Rugby betting sites

Who deals rugby

Most books that offer rugby deal the big international matches and the main club competitions, and stop there. The list below shows the books we've reviewed whose own sites list rugby, A to Z. A book whose review doesn't say is left out, so it's worth asking a book's support before you assume it doesn't deal it.

The menu varies more than the list. One book offers a match line and a total, while another adds the first try scorer, the winning margin bands and the half-time result. I'd open the match I wanted at two books and compare what each deals before choosing.

The bets on a rugby match

The match result is usually three-way, because a draw is possible, and a bet on either team loses if it ends level. That's why I'd rather bet the handicap, which is the line most rugby bettors use: one side gives points and the other gets them, in the same way as a football spread. Rugby scores in threes, fives and sevens, so the numbers that matter are different from football's. The total asks how many points both teams score together.

If the three-way line is new, the soccer betting sites page explains it with the sport where most people meet it first.

The rules to read

• Whether the bet is settled on 80 minutes or includes extra time, which some knockout matches have
• What happens to a bet if a match is abandoned or moved
• How the first try scorer is settled when a player comes off the bench

Each book has its own answers. Read them. The house rules page lists what most of them do.

Your side of it

I'd treat rugby as a sport to bet only if you follow it. A book that deals a few rugby matches a week prices them with less care than an NFL game, because the money it takes on them is small and its traders spend their week on football, and a bettor who knows the teams can find a soft number now and then. The book knows. That's why the limits are low. Keep the stakes to 1 or 2 percent of the bankroll and shop the line.