This weekend will see the Six Nations 2023 kick off with the top rugby-playing nations in Europe all seeking the tournament’s silverware.
Three matches will take place across Saturday and Sunday with Wales vs. Ireland, England vs. Scotland and Italy vs. France all playing out. Plenty is at stake with Ireland looking to prove they’re worthy of the World No. 1 ranking, Scotland seeking yet another upset at Twickenham, and both England and Wales under the leadership of new coaches who will be after strong starts. We preview the odds for each match with bookmaker William Hill and offer our expert predictions ahead of the first game on Saturday afternoon.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: February 2nd, 2:30 A.M. (GMT)
Opening the Six Nations action for 2023 will be Wales and Ireland, who play an afternoon match in Cardiff. Bookmaker William Hill has Ireland the strong favourite to win here with odds of 1.40 against Wales’ 3.00. However, this will be no straight forward win for the visitors.
Wales are at such low odds because of their poor form across the last 12 months, which saw them finish fifth in the Six Nations and lose three of their four home games to end the year. Their losses in 2022 included Italy and Georgia in what was definitely a year to forget. However, Wayne Pivac is out and Warren Gatland is back—the man who has previously led them to four Six Nations titles. Wales have won three of their past four matches against Ireland in Cardiff and will be determined to put in a good showing for their returning leader on Saturday. Pick Ireland to win here, but only just.
The other game on Saturday night is England vs. Scotland, which poses an intriguing contest. England is a strong favourite at 1.28 against Scotland’s 3.75, yet Scotland won this fixture last year and the year before. What are the chances of Scotland beating England at Twickenham in the first match of the Six Nations three years in a row? With England under a new coach and Scotland having produced some strong results last year including narrow losses to New Zealand and Australia plus a big win over Argentina, they have as good a chance as any. We say England gets the job done at home here, but if you’re going to pick an upset, back Scotland at 3.75.
Round one of the Six Nations 2023 will conclude with a match that few are expecting to be competitive. Last year’s winner against last year’s loser—France vs Italy. The Italians are at home and showed promising signs in 2022 with wins over Australia and Wales. However, France is a dominant force and has high expectations in a year where they are the bookies’ favourite to win the Rugby World Cup. Italy may well be a banana skin for a big name team at some stage in this Six Nations but at 9.00 against France, it’s unlikely to be this match.
