The Guinness Premiership, formerly known as the Zurich Premiership, throws up some intriguing betting possibilities. This is because you can bet on both the Regular Season Winner (the team that finishes top of the league) and the Grand Final Winner (the team who wins in the play-offs). The play-offs are contested between the teams finishing in the top four places at the end of the regular season.

Therefore, while you might be puzzled that a team’s odds differs on each of the two markets, a cursory glance at the last few years tells us why this might be the case. For example, London Wasps won the Grand Final in three consecutive seasons (2002-3, 2003-4 & 2004-5) despite not finishing top in any of those years. Little wonder that the bookmakers make them 5/1 to win the 2008 Regular Season but just 3/1 to win the Grand Final.

In recent years, Leicester Tigers have featured regularly at the business end of the Premiership, winning in 2007 after finishing runner-up in the previous two seasons. Many bookmakers also offer prices on the Wooden Spoon market, ie the team which finishes in last place. Naturally, the popularity of this market depends on whether there are one or more whipping boy in the division!

As with all rugby union match markets, the handicap betting proves to be popular on a week-in, week-out basis. It’s also worth noting the number of international players that each club has in their squad, and how depleted they become by events such as the 2007 World Cup and the 2008 Six Nations. There are plenty of upsets through the course of the season.