There’s something deeply fascinating about the first Six Nations after a Rugby World Cup. Some teams will be bitterly disappointed with their performances, while others will be buoyed with confidence. How will this all shake out in this year’s competition? Read on for our rugby union 2024 Six Nations betting predictions based on the latest Six Nations 2024 odds.
One of the big storylines heading into the 2024 Six Nations is the number of players who have retired or are taking sabbaticals. Will France be the same with Romain Ntamack and Antoine Dupont? How will the retirement of Jonny Sexton and the resting of Owen Farrell impact Ireland and England, respectively? We answer all these questions and more in our betting preview for the Six Nations 2024.
| ℹ️ Tournament: | Rugby Union, 2024 Six Nations Championship |
| 📄 Format: | Six teams round robin completed over five weekends, no playoffs |
| 🏟️ Venue: | Stadiums in England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy |
| 🗓️ Event Dates: | Friday, 2 February to Saturday, 16 March 2024 |
| 🗓️ Round 1 Dates: | Friday, 2 February to Saturday, 4 February 2024 |
Before we get into our 2024 rugby Six Nations betting tips, here are the latest rugby union odds for the Six Nations 2024 ahead of the tournament’s start:
With these Six Nations 2024 odds in mind, here’s an overview of our rugby predictions for the 2024 Six Nations:
For literally decades, Jonny Sexton has been a pillar of stability for Irish rugby. Now, with the flyhalf retired, Ireland face a significant rebuild. They’ve maintained a strong squad post-World Cup but will have plenty of processing to do after yet another quarter-final exit. There’s no doubt Ireland are a strong team, but will we see some hangover from last year’s disappointment for the defending champions?
France are also without several star players heading into this Six Nations and are coming off a Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit. However, this one feels different. While Ireland’s World Cup disappointment felt like deja vu, for France, they went down valiantly. For sure, they’ll be disappointed, but there feels like a much better chance of that disappointment being channeled into clinical results on the pitch. We say a fiery France will come out and be very tough to beat.
England will be one side coming into the Six Nations, having over-achieved at the Rugby World Cup. Having come third, after looking a shambles ahead of the tournament, they’ll be keen to put together some good results and prove that was no fluke. With Italy and Wales at home to start their campaign, they’ll have a good shot at building early momentum before they head into three consecutive away matches against tough opponents.
Last Six Nations, Wales were a real dark horse thanks to the return of Warren Gatland. The Kiwi coach didn’t deliver results as fast as hoped, but the Welsh Rugby World Cup campaign was excellent. Unbeaten in pool play and now with a fresh squad, this could be the moment that Gatland’s magic begins to take hold for Wales. Expect a surprisingly strong campaign from the men in red.
Last year, Scotland were playing some of their best rugby. Up to number five in the world, they beat England at Twickenham yet again and were all set for a big Rugby World Cup. And yet, their tough draw meant the Scots weren’t able to move beyond pool play. What this does for their motivation heading into this year’s Six Nations is a real unknown. Can they reach their levels of early 2023 again, or will they experience a dip?
Two years ago now, Italy punched above their weight at the Six Nations and upset Wales. However, a quiet season last year and a poor Rugby World Cup have put Italy back in their usual basket of being fairly hopeless. Can they prove the haters wrong and string together a few competitive performances in 2024?
As the oldest rugby tournament in the world, the Six Nations can trace its roots all the way back to the Home Nations Championship in 1883. For over two decades, the tournament has been contested in its current format, where Ireland, France, England, Wales, Scotland, and Italy compete annually.
Here’s a look at how this tournament has played out over recent years:
Last year saw a thrilling Six Nations Championship, with Ireland completing the Grand Slam and winning all of their matches. Here are the final standings from 2023:
| Six Nations | Won | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 5 | 0 | 27 |
| France | 4 | 1 | 20 |
| Scotland | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| England | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Wales | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Italy | 0 | 5 | 1 |
With Ireland getting the better of France in last year’s Six Nations, will this competition also be decided by the same fixture? Read on for our Rugby Union 2024 Six Nations betting predictions.
Those keen to bet on the Six Nations this year will want to pay attention to these 2024 rugby Six Nations betting tips. We’ve scoured the latest odds and come up with the two most lucrative wagers to make on the competition overall:
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Without being too harsh on the other four teams in the Six Nations, this year’s competition very much feels like a two-horse race between France and Ireland. As touched on above, it just feels like France will come out of the Rugby World Cup with their heads held slightly higher than Ireland, and be less impacted by the disappointment of a quarter-final exit.
There’s every chance that the competition will be determined in round one as well when these two sides meet. Ireland got the better of this fixture last year, but this time, France will have a home-ground advantage, and we say they’ll get the crucial win.
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A total of 15 players who played for Wales at the Rugby World Cup just months ago are now no longer available. However, we say this is perfect for Warren Gatland to work with. The coaching maestro can build on the confidence of a deep World Cup run and combine this with the freshness and youth of a new squad. It’s somewhat cliche to label Wales as the dark horses, but we expect they’ll punch above their weight this year and come third with some enticing rugby union odds for this outcome.
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 this weekend:
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The last time France and Ireland met, France played one of their worst matches in years. This time, we think things will be entirely different. France will be determined to apologize to their home fans who were let down by their early World Cup exit, and the best way to do that is by kicking some Irish butt in round one of the tournament. By kicking butt, we mean winning a tight, hard-fought clash by less than one try, which generates a healthy 5.00 (4/1) return.
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Another great bet to make in the opening round of the 2024 Six Nations is wagering on Wales to pull off an upset against Scotland. The Welsh are an unknown quantity due to all the fresh blood in their squad and will have plenty to prove playing at home. Scotland could well be a little jaded by their World Cup disappointment, and we expect they’ll go down in a tight one here this weekend.
Rugby fans around the world are bracing themselves for a fascinating Six Nations to kick off this weekend. How will Northern Hemisphere rugby bounce back from an underwhelming Rugby World Cup? Can England and Wales maintain momentum? Will Ireland or France process their disappointment better? We say France will come out on top, but not without a few successful single bets on Wales along the way.
