RugbyMan

With the Six Nations and Super 14 tournaments about to kick off, we chose RugbyMan as our highlighted forum member for February. Known for his insightful comments, we asked him to share a little about betting, life and rugby.

How did you first get into punting?

When I was about 15 my friend introduced me to horse racing. I did not get heavily involved in the betting side, but was fascinated by following form and weighing-up odds. There has been a steady growth in my betting year after year ever since as I become better able to weigh-up odds, interpret statistics, and take time off work to sit in front of the telly.

Which betting school of thought do you consider yourself to be; layer, backer, trader?

I take a fairly mathematical approach to betting, but it's interspersed with occasional (becoming less so) bouts of heavy betting when I get excited about certain games. I don't really distinguish between the terms, whatever suits the purpose.

Is there any particular market or rugby tournament you prefer to bet on? (Handicaps, Heineken Cup, Super 14, Premiership etc)

It's international rugby all the way for me as a gambler, and handicaps for the most part. Far more profitable than club rugby, although I try my best on everything with an oval shaped ball.

If you could have a ticket to any one single sporting event in the world what would it be?

With the Rugby World Cup coming up it would be madness to say anything other than the World Cup Final, although if it came with free flights I would probably find something Down Under instead.

Has sport ever cost you a woman?

Directly - no. Indirectly - there is a strong possibility. I did once win a mate's sister at a poker table, but the 'prize' turned out to be violently opposed to the agreement. Such a shame.

When and why did you join Betfair and what do like/dislike about the site?

I must have joined Betfair around 3 or 4 years ago. The reasons are simple: the chances to get better odds, to set my own prices, and to basically fiddle around with numbers. I like the fact that I can get decent odds, I don't like the fact that I have to pay commission.

Do you rigidly stick to rugby or do you bet on other sports as well?

Probably 90% of my betting is now rugby union, 5% rugby league and 5% other sports. The other sports category used to be higher until I finally admitted that I was going nowhere fast with anything that wasn't rugby. Now I just have the occasional small punt on football, horse racing, NFL, etc, and leave the real gambling to what I know.

You have a bit of a following in the forum, why do you think that is?

Sheer quantity of spiel.

Do you celebrate individual wins or look at the bigger picture?

There's no point gambling if you are not going to get excitable when a big win occurs, but the long-term is far more important. Big wins for a few beers at the pub, yearly profit for holidays to NZ!

It’s time for England to defend their World Cup – what chance do you think they have and who will your money be on?

England are likely to improve coming into the World Cup, but are a mile back at the moment and can hardly be considered. No way I can be backing NZ at the price so it has to be SA for me - the talent is all there and they are the one team that seems to be able to challenge the All Blacks right now.

What’s the one tip you’d offer someone posting on the forum for the first time?

Agree with whatever I say, regardless of how nonsensical it may sound. Always end all statements with 'RugbyMan is great'.

Which famous sportsman would you like to have dinner with? (Individual or table of six)

Keith Wood, Andrew Mehrtens, Lothar Mattheus, Oscar de la Hoya, Kelly Sotherton and Anna Kournikova. For a variety of reasons, some more obvious than others. Jerry Guscott to pay for the meal but not to attend.

If you could re-live one sporting day which one would it be?

Hardly matters as long as the result stayed the same, a lot of money to be made here. From a viewing perspective it has to be the 2003 Rugby World Cup final.