Rugby Union
International Rugby
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international men’s rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions are Ireland, who won the 2023 tournament.
While it’s a stretch to say that you could throw a blanket over the contenders in a sporting contest that always warms the soul at this otherwise inhospitable time of year, the 2024 Six Nations Championship has a much more open feel to it than last year when you pretty much knew the winner of the Ireland-France game would go on to be crowned champions, yes that could be the case again but it will be fun to watch either way.
Outright Betting Odds:
-Ireland @6/4
-France @11/10
-England @13/2
-Wales @25/1
-Scotland @12/1
-Italy @250/1
Our Outright Pick:
England to win @13/2
These odds are crazy!
France have transitioned from the flakey, mercurial side of the past to a real rugby power under coach Fabien Galthie, but that improvement has also coincided with the emergence of top-notch half-back pairing Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
Ntamack is sidelined with the same injury that ruled him out of the World Cup while Dupont is not in the squad as he focuses on his country’s Sevens side ahead of this summer’s Paris Olympics.
Similarly Ireland are without the retired Johnny Sexton, who made the number 10 shirt his own over the last decade, and his main back-up last year Ross Byrne is injured.
Losing so much experience in the crucial half-back pairing can have a huge impact in a tournament where one error or missed opportunity can be decisive.
England have also lost their first-choice fly-half as Owen Farrell has decided to take a breather, but coach Steve Borthwick has not one but two exceptional players to call on in George Ford, who has 91 caps to his name, and the exciting Marcus Smith, already a seasoned international at 24 with 30 England caps and a Lions call-up under his belt.
While France and Ireland face that seismic clash on the opening night, England ease their way in with a trip to Italy on Saturday and a home clash with Wales in round two.
They also have a home clash against Ireland, who triumphed on their last trip to Twickenham in 2022 but have won only one of the previous eight there.
We see this as England’s year and with these odds jump on quick.
We will post game weekend picks throughout the tournament so check back this Saturday for game week 1.
Best Rugby Betting Picks And Predictions, Image Credit: rugbymagazine.com
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