Round two of the Six Nations kicks off with Scotland hosting France on Saturday evening, while Wales travel to Twickenham to face England later that night. Sunday will see Ireland return home after an impressive win in France as they host Italy.
Ireland has leapfrogged to heavy favourites to win this year’s championship, the bookies have them at 1/5 (from 15/10) to win outright. France has dropped off to 4th favourites at 18/1 (from 11/10) because of last week’s loss. England is second in line at 7/1 with Scotland close behind at 10/1. All other teams will be hoping that Ireland slip up somewhere along the way to have a shot at winning the championship.
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SATURDAY
Scotland vs. France – Click here to bet
Scotland had a perfect start to the championship against Wales last week in Cardiff. They went into halftime leading 0-20 with the game surely secured, however, they showed signs of weakness in the second half, nearly letting the game slip away and only winning 26-27. If they play both halves this weekend like they did in last week’s first half, France will have a tough task at hand.
France did not start the Six Nations as they had hoped, suffering a very disappointing 17-38 defeat to Ireland in Marseille. Without key players Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack (who will also be absent this weekend), France’s attack looked to lack the sting they normally have. The last time France had scored less than 20 points in a rugby match was a year ago, also against Ireland in the Six Nations.
Verdict
The two nations faced each other three times last year, once in the Six Nations and twice in Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. In those three matches, France won the two home matches, while Scotland won their one home match. Of the last 5 times the teams have met in Edinburgh, Scotland has won three times. France are favourites to win at 4/7 with Scotland trading at 7/4
. I fancy Scotland to use their home ground advantage to beat an already disappointed French team.
Suggested bet: Scotland to win at 7/4
England vs. Wales – Click here to bet
England got their campaign off to a decent start with a narrow win against Italy in Rome. They would have gone into the weekend hoping to secure a bonus point and did not expect to be trailing at halftime. They managed to come back and win the game, however, they know they need to be better if they want to compete against the tougher teams. England has no changes in their starting line-up from last weekend and will look to put in a better performance.
Wales had a disappointing start to their Six Nations as they lost to Scotland at home, a heavy pill to swallow. Wales have started to go through a rebuilding phase with a very young team that faced Scotland. Although they did not manage to win, the youngsters showed some exciting promise in the second half as they managed to bring the game to within one point. If they arrive at Twickenham with that promise they showed in the second-half, they could cause some problems for England.
Verdict
Wales have a mammoth task ahead of them as they have not won a Six Nations game at Twickenham since 2012. The last time the two clubs met in the Six Nations England won 10-20 away from home.
During the last four times the two teams have met, 42 points or fewer have been scored across both teams. It is expected to rain on Saturday afternoon which will add to the possibility of a low-scoring match.
England are favourites at 1/5 with Wales trading at 9/2.
I can see a tight game being played between the two sides because of the historical significance of the match as well as the weather.
Suggested bet: Total Points under 44.5 at 10/11
SUNDAY
Ireland vs. Italy – Click here to bet
Ireland returns to the Aviva after an impressive win against France last week. In a game that was expected to go France’s way, Ireland dominated, securing a bonus point and putting the game to bed with 20 minutes to go. Ireland is looking to win back-to-back grand slams and is sitting in prime position and a good performance will be expected this coming Sunday.
Italy nearly had the perfect start to their Six Nations campaign. They led against England going into half-time but let the game slip away, losing by 3 points. Although Italy did not manage to win a game in last year’s Six Nations, they managed to push a few teams very close. Italy has not beaten Ireland in a rugby match since 2013, but will be looking to create a major upset.
Verdict
The last 4 times the two nations have faced each other in the 6 nations, Ireland has scored 48 points or more on three of those four occasions. Ireland are heavy favourites at 1/160 with Italy trading at 25/1. I can see Ireland putting in a big performance with lots of tries.
Suggested bet: Ireland to score over 47.5 points at 8/10
Prices correct at time of posting but subject to change.
