Rugby has been one of the most popular and most-watched contact team sports since its introduction in 1823. Previously, rugby is played in public schools before spreading throughout Europe, Asia, and Australasia. And today, the sport is played worldwide as a professional sport.

Moreover, rugby continues to gain momentum every year, with more punters becoming more fascinated with the game. But even with its prevalence in the professional sports industry, betting on rugby is still a new concept among Singapore online betting enthusiasts.

Here is everything you need to know about rugby betting:

 

Rugby League and Rugby Union Schism

As rugby football gained momentum after being played at several schools and clubs in the UK, it gained a governing body in 1871—Rugby Football Union (RFU). In the same year, members of leading rugby schools and clubs approved the first official rules of the sport, with strict regulations against professionalism within the game.

However, by 1892, clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire began paying players who missed work to play in matches. This led to a dispute between the clubs and the RFU, which later resulted in the northern clubs splitting from the governing body in 1895.

After breaking away from the RFU, the northern clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union, with their style of play called Rugby League. Meanwhile, the Rugby Football Union continued to govern the sport and called it Rugby Union.

Both codes developed their games separately with various changes in their gameplay, rules, and team compositions. And by 1995, the RFU embraced professionalism in their game.

 

Rugby Basics

Both Rugby League and Rugby Union share the same objective: for a team to win the game by carrying the ball across the opponent’s in-goal line or kicking it through the goalposts. Points in both codes can be scored through tries, conversions, penalty goals, and drop goals.

Try – This is worth 5 points and is achieved when a team grounds the ball down on or beyond the opponent’s in-goal area.

Conversion – A conversion is worth 2 points and is achieved when the scoring team kicks the ball between the goalpost after a try.

Penalty – A penalty kick may be awarded to a team when their opponent breaks the laws. The team can score 3 points if they are able to kick the ball between the goalpost from where the penalty was awarded.

Drop Goal – This is worth 3 points and is achieved when a player bounces the ball on the ground and kicks it over the opposition’s goalpost in an open play.

But the two codes differ in team composition. The Rugby Union features 15 players per team, made up of eight (8) forwards and seven (7) backs. Meanwhile, the Rugby League features 13 players per team, consisting of six (6) forwards and seven (7) backs. Apart from this, they also have distinct differences in pitch, gameplay, rules, and demographics.

 

Major Rugby Events

There is an abundance of rugby events that you can anticipate for your betting journey. Since there are two rugby codes, you can watch out for events commencing for Rugby Union and Rugby League.

Here are some of the rugby competitions for Rugby Union and Rugby League, respectively:

Rugby Union

Rugby World Cup

World Rugby

Gallagher Premiership

Six Nations Championship

Premiership Rugby Cup

EPCR Challenge Cup

Heineken Champions Cup

 

Rugby League

Rugby League World Cup

Rugby League World Cup 9s

Oceania Cup

European Championship

Four Nations

Wheelchair Rugby League Celtic Cup

Australian NRL (National Rugby League)

State of Origin

English Super League (ESL)

 

Rugby Bet Types

As there are a multitude events for Rugby League and Rugby Union, many bookmakers are able to offer various betting markets – from traditional betting markets like outright betting, handicap betting, and over/under betting to more specialised Singapore sport bet options.

Rugby-specific betting markets are split into two categories: Player Betting Markets and Team Betting Markets.

Player Betting

Player betting options allow you to place wagers on individual players and their performances throughout the match. Placing these types of bets requires careful analysis of the players’ attacking strategies, form, and previous performances.

The First Try Scorer Bet

This player betting market involves guessing which player will be the first to score a try in the match. In first try scorer betting, you may also encounter different variations, depending on the bookmaker or sports betting platform you use. They may allow you to guess the players to score the first try from each team, the position of the first try scorer, or the player to score the first try in each halftime of the match.

Will A Player Score a Try During the Game

Another player bet option you may encounter is predicting if a specific player will be able to score a try at any time during a game. The main difference with the first try scorer betting option is that this bet applies to any point in the match and allows you to back a player known for their attacking prowess and consistently finds the try line.

Man of The Match

Man of the Match is another popular betting option in rugby. Here, you will need to wager on the player you think will get the Man of the Match award. It is generally awarded to the player who shows the greatest performance and influence in the game; it is not just about a player who incurs the most points scored.

Top Scoring Player

Betting on the top-scoring player involves predicting which player on either team will finish the game with the most points. In general, you will have to bet on the player you think will accumulate most points through tries, conversions, drop goals, and penalty goals.

 

Team Betting

Team betting markets are the direct opposite of player bets—these essentially involve wagering on the entire team. But, similar to placing player bets, wagering on team betting options requires careful analysis of strategies, form, previous performances of a team, and other factors that may influence the outcome of a match.

The First Team to Score a Try

This team betting market is as popular as and similar to the player betting option, first try scorer. With the first team that will score a try bet, you need to predict which team will score the first try in a game.

Winning Margin

Winning margin betting involves wagering on the point difference between the winning and losing team at the end of the game. Although this betting market may seem similar to handicap match result betting, winning margin betting differs from the latter in terms of odds—the odds given to the former is often higher.

A Team to Score a Try in the Match

This betting market is similar to A Player to Score a Try at Any Time of The Event betting, only that you will need to guess whether a specific team will score a try at any time during a match.

A Team to Score the Last Try in the Match

In contrast with the abovementioned betting market, the Team that Will Score the Last Try betting option involves wagering on the team you believe will score the last try in the game.

 

Where to Bet on Rugby?

88ProBet is a reputable online sports betting and live casino site for bettors wanting to bet on different rugby events, other sporting tournaments, and casino games.

We offer a multitude of online casino and online sportsbook directory in Singapore and Malaysia as we strive to establish a long-lasting and positive relationship with our clients and the online gambling community. To get started with your rugby betting activities, register for an account here.