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The best odds for the Rugby World Cup
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11.10.2011
The Rugby World Cup is now well under way; and having had the opportunity to view each team at least twice, thoughts are turning towards the likely winners, the dark horses and the no-hopers to be avoided and ignored. Some teams, particularly England, have managed to look like a combination of all three, often within the same few minutes. Much like online blackjack, successfully betting on the Rugby World Cup requires an element of skill, knowledge of the subject and some significant slices of luck. Where rugby can make, or indeed break, a bet is in its scoring system. Close games can be decided by anything from a heroic drop goal to a controversial penalty. Understandably, hosts New Zealand are the firm favourites. Playing on home soil and widely recognised as the best team in the world, the All Blacks are odds on to triumph in most corners. However, the Hakka men have a rather justified reputation for choking. They are yet to triumph in a World Cup, despite often being the number one ranked team at the time and have a tendency to lose when least expected. If serious money is to be made betting on the Rugby World Cup, it is more than likely to be done so during the group stages. Here, minds are not always fully focused, teams are often not at full strength due to managerial desires to keep the squad fresh and the underdogs frequently possess a 'this is our moment' cup final mentality. Coaches take calculated risks whilst hoping success is maintained. Again, it is the likes of Argentina, Western Samoa and Fiji that seem the best bets to spring a surprise, particularly the enterprising Argentines who so nearly embarrassed England in their opening game. Essentially, betting on match outcomes is much like playing your own roulette game. You back your hunch, take your chance and roll the ball. After all, in relative terms, no-one ever won a huge amount betting on an absolute certainty. Backing the underdog is where the serious money is made and it's advisable to do this before the big boys knuckle down and get focused for the business end of proceedings. Leading try scorer is another area well worth researching and it's worth thinking outside the box. The likes of England and France are a step below the southern hemisphere giants but boast prolific scorers who will run amok in some of the pool games. Vincent Clerc bagged a hat-trick against the Canadians recently whilst England's own frog-splashing Chris Ashton came back to form with a brace against Georgia. Reaching the final doesn't necessarily mean you boast the top scorer. While it is the sheer unpredictably of sport that makes it such a fascinating spectacle, betting on the outcome adds an extra dimension to the often breathtaking proceedings.
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