It was a dramatic win for Ireland on the opening weekend of the RBS Six Nations 2018 as a stunning late drop goal from Johnny Sexton gave the Irish a win in Paris over France in the 83rd minute. It was a moment of sheer magic and one that will live long in the memory of Six Nations fans. But that really was a rare piece of shine in a dour match against the French that the Irish played.
It was a low-quality scrap and throughout the entire game, Ireland never managed to break France’s line once. The man in green were really flat and unimaginative and just were not going anywhere. It’s never easy to win on the road in the Six Nations of course, but Ireland were starting the Championship as the main challenger to England but will have to step up their game if they are too get themselves in the mix.
Ireland’s points in the game in Paris all came from the boot of Sexton and they really didn’t look like crossing the French try line at all. The French didn’t look much of a threat really and they were really ill-disciplined but still the Irish could not seem to make any headway against them. But a win’s a win and the Irish will have the chance to express themselves a bit better as they play host to Italy this weekend.
Ireland v Italy Odds*
Ireland 1/100, Italy 33/1, Draw 100/1* (betting odds taken on January 8th at 00:03 a.m.)
Ireland v Italy Head to Head
The Irish have won each of their last five games against the Italians now since a shock loss out in Rome against them in the 2013 Six Nations Championship. Last season they were in Rome and took down Italy 63-10. In their last home game against Italy in the 2016 Six Nations the Irish were big 58-15 winners.
Ireland have won four of their last five games against Italy by at least a margin of +23 points and three of their five wins has seen them triumph by at least +39 points. In the Paddy Power handicap market an Ireland -34 is at even money odds* (betting odds taken on January 8th at 00:03 a.m.) and that’s reasonable considering how badly they were lacking any kind of attacking edge last weekend.
Ireland v Italy Predictions
This should be routine enough for the Irish on home soil in getting the win on the board over the Italians. The Azzurri are still a long way short in the competition of being up to the standards needed to win games like this and an Ireland 31-35 winning margin isn’t a bad option. An Ireland Penalty at 2/1 as the first scoring play has appeal, as Sexton will likely get his eye in as soon as possible.
