We are now just days away from the start of the Six Nations and it promises to be another exhilarating battle for northern hemisphere supremacy. England are bidding to extend their winning streak to three, but face a ferocious challenge from Ireland, while the Scottish are also reinvigorated and look dangerous. Here we assess each team’s chances of glory:
England
Eddie Jones’ men go into their Six Nations defence in excellent form after cementing winning all three autumn internationals. That cemented their status as world number two, and they look a genuine threat to the All Blacks ahead of next year’s World Cup.
They laboured to victory over Argentina, but did well to extend their winning streak against Australia to five matches with a thumping win at Twickenham. They then destroyed Samoa and conceded just three tires in their entire autumn campaign, so they will feel confident about their defence heading into the Six Nations. This is a team that has only lost once in more than two years, and they have been utterly dominant in the Six Nations of late, so they are understandably the team to beat. Bookmaker sportsbook will have options to place different wagers, check them out and you will see that England are clear favourites in this tournament. You can double your money by backing Owen Farrell and co to win it for a third time in a row and that looks very tempting.
Ireland
Ireland are the only team to beat England since the 2015 World Cup, having denied Jones’ men a second consecutive Grand Slam at last year’s Six Nations. They rebuilt their squad with quick, talented backs that carry the ball well and it has paid dividends, with Andrew Conway, David Stockdale Joey Carbury and Jacob Stockdale all excelling. Props Tadhg Furlong and Jack McGrath form a fearsome unit, while the likes of Iain Henderson provide great strength in the pack. If key men Connor Murray and Johnny Sexton stay fit, the Irish have a great chance of challenging for the Six Nations. A record win over the Springboks in the autumn internationals will give them confidence that they can topple England once more. They are as low as 6/4 with some bookmakers, but 11/4 with others, and that will tempt many fans.
Scotland
The Scottish look an intriguing prospect as 11/1 outsiders after an absolutely sensational autumn campaign. They beat Samoa, annihilated Australia and came so close to beating New Zealand, causing Scotland to rise to fifth in the world rankings, their highest ever position. Full marks to Gregor Townsend, who has transformed Scotland’s fortunes since taking over as coach. They beat Ireland at Murrayfield last year but could only finish fourth in the table. Their last Calcutta Cup game against England resulted in a punishing 61-21 defeat, and they need to improve this time around if they are to threaten the top of the table. With the irrepressible Stuart Hogg in their ranks, along with Finn Russell, Huw Jones and Jonny Gray, anything is possible for this young and improving side.
Wales
The setup is in danger of growing stale for Wales as Warren Gatland has done little to rejuvenate his squad or freshen up his tactics in recent years. His Lions sabbatical has not helped him focus on the task at hand and Wales’ lack of depth also makes life harder for him. But they have some big hitting Lions players to bolster their squad following an uninspiring autumn campaign, and they look a better long-shot than France or Italy.
France
The French managed to achieve a third place finish last time around, but they are expected to fare worse this year. Their autumn was an unmitigated disaster, featuring defeats against New Zealand and South Africa and a shock draw with Japan in Paris. Jacques Brunel was parachuted in to turn around a failing squad, but the French are still mired in infighting and political turbulence. They are blessed with some talented individuals, but they are yet to work together effectively as a unit, and until they do they will remain in the wilderness.
Italy
As always, Italy are the rank outsiders in the Six Nations, the perennial whipping boys, doomed to finish bottom of the table. They lost all five games in 2017, and were roundly beaten by Argentina and South Africa in the autumn, although a win over Fiji provided some respite. There is potential within this side – Carlo Canna or centre Micheli Campagnaro are exciting talents and can ease the load on Sergio Parisse – and they may fancy their chances of finishing ahead of France this time around.
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