Rugby is one of the top sports with a large fanbase globally. Like other sports, rugby features various leagues and competitions that are played globally and held to a prestigious level. This article highlights the most prestigious Rugby competitions, some of which attract many gambling enthusiasts who enjoy sports betting online.

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby Union World Cup is the leading international team event. Played every four years since 1987, it is among the world’s most-watched sporting events ( after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games). The 2019 WorldCup global viewership hit a record high of 857 million viewers, making it the most-watched international event at the time.

In addition, according to a report by World Rugby, the 2003 rugby world cup final between Australia and England was the most-watched rugby union match in Australian television history – with more than 3.4 billion people.

The RWC champions are:

• New Zealand – champions in 1987, 2011, and 2015.
•  Australia – champions in 1991 and 1999.
• South Africa – champions in 1995, 2007, and 2019.
• England in 2003.

Other important rugby tournaments include:

• The Six Nations Cup. This is a tournament between the oldest national teams in the world. It is disputed by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, and Italy.
• The Rugby Championship. It is contested by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Argentina.
• The Pacific Nations Cup. It was contested by five Pacific Ocean teams: Japan, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Junior All Blacks, the New Zealand B team.
• The South American Championship. It is divided into two divisions: Serie A (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, and Paraguay) and Serie B (Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, and Costa Rica).
• Tests. In addition to these championships, the world’s major national teams compete annually in a series of friendlies called Tests. These events are highly valued in the rugby world that takes place between clubs, regional teams, and franchises.

National Championships

Most countries globally are involved in amateur Rugby competitions, and their championships are organized according to selections from provinces, states, and even clubs. However, the countries that organize professional leagues are the ones that currently have the most outstanding championships and organize matches that are successful with the public.

The most important professional championships in the world include:

National

• The French Championship is one of the most important championships in Europe, with clubs that have won several continental titles. In addition, it is disputed by clubs and organized into divisions, the main division being the Top 14.
• The English Premiership (Gallagher Premiership): England has the most Rugby clubs in Europe. As a result, this Cup is contested by clubs and organized into divisions.
• Italian Championship (Campionato di Eccellenza): This competition is played between clubs and organized into divisions. Some of the teams were introduced in Pro 12.
• The South African Championship (Currie Cup) is played by regional teams, with some of them being introduced in Super Rugby.
• The New Zealand Championship (Miter 10 Cup): The championship is considered the greatest power rugby tournament. It features provincial selections, which is very traditional in the country.
• The Japanese Championship (Top League) is an industrial league with teams belonging to big companies.

Multinationals

The URC, also called the Celtic League, is a prestigious tournament disputed by teams from Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Italy and South Africa. It is considered a franchised system with teams representing stipulated regions in their countries, except Italy. However, all countries have their leagues.

For instance,  in England, France and Italy, organizers centre the competition model around clubs. On the other hand, in the Celtic League, the championship is played in a franchise system with regional representation. Finally, the organizers employ the regional teams model for tournaments in South Africa and New Zealand.

Although professionalism allows the team representatives to remain the same, it has resulted in the loss of character as teams can hire players from other teams.  For example, in Japan, teams are maintained by large corporations. In European leagues, tournaments are generally held year-round, starting in mid-August and ending in mid-May of the following year.

International Championships

There are two major interclub continental championships in Europe: the Champions Cup (or Cup of Champions, formerly known as the Heineken Cup) and the Challenge Cup.

The Champions Cup brings together the top teams from European professional championships. In contrast, the Challenge Cup brings together teams from the same championships and from other countries on the continent.

A third important international competition – the British and Irish Cup – brings professional and semi-professional teams together. In this tournament, the second-division teams of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland participate.

The Hemispheric League

South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand have an international league operating on a franchise model. Super Rugby is considered the largest league in the Southern Hemisphere. From 1996 to 2005, the competition was called Super 12, but that changed between 2006 to 2010 to be known as Super 14.

Since 2011 it has been called Super 15, with fifteen teams, five from each country. Each Super Rugby team represents a specific region. In Australia, each of the five franchises represents a state. The South African and New Zealand franchises represent a set of teams from their national championships (Currie Cup in South Africa and Miter 10 Cup in New Zealand, respectively).