How to Make a Bet on Rugby

Whether it’s the Rugby World Cup, the Six Nations Championship, The Rugby Championship, or league games that take your fancy, Parimatch is the ideal spot for competitive rugby betting. No matter if you are a Rugby Union fan or a Rugby League follower, Parimatch is the top spot in Africa for online rugby betting. But why?

Here at Parimatch, we believe that our users should enjoy a wealth of rugby betting opportunities directly from their fingertips. With the widest range of rugby bets in all of Africa, we offer our users the chance to make easy online bets on our simple-to-use betting app. Offering competitive odds and a broad spectrum of betting options, rugby fans can now enjoy online sports bets from anywhere. Simply log into Parimatch, and you can place a rugby bet on-the-go.

If you want to know more about placing bets on rugby, we have pieced together this helpful guide that gives you a step-by-step run through on placing rugby bets on the Parimatch platform. Offering our top tips on rugby betting strategies, this guide gives you all you need to know to place successful wagers on our state-of-the-art platform. So what are you waiting for? Log on to place rugby bets today!

What is Rugby Betting?

Rugby is an extremely popular sport that started out in England back in 1823. It is now a global favourite, with counties such as South Africa, Italy, France, and New Zealand proudly sporting excellent international teams.

There are several forms of rugby betting, and thanks to Parimatch’s dedication to accommodating diverse betting styles, you have a wide range of rugby betting opportunities available on our platform. However, before we kick off describing how rugby betting works, let’s look at the key difference between the two different types of rugby: Rugby Union and Rugby League.

Rugby Union vs Rugby League: What’s the Difference?

It is important to distinguish between the two types of rugby, as each is its own game — different to its counterpart. On the one hand, there is Rugby Union, and on the other, Rugby League. Each version of rugby has its own rules, leagues, competitions, teams, and players. Luckily for Parimatch users, our platform hosts both these sports, enabling users to bet on both Rugby Union and Rugby League. Understanding the difference between the two games helps to work out where best to place prosperous bets.

Some of the key differences between Rugby Union and Rugby League are:

• Rugby Union has 15 players on a team, whereas Rugby League only has 13 players on a team.
• Rugby League teams can make 10 substitutions per game, whereas Rugby Union teams can only make 8 substitutions.
• Rugby League has a smaller pitch than Ruby Union.
• A Rugby Union try is worth 5 points, with 2 extra points given for a conversion, and 3 points ford drop goals and penalties. A Rugby League try is only worth 4 points, plus 2 points or a conversion. Penalties and drop goals are only worth 2 points.
• Rucks follow tackles in Rugby Union, but this practice doesn’t exist in Rugby League. Instead, Rugby League uses the “Chicken Scratch” method.
• If the ball is thrown out in Rugby Union, a lineout occurs. If the ball is thrown out in Rugby League, a scrum happens.
• Rugby League has a tackle limit of 6 tackles per team before the ball has to be passed to the other side. There is no limit to the number of tackles in Rugby Union.

As both games are different, you’ll often find Rugby League to be a slightly faster game, whereas Rugby Union is slightly rougher. Depending on the type of rugby you are watching, you may choose to change your betting style to accommodate the way players play the game. Here are the most popular and classic rugby leagues:

Rugby Betting Options on Parimatch

For those who enjoy a wager on rugby, Parimatch is proud to present the widest range of rugby betting options across Tanzania and beyond. Thanks to our highly advanced online sports betting app, we can offer rugby punters front row seats to the most diverse catalogue of rugby betting strategies.

For those who prefer traditional bets, we offer 1X2 bets to pick a winner or draw, or Draw No Bet rugby bets for those who would like to eliminate the draw option. You can also place rugby bets on the highest scoring half, or on who will win each half (or whether there is a draw). For beginner bettors looking to place a rugby wager for fun, odd/even rugby bets are available on our betting app.

If you are a more advanced rugby bettor, you may consider some of our more complex rugby betting options including handicap bets on the whole game or for each half. Parimatch also offers rugby bets for the winning margin to each side, enabling you to pick the amount you think a team will win by.

How to Read Rugby Odds on Parimatch

Parimatch believes in giving our users the most sophisticated betting service without the hassle. That’s why we chose the decimal odds system. Unlike fractional odds systems and American odds, the decimal odds system is super easy to get your head around. This makes it extremely straightforward to work out the implied probability of your bet paying off, as well as the amount of winnings you will get in return if your prediction is correct. For those who are unsure, implied probability refers to the likelihood that a prediction will pay off, according to the bookmaker’s calculations.

Let’s first look at how Parimatch rugby odds show you the likelihood of your bet paying off. To make it simple, we’ll first look at a 1X2 bet. This type of rugby bet is where you choose either the home team (represented as 1) or the away team (represented as 2) as the winner, or you choose X for a draw.

Let’s take the example below of Leicester FC Tigers versus Castres Olympique.

In this instance, Leicester FC Tigers are the home team, making them team 1. Castres Olympique are the away team making them team 2. The odds for Leicester FC Tigers winning are 1.22, the odds for Castres Olympique winning are 4.50, and the odds for a draw are 25.00.

It is important to understand that with rugby odds, as with all decimal odds, the lower the number, the higher the chance of the bet paying off. In other words, the lower the number, the more chance of that team winning. In this example, as Leicester FC Tigers only has odds of 1.22 compared to Castres Olympique’s odds of 4.50, it’s far more likely that Leicester FC Tigers will win. Additionally, the draw odds of 25.00 are extremely high, making a draw very unlikely to occur.

Now, when we are considering the implied probability of a team winning, we are looking at the odds to work out the chances that your bet will pay off. In this example, if you were to bet on Leicester FC Tigers, how likely is it for this bet to pay off?

To calculate this, you would divide 100 by the decimal odds. That would be 100 / 1.22 = 81.97%. This means that there is roughly an 82% chance of a bet on Leicester FC Tigers paying off.

Conversely, if you were to bet on Castres Olympique, you would divide 100 by the 4.50 odds, giving you an implied probability of 22.22%. For a draw, you would divide 100 by 25, giving you a 4% chance of the bet paying off.

A little disclaimer here — the percentages do not add to 100 as Parimatch is a bookmaker, and as with all bookmakers, the added percentages help to cover the costs of the bookmaker service that Parimatch is offering to our customers.

Now that you understand how to turn your odds into the implied probability, you have a clearer idea of how likely you are to win the bet you plan on placing.

Decimal odds also help you to know how much you could win from a potential bet. Using this case again, if you were to put a bet on Leicester FC Tigers, you would be placing a bet on odds of 1.22. To work out your potential winnings, you would multiply your stake by the decimal odds, then minus your initial stake.

In this instance, imagine you were wagering 10,000 TZS on Leicester FC Tigers to win. You would multiply 10,000 TZS by 1.22, giving you 12,200 TZS. Now you need to minus your original 10,000 TZS stake, which would leave you with a profit of 2,200 TZS.

If you were to bet on the underdog — Castres Olympique — you would be betting your 10,000 TZS stake on 4.50 odds. If Castres Olympique were to win the match, you would receive a pay out of 45,000 TZS. Taking away your original 10,000 TZS stake would give you a tidy profit of 35,000 TZS.

It is important to understand here, however, that the reason that the second bet is far more profitable is to do with the implied probability. As we saw above, high odds on rugby bets mean that it is less likely that the bet will be correct. Low odds indicate the favourite. With this in mind, bets that are more likely to pay off will have lower profit margins, but come with far lower risk. Rugby bets with higher odds are much less likely to win, but if they do, the profits tend to be far greater.

Odd/Even Betting on Rugby: Explained

For beginner punters, it can often be difficult to work out which wagers to place without overcomplicating things. Odd/even betting (or total betting) is one of the best ways to place a wager on rugby without needing in-depth betting knowledge. This is because odd/even betting is extremely straightforward and does exactly what its name says. In order to place an even/odd bet, you need to place a wager on an odd or even final score.

To explain this in a little more detail, you need to consider the final score in the rugby match. Odd/even betting does not refer to the individual team scores but refers to the overall score of both teams when combined. When betting on odds/evens, you are placing a wager on whether this overall final score is either an odd number or an even number.

Take this example of Bristol Rc Bears versus Dragons.

As you can see, the odds are very similar as odds/evens bets tend to be a bet of chance and are highly difficult to predict. In this respect, the odds are often very low for both odd outcomes and even outcomes.

That aside, imagine that the score between Bristol Rc Bears and Dragons turns out to be 42-10 to Bristol Rc Bears. In order to calculate if this final score is an odd or even, you would add 42 to 10, giving you 52 — an even number. If you had bet 10,000 TZS on an even result, you would get a payout of 18,400 TZS, giving you a profit of 8,400 TZS. If you had bet on odds, you would have lost your stake.

As Parimatch likes to reward our customers with diverse variety when it comes to placing bets, we also enable bettors to wager against odds/evens bets in the first half. Rather than having to wait all the way until the end of a match to find out if your bet has paid out, you can bet on odds/evens in the first half. In this scenario, you would take the scores at half time and add them together to see if the score is odd or even.

For beginner bettors, odds/evens is a great basic bet for placing a fun wager on rugby matches, especially if you have no preference on a winning team or you are not sure who might win.

Handicap Betting on Rugby: Explained

Handicap betting is a slightly more complex betting strategy but isn’t too hard to learn. Handicap betting on rugby matches involves manipulating the final score in order to try and bet what the outcome will be.

Generally, handicap betting is used when one rugby team is a favourite, playing a clear underdog. By placing handicap bets, you can balance the game more evenly to make it a little more interesting, or to bet on the underdog by giving them a little boost.

The idea of a handicap bet is to give one side a handicap by giving the other side additional points. This means that when the final scores come in, you would add the extra points to the side who isn’t being given the handicap or take the points away from the side that is being handicapped.

For example, imagine that England was playing Wales in the Six Nations, and you wanted to bet on Wales to win, but giving England a handicap of 8 points. If the final score was 21-17 to England, it would appear that England won. However, with an 8 point handicap, you would take 8 points off England. This way, the score would be 13-17. This would mean that for the purposes of the bet, Wales won with England handicapped by 8 points.

Rugby Betting Tips and Strategies

When you are placing bets on rugby matches, there are few key factors to think about in order to try to determine which way the result will play out. While rugby teams can be judged by their prior scores, matches, and rankings, there are a few other components that can skew the results of a game. Always consider these factors before placing bets on rugby.

• Think about the weather

While there can be wild discrepancies between different rugby teams, weather can certainly level these differences out. Rain can have a massive impact on the outcome of a rugby game as wet fields mean that studded boots slip and slide all over the place. Wet weather can seriously damage a team’s ability to form a successful and powerful scrum, which can change possession of the ball considerably. In this respect, consider the weather before placing a bet on a clear favourite. One major tip here, is that teams with a strong fly-half will do better in wet weather as the fly-half helps to keep the match well-directed and tight if they have a strong kicking game.

On the other hand, if the weather is considerably dry, the game will seem far more aggressive. If both teams can get their boots firmly into the ground, you will find that scores tend to be higher, so bet on higher points if the weather is dry.

• Know who is in and who is out

A major factor of rugby is contact, especially in Rugby Union. The hard contact happens frequently, which can cause injury to players on the pitch. There are high levels of injury in rugby and players can sometimes be out of play for weeks or months. While a team may be good, if they have several of their strong players out of play due to injury, this drops their capabilities on the field. In this respect, it is always vital to know who is off due to injury and who is playing on the day as this can dramatically alter the outcome of the game.

• Know the ref

While referees are meant to be impartial, different referees have different mediation styles. The harshness of the referee can make a considerable difference in rugby as opposed to sports like football. For example, in football, a yellow card is merely a warning (or halfway to being sent off). In rugby, a yellow card sees a player sent off for 10 minutes. A lot can happen in 10 minutes if a team is down by one man. If the referee is a strict umpire and the team you want to bet on often plays a little dirty, you may need to be cautious with your bets. It is also wise to research refereeing styles in the Northern and Southern hemisphere as they are famously different.

• Remember the home advantage

As with all sports, rugby matches have a home advantage. This is especially true with teams that have a big and aggressive following, such as New Zealand who begin each match with the devastating haka to scare off the opposition. The crowds for these matches are imposing, loud, and oppositional. This can be off-putting to players coming from smaller stadiums and with fewer fans in the stands.

Another extremely pressing point to consider is that rugby is played on an international scale. Conditions in different countries can impact away teams considerably. Think about how hot games in South Africa are for English players coming from the cold, windy conditions of grey Great Britain! This type of climatic shock can hinder progress in a game.

The Difference Between Pre-Match and Live Betting Odds in Rugby

When betting on rugby on Parimatch, users have the choice of pre-match betting or live betting. By having both these options, you can take advantage of placing bets before the actual match starts, and during the action as the match takes place. The major difference in betting odds lies in how these odds fluctuate or stay static. When pre-match odds won’t change, live odds change with the action that occurs in the game.

Pre-Match Rugby Betting: Explained

The major difference between pre-match and live betting obviously pertains to when the bets take place. When placing a pre-match bet, all bets must be placed before the match kicks off.

The best strategies for pre-match bets involve researching a team’s previous history, their coach’s tactics, and their player line-up, along with understanding how they rank in the league tables and who their rivalries are. It’s also important to consider the weather on the day and where the match will be players, as well as the referee umpiring the match. By doing your research beforehand, you will have the upper hand when placing a pre-match rugby wager.

When placing a pre-match bet, the odds are static. The odds that you bet on before the match begins will not change, no matter what happens in the match. Imagine that you bet on the favourite to win, yet a player is sent off mid-way through the match. If you have placed a pre-match bet, the odds will stay the same, even though there is less likelihood of the favourite winning the rugby match. The live odds, in this circumstance, would go down.

Live Rugby Betting: Explained

Live betting occurs as soon as the match starts and is an opportunity for bettors to place wagers depending on how the game unfolds. This type of betting means that users can take advantage of the in-play action to leverage better bets for more profitable returns.

Live bets cannot be placed before the rugby match starts but can be placed as soon as the whistle blows.

With live rugby betting, wagers can be placed at any time during the match. That said, the odds will change depending on what takes place during the game. This means that if a crucial event happens in the game, it can knock the odds right down.

For example, imagine that you wanted to place a bet on the match below between New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders.

Looking at the pre-match odds here, you can see that Canberra Raiders are by far the favourite with odds of 1.26 compared to New Zealand Warriors odds of 4.10. If you were to place a pre-match bet on the underdog — New Zealand Warriors — you would have odds of 4.10.

Now imagine that in the live game, Canberra Raiders’ Halfback has to be substituted due to a terrible injury. With their most important player down, there is far less chance that Canberra Raiders will win and far more chance that New Zealand Warriors will win. In this instance, the odds for New Zealand Warriors to win would go down. If you had placed a pre-match bet, the odds would stay the same at 4.10, however if you were betting live, now you would only be able to bet on lower odds, meaning lower returns.

However, live betting can be very exciting. As mentioned above, lots of other factors can affect a rugby match. While the odds might show that Canberra Raiders are likely to win, you may find that on the day, a wet weather match means that the Canberra Raiders are on the back foot, slipping and sliding without gaining ground. In this instance, you can place a bet right in the game’s action to take advantage of this new knowledge gained from watching the match.

How to Make a Bet on Rugby on Parimatch

For users looking to place rugby bets online, you have come to the right place. Parimatch is proud to present Tanzania’s most revered online betting app, with a state-of-the-art intuitive dashboard, easy payment and withdrawal options, and slick functioning. Our simple-to-use platform means that Parimatch users enjoy day and night access to top rugby bets from all over the world, with a few quick clicks of a button.

If you haven’t already signed up for a Parimatch sports betting account, what are you waiting for? Find our diverse array of sports bets, including a jaw-dropping catalogue of Rugby Union and Rugby League bets available on all your favourite matches, leagues, and tournaments worldwide.

Luckily for our users, the Parimatch sports betting application makes it super easy to place rugby bets. Here’s what you need to do.

1. Register on Parimatch by clicking the yellow “Sign Up” button on the top right hand side of the screen. Follow the simple instructions to complete registration and deposit funds to ensure your account is ready for betting.
2. Decide whether you would like to place live rugby bets or pre-match rugby wagers. Head to the menu and click either “Sport” for pre-match bets or “Live” for in-play betting.
3. Select “Rugby” from the list of sports.
4. Next, choose between Rugby Union and Rugby League using filters.
5. When you select the version of rugby you would like to bet on, a dropdown menu will appear which features all the available leagues, tournaments, and cup championships. Click the one you would like to place a wager on.
6. The next screen will display a list of all the available games for betting in this league or tournament. Scroll down to find the match you would like to bet on.
7. If you are placing a 1X2 bet, you can select it from this screen. The 1X2 bets are displayed under the match title.
8. If you would like to place another kind of rugby wager, you can click on the match title to head into the game’s page.
9. On the game’s page you will find a long list of rugby betting options, from Draw No Bet, to handicap bets to odd/evens bets.
10. Find the bet you would like to place and click the outcome you predict. The box will turn highlighted and a small number will appear in the betlsip tab.
11. If you have finished placing bets, head to the bet slip to finalise your bets. Click betslip and check the details of your bet and add your stake into the box. Next, click “Place bet” and your bet is in.
12. If you would like to place multiple bets, Parimatch gives you the option of parlay (accumulator) or system bets. To do this, repeat steps 2-10 until you have finished placing bets and then head to the betslip.
13. To place parlay bets, make sure you are on the “Parlay” tab in the top menu. Check all the bets are correct, enter your stake into the box and click “Place bet” to finalise the bets.
14. If you would like to place system bets, head to the betslip and click the “System” tab in the top menu. Next, you need to check all your bets and choose the system you would like to use from the dropdown menu on the bottom right of the page. Add your stake into the box. Click “Place bets” to finalise.

Summing Up Rugby Betting

If you are looking to place international rugby bets, Parimatch can cater for all your rugby betting needs. Our diverse catalogue of Rugby Union and Rugby League matches means that you can enjoy placing rugby wagers on all your favourite tournaments, leagues, and cups, wherever you are!

Not only that, Parimatch offers the top range of betting options in all of Africa when it comes to rugby betting. From handicap wagers to odd/even and totals betting, we have every type of wager imaginable for both live and pre-match rugby betting.

Thanks to Parimatch’s sleek next-generation sports betting platform, users can enjoy placing rugby bets with just a few clicks. No more waiting in line at the bookies, no more running to place live bets before the odds change. You simply click and finalise without any hassle at all.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up to Parimatch today to enjoy Africa’s best sports betting platform with the widest range of rugby bets in Tanzania and beyond!