England's rugby bosses are so confident of success at this year's World Cup in New Zealand that they've hedged a potential $4.6 million bonus payout to their squad.
The deal focuses around placing a hedging wager like a bet, reported to be in the region of 250,000 pounds, and the English Rugby Football Union receives reimbursement from the semi-final stages of the tournament.
The bonuses triggered would then be paid to players and backroom staff from the winnings.
All eight seeded teams at the tournament, which starts in September, have held discussions with hedging service Hedgehog Cover but England are the first team to take out a policy.
An RFU spokesman says they are not directly placing money with bookmakers, but rather hedging their risk with an insurance broker and calls it financially prudent.
