of say, football for example. An alternative winning margins market is also available
with the points being of a wider margin but with reduced odds.
Other notable markets include exact winning margins, team to score first, race to 10 points, first try,
position to score a try and team to score first try.
Rugby Live Betting Tips
The idea of live betting is to give the punter a chance to bet as the game takes place. What we must
do as that punter is take advantage of any sudden changes in the market that offer value. To assist
with this we have compiled a host of top tips for you to use when you next decide to bet on live
rugby.
--> Do your homework – Make sure that before you bet you research both teams that are
playing. Things such as form, head to head battles and points per game are all good places
to start. If you find out this information before the game and have it readily available as the
game progresses, then you will be in a better position to make profitable live bets.
--> Look through the markets before the game – Before anyone has even passed a ball in anger it’s imperative to see where you think the value could lie during the match. Using your
information that you collected in the first bullet point should be able lead you to find the
markets you want to target. As the game progresses, it may take you towards other markets,
but at least give yourself a chance before the game starts with familiarising yourself with the
live markets.
--> Stick with what you know – If you’re a rugby league fan, then stick that. If you like rugby
union, then stick to that. The more knowledge you have on the subject the better situated
you are going to be to place a bet. If you know little about the sport or more importantly,
little about the game in question, then stay clear and use your knowledge to your
advantage.
--> Set time away for the game – Live play markets can chop and change with every second
of the match. You simply must be in a position to be able to react quickly to the markets
fluctuation as the game takes place. Plan ahead and clear your schedule if you are looking to
bet on a certain game.
--> Don’t chase loses – This point could go down in betting tips as a whole, never mind that of
live rugby betting. Have a plan, set an amount of money you are willing to risk and stick to it!
--> Do your homework – I know we started with this point, but I can’t stress enough about how
important this is!
Which is more profitable, league or union?
Both codes of the game have their pros and cons when it comes to live rugby betting. However,
union certainly provides many more inplay markets than league. They also have larger scale
tournaments both internationally and domestically which is an attractive prospect for most punters.
League is very much up and coming when it comes sports betting. Aside from the UK and Australia,
rugby league is still a very much emerging sport around the world. It is on the increase however, and
as more people start to get into the game, then the bookies will almost certainly start to open up
more markets.For now, its union that has the edge over the two codes and will offer that bit more better value
between the two.
