Six Nations Betting: What Are The Odds On The 2023 Championship Winner?
Daire Walsh
This weekend sees the Six Nations Championship moving into its second round of fixtures and despite a gap opening up at the top of the table, the tournament’s main prize remains very much up for grabs in the eyes of betting sites.
Following their bonus point triumphs the first day out, Ireland, Scotland and defending champions France are sitting pretty on five points apiece and will be confident of adding considerably to their tallies.
Italy and England picked up losing bonus points – owing to their small margins of defeat at the hands of France and Scotland respectively – leaving Wales as the only team in the Championship who are yet to accumulate a point.
Given each result on the opening weekend was a repeat of last year’s meeting between each side at the same phase of the Six Nations – albeit in different venues – it isn’t a massive surprise to see the current order of merit in place.
Ireland Still Out In Front In Race For Six Nations
Ireland came into the tournament as favourites with the best betting sites for rugby union and that remains the case heading into their meeting with France at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
While there was some trepidation in advance of facing Wales last Saturday, a second-minute try from Caelan Doris immediately eased the nerves and Ireland went on to record a convincing 34-10 win.
It was all of 10 years since the Green Army had gotten the better of the Welsh on away soil and they will be looking to add another string to their bow this coming Saturday.
When it comes to recording victories over Tier One nations, France are the one team that Andy Farrell hasn’t gotten the better of in his time as Ireland head coach.
In between losses to Les Bleus in Saint-Denis in 2020 and 2022, Ireland lost out 15-13 to the French at the Aviva in February 2021.
Whereas that game took place behind closed doors as Europe continued to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, the south Dublin arena will be packed to the rafters for the latest visit of France.
When it comes to recording victories over Tier One nations, France are the one team that Andy Farrell hasn’t gotten the better of in his time as Ireland head coach.
In between losses to Les Bleus in Saint-Denis in 2020 and 2022, Ireland lost out 15-13 to the French at the Aviva in February 2021.
Whereas that game took place behind closed doors as Europe continued to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, the south Dublin arena will be packed to the rafters for the latest visit of France.
Impressive Scotland Win Over England Has Them In The Reckoning
It is a rarity to see Scotland ahead of England and Wales in the betting for the Six Nations, but that is the position Gregor Townsend’s men find themselves in.
For the third year in succession, the Scots overcame the English on the opening day to both seal the Calcutta Cup and give themselves a strong chance of success in the Championship.
Some doubts still remain over Scotland’s ability to mount a serious title charge, though the likes of Ladbrokes are offering odds of 7/1 on them bridging a 24-year gap to their last Championship victory – the final year of the Five Nations in 1999.
But should they back up their impressive triumph over England with another win at the expense of Wales, this could well be shortened very quickly.
England Seen As Outsiders For Six Nations
Although it is difficult for them to take anything for granted, the expectation is that England will record their first win under Steve Borthwick at home to Italy this Sunday.
This is a must if the Owen Farrell-led side are intent on bouncing back from the disappointment of their reversal to Scotland and develop a Championship challenge.
Betting apps don’t fancy it happing judging by the odds they are offering on England, as you can grab 20/1 on Borthwick’s team claiming the Six Nations.
Wales And Italy Not Expected To Challenge For Championship
Despite being the winners of the Six Nations in 2019 (a Grand Slam success) and 2021, Wales have been given slim hopes of doing so again this year.
Warren Gatland was tasked with picking up the pieces after his fellow New Zealander Wayne Pivac was dismissed as head coach at the end of 2022.
However, even though there were signs of encouragement in their second half display, they ultimately fell to a heavy loss at the hands of Ireland on home soil last weekend.
A win against Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday could see them shooting up the table, but the odds on them winning the Championship sit at 100/1 with Paddy Power.
Having finally brought an unwanted losing streak to an end with a magnificent, last-gasp victory over Wales in the closing round of last year’s Six Nations, Kieran Crowley’s Italy pushed world number two side France to the limit at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome last Sunday.
There have been major signs of improvement within their team over the past 12 months, but they remain rank outsiders when it comes to the Championship title.
The shorter odds on an Italian Six Nations success are 150/1 with William Hill, though the majority of bookmakers are offering 500/1 on this unlikely prospect becoming a reality.