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England has the Aviva Premiership and the French have their age-old Top 14 league, but for the other four nations in Europe's top echelon of rugby union nations the pinnacle of club rugby is the Magners League. Twelve teams are set to compete in the 2010-11 season: two new entrants from Italy, four from Wales, three from the Republic of Ireland, two from Scotland, and one from Northern Ireland.
The league has been going strong for the past decade and the nine previous champions have all come from either Ireland or Wales. No Scottish club team has managed to win the league title yet, although Edinburgh were beaten finalists in the 2008-09 season losing to Munster. Italian club teams will join the Magners League for the first time in 2010-11 increasing the number of teams from 10 to 12.
When the Magners League regular season concludes the four teams with the highest amount of points compete in a playoff. The team that finished first in the Magners League table hosts the fourth place finisher in a semi-final while the teams that finished second and third play in the other single elimination game. The final is then held at the home ground of whichever club had the higher league table position. Qualification for the Heineken Cup rests on these games so there is plenty of interest in the Magners League from both casual fans and rugby betting enthusiasts.
The Magners League is now widely covered by various TV stations in all four countries and Magners League odds for every game can be found online by visiting any major internet bookmaker.
