Six Nations betting preview
With the Six Nations now only days away, we have looked at the best odds the bookmakers are offering.
Chances of a Grand Slam
England are unsurprisingly favourites, given that they have won the tournament back-to-back, but can they claim another Grand Slam? Once again the bookies see them as the best placed side to achieve that feat, with Eddie Jones’ men 5/2 at several outlets to win every game, but it is not particularly value for money.
Although the fixture list is akin to that which saw them lift the trophy having gone unbeaten in 2016, injuries have deprived them of some key players, with Billy Vunipola and Elliot Daly among those who are out.
Ireland, 4/1 with Blacktype, are another contender but they have to visit the Red Rose on the final day and their opener against France is not a foregone conclusion. Should Les Bleus overturn the Emerald Isle then they could be well worth a punt, particularly as Jacques Brunel’s men are 80/1 at Bet365, Betfred and BoyleSports.
Top try-scorer
English and Irish backs dominate the market, with Jonny May (9/1 at a number of bookies) the favourite to claim the honours, but you have to look further down for the best prices. Josh Adams’ selection has certainly sprung a surprise and his 125/1 at Betway is an excellent price.
The Scottish wings are also quite low down when you consider their penchant for scoring tries under Gregor Townsend. Byron McGuigan and Tommy Seymour (66/1 and 22/1 respectively at BoyleSports) start against Wales, so they are worth a punt.
Meanwhile, forwards are very rarely included among the lower odds, given that the backs claim all the glory, but the attritional nature of the competition should lend itself to the big men up front.
CJ Stander (28/1 at Betstars) was among the top try-scorers last season and could well be there this time around, while hookers are decent outside bets, considering they tend to score tries off the back of mauls. Rory Best and Guilhem Guirado (125/1 and 150/1 at BetStars) look good shouts if you have a couple of quid spare.
Individual teams’ top try-scorer
Josh Adams and Byron McGuigan dominate here as well. 16/1 at Betfair to be Wales’ top try-scorer seems like great odds, while the same bookies have the Sale Sharks’ man priced at 12s for Scotland.
France are slightly less predictable on who they are going to select week-by-week but Matthieu Jalibert is Les Bleus’ rising star and a wonderful runner. Should opposition teams not prepare for his threat then the fly-half could punish them, with odds of 66/1 at BoyleSports ideal for the punter.
That leaves England, Ireland and Italy. For the Red Rose, any three of Jonny May, Anthony Watson, Jack Nowell, Denny Solomona or Mike Brown could feature, which makes deciding who’s going to be their most potent threat a difficult one. Of those, either Nowell (14/1 at Ladbrokes and Coral) or Solomona (12/1 at Ladbrokes, Betfair and Coral) are arguably the best value, but it might be best avoiding Eddie Jones’ men.
Ireland are far more settled in that regard but it arguably adds to the conundrum. Even CJ Stander is not that well priced at best odds of 10/1, but talented Jordan Larmour could be worth a punt at 25s, if you’re willing to take a risk on Joe Schmidt’s selection preferences.
Italy, meanwhile, are difficult to call. They have some talented youngsters but their strengths still resides in the pack, so it might be worth looking in the forwards. Sergio Parisse at 9/1 with various outlets seems a bit pointless, but Jake Polledri – the rampaging Gloucester back-rower – appears reasonable value at 28/1 with Betway.
Player of the tournament
Considering this is voted for by the public, it is in the hands of you. But it is arguably for that reason why Joe Launchbury was quite frankly robbed last season after picking up three man-of-the-match awards during the 2017 Six Nations.
This has been a prize dominated by Ireland and Scotland over the last three years so it is probably best to look there once again. Two-time winner Stuart Hogg strangely isn’t favourite and 16s represent decent value, but you may want to look further down the list.
Finn Russell is at 40/1 with BoyleSports, which is worth a punt, while Peter O’Mahony, also at 40s, is a consistent performer and will get recognition from his countrymen should the flanker produce on the field.