There are two codes of Rugby that are played around the world. These are Rugby League and Rugby Union. Both codes are very popular in New Zealand, with the All Blacks one of the most famous international teams in the world.
In this guide we will take a closer look at the Rugby betting markets that are available in New Zealand, for both League and Union, highlight the competitions that are covered, showcase some of the best Rugby betting odds, and offer some Rugby betting tips.
One of the most popular Rugby League competitions amongst Kiwi fans is the NRL (National Rugby League), which is the foremost tournament played across New Zealand and Australia. It was founded in 1998, with the competition now featuring seventeen teams. It runs from March and culminates in the NRL Grand Final in October, there will be plenty of Rugby betting markets to get involved with across the season.
The State of Origin tournament is another well-known Rugby League spectacle that is usually played across June and July each year. The best of three series sees two representative teams, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons, go head-to-head in what is described as ‘Australian sport’s greatest rivalry’. Founded in 1982, the Queensland Maroons currently have the bragging rights as having won most titles (23).
The Rugby League World Cup is the biggest international competition in this code. The tournament was first played in 1954 and now features up to 16 different nations. It takes place every four years in a different host country between October and November. Only three teams have won the competition, with Australia lifting the Paul Barriere Trophy on eleven occasions, compared to three times by Great Britain and once by New Zealand.
Although played on the other side of the world, the Super League is another popular competition that is followed by fans in NZ where you can get generous betting odds. Twelve teams compete, ten of them coming from England and two from France. Super League was founded in 1996 and is played from February to September, with the season closing on the Grand Final which is held at Old Trafford each year.
There are also two popular cup competitions that will offer many Rugby betting markets. The NSW Cup in Australia was founded in 1908 and is currently contested by 12 reserve squads of NRL teams from New South Wales.
The QLD Cup is the highest-level regional RL competition in Queensland. It enjoyed its inaugural season in 1996 and is now played by 14 teams, twelve based in Queensland, one based in NSW and one from Papua New Guinea.
The Six Nations Rugby Union Championship is one of the most fiercely contested international competitions in the world. Competed between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy, it is also one of the most open tournaments for Rugby betting due to the competitiveness of the teams. First played in 1883, the competition welcomed France in 1910 and Italy in 2000. Held every year around March, it is a round robin tournament with each team playing each other once with games mixed between home and away.
The Rugby Union World Cup is the trophy every national team wants to win. Held every four years in a different host country, twenty teams now qualify to compete for the famous Webb Ellis Cup. It was first played in 1987 and has grown in popularity each time it has been played. This is the competition where New Zealand’s All Blacks are always feared, having won it on three occasions which is level with South Africa.
At club level, the Super Rugby Pacific is a popular competition that sees twelve teams compete from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the Pacific Islands. Founded in 1996, the competition usually runs between February and June, and has been dominated by New Zealand teams who have won eighteen times in 26 years.
The English Premiership Rugby league will offer many betting markets and usually runs from September to May. It was founded in 1987 and has thirteen teams competing in it. Leicester Tigers are the most successful team, having won eleven titles.
Betting on Rugby at LeoVegas is simple to do. First, you must navigate your way to the online sports betting page and select ‘Browse Sports’. Click on more and scroll down to find markets for both Rugby League and Rugby Union. This will open a list of different competitions from around the world that you can bet on, both at club and international level.
Once you have found the competition you want to bet on, select it and you will be taken to a page with a range of Rugby betting markets that will include both outright markets and event markets.
The Rugby Betting section of LeoVegas New Zealand offers many markets for games from the northern and southern hemisphere.
You should have a look at all the different competitions that the site covers to get familiar with them so you can make your betting experience more enjoyable. Do the research and pick a competition or market that you are interested in. You can then narrow your search down to certain competitions or fixtures that you want to bet on.
You will notice many of the competition betting pages will have outright markets and separate event markets. Outright markets will cover bets on who might win a specific competition, whilst the event markets focus more on individual games and the relevant markets that feature for that game.
The Rugby betting odds will be more generous on the outright markets compared to the vent markets as the possibilities are much greater. For example, if six teams are in a competition and you want to place a bet on who might win, there are six options open to you, so the odds are greater. However, if you just wanted to bet on a result of a game, there are only three possibilities (Team A to win, Team B to win, or the Draw), so the odds will be smaller.
For bigger odds on the events side, perhaps bet on something to happen within a game, such as the first try scorer, as the possibilities are much wider.
The main Rugby betting markets you will see initially for both League and Union are for the match winner. This simply offers odds on which team might win the game. However, odds for the match ending in a draw will also feature. A draw in Rugby is a far less likely outcome compared to a game such as football, so expect to see big Rugby betting odds for this.
For better odds, you might want to look at who might be the first try scorer or who might score a try in a game. You can also bet on an individual player to score over so many points. This is because the players who kick for penalties and conversions can rack up points quickly and if they can score a try too, even better.
Margin betting brings an interesting set of markets. With these can get gamble on a team to win, but for them to win by a certain margin, i.e. +10 points.
Live or ‘In-play’ Rugby betting lets you place bets on games while they are taking place, so you can get a better idea of how a game might pan out, which gives you the opportunity to find some great odds.
There are also ‘Futures’ markets will allow you to bet on events and competitions that are due to take place months or even years in advance. These can also offer some better Rugby odds as so much can happen between the time you place the bet and when the event actually takes place.
The LeoVegas New Zealand betting site is very easy to navigate around and features hundreds of markets to bet on. The site and the mobile app covers every sport you can think of from around the world.
You can bet from the comfort of your own home or on the go by downloading the betting app to your mobile device.
You can even benefit from some of the generous bonuses and promotions on offer for existing customers, but also for new customers using the Sports Betting Welcome Offer
Also known as spread betting, handicaps create an advantage for one of the teams that are included in the bet. For example, someone might select a handicap for the favoured team, starting the game on negative points to provide the underdog with an advantage of winning.
Having a handicap on this type of bet would likely improve the payout odds for the favoured team winning as they are starting at a disadvantage and would require extra points to win the game.
Rugby League and Rugby Union are very similar games at face value but when you get into the rules of the games, there are some notable differences.
Number of players - Rugby Union is played with 15 players on the field, whereas Rugby League uses 13 players. Substitutes are also used slightly different, with 7 substitutes available in Union and 10 allowed in the game of Rugby League.
Points - Scoring a try in Rugby Union will net the team five points and a successful follow-up kick would provide two points. When turning to Rugby League, a try will only provide four points and the converting kick can provide an extra two points.
Tackling - Once tackled in Rugby League, the player is required to roll the ball back to a teammate that is positioned behind them. This is only allowed to occur six times per possession. Any tackles after that and the team must kick the ball to their opposition.
Rugby Union finds a lot more players competing for the ball on the ground as players are required to release the ball once they are tackled. Any player can compete for the ball after it has been released, rather than the player rolling it back to their own teammate.
NRL betting odds are displayed as decimals, with the lower number indicating the favourite and the higher reflecting the least favourite.
Some of the most common NRL betting markets include; line bets, margin bets, tryscorers and outright results.
There is no strategy that can guarantee you an outcome with Rugby betting but you can do research to find the best odds on the betting market.
Knowing which teams are in the best form can help you to find the best odds when looking at outright bets for the result of a game.
When it comes to in-play live betting, having an understanding of the players that are in-form, key players who have picked up injuries and common statistics can also help you to find the best odds when browsing the latest markets.
If you’re unaware of betting lines, this term refers to the handicap that can be set in sports betting to provide a margin between two teams.
For example, Team A might start the game on minus 12 points, creating the margin between Team B.
Betting lines are most popular with outright bets that are based on the result between two teams, especially games where a clear favourite and underdog exists.
For an “over” bet, you are betting on the scenario where two teams will combine to score more points than the total that is stated on the bet. For example, Team A and Team B to score more than 30 points.
An “under” bet would be the opposite to an “over”, with the player betting that both teams will combine to score lower than the listed amount of points.
Choosing between Rugby League and Union World Cup betting is based on personal preference. Rugby Union is the most popular sport of the two but it is better for players to bet on the sport that they are the most familiar with, having an understanding of the rules, players and teams to make more informed decisions.
Betting odds reflect the probability of a certain outcome occurring within a game. The odds found on betting markets can change as certain events take place. This can include injuries to key players or the latest team news.
In-play betting can also influence rugby betting odds as it becomes more clear how the game is likely to play out.
There are different ways that betting odds can be displayed, but if you’re new to betting, fractional odds will provide the best visual display of probability and allowing you to calculate the potential returns.
International Rugby’s All Blacks team is one of the most successful teams in history, so it’s no secret that Rugby is a popular sport in New Zealand.
In fact, this trend stems from the early 1900’s when the sport, Rugby League, was first introduced to the country. Since then, Rugby has gone on to become the most spectated sport within the country, yielding some of the world’s best professionals.
Rugby League is generally perceived as the most popular version of the sport due to the quicker tempo and simplicity of the game.
However, in New Zealand, Rugby Union has become the most interesting for fans with it being the national sport and accumulating the largest number of spectators.