Best Rugby Betting Sites

How to Find the Best Rugby Betting Site

Rugby is one of the world’s toughest contact sports, but it’s not all about brute strength and ruthless aggression. The free-flowing, high-scoring nature of rugby makes it great for betting, and with so many markets to choose from, punters are spoiled for choice. So, if you don’t know your ruck from your maul, or your scrum from your line-out, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Let us introduce you to the basics of rugby betting and the best bookies to use for your rugby bets.

Rugby Around the World

Rugby is a hugely popular game in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres — meaning there’s plenty of action for bettors all year round. Domestic leagues include England’s Gallagher Premiership and the National Rugby Championship in Australia. On top of that, there are numerous club tournaments like the Heineken Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, plus internationals including the Six Nations and Super Rugby from down under. 

When choosing between the best rugby betting sites, you’ll want to assess the depth of global coverage to ensure that it caters to your interests. As you’ll discover, some sites go the extra mile, while others prefer to keep things more local and in tune with their customer base. Here’s a quick list of the main club and international leagues and tournaments you’ll find at the best betting sites.

Six Nations

Held annually in February and March, the Six Nations is a hotly anticipated men’s rugby union tournament between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy. In 2022, France were the victors of the tournament, beating England 25–13 at the Stade de France.

Women’s Six Nations

Similarly to the men’s Six Nations, the women’s teams compete annually, with the tournament starting a couple of weeks after the men conclude in March. In a reverse of the men’s 2022 result, England’s Red Roses defeated France 24–12 in Bayonne to lift the 2022 trophy. 

World Cup and Women’s World Cup

Held every four years, the rugby union World Cup and the Women’s World Cup is held in a different venue for each occasion. The 2023 World Cup is to be held in France with the champions South Africa vying to retain the title they won against England in 2019. The England women also reached the last final, losing to New Zealand in November 2022.

Gallagher Premiership

The Gallagher Premiership is a top-flight league of rugby union teams that runs from September to June. The conclusion of the season sees the top four teams competing for the title — first and third place and second and fourth compete in the semifinals, before the final takes place at Twickenham. In the 2021–22 season, Leicester Tigers beat Saracens 15–12 thanks to a last-minute drop goal by Freddie Burns. 

United Rugby Championships

This annual rugby union tournament includes a range of teams from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy, and South Africa. It’s held from September with round 18 concluding the competition in April. The final in 2022 saw two South African teams reach the final, with the Stormers beating Bulls 18–13 for the title. 

European Rugby Champions Cup

Known as the Heineken Champions Cup, this tournament sees the best of European rugby union teams competing for eight weeks from December. The 2022 final was between Leinster and Stade Rochelais with Rochelais coming out the victors 24–21.

National Provincial Championship

Known commonly as NPC, this tournament is held in New Zealand with 14 teams playing in a round robin format. Canterbury holds the most titles with nine, with 2022 seeing the team lose 26–18 to Wellington in the final. 

Currie Cup

The Currie Cup is a rugby union competition held in South Africa between June and October each year. It includes teams representing each province — the competition has historically been dominated by the western provinces, but the distribution has been more evenly spread in recent years. The cup itself is named after Sir Donald Currie, the owner of a shipping company in the UK. Currie donated a golden cup for a British rugby tour to South Africa in the 1890s and thus the name was born.

Allianz Premier 15s

This newer league debuted in 2017 and is made up of the premier women’s rugby union teams in England. Saracens are the holders of the 2021–22 title, with the tournament also contested by teams such as Harlequins Womens, Bristol Bears, and Sale Sharks.

Betting Markets

Punters are served up a glut of markets to feast on at the top betting sites. When armed with a good knowledge of the game, this is where the smart bettors can sniff out the best value bets on offer. Let’s take a closer look at some of the main markets open for betting.

Match Winner

It’s the classic bet and by far the most popular betting market due to its straightforward nature. Do you think Team A or Team B will win? Or will the match be a draw? With the high scoring nature of the sport and the multiple methods to tally up points, draws aren’t common, so you can expect to find a good price if you fancy the match to end as a tie.

Winning Margin

This market will offer a series of betting options, each with different odds for you to mull over. You’ll usually be able to back either team to win by 1 – 7 points, 8 – 13 points or by over 14 points. You’re essentially betting on two outcomes here; the match result and the margin of victory, so of course, landing a winner is much harder, but you’ll find some great value for your betslip.

Half Time/Full Time

If the odds on the match result aren’t great, you can bank on this market to boost your odds. To land a winner, you’ll have to correctly predict the half time result, as well as the full time result, which is easier said than done. Naturally, there are several combinations you can choose from. It’s a good betting market if you’re aware of a team that has a habit of coming out firing but fading later in the game, for example.

Handicap

If one side is the clear favourite, bookies use handicap markets to level the playing field for punters, making the match a more attractive option for betting. The stronger team will have a negative handicap, and the opposite side a positive handicap. For instance, if the line for Team A is -4.5, it means that they must win by 5 points or more for you to win the bet. However, if the underdog line is +4.5, you’ll win as long as they don’t lose by five or more points.

Over/Under Total Points

If you’ve ever bet on sports online, you’ve probably heard of some sort of over/under market. You place a bet on whether you think the total number of the points in a game will be more or less than the number set by the bookmaker.

Outright Betting

Whilst most betting action takes place in the present, the top rugby betting sites also provide a stellar array of futures markets, commonly known as ‘outrights’. These will be on the winner of a certain domestic league or cup, the next Six Nations or even the 2019 World Cup. Outright betting is a double-edged sword. On the positive side, you can get better odds on most teams the early you bet on something. However, the flip side is that it’s harder to make a prediction on a market that is settled months in the future. Variables such as Injuries to key players and changes to coaching staff are impossible to foresee and almost always have a huge impact on the outcome of a season.

First Team to Score

As it sounds, this bet is placed on the team you think will score first. It’s a great differentiation from betting on who will win as it isn’t necessarily driven by the bookies’ favourite. One of our top tips — wait until the starters have been announced, as this can help you predict whether the teams are going for an attacking or defensive strategy.

Accumulators (Accas)

Accumulators are one of the most exciting and popular forms of modern-day betting, and it’s easy to see why. They allow you to combine several different bets into one wager. As such, all the odds in your selection are multiplied together, meaning that your potential winnings could be huge. But as with all bets with the potential for greater reward, there’s also greater risk — in order to win, all of your selections must win. 

The very best bookies, however, offer something called Acca Insurance, which will give you back your stake as a free bet should just one of your selections let you down.

In-Play Betting Options 

One of the great things about online betting nowadays is that you can place bets while an event is happening. These markets are also referred to as live betting and the very best bookies will give you access to a whole range of different markets. Whether you forgot to place a bet before the game or just didn’t fancy the odds to begin with, in-play betting means that the fun can happen anytime. Odds are likely to change as the game progresses, giving you a chance to gauge the momentum of the game and make a more informed decision. 

In-play betting also gives you the chance to get better value from a bet. Say you wanted to back South Africa to beat Japan, but the Springboks go behind early on. They will still be odds on favourites to win, but you will get a better price for your bet than you would’ve done before the match.

Watch the Rugby Live

The very best betting sites will allow you to live stream events on their website, which complements their variety of in-play options. Most sportsbooks will require your account o be funded or for you to have placed a bet within the last 24 hours, but it means you’ll be able to watch the very best sporting events in the world without having a TV subscription fee. Live streaming can also really enhance your gaming experience, giving you the option to make more informed decisions when making in-play bets or cashing out your winnings.

Withdraw Your Winnings Early

If you’ve ever placed a bet before, you probably know what cashing out is. By using a bookie that supports the feature, you will be able to collect any potential winnings you may have from a bet before the game has finished. It means that if you can see the momentum-changing in a match, then you can claim your winnings before the team you’ve backed begins to lose. Similarly, if things aren’t going very well, then you can cash out to cut your losses, rather than losing all your stake in one.

Rewards for Existing Customers

It’s not easy for an online betting site, especially new betting sites, to get noticed in such a crowded space. The markets on offer are generally quite similar, and with most bookies offering competitive pricing, you’ll rarely find significant differences in the odds on offer. 

Therefore, one of the ways the bookmaker will aim to keep your attention is by rolling out a series of promotions and specials. Let’s take a look at two of the most popular promotions for existing customers that you can find at the best rugby betting sites.

Give Your Bankroll a Boost

In general terms, promotions are driven towards existing customers, and the bonuses are aimed at attracting new punters to the site. Both are important when looking for a top rugby betting site. Many sign up bonuses can be used across a range of sports, so you’ll be able to use them to bet on your favourite rugby markets. Although bookmakers bonuses come in a variety of shapes and sizes, we’ve highlighted the main two types you’ll find.

Matched Deposits

The matched deposit is a very simple bonus. The bookmaker will match your deposit up to a certain value. For instance, 100% up to £50. There will be a minimum amount you have to deposit to activate this offer, usually, it is £10 (but it could be £20 with some sites). Therefore, if you deposit £10, it’s matched so you have £20 to bet with. You can deposit more, but the bonus amount is capped, so a £100 deposit still only gets you a maximum £50 bonus. Although the face of the bonus may appear the same between two betting sites, as a punter you need to review the terms and conditions to measure the true worth of the offer. How many times do you have to wager the bonus cash? What odds can you bet at? How long do you have to clear the wagering? Those are the three main questions you want to be answered. When you have that information, you’ll see which offer is the best value.

Free Bets

The second bonus type is free bets. These are often floated around both for new and existing players, so that’s something to take notice of. When related to a deposit offer, the bookmaker will state, for example, deposit £20 and get £20 in free bets. As above, there will be strings attached, so it’s your duty to check the small print of the bonus to see what they are. Things to look out for are minimum/maximum betting odds allowed, excluded bet types, and expiry dates. A quick tip, you cannot use cash out with free bets. If you do, the bet will be invalid and you’ll lose any potential winnings.

Betting on the Go

Will you be a mobile bettor? If so, you want the best rugby mobile betting platform. Many of the top sites provide native apps for iPhones, iPads and Android devices. Other sites keep things totally web-based. As a punter, the choice is yours as to which method you’d prefer to bet on. What we can assure you is that the modern-day mobile sportsbooks are action-packed. No corners have been cut. You get the same range of pre-match and live betting markets, streaming if available, bonuses, promotional offers and other betting tools such as cash out and stats centres.

Rugby Betting Tips

At Compare.bet, there is one essential rugby betting tip that we will share. It’s ‘research’. Most of the top rugby betting sites on our list are connected to Betradar or Sportradar. These are two of the leading sports data analytics companies in the world. Everything you want to know about upcoming rugby matches will be provided for you. You can find a team’s current form, H2H record, fixtures, player stats, average points per games (for and against) when they score the most points and much more. The more informed you are before betting the better your chances of success. We cannot guarantee you’ll win every time, but we do know professional sports bettors don’t merely rely on luck, so knowledge is the secret ingredient.

Payment Options

There are a wealth of different banking options available to the modern online bettor, with each option catering a different set of requirements. Let’s take a look at what you are likely to come across. 

Ready to Play?

That’s Compare.bet’s basic guide to rugby betting. We hope to have driven you over the opposition’s 22-yard line with this information, so all that’s left is for you to get over the try line. In order to do that, have a browse through the list of top rugby betting sites above. Based on what matters to you, your style of betting and bankroll, choose the site you like the best. Then sign up, claim a bonus and enjoy the thrill of punting online.