The Six Nations tournament offers rugby bettors plenty of opportunities to make a profit, particularly if they are prepared to do their homework.
All of the top bookmakers listed at bestbettingsites.com offer a comprehensive range of markets on the tournament including match betting, handicaps, try scorers and many more.
With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the Six Nations format before providing you with some of the best betting strategies you can use during the tournament.
Six Nations format
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international men’s rugby union competition featuring England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales.
The tournament generally runs during February and March, with each team facing every other team once for a total of 15 matches.
Home stadium advantage alternates each year, meaning the format of the fixtures can play a significant role when you place any bets on the Six Nations.
For example, France are generally tough to beat on their own patch, so their price in the outright market could be impacted if their fixtures are weighted towards more home games.
Popular Six Nations markets
The most popular Six Nations markets are as follows:
- Match betting: Wager on which team you think will win a match or whether the game will finish as a draw.
- Handicap betting: Get better odds on a team by backing them to overcome a pre-determined points handicap in a match.
- Winning margin: Bet on a team winning by a particular margin. For instance if you wager on a team to win by 1-5 points and the score is 29-24, your bet is a winner.
- First scoring points: Predict which team will put the first points on the scoreboard.
Six Nations Betting Strategies
Now you are familiar with the Six Nations format and some of the popular markets, it is time to look at betting strategies you can employ.
Study the current and previous form
As with every other major sport, current form and the previous head-to-head record should be taken into consideration when betting on the Six Nations.
For instance, up to and including the 2022 tournament, Scotland and Italy had failed to get their hands on the Six Nations title.
Current form also plays a key role in Six Nations betting, so keep your eye on how teams are performing and adjust your bets accordingly.
Previous head-to-head records can also be informative, as these will offer you an insight into whether teams perform well against selected opponents.
Exploit the handicap markets
Given the high-scoring nature of rugby union, there are often some extremely lopsided odds available in the match betting market.
For example, in the 2023 Six Nations tournament, England are priced at odds of 1/12 to beat Italy in their second fixture of the tournament.
However, there is much better value to be had in the handicap market, with England on offer at 10/11 with a 20-point handicap.
They have only failed to cover a 20-point margin against Italy on three of the 16 occasions they have met in England, which suggests they are a good bet off that mark.
Back wingers to score the first try
Much like strikers in football, wingers are the players most likely to score tries in rugby union matches and can be the path to riches in your wagering.
It is estimated that almost three-quarters of all passing moves end with a winger, a statistic that perfectly highlights their scoring potential.
With the odds on a winger scoring the first try likely to be 6/1 or better, there is plenty of scope to cover two or three players to boost your chances of winning.
The anytime try scorer market is also well worth checking out, particularly if you want to take advantage of the longer odds available on flankers.
Use multiple bets to your advantage
As mentioned earlier, the odds in the match betting market are often prohibitive, which can make wagering on singles virtually redundant.
The 1/12 on offer for England to beat Italy is unlikely to attract too much interest among punters, but including them in a multiple bet is a good way to boost your bets.
The second round of games in the 2023 Six Nations also features Ireland vs France and Scotland vs Wales. Both home teams are odds on to win.
A treble on the home sides pays odds of around 5/4 – significantly better than any price you can obtain on a single match wager.
Six Nations Betting – The Final Word
You are now armed with some useful strategies you can use to bet on the Six Nations. Before parting with your hard-earned cash, make sure you set an affordable budget for all your wagering activities.
