It has never been easier to bet on a match in the Rugby Championship, while there has never been so many different markets to bet on, but which should you utilise to ensure you maximise profit?
Bettingpro offer betting tips on each of the Rugby Championship matches, and you should read on for our explanation of each of the markets.
Match Winner
The simplest market in the game. Here, you simply back the side you feel will win the match, it is as easy as that. This market is best utilised when two teams are quite evenly-matched. If it is difficult to pick a winner from the two, such as in a match between Australia and South Africa, then the odds on offer will hold more value, whereas backing Argentina against New Zealand will see Argentina offer huge value, but only because New Zealand will be big favourites.
Handicaps
This market is a way of backing a favourite in the game, but it can offer good value. Simply put, you back a team with a handicap of either minus points or plus points to win the game. For example, if you want to back New Zealand to beat Australia, you can back them with a handicap of -9 points, which means that if New Zealand win by 8 points or less, then your bet will lose, while if they win, for example, 25-10, then your bet will win. You can also back it the other way, and if you back South Africa +9 and they lose 16-13, then your bet will still win because you backed the side with a handicap of +9.
Half-Time/Full-Time
In this market, the bettor is able to back the team they feel will be ahead at half-time, and the team they feel will lead at full-time. This can prove very valuable if you correctly predict a minnow leading the favourite at half-time, only to then lead at full-time. It can also offer value if you back the underdog to lead at half-time and then full-time.
Winning Margin
This market gives the punter the chance to back how many points they think a certain team will win by. Backing a side to win by 1-10 points, 11-20 points, 21-30 points and so on can offer very good value as the game of rugby is an exceptionally unpredictable one. If you are able to put money on the correct outcome, it can offer a good return.
Team To Score First
Here, the bettor chooses which side he feels will be the first on the scoreboard. Unlike football, which only has one way of scoring, rugby players can open the scoring via a try, a penalty or a drop goal, meaning that a side can be pushing for a try early on, only to decide to take the three points from a penalty. This market can be an unpredictable one, and backing the correct side to score first is not always easy.
Highest Scoring Half
This market gives bettors the opportunity to back which half they feel will see the most points. The first weekend of the Premiership usually sees a more cagey first-half, which is then followed by a slightly more open second-half as the trailing side looks to ensure they do not fall to an opening day defeat. Therefore, backing a higher scoring second-half may be intelligent, although rugby is a game that can surprise, with the first-half seeing big scores only for the points to dry up in the second 40.
First Try Converted
Here, the bettor can predict whether the first try of the game will be converted or not. A conversion being nailed first time around is usually the option with shorter odds, but if a team is to score in the corner, then backing the side to not add the extras offers very good value.
Sending Off In Match
This market simply allows a bettor to predict whether there will be a sending off in a match. Rugby is a sport of extreme physicality, and often it can boil over, with cheap shots at the bottom of a ruck, late tackles or last second tries sometimes sparking mass brawls, which can then lead to cards being dished out, with the colour of those cards up to the discretion of the referee.