What to Consider When Betting on the Six Nations

Little Value in Match Results Market

With the Six Nations being on free-to-air television in the UK and Ireland, it’s no wonder this event is popular with sports bettors, particularly as there’s so many different ways to wager!

With the likes of Italy, Scotland and fallen former giants France being big underdogs when they face the traditionally stronger Ireland, England or Wales, betting value in the match result market can be hard to come by.

Fortunately, there are other ways of making money off the so-called weaker sides, with specials available on all teams, including whipping boys Italy.

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Handicap Betting

Handicap betting is probably the most common method for bettors who wager on rugby union. In rugby union, mismatches can be common, such as when 1000/1 outright Six Nations underdogs Italy take on Ireland, England, Wales or anyone in the tournament come to think of it!

So, to make such games interesting from a betting perspective, bookmakers will issue the likes of Italy with, say, a +25 handicap against Scotland, which is essentially giving them a 25-point head-start for the purposes of a bet. If you back Italy with that handicap and they lose by less than 25 points, your bet is a winner!

In instances where matches are much harder to call, Ireland against England being the prime example, whoever the favourite is will usually have a very small handicap of around -3, whereby they need to win by four or more points for your bet to be a winner. However, the best rugby bookmakers will offer a range of handicaps for the punter to make their own judgement.

Winning Margin

Betting on the winning margin is similar to handicap betting, but for some punters it’s easier to get your head around. For example, If you have a hunch Wales will beat France by anything between 1-10 points, you can bet on that without having to worry about handicaps being covered.

Indeed, in many cases you’ll find better value for your stake in the Winning Margins market. If you fancy Wales to absolutely steamroll France, rather than just win marginally, you can bet on the Welsh to win by a margin of between 11-20 points.

Think it could be even more? You’re looking at huge odds for a Wales win by a 21-30 margin. Such markets are widely available, and the margins are offered in fives too. This can be a fun way to bet against wooden spoon regulars Italy, who are all too often on the wrong side of a trouncing.

Half-time/Full-time Betting

Betting on who will be winning at half-time and then full-time in the same bet is a fun and potentially very profitable way to bet on Six Nations games and rugby union in general.

If you’re a bettor who likes to stake small at high odds, this is the best type of bet for you.

The permutations are simple – you pick the team you think will be up at half time, and you also pick the team you think will be ahead by full-time. Get both right and you're a winner! If you can fathom a draw at either half-time or full-time, or both, your odds will go through the roof, but draws are very difficult to call in rugby.

When the tournament favourites have to visit a rival’s home ground, there is good reason to bet on the HT/FT market. For example, 2019 pre-tournament favourites Ireland travel to Wales in their last game where the Irish should be favourites, but only just.

Wales will always put up a strong fight on home soil against anyone, but Ireland’s superiority should prevail in the end. You’d be looking at odds of around 6/1 for Wales to be winning at the break, but Ireland to pull through and take the win by full-time. It can be a shrewd, strategic bet for value seekers.

First Scoring Play

In rugby union, there are several different ways of scoring points. A try, which earns a team five points, is the most coveted score, and if you land a try you automatically earn a shot at a conversion for the opportunity to pick up an extra two points.

However, the most common opening score comes in the form of a penalty. Penalties are frequent in rugby union, much more so than tries, so it is somewhat of a surprise to see that bookmakers still price up the match favourites at around 6/4 to open the scoring from a penalty.

The tricky part is getting the team who opens the scoring correct, as penalties can be awarded for even the slightest of infringements, so it’s not uncommon for the match underdogs to score first from a kick.

There is another option, of course, which is a drop goal, but the drop goal is usually reserved as a last resort style of scoring and is therefore very unlikely to be the first score in a Six Nations match. Odds for the favourites to open a match scoring with a drop goal are typically around 66/1.

First Try Scorer

Similar to the first goalscorer which is very popular with football bettors, the first try scorer market is a wide open field and it often pays off to look at each team’s recent try scorers.

The first try scorer market is typically topped by wingers as they’re the quickest players on the pitch and are often relied upon to finish off a sweeping move.

However, it can be beneficial to save your first try scorer bet for in-play, as highly anticipated games can transcend into ugly dogfights, during which anyone can be the first to cross the whitewash.

Have a player in mind before the game begins, sure, but wait and see what way the game develops in the early stages. Is it open and free-flowing? Pick a winger! Is the game being dominated by rucks and mauls? Your guess is as good as anyone's!

If you’re not convinced either way, there’s always the ‘no try scorer’ option, which in rugby union is more common than you might think.

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Recent Six Nations Winners

Year	Winning Team	Grand Slam?
2020	England	No
2019	Wales	Yes
2018	Ireland	Yes
2017	England	No
2016	England	Yes
2015	Ireland	No
2014	Ireland	No
2013	Wales	No
2012	Wales	Yes
2011	England	No

Frequently Asked Questions

@faqListSchema(" What is the Six Nations Championship? || The Six Nations is an annual international rugby union tournament between England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France and Italy. It takes place across five weekends, typically across February and March. What is the fixture format? || There are 15 matches overall. Each team plays each other once, with one team benefitting from home advantage on each occasion and that advantage alternating year by year. So, for example, Ireland had to travel to England’s Twickenham Stadium in the 2018 tournament, so in 2019 England travelled to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, and the sides will go back to Twickenham in London in 2020. How many points do you get for a win, loss or draw? || Since 2017 teams have been awarded zero points for a defeat, two for a draw and four for a win. However, bonus points are available whereby teams get one point for scoring four or more tries in a game, or one for losing by seven points or less. What is a Grand Slam in the Six Nations? || A Grand Slam in the Six Nations is when one team wins all five of their matches, thereby beating each of their opponents on the way to winning the title. It has been in existence since the origins of the Six Nations – which began as a four-team tournament named the Home Nations before France’s addition made it the Five Nations in 1910, and finally Italy in 2000 when it was re-named the Six Nations. There is no extra trophy for a Grand Slam, but it is a prestigious honour nonetheless. What is the Triple Crown in the Six Nations? || A Triple Crown occurs when one of the ‘Home Nations’ – i.e. England, Scotland, Wales or Ireland – beats all three of their ‘Home Nations’ opponents. It is a triumph that has been held in high regard since the inaugural tournament, when England beat Scotland, Wales and Ireland in 1883. What channel is the Six Nations on? || In the UK, free-to-air channels BBC and ITV share broadcasting rights for live Six Nations games and will do so until at least 2021. Under the existing terms, BBC broadcast all home games for France, Scotland and Wales while ITV do likewise for England, Ireland and Italy home games. In Ireland, Virgin Media are showing every game live until 2021, while France Télévisions broadcast all games in France. In Italy games are shown via DMAX until 2021. In America, games can be viewed live on NBC Sports. ")

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Related Betting Guides

• Rugby Betting Guide
• Rugby Union Betting Guide
• Rugby World Cup Betting Guide
• Rugby Betting Strategy Guide