Six Nations outright betting tips and predictions

The masses of rugby union fans are avidly watching the current Six Nations with an intense eye as they would in any other edition of the tournament, but plenty could still change as we move towards crowning this year’s winner.

A lot of fans’ own predictions have already been made, and things are certainly heading an expected way in terms of odds. Oddschanger have been keeping tabs on the all the rugby union odds, even compiling their own betting previews and recommended bets, all incorporating the strongest odds on offer throughout every 6 Nations game played.

With just two games left to play, we take a look at what the odds are saying:

Ireland at 1/3

Anyone who’s been watching this year’s Six Nations will be well aware of Ireland’s dominance over the competition, making the 1/3 odds more than reasonable. They started with odds of around 1/2 and were always seen as a likely favourite, sometimes even dipping as low as 1/5 with some bookmakers.

Working as the only side capable of winning all three of their games, it’s easy to see why they remain firm favourites to win this year’s Six Nations. It presents progression from last year’s second place finish, where they won three and lost two of five games, and it shows where their ambitions now lie.

England at 9/2

Last year’s attempt at this competition had England resulting as winners through their four wins and one defeat from five games, but they’ve found themselves leapfrogged by Ireland, leaving them now stuck in second.

Needing to make sure they can at least stay second ahead of both France and Scotland, who also have similarly worthwhile records, could end up being a key priority ahead of any thoughts of pushing through another win ahead of current favourites Italy. With odds of 9/2, we can only expect that many punters will be backing them to successfully carry out an upset.

Scotland at 14/1

Odds of 14/1 for Scotland to win this year’s Six Nations makes a lot of sense considering how far adrift from top place Ireland they are, but their chances of firing to the top of the table are almost as doable as England in the place above.

Although Scotland’s figures might be quite as inspiring as England’s, they sit on the same record of two wins and a defeat, so could move to second with a view to clinching the top spot if they’re able to defy the odds in their next game with Ireland.

Their odds have tended to fluctuate between 10/1 and 16/1, with some more generous or frankly negative bookies offering 66/1 odds in some stages. Funnily enough, the bookmakers have recorded the backing of Scotland over every other side, with around 27% of those betting on the Six Nations seeing them as an interesting outsider.

Wales at 350/1 or France at 1000/1

If you hadn’t already questioned those who contemplated the chances of England and Scotland in the place behind Ireland, you’ll be struggling to find reasoning behind backing Wales or France, who’ve taken just one win from their three games, losing the other two.

There’s more promise in the way Wales have been presenting themselves so far, which makes sense of their 350/1 odds for a side as out of contention as they are, but France’s failings see them with odds of 1000/1, and we doubt many punters are backing them to cause any upsets any time soon.

Italy at 5000/1

One nation that certainly don’t look likely to challenge in this edition of the Six Nations is Italy, who are massively adrift in failing to win or draw in any of their three games so far. They’ve finished dead bottom over the last two attempts and only look likely to suffer the same fate again here.