Rugby Union Betting Rules: Penalty Tries, Draws, Handicaps and Try Scorers
Quick answer: rugby union bets settle on 80 minutes plus injury time; extra time and golden point do not count. A penalty try is worth seven points and counts for total points and total tries, but not for try scorer bets. A try scorer bet on a player who never takes the field is void. A whole-number handicap that ends exactly level is usually cancelled with the stake returned; a half-point line cannot end level.
Rugby union has scoring rules that do not exist in other sports, and each of them shows up in settlement. A penalty try puts seven points on the board without a player's name on it. Twenty-three players are named but only fifteen start. Knockout and finals matches can go beyond 80 minutes, and the scoreboard at the end is not always the one your bet is settled on.
This guide sets out how UK bookmakers settle each rugby union market, quoting their published rules where the wording matters, with worked examples for the cases that cause disputes. It is about how bets are settled, not about who to back.
This month: the Nations Championship November rounds
Updated 6 November 2026. Rounds 4 to 6 of the twelve-team Nations Championship are played in Europe this month, and the competition ends with a finals weekend in London. The finals weekend matches use golden point if level after 80 minutes, which is exactly where the 80-minute rule below decides your bet. The table, the tie-breakers and the kick-off times in UK, Irish, Canadian and New Zealand time are in our Nations Championship 2026 guide.
| Round | Dates | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Round 4 | Fri 6 to Sun 8 Nov 2026 | Starts with Ireland v Argentina in Dublin, ends with England v Australia in London |
| Round 5 | Fri 13 to Sun 15 Nov 2026 | Starts with France v South Africa at the Stade de France |
| Round 6 | Sat 21 Nov 2026 | All six matches on one day; the final rankings set the finals weekend pairings |
| Finals weekend | Fri 27 to Sun 29 Nov 2026 | Six North v South matches at Allianz Stadium, London, with golden point |
How each rugby union market settles
This is the usual position at UK-licensed bookmakers. The rugby union section of your bookmaker's rules has the final word, and the two places where wordings genuinely differ (draws in two-way markets and postponed matches) are flagged.
| Market | What it settles on | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Match result (home, draw, away) | Score after 80 minutes plus injury time. Extra time and golden point do not count. | Level after 80 minutes is a draw, whoever wins in extra time. |
| Match betting with no draw offered | Score after 80 minutes plus injury time. | A draw is usually settled under dead heat rules: half the stake at full odds. |
| Handicap | The handicap is added to the 80-minute score. | Whole-number line ending level with no tie option: cancelled, stake returned. |
| Winning margin | From scratch: no handicap is applied. 80 minutes only. | A draw option is normally part of the market. |
| Total points, total tries | 80 minutes only. Penalty tries count, at seven points each. | Points in extra time or golden point are ignored. |
| First try scorer | Penalty tries do not count; settlement moves to the next try a player scores. | Void if the player neither started nor came on before the first try. |
| Anytime try scorer | Any try the player scores in the 80 minutes. Penalty tries do not count. | Void only if the player never takes the field. |
| Postponed or abandoned match | Postponed: void after a set time (48 hours at one UK operator, a change of day at another). Abandoned: void unless an official result is declared. | Markets already decided at the abandonment, such as first try scorer, stand. |
The 80-minute rule, and why it matters in November
Sky Bet's rugby union rules put it in one line: "All betting is for 80 minutes play (inc. Injury Time) only, i.e. extra time does not count." The same sentence is repeated under match result, handicap, winning margin and total points. In a league match this never comes up, because the game ends at 80 minutes whatever the score. It matters in cup knockouts and in formats with golden point.
Take a Nations Championship finals weekend match that is 20-20 after 80 minutes, followed by ten minutes of golden point in which one side kicks a penalty to win 23-20. A three-way match bet on the draw wins, both team bets lose, a bet on over 42.5 total points loses (40 points in the 80 minutes), and a +2.5 handicap on either side wins. A bet on which hemisphere lifts the trophy is settled on the full result, golden point included.
Rugby league uses the same principle with different extra-time rules in Super League and the NRL; the comparison is in our rugby league golden point guide.
Penalty tries: seven points, no try scorer
Under World Rugby Law 8, a penalty try is awarded between the posts when foul play stops a probable try, it is worth seven points and no conversion is attempted. Because no player touches the ball down, the bookmakers treat it as a team score. Sky Bet: "For first/last tryscorer betting, penalty tries do not count" and "Penalty tries count towards all total try markets". Gila River Sports Book adds what happens next: "In the event of a penalty try, settlement goes on to the next awarded try."
The match: Home win 24-17. Home score three converted tries and a penalty goal (21 + 3). Away score a penalty try in the 6th minute, the first try of the match, then a converted try and a penalty goal (7 + 7 + 3).
Total points over 40.5: wins. 24 + 17 = 41, and the penalty try's seven points are part of it.
Total tries over 4.5: wins. Three home tries, one away try and the penalty try make five.
First try scorer: the penalty try is skipped. The bet is settled on the second try of the match, the first one scored by a player.
First try converted: no conversion follows a penalty try, so at Sky Bet the market is settled on the conversion attempt after the second try.
Try scorer bets: starters, replacements and the bench
A matchday squad has 23 players and only 15 start, so whether a bet stands depends on when the player gets on the pitch. The rules differ by market:
- Anytime try scorer:stands if the player takes part at any point, even for the last two minutes. Void only if he stays on the bench. In Sky Bet's words, "If they do not participate and remain on the bench then bets will be voided."
- First try scorer: stands for a starter, and for a replacement who has already come on when the first try is scored. A replacement who comes on after the first try had no chance to score it, so the bet is void.
- Score first and win, score anytime and win: at Sky Bet the player must be in the starting fifteen; a replacement makes the bet void, even if he scores.
- Second-half first try scorer: if no try is scored after half-time, every selection loses.
Team sheets for international matches are usually named a day or two before kick-off. Betting on a try scorer before the team is named carries the risk that he is left out of the 23 entirely; that bet is void, but a bet on a player who is moved to the bench and then gets five minutes is live, and usually lost.
Handicaps and draws: when a level score costs you
Rugby handicaps are quoted on half points (-7.5) or whole points (-7). The difference only shows when the margin lands exactly on the number. Here is £10 on a team at -7.5 and at -7, both at 1.91 (a win returns £19.10):
| Your team | -7.5 handicap | -7 handicap, no tie option |
|---|---|---|
| Wins by 10 | Win | Win |
| Wins by 8 | Win | Win |
| Wins by 7 | Lose | Void, stake returned |
| Wins by 3 | Lose | Lose |
| Draw | Lose | Lose |
| Loses by 5 | Lose | Lose |
Seven is the number to watch, because a converted try is worth exactly seven: one late converted try is often what moves a margin onto or across a -7 or +7 line. Where the bookmaker offers a "handicap tie" as a third outcome, there is no refund: the tie wins and both sides lose.
Draws in the plain match market work the same way. In a three-way market a draw loses both team bets. Where only the two teams are priced, dead heat rules usually apply: £10 at 1.90 becomes £5 at 1.90, a return of £9.50. The dead heat calculator does the sum for any stake, and dead heat rules explained covers the rule across sports.
Postponed and abandoned matches
This is where operators differ most. Sky Bet keeps bets alive for 48 hours: "If a match is postponed bets will stand until 48 hours from the original kick off time after which time they will be void." Gila River cancels bets on any match moved to a different day, local time, except at tournament finals. For abandoned matches the usual rule is void unless the governing body declares an official result; Sky Bet then settles match and handicap bets on that result and voids other markets unless they were already decided, so a first try scorer bet that had already won stays a winner.
How the same question is handled in football, cricket and tennis is in our abandoned match betting rules guide.
Frequently asked questions
Does extra time count in rugby union betting?
No, not for match, handicap, winning margin or total points bets. UK bookmakers settle rugby union on 80 minutes plus any injury time, so extra time, golden point and kicking competitions are ignored. A match that is level after 80 minutes is a draw for those markets, even if one side goes on to win it. The exception is a market that asks who wins the trophy or qualifies, which includes everything played.
Do penalty tries count for first or anytime try scorer bets?
No. A penalty try is awarded to the team, not to a player, so it does not count in first, last or anytime try scorer markets. If the first try of the match is a penalty try, the first try scorer bet is settled on the next try that a player scores. Penalty tries do count in total match tries, team tries and total points markets, where they are worth seven points under World Rugby Law 8.
What happens to a try scorer bet if the player starts on the bench?
For anytime try scorer, the bet stands if the player comes on at any point and is void if he stays on the bench all match. For first try scorer, the bet stands if he is in the starting fifteen or has come on before the first try is scored; a replacement who comes on after the first try is void. Some combined markets, such as score first and win, require the player to start and are void otherwise.
What happens to a rugby handicap bet that ends level on the line?
Only a whole-number line can end level: with a half-point line such as -7.5 someone always wins. On a whole-number line like -7 with no tie option offered, a seven-point win means the bet is cancelled and the stake returned. Where the bookmaker prices a handicap tie as a third outcome, the tie wins and both sides of the handicap lose.
How is a draw settled in rugby union match betting?
It depends on whether the draw was offered. In a three-way market (home, draw, away) a draw after 80 minutes wins only for draw bets; both team bets lose. Where only the two teams are offered, dead heat rules usually apply: half the stake is paid at the full odds and the other half loses, so £10 at 1.90 returns £9.50. Check the market type on your bet slip before the match, not after.
Sources and method
Read on 6 November 2026. Quoted wordings are from the published rugby union rules of Sky Bet, a UK-licensed bookmaker, and Gila River Sports Book, a US operator, used here to show how the second common wording reads. Scoring values are from World Rugby's Laws of the Game. The November dates are from the Nations Championship fixture list published by Scottish Rugby and Six Nations Rugby. Worked examples are our own calculation.
- Sky Bet, Rugby Union Rules — support.skybet.com
- Gila River Sports Book, Rugby (Union) wager types and rules — playatgila.com
- World Rugby, Laws of the Game, Law 8: Scoring — passport.world.rugby
- Scottish Rugby, 2026 Nations Championship: about the tournament — scottishrugby.org
- Six Nations Rugby, Nations Championship format and match points explainer — media.sixnationsrugby.com
18+. Try scorer prices are long because most of them lose: keep the stake you would be happy to lose and do not add more in-play after a try goes against you. Deposit limits, time-outs and support are on our responsible gambling page.