Rugby is one of the biggest sports in the UK and is essentially second only to football as the most popular sport on the British Isles. It seems that its popularity is growing even more, with last season’s Premiership final attracting its biggest TV audience in its 25-year history. International rugby continues to dominate the attention of sports fans however, and in 2020 the six nations match between England and Wales was the most watched sports game on UK television.

This also means that betting on rugby has become more popular in recent years. However, as more people are picking up an interest for the game, they may need to learn along the way just how to place a smart bet. If you are one of these people, look no further. Here are some tips on placing a smart bet on rugby.

Pick your sportsbook

The most important place to start is which sportsbook you are going to bet with. There is nothing worse than settling on a sportsbook to bet with only to find out there are better offers or odds elsewhere, so give yourself time to shop around. Online betting makes it quicker and easier than ever to wager on sport and 888 Sport have one of the best betting services around. Great welcome offers, bonuses and promotions along with some of the best odds and most expansive markets in sports betting mean you will never feel stiffed whilst wagering on your favourite games.

Explore different types of bets

There is a plethora of different bets that you can make on rugby matches, all with various pros and cons. We will go through some of the most popular markets to help you better understand what you are betting on.

Match Bets

This is the most straightforward bet you can make on any team sport, which is simply who will win the match. Whilst they are very easy to make, the odds are often short for favourites to win with draws extremely rare in the sport. 

Handicap Bets

Handicap bets may seem tough to understand but they are also relatively straightforward. A favourite will be handed a virtual handicap before the game starts e.g -10. They then have to win the match by at least a point more than the handicap to overcome this. For example, let’s say you backed England on a -10 handicap when playing Japan. They would need to win the match by at least 11 clear points for your bet to win. These are often used to back favourites as the odds are longer than a straight match bet.

Winning margin

These are similar to handicap bets in that you are betting on a team to win by a certain number of points. The difference between the two is that winning margins have a cap on the number of points the team must win by. For example, instead of England winning by 11 clear points you may bet on a 6-10 margin meaning they must win between those two numbers for the bet to win. It is a riskier bet but with more reward.

Scorers

Another straightforward bet to understand; you are wagering on a player to score a try in the match. There are variations of this bet though which increase the odds. For example, you can bet on which player will score the first try of the match, players to score multiple tries or you can even bet on how the first point will be scored (try, penalty try, drop goal, or penalty). They are all riskier than just betting on an anytime try scorer but again, the odds are longer.

Betting Tactics

One of the best tactics to follow, especially if you are new to rugby betting, is to follow tipsters and experts who will do the research for you. With social media there are thousands of people who dedicate their time to this, and it is one of the most useful tools available for betting on any sport. You may also decide to opt for smaller wins over a longer period of time rather than putting together long odds accumulators in the hope of landing big. 

There is no guaranteed profit in any sport so smaller wins are to be celebrated and if you are patient, you can accumulate these to see big profit month-to-month. Finally, always bet with your mind not your heart. That is not to say you cannot have fun with your betting, but just betting on your favourite team can easily backfire. Instead do your own research or use the tipsters to be informed on your wagers.

Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding on how to place smart bets on rugby. The most important thing is that you enjoy betting and with these tips you can be well on your way to doing exactly that.