Rugby Union Betting Sites

The blend of high-speed skill and bruising action makes rugby union a thrilling spectacle. Not only is it captivating to watch, but it's also ideal for betting on at the leading sportsbooks.

At MansionBet, discover a world of rugby action, including the highly anticipated 2023 Rugby World Cup, along with the Six Nations, European Rugby Champions Cup, Premiership Rugby, and the Lions Tour.

Here are some of the highlights in the rugby union calendar. 

RUGBY WORLD CUP 

Every four years, the best international rugby union teams in the world compete for the right to hold the Webb Ellis Cup. The six-week tournament consists of a pool round, followed by a knockout stage.

First held in 1987, this is the single biggest event in rugby union. It also claims to be the third most watched global television sporting event, behind the football World Cup and the Olympic Games. 

SIX NATIONS 

Beginning on the first weekend in February, and ending with Super Saturday in March, the Six Nations is an annual tournament featuring England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Italy and France. Each team plays every other team once.

The side with the most points wins the title. Any team winning all five games earns the prestige of Grand Slam. Any team from the UK or Ireland which beats the other ‘home nations’ is awarded the honour of a Triple Crown. 

EUROPEAN RUGBY CHAMPIONS CUP

If you prefer your rugby union betting at club level, the European Rugby Champions Cup is not to be missed. Less predictable than the international games, club rugby union is a great market to play – and this is its biggest forum.

SUPER RUGBY

In the southern hemisphere, the annual rugby union club competition is the aptly named Super Rugby. Here club teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa compete in a round-robin, followed by a knockout stage tournament. 

BRITISH & IRISH LIONS TOUR

Every four years, the gladiators of British and Irish rugby head to the southern hemisphere to tour either New Zealand, Australia or South Africa. The travelling team consists of the crème de la crème of rugby union and expectations are always very high. The Lions have been touring since 1888 and the competition is fierce. 

PREMIERSHIP RUGBY

Premiership Rugby is the top tier of club rugby union in England. The season typically runs from September to June, with all the clubs playing each other both home and away.

When the regular season finishes, the top four clubs enter the play- offs. The final takes place at the spiritual home of rugby union - Twickenham Stadium. The top six teams all automatically qualify for the European Rugby Champions Cup. 

PRO14 

Established in 2001, the PRO14 is an annual rugby league that features club teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Once again, the format is a points-based league, culminating in an end-of-season play off to determine the final winner.

The championship takes place between September and May. The top teams earn a place in the European Rugby Champions Cup.

When a big tournament comes around, the bookmakers work hard to produce as many different options as possible for you to enjoy. They still have the traditional ones we all know and love, but there could also be some different bets created with the World Cup in mind. Here are just a few of the Rugby World Cup betting options available.  

• Outright: Who will win the 2023 Rugby World Cup? When you bet outright, you choose which team you think will win the tournament. All betting sites will offer this market, potentially producing an interest for the entire tournament. 
• Pool Betting: The 20 teams are split into four pools of five. With the pool betting market, you are picking which one of those five teams you think will win this stage before it becomes a knockout competition. 
• Handicap: Rugby teams that are unevenly matched can be handicapped to create a more exciting and potentially rewarding betting opportunity. If team ‘A’ is the clear favourite, team B may be given a 7.5-point head start. Can team ‘A’ cover the handicap? This is an important market when it comes to Rugby World Cup betting. With so many small teams, there will be some blowouts in the group games. Betting on the handicap can make the favourites a more backable price.
• Prop Bets: Who scores the first try? Which player will be substituted first? Which team will exit the tournament first? Who will win the coin toss? Prop bets can relate to anything before, during or after the game.  
• Winning Margin: Predict how many points you think the victorious team will win by. Quick tip - if you want to know what the bookmaker thinks the winning margin will be, check the handicap on the game. Hard to get precisely correct, but rewarding when you do.  
• In-Play Live Betting: This enables you to bet on the game as it happens. Who will score next? Will there be a try within the next five minutes? A great tool to use when betting on rugby, as you can trade out of a losing position or change your strategy when something happens. Discover all this and more on the sites we review. 

The Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament held once every four years. The 2023 edition will be the 10th and is being held in France. They also hosted alone in 2007 and when part of a group that contained England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 1991.

Like any similar tournament in sports, it is a great betting proposition with bookmakers looking to beat one another for customers by offering price boosts and special prices. A wide range of accounts means you can use as many of these as possible.

How to Bet on the Rugby World Cup

Before you jump straight into the deep end, it is essential to understand rugby betting before placing a bet. Placing a bet is simple if you study what to do beforehand. You can always find some betting tips online if you don't know enough about rugby.

• Research which games you want to play.
• Study the stats to find the right bet for you on the game.
• Head to an odds comparison site to ensure you get the best odds.
• Place your bet, sit back and enjoy the game.

Whether you are a regular in rugby betting or a newbie to the sport and are looking for suitable betting sites to place a bet at, we have you covered.

They might be your own rugby betting tips or ones you found on social media - either way, these are five of the top Rugby World Cup betting sites to use during the tournament. 

Being able to be in a position to take advantage of as many betting offers as possible during the Rugby World Cup will allow you to make full use of all that is at your disposal. If you are yet to sign up to the bookmakers above, then now is a great time to get yourself involved in good time for the tournament to start.

If you are looking for a new bookmaker to join, the five discussed above are a great starting point. BetVictor has a smart offer for new customers of Bet £10 Get £30 in bonuses plus 30 free spins. Those spins might win you nothing, or they might win you a lovely little bonus to use as part of your rugby betting funds.

There is also a prize wheel for customers to spin and a BetVictor loyalty club. On top of this, BetVictor is excellent when providing existing customers with a free bet or two occasionally. They don't get you to sign up and then forget about you.

Sportingbet makes it fun with four challenges as part of their sign-up process. You can gain up to £50 in free bets and spins, and tokens when you make an account with them ahead of the Rugby World Cup.

BetUK will give £30 in free bets to new customers who bet £10. They also have an acca club which will give you a £5 free bet if you spend at least £20 on accas with five legs or more as long as the selections are 1.5 or bigger. BetZone goes slightly differently to give you 50% of your first-day losses back up to £60.

There are no specific offers for the tournament at the time of writing, but it is worth keeping an eye open for them as we get closer to the start of the tournament. In 2019, for instance, there were sign-up offers from different bookmakers that had England and Ireland as 100/1 to win the World Cup as part of a bonus when new customers signed up. Those offers are not as regular these days, but price boosts will still be around during the tournament. 

Twenty teams head to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, looking to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. Realistically there are no more than six sides who will have that chance, with the other 14 just there looking to create a shock which will see them remembered in the history books.

Favourites:

New Zealand: Three-time winners of the Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks will be looking to lead the world once more. They hold strong claims to do so.

France: Pressure will be on the hosts to perform well on home soil. That will be put to the test straight away, taking on New Zealand in the opening game.

Ireland: The reigning Six Nations champions will look to carry that form over. They have never made it further than the quarter-final stage.

South Africa: The other three-time World Cup winners, the Springboks, were no match for New Zealand in the Rugby Championship, but they are dangerous on their day.

England: Four-time finalists but only one win, the current England setup will need to improve on their Six Nations showing.

Australia: This is the worst Wallabies team in a long time, beaten by Argentina in the Rugby Championship. Cannot be entirely dismissed but need to improve.

Others:

Argentina 

Wales 

Scotland 

Fiji 

Japan 

Tonga 

Italy 

Samoa 

Georgia 

Portugal 

Chile 

Namibia 

Uruguay 

Romania

Favourites to Win Rugby World Cup 2023  

Looking at the rugby betting, there is little to choose between France and New Zealand as the favourites to win the tournament.

Three of the nine finals have been won by the host/co-host, including New Zealand twice, so it is understandable to see France up there. However, they couldn't win the 2023 Six Nations, so that tilts things the way of the All Blacks.

The current All Blacks side probably lacks the class of some of their past teams, but they are starting to gel as a side.

Recent results in the Rugby Championship suggest that they are hitting their stride at the right time. The tournament's opening match, where the All Blacks take on France, will be the key to any Rugby World Cup betting changes. 

There have been just nine Rugby World Cup Finals so far, but the tournament has quickly become a can't-miss feature on the sporting calendar. Each one has been compelling to view, no matter the teams. The highest scoring saw New Zealand beat Australia 34-17 in 2015, while the lowest was a defensive war in 2011 when New Zealand topped France 8-7.

Perhaps the most dramatic was Jonny Wilkinson's drop kick in extra time to lift England over Australia in 2003. Just 20 seconds on the clock to beat the hosts will be a memory for all who watched. It was a rare moment of joy for England fans in the World Cup Final, the side finishing runner-up on three other occasions.

Previous Rugby World Cup Winners

Despite just nine editions, two teams have won three Rugby World Cup Finals each. 

The previous finals are below, with the winner and runner-up at each tournament. 

2019  

Winner - South Africa 

Runner-up - England 

2015 

Winner - New Zealand 

 Runner-up - Australia 

2011 

Winner - New Zealand 

Runner-up - France 

2007 

Winner - South Africa 

Runner-up - England  

2003 

Winner - England 

Runner-up - Australia 

1999 

Winner - Australia 

Runner-up - France 

1995 

Winner - South Africa 

Runner-up - New Zealand 

1991 

Winner - Australia 

Runner-up - New Zealand 

1987 

Winner - New Zealand 

Runner-up - France  

The 2023 Rugby World Cup is being held in France. Nine stadiums across France will host games throughout the tournament. They are in Saint-Denis, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse. The opening game sees the hosts take on New Zealand on 8th September. The final will be at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on 28th October.

Will the Rugby World Cup 2023 be on TV?

Absolutely! If you are betting on rugby, then you will want to be able to watch it live. ITV hold the rights to the Rugby World Cup coverage in the UK. You will find every game there and ITVX for those who like to stream their action on their phone or tablet.

What are the odds for Rugby World Cup 2023?

Bookmakers are finding it hard to find a favourite, with France and New Zealand heading the market at different odds providers. Both teams are around the 3/1 mark.

Further down the order in the Rugby World Cup betting, there is another battle for third favourites at 5/1, with Ireland and South Africa around that price.

England and Australia are available at 10/1, with Argentina at 33/1. Then comes Wales at 40/1 and Scotland at 50/1, with all other teams priced at 200/1 or bigger with odds of up to 5000/1 about the outsiders Namibia, Romania and Uruguay.

What dates are the England games at the 2023 Rugby World Cup?

The four pool games for England are as follows.

Saturday 9th September 8.00 pm V Argentina. 

Sunday 17th September 8.00 pm V Japan. 

Saturday 23rd September 4.45 pm V Chile 

Saturday 7th October 4.45 pm V Samoa. 

What games will Wales play at the 2023 Rugby World Cup?

Wales will play at least their four games in Pool C below. 

Sunday 10th September 8.00 pm V Fiji. 

Saturday 16th September 4.45 pm V Portugal. 

Sunday 24th September 8.00 pm V Australia. 

Saturday 7th October 2.00 pm V Georgia.

What date and times are the Scotland games at the 2023 Rugby World Cup?

Scotland has been put in the difficult Pool B. They play these games. 

Sunday 10th September 4.45 pm V South Africa. 

Sunday 24th September 4.45 pm V Tonga. 

Saturday 30th September 8.00 pm V Romania. 

Saturday 7th October 8.00 pm V Ireland.