Six Nations Betting: What Are The Odds Of A Grand Slam In 2023?
Just three teams are left with a chance of bring perfect and with the second round of Six Nations fixtures coming up this weekend, betting sites are continuing to explore the possibility of a Grand Slam winner emerging this year.
Following their losses on the opening day of the Championship, Wales, England and Italy are no longer in a position to secure a Slam success in 2023.
Given they have won their fair share of titles since it became the Six Nations in 2000, it will come as a disappointment for the Welsh and the English to already be out of the running for a clean sweep.
France, Ireland And Scotland Still In Slam Race
However, the dream remains alive for France, Ireland and Scotland as a consequence of their winning starts to the tournament last weekend and rugby betting sites have priced up their chances of claiming the Grand Slam.
While the French and the Scots enjoyed narrow wins over Italy and England respectively, the Irish came away with a convincing 34-10 victory over Wales in Cardiff.
All three of the above teams are where they want to be, and their Six Nations Championship aspirations will certainly be strong heading into the third round at the end of February regardless of how their second games of the Championship pan out.
Yet no one is guaranteed to still be in the race for a Grand Slam come this Sunday evening.
The number one and number two ranked sides in international rugby, Ireland and France will clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.
Their meeting in Saint-Denis at the same stage of the 2022 Championship was a crucial contest for Les Bleus in their march towards a Grand Slam and Saturday’s game is set to follow in a similar vein.
Should the tie end in a draw, both sides will rule themselves out of picking up a Slam.
If there is a winner on the day, they will push forward in their quest for an unbeaten Six Nations run, while the loser will look to maintain their Championship prospects moving into the final weekend of the tournament.
Bookies Giving Slight Favouring To No Slam Winner In 2023
This Six Nations is taking place at a time when the top-nine teams in the world rankings appear capable of taking each other’s scalp on a given day.
With this in mind, it is perhaps unsurprising that the general expectation amongst UK bookmakers is that there will be no Slam winner in 2023.
BetVictor are offering odds of 11/10 on the remaining three teams in the tournament falling short in their Slam challenge and that has happen twice in the last three seasons.
Good Value On An Irish Slam
The bookies certainly aren’t dismissing the prospect of a Grand Slam winner however, and a fourth-ever success for an Irish men’s side across the various guises of this tournament is being afforded due consideration.
Ireland at 11/8 to be crowned Slam champions with William Hill amongst those to offer this value.
France Not Being Ruled Out In Quest For A Second Successive Grand Slam
In the era of the Six Nations, there has yet to be back-to-back Grand Slam winners.
France secured this honour in 2002 and 2004, but England won it in between during the same calendar year that saw them claiming the Rugby World Cup title.
Les Bleus appear more than equipped on paper to storm through the Championship once again, having won their last 14 international tests on the bounce dating back to November 2021.
Some even feel that France are the current standard bearers in world rugby despite being behind Ireland in the rankings, but Fabien Galthié’s men trail the latter in the Grand Slam betting nonetheless.
With 10Bet, the French are available at odds of 5/1 to record five successive triumphs in the 2023 Six Nations.
It is a very difficult match to call on its own this Saturday and when you take into account what it means for the Championship itself as a whole, punters will be thinking long and hard before they decide who their own favourites for the Slam will be.
Scotland Outsiders For Slam Success
Despite having the luxury of avoiding France and Ireland this weekend, Scotland maintains an outsider status when it comes to the Grand Slam.
This is perfectly understandable given the Scots are yet to register even four victories within the same Championship campaign, never mind the five that are required for a Slam.
They might have their work cut out getting past Wales at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Saturday.
However, the positive for Gregor Townsend’s charges is that they’re in contention for all three major honours in the Six Nations – the Grand Slam, the Championship and the Triple Crown.
888sport see them as an 18/1 Slam possibility and while a win against Wales this weekend might see their price slashed, they will have to embark on a big run before a favouritism tag is bestowed upon them.