oddschecker have the latest on the Six Nations Odds after the opening round, including price movement and potential permutations for this weekend’s fixtures and beyond.
Opening weekend results:
- Ireland 29-7 Wales
- Scotland 20-17 England
- France 37-10 Italy
Ireland vs Wales - Recap & Best Bets
Ireland opened the day with a strong performance against a Wales side missing numerous top-class internationals, most notably captain Alun Wyn-Jones. They failed to live with Ireland’s intensity from the whistle, going a score down within the first five minutes.
Credit must be given to Ireland’s attack for regularly causing overlaps and confusion for the Welsh backline. We will see what the Irish side is really like this weekend when they take on France in Paris.
Andrew Conway bagged himself two tries and he is currently 4/1 (best odds) to finish top scorer in this year’s tournament. Pre-tournament he was as long as 16/1 with some bookmakers and with Italy at home to come for Ireland, Conway is likely to add to his tally.
Ireland’s odds for a Grand Slam could move dramatically (currently best odds 9/2) if they somehow pull off a victory in the cauldron that is the Stade De France, however, it does seem an unlikely feat at this stage considering they will also travel away to England.
Wales, meanwhile, will be looking to bounce back from their heavy defeat when they welcome Scotland to the Millennium Stadium. They will face a tough task with Scotland high on confidence after winning the Calcutta Cup at the weekend.
Wales have just two wins in their last six games at home and if they lose this one then alarm bells may start ringing with the World Cup looming in the distance. They’re currently 4/7 for a bottom two finish and with a tough trip to Twickenham at the end of the month, odds could shorten.
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Scotland vs England - Recap & Best Bets
Scotland claimed the Calcutta Cup to make it six wins in their last seven – an impressive statistic for Gregor Townsend’s men. Arguably they weren’t at the same level they had been in the Autumn Internationals; however, a second successive Calcutta Cup win will fill them with confidence. Perhaps finally Scottish rugby is now turning a corner and they can compete with the top sides on the international scene.
They are currently 6/1 to win the Championship having been 12/1 before the opening round. If they can march into Cardiff and get a victory, other teams will surely sit up and take notice of their title credentials and we could expect these odds to shorten even more. They clinched victory two years ago in Cardiff and they certainly have enough grit and talent to repeat the feat this time around.
England will be disappointed to come out on the wrong end of this result, having been in the ascendency for most of the game after a bright performance from young Marcus Smith at fly-half (17pts). A Luke Cowan-Dickie defensive play was deemed to have been a deliberate act and a penalty try was duly awarded. This defeat is likely to be just a bump in the road for Eddie Jones’ men having won five on the bounce previously.
Next up for them will be a trip to Italy before two back-to-back home games against Wales and Ireland. They will surely fancy three victories in their next three especially considering they’ve lost just two games in their 28 matches at Twickenham. The phrase ‘fortress’ springs to mind.
France v Italy - Recap & Best Bets
France huffed and puffed their way to victory and were made to work for it by a gritty Italian side. But as most Italian sides do, they shot themselves in the foot with silly errors and eventually France pulled away in the second half.
Toulon winger Gabin Villière bagged himself a hat-trick and if he can register one against Ireland this weekend then he surely will be the prime contender to win the top try scorer of the tournament accolade. This French side are averaging 36 points per game (past five games) and Villière is justifiably odds on (10/11) to scoop the award. A close eye should be kept on France’s Grand Slam hopes if they beat the men in green. Currently, you can back them at a best price of 7/2.
And finally, it doesn’t get any easier for Italy as they will welcome England to Rome on Sunday, but they should at least take confidence from the grit they showed in keeping the score close in Paris.
