The Rugby League World Cup is the highlight of the Rugby League world and has been since its inception back in 1954. The competition takes place every four years, with a number of qualification matches taking place in the run-up to the tournament. However, 2021 is set to be bigger and better than ever.
For the first time in the history of the Rugby League World Cup, there will be one big, single event including the Men’s World Cup, the WOmen’s World Cup and the Wheelchair competition. This huge joint event will culminate in one epic final weekend where the champions will all be crowned. More than any other time in the past, this is set to be one of the unmissable events of the sports betting year.
Who Will Be Crowned World Champions?
The first question on every bettor’s lips will be – who will be crowned the winner? Although it’s not a certainty, with a hugely successful history in the tournament, Australia is always going to go into the event as strong favourites – with New Zealand never far behind.
The tournament is due to start on 23rd October 2021 and comes to its epic conclusion one month later – on 23rd November 2021. This year, the tournament is set to be hosted in England. However, that does not mean that the hosts look set to conquer. As is normally the case in the Rugby League World Cup, Australia will be going into the tournaments as favourites and expected to win for the 12th time – out of 16 world cups. This win percentage is unprecedented, not just in rugby, but in pretty much all sports.
Australia won their first title back in 1957 and they have only ever been defeated in the finals by New Zealand once and Great Britain twice. This is their tournament and it’s not one they will be giving up any time soon.
It comes then as no surprise that every top bookie has Australia as odds on favourites to get another victory and most won’t be taking any risks on it – with betting sites such as Cyber.Bet giving them odds of 2/7 – practically a certainty. New Zealand and England, both second and third favourites respectively have been given odds of 6/1 and 7/1 – so it’s definitely not something they expect. Countries such as France and Ireland have been written off totally.
Betting on the Rugby League World Cup
Because the favourites are so way out ahead, it may not seem to be worth the bet. However, there are other RLWC bets that you may want to try out so that you can find value for money when placing your wagers.
Head to Head Bets
Instead of betting on the outright winner of the tournament, you could bet on the head to head matches that could offer much more excitement – Great Britain v New Zealand, or Samoa v Tonga, for example, you could be much more exciting and offer better value odds.
First Try Scorer Bets
At any single match, you could place a bet on which player you think will be the first to score a try on either team. In contrast, you could also bet on which player you think will score the last try of the match.
Half Time / Full Time
Just as with football betting, you can place a bet on which team you think will be ahead at the first half of the match and which team you think will win at the end of the match. This could offer a number of opportunities and can offer some value odds.
Handicap Bets
If there is a clear underdog, then a bookmaker could put a handicap on the favourites (i.e. +10), which means that in order to be considered winners at the bookmakers, they would need to win by 11 or more points. This type of bet offers much more value when there is a clear favourite.
