The Six Nations Championship, also known as the Guinness Six Nations, is a men’s rugby union tournament that involves six teams – England, Wales, France, Ireland, Scotland and Italy. The tournament sees Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland compete as a united team with this union being one of the first teams to compete in the Home Nations Championship that started in 1883 along with Scotland, Wales and England.
The tournament became the Five Nations when France was included in 1910 and after a brief ban, the nation was allowed back into the championship after WWII. In 1999, it became the Six Nations Championship when Italy was included as one of the competitors. The most successful team is England with 29 championship victories, with Wales winning 27 times, France with 17 wins, and Ireland and Wales each with 14.
Here we’ll be looking at the Six Nations 2022 Championship and the fixtures that will take place, along with the betting odds and information on the teams.
The teams competing
Each of the rugby union teams that are competing have found moderate to high levels of success in other rugby tournaments, such as the Rugby World Cup and the Rugby Europe International Championships. Each team consists of 15 players with up to eight substitutes allowed per game.
England
The English team is coached by Eddie Jones and is the most successful team in the Six Nations Championship. The captain is yet to be announced; however, the team includes notable players such as Luke Cowan-Dickie, Joe Marler, Kyle Sinckler, Charlie Ewels, Sam Simmonds and many others.
Recent call-ups to the squad include Elliot Daly, who replaced Jonny May due to injury. In addition, Owen Farrel was replaced by George Ford, with Nick Isiekwe joining the squad as a backup to Courtney Lawes.
France
Captained by Charles Olivon, the French team named a 42-man squad for the upcoming tournament. This includes young players such as Daniel Bibi Biziwu, Florian Verhaeghe, Florent Vanverberghe, Yoan Tanga, Leo Berdeu, Jules Favre and Tani Vili, all of whom have yet to represent the national team. There have been no recent call-ups; however, the squad is packed with young talent that is looking to make their mark during the tournament.
Ireland
The Irish team will be coached by Andy Farrell and captained by Jonathan Sexton. No call-ups have been made to the team; however, there are a few players expected to make their first cap for the national team. This includes Cian Prendergast, Mack Hansen and Michael Lowry.
Veteran players such as Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Keith Earls are set to make their return to the world stage. The 37-man squad is a balanced mixture of new and experienced players.
Wales
A 36-man squad was named to the Welsh team, with the captain, Alun Wyn Jones, ruled out of the opening games of the championship. Dan Biggar has been named as his replacement during the interim. The team will continue to be coached by Wayne Pivac.
Three uncapped players are featured in the squad with Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and James Ratti expected to make their first appearances for the national team.
Scotland
Gregor Townsend will coach the Scottish team that consists of a 39-man squad. Four uncapped players have been included in the side with players such as Andy Christie, Rory Darge, Ben Vellacott and Ben White expected to make their international debuts.
Sean Maitland, a veteran player, was called up to replace Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Rowe. Van der Merwe and Rowe were unable to attend the pre-season training camp due to illness.
Italy
Captained by Michele Lamaro and coached by Kieran Crowley, the 33-man squad features six uncapped players. This includes Giacomo Nicotera, Toa Halafihi, Manuel Zuliani, Giacomo Da Re, Leonardo Marin and Tommaso Menoncello.
Only one player was called up, with fullback Ange Capuozzo added to the squad as support for Edoardo Padovani.
The fixtures
The fixtures will take place in a round format, which means that each team will play five games. The fixtures, venues and referees for each game are as follows:
Round one
Saturday: February 5, 2022
- Ireland vs. Wales – 14:15 GMT
Location – Aviva Stadium
Referee – Jaco Peyper
- Scotland vs. England – 16:45 GMT
Location – Murrayfield
Referee – Ben O’Keeffe
Sunday: February 6, 2022
- France vs. Italy – 15:00 GMT
Location – Stade de France
Referee – Mike Adamson
Round two
Saturday: February 12, 2022
- Wales vs. Scotland – 14:15 GMT
Location – Principality Stadium
Referee – Nic Berry
- France vs. Ireland – 16:45 GMT
Location – Stade de France
Referee – Angus Gardner
Sunday: February 13, 2022
- Italy vs. England – 15:00 GMT
Location – Stadio Olimpico
Referee – Damon Murphy
Round three
Saturday: February 26, 2022
- Scotland vs. France – 14:15 GMT
Location – Murrayfield
Referee – Karl Dickson
- England vs. Wales – 16:45 GMT
Location – Twickenham
Referee – Mike Adamson
Sunday: February 27, 2022
- Ireland vs. Italy – 15:00 GMT
Location – Aviva Stadium
Referee – Nika Amashukeli
Round four
Friday: March 11, 2022
- Wales vs. France – 20:00 GMT
Location – Principality Stadium
Referee – Matthew Carley
Saturday: March 12, 2022
- Italy vs. Scotland – 14:15 GMT
Location – Stadio Olimpico
Referee – Luke Pierce
- England vs. Ireland – 16:45 GMT
Location – Twickenham
Referee – Mathieu Raynal
Round five
Saturday: March 19, 2022
- Wales vs. Italy – 14:15 GMT
Location – Principality Stadium
Referee – Andrew Brace
- Ireland vs. Scotland – 16:45 GMT
Location – Aviva Stadium
Referee – Wayne Barnes
- France vs. England – 20:00 GMT
Location – Stade de France
Referee – Jaco Peyper
The scoring system
The scoring system is relatively easy to understand, as the team with the highest number of points at the end of the tournament is the winner. Points are scored as follows:
- Win – 4 Points
- Draw – 2 Points
- Loss by 7 points or less – 1 Bonus Point
- Loss by more than 7 points – 0 Points
- Score four tries or more in a single game (regardless of the result) – 1 Bonus Point
- Grand Slam – 1 Bonus Point
The scoring system will be an important part of various online sports betting markets that will be featured at Borgata. The highest number of points that can be scored per game is five, with losses resulting in a maximum of two points.
Rugby union betting odds
If you’re going to be participating in online sports betting during this tournament, there’s a set of odds that you should keep your eye on. These are based on current teams along with their overall fitness and other factors such as coaches, recent performances, and so on. Pre-tournament odds for the Six Nations 2022 Championship include:
Overall Winners
- France: +150 (+333 to be Grand Slam Winners)
- England: +250 (+550)
- Ireland: +300 (+800)
- Wales: +700 (+3,300)
- Scotland: +1,100 (+3,300)
- Italy: +100,000 (+100,000)
- No Grand Slam Winner: -138
Triple Crown Winner
- No Triple Crown: +163
- England: +175
- Ireland: +225
- Wales: +1,800
- Scotland: +2,000
To Finish Last
- Italy: -20,000
- Scotland: +1,600
- Wales: +20,00
- Ireland: +5,000
- England: +15,000
- France: +25,000
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