Six Nations Betting: What Are The Odds On The 2022 Championship Winner?
There could well be a number of twists and turns before the competition comes to an end but, from the current vantage point, France are the clear favourite in the race for a Six Nations title.
The best betting sites for rugby union believe that – following a gap of 12 years – Les Bleus are ready to reclaim the Championship crown.
Their current level of strength is a far cry from where they were during the last World Cup cycle.
From 2016 through to 2019, Les Bleus lost 11 out of 20 games in the Six Nations and only finished in the top half of the table on one occasion (2017).
France’s Fortunes Beginning To Reverse
In fact, after claiming the runners-up spot in the 2011 Championship – the same year they reached the World Cup final – it took them all of nine seasons to finish as high again.
The latter campaign was Fabien Galthié’s first as head coach and the former Colomiers scrum-half has continued to transform the fortunes of the French national team.
Even though they lost two games from five in last year’s competition, their combined losing margin was a mere five points, and it was late tries that ultimately gave England and Scotland the edge over them.
Their quest for Six Nations glory was also severely disrupted by a Covid outbreak within the camp following their victory over Ireland.
This meant their home encounter with Scotland was postponed until a week after the Championship was originally due to end, which robbed them of the momentum they had built up in the opening weeks of the competition.
Galthié hasn’t had to deal with any issues of this magnitude in 2022, and their best laid plans are falling into place as a result.
Les Bleus The In-Form Team On Show
Following a convincing opening round win over Italy, France held off a spirited second half display from Ireland at Stade de France on February 13 to triumph on a scoreline of 30-24 and that saw them become firm favourites in the 2022 Six Nations betting odds.
They delivered arguably their best performance to date at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh last time out when they gained revenge for last year’s reversal to Scotland by defeating them with 19 points to spare (36-17).
Last year’s champions Wales will provide their next opposition at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff next Friday before England touch down in the Parisienne suburb of Saint-Denis on the final day of action on March 19.
A French Six Nations Triumph The Most Likely Outcome
Both of these games are potential banana skins, but the best betting sites are convinced they have it within themselves to secure the Six Nations.
While two victories will be needed to complete the Six Nations Grand Slam, it is entirely plausible that one win will be enough to ensure the Championship trophy will be coming home to France.
William Hill have placed them at 1/3 to win this year’s competition and with creative forces like Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont in their side, it is easy to see why.
Ireland And England Ready To Take Advantage Of A French Slip-Up
At the same time, Ireland and England currently have manageable deficits of three and four points in the table and both sides will feel they are more than capable of taking advantage if Les Bleus do slip up.
The two arch-rivals face each other at Twickenham Stadium in London on March 12 and the winner of this bout – if indeed there is one – will be brimming with confidence moving into the final round.
Eddie Jones’ outfit face France on the final day and a victory over Ireland would set up a potential Championship decider. Still, there are some question marks over their present form and UK bookmakers believe the Irish are the more capable of the two when it comes to potentially winning the Six Nations.
Ladbrokes have the Green Army valued at 5/1 to earn a fourth Six Nations title in the space of nine years. Andy Farrell’s men have been in fine form since beating England 32-18 in the closing round of last year’s Championship, and even the recent loss to France contained more positives than negatives.
Although England are as wide as 15/2 with Paddy Power to claim Championship honour, despite their upcoming home advantage against Ireland.
They have won the competition three times since Jones assumed the reins from Stuart Lancaster in the winter of 2015 and they will feel that they should have been able to beat Scotland on the opening weekend – their one and only loss to date.
Wales And Scotland Also Rans In Six Nations Race
Once you look beyond this triumvirate, the odds are much larger for the two teams that remain in the hunt for a Six Nations.
The 14-point gap between France and Italy means the latter can’t mathematically pull off an already improbable Championship success, but the prospect of either Wales or Scotland doing so is also a long shot.
Despite being the defending champions, two defeats from three has left Wayne Pivac’s Wales well and truly out of the reckoning.
They showed in a victory over Scotland and a narrow defeat to England that they are much better than their opening day reversal against Ireland might have suggested, but the fact you can get odds of 200/1 on bet365 on them winning the Six Nations says it all about where their campaign is at presently.
Having started their season with a superb triumph over England, Scotland offered much promise in this year’s Six Nations. However, disappointing back-to-back defeats leaves them fourth in the Championship standings.
They could well shoot up the table following their showdown with Italy next weekend, but you can get a price as high at 250/1 on Scotland winning the Six Nations.