Italy vs England
31st October 1645hrs
Rugby – Italy – Six Nations
Pick England -32 handicap
Bookmaker Bet365
Odds: 10/11 odds taken 01:05 GMT Thursday, 29th October
The 2020 Six Nations wooden spoon is already going to Italy. So the Azzurri have nothing but a bit of pride to play for on Saturday.
England however has a big agenda. They have to win to have a chance at claiming this year’s Six Nations title.
A bonus point could help out that cause at the end of the day, and Eddie Jones’s men will be expected to get that.
Table of Contents
Italy Preview – Italians to end without a point
Italy have lost all four of their games played in this season’s Championship. They had a competitive return to action last weekend.
They were in Dublin to face Ireland in a match that was still outstanding from the fourth round of action.
Italy were just never in the match and went down heavily in a 50-17 defeat.
That was seven tries that Italy conceded in that fixture.
It took their tally of points conceded to 144 in the 2020 Six nations. That is an average of 34 points per game against.
It’s no surprise of course that Italy are underdogs here, priced at 22/1 in the match outright* (odds taken 01:05 GMT Thursday, 29th October).
It is highly unlikely that a win is going to go the way of the home side.
They have never before beaten England.
It’s about what kind of score that they are going to concede against a team trying to win the Championship.
The Italins have only posted 39 points in total in their four games of this campaign.
An Italy +32 handicap line is at 11/10 for Saturday’s future* (odds taken 01:05 GMT Thursday, 29th October).
In their last two matches against England, Italy have lost by margins of 31 and 43 points.
Four of their last five losses against England have been by a margin of at least 30 points, so it’s a reasonable handicap line for Six Nations rugby betting.
England Preview – England seek bonus point win
Turning up in Rome and just playing for the win isn’t likely to be in England’s minds. The bonus point for scoring four tries in the match, will be.
England will claim the Six Nations title this season with a victory and if France beat Ireland. That is unless France win with a bonus point and a margin of victory two points bigger than England’s win over Italy.
If Ireland beat France with no bonus point, then England would need to beat Italy with a bonus point. Plus they would need to beat Italy by a margin of 24 points more than what Ireland’s score over France awas.
There are a few more connotations, but one of those two look the most likely to play out.
So England have to have a big score in mind, especially having seen Ireland put 50 points over Italy last weekend.
For Six Nations Rugby betting, an England -32 handicap is at 10/11* (odds taken 01:05 GMT Thursday, 29th October).
England were due to play the Barbarians as a warm up match last weekend, but that got cancelled.
So they are coming in cold, not having played since March. In this season’s Six Nations, England are W3 L1, the reverse happening in Paris on the opening weekend.
Don’t miss out on other Betting Tips & Predictions
Click here for more Betting Tips
England have a few players sidelined, like Willie Heinz, Luke Cowan-Dickie, George Form, Joe Marlet, Courntey Lawes, Manu Tuilagi and Eilliot Daly.
So that’s quite an experienced crop of players out of action, but England appear to have a good healthy mix of new players coming in.
There are 10 uncapped players in the current squad but England look very mobile and strong in the back-row.
At the end of the day, a blend of England youth and experience should win this comfortably and we would expect a strong start.
An England 15+ half time winning margin is at even money* (odds taken 01:05 GMT Thursday, 29th October).
Italy vs England Betting Advice
England should handle themselves well. Last weekend’s warm-up match would have helped out, but Eddie Jones will have them ready.
England have won all previous 26 clashes with Italy and there have been plenty of big scores in recent clashes to suggest the Red Rose can get their bonus point.
This is more than that for them, a game of margins. England need to try and go big because of the pending result of France v Ireland which is the final game of the day.
Key Facts – Italy vs England Betting Tip
- Italy are averaging 36 points per game against them in this season’s Six Nations
- England need to win and have the result of France v Ireland go their way to claim the title
- England are unbeaten in 26 previous tests against Italy
So England have a big chance to set down a marker, a margin that Ireland nor France in victory, are likely to touch.
We expect plenty of power from the England forwards and plenty of England scoring from open play in the second half.
An England 31-40 winning margin does the job for us in rugby betting at 10/3* (odds taken 01:05 GMT Thursday, 29th October).
The best betting odds for Italy vs England
Italy to win: 22/1 at Bet365
Draw: 50/1 at Bet365
England to win: 125/1 at Bet365
