Italy

France v Italy Six Nations Rugby betting should see the home side get off to a comfortable start to this year’s tournament. France, the defeated World Cup finalists at the hands of New Zealand, go into the 2012 Six Nations tournament as outright favourites. They have a lot to build on and they will probably have shaken off some of their unpredictability as coach Marc Leivremont has gone, to be replaced by Philippe St Andre. France have drafted in some new faces for the opening match with Wesley Fofana coming into the centre to join club team mate Aurelien Rougerie. France are the strongest and the most complete team in terms of power, scrimmaging technique and running ability from deep. There is always the temperamental side of France to take into consideration, but St Andre should add way more stability and efficiency about their play. That are likely to end up as the tournament’s top try scorers as they have a great deal to build upon. The core of their World Cup final team is still in place, with ten of the players remaining in the starting line up. St Andrew has abandoned the Dimitri Yachvili and Morgan Parra experiment playing alongside, with the two scrum half specialists being separated with Yachviili starting and Parra as a replacement on the bench. That is a huge step in the right direction as the backs line up with Francois Trinh-Duc getting the nod a fly half position. There is great mobility and power in the starting line up and great replacements to come off the bench, including Imanol Harinordoquy. Definitely the strongest looking Six Nations squad on paper, and at home they can be pretty much banked on to take maximum points. They should be fired up for this one in Paris for France v Italy Six Nations Rugby betting, because there was the small matter of losing their first ever competitive match against Italy in last year’s tournament.

Yes, Italy came away with a thrilling 22-21 win over France in Rome last season to earn their first ever competitive victory over the strong French. Italy also have a new man at the top, with Nick Mallett stepping aside after the World Cup, with the reins being handed to Jacques Brunel. Italy has a superb front line and that is where their strengths still are. They go into the match with an uncapped scrum half on the bench, and they bring in an uncapped winger in Giovanbattista Venditti for his debut. Italy have shown great progression in their game, especially their running game, but they will want to keep France in a tight contest up front as much as possible. That is because Italy can spoil the rhythm of the French and the more broken up the game is, then the more that will suit Italy. But Italy have a new look as well, with seven changes being made from their last match in the World Cup, which was in the group stage against Ireland. While the backs have been changed about quite a bit, the strong forward pack is still in place. Sergio Parisse will lead from the number eight position and it is the same pack of forwards that challenged at the World Cup. Italy are still likely to fall short in the Six Nations outside of the forward contests but they should give France a good scrap up there, but will probably have trouble with the pace and power of the French in Paris over 80 minutes in France v Italy Six Nations rugby betting.

In the France v Italy head to head, out of 33 matches played in total, there have been 31 wins for France. There is a huge points difference to look at when these sides come together, with France outscoring Italy by 19 points on average. France average 29.82 points against Italy, while Italy average just 10.48 so a huge imbalance here. While last year’s Six Nations threw up a massive upset, France haven’t scored fewer than 25 points in their last ten home matches against the Italians.

France v Italy Six Nations Rugby betting odds
France to win: 1/28 at SkyBet
Draw: 50/1 at Bet Victor
Italy to win: 18/1 at SportingBet

Online bookmaker Ladbrokes have a good rugby betting promotion running for this year’s Six Nations. If the new look young England side go on and win the Six Nations this year, then the bookie will refund all losing outright Championship winner singles placed on the tournament. Qualifying bets for this promotion have to be placed before the start of the tournament on February 4th at 2.30 pm GMT (which is the kick off for France v Italy). The coverage on this promotion is up to £100, so good option worth taking. Popular online bookmaker Ladbrokes offer a free £50 bet for new customers registering an account. The bookie will match the value of your first stake on a new account, up to the maximum value of £50 with a free bet.

Italy v Northern Ireland betting, has the home nation heading to their last Euro 2012 qualifier, out of chances to book a place at next year’s finals. After taking the lead against Estonia at home on Friday, Northern Ireland were eventually undone by an incredible Estonian winner from way outside of the box. There was some controversy over the goal though, as the linesman’s flag had gone up during the move, but the referee had waved it aside. With calls for coach Nigel Worthington to go, Northern Ireland have been hit with a bunch of withdrawals which sees them take a weakened squad to face group winner Italy. Northern Ireland will have to go without West Brom midfielder Chris Brunt who has picked up an ankle injury, and Coventry’s Sammy Clingan has also has had to withdraw and that adds to Grant McCann’s injury and striker Kyle Lafferty’s suspension. Northern Ireland are having to call upon 40 year old Maik Taylor to take over between the sticks after Lee Camp was injured during Friday’s game against Estonia. So they have missed out on a place at Euro 2012 and the highest that they can finish in Group C is in fourth spot. But that would involve a win in Italy v Northern Ireland betting, against the Italians who played out a draw with Serbia on Friday. Northern Ireland held out for a credible draw when the two nations met back at the start of qualification, but Italy have since gone on to win all games since, aside from the draw against Serbia on the weekend. Italy have also conceded just two goals in their nine matches, making them one of the tightest defences we have seen on display in Euro 2012 qualifiers. This could well be Nigel Worthington’s last match in charge, as we haven’t quite seen the fight and determination from the Irish which we would have expected. It all adds up to a difficult night out in Italy for them. The Italians are looking a strong and confident side, and with a 100% home record in qualifying, then it makes them strong favourites to take the win, even if they are already home and dry.

Italy v Northern Ireland Euro 2012 Qualifier Betting
Italy to win: 2/11 at Boylesports
Draw: 6/1 at Totesport
Northern Ireland to win: 18/1 at Paddy Power

Boylesports are running a First Goalscorer Cashback promotion for live televised Euro 2012 qualifier matches. Back a selection in the First Goalscorer market of a match, and if they fail to open the scoring, but do score the second goal of the game, then Boylesports will refund you lost stake as a free bet. Worth considering if you are looking at First Goalscorer bets for your Tuesday’s round of Euro 2012 qualifier matches. Popular Bookie Boylesports offer a Free £20 bet for new customers registering an account.

Wales will be looking to pick up their second consecutive victory as they take on Italy in Rome in this weekend’s RBS Six Nations. The Welsh, to their great credit, put in a decent performance up in Murrayfield, to defeat the Scots. It’s not that the Welsh were great by any means, they simply made less errors than the wayward Scottish, and had just a little more conviction in going forward. Wales, after losing their opening match in this year’s competition to England in Cardiff, will be happy with that rebound result and will now look to consolidate it with victory over wooden spoon candidates, Italy. There has been a little shuffle in the line up, with Stephen Jones, the epitome of control at Number 10, comes back into the side, as James Hook moves to centre. Coach Warren Gatland doesn’t quite seem to know what the best line up for Wales is in midfield at the moment, but the victory over Scotland, at least ended a run of eight straight international test match defeats. Wales still are not at full strength, with Adam Jones and Gethin Jenkins missing out from the forwards, and winger George North has pulled out because of an injury. Fortunately Gatland can use the versatility of James Hook to at least give some dynamics to the back. Hook is a player who can change a game, but often doesn’t fulfill his role as the spark of inspiration for his country.

Wales, along with Scotland, are the only two sides to lose in Six Nations history to Italy, and this is a potential banana skin, to put it in Gatland’s own words. Italy ran Wales close in a 15-20 defeat when the two sides last met in Rome, but the previous encounter on Italian turf, produced a famous 23-20 victory for the Italians. Wales would have seen Italy give Ireland a torrid time on the opening weekend, and were in touching distance of beating the Irish, until a late drop goal from Ronan O’Gara crushed their hopes. It doesn’t make reading in the copy books for Italy, as they have won just two of the seventeen matches between the two nations. That leaves Wales with fourteen victories and a tie. The points difference is often telling when reading into stats, and Wales average 33 points per match against Italy, while the Italians average just under 18 points. That’s a massive 15 points between the two sides on average. Italy though are heading in the right direction, despite being mauled by England at Twickenham. Back in front of their home crowd, they should find stopping Wales playing will be a lot easier than trying to stop England playing at Twickers. The Bookies rightly have Wales penciled in as favourites, and that should play out on the day. Wales have a little more adventure, a little more pace, and even though they may get bullied a bit up front by the superior Italian front line, they’ll create enough to get the job done.

Italy to win: 23/5 at Unibet
Draw: 25/1 at Bet365
Wales to win: 2/9 at BetFred

Online bookmaker Blue Square are well worth a visit for your 2011 RBS Six Nations rugby betting. What the popular bookie do very well, is offer great handicap markets on the rugby. This handicap rugby betting is a great alternative to your outright winner markets, as not only does it make the bet a little bit more challenging, but sometimes there is also better profit to be made. Take Ireland’s opener against Italy, the Irish are going into that one as favourites, and so their price on winning the match outright would be pretty short. But, by looking for an handicap instead, you can expand your odds by predicting how much of a margin they will win by. Back the Irish to beat their handicap and you’ll be doing so at better odds. With the handicap at Blue Square on Six Nations rugby betting, it is not about just picking the winner, it is making the call of just how good a win it is going to be. The bigger the winning margin, and the braver you are with your betting to make the call in the first place, the bigger your profits are going to be. But that isn’t the be-all and end-all of things though, as handicap markets allow you win profit when the team you back loses. The Six Nations looks as if it will be an incredibly close ran thing this season, and if you think underdogs Scotland may lose their opener against France, but not by a big margin, you could take them with a positive handicap for example, so there are ways to juggle with your betting here. As for predicting outcomes, England, Ireland and France will be the most prominent forces again in the tournament, but look at important stats such as average points scored and winning margins.

See our full match previews for stats and info:
Wales v England
France v Scotland
Italy v Ireland

Blue Square run a great online sports betting service, with competitive prices for these rugby handicaps. The handicap system at Blue Square is just a little more prominent than with other bookies, so it is a feature which gets a lot of attention with them. With the Six Nations expected to be tight, and matches tough to call, adding the dimension of handicap betting to your repertoire may well pay dividends for you. England are favourites to beat Wales away at the Millennium Stadium on the opening night, and while England are priced 4/6 to win, and 10/11 to overcome a -2 Handicap (explore the markets for larger handicaps). How about Ireland overcoming a -13 Handicap against Italy in Rome? That will pay out 10/11 opposed to Ireland outright odds of 1/8. France also start against Scotland with 10/11 on a -13 handicap as well. So there is plenty to explore as well as good fixed odds outright on the opening round of RBS Six Nations matches with Blue Square, as listed below. The popular online bookmaker welcome new customers opening an account with a generous offer. When you open an account with Blue Square, you can get yourself a free £10 bet. Simply place a bet of £5 or more, and Blue Square will generously give you £10 for free. That is potentially a 200% match first bet! Consider them for some handicap betting on the Six Nations Rugby.

Wales v England
Wales 6/5, Draw 20/1, England 4/6

Italy v Ireland
Italy 5/1, Draw 25/1, Ireland 1/8

France v Scotland
France 1/8, Draw 25/1, Scotland 5/1

2011 Six Nations Outright Winner
England 2/1, France 9/4, Ireland 3/1, Wales 11/2, Scotland 10/1, Italy 250/1

Italy v Ireland may not exactly be the most exciting of fixtures on the opening weekend of the 2011 RBS Six Nations, but this is a pretty interesting one to watch. Ireland, for all their great presence in the Six Nations, have been slipping back a little this year. They don’t come into the tournament in any great form themselves, losing six test matches on the bounce, including a shocker against Scotland in the final match of last year’s tournament. You always expect Ireland to give a tough match to any opponent, and with the World Cup coming up this year, you really expect them to be strong. However, they are just the opposite at the moment, they are weakened (not helped by injuries) and are looking to find a way to bounce back. That all sounds doom and gloom for the Irish, and while they are a bit short on confidence, clearly, they will probably still challenge for the Six Nations title, and they have been handed a good start. Even though it is an away match, they should be able to win this comfortably and get some momentum going. Even during the matches which they did win in the autumn against Argentina and Samoa, they weren’t their usual explosive and dominant selves and it raises a big question mark over their ability to win the Six Nations this year. There seems to have been a shift of power back to England, for dominance in the home nations, even down to club level, and all of a sudden, the golden generation of Irish rugby looks to have come to and end. As sad as it is, Declan Kidney can ill afford any nostalgia, and needs to get fresh faces into the team. This is a must win game in Rome, and if the unthinkable were to happen and Ireland lost, you would really have no idea where they would go from there. Kidney would know where to go, and that is probably out of the door.

Ireland have been hit with the projected loss of Andrew Trimble and Tommy Bowe who are among seven potential starters ruled out of the Italy match, so they won’t be at full strength. The usual qualities of Ireland are just lacking a bit at the moment, perhaps cohesion and confidence, and they look a shadow of the team which won the Grand Slam just a couple of years ago. That sound efficiency in both attack and defence, that strong stepping up into the line, simply isn’t there, and the Irish will have to work a lot harder to their rewards this year, as opposed to relying on their inherent talent and teamwork. It’s not all as bad as it seems though, as they can still field plenty of talent with the likes of Brian O’Driscoll pulling the strings, and they have been dealt a huge helping hand with the fixture list. They take on France and England at home, the other two main contenders for the Six Nations title, and wins in those matches (against who they have done well in recent times) and they will be in the hunt. They don’t look quite so certain as they should be on the road, but at least the trip to Italy is a good way to start their campaign. They should find the going relatively easy against the Italians, who are still trying to hone that ideal mix of veteran and youthful talent, and this really could be an important game in the context of Ireland’s Six Nations campaign. It as game in which they can not only win points, but perhaps more importantly, confidence. The way through the Italians will be by keeping the ball in hand through the back, and avoiding too much contact up front, where the hosts will be a lot stronger.

In fact, Italy have a great front line, full of pace and power, and no doubt, they will enjoy patches of the Six Nations where they are getting on top of the opposition. The problem with the Italians is of course, consistency and stamina, and it is rare that you will see them last the full eighty minutes in playing an entirely solid game. They do play with a lot of heart though, and it is indicative of their standing in the Six Nations, that the only teams they have beaten is Wales and Scotland. You have to ask yourself whether you can see Nick Mallett’s Italy winning two games out of their five to try and avoid the wooden spoon. It looks very unrealistic, even though they are steadily improving. They have thrown young 20 year old Edoardo Gori in at scrum half, who is something of a prodigious talent, supposed to mature into one of the best in his position in Europe. This is a big stage for him, and there are some good young Italian players coming through the ranks. That is not going to help them too much in this campaign, but they really need to get experience and build for the future. They have always been gutsy, and not afraid to have a go, but they should have a hard time breaking down the Irish defence really. The Italians, it must be said, do look very good up front, and the more they keep the ball there, and keep the game tight, the better off they will be in the long run. By tiring the Irish out, that is the only way they are going to win this game. Struggled to beat Fiji in the Autumn, and while this game against Ireland may get away from them, there is definitely something to build upon.

A look at the stats sees Ireland with a massive advantage in the head to record. In all matches between the two sides, Italy have won just three, while Ireland have won 15 of their 18 matches. That’s a whopping 83% success rate against the Italians. In terms of current runs of form in the fixture, Italy have lost fourteen in a row to Ireland, and this is why this match should be in the bank for the visitors. The largest winning margin for Ireland over Italy was a 61-6 thumping, while Italy’s biggest success was a 37-22 triumph. The average points scored though really tells the tale. Italy have averaged just under 18 points per match against the Irish, while Ireland have averaged 33 points per match in the fixture. The total points are almost double in favour of Ireland, and while the Irish aren’t in great form at the moment, they should play this out to a comfortable victory. No reason to expect anything else.

Last Year’s Result: Ireland 23, Italy 11
Ireland Last Year’s Six Nations Finishing Position: 2nd
Italy Last Year’s Six Nations Finishing Position: 6th

Italy to win: 11/2 at Boylesports
Draw: 33/1 at Bet365
Ireland to win: 3/19 at Bwin

It is less than a week now before the 2001 RBS Six Nations betting gets underway, with the Friday night lights shining down at the Millennium Stadium as England head across the border to face Wales. England are favourites in the betting to take the Six Nations crown this year, and that is fair enough, considering their much improved performances over the autumn, which finally saw them cut loose a little bit, and develop something of an attacking edge. It was not prolific, there are definitely still kinks to work out of the master plan, but this Six Nations is huge. The teams need to be ready, as this will provide those all important competitive matches ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup. So with the fixture list drawn for the opening weekend, what can we expect from the combatants. Well, England are standing out front with the online bookmakers and in all likelihood, none of the teams look good enough to complete the Grand Slam. England still have their faults, so do Ireland. France will always be a threat, but even they have their weaknesses at the moment. Really the tournament is wide open, and you have to have a look at those away fixtures. England have to be looked at as the favourites, they are improving where the other nations seem to be stuttering just a bit. Therefore they will rightly be front runners, but this is going to be a close, hard fought tournament.

RBS Six Nations Fixtures 2011

Friday, 04 February 2011
Wales v England

Saturday, 05 February 2011
France v Scotland, Italy v Ireland

Saturday, 12 February 2011
England v Italy, Scotland v Wales

Sunday, 13 February 2011
Ireland v France

Saturday, 26 February 2011
England v France, Italy v Wales

Sunday, 27 February 2011
Scotland v Ireland

Saturday, 12 March 2011
Italy v France, Wales v Ireland

Sunday, 13 March 2011
England v Scotland

Saturday, 19 March 2011
France v Wales, Ireland v England, Scotland v Italy

2011 RBS Six Nations Betting Tips

So where to go with your betting? The first market in which you want to look, is the Six Nations Grand Slam betting odds. You can use a bit of reverse betting here, and pick No Grand Slam, which will pay out at 4/6 at Paddy Power. That is the favourite in this market and really makes a sound bet. It all least should guarantee some return and makes a pretty good Six Nations betting tip. If you want to push the boat out on this market, then England are the favourite nation to do the Grand Slam, but best priced at 11/2 at Totesport, you can that it really isn’t expected. What about the Triple Crown between the home nations? Well, again you can picked a healthy 15/8 at Paddy Power for No Winner in this market, and again England are the only team who look to have a chance at pulling it off, and they are 3/1 at Totesport to win the Triple Crown. The away matches against Ireland and Wales may scupper that dream. Italy are 2/5 favourites at BetFred to finish bottom, and that should pretty much be a banker. As for the winner market, well here are the outright odds along with previews for the hopes of each nation:

England: 2/1 at Totesport

Still in that mould of potential more than being able to deliver. They should win their home matches here at the Six Nations, but there are still question marks over them, enough to warrant looking at them losing their away matches (against Wales and Ireland). England did develop more of a running game and took the Aussies and the Kiwis on when they came over in November. England still fell short against the All Blacks, and were pretty much mailed by the South Africans as well. As for all of the hype about England being a much better team than they have been for some time, well, that probably can’t be argued with. They need to find improvement from their third place finish last year, and hopefully the Six Nations will be the perfect testing ground for the team to gel together even more, and work out the flaws which are still in the team. The midfield is far from perfect defensively and with Captain Lewis Moody out, manager Martin Johnson probably won’t be able to select his preferred starting fifteen. Moody’s partner in the back row Tom Croft will also miss the Six Nations, both big blows. But Johnson has also lost Courtney Lawes, which is perhaps one of the big elements missing from the pack, as the rampaging Lawes looked mightily impressive in the autumn internationals. Those are England’s two most mobile forwards, and that could have a major impact on how they play. Will hey go back to a static, set piece, territorial game? England will be without Delon Armitage, who has picked up an 8 week ban. But what England managed to do over the autumn, was to finally bring a bit of flair into the side, and that is in the shape of Ben Foden from Full Back, Ben Youngs and Chris Ashton, who is an incredibly talented and exciting young winger. England simply are not going to win the Grand Slam, the opposition, who always like to give the English a hard time, will make sure of that. The final match of the campaign in Ireland, really looks as if it will be the make or break one, and with having lost on all three of their last visits to Wales, England are not guaranteed of anything. They need to find the balance between the new found running game, and holding shape in defence. They have a big chance at winning the Six Nations with three home games, but they do still carry a very poor away record of late, and that will be the dampener on the whole Grand Slam party. Well worth a punt, but simply not consistent, or refined enough as a unit to win all of their matches.

Ireland: 7/2 at Stan James

Not quite sure what has happened to the Irish really. Two years ago they were rampaging their way to the Grand Slam, but now they are struggling for victories, and a bit soft in the centre. There is a proud rugby tradition in Ireland, but the balance of power seems to have shifted back in favour of England to be honest, particularly at club level. The fixtures have been kind to them this year, as they get home advantage for their main rivals for the Six Nations title, France and England. Ireland won a couple of games in the Autumn, but there is something from missing from them, that spark that has made them one of the strongest forces in the Six Nations. Something is not right, as it is not with England, but England seem to be going forward, while Ireland seem to be looking to stop the slide backwards. There is still quality in the side, like Brian O’Driscoll, but the best days of the golden generation of Irish rugby has probably gone, and they need to take stock and rebuild. A bad campaign here could mean the end for coach Declan Kidney, and while his team may be past their best, he has to get the young blood in there now to work alongside the experienced heads. They may be without Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble though because of injury. They do have a good record at home against England and France, so they will still be hopeful of gunning for the Six Nations. It is unlikely that they are going to win the Grand Slam anytime soon, but those two home matches will be crucial to their overall performance. The Irish have had their struggles on the road, just like England, and lost to Scotland last year in a shocker.

France: 13/5 at Victor Chandler

What has happened to Ireland? What has happened to France? They were awesome in last year’s Six Nations, ball retention, running, forward power, defense, there was a lot to be admired about them. The wheels rapidly fell off though in the autumn, including an embarrassingly heavy defeat against Australia, by a score of 59-16. The French simply had no fight in them, and their defence is completely in tatters at the moment. They will concede tries in the Six Nations, more so than many will expect them too. The key games for them this year will be the visits to England and Ireland, so they don’t have a very friendly fixture list awaiting them. The French will still be unpredictable, and you never know, coach Marc Lievremont may well put out a side which makes a clean sweep of the Six Nations. That is just a far fetched example of how unpredictable the French could be. For your Six Nations betting, one of the most crucial factors is the fixture list. They are not at their best, but should still win matches and be close in the running for the Six Nations title. They always make an exciting World Cup side, but they need to step up from where they were in the Autumn. They looked incredibly short on confidence for some reason, and it does not take too much to fracture the spirit of the French. They can be got at in the packs this year, and will lose games. Most likely those crucial away ones.

Scotland: 16/1 at  Bet365

Well, they have a new captain. Alastair Kellock, after leading Scotland through the autumn internationals, keeps his job, and will try and give them hope of better things to come. Coach Andy Robinson really has done a fantastic job with them, and they are the most in form team of all the competitors going into the 2011 Six Nations. That’s right, after beating Ireland in the last round of the 2010 Six Nations, they had a great rest of the year. You may remember them beating Australia. You may remember them beating South Africa as well. In fact, the only blot on their copy book in the last six Test Matches, was a thrashing dealt out by the All Blacks, which, all things considered, is nothing to be ashamed of. Andy Robinson has made Scotland very hard to beat. No, they do not have the flair, or quality of personnel that the likes of France and England can call upon, but they have a great team ethic and spirit, which the other nations could be envious of. As for the Six Nations in 2011, well, Scotland aren’t going to win it. They are pencilled in again as one of the runners for the Wooden Spoon, perhaps harshly, given the positive strides forward which they have taken. Have a great chance to take out Italy and Wales up at Murrayfield, and will probably rattle the Irish again. However, their away trips may just break their resolve, as they have to go to Twickenham and to the Stade Francais, and the Scots haven’t won at either of those places in the last five matches at each venue. You really should see a much improved Scottish side, and one that should pick up a couple of victories at least. They should beat Wales and Italy, the crucial one should be against the Irish really, a match which could move them well clear of the bottom (if you are writing off the away games as defeats).

Wales: 15/2 at SportingBet

The Welsh will be chomping at the bit to get their teeth into the improving England at the Millennium Stadium in the first match of their campaign. Coach Warren Gatland needs to pull some kind of miracle out of his hat, if he is to keep the Welsh fans happy. They are on a run of seven straight defeats, and they need to turn to their great record against England to give them some confidence ahead of the rest of the Six Nations campaign. That match will probably make or break the Welsh to be honest. If they can eek out a fourth consecutive win over England at the Millennium Stadium, then they will set themselves up well. A defeat, and they will be wondering where the next win is coming from, and that is because it will be a long way to fall after getting so hyped up against the auld enemy. The problems for Wales really lie in their defensive frailties. They just have not got any staying power, and have no clue as to how to see out a game. They blew some strong leads during 2010, and what really set the Welsh fans groaning was an absolute dire performance in which they could only draw with Fiji. It was that bad. They have lost Gethin Jenkins and Adam Jones, which will weaken their front line, the last thing they want when trying to take on the might of England’s front row. Suddenly Wales find themselves behind Scotland in the pecking order, and they won’t be happy with that. There are winnable games, one against Italy (in Rome) and perhaps their only other best chance is a spirited rousing affair against the Irish at the Millennium Stadium, because Ireland haven’t got a great record there. There is no poster boy Gavin Henson to add a spark in the three quarters, there is a little indecision as to how Wales will actually line up at the back, with James Hook, Lee Byrne, Stephen Jones and Jamie Roberts all looking to hold their favoured places down. However, when Wales start tossing the ball around in the backs, they look a threat. They haven’t got the defensive power to back it up, and have a weak front row in the scrum. Wales are a long way from their Grand Slam winning year of 2008, and may well find themselves scrapping it out with Italy for the wooden spoon, although only in terms of finishing fifth, as they aren’t going to be worse than the Italians.

Italy: 250/1 at Paddy Power

Well, they have still really to make an impact since joining the Six Nations, and again they will be favourites to finish last. The Italians do have a good crop of young players coming through though, and that should finally give them some good hope for the years ahead. They look to be on the right track finally, but they need time and experience to really step up. It is hard to picture the Italians going out and winning two matches in the campaign this year, but there are a couple of matches which they could be targeting. First of all they get to face Wales in Rome, and if Wales are having one of their off days, their defensive is poor enough to be rattled by the Italians. The strength of the Italians will be in their front row actually, and this is where they could get into teams and perhaps cause an upset. They are not going out looking to be world beaters at all, they seem to understand that this is an ongoing process. The only other team that Italy have beaten in the Six Nation apart from Wales is Scotland. But Italy face Scotland at Murrayfield, and you really don’t bank on Italy going away and picking up a victory. It would be hard to see them doing that, even if Scotland weren’t the much improved side that they are at the moment. With tough trips to France, England and Scotland, the Italians are going to come up short again. Hopefully they won’t just be the whipping boys, and some fairly solid performances in the autumn internationals suggest that they are going to get better over time.

The 2010 World Cup is fading into the background for every European nation who will now start competing to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and Ukraine. Just fourteen places are up for grabs and the groups are therefore set to be highly competitive, with eight 2nd placed teams having to contest a play-off to go through.

Naturally, the bookmakers will be offering a wide range of betting markets for all the matches that are taking place on Friday, although many will also be showing a selection of the games on their website and it’s completely free to watch any of them!

Bet365 have just released information which states that they will be showing the following matches this week:

Thursday
Israel v Malta 19:15 BST

Friday
Armenia v Rep of Ireland 16:00 BST
Kazakhstan v Turkey 17:00 BST
Andorra v Russia 17:30 BST
San Marino v Netherlands 17:45 BST
Faroe Islands v Serbia 18:00 BST
Sweden v Hungary 19:00 BST
Latvia v Croatia 19:00 BST
Belgium v Germany 19:15 BST
Estonia v Italy 19:30 BST
France v Belarus 20:00 BST
Iceland v Norway 20:00 BST
Portugal v Cyprus 20:45 BST

That’s a brilliant selection of Euro 2012 qualifiers to choose from and you simply need to have a bet365 account to be able to log in and view all the matches that are taking place. However, you should note that geographical restrictions apply to these games.

For example, any based in France, Belarus or the USA will not be able to watch the France v Belarus match, while anyone based in the UK, Ireland, Armenia and USA will not be able to watch Armenia v Republic of Ireland.

It’s also worth checking out Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and betfair who also have the rights to show many sporting events for free on their website.

There are some interesting matches taking place, not least the France match against Belarus which will see Laurent Blanc take charge of Les Bleus for their first competitive match since the fiasco at the 2010 World Cup. It’s a new regime after the reign of Raymond Domenech and bet365 offer a best price 1/3 that the French get their Euro 2012 campaign off to a winning start.

Meanwhile, Germany can be viewed on the bet365 live streaming console when they travel to Belgium for what could be a tricky contest. Many people are excited about this German team after some excellent performances during the 2010 World Cup and they are 8/13 with Sky Bet to get off to a flyer. Thomas Muller is 13/2 with bet365 to open the scoring in this match and he was joint-top scorer in South Africa.

Finally, you can watch World Cup finalists Holland when they travel to San Marino for the first match of their qualifying campaign and it would be a major surprise if the Dutch didn’t oblige at odds of 1/100! It may well be worth covering the 5-0 (15/2 Paddy Power), 6-0 (14/1 Paddy Power) and 7-0 (22/1 Paddy Power), then sitting back and enjoying the goalfest from the Netherlands!

Just two months after the 2010 World Cup came to an end, the focus shifts towards Euro 2012, with the first round of qualifiers taking place on Friday. The tournament finals will take place in Poland and Ukraine, which means that just fourteen qualifying places are available due to the co-hosts automatically booking their place at the table.

There are nine qualifying groups, with the winner from each going through to the finals along with the best performing 2nd-placed team. The other eight 2nd-placed teams will play-off to determine the final four places.

It’s little surprise to see Spain as outright favourites (4/1 bet365) to win Euro 2010, with La Furia Roja now the champions of the world as well as Europe. Vicente Del Bosque remains as manager of the national team and it will be largely the same set of players that defend their crown.  A group including Czech Republic and Scotland shouldn’t pose too many problems for the holders.

However, the one other European team that stood out in South Africa were Germany, especially as Joachim Loew took a chance on several young players such as Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira. The pair have both signed for Real Madrid this term, while the likes of Thomas Muller and Bastian Schweinsteiger should ensure that Die Mannschaft are lively contenders. Paddy Power go 11/2 that they win Euro 2012.

Nevertheless, it was the Netherlands that made the final of the World Cup and it was disappointing that Bert van Marwijk’s team resorted to an aggressive style of play against the Spanish which meant justice was served when Andres Iniesta scored an extra-time winner for Spain. Paddy Power offer 7/1 that Holland go one better in Poland & Ukraine, providing that they manage to qualify from a group which includes Sweden and Finland.

The three big European disappointments at the World Cup were England, France and Italy. The English did make it beyond the group stages, although they were badly exposed by Germany and Fabio Capello is now under pressure to deliver in this tournament. Sporting Bet go 12/1 that the Three Lions are victorious, although there’s no certainty that they will qualify from a group which includes Switzerland and Bulgaria.

We should expect a completely different French team from the side that went on strike under Raymond Domenech. Although Laurent Blanc has to restore the confidence of supporters who saw their nation disgraced in south Africa, there are some talented players to call upon and Les Bleus are 14/1 with Stan James to win Euro 2012.

Cesare Prandelli has replaced Marcello Lippi as manager of Italy and he is likely to bring through plenty of young players as the Azzurri look to put the poor performances of the 2010 World Cup behind them. Paddy Power offer 11/1 that the 2006 World Cup winners are triumphant and we should expect an improved showing.

Portugal (12/1 bet365) and Russia (22/1 bet365) are the other teams worthy of consideration, although Carlos Queiroz might not be the right man to take the former forward after setting them up ultra-defensively against the Ivory Coast and Spain in the World Cup.

Poland and Ukraine are the countries co-hosting this tournament and that means that there are only fourteen other places up for grabs. Some would probably argue that Spain should get a bye into the finals after adding a world crown to their European one in South Africa, although we will almost certainly see Vicente Del Bosque’s team in eastern Europe to defend their title.

A selection of bookmakers, including Ladbrokes and bet365, offer 4/1 that La Furia Roja continue to show they are top dogs in Euro 2012 and they will retain the nucleus of the team that won the country’s first ever World Cup. Young players such as Pedro, Jesus Navas and David Silva will ensure that there is fierce competition for places and we might even see a fit Fernando Torres in two years time!

However, many people will be looking to back Germany antepost instead, especially as they are available at odds of 6/1 with Ladbrokes. Although Joachim Low’s team fell short against the Spanish in the semi-finals, there’s a strong case for arguing that they are the second best team in the world and the manager will have two years to ensure that his team can come back stronger.

With Thomas Mueller, Bastian Schweinsteiger and  Mesut Ozil all playing starring roles for Die Mannschaft in South Africa, it will be interesting to see whether they can continue their free-scoring ways which made them so prolific this summer.

The Netherlands are available at 8/1 (Victor Chandler) to win Euro 2012 and they will take some beating if the last World Cup is anything to go by. While the likes of Mark Van Bommel aren’t getting any younger and Gio van Bronckhorst has retired, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Robin Van Persie will still pack a punch for the Oranje.

While Spain, Germany and Holland ensured that there were three European teams in the semi-finals, there were several of the ‘old order’ that failed to make much impact at all in South Africa. Expectations were once again high that England would deliver in a major tournament although their poor performances throughout means that Sporting Bet have pushed the Three Lions out to 12/1. It could be a period of transition for this team who need to bring young players in.

As for France, there will also be sweeping changes with the players in the squad. Raymond Domenech has been replaced by Laurent Blanc and the latter will command much more respect within the camp after the shameful way that Les Bleus conducted themselves in South Africa. Perhaps they are the best bet at 14/1 (Stan James), especially as the squad will be packed with top quality players.

Italy were equally as disappointing with their failure to beat New Zealand, Slovakia or Paraguay in their World Cup group and they have been pushed out to 11/1 (Paddy Power). Meanwhile, you can back Portugal at 14/1 (Coral), Russia at 20/1 (Blue Square) and Ukraine at 40/1 (bet365).

England v Austria Match Odds

England to win: 3/5 at Bwin
Draw: 11/5 at Bwin
Austria: 5/1 at Bwin

The future of English football could be on display in France on the weekend, as the UEFA Under 19 Championship kicks off. The eight team tournament will give England’s youth a chance to shine, in the hope that the FA can learn something from another senior World Cup failure, and learn how to nurture and embrace young talent, instead of training any flair out of them. After all the fall out of England’s failure at South Africa 2010, eyes will turn to the Under 19’s as the benchmark for the next generation of England’s youth. There have been concerns that there is not enough youth coming through from grass roots in English football, and that the English game and lack of professional youth coaches, are taking something away from the national game. It has been suggested that any inherent flair and technical ability to play a passing game, is drilled out of youngsters, as the focus is more on the physical aspect of the game, and learning to play at tempo. So, just how England do at the UEFA Under 19 Championship could be an eye opener for things to come. England have been drawn in Group A of the tournament, along with host nation France, Austria and the Netherlands. It is a group from which they will be expected to get out of without too much trouble. Here are the fixtures for England at the UEFA Under 19 Championship:

Sunday, July 18th: Austria v England
Wednesday, July 21st: Netherlands v England
Saturday, July 24th: England v France

There is a sprinkling of hope for the future of English football, as England finished as runner’s up in the previous tournament, where they lost to the Ukraine in the finals. This, in all honesty, is not too bad of a draw for England, as Holland are making their debut in the competition, and Austria are rank outsiders to win the tournament. The toughest challenge in the group stage will be France, who are joint favourites along with Spain to win. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group will go forwards to the semi finals. This tournament does have bigger implications, as the teams which finish in the top three out of each group, will earn automatic qualification for the 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup. Coached by Noel Blake, England were the last team to qualify for the tournament, and hopes could rest on 2008/09 top scorer Nathan Delfouneso, who is on the books at Aston Villa. They also have a strong pairing in the midfield of Dean Parrett and Jacob Melis, while there is plenty of experience t the back with Fulham’s Matthew Briggs and Manchester United’s Reece Brown.

There were some club v country discussions going on ahead of the tournament, as some clubs were unwilling to release some of their young players for the tournament. However, after the senior England side failed to perform and lessons were learnt from Germany’s youngsters, England were able to select a strong squad to take to France. There are two notable omissions though, with Everton’s Jack Rodwell and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere missing out, as they are wanted to step up an age group. It is the Germans and the Spanish which England need to emulate. Since investing heavily in their youth, Germany have won the European Championships at every age level, while Spain have won the Under 19 Championships four times. Getting things right at these young levels, will naturally enhance the quality of what will come in future senior teams. There are signs that England are on the right track, after the Under 17’s won the European Championships a couple of months ago, and that was on the back of the Under 21’s reaching the final of their respective tournament the year before. Germany didn’t make the tournament this time around, after failing to get out of the Elite group qualifying process, finishing third in a group which Holland won.

England Under 19 Squad: Goalkeepers: Declan Rudd (Norwich), James Severn (Derby); Defenders: Nathan Baker (Aston Villa), Matthew Briggs (Fulham), Reece Brown (Manchester United), Stephen Caulker (Spurs), Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace), Thomas Cruise (Arsenal), Josh Thompson (Celtic); Midfielders: John Bostock (Spurs), Matthew James (Manchester United), Jacob Mellis (Chelsea), Dean Parrett (Spurs), Matthew Phillips (Wycombe), Andros Townsend (Spurs); Forwards: Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Ryan Donaldson (Newcastle), Frank Nouble (West Ham).

UEFA European Under-19 Championship Winners
2002: Spain
2003: Italy
2004: Spain
2005: France
2006: Spain
2007: Spain
2008: Germany
2009: Ukraine

While England are in with a fair shout at claiming the honours here, there are some quality youth teams taking part alongside them. Spain will be one of the strongest competitors at the tournament, and they will be expected to win Group B, where Portugal, Italy and Croatia also reside. Croatia are making their debut in the tournament, and therefore they won’t be looked at for too long in the betting. Portugal have shown in the past they can put out a decent crop of youngsters, but they have probably fallen just a little bit behind the other stronger European nations, as this is their first year back after missing the last two tournaments after failing to qualify. Italy are a little bit of an unknown quantity, but will be expected to get through to the semi finals. From a football betting point of view, England and France will be expected to progress from Group A, and Spain along with Italy will be expected to get through from Group B.

UEFA Under 19 Championship Outright Odds at Bwin
Spain: 4.50
France: 4.50
England: 6.00
Italy: 6.50
Netherlands: 8.00
Portugal: 8.50
Croatia: 12.0
Austria: 15.0