2013 Six Nations rugby betting looks as if it is going to be a wide open affair for the latest renewal of the fierce competition. The action gets underway on February 2nd this season, with Wales v Ireland and England v Scotland. Italy v France is the opening weekend’s Sunday fixture. With the Welsh taking the Grand Slam title last term, will they able to successfully build for a title defence?
The bookies are not suggesting so, as the front runners for this year’s title are England and France. Those are the two nations on the supposed rise, while the Welsh, along with the Irish, went through some very trying (no pun intended) times through 2012. Will the bitter rivalries though make things closer than they appear to be ahead of the new season?
2013 Six Nations Outright Winner Betting odds at online bookmaker Bet365
England 2/1, France 15/8, Ireland 9/2, Wales 4/1, Scotland 25/1, Italy 100/1
Stuart Lancaster’s England head into the new season with their odds having been continuously shaved throughout the course of 2012. At one point, it was France heading the list of favourites, and then there was a Six Nations betting momentum change when England took down New Zealand at Twickenham in the Autumn Series. Not only did that snap a long unbeaten run from the All Blacks, it finally saw the true potential of England all pulled together. After missing out on the Six Nations title last season, but showing some growth, England went through a tough year in some fierce battles with Southern Hemisphere opponents. There were two narrow defeats and a draw in a bruising series out in South Africa against the Springboks, and after a disappointing loss against Australia and another narrow defeat against the Boks back at Twickenham in the Autumn, England finally rose to the occasion and recorded a record win over New Zealand, the World Champions.
If England can repeat that level of performance every game in the Six Nations, then they would probably stroll it. However, at some point England are going to have to dig in and scrap in dirty matches. They were sloppy and fractured in their loss against Australia in the Autumn, for example, unable to pick themselves up. France are in the same boat as England. They simply crushed Australia in the Autumn and looked a powerful outfit and favourites in 2013 Six Nations rugby betting. But then everyone was saying that about them after reaching the final of the 2011 World Cup, only to get progressively worse through the 2012 Six Nations a couple of months later. The talent is there, especially up front in their scrum technique and there is always their ability to run from deep. The biggest question in 2013 Six Nations betting is whether or not they have the mentality and focus.
England and France are strong in 2013 Six Nations outright betting, and they may not be matched at the end of the day. Wales are currently on a seven match losing streak, including home defeats against Argentina and Samoa in the Autumn. The Welsh look unbalanced and could be struggling with a long injury list heading into this year’s edition. Ireland didn’t fare much better after a disappointing 2012 Six Nations. The Irish went on a five match losing streak, finally winning at the right time, taking down Argentina in a massively important match which meant that they just avoided dropping out of the top eight ranked teams in the world. Scotland and Italy will again duke it out in an attempt to avoid the wooden spoon. Italy are 2/5 favourites to finish bottom, but Scotland could push them close at 5/2 for the Six Nations Wooden Spoon betting.
2013 Six Nations Betting Grand Slam Odds
The chances of a Grand Slam happening this season look a bit slim. It should be a very closely matched tournament, and not even the favourites really look certain of winning all their matches. No Winner is top option at a price of 4/7 with online bookmaker Bet365, while England and France can be taken at 6/1 each to pull it off.
2013 Six Nations Top Try Scorer Betting odds at online bookmaker Bet365
Again you would look to the stronger two nations to provide the winner in this category. France’s Vincent Clerc makes a genuine shot at 8/1, alongside England’s Chris Ashton. It is then tough to pick a winner out of the likes of Wesley Fofana, Alex Cuthbert, Manu Tuilagi and George North who are all around the 14/1 mark.
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