Rugby World Cup Betting Review
17th June 2008, by Nadim Sharbean
The 2003 Rugby World Cup has been described by most observers as the "best ever". Betting on the Rugby World Cup attracted a huge number of punters to Centrebet. Many new clients signed up, others becoming active after some time away from betting. The tournament gave Australians and spectators from all over the world a wonderful opportunity to watch top quality Rugby Union. This was also great experience for those nations still developing rugby union at home. Countries such as Georgia, Namibia and Romania though suffering massive defeats against teams far superior in skills and experience would have gained much from the whole exercise.
Betting on the Rugby World Cup did not really become interesting until the preliminary rounds were completed. Moving into the first qualifying final signalled the start of betting action as teams more closely ranked played each other. The majority of betting however was on the final, England verses Australia. The match for third place attracted much less interest. Although the Winner book was the most popular form of betting, many other options were taken on by clients. This included First Half and Second Half Handicap, First Stoppage in Play, First Try Scorer, Winning Margin and numerous Player Match-Ups.
The highlight of the Rugby World Cup was the final played between England and Australia. After eighty minutes of play in pouring rain the scores remained level. In the last 3 minutes of overtime, it looked like the game would go into sudden death extra time. However with only minutes left, Jonny Wilkinson put a field goal between the posts from 40 metres out, winning the game for England. Both sides of the camp were in agreement that the game was possibly the best game of rugby ever seen and that the English team truly deserved their win.
The next Rugby World Cup will be held in France in 2007. Until then there will be plenty of Rugby Union competitions around the world to follow and bet on. This includes the Six Nations tournament in the northern hemisphere in February and March. The participants include France, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy and Ireland. The Tri-Nations tournament is the southern equivalent of Six Nations and involves Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. As well as international matches, each region run their own competitions. Two that stand out are the Zurich Premiership and the Super 12s. Keep your eye on Centrebet for betting on these matches.
As well as Rugby, Centrebet also offers a range of football odds for a wide range of European soccer fixtures, as well as covering most major international sporting events, like Formula 1 betting. Centrebet offers online sports betting oon most major sporting codes and events, including AFL Australian football 2004 betting, NRL Rugby League 2004 betting. Books for these sporting codes are now open for Centrebet customers. In order to bet, you first need to register to bet with Centrebet. You can check our online sports betting calendar for more information on upcoming events.
last update : 1st September 2008 03:27
