Rugby. A game that is often described as being the closest feeling to going to war when played.

Something about hulking juggernauts and agile speedsters matching up against one another to fight over an oval shaped ball has the ability to bring out passion, anticipation and nationwide elation.

South Africa is one of the World Rugby’s most decorated nations

And the product of these herculean giants flying into one another? Carnage, beauty, and one helluva thrilling game to bet on.

A big part of placing bets on rugby however, is choosing the right rugby betting sites to make your wagers on. While most betting sites offer rugby, its important to use the bookies that truly prioritise their offering of the sport.

• Take a look at the list below to view the best rugby betting sites

Best Rugby Betting Sites in 2024

1. Betway → Our Favourite Rugby Betting Site
2. Gbets → SA’s next best rugby betting site
3. World Sports Betting → Plenty of rugby events to choose from
4. Hollywoodbets → Impressive rugby betting coverage
5. Bet.co.za → Best Rugby Betting Interface
   
6. Sportingbet → Best Live Rugby Betting Site
7. Easybet→ Great Rugby Promos
8. Supabets → Best Welcome Bonus

When it comes to knowing what to look for in rugby betting sites, the answer is not clear cut and easily found out in the open.

What makes the task even more difficult, is the fact that there are plenty of factors that need to be considered when you’re starting out, and looking for rugby betting sites to choose.

Not to worry, because we’re here to help you choose among the many rugby betting sites!

In case you didn’t read the top half of the page, and want a quick overview of what you should be thinking about when choosing rugby betting sites, click on the drop down below to find out.

• Take a look at some of the important factors to consider in the list below:

Now that you have a better idea about what goes into choosing rugby betting sites, we feel that it's a good time to present you with our top 3 rugby betting sites in South Africa.

We choose our top 3 based on how well they prioritise their offering of all things rugby betting, and primarily, on how well they meet certain criteria.

The simple truth is that some rugby betting sites are better than others, and we’re here to show which ones to go with.

• Take a look at main factors we use to rank the best rugby betting sites

Part of what we set out to do with this page was to ensure that your journey into placing your first bet, on whichever of the rugby betting sites you decide to go with, is made absolutely seamless.

Our goal for this section is to prepare you for your first bet on rugby

When it comes to rugby betting, and betting in general, there are a couple of things that either need to be in place, or you need to have, in order to get your journey under way.

• These include:

1. You need to be 18 or older - no gambling for under 18s in SA
2. You need to have a device - a smartphone/laptop/tablet
3. You need to have wifi/data - you need an internet connection
4. You need to have some knowledge - you need to know rugby

If all of the above things are in place, you can follow the steps below that precede placing a bet on a rugby game.

Now that you’ve been introduced to all that needs to be done in order to start betting on rugby, you’re in the perfect position for us to explain what it takes for you to actually place a bet.

Much like the process of starting to bet on rugby, betting on rugby requires a couple of steps to be seen through.

Not to worry though, the steps are super easy to follow, you’ll be up and running in no time!

• Now that we have that out of the way, these are the steps you can follow to place a bet on rugby:

1. Click on Rugby From the Sports Tab
2. Choose Between betting on Rugby Union or Rugby League
3. Choose the League you are wanting to bet on
4. Scroll through the events and select the one/s that interest you
5. Make your selection
6. Enter your stake and confirm your bet

Whether we’re speaking about rugby betting sites, esports betting sites, or pesapallo betting sites, the conversation of odds always comes into the mix. The reason for that is because they are always so important.

Simply speaking, odds are central to determining your winnings, and the betting sites that offer the best odds are the ones that ensure you can win more.

You can win more just by choosing a betting site that has better odds!

Quite simply, odds represent the likelihood of an event unfolding. High odds are given to outcomes that are less likely to happen (like Italy beating the All Blacks) and low odds are given to outcomes are more likley to happen (like the Bokke beating Namibia).

• Click on the dropdown below to get a better idea of odds

Another important thing to consider when it comes to choosing between rugby betting sites, is rugby betting markets. If you’re unsure about what markets are, they are the different outcomes that bookmakers offer you to bet on.

The markets you have to choose from, the better, because you’ll have more options to bet on!

When it comes to betting, match result bets tend to be the most popular, but it can be really fun and profitable to bet on other options. Below you’ll find some of the more popular rugby betting options:

When it comes to rugby betting, there is plenty of value to be found in betting on certain events, and knowing which these events are can be highly beneficial.

Like with any big sporting events, bookmakers tend to release all kinds of exciting offers to boost your betting experience. The same tends to be done for rugby.

It’s wise to be on the lookout for big rugby events to get your hands on promos, odds boosts and more!

• Take a look at the list of popular rugby events below to make the most of your rugby betting!

There are few competitions in world rugby other than the IRB Rugby World Cup. The best rugby playing nations face off against one another amongst four groups, after which 2 teams from each group progressed to the playoff rounds

The Springboks have won the Rugby World Cup 3 times - a feat only matched by New Zealand!

Generally with rugby world cup betting, you will find plenty of exciting offers across betting sites. From odds boosts and promotions offers, to other exciting campaigns, there’s nothing quite like the World Cup.

• Take a look at the odds for the outright winners for the upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup provided by Betway:

Arguably rivalling the World Cup for the amount of anticipation it brings, the Lions Tour is one of the greatest gifts to world rugby.

The tradition behind the Lions Tour is that of legend!

In an almost fairytale-like way, the home nations of Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales team up in one all star team to face one of the Southern Hemisphere’s premier rugby playing nations (South Africa, Australia or New Zealand).

The tour only occurs once every four years, with Southern Hemisphere opponents rotating on each tour. So in essence, the Springboks only face the Lions once every 12 years.

Rugby betting sites naturally bring out all kinds of offers around the Lions Tour, so be sure to look out for all the promotions when the Lions are in town.

The Six Nations is another rugby event that draws attention from around the world. In the competition, six of Europe’s finest rugby playing nations battle it out to determine who can be crowned the kings of European Rugby.

The Six Nations always bring about generous and unique betting offers!

While South Africa does not take part in this competition, it is never short of action, big hits, and thrilling rugby.

Be sure to keep on the lookout for odds boosts and promotions when the Northern Hemisphere battles it out in their annual meet.

Formerly known as the Tri Nations, this competition is one that gets all rugby fans trembling with excitement.

The Rugby Championship promises top draw rugby betting action!

A decade ago, the Tri Nations became known as the Rugby Championship, as Argentina joined the ranks of South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, in what is one of the most hotly contested rugby competitions in the world.

Bookies love to boost their coverage of this event, with all kinds of promotions, so be sure to have this competition marked on your calendar.

Super Rugby has undergone plenty of changes throughout its history, each of these making for a significant increase in jaw dropping action, bone crunching hits, and phenomenal competition.

Super Rugby is always on the minds of rugby fans!

Super Rugby can be thought of Rugby’s answer to a Southern Hemisphere champions league, and recently, with the addition of teams from Japan, and Argentina, it has become a whole lot more interesting.

Super Rugby is well loved by all South Africans, and rugby betting sites are well aware of this, often running exciting campaigns that involve promotions, boosted odds, and bonuses.

While rugby may not always be the first sport associated with live betting, you would be hard pressed to find a better way to bet on the sport.

Live betting allows you to make your bets after kick off is underway, and allows you to adjust your betting strategy in real time.

This is particularly entertaining for a sport like rugby because of how action packed it is. The oval ball means that bounce could be the difference between a converted try, or a get out of jail free card.

This unpredictability is what makes live betting on rugby so entertaining. What’s more, is that certain markets, like half time result, and highest scoring half really come alive.

• We recommend taking a look at our favorite live betting sites for rugby below

Assessing all sites for Rugby Betting

Further up on this page we discussed a couple of betting sites that we thought were the best for rugby betting. While we’re sticking to our guns, and truly believe that those sites offer the best when it comes to rugby, we highly encourage that you make your own decisions.

Our goal is to inform you, but also help you make your own betting site decisions.

With that in mind, we will give you a quick refresher on the different criteria we use to measure the best rugby betting sites in South Africa.

• Click on the dropdown below to be reintroduced to the factors we feel to be important in choosing betting sites

• If however, you would like to be transported to the sites we like to think are the best, click on the button below to view our top picks

As we have mentioned already on this page, we are not a tipping service, so unfortunately we cannot help you when it comes to which bets to make. We can however give you a couple general pointers that we like to live by when getting into some rugby betting.

Rugby betting can be absolutely thrilling, but you need to know some basics!

• Take a look at some of our top tips below, if you’re looking for some rugby betting pointers

Now that you know all there is to know about rugby betting sites, and how to get started with rugby betting, the last thing you need to do is go ahead and sign up with one (or all, its encouraged) of the rugby betting sites below, and get started on this awesome adventure!

Click on button from the list below to get started!