Six Nations: 2022 Championship promises to be one of the most unpredictable yet

The dawn of a new Six Nations campaign always warms the heart after the cold, dark days of January.

And this year’s Championship promises to be one of the most compelling and unpredictable to date, after an encouraging autumn threw the spotlight on the healthy state of northern hemisphere rugby.     

Ireland and France toppled New Zealand, England beat South Africa and Australia, and the latter also fell to Wales and Scotland.

Although struggling Italy are likely to be up against it once again, fans of all the other five nations go into the opening weekend with reasons to dream of lifting the famous trophy.

ENGLAND

England coach Eddie Jones suffered one of the toughest moments of his tenure last year when his side finished fifth, and he’s faced a disrupted build-up this time around.

The biggest blow was the loss of injured captain Owen Farrell, who Jones had earmarked to help guide the precocious talent of Marcus Smith at fly-half.

But with Jonny May and Anthony Watson also sidelined for the duration, Manu Tuilagi and Sam Underhill out until later in the tournament and Courtney Lawes, Joe Marchant and Jonny Hill doubtful for the high-stakes opener in Edinburgh, Jones has a few additional issues to iron out.   

England’s strength in depth ensures they will nevertheless be major contenders. They are coming off impressive autumn wins over Australia and world champions South Africa, and start the Six Nations as third favourites at 22%. 

But the success of their 2022 campaign may well come down to how they start at Murrayfield in the Calcutta Cup – a fixture Jones’ side have won only once in the last four attempts.

England looking to make winning start at Murrayfield

SCOTLAND

This isn’t the first time Scottish fans have approached a Six Nations wondering if the stars might have finally aligned for a serious run at the title. 

There is reason for optimism. Coach Gregor Townsend has all his big hitters, including an eight-strong British & Irish Lions contingent, fit and firing. The Scots boast a strong starting side and impressive squad depth, but the major question, as ever, is around their consistency.

If Scotland are to finally be in contention for silverware on the final day, they must learn to wrestle the fine margins in their favour.  

Last year, they ended long-running curses by winning in London and Paris, only to fall at home to Wales and Ireland by one and three points respectively.  

Could this be their year? With a price of 9%, a Scottish title triumph is well worth a punt for the believers.

WALES

A string of injuries to key players has left Wales as 9% outsiders to defend their title.

But Wayne Pivac’s side upset the odds just last year by surging to the title, and they were an 80^th-minute Brice Dulin try away from beating France to clinch a stunning Grand Slam.

The injury list isn’t to be ignored, though, with captain Alun Wyn Jones headlining a group that boasts 726 caps between them; Leigh Halfpenny, Ken Owens, Josh Navidi, Justin Tipuric, George North, Dan Lydiate and Taulupe Faletau join Wyn Jones on the sidelines.

Wales always lift themselves for this event and a packed Principality Stadium will provide a boost for home games against Scotland, France and Italy.

They still have plenty of experience to count on in captain Dan Biggar, Jonathan Davies and Liam Williams, while the electric Louis Rees-Zammit is one to watch after scoring four tries in his debut Six Nations last year. 

IRELAND

Ireland are on hot form, winning their last eight matches in a row, including a superb November victory over the All Blacks.  

With three home games coming up in Dublin against Wales, Italy and Scotland, the Irish will aim to better last year’s third-place finish in head coach Andy Farrell’s third campaign.  

Winger James Lowe is the only player who featured in the 29-20 win over New Zealand who is unavailable for the opener against the Welsh, with veteran captain Johnny Sexton set to lead a strong squad that combines youth and experience.    

The form of the Irish provinces is cause for more optimism, with all four sides reaching the last-16 of the European Champions Cup recently. 

Away trips to Twickenham and the Stade de France are likely to be the make-or-break moments for Farrell’s confident side, who are priced at 26% to take the title.

FRANCE

This year’s hot favourites, the hype around a star-studded French side was propelled to new heights when they played jaw-dropping rugby to beat the All Blacks 40-25 in November.  

Fabien Galthie’s side finished second last year and are fancied to go one better this time around and end a 12-year wait for a Six Nations title, with a price of 38%.

Marshalled by World Player of the Year Antoine Dupont and his half-back partner Romain Ntamack, Les Bleus possess some of the sharpest attacking weapons on the planet and have taken great strides over the last year as they build towards a 2023 Rugby World Cup on home soil.

The schedule appears to be in their favour, too. France should build confidence with an opener at home to Italy and, crucially, will take on their major title rivals England and Ireland in Paris too. 

ITALY

It’s a new dawn for Italy, with new coach Kieran Crowley looking to improve on a disastrous 2021 campaign.

Not much is expected of the Azzurri, who are on a 32-game losing streak in the Six Nations stretching back to 2015, and further debate around the potential introduction of a relegation play-off is sure to surface.

However, there are reasons to be hopeful that Italy are heading in the right direction, with youngsters like Montpellier fly-half Paolo Garbisi (21), Bordeaux centre Federico Mori (21) and new Azzurri captain Michele Lamaro (23) flying the flag for a new generation of talent.

Crowley looks like an astute appointment, having impressed with URC side Benetton, and he will be hoping to get his side competing for 80 minutes in the hope of at least picking up their first bonus point since 2018.