The Grand Slam winner is relying on bold predictions to even things up against the metronomic Machine in penultimate round of fixtures
Rugby is a numbers game, yet it is also a game that is played in the head.
For that reason, we are pitching the human instinct of World Cup and Grand Slam winner Mike Tindall against the mathematical calculations of the Betway Machine throughout the 2016 Six Nations.
The aim? To discover who can offer the most insight into which way the tournament will go.
The pair will be given two free bets of £5 to place on all three matches during each gameweek, with the overall winner being determined by who manages to accumulate the most profit by the end of the competition.
Even though Tindall topped up his tally in Round 3 by tipping a low-scoring encounter between Wales and France, it was the Machine who regained the overall advantage by perfectly predicting England to both beat Ireland by 11-15 points and score two tries in doing so.
Now £27.08 behind with two rounds of fixtures to play, the former England centre needs a profitable week to get back into the contest.
So, how do they each see this weekend’s fixtures going? Let’s find out…
Match 1: Ireland v Italy (Saturday, 13:30)
Machine predictions:
5/1 – Ireland to win by 21-25 points | 2/1 – Italy to score exactly 1 try
Mike says:
“This is an interesting one with the two bottom teams going at each other.
“Ultimately Ireland have drawn one and lost two but they did show improvements against England.
“Italy are yet to get off the mark but are going to look at this as a chance to really have a go at Ireland.
“Ireland are just struggling a little bit for confidence so if Italy can stick close to them in the first half then they could push them all the way.
“I still think Ireland are going to have too much for Italy but I think it is going to be closer than it has been in the past.”
6/1 – Ireland to win by 11-15 points | 4/1 – Ireland to score exactly two tries
Match 2: England v Wales (Saturday, 16:00)
Machine predictions:
8/1 – England to win by 16-20 points | 7/4 – Wales to score exactly 1 try
Mike says:
“This game is going to be tight.
“The Welsh team is very experienced and very settled and contains people who know what it takes in these big games. Jamie Roberts has been outstanding so far.
“Having said that England have looked the more secure of the two in the games they have played.
“Scotland did not cause any problems against England but scored two great tries against Wales, and whereas Wales could only draw with Ireland England beat them quite convincingly.
“The downside for England is that they have given 39 penalties away in three games and if they do that on Saturday then Dan Biggar can kick them from everywhere.
“England will need to expand their game a little bit otherwise you are just going to have two powerful packs going head to head, but I think they have the ability to do that and will come out on top.”
27/20 – England to win by 1-12 points | 3/1 – Jack Nowell to score at any time
Match 3: Scotland v France (Sunday, 15:00)
Machine predictions:
8/1 – France to win by 11-15 points | 5/2 – France to score exactly 2 tries
Mike says:
“This is a difficult one to call between two teams who have struggled to hit their straps so far.
“France have been typically French, they are just trying to force it too much.
“They might be making more offloads than any other team but they are also making more errors than any other team.
“They were very poor against Wales and it will be hard to bounce back at Murrayfield which is a tough place to go on the best of days.
“Scotland showed against Italy that they can still score points and this game could really define their championship.
“I predicted at the start of the tournament that Scotland will win this game so I am going to stick with that.”
17/10 – Scotland to win by 1-12 points | 9/4 – Scotland to score exactly 2 tries
*Odds and amounts correct at time of publication but subject to change. See site for latest.
READ: Mike Tindall: England know they owe the nation one – and that might prove the difference
READ: The greatest title of them all: Who tops the all-time Six Nations table?
