What is the Impact of Weather on Rugby?

With any outdoor sport, it is important to check the weather before placing a bet, but it is particularly important when placing rugby bets on a british betting site.  In fact it is crucial, as the weather can change the flow of an entire match and drastically impact the performance of players on both sides.

When the weather is warm and dry, it is much easier to pass and catch the ball.  Wet conditions make both a challenge, resulting in handling errors and scrums.  These in turn mean that the clock is going to run down with fewer opportunities to score.

As a result, matches played in warm, dry weather may result in higher total points and tries.  Matches played in wet conditions are generally going to have much lower total points and tries.And that's something to think about when betting on different rugby events.

This means that as a general rule, rugby matches played in the southern hemisphere tend to result in higher scores than those played in the northern hemisphere.  There are of course exceptions.  A warm, dry match in the north will result in higher totals than a wet, cold match in the south.

So if you are placing a Total Points bet, you should always take the weather into account first.  It wouldn’t make any sense to guess at a high Total Points if rain is on the forecast for a match.  Likewise, it would probably be pointless to guess at a really low Total Points score on a dry day (though if you have two extremely defensive teams, that could make for an exception).

That is not the only impact of weather on rugby matches however—different climates may also reward different teams and players.  Certain play styles are favoured by particular weather conditions.  Players who are agile and fast are typically rewarded by dry, warm conditions.  If a match features wet conditions, the players who bring the most in terms of brute force to the match are the ones who are going to push their teams toward victory. 

That means that if you are betting on which team is going to win (or whether there might be a tie), you should consider not only the strengths and weaknesses of the individual players, but how the environment will play into the equation.  Will it lend one team or the other a definite advantage?  Will it cater to the strengths of both teams, or will it cause them both to struggle? 

Remember not only to think about the individual strengths of the players, but also the overall strategy that each team tends to employ.  A team that relies heavily on its agile players will struggle in wet conditions even if it has some players who bring a lot in terms of brute strength to the pitch. 

Another factor to account for is wind.  If the wind is particularly harsh, it will be difficult to kick into it.  That means that the team with the tailwind can have a huge advantage over the team that is playing into that tailwind.  The wind acts almost as another player.  It strengths both the offence and defence of the team that it favours, and weakens both the offence and defence of the opposing team.

Keep in mind that wind conditions may change throughout a match.  If the wind is choppy in terms of direction, it may not favour either team long enough to confer a significant advantage.

In other situations, the wind may blow in one direction through the entire match, or may reverse after halftime.  You cannot make any assumptions about what will happen.  A team may enjoy a significant lead at halftime and lose it all when the wind reverses on them later.

On top of all that, harsh weather conditions may lead to injuries.  A study took a comprehensive look at weather and pitch conditions at 112 grounds on 605 occasions throughout the 1993-1994 rugby season. 

The overall findings were quite fascinating.  Researchers discovered that “the month of the season and the weather may influence the occurrence of rugby injuries, but that the state of the pitch does not.”  Downpours were found to be particularly problematic; on four out of every five occasions featuring a downpour, at least one injury was sustained. 

Injuries can impact a match in progress, and will also have lasting ramifications for individual players and their teams throughout a rugby season.  It is very common for rugby teams to play in a weakened condition later in the season.  For this reason, you must be familiar with the bench players in order to handicap a team. 

Rugby is a complex, fascinating sport, and one of the reasons for that is the dynamic interplay between the environment and game play.  This can make betting on rugby an even more involving and exciting experience.  As you can see, there is a lot to account for when you are analysing the possible impact of the location and weather conditions on a match.  The better you get at taking all those factors into account, the more accurate your predictions will be, and the more money you will win!