- Sports
- Football
- Horse Racing
- Free Bets
- Bookmaker Reviews
- Online Casinos
- Bingo
- Free Play Slots
- Euro 2012 Betting
Guinness Premiership Betting Guide
The Guinness Premiership rivals France’s Top 14 as the best attended club rugby league in the world. The tournament has enjoyed massive growth since its launch in 1996, and is regarded by players as the toughest domestic league in the sport.
12 teams compete in a round robin series of home and away games in the Guinness Premiership. This culminates in a knockout play-off for the title by the league’s top four teams at the conclusion of the regular season.
The Guinness Premiership has adopted a promotion/relegation system. The club at the bottom of the Guinness Premiership are relegated to the 2nd tier Division One at the end of the season, while the Division One champions are promoted to the Guinness Premiership (subject to minimum qualifying criteria).
Guinness Premiership Betting
[odds]http://odds.gambling-guru.com/rugby-union/european-leagues/england/guinness-premiership/regular-season-winner|Guinness Premiership[/odds]
The Guinness Premiership receives the most widespread coverage of any domestic club rugby competition, with match and handicap betting opportunities available from the majority of UK sportsbooks. Betting specials can be somewhat thin on the ground, however, but Paddy Power can be counted on to offer specials for important games.
[[Guinness Premiership]]
Guinness Premiership Winners
England’s most prestigious domestic tournament has been dominated by a handful of clubs since being re-branded in 1997. Leicester Tigers are the most successful club in the tournament’s history with 4 titles to their name, while London Wasps are close behind with 3 Guinness Premiership titles.
The format for crowning the Premiership champions has generated a fair amount of controversy. There have been several occasions where the league winners have fallen victim to the tournament structure by losing their semi-final fixtures, only to watch the title go to a lower ranked club in the playoff final.
Guinness Premiership History
For much of its history English club rugby was stunted by an unconventional, loose structure, with clubs only competing in invitational games and no formal domestic competitions.
In 1972 the RFU took steps to add structure to English club rugby by setting up a large, pyramidal league structure into which all English clubs were assimilated, resulting in 108 club divisions. While clubs were still required to organise their own fixtures, points were allocated for wins thereby setting up a formal competition structure complete with promotion and relegation.
The advent of the professional era in 1995 saw huge changes sweep throughout English rugby. The Premiership signed a broadcasting deal with Sky Sports, while clubs went professional for the 1996/1997 season and vied for sponsors and wealthy backers.
It took several years for the Guinness Premiership to find its feet, which resulted in several clubs having to succumb to insolvency. However, by the turn of the millennium the situation had stabilised, with clubs able to balance their books and to recruit top international players.
England’s victory at the 2003 Rugby World Cup provided an enormous boost to English club rugby, as clubs began to enjoy full house attendances on a regular basis with fans turning up to watch England’s stars in action.
All original material is Copyright © 2001-2012 Gambling Guru Networks. Other content, images and trademarks are owned by respective parties.
UK Betting Guide supports Responsible Gambling initiatives. Visit GamCare, GambleAware or Gamblers Anonymous for more info.
License Number: FDCBETCOMP11/12-119043. Copyright © and Database Right 2010 The Football Association Premier League Ltd / The Football League Ltd / The Scottish Premier League Ltd / The Scottish Football League / Football DataCo Limited / PA Sport (UK) Limited. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way or by an means (including photocopying, recording or storing it in any medium by electronic means), without the premission of the copyright/database right owner. Application for written permission should be addressed c/o Football DataCo, 30 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8PL.