The Grand Slam winner has a point to prove after his human instinct was not enough to beat the logic of data during the Rugby World Cup
Rugby is a numbers game, yet it is also a game that is played in the head.
Throughout the 2016 Six Nations, we will once again pitch the human instinct of World Cup and Grand Slam winner Mike Tindall against the mathematical calculations of the Betway Machine.
The pair will provide predictions for all three matches from every game week, in an attempt to discover who can offer the most insight into which way the tournament will go.
This time around, both Mike and the Machine will be given two free bets of £5 to place on each game.
The overall winner will be determined by who manages to accumulate the most profit by the end of the competition, which we will track week by week.
And as we saw during the Rugby World Cup, getting off to a good start can make all the difference.
So, which way do they each see this weekend’s fixtures going? Let’s find out…
Match 1: France v Italy (Saturday, 14:25)
Machine predictions:
9/2 – France to win by 16-20 points | 6/4 – Italy to score exactly 1 try
Mike says:
This game all depends on how both teams react after disappointing World Cups.
The Italian coach Jacques Brunel has confirmed that he is leaving after the tournament, so it will be interesting to see if he goes out in a blaze of glory by allowing the players to go out there and have some fun or if he sticks to the pragmatic style that he has played in the past.
I think that he is going to be more adventurous but I still don’t see Italy winning.
France have a lot of new players in their squad and a new coach in Guy Noves who is one of the best in Europe, although he probably should have been appointed a little while ago.
Ultimately I think France have just got too much firepower.
I can see them scoring four tries and ending up running away with it by a score of around 33-12.
5/1 – France to win by 21-25 points | 100/30 – France to score exactly 4 tries
Match 2: Scotland v England (Saturday, 16:50)
Machine predictions:
9/2 – England to win by 6-10 points | 9/4 – Scotland to score 0 tries
Mike says:
I think that is going to be a different sort of game with a few tries in it compared to some of the scrappier affairs that we have seen in the past.
Scotland will have taken a lot of confidence from the World Cup and have now got a little bit more behind the pack than they used to have.
It is always difficult as Scotland are a different animal against England at Murrayfield.
You never know what the weather is going to do – as we found out in 2000 when it started out as a nice day only for a torrential downpour to arrive in the second half as they turned it around.
I still think England go into this as favourites, though. Their squad is very strong and Eddie Jones will want to make a statement about the direction his team is going in.
It is a perfect game for England to get started so I am going to go for a slightly more comfortable win than the Machine.
11/2 – England to win by 11-15 points | 5/4 – Total tries over 3.5
Match 3: Ireland v Wales (Sunday, 15:00)
Machine predictions:
13/2 – Ireland to win by 11-15 points | 4/1 – Ireland to score exactly 3 tries
Mike says:
Having played at Croke Park and never won I know that it is a very difficult place to go, but I really fancy Wales for this one.
Ireland are in a tough spot in terms of confidence levels and personnel on the pitch.
All of their regions have been knocked out of the Champions Cup which is unheard of, they are missing a couple of key players and Jonny Sexton is not firing like he normally does.
Wales on the other hand probably have the most consistent squad in the tournament in terms of continuity from the World Cup.
They seem to have been Ireland’s bogey team recently and I think they have developed a way of playing against them.
Last year in Cardiff they played some great rugby and soaked up everything that Ireland threw at them without giving away penalties, so I expect them to approach Sunday in a similar way.
I don’t think that it will be a massive victory, but I can see Wales sneaking it by 6-10 points.
Jonathan Davies also got a brace in Dublin in 2012 and I can see him finding something special to score again on his return from injury.
13/2 – Wales to win by 6-10 points | 4/1 – Jonathan Davies to score at any time
*Odds and amounts correct at time of publication but subject to change. See site for latest.
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