You may recall that on the eve of the tournament, we brought you our preview of the Guinness Six Nations 2023 tournament.
In that preview, we looked back at the history of this tournament, how many Six Nations victories each country had achieved, as well as a look ahead to who would win the 2023 incarnation of the tournament, where we went with Ireland (then a 13/10 favourite with bet365 Sport).
So, after the first two weeks of action in the tournament, how does that tip now look? Who are the teams that have played better than expected, while who has performed worse than thought?
Let’s take a look now at how the first two weeks of the Six Nations 2023 unfolded, before we look at the current Six Nations table and then look ahead to this weekend’s midway set of games, which includes a huge game in Paris.
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A lightning-fast start by the Irish put Wales on the back foot immediately and meant that the game was effectively over as a contest by the half.
Wales pressured Ireland for most of the second period, but kept turning the ball over and losing their discipline and a late try handed the Irish the bonus point too.
A sensational van der Merwe try in the first half of this game inspired Scotland on to victory to retain the Calcutta Cup for a third consecutive year.
The same player put the nail in England’s coffin with a try six minutes from time in the second half which handed the Scots a superb and deserved win at the home of their most fierce rivals.
A fast French start seemed to put them in control but Italy kept pace with the visitors well scoring three first half penalties and a try meaning that the game was still very much in the balance heading into the second half.
France claimed the win thanks to Jalibert’s late try but for a team that had won their last 13 games, the French were given an unexpectedly tough test by an impressive Italian team.
Ireland got off to another blistering start when they scored three tries in the first 26 minutes of the game to put France on the back foot.
In reply the French could only muster one try and when Ringrose added a fourth to secure the win and the bonus point, France’s 14-game unbeaten run had been comprehensively ended by the hugely impressive Irish team.
After their huge win over England, Scotland produced another superb display against the Welsh to lift the Doddie Weir trophy and ensure they made a 100% start to their Six Nations campaign.
The Scots ran in five tries to Wales’ lone effort and in truth, it was a comprehensive a win as there has been between the two teams for many, many years.
England got back to winning ways with a win at Twickenham against Italy. Five tries were scored by the home team, with Italy countering with two of their own. However, the Italians were already well behind by the time they got onto the scoreboard.
Steve Borthwick says his England team need to build up from a relatively low starting point and this is perhaps the first building block for his team as they prepare for the rest of the Six Nations and the World Cup later in the year.
| Team Name | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | PD | Bns | Pts |
| Ireland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 29 | +37 | 2 | 10 |
| Scotland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 64 | 30 | +34 | 2 | 10 |
| England | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 43 | +11 | 2 | 6 |
| France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 56 | -8 | 1 | 5 |
| Italy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 60 | -22 | 1 | 1 |
| Wales | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 69 | -52 | 0 | 0 |
Italy’s performances this year have not been too bad despite their two defeats, but they face a huge test here against the top ranked team in world rugby.
Ireland ooze class at the moment and their fast starts are blowing teams away before we reach half time and I fear that this may well be the case here in Rome when the two meet on Saturday afternoon.
Game Prediction – Italy 13-41 Ireland
Our Top Bet – Winning Margin – 21-30 points – 3/1 for Ireland
Warren Gatland and Steve Borthwick are the two newest coaches to be competing in the Six Nations this year and it is clear both these teams have plenty of work to do for the World Cup in the autumn.
Of the two, perhaps England are closest to being near their best and I think that will mean England end up with a rare win at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday night in what should be a close game.
Score Prediction – Wales 21-25 England
Our Top Bet – Winning Margin – 1-10 points – for England – 7/4
If Scotland are to win the Six Nations, and possibly the Grand Slam, then their next two games will be the ones that land them it as today they face France, followed by Ireland on Week 4 in a fortnight.
The French will be hurting following their first loss in 15 games last time out to Ireland and will be fired up here, but I am backing the Scots to snatch the win dramatically late on.
Score Prediction – France 25-27 Scotland
Our Top Bet – Winning Margin – 1-10 points for Scotland – 3/1
With the Rugby World Cup 2023 coming up later this year, hosted in France, this Six Nations takes on even greater importance for the six competing teams as they are not only seeking to do well in this tournament, but also enhance their preparations for that massive tournament which starts in the autumn.
Check back then for more details and a detailed preview of what is guaranteed to be one of the sporting events of the autumn in 2023.
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