Rugby Union
Six Nations Round Five preview
The final round of the 2025 Six Nations is upon us and three teams are still in with a chance at lifting the trophy.
After four rounds of thrilling action it all comes down to this weekend as France, Ireland and England will all be hoping to top the table come Saturday night.
We preview all three matches below.
Bet on the Six Nations at William Hill
Italy v Ireland
Saturday afternoon kicks off in Rome with Italy taking on Ireland. Avoiding the dreaded Wooden Spoon will be top of Italy’s agenda, while Ireland seek to keep their hopes of landing a third consecutive title alive. At 20/1 in the outright market their chances are slim, but they’re still mathematically in the running.
With an opportunity to set the precedent for the day, the Irish need to put some serious points on the board. Ireland require a bonus-point victory to keep their hopes alive, but also currently have a points difference of +13, compared to the +106 of the French and +20 of England.
It’ll be out of their hands once the final whistle blows and all they can do is put as many points on the board as possible. With that in mind, Ireland to win in the 36-point handicap market could provide good value at 7/2. With prices from 14/1 to 40/1, it could be worth taking a couple of swings at Ireland in the five-point win margin markets, anywhere from 41-60 points.
Wales v England
Following on from that we have Wales welcoming England to the principality stadium, as they look to get their first win of the tournament. While there have been slightly more positive noises coming out of the Welsh camp since the announcement of head coach Warren Gatland’s departure, they’re still underdogs here at 3/1.
England, on the other hand, still have it all to play for and are unlikely to show any mercy here as the 1/4 favourites. They find themselves in a similar situation to Ireland in that all they can really do is try to put as many points on the board as possible, and of course win with a bonus point. Marcus Smith’s return to the starting XV is a statement of attacking intent and after his try off the bench against Italy, we like the look of him to go over anytime at 15/8.
England will hope to score a formidable victory to pile as much pressure on France as possible and with that in mind, we also like the look of the visitors at 4/1 to overturn the 25-point handicap.
France v Scotland
Following their victory over Ireland in Round Four, France hold all the aces and are 1/9 to regain the crown. It will likely be mathematically impossible for Scotland to top the table by the time this game rolls around and they are 15/2 underdogs for the match anyway.
With their destiny firmly in their own hands, a bonus-point win is all it would take to see France claim a seventh Six Nations title. The only chink in their armour now is the absence of star man Antoine Dupont, who sustained an ACL injury in their last match.
That said, we expect France to go about their business with the utmost professionalism and get the job done here. Louis Bielle-Biarrey already has one hand on the top try scorer award for the series and 11/8 looks a decent price for him to score two or more in this game. If France really find their groove without Dupont then it may even be worth taking the 4/1 about him to score a hat-trick.
