3 minute read

Ireland (1/2) will be eager to maintain their strong start to the Six Nations as they play host to France (19/9) at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts are five-point favourites on the spread following a 34-10 romp over Wales in their opening fixture of the competition. France, meanwhile, struggled in their 29-24 victory against Italy, requiring a late try from Matthieu Jalibert to save their blushes.

Given the form of the teams prior to the start of the Six Nations, the contest is likely to be very tight. A 1-7 point win for Ireland at 11/4 is of interest. In the player markets, Ireland's Josh van der Flier is 14/1 to score the first try of the contest, or 13/5 to touch down anytime. For France, Antoine Dupont is a 7/4 shot to cross the line.

Elsewhere, Scotland (5/12) head into the second round of action off the back of a hard-fought 29-23 victory over England. They host a Wales side who will be eager to bounce back from a disappointing performance against Ireland.

With Scotland full of confidence, and Wales struggling for form, an 8-14 point win in favour of the hosts seems about right – they are six-point favourites in the contest, but a slightly wide margin of victory would pay out at 3/1.

Duhan van der Merwe notched a brace in Scotland's opening game against England and is 23/20 to score a try anytime.

On Sunday, England (1/12) will host Italy (11/1) as Steve Borthwick's side look to right the wrong of opening weekend against a tenacious Italy.

An English victory is almost assured according to the bookmakers, the value is likely in the handicap and margin of victory markets. England are 19-point favourites in the contest, but a beating of that magnitude may not come to fruition if the sides play like they did on the opening weekend. A handicap bet of +11 on Italy is an extremely enticing bet at 5/2.

The Over/Under total points looks an interesting one with a rather high bar set at O/U55.5 points – the U55 points at Evens seems a good proposition.