Six Nations Championship 2010 Team Guide
England
England have never found their feet following their 2003 Rugby World Cup win, it is true that they played out of their skin to reach the final of the 2007 World cup, but that apart, they have disappointed season upon season. They have not won the championship since the 2003 Six Nations but they do finally look like they are improving under Martin Johnson as they proved with a good 2nd in the 2009 Six Nations. They looked in decent shape and will be hoping to go one better in 2010 to end that drought that has gone on far too long for England fans.
England will start as 5/1 fourth favourites in the betting to win their first Six Nations title since the halcyon days of 2003. They begin their campaign with a match against Wales at Twickenham on February 6th (see England Fixtures Below), for which they are 8/13 odds on favourites to win.
Manager, Martin Johnson has included former Kiwi Rugby League star, Shontayne Hape and Northampton Full Back, Ben Foden for the first time in the senior squad.
France
France, like England are suffering from inconsistency and have had an indifferent time of it since the Rugby World cup in 2007. They had high hopes in 2009 but they went onto lose twice including a heavy defeat at Twickenam which meant they finished 3rd in the Championship. The French are always dangerous and will be a big threat in 2010.
France warmed up for the Six Nations with three international matches in November, in which they won two but were soundly beaten by New Zealand in the third. Their most impressive performance came in the 20-13 victory over World Champions, South Africa in which they were always in command with a performance that sent huge warning signs to their Six Nations rivals.
They start their 2010 campaign at Murrayfield against Scotland in a fixture where they have had the upperhand over the last few years and end it with a home game against their greatest rivals, England at Stade de France.
They start the tournament as 7/4 favourites but these Six Naions odds could change easily due to several injury worries that have already ruled out three players for the start.
Wales
2008 Grand Slam Champions Wales have been strong for several years as they showed when winning the Grand Slam in 2005 as well. Coach Warren Gatland has got the team playing excellent rugby and although not seeming to improve against the Southern hemisphere sides over the last few months, they are still a team that is more than capable of winning any match they play and they will be extremely dangerous in 2010 once again.
Wales will start this year’s Six Nations as third favourites with odds of around 9/2, behind France and current Grand Slam champions, Ireland. They have a very tricky start however with an away game at Twickenham against England on February 6th. (see Wales Six Nations Fixtures Below).
Head coach, Warren Gatland has been forced to name a scrum half newcomer, in Richie Rees, of Blues, due to the long term injury worries concerning Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel. He has called up four newcomers in total.
Ireland
Ireland are the current Grand Slam Champions having swept all before them in 2009 including a vital 1 point win over England which proved to be the difference.They will find it difficult to repeat that feat again but they must be one of the favourites as they have retained the majority of the Grand Slam winning squad.
Ireland will start as 5/2 second favourites in the betting to win back to back Six Nations titles, although they are only rated a 6/1 chance to win a second successive Grand Slam. The Irish begin their campaign with a match against Six Nations whipping boys, Italy, at Croke Park on February 6th, which should see them get off to an emphatic winning start. See all Ireland Six Nations fixtures below.
Coach Declan Kidney has named a 44 man squad for the tournament including hooker, Rory Best and prop, Marcus Horan, who are both returning from long term injuries. The squad also includes a total of nine uncapped players.
Scotland
Regarded as outsiders again this year, Scotland have struggled for several years now in the Championship.. They have a good crop of players and as long as they continue to improve they could easily upset the rugby betting odds and beat one of the more fancied teams although on paper they look to be fighting it out with Italy once agin forr the Wooden Spoon.
Scotland surprise winners over Australia in one of their three warm up matches in November come into the 2010 Six Nations with renewed confidence and with a team who, if they can’t win the tournament, can certainly register themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
Under new coach, Andy Robinson, there seems a greater sense of purpose and the team have become adept at stopping the opposition from playing and taking advantage of attacking positions gained. Despite the obvious improvements, Scotland have been given generous odds of 20/1 to win the tournament, which although is unlikely it certainly cannot be ruled out. Any bet on Scotland can be accessed by clicking any of the Bookmaker links on this page.
There will be many that think that the Triple Crown may be a distinct possibility, although that task will be made difficult with away games against both Wales and Ireland. Nonetheless they can be backed at 28/1 with Ladbrokes to win their 11th Triple Crown.
Italy
Italy have still yet to bridge the void in International class rugby, they have won the odd game here but they have finished bottom in eight out of nine seasons since they joined the Six Nations in 2000. There is no reason to think that they won’t do again this year.
2009 saw the Italians once again claimed the wooden spoon when they finished without a win which was disappointing to their fans. They look set to be fighting it out with the Scots once again for last place although you never know and they should start improving at some stage.
While they have been fighting it out for the wooden spoon ever since in recent years their performances have improved, nevertheless their ground just demonstrates where this game stands in Italian sporting rankings and that is very much as the poor relations as the Stadio Flaminio creates very little atmosphere and has a capacity of just under 25,000 and while many people for the home countries travel to Rome this is mainly for an excuse to have another six nations venue to travel too but this novelty may well wear off over the next few years unless Italy performs at a better level.
England
England have never found their feet following their 2003 Rugby World Cup win, it is true that they played out of their skin to reach the final of the 2007 World cup, but that apart, they have disappointed season upon season. They have not won the championship since the 2003 Six Nations but they do finally look like they are improving under Martin Johnson as they proved with a good 2nd in the 2009 Six Nations. They looked in decent shape and will be hoping to go one better in 2010 to end that drought that has gone on far too long for England fans.
England will start as 5/1 fourth favourites in the betting to win their first Six Nations title since the halcyon days of 2003. They begin their campaign with a match against Wales at Twickenham on February 6th (see England Fixtures Below), for which they are 8/13 odds on favourites to win.
Manager, Martin Johnson has included former Kiwi Rugby League star, Shontayne Hape and Northampton Full Back, Ben Foden for the first time in the senior squad.
France
France, like England are suffering from inconsistency and have had an indifferent time of it since the Rugby World cup in 2007. They had high hopes in 2009 but they went onto lose twice including a heavy defeat at Twickenam which meant they finished 3rd in the Championship. The French are always dangerous and will be a big threat in 2010.
France warmed up for the Six Nations with three international matches in November, in which they won two but were soundly beaten by New Zealand in the third. Their most impressive performance came in the 20-13 victory over World Champions, South Africa in which they were always in command with a performance that sent huge warning signs to their Six Nations rivals.
They start their 2010 campaign at Murrayfield against Scotland in a fixture where they have had the upperhand over the last few years and end it with a home game against their greatest rivals, England at Stade de France.
They start the tournament as 7/4 favourites but these Six Naions odds could change easily due to several injury worries that have already ruled out three players for the start.
Wales
2008 Grand Slam Champions Wales have been strong for several years as they showed when winning the Grand Slam in 2005 as well. Coach Warren Gatland has got the team playing excellent rugby and although not seeming to improve against the Southern hemisphere sides over the last few months, they are still a team that is more than capable of winning any match they play and they will be extremely dangerous in 2010 once again.
Wales will start this year’s Six Nations as third favourites with odds of around 9/2, behind France and current Grand Slam champions, Ireland. They have a very tricky start however with an away game at Twickenham against England on February 6th. (see Wales Six Nations Fixtures Below).
Head coach, Warren Gatland has been forced to name a scrum half newcomer, in Richie Rees, of Blues, due to the long term injury worries concerning Mike Phillips and Dwayne Peel. He has called up four newcomers in total.
Ireland
Ireland are the current Grand Slam Champions having swept all before them in 2009 including a vital 1 point win over England which proved to be the difference.They will find it difficult to repeat that feat again but they must be one of the favourites as they have retained the majority of the Grand Slam winning squad.
Ireland will start as 5/2 second favourites in the betting to win back to back Six Nations titles, although they are only rated a 6/1 chance to win a second successive Grand Slam. The Irish begin their campaign with a match against Six Nations whipping boys, Italy, at Croke Park on February 6th, which should see them get off to an emphatic winning start. See all Ireland Six Nations fixtures below.
Coach Declan Kidney has named a 44 man squad for the tournament including hooker, Rory Best and prop, Marcus Horan, who are both returning from long term injuries. The squad also includes a total of nine uncapped players.
Scotland
Regarded as outsiders again this year, Scotland have struggled for several years now in the Championship.. They have a good crop of players and as long as they continue to improve they could easily upset the rugby betting odds and beat one of the more fancied teams although on paper they look to be fighting it out with Italy once agin forr the Wooden Spoon.
Scotland surprise winners over Australia in one of their three warm up matches in November come into the 2010 Six Nations with renewed confidence and with a team who, if they can’t win the tournament, can certainly register themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
Under new coach, Andy Robinson, there seems a greater sense of purpose and the team have become adept at stopping the opposition from playing and taking advantage of attacking positions gained. Despite the obvious improvements, Scotland have been given generous odds of 20/1 to win the tournament, which although is unlikely it certainly cannot be ruled out. Any bet on Scotland can be accessed by clicking any of the Bookmaker links on this page.
There will be many that think that the Triple Crown may be a distinct possibility, although that task will be made difficult with away games against both Wales and Ireland. Nonetheless they can be backed at 28/1 with Ladbrokes to win their 11th Triple Crown.
Italy
Italy have still yet to bridge the void in International class rugby, they have won the odd game here but they have finished bottom in eight out of nine seasons since they joined the Six Nations in 2000. There is no reason to think that they won’t do again this year.
2009 saw the Italians once again claimed the wooden spoon when they finished without a win which was disappointing to their fans. They look set to be fighting it out with the Scots once again for last place although you never know and they should start improving at some stage.
While they have been fighting it out for the wooden spoon ever since in recent years their performances have improved, nevertheless their ground just demonstrates where this game stands in Italian sporting rankings and that is very much as the poor relations as the Stadio Flaminio creates very little atmosphere and has a capacity of just under 25,000 and while many people for the home countries travel to Rome this is mainly for an excuse to have another six nations venue to travel too but this novelty may well wear off over the next few years unless Italy performs at a better level.