The National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia was introduced in the early 20^th century and since then the game has gained immense popularity. In fact, the NRL is a more popular sport watched on television than the entire Cricket World Cup in Australia. Rugby involves physical strength as it is about players accelerating, decelerating, tackling, changing directions, passing the ball, catching it, and kicking. The game is fast and includes lots of physical contact. Rugby injuries are highly common amongst players.

NRL has the highest viewership all over the world. The game is fast and fun to watch. This is why many fans love to place bets on their favourite teams, players, or on high-end matches. Many bookmarks across Australia offer betting services, with Blue Bet taking and maintaining the lead for over 30 years. You can use these services to contact bookies and choose your betting options to enjoy the game and your win both at the same time!

Did You Know…?

Historically;

• The rugby game was first introduced in the north of England in 1895. It came to Australia in 1907 with nine teams.
• The oldest teams of the NRL are the South Sydney and the Sydney Roosters that were developed as early as the game in Australia.
• The popular Bulldogs were first developed in 1935.
• Rugby has been popular amongst women as well. The first rugby women league was formed in 1993. There is also a rugby league world cup played on an international level for women.
• The rugby league gained its NRL status in the 1990s when a series of legal battles initiated between Rupert Murdoch and James Packer, who both wanted to win rugby TV broadcasting rights.

Key Players;

• The Australian rugby women players are called Jillaroos. They won the world cup in 2019 after defeating New Zealand, who had a winning streak of 13 years.
• The best and fairest player of the NRL season gets an award every year. The award is called the Dally M Medal, named after a rugby legend Dally Messenger.

Injuries;

• Since rugby is a game of physical strength, from 2003-2006 alone, up to 1600 people were admitted to the hospital due to rugby-related injuries.
• Recent studies show that the rate of injuries is lower in young players than in adult players at 4.1 injuries per 1,000 playing hours.
• The most common type of injury is colliding into another player and falling as a result. 30% of all injuries are bruising, strains, and joint sprains.

Rules of the Game

• The rugby stadium is a rectangular field with goalposts on each end. The aim of the game is to take the ball to or beyond the opponent’s goal line and score points. The ball can either be touched to the goal line or beyond, which is known as a try, or it can be kicked through the goal post.
• A try is worth 4 points while a kick through the goal post is worth 2 points. Other ways to score points is by penalty goals or field goals.
• Each team has 13 players and the duration of the game is two 40-minute halves.
• Both teams have forward and back players with number 7 being the halfback. The numbers 1-7 are the backs and 8-13 are the forwards.
• The football can be passed only backwards to the teammates – NEVER forwards.
• The ball is passed until the player with the ball is tackled. When tackled, the player must hold onto the ball as hard as they can. If your team players get tackled more than six times, the ball should be handed over to the other team.