Ireland head into the third round of matches in the RBS Six Nations 2018 top of the table on points difference over England. It’s just a two-point advantage that they hold so they can’t take their foot off the gas at all. The Irish opened with a dramatic win out in France thanks to a Johnny Sexton’s massive dropkick deep into stoppage time. It was naturally far easier for them as they played host to Italy in Dublin in the second round of matches.
Ireland v Wales Winner Odds*
Ireland 3/10, Wales 27/10, Draw 25/1* (betting odds taken at 11:02 p.m. on February 19th, 2018)
Ireland took a 56-19 win over the Azzurri, but will potentially be a little concerned about the three tries that they did give up in the second half of the match. So now they move on to a big home clash against Wales at the Aviva Stadium.There really doesn’t look as if there will be too much to split the two of them either but since Joel Schmidt has been in charge of the Irish, he has not seen the men in green lose a home game.
He has though gone W2 D1 L3 against the Welsh in his tenure. The Irish probably shade the extra quality in the back line though the likes of Keith Earls, Jonny Sexton, Conor Murray and Bundee Aki. But there should be a fantastic, even contest upfront between the two packs.
Wales are playing catch up to the top two in the table having opened with a convincing home win over Scotland, but then they couldn’t’ find a way to break England’s back line at Twickenham in the second round of matches, losing 12-6 in a tight scrap. The Welsh felt pretty aggrieved though that the TMO had disallowed a try scored by Gareth Anscombe in the match, which would have put a whole different complexion on the event.
Ireland v Wales Head to Head
The Irish have failed to win any of their last three games against the Welsh now and suffered a 22-9 reverse against the Dragons at the Millennium Stadium last year. In the last battle between them in Ireland there was a dramatic 16-16 tie. Overall the head to head Ireland are W5 D1 L7 in their last thirteen matches between the two of them in the last decade.
As for points, eight of the last thirteen have been settled by a margin of ten points or less. Ireland’s last win over the Welsh was a fourteen point margin back in 2015 at the Millennium Stadium. The Irish are W2 D1 L3 in their last six at home against the Welsh.
Ireland v Wales Prediction
The Welsh couldn’t get themselves going against the English defence, but battled pretty well in the context of a tough away match and who knows what would have happened if that try and been awarded? Ireland really had to grind out in France for their spoils, but were more expressive and settled at home. They have the edge in the backs over Wales and can take the win, but a Wales +9 handicap at 15/16 at bet365* (betting odds taken at 11:02 p.m. on February 19th, 2018) looks decent value.
