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Rugby Union 2023 Six Nations Betting Odds, Predictions & Winning Tips (February 4 – March 18)

2023 Rugby Six Nations Round 1 Betting Tips & Predictions

Has there ever been a more important Six Nations Championship than this? Certainly not in our generation. Ireland and France are No.1 and No.2 in the world, England and Wales have new coaches, while Scotland and Italy are both showing signs of being more competitive. All of this with the World Cup a little over six months away and the stage is set for a fantastic seven weeks of Northern Hemisphere rugby.

2023 Six Nations Championship: Rugby Event Details

France head into this tournament as the defending champions but will have even stiffer competition than they did last year. Can Ireland solidify their No.1 ranking by picking up the title here? Or will Warren Gatland prove his worth to Wales by once again leading them to Six Nations glory? Will Italy be a banana skin for any big names this year? We answer it all in our betting preview for the Six Nations 2023.

Tournament: Rugby Union 2023 Six Nations, Round 1
Format: Six teams round robin completed over five weekends, no playoffs
Venue: Stadiums in England, Wales, France, Italy, Scotland, and Ireland
Event Dates: Saturday 4 February to Sunday 18 March 2023
Round 1 Dates: Saturday 4 February to Sunday 5 February, 2023

Six Nations Championship 2023 Betting Odds & Preview

Six Nations 2023 Championship Outright Winner Odds

For those who want to bet on rugby union, here are the overall bookmaker odds for the Six Nations 2023 ahead of the tournament’s start:

  • Ireland to win @ 2.25 (5/4)
  • France to win @ 3.00 (2/1)
  • England to win @ 5.00 (4/1)
  • Wales to win @ 11.00 (10/1)
  • Scotland to win @ 23.00 (22/1)
  • Italy to win @ 501.00 (500/1)
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With these odds in mind, here’s an overview of our rugby predictions for the 2023 Six Nations:

Ireland @ 2.25 (5/4): Theirs to Lose

As the current World No.1 team in rugby, Ireland head into the Six Nations as favorites to win the tournament as well, with odds of 2.25 (5/4). Last year, they fell painstakingly short, finishing in second place, after they lost their fixture to the winners France 30-24. Since then, however, Ireland have gone from strength to strength, winning an away series against the All Blacks and also defeating South Africa and Australia at home.

Ireland’s campaign starts with a tricky away match against Wales. The Welshmen had a poor campaign last year but are back under the command of Warren Gatland, the coach that led them to four Six Nations titles between 2008-2019. If Ireland can survive this one, then they’ll be sitting pretty – both their toughest games are played at home, against France and England, with away games to Scotland and Italy. Provided Ireland keep it tight against Wales this weekend and turn up in full force for France next week, they should win the Six Nations.

France @ 3.00 (2/1): Big Expectations in 2023

It’s rare that France enters a Six Nations with more expectations than they will in the 2023 Six Nations. Last year was the first time they had won the tournament since 2010, and they did it in style – winning all five of their games and claiming the Grand Slam as well. Now, they enter just marginally behind Ireland in the betting odds at 3.00 (2/1) and with plenty of expectation, particularly since they’re the favorites of French bookmakers to win the Rugby World Cup later this year.

Les Blues open on the road against Italy, which will provide a nice warm-up, but then have a tough next four matches in their campaign. Both of their games against the next two tournament favorites, Ireland and England, are away, while their home matches are more comfortable against Scotland and Wales. France’s campaign will likely come down to the away game against Ireland and whether or not they can avoid a banana skin. They managed a win in Dublin in 2021 and have won their last three against Ireland – can they do it again?

England @ 5.00 (4/1): Early Momentum Could Prove Dangerous

England will be disappointed in their Six Nations campaign last year, which saw them claim only two wins over Italy and Wales. This year, however, they have axed Eddie Jones and appointed Steven Borthwick instead. The big question is whether Borthwick uses this Six Nations to build for the World Cup or looks to go for the jugular and show that England mean business.

The Englishmen will have the benefit of getting up some nice momentum initially in the Six Nations. Their first three matches are against Scotland, Italy, and Wales – all matches they should win. If they can head into their fourth-round encounter against France at Twickenham on maximum points, England could be real contenders for an upset here. Or, they could lose to everyone but Italy, making their odds of 5.00 (4/1) seem quite fair.

Wales @ 11.00 (10/1): The Dark Horse

Wales are undoubtedly the dark horse of this Six Nations, coming in as the fourth favorite with odds of 11.00 (10/1). On the one hand, they’ve been abysmal of late, losing three of their last four Tests, including to Georgia at home. Last Six Nations, they barely avoided the wooden spoon and were, in fact, beaten by last-placed Italy. On the other hand, Warren Gatland is back, and this man worked miracles last time he took over Wales, leading them to Six Nations glory immediately.

All will be revealed in Round 1, we suspect. If Wales can defeat Ireland in Cardiff, or at least take the game down to the wire, then they’re real contenders for the title this year. If they get beaten comfortably, then it’s too little too late for Gatland, and this ship will take a little longer to turn around. Wales are our outside favorite to win the Six Nations and are a great bet for those looking for a lucrative return.

Scotland @ 23.00 (22/1): Solid, But Unlikely to Threaten

Last year, Scotland began surprisingly well in the Six Nations, opening their campaign with an away win over England. They were unable to capitalize, however, adding only one more win against Italy from their next four matches.

This year, they are faced with the same prospect: On the road to England. It’s a fixture they’ve fared well in recently, with two wins and a draw from their past three games at Twickenham. Win this, and they will fancy their chances against Wales at home the next week. Expect another solid yet not spectacular campaign from fifth favorites Scotland, who could be a candidate for a loss to Italy this year.

Italy @ 501.00 (500/1): The Banana Skin

Italy have just completed one of their best 12 months in rugby and are showing all the signs of making the Six Nations genuinely competitive every round. It has been seven years since they avoided the wooden spoon, and they have received it all but six times since entering the competition in 2000. However, Italy were able to achieve two big wins last year: One over Wales in the Six Nations and one against Australia a few months ago.

These wins will give Italy confidence that they can be a real boogie team in this year’s competition. While they’re enormously unlikely to win the Six Nations, they could definitely win one of their two home games against England and Scotland or even upset Wales in Cardiff potentially. Still, it makes sense to follow bookies in Italy for great odds, especially for home matches that can bring great return.

Our prediction: Ireland to win the Six Nations 2023.

Understanding the 2023 Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations can claim to be the oldest rugby tournament in the world, with its roots in the Home Nations Championship that first took place in 1883. In its current format, the Six Nations has been in existence since 2000.

Occurring annually, the Six Nations sees Ireland, France, England, Wales, Scotland, and Italy all play each other once across the course of seven weeks. Points are allocated according to results, and the team with the most points after the round-robin is completed is crowned the winner of the Six Nations Championship.

Here’s a look at how this tournament has played out over recent years:

  • 2018 Winner – Ireland
  • 2019 Winner – Wales
  • 2020 Winner – England
  • 2021 Winner – Wales
  • 2022 Winner – France

Last year saw a tight Six Nations Championship play out, with France ultimately completing the Grand Slam and winning all of their matches. Here’s a look at the final standings and 2022 Six Nations table:

Six Nations Won Lost Points
France 5 0 25
Ireland 4 1 21
England 2 3 10
Scotland 2 3 10
Wales 1 4 7
Italy 1 4 7

With France claiming their first title in 12 years in the 2022 Six Nations, can they do it again in 2023? Or will Ireland get the better of them this time after falling just short last year?

Rugby Six Nations 2023 Round 1: Matchups & Tips

Those who want to get stuck into some betting that has an immediate return, here’s a look at our picks for the rugby union in Round 1 of the Six Nations 2023 this weekend:

Wales vs Ireland

The Six Nations couldn’t get off to a better start on Saturday evening: The competition’s dark horse vs the favorites in the betting odds. Wales will undoubtedly be targeting this match, with Warren Gatland eager to win back home fans after a poor showing at home in late 2022.

  • Wales to win @ 3.00 (2/1)
  • Ireland to win @ 1.40 (2/5)

Ireland have had the better of this fixture in recent times, winning five of the past six encounters. Last year they played in Dublin, and Ireland were the comprehensive winners 29-7, justifying the odds of Irish bookmakers. However, when they play in Cardiff, results favor Wales, who won their most recent match 21-16 here, and two of the three before that. Overall, expect this to be a fantastic game, with Wales much improved but falling just short of an Irish team focused on the title this year.

Our prediction: Ireland to win.

England vs Scotland

Another fantastic match on the opening weekend of the Six Nations sees third-favorite England play fifth-favorite Scotland. This will be England’s first match under Steve Borthwick after the firing of Eddie Jones, and the stakes don’t get much higher than Scotland at Twickenham.

  • England to win @ 1.28 (2/7)
  • Scotland to win @ 3.75 (11/4)

Surprisingly, Scotland have thrived playing in Twickenham over the last few years. This time last year, they opened their campaign by beating England 20-17 in front of their home fans, and the year before that, they did the same, winning 11-6. Can they make it three in a row at Twickenham and surprise UK bookies once again? We don’t think so – expect Steve Borthwick to have made some cultural changes and the English players to be motivated to get a win for their new leader. If you’re going to pick an upset this round, though, this is the game to do it in, with Scotland returning a healthy 3.75 (11/4).

Our prediction: England to win.

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Italy vs France

Round 1 of the 2023 Six Nations will finish with what is anticipated to be the least competitive match of the round. With a match between last year’s winners and last year’s losers, the only question is: How much will France win by?

  • Italy to win @ 9.00 (8/1)
  • France to win at 1.05 (1/20)

It’s hard to see this going any other way than a comfortable French win. Sure, there will be a valiant effort by Italy in front of their home crowd and some inevitable rust from France to start with, but expect a good 20-30 point margin here as France fine-tunes their game ahead of next weekend’s all-important clash with Ireland.

Our prediction: France to win.

  • Wales to win the Six Nations @ 11.00 (10/1)
  • Scotland to beat England @ 3.75 (11/4)
  • France handicap (-19.5) @ 1.67 (4.6)

In the opening round of the Six Nations, we see all three matches going to the bookmakers’ odds. We also think this is Ireland’s Six Nations to win, and the Men in Green should put together a strong campaign here to solidify their No.1 position in the world. However, Wales are a great dark horse bet in the outright odds, paying 11.00 (10/1) under the new care of Warren Gatland. Such odds become extremely attractive if use a special €200 bonus from our partners, which is available for this matchup as well.

Those chasing an upset in Round 1 should back Scotland, who have a knack for beating England at home and pay generous odds of 3.75 (11/4). Also, if betting on Six Nations Round 1 using our rugby tips and predictions, you can take France’s confident win over Italy, paying a healthy 1.67 (4/6) for a safe (-19.5) handicap.

Bren
Author
Content Writer

Bren is our resident Kiwi, and has been playing or watching sports down under in New Zealand for the better part of three decades. With 12+ years experience as a professional writer, Bren loves to dive deep into all things sport to bring the best betting analysis and predictions here at BetZillion.

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