Bet on Rugby
Rugby is a globally popular sport with both local and international fixtures receiving significant viewership. As Zambia’s premier sports betting platform, Betway offers all of your favourite rugby fixtures with the most competitive odds. You can chose to place your bet before the game, or wait to see how the game unfolds and bet on the action live. Whichever you prefer, we’ve got you covered.
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How to bet on rugby online
At Betway, you can bet on a wide range of rugby fixtures from around the world. Each of our fixtures offer competitive odds and a number of exciting betting options. Follow the three simple steps below to place your first rugby bet.
How to place your first bet:
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- Log into your account
- On your homepage, click the Rugby icon to view all of the fixtures currently available*
- Select your preferred fixture, complete your betslip and click Bet Now
*If you’re looking for a particular fixture, league or competition, simply enter what you’re looking for in the Search bar.
Rules of Rugby
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There are two main variants of Rugby, Rugby Union and Rugby League. The rules, however only differ slightly with the general shape of the game retained by both variants. Globally, Rugby Union is what is generally meant when referring to Rugby. Rugby League is not as widely played as its counterpart and is only popular in England, Australia, New Zealand and France.
Rugby is played on a field measuring 144 by 70 meters. Two teams of 15, one attacking and one defending start on either side of the length of the field. The attacking team then attempts to carry the ball over their opponent’s goal line to touch it down within the goal area (a try). Points can also be scored from a free kick. The game is played over two 40-minute halves. Extra time is only played when a result is required as in a World Cup competition.
History of Rugby
The roots of rugby can be traced back as far as ancient Rome. These early ball games used air-filled balls called follis that were both passed and kicked. They would continue to appear in one form or another in almost every civilization over the centuries.
Rugby as we know it today, however is generally considered to have originated in English schools in the early 1800s. The game was a variant of soccer, a sport that had already cemented itself within English culture. As the story goes, a young William Webb Ellis frustrated during a game of soccer picked up the ball and ran with it. There is, however very little evidence to substitute the tale. Most historians agree that several English schools began experimenting with a variation of soccer that involved picking up the ball around this time.
The game took its first steps towards legitimacy in 1845 when the Rugby School (a school in the Borough of Rugby in England) introduction of the first set of written rules. In 1871, the game took another major step forward with the formation of the Rugby Football Union. In March that same year, the first Rugby international was played between England and Scotland.
By 1881 Wales and Ireland had formed their own Rugby teams with the first international Rugby competition, the Home Nations Championship being held in 1883. In the early 1900s South Africa, New Zealand and Australia all began sending teams to compete in the Northern Hemisphere with the game beginning to garner a global reach.
The game would continue to grow through the 1900s and in 1987, the first Ruby World Cup was held in New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand were crowed the competition’s first champions. The Southern Hemisphere nation is also the competition’s most successful team of all time with three World Cup wins. South Africa and Australia tie for second with two each. The only other country to ever win a Rugby World Cup is England.
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