Six Nations Rugby Betting 2012

The Six Nations is one of the biggest events in Rugby Union where some of the best sides in the world come together and battle it out and the biggest stage. England are the current champions and will be going all out to ensure that they retain their crown by the time the fifth and final week of the event has taken place.

The six teams involved in the Six Nations are; England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. The rules are simple with each team playing every other side once and standard Rugby Union points being awarded for wins and draws. Six Nations Rugby betting 2012 should provide a lot of great value markets after every side in the Six Nations, bar France and Wales, will feel as though they under performed at the last World Cup.

Six Nations Betting

Six Nations Betting can be difficult because there are always two or three strong sides that could take the title. This drives out a lot of the value in popular markets like the tournament winner. However, there are many different markets in Six Nations betting that provide a great chance for the punter to make a little bit of cash.

A good market in Six Nations betting is picking a side to complete a Grand Slam over their opponents. The only problem being that the best odds are available before any of the sides have played a match and therefore form cannot be judged. Many of the sides in the Six Nations play an attractive brand of attacking rugby which means they are all good bets to finish as the top try scoring nation.

Six Nations Favourites

France have to be ranked as the Six Nations favourites because they had a brilliant World Cup, losing narrowly to New Zealand in the final. France start their campaign on February 4 with a match at home against Italy which gives them the perfect chance to get points and a big win on the board.

France greatly under performed in the last Six Nations but are playing an interesting brand of rugby at the moment which is very effective. France are not the best side in the world to watch but from a betting sense they secure the wins which are vital to making punters money.

Six Nations Contenders

Wales, England and Ireland are all ranked as Six Nations contenders. Wales have done well in the Six Nations before and they will go much shorter in the betting market if they win their first match away at Ireland on February 5. Wales are a side all about momentum and they will want to continue to move forward.

England go into this as one of the Six Nations contenders and under a lot of pressure to defend their crown. England are a strong side and will be looking to prove all of their critics wrong. They had a poor World Cup but always raise their game for the Six Nations. They open away to Scotland on February 4 and will be looking to make the same initial impression as the French and Welsh.

Ireland are probably the underdogs when it comes to the Six Nations outsiders. Ireland had some superb results at the last World Cup, most notably beating Australia. However, they lack the consistency which is vital when it comes to any tournament played out over a number of weeks.

Six Nations Underdogs

Scotland and Italy are the two sides ranked with very little chance of winning the Six Nations but there are different ways to make money on the teams. Scotland are very good in their own back yard and will have no trouble raising their game to play the home nations. Scotland could produce one or two wins and it is possible to bet on the number of wins they will secure.

Italy are the rank Six Nations underdogs to achieve anything in this tournament. There is a good chance that Italy could finish bottom of the Six Nations table and it is possible to bet on this. One of the advantages that Italy have is that they force the other sides to travel further to play them than any other side in the competition.

Six Nations Free Bets

Bookmakers love big tournaments in rugby union because it means a great chance to attract some new customers. One of the basic ways the bookies do this is by using Six Nations free bets as an incentive. Free bets come in a variety of different forms such as welcome offers and special bets.

Six Nations free bets are a great way for punters to get involved in Six Nations Rugby betting 2012 without having to make the large financial commitments which are sometimes needed in betting.