The Six Nations kicks off this weekend and we take a look at all 3 games from a betting angle.
Let’s start with a look at the Outright Betting where France are priced at 29/20 favourites to win the Six Nations with Ireland 11/4, England 28/10 and you can get 10/1 Wales and Scotland and 1000/1 Italy.
There are plenty of other long term markets such as will there be a Triple Crown Winner or a Grand Slam Winner and you can click here for all of those prices.
IRELAND v WALES
Ireland will remember 2021 for that thrilling 29-20 victory over the All Blacks in Dublin in November. They were a bit disappointing in last year’s Six Nations finishing 3rd which included a narrow home loss to France.
Their clubs are going brilliantly in the United Rugby Championship and Irish fans are expecting their teams to come out firing.
Wales won last season’s Six Nations, but they certainly benefitted from some red cards in tight games. They beat Scotland and Ireland on the road, but lost to France in a tight one in Paris so overall had decent form on their travels.
They scraped past Australia in the year-end Internationals, winning by a point and lost to South Africa by 5 points. The All Blacks did put them away, but that was very much a weakened Wales side.
Recent head-to-head form sees Wales winning 21-16 last year in Cardiff and the last time they met in Dublin it was Ireland by 10.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Ireland 1/7
Draw 35/1
Wales 13/2
Handicap: Ireland (-13.5) at 9/10, Wales (+13.5) at 10/11
Suggested Bet: First Time Winning Margin, Ireland by 8-14 points at 23/10
With the roaring crowd behind them I am expecting Ireland to come out fast and to lead by more than a score going into the break. The overall handicap looks well set although if pushed I would probably back the Welsh to stay within 14 points.
SCOTLAND v ENGLAND
Scotland caused quite an upset in 2021 when they beat England 11-6 at Twickenham. Scotland finished the season strong with a 27-23 away win over the French and narrow home defeats to Wales and Ireland cost them a shot at the title.
England finished bottom of the Six Nations table with their campaign ending with a 14 point defeat to Ireland in Dublin. They were also beaten by Wales on the road, but did manage to beat the French at home.
The last time Scotland and England met at Murrayfield was in 2020 with England winning a low scoring encounter 13-6.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Scotland 14/10
Draw 28/1
England 7/10
Handicap: Scotland (+2.5) at 9/10, England (-2.5) at 10/11
Suggested Bet: Scotland win at 14/10
I really liked what I saw of the Scots in the year-end Internationals where they beat Australia and Japan, but were beaten fairly convincingly by South Africa. They have given a good account of themselves against England in recent years and I am taking a bold step here and backing them to win the match.
SUNDAY
FRANCE v ITALY
France are the current Six Nations Champions and there is plenty of talk about them heading into the Rugby World Cup in 2023 as favourites to win at home.
France came second in the Six Nations last season, but they had a chance to win it in the final game which had been postponed due to COVID, but failed to beat Scotland by bonus points, in the end losing the game meaning Wales won the Six Nations Title.
France also played Italy in their opener last year winning by 40 points in Rome and their home matches were that loss to Scotland and a narrow 2 point victory over Wales in a high scoring encounter.
Italy finished in their traditional last position without getting a point and on the road they lost to England by 23 and Scotland by 42 points.
These sides last met in Paris in November 2020 in the Autumn Nations Cup with France winning 36-5.
BETTING – Click here to bet
France 1/250
Draw 100/1
Italy 28/1
Handicap: France (-33.5)
Suggested Bet: Handicap, Italy (+33.5) at 19/20
This is not a confident call, but I just got the feeling that things were improving in the Italian camp at the end of last year and France are the sort of side that could go out to a lead and at some stage step off the gas a allowing the Italians in for a few points.
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
