Six Nations week 1 preview: New blood on show in opening round

The Six Nations returns this weekend following a thrilling autumn as the northern hemisphere’s best ramp up World Cup preparation ahead of the start of the 2023 tournament in France in 18 months.

Wales go into the series as reigning champions, while France are the bookies’ favourites. Scotland look vastly improved over the last few years and will have reasonable expectations of winning every game, while Ireland and England are always contenders. Even Italy, who haven’t won a Six Nations game since 2015, enter with a fresh slate under Kieran Crowley and will be confident of causing an upset or two.

We preview the week one match-ups below.

Ireland v Wales

Two big rivals face off at the Aviva Stadium to kick off this season’s championship, with the holders against the second favourites.

Incredibly for Ireland, 11 of the starting 15 are Leinster players, highlighting the strength of that province, but also that familiarity could play a key role against a strong Welsh team, missing talismanic captain Alun Wyn Jones.

Dan Biggar will skipper Wales in his absence, while electrifying backs Liam Williams, Josh Adams and Louis Rees-Zammit will all look to cause damage with ball in hand.

Ireland are just 1/7 favourites, with Wales 9/2 to cross the Irish Sea with a win in their luggage. A handicap that sits at 14 is very high for test level, so look for Wales +14 at 10/11 to be a safe option.

Lightning winger Rees-Zammit has the potential to score from everywhere on the pitch, so look for Wales to get him opportunities in open space. The young star is 11/8 to score anytime.

Scotland v England

The oldest fixture in international rugby gains another iteration this weekend, as England head north of the border to battle the Scots at Murrayfield. Always a game of great emotion and atmosphere, it is set to be, on paper at least, the closest of the weekend. An England team missing a couple of important players will come against a Scottish team brimming with talent, headlined as always by the mercurial Finn Russell.

England will look to rely on the latest name to suit up at fly-half for England, Marcus Smith. The young 10 has enjoyed a remarkable career to date, topped by lifting the Premiership trophy with Harlequins in the summer. Surrounded by the experienced Ben Youngs and Henry Slade, he’ll be relied on to make England tick.

Scotland are 11/8, while England are 8/13. The handicap is just 3, with these two playing out some incredible matches in recent times.

One player who has been a difference maker for England in their last few outings is full-back Freddie Steward. The imposing 15 scored in two of England’s Autumn Internationals, and is 11/4 to touch down again in what will be his first Six Nations appearance.

France v Italy

There is plenty of expectation being put on France’s shoulders with a home World Cup looming on the horizon. A star-studded squad of talent, they’re 6 Nations favourites and deservedly. World Player of the Year Antoine Dupont may be the biggest name of the bunch, but every player has the potential to be a difference maker, and they’ll be hard to stop.

Italy have an encouraging young core coming through, headlined by Paolo Garbisi, but France in Paris is a tough ask in this tournament.

France are huge favourites at 1/150, with Italy 25/1. The handicap is a hefty 35 points, something that France could easily make a formality. However, this is an Italian team looking to make a statement under new coach Kieran Crowley, and being proud about defending is normally the first place to start. Expect France to win at a canter, but Italy to defend stoutly and cover the spread at 10/11.

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