Eddie Jones’ England stormed to the 2017 RBS Six Nations title with an emphatic 61-21 victory over Vern Cotter’s Scotland at Twickenham last Saturday. This weekend, the English will be going for the Grand Slam when they travel to the Aviva Stadium in Dublin to take on Ireland.
Meanwhile, with the runners-up spot still up for grabs, Wales travel to France in what promises to be a captivating affair, whilst the Scots host Italy at Murrayfield. Will England go through the card, and who will claim second spot in this year’s Six Nations?
- Scotland v Italy – Scotland to Win -23 (10/11 at Sky Bet)
- France v Wales – Wales to Win (6/4 at Betfred)
- Ireland v England – England to be Winning at Half Time and Full Time (13/10 at Betfair)
Scotland v Italy – 18th March
Scotland will have been extremely disappointed by their performance at Twickenham last weekend. After an excellent tournament prior to their mauling in London, the Scots were supposed to have given Jones’ men a real match in the English capital. This weekend, Cotter and co. welcome Conor O’Shea’s Italy to Edinburgh.
Putting the England result to one side, this has definitely been a competition to remember for the Scots, after claiming two strong victories over Ireland and Wales respectively. They should have enough to beat Italy on home soil, grabbing a bonus point to boot.
Italy have huffed and puffed to no avail once again, and as much as they would like to get something in Scotland, we just can’t see it happening. They got people talking with their performance against England but even then they were ultimately well beaten. We think they will suffer a heavy defeat once again and further calls for another minor nation to be given a shot in the Championship. The standout bet in this one is the home team to win -23, which is available at 10/11 with Sky Bet.
Scotland to Win -23 – 10/11 at Sky Bet
France v Wales – 18th March
Rob Howley’s Wales make the trip to the Stade de France in Paris on Saturday to face Guy Noves’ France in a huge clash. With the French on 10 points, whilst the Welsh sit on nine, there’s a lot to play for in this one. Being at home, Les Blues are the favourites to secure the victory which could see them claim second place in this year’s Six Nations.
Wales have had a very topsy-turvy tournament thus far. After a solid start against Italy, they were then narrowly beaten by England at the Principality Stadium. They then put on their worst showing followed up by their best, as they were thumped in Edinburgh, before sealing a superb win over the Irish in Cardiff.
France have also been inconsistent, losing to England and Ireland, but beating Scotland and Italy. In truth, this match could go either way, as either side is capable of beating the other. However, we’re backing the Welsh to follow up their strong display against the Irish with another one on Saturday. Because of that, we like the look of Betfred’s 6/4 for Wales to come out on top in Paris.
Wales to Win – 6/4 at Betfred
Ireland v England – 18th March
England have had another scintillating Six Nations tournament. After winning the Grand Slam last year, the English are odds-on to repeat that feat this time around. This Saturday, they travel to the Aviva Stadium to face the tricky prospect of Joe Schmidt’s wounded Ireland, who will be looking to finish their tournament with a win.
England have once again been a cut above the rest in the Six Nations. It may have taken them quite some time to get into their stride, having secured narrow wins over France and Wales, but they have gone from strength to strength as the tournament has progressed. Meanwhile, after gaining strong wins over Italy and France respectively, the Irish will have been gutted with their result in Cardiff last Friday night.
Even though Ireland are usually very strong on their own patch, England head to Dublin as the favourites to claim another win. If they do, they will beat New Zealand’s record of 18 successive Test wins in the process. Whilst the All Blacks generally face a higher standard of opponent, that would still be a dazzling achievement.
With the way the English have played over the last year or so, it’s difficult seeing the Irish becoming the first team to beat Jones’ England. Therefore, we like the look of Betfair’s generous odds of 13/10 for the away team to be winning at half time and full time.
England to be Winning at Half Time and Full Time – 13/10 at Betfair