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Six Nations Betting: New Kids on the Rugby Block

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Rugby betting expert Geoffrey Riddle takes a look at the new coaches in this years' Six Nations

Three new coaches take to the sidelines this Six Nations, and the older brigade will have noticed that all three are forwards. Marc Lievremont's galloping runs as a flanker for France were enough to get the pulses racing and his new role with the reigning champions is eagerly awaited. Warren Gatland was well-versed in the dark arts as a hooker, which should come in handy when he takes the reins of 2005 Grand Slam winners Wales. Gatland, back in Europe from domestic success with Waikato, teams up with old Wasps pal Shaun Edwards, and both will be looking ahead to the tournament with confidence. Nick Mallett was not a star No.8, but his record-breaking 17 wins on the trot with South Africa in the late 90s will have been noted by every Italian fan, keen on a better showing than in the World Cup.

Marc Lievremont (France)

Lievremont will be ably assisted by former France winger Emile Ntamack and Didier Retiere, a pairing which led France to victory in the Under-21 World Cup in 2006. It is fair to say that there were more popular candidates for the role such as Philippe Saint Andre of Sale, Fabien Galthie of Stade Francais, and Guy Noves of Toulouse.

Lievremont has made his name coaching Dax, who he got promoted to the French top-flight last season. The fact that he had the league's top scorer in Féro Lasagavibau, helped his cause, but it was the all-out approach of his side that probably won him the plaudits.
Dax always looked to the whitewash, and in their promotion year they scored the most tries in the league. They scored the second-most tries the year before, and unlike, say, Leicester, they are also a clean championship winning side, too. They were the fourth best behaved side in the League under the former France flanker. If his disciplinarian ways can be mixed with the try-seeking philosophy characterised by his time at Dax, then the Les Bleus can rightly be considered 2.56 favourites to defend their crown.

Warren Gatland (Wales)

Warren Gatland's tenure of Ireland was characterised by the sublime - a 20-14 victory over Clive Woodward's England - to the ridiculous; it was to be his final game in charge.

Gatland then took hold of Wasps, and having teamed up with league legend Edwards, the pair moulded Wasps into a trophy-winning machine. The two main ingredients of their success was the blitz defensive pattern that the pair came up with, and the habit of picking their battles wisely.

Gatland and Edwards timed their team's runs in 2003, '04 and '05 to perfection, starting the season slowly, but winding up the campaign, culminating in Premiership play-off silverware and the Heineken Cup in 2004.

The dynamic duo do not have that luxury in the Six Nations however, and at 4.30pm on February 2nd, Wales are going to have to be primed to the minute if they are going to get anything out of their clash with World Cup finalists England at Twickenham.

Lose that fixture, and the pressure will mount for the home encounter with Scotland. Things have a habit of snowballing in the northern hemisphere centrepiece. The fact that Wales went on to beat England and France last year after losing to Ireland and Scotland is to their immense credit, and that is the reason why the principality should be hopeful of a bold showing this time around.

The bulk of the 2005 Grand Slam-winning squad is there, they are 25.0 to repeat the feat, and the focal point of the Wales attack, Gavin Henson, is finally back in a Welsh shirt. Like or loathe his celebrity personality, on the rugby field Henson is a dynamic runner, who sees space and creates it like few others. His Ospreys colleague James Hook looks a better fly-half than former skipper Stephen Jones ever was. If they can all stay fit, the Welsh squad may well have a sneak of winning the title, for which they are 9.8, if they can start with a bonus point at Twickenham.

Nick Mallett (Italy)

The South African has a proven track record having guided Stade Francais and South Africa with distinction. Not only did the Springboks embark on their record-breaking sequence of victories under Mallett, but they also posted record wins at the time against France, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Italy and England. His stewardship saw the Springboks win their first ever Tri-Nations in 1998, a feat they did not repeat for six years. His record with the Springboks was 27 successes from 38 Tests, a percentage almost mirrored during his time in Paris. Stade Francais won two domestic titles with him as coach, rising to become the best team in Europe.

Italy were regressive during the World Cup despite fielding one of their strongest squads. It was a bitter disappointment that they didn't qualify for the quarter-finals.

Mallet will have a baptism of fire though, because his first two matches in charge are against Ireland in Dublin and England at the Stadio Flaminio. With two such fixtures first up, there would be many who felt that the 1.64 about the Azzurri receiving some mahogany cutlery was good value, especially with trips to the Millennium Stadium and the Stade de France to follow.