2008 Six Nations Betting Tips
As with all sports, current form is the most telling factor which has to be taken into consideration when looking for the prospective winner of the 2008 Six Nations.
The competition has been contested by the six nations for eight years now, and it has been a battle royal between only two of them – France and England.
Defending champions, France, top the log with four wins, closely followed by their traditional rival, England, with three. Only one other country has added its name to the list of champions, and that is Wales, who claimed the competition in 2005, with a grand slam to boot!
History will come into the picture as well, and so too will BMT – big match temperament - and looking at current form, it is very difficult to imagine the current champions walking away without the spoils.
However, there are a few other variables that have to be taken into account. The very best teams peak at the right moment, as the omnipotent All Blacks have shown over the years and England seem to have the uncanny knack of improving after each encounter. This can only bode well for the men in white.
A case in point is the way the England clawed its way back into the 2007 World Cup competition after a dismal first outing. Let’s hope that it will be the same situation again when they run out at the Stade de France for their third encounter of the event.
England coach, Brian Ashton has admitted that he may have been mistaken in not giving his top eight players more game practice before the start of the Six Nations, and now they have it, so to my mind all bodes well for the England team. Another snippet of information that could be telling is that Ashton has had a 50% success rate since he took over as coach in December 2006.
Quick Statistics – France
- Currently ranked 6th in the world
- Reached the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup, but lost to England 14-9
- Has an overall win record of 39% against England, 60.2% against Ireland, 96.3% against Italy, 54.3% against Scotland and 46.4% against Wales.
- Won its first encounter of the Six Nations against Scotland with an emphatic 27-6 victory.
Quick Statistics – England
- Currently ranked 4th in the World
- Reached the finals of the 2007 World Cup, but lost to South Africa 15-6
- Has an overall win record of 53.3% against France, 53.2% against Scotland, 57.5% against Ireland, 100% against Italy and 45.7% against Wales.
- Lost its first encounter of the Six Nations against Wales 26-19
The final will, in all probability, be between the two giants of the Six Nations – France and England, and my guess is that it is going to be a very close affair, with England winning by a margin of 6 points.
