Ireland vs Wales
Ireland and Wales meet in the opening match of the Guinness Six Nations 2022 at the Aviva Stadium. The hosts will be desperate for a good start on their home ground as they will want to quickly forget last season’s campaign when they finished third. They lost two matches in the last edition and it was a home loss to France that ended their title hopes. They come into this year’s tournament with a near full strength team and with Captain Johnny Sexton fit again they are serious title contenders. Their recent record is evidence of this as they have won their last eight matches. The undoubted highlight during this run was the 29-20 defeat of the All Blacks.
TIP: Defending champions Wales start the defence of their crown with a daunting trip to Dublin. To make the trip more difficult their squad has been decimated with injuries with Captain Alun Wyn Jones the most notable absentee. Their form since that Six Nations has been poor with just three wins in seven matches. They did however win their last two matches against Australia and Fiji. They will look to Lions star Dan Biggar to have a colossal game for them to have a chance of victory. The bookies have the Ireland as heavy favourites and I also tip them for the win. The best odds on this bet are as follows: Worldsportsbetting 1.13, Playabets 1.12 and Sunbet 1.14
HEAD TO HEAD STATS
Ireland vs Wales
- Ireland have won four of the last five matches against Wales.
- Ireland are unbeaten in their last five home matches against Wales
- The last match between these sides ended with Wales winning 21-16
Latest results for both teams
Ireland won their last match 53-7 against Argentina while Wales beat Australia 29-28 in their last match
PREDICTION
Ireland have excellent strength in all positions and with Sexton pulling the strings they look like a different team. One of the more difficult decisions was to leave out Robbie Henshaw in favour of Bundee Aki. Wales have moved Josh Adams to the centre position and his partnership with Nick Tompkins will be key in this match. The scrums and lineouts heavily favour the Irish and if the Welsh want to win this match they will need to play an expansive game and bring Louis Rees-Zammit into the game as much as possible. He is by far their most dangerous player. I predict Ireland to win this match by 18 points.
- Probable Starting XVs
Ireland
15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Wales
15 Liam Williams, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Josh Adams, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Louis Rees-Zammit, 10 Dan Biggar (c), 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Taine Basham, 6 Ellis Jenkins, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Wyn Jones
Odds for this bet
The best odds on the Ireland victory are as follows:
Worldsportsbetting 1.13
Playabets 1.12
Sunbet 1.14
Odds comparison on the Ireland handicap :
The complete odds on the Ireland handicap:
Worldsportsbetting (-14.5) 1.90
Sunbet (-13.5) 1.94
Playabets (-13.5) 1.89
Predictions and Odds in details
Ireland don’t have a kind draw this year as they play both England and France away from home. They will need to win one of these away matches to be at the top of the table at the end of the tournament but winning all matches at home with a bonus point is a necessity otherwise it will be regarded as a failure. Complacency is Ireland’s biggest enemy in this match.The bookies are offering poor returns on the Irish outright win therefore I suggest the home team on the handicap.The best odds on this bet are as follows: Worldsportsbetting (-14.5) 1.90, Sunbet (-13.5) 1.94 and Playabets (-13.5) 1.89
Sports crazy fan that follows all major sport but the game with the oval ball is my real passion. Was an age level rugby coach and a huge supporter of the Springboks and diehard Liverpool man. I’m an experienced punter and sports writer whose predictions/tips are sure to stir up the emotions. I love the occasional wager on the underdog.
