Rugby betting guide

Rugby is a sport discipline for particularly fit and strong people who do not mind few bruises or a broken bone now and then. Apart from muscularity you need considerable speed and agility to be a good rugby player. There are many benefits of playing rugby. It is excellent for fitness and strength, it builds confidence like no other sport and it also relieves the stress. Rugby players are considered to be one of the ‘toughest’ athletes on the globe, and because of that and their fierceness they are frequently compared to the 300 Spartans that bravely fought the Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae. Furthermore, just like ancient Spartans, rugby players do not wear much protective equipment and their style of playing is more about the raw, sometimes brutal, force with many tackles, than about tactics (in contrast to the players in american football).

Comparisons to the ancient Greeks are understandable as it was that civilization that first introduced ball games similar to rugby or football. The rugby as we know it today originated in England in 19th century. Students of the Rugby School were the first to play the sport that was later on named after their school. At first, rugby and football were considered two variations of the same sport and were overseen by a single organisation. With the creation of The Football Association (FA) in 1863 and the Rugby Football Union in 1871, rugby and football officially seperated. Rugby is the national sport in many countries including the Tri-Nations: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and the Oceania states such as Fiji or Papua New Guinea. It also enjoys considerable popularity in the so-called Six-Nations that include: England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy.

One has to distinguish between two main variants of rugby: the Rugby Union, which is one of the most popular team sports in the world, and the less common, Rugby League, especially popular in some parts of England and Australia as well as in Oceania states such as New Zealand or Papua New Guinea where it is a national sport.

Rugby Union – version with 15 players, there are more set pieces, a lot of emphasis is put on the scrums and line-outs (when the ball goes out of play). Traditionally, Rugby union was a middle class gentleman game. Below, we present the list of the most important Rugby Union competitions:

• Rugby World Cup (Rugby Union) is a competition organised by the World Rugby. The trophy for winners is the Webb Ellis Cup. Time: every 4 years.
• Six Nations Championship (Rugby Union). Tournament for 6 best European rugby sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. Time: each year.
• The Rugby Championship (Rugby Union) is the annual competition for southern hemisphere nations such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina that was previously known as the Tri Nations Championship (before the addition of Argentina).
• European Rugby Champions Cup (Rugby Union). Organised by the European Professional Club Rugby is a top-tier competition for clubs that are based in countries that play in the Six Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales). The contestants include 24 clubs that during the last season finished at the top of their domestic leagues. It is played annually from october to may.
• European Challenge Cup (Rugby Union). The second competition organised by the European Professional Club Rugby. The participants include 24 teams from ‘Six Nations’ that did not qualified for the European Rugby Champions Cup, with the addition of teams from Romania, and sometimes Spain and Portugal. It is played every year.
• Rugby Union domestic leagues

Rugby League – version with 13 players, there is more running in this variation of rugby, there is also a rule which says that a team has 6 tackles to score a try before it goes to the opposition. Traditionally, Rugby League was the working man's game. Below, we present the list of the most important Rugby League competitions:

• Rugby League World Cup (Rugby League). Organised by Rugby League International Federation. Time: Every 4 years.
• Rugby League domestic leagues

• Future betting – predict the winner before the start of the tournament. It is impossible to bet after the competition already started.
• Total points betting – Over / Under – predict how many points teams will score in a particular game.
• Season points – predict how many points a given team will score in their entire season
• Match winner – predict the winner of the match.
• Supremacy – predict the margin of points that one team will beat the other with.
• First try scorer – predict which player will be the first to score a try. Usually very high odds.
• Last try scorer – predict which player will be the last to score a try. Usually very high odds.