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RUGBY UNION - AN INTRODUCTION AND BETTING TACTICS.

An article from BETFAIR BETTING EXCHANGE for British Betting and Gaming Sites.

Rugby Union – the history and the basics

The origins of rugby are believed to trace back to the early 19th century when William Webb Ellis “took the ball in his arms” and ran, whilst playing football at Rugby School.

A game of rugby union lasts 80 minutes divided into two 40-minute halves when teams swap attacking ends. The simple aim of the game is to outscore your opponents using the ball. The rugby pitch is arranged as follows note the goal post H shape.

The game is controlled by one referee and two touchline judges. High-profile games now have a television referee who can be used for disputed tries, such as offside or ball grounding technicalities.

Rugby is played with an oval-shaped ball, hence rugby is often jokingly called “egg chasing”. It can be kicked, passed between players of the same team or run with. The only restriction is that the ball must be passed backwards and when the ball is kicked the retrieving player from the kicking team must have been behind the kicker (on-side) when he made contact with the ball.

Each team has a maximum of 15 players on the field at any time. These are broken down into two groups, a ‘pack’ of eight forwards who do most of the physical work - compete the scrums, line-outs and gain the hard yards in rucks and mauls. The second group the ‘backs’ are the creative ‘flair’ players who are more frequently found running with the ball attacking open spaces, looking to score tries. All positions are specialised particularly in the ‘pack’.

A typical rugby union line up is illustrated; the forwards are numbered 1-8 and the backs 9-15.

Points are awarded as follows:

Try - 5 points

The action of grounding the ball in the in-goal area. Breakaway tries are easiest to spot but in a pack of players over the line, the video official may be required to adjudicate if the ball has been grounded.

Conversion - 2 points

After scoring a try, a player has an attempt from any distance in line with where the try was scored in the field of play at kicking the ball between the posts and over the crossbar.

Drop Goal - 3 points

Scored in open play, the ball must be dropped and make contact with the ground before being kicked. The ball must pass between the posts and over the cross bar to be successful.

Penalty - 3 points

If a penalty is awarded in range of the goal kicker the team may opt to goal for a penalty as opposed to advancing towards the try line.

Teams will often take the easier three points from a penalty rather than push on in the hope of crossing the line for a try. With a reliable kicker, teams often don’t need to score as many tries as their opponents to win the match. Drop goals become more of an option late in the game when the score is tight, particularly to break a deadlock or to force the opposition to score twice to win the match.

Key Terms:

Scrum:

A method of restarting the game from dead-ball situations or as a result of infringements such as slow ball from rucks or mauls, forward passes and knock-ons.

Only forwards can compete in a scrum, so it is eight versus eight. Roles in the scrum are highly specialised, and due to the dangerous nature of a scrum there are strict rules on twisting, collapsing, and forming the scrum. The teams aim to push the opposing team backwards and gain possession; however it is unlikely for the team feeding the ball into the scrum to lose the ball.

Line-out:

The line-out is unique to rugby union. It is a method of re-starting dead ball situations from the point where the ball crossed the touchline and left the field of play. An equal number of players line up from opposing teams ranging from three to eight. A player throws the ball down the centre of the line with players aiming to gain possession.

The team who did not last touch the ball choose the number and throw the ball unless the ball was kicked out when advancing down the field as a result of a penalty being awarded.

Ruck:

When a player is tackled and taken to ground they must release the ball. Players from both sides come together aiming to either gain or retain possession of the ball. A ruck is formed when players from either side make physical contact with the opposition. The ball can only be handled by players on their feet, players must join the ruck from the back (an onside position) and all players in a team must be bound (holding on) to another member of their team.

Maul:

A maul is also a coming together of opposing teams aiming to gain but mainly retain possession and improve field position. The major difference from a ruck is that the ball is not on the ground, it is passed from player to player as the maul moves, e.g. England’s famous ‘truck and trailer’ play. Each player must be bound to at least one team mate and like a ruck, players entering the maul must do so from an onside position.

Sin-bin:

In most cases, the referee will first ask the captain to warn his players about misconduct. Serious fouls, repeated acts of indiscipline or dissent can result in the player is sent from the field of play for ten minutes on the sidelines.

Penalty Try:

If the defensive team make an infringement which the referee deems to have prevented a try-scoring opportunity, a penalty try is awarded. No matter where the try would have been scored the team get a conversion attempt from in front of the posts; it is effectively a guaranteed seven points.

Things to look out for when betting:

In rugby union play does not stop unless there is an infringement, the ball leaves the field of play or points are scored. In a tight game or when the margin is close to a handicap mark, the clock and field position become more valuable.

The markets do not stop either. As a much higher-scoring sport than football, and with several means of scoring, markets are not actively managed – so celebrating that try could prove costly if you’ve got unmatched bets on the screen. Have the cursor poised over ‘cancel all’ if you leave prices up on screen.

The weather affects the style of play and hence can suit some teams more than others. Look for teams with strong packs who can grind out the hard yards in tough wet conditions. A team who play open, expansive rugby are suited by good conditions. The weather conditions are a major factor in total points markets.

Major upsets are very rare in contact sports, but the underdog can often keep the game close until eventually the gaps in fitness and strength become fully exposed as fatigue sets in.

Injuries are important, particularly in specialised positions such as scrum-half and fly-half. The player who can have the greatest effect on the game is often the recognised goal kicker. Having a good tactical as well as scoring kicker is essential. You need only look at England and Jonny Wilkinson who almost single-handedly won the 2003 RWC, and look at the results since when he has been mostly injured.

Having a player sin-binned can be crucial. The extra man advantage can be important especially at the end of a game, or in tough weather conditions when players tire. The player in the sin-bin is also important in a similar way to having a player injured.