Best Rugby Betting Sites

What to Consider When Choosing a Rugby Betting Site

Rugby's many variations and competitions make it one of the most exciting sports to bet on, and it's getting better all the time. Its global popularity has surged in recent years, and now that the USA is also taking to the sport, it's only going to keep gaining momentum. Here's Gambling.com's simple guide to selecting a site to bet on rugby online.

Rugby Types and Tournaments

There are two distinct rugby codes:

• Rugby Union | Union is played by a team of 15, where there's no maximum number of tackles. When the ball goes out of play, a line-out (where the teams line up and a member of each tries to catch the ball, which is thrown in by a member of the team that didn't knock the ball out of play) is used, and scrums and mauls happen regularly. This is considered the more strategic code.
• Rugby League | League is played by a team of 13, and the ball is smaller than the Union ball so it can't be kicked as far and bounces less predictably. After six tackles by a team, possession must be handed over to the other team. When the ball goes out of play, a tap and go (a mini kick of the ball) is used. There is little scrummaging in League.

Both codes have Sevens tournaments in which each team fields seven players and play lasts for two halves of seven minutes. The final is made up of two halves of ten minutes.

There are dozens of Union tournaments and competitions to bet on, including the Six Nations, Super 15, Lions Tour, Guinness Pro 12 and the World Cup. League enjoys less widespread popularity than Union, but it has plenty of competitions too, including the Super League, NRL and the Challenge Cup. There are also women's leagues and competitions including the Women's Rugby World Cup. These many different formats provide a huge array of betting options.

Types of Rugby Bet

As with most sports, there's a wide variety of bets punters can make. It's possible to bet on the outcome of a particular fixture, league, tournament or cup – whether that's simply predicting the winner or betting on how much they'll win by. The total number of points scored by both teams, the score at half time, first score of the game, first tryscorer, last tryscorer and many more bet options can be put on.

Thanks to in-play betting, you can make wagers as the game progresses and the various eventualities become more or less likely to happen, so you'll have more information when you bet.

What to Consider When Choosing a Rugby Betting Site

When choosing a site, think about the functions you'll need. If you plan to watch from the sofa, an in-browser site on the laptop will work well. But if you want to have a flutter from the stands, you'll need a site with a mobile app. Check whether your site of choice offers in-play options too.

Rugby's global reach is such that not all bookmakers will cover every league or tournament in every country, so it's important to find one that covers the games you wish to bet on. Most good sites will offer odds on international competitions as well as home ones, and sites like Coral and Paddy Power offer games in New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Bookmakers may offer bigger bonuses or larger free bets for the more popular tournaments, so shop around to find one that will offer you the biggest bang for your buck.