The beginning of the Six Nations tournament is here as Wales gets set to defend its 2021 crown.
The BetDeluxe preview has found all the best bets and tips for the first weekend of matches as we prepare for another bruising international union event.
ireland vs. wales
february 6th 1:15am
Ireland welcome Wales to the Aviva Stadium on Saturday afternoon, looking to kickstart their 2022 Six Nations with a win against their rivals from across the Irish Sea.
Andy Farrell’s side head into the Welsh showdown with a point to prove, however, having lost to them in their Six Nations opener almost one year ago.
But the loss did very little to derail Ireland’s confidence.
Wales, despite being the Six Nations champion, is going to have to deal with a Irish squad which comes off arguably one of its best wins since the turn of the century.
Ireland come into Sunday’s game fresh off the back of a brilliant Autumn international series, which included a sensational 29-20 win over New Zealand.
In front of a packed out Aviva Stadium, Ireland stunned the All Blacks with a 29-20 victory, punishing their Southern Hemisphere opponents who were unable to keep up the brave men in green.
If that form is anything to go by, the Irish lads might just very well be the tournament favourites.
Suggested Bet: Ireland -14.5 at $1.97
scotland vs. england
6th february 3:45am
If the Ireland versus Wales game was not a treat for Rugby Union, then this clash between old foes England and Scotland is set to be a cracker.
The Scots managed a fourth-place finish in last years tournament, with one of their three wins a bruising 11-6 victory over England at Twickenham.
With cold, wet and blustery conditions expected to hit Edinburgh for this clash, buckle up and get ready for what should be another tight encounter between these rivals.
England needed to do some serious soul searching after equalling their worst ever finish to a Six Nations tournament by finishing fifth last year.
The Three Lions have bounced back strongly since their Six Nations failure with five successive wins, including their most recent over World Champions South Africa.
Jones and his squad will be buoyed by those results as they head into what promises to be a tournament of fine margins.
Give the edge to England here, but only just.
Suggested Bet: England -1.5 at $1.86
france vs. italy
7th february 2:00am
France comes up the shortest price favourite we have almost ever seen in Six Nations history when it takes on Italy this Monday morning at Stade De France.
Italy has become well known as the whipping boys in the Six Nation tournament and the French will be looking to stamp their authority on this contest against their European next-door neighbours.
The hosts enjoyed a very strong 2021, but would still be feeling unfulfilled after claiming runners-up accolade in the last edition of the Six Nations.
Since then, the French managed a famous 40-25 win of the All Blacks at the tail end of the Autumn International Series in what is sure to give them a confidence boost heading into this tournament.
Italy will probably be looking to just mitigate the damage as much as possible.
There’s some hope that Italy will perform a bit better this year with a few promising players coming through the ranks such as Paolo Garbisi and Federico Mori.
But this looks like it will be a big win for France.
Suggested Bet: France -34.5 at $1.86
