2022 Rugby League and Rugby Union Futures Betting Picks, Latest Odds and Season Analysis

In the 2022 Futures blog, we take a deep dive into both Rugby League and Rugby Union Futures betting picks. There are six categories of Rugby futures available at betonline.ag for 2022, and we’ll offer the betting odds, stats and predictions for each one.

There are six major Rugby tournaments available for betting in January 2022, many with strong favorites and tournaments already underway! All these Rugby futures and more are available at betonline.ag.

Australia National Rugby League Grand Final 2022 Winner

This tournament selects the winner of Australia’s NRL, a rugby league made up of only Australian teams.

The season consists of 25 weeks of play and uses Rugby League rules with slight changes for the Australian League on penalty kicks for off-side and ruck infringement on their own half.

NRL Grand Final 2022 Teams and Betting Odds

• Broncos are seeded first in the standings, but eighth in the betting odds.
• In the last five years, the Storm has won twice and the Roosters have won twice, with the Panthers taking last year from the Rabbitohs by two points.
• The Cronulla Sharks just picked up Dale Finucae, an excellent captain and Grand Finale winner for Melbourne Storm.

PREPARING THE PANTHERS ?? An insight into the club's gruelling pre-season regime, where science and technology meet old fashioned hard work.#pantherpride ? pic.twitter.com/D3FMjTtf3n

— Penrith Panthers ? (@PenrithPanthers) December 27, 2021

The Panthers have been changing their training methodology with new coaches and the kind of conditioning and drill specific training that many NRL Rugby teams have lacked. However, these methods are being quickly replicated by most NRL teams.

The Melbourne Storm Won’t WIn in 2022

Melbourne has struggled in the last season, both with sidelined players and controversy. They’re losing Brandon Smith at the end of the 2022 season. Dale Finucane will not be returning, a player that was with them for their last three Grand Finals.

These are all key players, going to other teams or retiring for 2022.

Final Betting Pick

With Dale Finucane, Locky Miller, and Jayden Barrell all joining the Cronulla Sharks this season, it would be a miracle if they didn’t make it to the top four. I see the Sharks bringing home their first Grand Final since 2016.

The Sharks pay out at 16 times your bet, and are carrying some of the best players in the league. I feel NRL fans will be reminded of the power of high quality players and leadership through this season.

Dale Finucane is too strong ?

? #NRLRoostersStorm
? BLOG https://t.co/p7LhsN37xG
? WATCH https://t.co/KZfqZMxyEy
? MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/9B5vhGMs2e pic.twitter.com/7D1WVMjLu7

— Fox League (@FOXNRL) July 1, 2021

Dale Finucane is a force on the field. Not only can he score, he’s operating at a 93.6% tackle efficiently, meaning only 7% of his attempted tackles are defended. He’s averaging 36.9 points a game. For American fans, Finucane is the Jordan of the NRL, if Jordan were also one of the best defenders of all time.

England Super League Grand Final 2022

This England Super League season begins on February 10th with the Grand Final on September 24th 2022.  This is the 25th Super League Final, each one taking place at the Old Trafford in Manchester every year since 1998.

Super League Grand Final Teams and Betting Odds

The Super League tournament has been won for the last three years by St Helens. St Helens has taken home 8 of the 24 Grand Finals to date, with Wiggan, Leeds, and Bradford being the only teams to win a Grand Final other than St Helens.

Is England Super League Rugby Getting More Competitive?

Yes it is. Last year the Catalans Dragons took second place, losing to St Helens by only two points. In previous years, runners up have included Salford, Warrington and Castleford. As the league gets older, we should see more teams proving competitive with St Helens and the other front runners.

2022’s Most Competitive Super League Rugby Teams

• The Dragons signed Mitchell Pearce, Dylan Napa of the Canterbury Bulldogs and Samoa international Tyrone May. Tyrone won a NRL Grand Final last season.
• Lachlan Coote has departed from the St helens team. Of their six 2022 recruits only one is notable, Will Hopoate who replaces Kevin Naiquama.

With the Dragons changes and high level players joining their team, it looks like they’ll win the 2022 Grand Final. Tyrone May is out to prove his value to a team. The Dragons lost less key players, and signed on more talent than St Helens.

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Suite à la décision de la @FFRXIII, les rencontres de la 8ème journée ont été reportées au week-end du 12 et 13 février prochain.

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— Dr_g_ns C_t_l_ns (@DragonsOfficiel) January 7, 2022

The Dragons are a French team, the Top 14 helped to produce many of the Catalans players. England is used to playing with its teams and they’re specific styles. The Dragons were founded in 2022, and they were the league leaders last year. They hadn’t found success until they acquired key players, such as Israel Folau in 2020.

Final Betting Pick

The Dragons are a +500 pick, paying out five times your wager for a team that nearly captured their first Grand Final last season. The Dragons have the momentum and have solidified it with the right recruits for 2022.

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

Rugby League World Cup 2021 (October 2022)

This future must be placed by April 1st 2022. The World Cup was moved due to covid restrictions and will now take place in October in England. The Rugby League has sixteen teams split into four pools where eight will advance to the knockout stage. These four pools have already been drawn for 2022 (the 2021 tournament) and should affect betting odds.

International Rugby League World Cup Teams and Betting Odds

Australia is a strong front runner, winning ten of the last twelve Rugby League Grand Finals. Since 1995, the runner up has been New Zealand or England.

Pools for the Rugby International World Cup 2022

The top two teams advance to the quarterfinals bracket.

The pools are fitted so that England, Australia and New Zealand will find their way to the quarterfinals. Tonga is the favorite for Pool D, and rose to #6 in the world Rankings after beating Australia for the first time.

Rugby League Stats for the Australian, New Zealand, Tonga and England Teams for 2022

• Australia is now #4 in the world rankings after a loss to Tonga in 2019. Australia and New Zealand pulled out of the 2021 Cup first due to an inability to practice.
• England has only beaten Australia 7 of 18 times and New Zealand 9 of 19 times. They’re currently #2 in the international rankings.
• Tonga has competed in six World Cups since 1987, winning none of them.

Final Betting Pick

I see England winning the world cup this year. They can edge out Tonga and New Zealand and Australia are still more affected in their training by Covid restrictions, meaning England has more time to train overall and will be more prepared by October. Bet Egland for +600, a six times your money wager over the strong favorite Australia.

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

France Top 14 Winner 21/22 January 8th (Rugby Union)

The Top fourteen is a French National Rugby League tournament, currently in week 15 of 26 as of January 7th, 2022. These teams all belong to France, each team partially making up the national team.

France Top 14 Teams and Betting Odds

Toulousain, or TOUL, is a heavy front runner. Begles took 1st place last season, but Toulousain won the Top 14 tournament. Currently, they’re #1, with the Bordeaux Begles in 4th place behind the Racing 92.

• If Begles win their next game, they’ll still need another win and a toulouse loss to get back into the top two.
• Toulouse next game is January 10th, where they face the #20 ranked team, not even on this betting chart.
• The likelihood that Toulouse loses their lead is low. Clermont just beat them, but lost to Begles in October.
• Rochelle is in second place, facing #8 Toulon.

Bordeaux Begles Vs Stade Toulousain France Rugby Live Stream – Top 14 – 25-Mar https://t.co/i8HzrZdoco pic.twitter.com/KQMNlotg4l

— salioreshwar (@salioreshwar) March 23, 2017

The Begles and Stade Toulousain play on March 25th. Stade is heavily favored to win by analysts and fans alike. They’ve added six players this year, including Alexandre Roumat and Theo Idjellidaine, both young, high quality athletes. They retired two of their oldest players including Iosefa Tekori (38) and Zack Holmes (32.)

Final Betting Pick

We have eleven more weeks of play before the tournament winner is declared, but I like Stade Toulousain. They have a strong lead and still haven’t faced off against some of the weaker teams. Rochelle and Racing have tough teams coming up, and have a high chance of losing one of their next three games.

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

France Rugby Regular Season Winner, Betting Odds and Pick

In addition to the top fourteen tournament, you can bet on the season winner. While the final for the Top 14 is much closer, the season winner isn’t always the Top 14 winner. The season is far out, with multiple variables in play, however Stade Toulousain is the winningest team over the last twenty years, both for Top 14s and regular Seasons. I’ll be betting TOUL again at -120, another $0.83 payout.

Rugby Union Six Nations Grand Slam Winner

The 2022 Guinness Six Nations tournament takes place between the same six countries each year. This tournament produces several methods of ‘winning’ awarded during the tournament.

There will be a winner declared between the Six Nations Tournament, however, a Triple Crown or Grand Slam may not take place.

2022 Six Nations Team’s and Betting Odds

France is easily the best team of 2022, though Wales won the tournament in 2019 and took home a Grand Slam as well.

France smashed New Zealand in late 2021, 40-25. This upset solidified France’s position as front runners in the Six Nations tournament. France has never hit a Grand Slam, and they’re currently ranked fifth in the World Rugby Rankings, just two points below England.

2022 Grand Slam Odds

To win the Grand Slam, a team must defeat each team at the tournament without losing.

France and England have the best chances of a grand slam, but I feel that Ireland has England’s number and that France will lose to England, beating the other five teams.

Grand Slams happen about 25% of the time and only 40 have been scored since 1883. Betting No Grand Slam Winner for a $0.71 payout is the right move.

Triple Crown Betting Pick and Odds

The Triple Crown winner must beat the other three teams in this list. No winner is crowned if each team loses one time against the other three teams.

Given that I think England will lose to Ireland, I don’t see a clear path to a Triple Crown. Triple Crowns are significantly more common, and Wales won in 2021 and 2019.

Personally, I like Ireland to win the Triple Crown, however, given that I believe France will not Grand Slam, I’m going to bet that no one will win the Crown, something that hasn’t happened since 2017. No winner pays out $1.50 per dollar wager.

2023 World Cup Winner (Rugby Union)

The World Cup takes place on Friday, September 8th 2023 to Saturday October 28th, 2023. This massive tournament will crown the World Cup Champions takes place in France. The beauty of this tournament is that much of the seeding and positions of the bracket has already been decided, so you can simply look at the bracket and pick who will win each game.

World Cup Teams and Latest Betting Odds

We’ve removed the six longest shot teams, several who are new to the Rugby World Cup altogether. Rugby League is not a game of big upsets. These teams are broken up into the following pools, with the top two teams from each pool advancing to the next round, eight teams total. Note that they are still qualifying. The eight teams that did the best at the 2019 World Cup are automatically seeded.

World Cup 2023 Pools as of January 2022

• Pool A is killer, and likely to swat out anyone who qualifies. This is part of what makes Italy such a long shot, they’ll struggle to beat out New Zealand and France.
• Pool B is tough to call, with multiple teams still qualifying. South Africa looks great, and Scotland lost their 2021 game to Ireland 24 to 27.
• In Pool C, Fiji has lost to Australia 18 times in the teams history of competition. In the 2019 World Cup, Wales served Fiji 29 to 17, Wales has won all eleven games played against Fiji since 1985.
• Pool D is one of the more competitive. Samoa has never made it past the pool stage and they haven’t beat a tier 1 nation since 2014. Japan is improving, getting to the quarterfinals in 2019.

Our Picks for Quarterfinals, Top 8 World Cup Rugby Union Teams

One concern for New Zealand and Australia  is that they’ve dealt with severe covid restrictions on their training. Lockdown forced many athletes to change training protocols, and I do believe it will have an effect on their 2023 performances.

France is the strongest team that hasn’t seen lockdowns affect training, though they’re announcing a serious lockdown in early 2022 that could affect training.

England has kept up the most serious methodologies of training through covid restrictions. They have a deep pool of athletes to pull from, and their 2021 year was strong.

Final Betting Pick

Over the eighteen month timeline, I tried to look at the abilities of each team and how the teams were approaching training. England is a winning team that continues to train, isolating individual athletes rather than the whole team.

Bet England for the 2023 World Cup Winner, their first win since 2003, at +500 for a five times return on your bet.

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

2021 Women’s World Cup Winner (Women’s Rugby Union)

Airing from October 8th to November 5th 2022 the Women’s World Cup in New Zealand was postponed one year due to covid restrictions, moving the tournament to this year.  Women’s rugby is thirty years old, and this is the ninth World Cup played. With new sports, it’s often easier to predict the outcome, as the teams are still developing.

Women’s 2021 World Cup Teams and Latest Betting Odds

New Zealand and England have a stranglehold on Women’s Rugby, taking seven of the eight cups to date, with the USA winning the first one in 1991.

Women’s Rugby Union World Cup 2021 Pools

Much like the men’s league, we boil these twelve teams down to eight, but we’ll be selecting them from the final four teams.

Semi-Final Teams and Final Betting Pick

Much like the Men’s World Cup, with New Zealand’s restrictions, I think England has a clear path to victory.

Bet England at -110, a $0.91 payout for the second winningest team in Women’s Rugby history.

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW!

Rugby Futures Wrap up

If you’re new to Rugby, look for our rugby picks moving forward to get a handle on how to bet on the game.

To get more from Thesportsgeek.com, leave a rugby comment below and let us know why your favorite team will win!