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The story of the Six Nations so far
Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo tells us what's happened so far in this year's Six Nations and what bets catch his eye for the remainder of the tournament
I thought France under new coach Marc Lievremont would win the RBS Six Nations Championship before it started. I still do and the Betfair market, who makes them [1.67] certainly does, but while I thought England [8.4] were certainties for the runners-up spot it now looks as though Wales [4.5] will advance past them. You can forget the rest! Prices with Betfair.
France have the top individual so far in Vincent Clerc who is [1.21] to be top try-scorer in the competition. He has that indefinable ability to arrive from nowhere. They have won both their games so far but I am not sure how good those performances were because Scotland never turned up and Ireland were determined but workmanlike.
Scotland's basic skills were abysmal in the first match, poor in the second and are yet to score a try in the tournament. The awful Hadden does not appear to have a plan and he has been made to look a fool regarding the omission of the reliable Paterson the 'metronomic' kicker who was benched against France. Statistically he is the most proficient modern day kicker. Does anyone on earth understand that decision?
Originally this young side had hopes of competing in this championship but there are no signs of cranial activity or Gaelic spirit coming from the Scottish camp and I can only imagine the turgid misery north of the border! There is not a single positive to be taken from either game. Hadden has admitted to being 'awful' and I wonder what he can do to change things. They have gone backwards since the World Cup.
Ireland will take pride in the way their scrum destroyed the French and they did show resilience in that game. Some felt they did not deserve to lose the game. The determined forwards showed courage and they put Les Bleus under intense pressure with 57% of possession.
It is clear that the backs are not good enough and Eddie O'Sullivan needs to ring the changes in that department. The biggest game for Ireland will be against Wales and that will make compulsive viewing with the Triple Crown at stake (should they beat Scotland).
Italy continue to improve under Nick Mallett and if they had a line out against England who knows what might have happened? In Sergio Parisse they have a fine player and he was the best on the pitch at the Stadio Flaminio. He did not deserve to be on the losing side.
I am not sure to take 'back to form' Johnny Wilkinson seriously when he said that Italy are a 'great side' and that England were 'fantastic' to beat them. A little over the top? The Italians, [1.69] for the wooden spoon, do have a competitive pack of forwards so Scotland at [2.54] could well be the value to take the award that noone wants.
Labouring England are now clueless and rudderless and you have to ask - is it Ashton or the players? I accept there were six changes from last week but they badly need a leader. I still believe England can recover as the players are good enough and there could be a good performance to come. It could be against the French. But panic-button Balshaw must be removed from the squad first if they are to have any chance!
Those snarling Pit Bull Terriers Gatland and Edwards have invoked terror within the Welsh squad and I believe them when they say 'nobody will work harder'. The Welsh now understand the team collective and that giving the ball away is a crime and punishable. Ball retention is king!
Hook must impose his talent more on the game and with his team-mates or he might find himself sharing his job with Stephen Jones, he cannot flit around the game and look pretty.
They play Italy in two weeks time so a third win is certain and it will give them a chance to measure their progress without the risk of defeat. The Triple Crown is within the grasp of the Welsh when they play Ireland in Dublin on 8 March 2008. They are currently trading at [2.46] with Betfair and those odds must be gobbled up. It is a great bet! I have invested already! The only thing that can beat them is the overly high Welsh expectations.
Grand Slam prices show France at [2.58] and Wales at [6.2] with no winner trading at [2.1]. The value must be Wales!
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Events calendar
15/05/2008 | Cricket
Eng v NZ 1st Test - Lords
25/05/2008 | Formula One
Monaco - GP
26/05/2008 | Tennis
French Open (Paris)




