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Although luck was not with the Irish in their World Cup qualification playoff against France last November, boss Giovanni Trapattoni is still confident that there are good times ahead for the Republic of Ireland. Tuesday night sees them back in action for the first time since that tragic “Hand of Henry” night, and they will be doing all they can to give World Cup 2010 favourites Brazil, a real run for their money. For Brazil, this is the last run out they will get before the World Cup in South Africa starts on June 11th.

Trapattoni has been boosted by the fact that Robbie Keane joined up with the squad ahead of the match at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium, after he was initially ruled out through injury. The Spurs striker, currently on loan with Celtic until the end of the season, picked up an injury on the derby day match against Rangers, but has been declared fit. There will be some doubt over him starting though, but the temptation may be to leave him on the bench instead of sending him out up front with Kevin Doyle.

The could be some new faces on the pitch for the Irish during the friendly, as Trapattoni starts planning for an assault on qualification for Euro 2012. Brazil are travelling to London with pretty much a full squad, which includes Kaka, but there are a couple of notable exceptions. When Brazilian coach announced his squad for this match some time ago, AC Milan’s Ronaldinho wasn’t a part of it, despite being in great form for his club. Also missing from the line up will be phenomenal hot-shot, Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano, who will miss the encounter after picking up an injury. The Irish defence will be happy about that, no doubt, who will be without the stabilising presence of Aston Villa’s Richard Dunne.

Match Prices:
Ireland to win: 15/2 at Victor Chandler
Draw: 3/1 at Bet365
Brazil to win: 1/2 at Totesport

Here are some important RBS Six Nations Betting Stats, which can help when planning your betting strategies. This is a big weekend in the Six Nations, with three matches which are hard to call. This has the potential of being one of the most explosive weekends of the tournament so far.

2010 Results to date:
Ireland 29, Italy 11
England 30, Wales 17
Scotland 9, France 18
Wales 31, Scotland 24
France 33, Ireland 10
Italy 12, England 17

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England v Ireland Betting Stats

England to win:

Draw: 20/1 at 888Sport
Ireland to win: 20/1 at Blue Square

England have won 70 matches
Ireland have won 44 matches
There have been 8 drawn matches

Largest winning margin England: 6-46
Largest winning margin Ireland: 43-14

England average points v Ireland: 11.80
Ireland average points v England: 7.95

2009 Result: Ireland 14, England 13

===========

Wales v France Betting Stats

Wales to win: 9/4 at William Hill
Draw: 22/1 at Bet365
France to win: 4/9 at SportingBet

Wales have won 43 matches
France have won 40 matches

Largest winning margin Wales: 49-14
Largest winning margin France: 51-0

Wales average points v France: 14.74
France average points v Wales: 14.43

2009 Result: France 21, Wales 16

===========

Italy v Scotland Betting Stats

Italy to win: 15/8 at Paddy Power
Draw: 22/1 at Bwin
Scotland to win: 4/7 at Totesport

Scotland have won 10 matches
Italy have won 5 matches

Largest winning margin Italy: 17-37
Largest winning margin Scotland: 15-45
Italy average points v Scotland: 19.07
Scotland average points v Italy: 23.87

2009 Result: Scotland 26, Italy 6

Rugby betting will spike on the weekend, as England go into their all important RBS Six Nations Clash against Ireland at Twickenham on Saturday, with an unchanged side from the one which started against Italy. The side under performed against the Italians, most notably with Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking game badly letting him down for once. There has been a lot of criticism fired at Wilkinson since the game, with questions being asked about his role in the team if not for his kicking. Much of the criticism has been directed at his apparent lack of ability to get the back line firing in an expansive way, but a lot of the blame should not fall solely on his shoulders.

England are still not playing the game that is in front of them, and they look anything but a side which has confidence in what they are doing with the ball. This is where betting on this match become tough. They have a good team, but not a good team plan. They could explode, or they could collapse against the Irish. Ball’s from the breakdown are still too slow, and that doesn’t give Wilkinson much to work with. Slow ball leads to him dropping deep and resorting to kicking, something which England have been woeful at this year. There have been so many aimless kicks, that it just highlights the problem of a lack of confidence in their handling and running. Aimless kicks have just given so much possession away, instead of kicking for territory, where England can challenge any team in the line-out.

Still, boss Martin Johnson will be happy enough that England have won two from two, or else he probably wouldn’t be in a job right now. England simply need to play as a team, with the forwards going forward with purpose and desire to knock people down, and clearing the rucking area quickly. Only rare glimpses of what England can really do in the backs, have supporters seen, and but the problem is more with the system than with the quality of players England have available. There have been calls for changes, most notably with wanting explosive and dangerous Ben Foden coming in at full back to add an extra dimension. But you can have the most attacking players in there, but if they don’t get good ball, then nothing is going to happen.

This is where the English could fall down against the Irish. Despite being comprehensively beaten in Paris last week, the Irish have a lot more experience as a team unit that England do, and on the day, that could count in spades. This isn’t as easily a winnable game as it was against the Welsh or the Italians, and the strong Irish side, although they have had their problems with inspiration and good scrummaging, will pose a whole new level of challenge for Martin Johnson’s men. The fact that the game is at Twickenham may help a bit, but only if England are playing well. Johnson was subjected to boo’s in the autumn, and if England fall behind, fall under pressure and fall apart, then Twickenham won’t be a happy place for the England players.

Ireland will be reeling from their 33-10 defeat against the French two weeks ago, and will remember that they were lucky to beat England at home last season. Both sides will be fresh after the break period, in what will be a crucial game in the 2010 RBS Six Nations. More likely than not, rugby betting on this one will lean towards a tight victory for the Irish, because of their experience and their strong team work. Ronan O’Gara has been dropped from the starting XV, with Jonathan Sexton taking over the role again at fly half. Ireland need to not get sucked into too much of a forward battle against England, as that slow game will be playing into the English hands. They will be hurting after the French defeat, and this will be a test of how bold they are in defence of their Six Nations title.

England to win: 21/20 at Boylesports
Draw: 20/1 at 888Sport
Ireland  to win: 21/20 at Blue Square

While England gear up for the two Twenty20 matches against Pakistan on February 19th and 20th, there has been some fascinating cricket going on in the ICC World Twenty20 Qualifiers. What is this you may ask? It is a competition for the associated cricket nations (those nations who are yet to gain Test status) to gain entry into the ICC World Twenty20 Championships in April. Eight teams started the competition, Afghanistan, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, Holland, Scotland, USA and hosts United Arab Emirates. Looking at the list of nations, it would have been easy to assume who the group winners would have been. After making their mark in the last Twenty20 World Cup by beating England, the Netherlands, in a group with Kenya, Canada and UAE, started out as favourites. Likewise in the Group A, Ireland, who beat Bangladesh in the World Cup, should have been a lot stronger than USA, Scotland and Afghanistan.

But the tournament threw up some major surprises with Afghanistan winning Group A, and the United Arab Emirates winning Group B. Yes, really. Both of those nations won all of their three group games (including a fascinating tussle where Afghanistan beat the USA) to progress to the Super Four league stage, along with runners up Ireland and Netherlands. In the Super Four stage, Ireland already have one foot in the door of the final, but need a win against the Dutch on Saturday to book their place at the full tournament to be held in the West Indies. With all four teams winning one and losing one match in the Super Four, it all boils down to a semi final shoot out really, with the winner of Ireland v Holland, playing the winner of Afghanistan and the UAE. Both of those games and the final will be played on Saturday.

Super Four Final Round of Matches
Afghanistan v UAE (started at 8am GMT)
Ireland v Netherlands (12:00 GMT)
Final (4pm GMT)

The top two teams in the Super Four stage will play a Final for the honours of winning the tournament, but both teams will qualify for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Championships which are being held in the West Indies at the end of April. The winner of the Qualifier tournament, will go into a three-team group in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Championship, along with South Africa and India, and the Runner-Up of the Qualifier tournament will go into Group D, which includes hosts West Indies and England.

Super Four Match Price:
Ireland to win: 4/7 at Paddy Power
Netherlands to win: 5/4 at Paddy Power

Groups for 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Championships
Group A: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia
Group B: Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Zimbabwe
Group C: South Africa, India + Winner of Qualifier
Group D: West Indies, England + Runner Up of Qualifier

Outright 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Championships
South Africa: 9/2 at Totesport
India: 5/1 at Ladbrokes
Australian: 11/2 at Boylesports
Sri Lanka: 11/2 at Boylesports
Pakistan: 6/1 at Victor Chandler
West Indies: 9/1 at Victor Chandler
England: 12/1 at Boylesports
New Zealand: 12/1 Totesport
Bangladesh: 60/1 at Bwin
Zimbabwe: 2501/ at Coral

It has been billed as the Six Nations decider, even though it is only the second round of the tournament. Six nations champions Ireland travel to Paris to take on the 2010 tournament favourites France. Although France still have that air of unpredictability about them, they still look to be the sharpest team in the tournament this year. That will go against the flow of many, who still see Ireland as the team to beat in 2010. The Irish won the grand slam last year, and critics looking for fallible areas in their game, are pointing towards them being a “Dad’s Army” and casting a very critical eye over their scrum. In their opening fixture, the Irish ran out to a strong lead against Italy in under 20 minutes, but then fell in a disrupted game, looking a long way from their best.

While they were never in danger of losing the match, the Italians showed that the Irish can easily be gotten at, and dragged down. It was the second half performance by Ireland, which really let the home fans down. There was, quite simply, no purpose or direction to the Irish game, and that was made worse against an Italian side who lacked any impetus going forward whatsoever. Perhaps it is possible to put it down to finding their rhythm, and granted, playing against other Six Nations teams is a lot different to playing a southern hemisphere nations. The whole dynamics of the game is different, but another question about the Irish, who did well in the Autumn series of matches, is how well they will cope with keeping their feet on the ground. Was last weekend’s second half performance all down to complacency? Ireland to get a dynamic boost with the return to fitness of flanker Stephen Ferris.

It has been over a decade since the Irish won in France, and judging by the performance of their opening day fortunes, there is little to suggest that the rot will end. The French pack look very strong, and they tore the Scots to shreds in their opening fixture. The French look big, strong and pacy, and will be more than a match for even the big English pack. While they will always have elements of creativity in their three quarters, it could, somewhat uncharacteristically, be the pack which leads them to the top of the table on Saturday. The key will be in the defence, something which the French are extremely good at, being more aggressive than most in the defensive tactics. The French have the strongest defence in the tournament, and should they beat Ireland, it will be their Six Nations to lose.

France do have a fantastic record against the Irish in Paris, having only lost three times in around 50 years. They have had to make two changes to their line-up which played so well against Scotland, and that was without some of their first choice key players. On their home turf, they look a formidable proposition. This will be the first of two crunch games for the French at home in this season’s tournament, as they take on England at the Stade de France on the last weekend on the 2010 RBS Six Nations.

France v Ireland Stats

Matches
France: W51
Ireland: W29
Drawn: 5

Biggest winning margin
France: 44-5
Ireland: 24-0

Average points per match
France: 15.81
Ireland: 11.15

Match Odds
France to win: 1/2 at Totesport
Ireland to win: 2/1 at Bwin
Draw: 22/1 at Boylesports

England’s fate for the 2012 European Championship qualifying is now known, with a “local derby” to come against Wales in the qualification group. Although England boss Fabio Capello has a get out clause in his contract at the end of the 2012 World Cup, there are hopes abound that he will still be around to lead the nation at Euro 2012, which is jointly being held by the Ukraine and Poland. In their small qualifying Group G, England, one of the top seeds, also drew Switzerland, Bulgaria and Montenegro. If things go well at the 2012 World Cup, then England should be firm favourites to win the group and push on to challenge to become the European Champions.

Scotland drew the short straw after they were drawn in the same group as current European Champions Spain, and similarly tough opposition in the Czech Republic. The Republic of Ireland will fancy their chances against seeded team Russia, while Northern Ireland were drawn against seeded team Italy. With 52 teams in the draw, there are just fourteen places up for grabs, with the nine group winners and best runner up automatically proceeding. There will be a two leg play-off for the other eight runner’s up.

Qualifying for the European Championships, kicks in to gear not too long after the World Cup. Held over the course of just over a year, Euro 2012 qualifying starts in September and concludes in October 2011, with the play-offs held in November. Capello’s men, thanks to their seeding, have landed themselves a nice draw, and there will much expectation on them again. But first things first, there is a World Cup to deal with in South Africa, and England start their 2010 preparations on March 3rd in a home friendly against African Cup of Nations Winners Egypt.

Rep Of Ireland to win Group B – 7/2 at Boylesports
Northern Ireland to win Group C – 25/1 at Boylesports
Scotland to win Group I – 12/1 at Boylesports

Full Group Listing
A: Germany, Turkey, Belgium, Austria, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan
B: Russia, Rep of Ireland, Slovakia, Macedonia, Armenia, Andorra
C: Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Northern Ireland, Estonia, Faroe Islands
D: France, Romania, Bosnia Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, Luxembourg
E: Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, San Marino
F: Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, Malta
G: England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, Montenegro
G: Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, Iceland
H: Spain, Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, Liechtenstein

Latest Six Nations news update:

Injuries are grabbing the latest headlines ahead of the weekend’s matches. That and the pretty awesome Morgan Freeman “Invictus” promo video for the tournament, which has him reading William Henley’s famous poem (it’s the poem which Nelson Mandela had with him during his imprisonment). Ahead of the England v Wales game, Wales were dealt a massive blow when world class flanker Gethin Jenkins has picked up a calf injury which means that he won’t be able to take the field at Twickenham on Saturday. Jenkins is one of the world’s star players in his role, and his presence will be a major loss as the Welsh try to take England on up front. But England were similarly struck with the injury bug, as last seasons top try scorer Riki Flutey has withdrawn through injury. His presence will also be missed as England look to take a more creative, attacking approach to the game. Leicester’s Toby Flood will take over the number 12 shirt on Saturday.

Saturday’s other game sees Ireland take on Italy, with the Irish having to play up their confidence in their scrum, and is the one area where Italy could cause them problems. With the Irish expected to take on the defence of their Six Nations crown with some aplomb, the other nations will naturally be looking to find some kind of weakness there. Hooker Jerry Flannery has admitted that they need to improve their scrummaging from what was on display during the autumn. Italy will be without pivotal figure of Sergio Parisse for the entire 2010 RBS Six Nations Tournament.

Latest Match Prices
England to win: 8/13 at Totesport
Draw: 22/1 at Bwin
Wales to win: 6/4 at Bet365

Scotland to win: 5/2 at SportingBet
Draw: 25/1 at Paddy Power
France: 2/5 at Totesport

Team: Ireland

Ireland v Italy Stats (All time)
Ireland – W14, D0, L3
Biggest Winning Margin against Italy: 61-6
Largest Losing Margin against Italy: 37-22
2009 Six Nations Result: Italy 9, Ireland 38

Chances: The current champions are favourites at most online bookmakers to go out and retain their title. There is a lot to be argued for the fact that they can do it. They look and accomplished side, and have the power and experience in all areas of the team. If there is one thing which can be said against them, then remember how England were always dubbed “Dad’s Army” as they were rolling towards World Cup triumph, in the same year that they cruised to the Grand Slam in the Six Nations. It’s fair to say that that status can be passed on to Ireland. If you are looking for weaknesses in the Irish game, then it could be in the area of pack and midfield speed. Yes, they undoubtedly have world class players, and the Irish domestic game, along with the Welsh, is in a much better state than the English domestic scene. They constantly blood new talent through their ranks, and the Irish sides are always a handful in European competition. Do the Irish have the legs over the likes of England and France? That will be the big question over the 2010 RBS Six Nations tournament.

They will need to keep level heads if they are to retain their title, and let’s not forget they did struggle at some crucial times during last year’s campaign. The 13-12 result against England could have been very different, and when it came down to the crunch decider against Wales, they looked decidedly nervy, perhaps being over confident in their own abilities. They need to keep their feet on the ground and stick to what they do best. Ronan O’Gara is back in midfield, and that will give them a boost, as the big crunch fixture for Ireland this year, is when they have to travel to Paris to take on the French. The fixture list hasn’t been that kind to the Irish this year, as they also have to go to Twickenham to play England. So, if the new “Dad’s Army” are going to retain their Six Nations crown, they are going to have to do it the hard way. Can they do it? They have the team spirit and right management to do it. While they are the dominant force, it’s still hard to see them getting their way entirely with the French and the English pushing hard.

Key Man: Rob Kearney. One of the outstanding players last year at full back. His ability in the air to take high balls was phenomenal, backed up by good strength and a running game. There will be expectations and pressure upon him to be completely infallible again this year. He is a star player in amongst a wealth of other top quality players. The position he plays however, burdens a lot of responsibility, and his steadfastness and confidence can ease the rest of the 14 players in front of him.

Outright Six Nations Odds
5/2 at BetFred

Ireland v Italy Match Odds
Ireland to win: 1/33 at BetFred
Draw: 50/1 at Bet365
Italy to win: 22/1 at SportingBet

Team: Italy

Ireland v Italy Stats (All time)
Ireland – W14, D0, L3
Biggest Winning Margin against Ireland: 37-22
Largest Losing Margin against Ireland: 61-6
2009 Six Nations Result: Italy 9, Ireland 38

Chances: Still considered as the whipping boys of the Six Nations, and that can be seen by their play having more enthusiasm and energy than clinical finishing and technique. Still, they are on a learning curve, and more often than not, their humble approach to the game gives a lot to be desired. Their endeavours generally entertain, but they still have some catching up to do, and until that happens, they will still struggle to get out of sixth place. Still, they have actually come a long way since their inaugural Six Nations years, they just need to add some consistency and quality to their ranks from somewhere. The step up in quality is not easy to contend with, although they have the ability to take on a beat most other kind of second tier Rugby nations.

With that said, they look to be stronger than last year, with a much fuller squad to choose from. They will be without one of their big names for the entire tournament, as number eight and captain Sergio Parisse is missing through injury. After only scoring two tries last year, they need to find a little extra drive from somewhere. They are not going to keep it tight against the stronger opposition, so their best form of defence will be to attack really. They have sparks of quality which could ignite, but unfortunately it just doesn’t quite flow throughout the whole team. They aren’t going to be expected to go out and beat the likes of England, Ireland and France, but they will target the Scottish in particular as a potential match to avoid the wooden spoon. It should be another long and test development curve for the Italian’s, but every year, they take a step forward.

Key Man: Their main man, Parisse is out, but they have good news in that they can actually pick a specialised scrum half thanks to no injury worries like last season. Therefore, a lot of the creativity will come from centre Mirco Bergamasco, and he will need to pull the strings with both his kicking and running game. If he is off his game, then Italy will struggle to create anything.

Outright Six Nations Odds
250/1 at Bet365

Ireland v Italy Match Odds
Ireland to win: 1/33 at BetFred
Draw: 50/1 at Bet365
Italy to win: 22/1 at SportingBet

Not too long now until the 2010 Six Nations Rugby Tournament starts, with the first matches being played on February 6th. England start their campaign against Wales, and after a dismal Autumn series, Johnson is confident that he has the squad to challenge for the Six Nations title. Steve Borthwick has been named as Captain again, and that in itself has courted some criticism. There have been questioned raised over whether or not Borthwick has the right leadership qualities needed to captain the national side. Not showing a great deal of confidence in his own decision, Johnson has hinted that the position of captain could even change throughout the course of the tournament.

Johnson has drafted into some youngsters, to hopefully provide a more inventive spark than what was shown during the Autumn. The match at Twickenham on the 6th will be an interesting test of not only the quality of England’s current crop of players, but a test of Johnson’s management skill, and also will continue to fuel arguments the Guinness Premiership, England’s top flight rugby station, is not as good as it has been in the past. With a core of experienced players such as Jonny Wilkison, Johnson is looking for that perfect balance.

But, there is the right to be full of optimism ahead of a new tournament, as anything can happen. England have been boosted by the return of key players like James Haskell, Toby Flood and Riki Flutey. Injuries to what would be considered to be starting players, did hurt England’s team selection a lot during the year, but an excuses of that being whey the produced so poorly, should be brushed aside because of the way that played. England looked completely flat and without any  kind of penetration towards the opponents try line.

As for the tournament itself, the suspected path things will take, is for the title to come down between Ireland and France. Even on paper, and looking at the way things went in the autumn, it’s hard to disagree with that. Defending Champions Ireland look an extremely solid side, but France showed glimpses of greatness in beating South Africa. They did crash heavily against New Zealand though. Ireland had a very successful Autumn series, as they beat South Africa, destroyed Fiji and tied with Australia. All the bookies, ahead of the tournament are leaning towards the Six Nations only really being contested between those two.

Six Nations Outright Winner
France to win: 13/8 at Stan James
Ireland to win: 5/2 at Stan James
Wales to win: 9/2 at Bwin
England to win: 5/1 at Totesport
Scotland to win: 22/1 at Bwin
Italy to win: 250/1 Ladbrokes

Opening Weekend Fixtures:
Ireland to win: 1/33 at Bet365
Draw: 50/1 at Bet365
Italy to win: 12/1 at Bet365

England to win: 8/13 at 888sport
Draw: 18/1 at Bet365
Wales to win: 11/8 at Victor Chandler

France to win: 4/11 at Bet365
Draw: 22/1 at Bet365
Scotland to win: 9/4 at Ladbrokes