The first Six Nations game of the season kicks off this Saturday when Wales takes on Scotland. Both teams will be looking to get their season off to the best possible start and a loss will have one of these teams fighting for survival. That’s how close the Six Nations tournament is and it’s why bettors love having a play on the various markets on offer from bookmakers. We have done the form for both teams to find the best possible value for the big rugby clash this weekend.
Wales Form
Consistency was a problem for Wales in 2017, but they will be hoping to kick 2018 off in the right manner. The proud rugby nation suffered Six Nations’ losses to England, Scotland and France last season, but scored wins over Italy and an upset win over Ireland. Wales then went travelling to face two Pacific Island nations, winning both, but scraping past Samoa 19-17 in a torrid affair. Losses to New Zealand and Australia were suffered on the Southern Hemisphere tour, but they managed to score a win over South Africa to close the tour.
That was an encouraging effort for Wales and they bring a good home record to the table this Saturday. Wales has a solid home record of six wins and four losses from their last 10 games – with those losses coming to the All Blacks, England and Australia twice. They have won their last four matches at home against Scotland and that’s going to be a key point for bettors this week. Wales are tough to beat at home against other Six Nations’ teams and only one of their four games against Scotland has been close.
Scoring points against Scotland in the Six Nations hasn’t been tough for Wales. In four games they have scored a total of 126 points and given up only 63. That’s a great basis to back Wales this week and that’s why Ladbrokes have them as the slight favourite at 8/13.
Scotland Form
Scotland have also won six of their last 10 games, with losses coming to New Zealand, Fiji, England and France. They were handsomely beaten by England (61-21) in last year’s tournament, but they responded with three consecutive victories and the confidence was restored. Wins over Italy (twice) and Australia were fitting of a team on the improve and their win over Australia was justice for being robbed in the World Cup.
They weren’t able to handle the hot conditions in Fiji but losing by only five points to New Zealand was a victory in itself and they capped off their season with another win over Australia, this one coming by a whopping 29 points (53-24). The last time Scotland played Wales resulted in a win, but that came at home and playing away from home has yielded mixed results in the Six Nations.
Scotland has lost its last four Six Nations’ away games and the only recent win came over Italy, the easy beats of the competition. We were, however, impressed with Scotland’s form towards the end of last year on the road against Australia and the confidence must be high in the camp. They’re currently the 13/10 outsiders at betway, but there will be many bettors lapping up those odds this week.
Wales v Scotland tip
Both teams present good betting opportunities this week due to the market being so tight, but we’re giving the edge to Scotland at nice odds. They might struggle away from home in the Six Nations, but they have quality players across the board and they might have turned the corner with their end-of-year tour success. Both teams can pile on the points, which should make for an interesting game, but we’re giving the edge to the Scots and bettors can get better than even money for the team. Take Scotland 13/10 at betway for the best value for the eagerly-awaited Wales v Scotland game this Saturday.