Rugby Union Betting
Rugby Union is a particularly popular betting market in the UK and Ireland and it maintains firm international interest too, with bookies offering a variety of betting choices suited to all types of punter.
Rugby union has surged in popularity over the last few decades when it comes to overall rugby betting online. Both international and domestic leagues have since secured big TV deals, with networks willing to pay hundreds of millions of pounds for the privilege of being able to broadcast the continually growing sport. This has been accompanied by the expansion of rugby betting markets to include extensive coverage of rugby union events, with increasingly sophisticated options being made available.
The Aviva Premiership maintains its status as the most popular English league and is followed by millions of rugby union fans across the world, and, as such, generates a large portion of rugby union betting figures. International rugby union is also followed religiously, and the annual Six Nations championship helps to consolidate the rugby union betting market every February. There are hundreds of markets available for union, including outright betting, statistics betting, in-play betting and match betting!
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Understanding Rugby Union
The basics of the game are simple: Two teams of 15 attempt to score points against each other through tries, conversions, and drop goals, which are worth 5, 2, and 3 points respectively. Games can be hard-fought contests for the middle of the field with each team struggling to reach more than 10 points, or more fast-paced spectacles in which the cumulative total of the teams' scores reaches the high 60s and 70s.
Aviva Premiership Betting
The Aviva Premiership, the popular English domestic league, sees 12 teams battling it out each season. Amongst the best are the Leicester Tigers, Northampton Saints, and Saracens. These are generally considered to be the "dominant" English teams, often making it to the end of season playoffs. Rugby bookmakers offer odds on many different bets for the Aviva Premiership. Despite the sport's English origins, the French Top 14 is widely considered to be the best league for domestic rugby, with Perpignan, Clermont and Toulouse usually performing well, somewhat limiting the availability of long odds.
Recent Aviva Premiership Winners
| Year | Winning Team | Score | Losing Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-17 | Exeter Chiefs | 23-20 | Wasps |
| 2015-16 | Saracens | 28-20 | Exeter Chiefs |
| 2014-15 | Saracens | 28-16 | Bath |
| 2013-14 | Northampton Saints | 24-20 | Saracens |
Wagering International Rugby
International rugby is an entirely different beast. Split between the hemispheres, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy take part in the annual Six Nations tournament, whilst Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina compete for the recently renamed Rugby Championship. There's also the World Cup which is held every four years, as well as various multi-nation tours - the English and Irish Lions Tour is one of the most popular.
Tips For Betting Rugby Union
All of these diverse competitions create plenty of opportunities for Rugby Union betting - much like football, there's now a huge range of betting markets that you can sample in every game. Handicap betting has surged in popularity, especially in match ups between a world champion and an outsider. Games such as England v Tonga are a prime example, with value betters much better served by giving the weaker team a theoretical head start.
Winning Margin is another popular market, as this gives you the opportunity to back a likely winner without having to settle for short odds. This means that if you think a team will triumph and win by above a certain score you can place a bet on this instead of the correct score or outright winner. Rugby union is yet another part of world's proud sporting heritage, delivering more action and victories than a number of other sports combined!
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