Rugby union is growing in popularity and so is betting on the sport. This could be likely due to stand out competitions such as the Six Nations, The Rugby Championship, and the World Cup.
Are you interested in betting on rugby union but you’re not sure what to look out for? Let’s dive in.
What makes a team good?
It’s good to have an idea. If you’re not sure, I’m here to help. Lots of factors can affect the quality of a team, some examples are:
- Standard of their attack – can the team outscore other teams
- Standard of their defence – can the team concede less than other teams
- A good discipline
- Star players – the better your players, the better you’ll perform, right? This isn’t always the case and I’ll talk about why in a little bit#
Attack
The best teams to watch are always the teams with a free-flowing attack that are willing to take risks. This is also a pretty good strategy when it comes to winning games as it usually leads to scoring more tries. Tries win games.
When can this form of attack be a bad thing? Well, this can be an issue as it usually means that you focus a lot less on defence and means you’ll concede a lot of tries. A few mistakes in attack or not enough chances scored means your defence will cost you the game.
Some examples of teams that prioritise attack include:
- The Barbarians
- France
- Fiji
- Harlequins
Defence
Although attacking teams are better to watch, teams that focus on defence tend to get the win more often. Rarely leaving space for the other team to run through and a focus on not giving away penalties is the aim when it comes to focusing on defence.
Penalties can be an absolute killer in rugby union as a penalty is worth 3 points (when kicked) which is only two points fewer than scoring a try. Top kickers are able to kick from anywhere within the opposition’s half. So, it’s not good to give away penalties and this is why discipline is important.
Examples of teams that play with a defensive style are:
- England
- South Africa
- Saracens
Star players
You’d be right to think that the better players you have the more likely a team is to win. Especially in international competitions where the best play the best.
Yet, there are cases where this can be a detriment to the form of the team. Let’s explore this idea. In football, the regular season stops whenever there are any international fixtures/friendlies. This is not the case in rugby union.
Using the Six Nations and the impact it has on the Gallagher’s Premier League as an example. This season, Saracens have had 7 players called up to international squads playing in the Six Nations. This means that they are without these players throughout the whole competition.
Most clubs lose players during international competitions. Yet, it is more impactful for some clubs than others that only lose one player. This means that it is very important that you’re aware of which teams are missing players when placing a bet. It might be a good idea to back an underdog in these situations.
Ready to start betting?
The most popular market that we’ve seen people taking a punt on are handicaps. This is because it evens out the playing field and adds a bit more excitement when you’re watching the game. Let’s take a look at some popular markets and others that might interest you.
Handicaps
Handicaps allow you to bet on the favourite and add much more excitement. The handicaps range but you’ll often see the favourite in the game have a handicap anywhere between -15 to -30 points.
This means that if a team has a handicap of -20, they’ll have to beat the opposing team by at least 21 points. You can also think of it as the team you’re backing starts on -20 points.
The opposite is true for the underdog. You’ll see a positive handicap, e.g. +20. If you back this line it means that you add 20 points to the score of your team and if they now win the game, your bet also wins.
Total points
Rugby union is a high scoring sport so you might fancy your chances betting on total points. This just means that you add the number of points scored by both teams together.
As an example, you’ll see lines for over or under 50 points. If you back over and the game finished 30-25, your bet wins as there was a total of 55 points scored.
First / next try scorer
This can be a fun one if you’re watching the game live with your mates and want to add a bit more enjoyment to the game.
Our sportsbook gives you the chance to bet in-play on who you think the next try scorer will be. There are 30 players on the pitch so it’s pretty tricky to get it right but there’s no better feeling than hitting the nail on the head.
Now you know a bit more about what to look out for when thinking about placing a bet on rugby union, why not wander over to our sportsbook.
Plus, you can also take advantage of our Match Deposit Bonus. Score a couple of tries on us.