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Ireland vs England: Six Nations Betting Tips

Ireland will begin their Six Nations title defence when they host old rivals England at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening.

Looking to become the first team in the history of the Six Nations to win the trophy in three consecutive years, the men in green will provide formidable opponents for an England side with a point to prove after some tough trips to Dublin in the past.

Tip 1 – England +7.5 handicap @ 17/20

While England are the underdogs going into this game at the Aviva Stadium, with their last win in Dublin coming back in 2019, Steve Borthwick's side can look back on just last season and their 23-22 win over the Irish at Twickenham.

Few predicted the Red Rose would be able to triumph that day, on what was a rare occasion that England have been able to grind out a win late on in a close game.

England fly-half Marcus Smith impressed in that match and ended up scoring the winning drop goal in the 80th minute to see England triumph and deny Ireland a shot at the Grand Slam.

Winning in southwest London against Ireland is one thing, but doing it across the Irish Sea at the Aviva Stadium is another.

However, this is the first game of the Six Nations and perhaps there are some questions regarding Ireland and whether they can get off to a positive start in the absence of head coach Andy Farrell, with the Lancastrian focused on British & Irish Lions duties ahead of a summer tour of Australia.

Ireland had a wobble during their Autumn Nations Series, as the men in green lost to New Zealand before edging 22-19 wins over both Argentina and Australia in Dublin.

With that in mind, although Ireland should manage to edge another tense encounter at the Aviva Stadium to make a winning start to the tournament, England can make this one closer than some might expect and could be worth backing with the +7.5 handicap in this one.

Tip 2 – Half-Time/Full-Time - England/Ireland @ 6/1

England struggled with game management during the Autumn Nations Series, as they let slip wins against the likes of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa.

Once a team becomes known for struggling to close out games at Test level, it's a very difficult tag to shake off and can give opposition sides hope going into the final 10 minutes of matches.

England, with a strong side and feeling fresh going into this tournament under new captain Maro Itoje, can make a positive start to this game in Dublin.

The last time England faced Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in the Six Nations, the visitors kicked two early penalties to take a 6-0 lead.

With Smith's boot and the creativity of the Harlequins playmaker, England could potentially take an early lead and be ahead at the end of the first half.

However, Ireland's quality should come through in the end and the hosts boast an outstanding bench that interim boss Simon Easterby can call upon.

Cian Healy, Iain Henderson, Conor Murray and Robbie Henshaw are just some of the experienced players on the bench who could help Ireland come from behind at the break to claim a potentially narrow win in Saturday's showdown.

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Odds correct at time of publication but subject to fluctuation

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