England v Scotland 2013 RBS Six Nations rugby betting is the second match of this year’s tournament, kicking off on February 2nd. Stuart Lancaster’s men will be happy enough to get the start to the campaign at home. There were step forwards for England last season under Lancaster, missing out on the Six Nations title in a crucial defeat against the Welsh. However, with the Welsh and the Irish struggling through 2012 following the close of the Six Nations, England have been installed as favourites to take the title this season, with France expected to put up the biggest challenge.
With good home form against Scotland, the English will be expected to run up a good score at Twickenham to get them off the mark. Chris Robshaw retains his captaincy and this Six Nations will be a big test of how their future 2015 World Cup credentials will stand up.
Scotland have interim head coach Scott Johnson in place after Andy Robinson walked away last term. The signals from the Scottish camp is that they are going to struggle a bit defensively this term. The Scots lost all five of their matches during the 2012 Six Nations and without a win at Twickenham since way back in 1983, they will go as heavy underdogs. Scotland seem more focused on having the ability just to compete and stay in matches than they are focused on really winning.
The Scots though had a good tour of the Southern Hemisphere back in June of 2012, beating Samoa, Fiji and famously Australia. The Autumn Series for them saw expected defeats at home against New Zealand and South Africa, but then a shock defeat against the lowly ranked Tonga really suckerpunched them.
England meanwhile put in their best ever performance under Stuart Lancaster, as they recorded a record win over New Zealand at Twickenham. England were embroiled in a tough series in South Africa against the Springboks in the summer, suffering narrow defeats in the first two matches before earning a draw. Then disappointing home defeats against the Springboks and Australia in the Autumn, in which they couldn’t raise the level of their game, were the unexpected pre-cursors to their famous win over New Zealand.
The last time England and Scotland met at Twickenham in the Six Nations, the home side ran out 22-16 winners. England have now lost just one of the last six Test Internationals against Scotland and have tasted home defeat against their northern neighbours since the early 80s. England will have all the impetus on them and not only will a win be important for them, but the manner of victory equally so. England need that all expansive clinical finishing from their backs. If they play as they did against the Kiwis in every match, they’ll take the Six Nations. A strong start will have them humming.
England v Scotland 2013 Six Nations Rugby betting at online bookmaker William Hill
England 1/14, Scotland 13/2, Draw 28/1
The England v Scotland head to head stands in favour of the English. England have taken 70 wins compared to Scotland’s 42 in meetings, with the sides producing 18 draws. The average points difference per game is not as much as many would think, only an average of 2.88 per game in England’s favour when they meet. England average 11.55 points per game against Scotland, while in return, Scotland average 8.6 points per game against England.
Obviously little value in backing England outright, so this is where handicaps come in. An England -15 point handicap is trading at 10/11 with online bookmaker William Hill. The highly rated online bookmaker welcomes new customers with the welcome bonus of up to a £25 free bet.
