There is so much more to rugby betting than picking a match or tournament winner and for those happy to tie their funds up for the next few months I reckon there is some value in the season head to head markets.

It is actually quite frightening how much money I will have tied up on Super Rugby 2012 by the time the tournament gets going on Friday. Aside from my long term interest in the Blues (tipped at 9/1) and the Force for the Wooden Spoon (then 3/1) I have also taken positions on the Australian and South African Conferences.

There are loads of other betting markets available though and one of my personal favourites is the Regular Season Match Bets where you back one team to beat another over the course of the regular season or in other words excluding the playoffs.

This is not a common bet but World Sports Betting (WSB) and Ladbrokes (Lads) have obliged.

Before I highlight what I believe are good value bets I should mention that I took a big position on the Chiefs to finish above the Bulls at 11/10 with World Sports Betting over a month ago. The layer has since gone 9/10 the pair but interestingly Ladbrokes goes 0.66/1 Chiefs and 11/10 the Bulls. Enough about the past let’s look to the future:

Crusaders 6/10 (WSB) v Reds 15/10 (Lads)

Having decided to back the Reds in the Australian Conference I must admit the 15/10 they can finish above the Crusaders makes some appeal. Granted the Crusaders are the tournament favourites but they are in a far tougher Conference and in my view will not be quite as strong as last year. This is not a standout bet by any means but I feel they should be priced more like 8/10 Crusaders and 1/1 Reds.

Stormers 1/1 (WSB) v Blues 11/10 (Lads)

In theory you are betting into a book here where you cannot lose but the margin in our favour is too small to warrant an arbitrage. Nonetheless I thought it prudent to point this one out simply because the bookies disagree (always good news for punters) and if pushed I would go for the Blues although such is my involvement in the long term bet I will only include this in a multiple.

Crusaders 1/3 v Blues 9/4 (Lads)

The Blues are my long term fancy and because of that I have stopped short of taking the 5/2 they win the Conference. Instead though I will take the 9/4 they beat the Crusaders and thus will not have to worry about the Chiefs who I make a dark horse this season.

Lions 1/1 v Highlanders 8/10 (WSB)

I fancy the Lions for a strong season, possibly even challenging for the Conference. The Highlanders are a gritty bunch and are seldom hammered but I reckon they will struggle in their Conference and on that basis will be looking at the Lions here.

Stormers 4/10 v Sharks 1.75/1 (Lads)

This is the standout value for me and the bet I alluded to when tipping the Sharks in the SA Conference preview. The Stormers and the Sharks are barely separated in some books and given the Sharks are no bigger than 11/4 and as short as 1.87/1 to win the Conference I would suggest the 1.75/1 they have to beat only the Stormers is great value and I will be loading up.

STAKING PLAN

7 units Sharks/Stormers at 1.75/1 with Ladbrokes

2 units double Blues/Stormers and Reds/Crusaders at 4.25/1 with Ladbrokes

4 units Lions/Highlanders at 1/1 with World Sports Betting

3 units Blues/Crusaders at 9/4 with Ladbrokes

Stay close to Goodforthegame as we cover the greatest rugby tournament in the world from a betting perspective. Betting previews on all 7 matches out later this week and punters already discussing the odds in our forum.

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