- France to win Autumn Nations Cup 8/1
No sooner has the Six Nations finished and we’re already looking forward to more international rugby union with the staging of the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup.
England claimed their third Six Nations title in five years in what was a rather mediocre Championship, only lit up in the last fortnight by a France side that has rediscovered its joie de vivre.
Fully expecting Les Bleus to be second-favourites behind England, it was a shock to see Boyle Sports going out on a limb and quoting 8/1. This is way out of kilter with Unibet’s assessment, for example, who have the Six Nations runners-up at a much more realistic 3/1.
But for one lapse of concentration in Scotland, France would almost certainly have won their first Six Nations title in 10 years and after impressive back-to-back displays against Wales and Ireland, they enter the ANC in good shape.
France can be confidently backed to top Pool B and set up a trophy decider against the winners of Pool B. Effectively, that means they are 8/1 for a one-off game.
Pivotal game
Les Bleus kick off their campaign, on 15 November, with a home game against a Fiji side whose preparations have been hit by an outbreak of Covid-19 in their camp. It would be a major shock if France slipped up in that one, even though some of Fiji’s squad have been ripping it up in the Top 14.
Then they head to Murrayfield for their toughest assignment, no doubt hellbent on exacting revenge on Scotland for their defeat there earlier in the season.
Scotland won 28-17 just before lockdown and have since shown they are no pushovers with their first win in Wales since 2002; however, that groundbreaking result came at a cost with injuries to their two leading 10s, Finn Russell and Adam Hastings. You also have to take into account who they were playing – a very poor Wales side – and yet they still struggled to put them away, only winning 14-10.
And then, it’s back to the familiar territory of the Stade de France for a game against an Italian side that has forgotten how to win. Surely a home banker.
All being well, France should be 80 minutes away from glory at that point with England their expected opponents at Twickenham on the first weekend in December.
