Six Nations tournament betting specials: free rugby tips and predictions

Specials betting preview, tips & analysis for the Six Nations, which starts when Italy host France at 2.15pm Saturday.

Best bets

Over 12.5 yellow cards
2pts 4-5 Hills

England to finish third
1pt 5-1 Paddy Power

Of all the Six Nations tournament total markets, yellow cards have so often in the past offered a good chance to go under the line, but this year may be an exception.

Sin-binnings are less common at Test level, where players are under huge pressure to keep their ­discipline, knowing that one slip can cost them the game.

After a card-free first round in 2020 there were 11 cards shown over the following 12 matches, and this year the line is set at 12.5.
The difference this year looks to be the ever-tighter focus on high tackles and it's apparent that while teams are trying to keep hits low, it's so easy to misjudge, mistime or be caught out by a turn of foot or injection pace.

These are mostly not malicious or deliberate actions, the kind of foul that coaches crack down on, but are going punished regularly in domestic competitions.

At the 2019 Rugby World Cup there was a huge rise in red cards for dangerous offences but referees are scaling back, and the upshot is that a yellow is seen as fair punishment.

England are the Six Nations champions, tournament favourites and have finished in the top two in nine of the last ten years.
The one blip was a fifth-place finish in 2018, and while a performance as poor as that is hard to see, it may be worth chancing that they fail to hit their usual heights.

There seemed to be a lack of intensity and focus in some of their performances last year and a couple of slips may not be far away.
They have beaten Ireland and Wales away from home in recent campaigns but the last time they beat both in the same years was 2003, while France put up a huge fight at ­Twickenham in December.

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