Chapter 3: Before you begin 

Now that the basic rules and events have been outlined, it’s important to understand the variety of betting markets available, as well as certain actions that can be taken to help you best prepare to bet on rugby union.

 

 
  • What are the most popular rugby union betting markets?
  • Tips for betting on rugby union
  • How to manage your budget when betting

 

 

What are the most popular rugby union betting markets?

There is a wide variety of markets available for punters to choose from when betting on rugby union. Here are some of the most popular markets to get you started:

Match betting 

Rugby union is similar to many other sports, with match betting being the most popular betting market. However, unlike other team sports, rugby union games are typically very high scoring, making the chances for a draw significantly lower.

Handicap betting 

Punters can assign a hypothetical advantage or disadvantage to a specific team, whereby they either gain or lose points. For example, if England are playing Australia, bettors can back England to win with a handicap of -10 points. This means they’ll need to win the game by 10 clear points for the bet to come in.

 

Over/Under betting

Pick a category of actions and a number, then decide if the number will be exceeded or not. For example, betting that the match will finish with over 65 points. If the match ends with over 65 points, then the bet wins. 

Tournament/season bets

Punters can pick who they think will win a rugby union tournament or league. This can be done anytime during a season. Because of this, it may be helpful to watch a few games first to get an idea of which teams are looking the best. 

Individual player bets

Rather than backing an entire rugby union team to win, punters can bet on the actions of certain players on the team. First try-scorer is one of the more popular markets, along with highest points scorer, and yellow/red cards. 

How do I set a betting budget?

It is best practice to set aside a specific affordable bankroll to be your betting budget.  Identify your regular financial commitments and decide how much of your disposable income you’re willing to designate to your betting budget. One of the main benefits of having a designated betting budget is that it helps you set a staking plan.

Read more about betting budgets

How do I set a staking plan?

Set a staking plan by deciding how much you’re willing to stake on each wager. This figure will be different for each person, however it can be good practice to stick between 2-5% of your betting budget. 

Utilising a staking plan will help you enjoy your betting budget for longer, This may look different if you’re betting on a rugby union tournament, rather than a one off match.

Read more about setting a staking plan

How to research my bets?

There are many small factors that can influence the outcome of a rugby union match. There is regularly released data and information about these factors available at your fingertips to help you better inform your decisions.

Read more about researching bets

Read chapter 4

Rugby union has a variety of factors that can influence the outcome of a game, and your bets. Its important to have a good understanding of these before having a bet on rugby union.