Six Nations Betting: What Are The Odds Of A 2022 Triple Crown Winner?

Daire Walsh

It will be another few weeks before we get a definitive answer but, as things stand, Ireland are the one remaining hope for a Triple Crown success in this year’s Six Nations Championship.

Operating on the basis of their performances in the opening two rounds of the competition – and their general showings over the past 12 months or so – the best betting sites are offering their take on whether Andy Farrell’s side will be able to complete a clean sweep of victories over England, Scotland and Wales.

Since winning a Grand Slam in 2009 and following up with another in 2018, Triple Crowns probably don’t mean as much within the Irish rugby fraternity as they once did.

In fact, the failures to win the Crown in 2014 and 2015 were quickly forgotten after Ireland won the Six Nations title in both years.

The Triple Crown Previously A Distant Dream For Ireland

Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Ireland weren’t major contenders in the Five Nations Championship – as it was called before Italy joined the competition in 2000 – for many years and the notion of winning a Triple Crown was only viewed as a pipe dream.

That changed utterly under the stewardship of Eddie O’Sullivan, who claimed this prize on no fewer than three occasions.

Since then, Declan Kidney and Joe Schmidt have won the Triple Crown just once each (in those aforementioned Grand Slam seasons) and Farrell therefore would become only the fourth Irish coach in the professional era to do so – should they overcome the upcoming challenges of England and Scotland.

Despite their defeat to France in Paris last weekend, spirits seemingly remain high within the Irish camp, and they certainly came away from the game at Saint-Denis with some credit in the bank.

Odds Are Strong For An Irish Triple Crown

The Jonathan Sexton-led outfit are attracting good odds amongst the best betting sites for rugby union, rating them at 11/8 to win a rare Triple Crown.

Still, the prospect of no Triple Crown winner in 2022 is also being treated with the utmost seriousness. Betfair are offering 8/13 for this piece of silverware to remain idle.

Wales were the ones to come away with the Crown last year, having halted Ireland’s bid for it in the opening round of the Championship.

The Green Army gained revenge when Wayne Pivac’s side visited the Aviva Stadium in Dublin just under a fortnight ago and following their agonising reversal to France, they are hotly-tipped to get their campaign back on track at home to Italy on Sunday week.

Italian Game Ideal Preparation For English Test

While this game could have a major bearing on the final outlook of the Championship itself, it won’t of course have any impact on their race for the Triple Crown.

Nonetheless, it will be an important game for morale and Farrell might use their showdown with the Azzurri to examine the options he currently has at his disposal.

Having produced an accomplished display on his first Six Nations start at Stade de France, there are calls for Joey Carbery to retain his place at out-half even if team skipper Sexton is back to full fitness.

Similarly, Farrell may look to give some game-time to back-up place-kicker Jack Carty and the uncapped Michael Lowry.

Regardless of what selection he makes on the day, most of what Ireland does over the next few weeks will be geared towards delivering a big performance against England at Twickenham Stadium on March 12.

Farrell’s Men Looking To Build On 2021 Win Over England

After a run of four straight reversals (including a World Cup warm-up fixture and an Autumn Nations Cup clash), Ireland finally got one over on Eddie Jones’ men in the closing round of last year’s Six Nations.

Following earlier doubts surrounding where the squad were heading under Farrell, they eventually burst into life by comfortably sweeping aside their cross-channel rivals on a final scoreline of 32-18.

Producing a similar performance in front of a packed-out Twickenham – their meeting last March was the last one Ireland played behind closed doors at the Aviva – will be a considerable task, but there have been some memorable Irish performances at the London venue in the past.

In addition to sealing the Grand Slam there in 2018, Ireland also overcame the English during the 2004 Six Nations – a game that took place a matter of months after their opponents had triumphed at the Rugby World Cup.

If Ireland were to claim that considerable scalp, not only would 2022 Six Nations betting odds take a tumble but they would also find themselves on the brink of a seventh Triple Crown in advance of hosting Scotland on the final day of the competition.

Scotland Game Rounds Off Ireland’s Six Nations Campaign

Farrell and his coaching team will be hoping to go into their meeting with Scotland on March 19 with the Triple Crown on offer – and possibly the Championship itself if results go their way elsewhere.

When the sides clashed at Lansdowne Road almost 18 years ago, tries from Gordon D’Arcy (two), Geordan Murphy, David Wallace and Peter Stringer helped Ireland to claim the Triple Crown as well as a second-placed finish for the third time in four seasons.

However, Scotland were in a difficult position back then and ended their 2004 campaign with five straight losses.

Even if their form can be erratic in modern times, they have pulled off a brace of wins over England in the past two Championships and also got the better of France in Paris last March.

Home advantage is proving to be a big factor thus far in 2022 though, and this will make Ireland favourites to prevail on the day.