Rugby World Cup Betting 2011
The rugby World Cup is one of the massive sports tournaments that brings together people of different backgrounds from countries all over the world. Rugby World Cup betting 2011 will cover the seventh World Cup tournament since the event was created back in 1987.
The rugby World Cup has been used in a number of different ways that have made the tournament special. It is of course a big sporting occasion which gives teams the chance to show off but it has also been used for political reasons such as Nelson Mandela's interest in the South African team when he was President of the country.
The format of the rugby World Cup will follow the pattern of tournaments gone by with four separate pools of teams. There is a good mix of teams in each pool which guarantees no easy games and a chance for the weaker or smaller teams in the event to improve and learn.
Rugby World Cup Betting
Rugby world cup betting can get tricky once the tournament has gone beyond the initial group stage. The pools are traditionally dominated by the stronger teams which is where doubles, trebles and accumulators come into play. These are much better alternatives than the odds for direct wins on the strongest teams.
Rugby World Cup betting 2011 will cover more markets than ever before thanks to the growth of online betting and the popularity of in-play markets. This can allow punters to capitalise on the few performances when the underdogs raise their game to new heights and challenge the strong teams.
Rugby World Cup Pools
There are four rugby World Cup pools with a combination of the traditional strong teams and the teams who have earned their right to play in the tournament. The top two teams from each pool progress to the quarter-final stages, semi-finals and then the final match.
The teams in Pool A are; Canada, France, Japan, New Zealand and Tonga. Pool B; Argentina, England, Georgia, Romania and Scotland. Pool C; Australia, Ireland, Italy, Russia and the United States. Pool D; Fiji, Namibia, Samoa, South Africa and Wales.
Rugby World Cup Favourites
There are a few teams that are being favoured as the favourites to win the rugby World Cup at this stage. The Southern Hemisphere sides (New Zealand, South Africa and Australia) have traditionally been the higher performers in the World Cup based on past tournaments. They will all want to beat each other badly and all have a good chance of doing so.
England will always be one of the rugby World Cup favourites for any Rugby Union Betting market because they have a long and proud history of playing in World Cups. England have a good record against all of the stronger teams and have made the final of the last two World Cups.
Rugby World Cup Contenders
A team like Wales could be one of the best rugby World Cup contenders. Wales have a big team and they move the ball around well. They have a very good coach and have performed well in tournaments such as the Six Nations over the recent past.
Ireland will also be one of the rugby World Cup contenders in Rugby World Cup Betting. Ireland always enjoy a large and vocal support which helps inspire the team and this produces good performances against the bigger and stronger sides in the world.
Pre-World Cup Period
The pre-World Cup period will be important for all of the sides due to compete at the event. Normally sides like England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland would tour the Southern Hemisphere but the Tri-Nation series stops this. Therefore, the pre-World Cup period for these sides will be filled with a number of friendly matches.
The pre-World Cup period is important because it allows teams to test out tactics and different setups within the team. It also allows the players to raise their levels of match fitness after domestic seasons in each country have finished.