Six Nations: England ready to land Six Nations glory

Stuart Lancaster will have high hopes of winning this year's Six Nations

Simon Mail previews the Six Nations and believes England can go one better than last year and claim the title.

The Six Nations gets underway in Cardiff this weekend and another six weeks of top class, competitive international rugby is eagerly anticipated; Grand Slam champions Wales come into this year with low expectations after a miserable seven-match losing run, meanwhile, England and France are vying for the mantle of favourites and the title could easily come down to their tussle at Twickenham towards the end of February.

Outright Winner

England come into the tournament with plenty of momentum after their outstanding victory over world champions New Zealand. The 38-21 win over the All Blacks in December is the highlight of Stuart Lancaster's spell in charge of England and suggests World Cup success in 2015 on home soil is not out of the question.

If England can come close to this level of performance in the Six Nations then they should be too strong for the opposition. Last year, the team finished second with four wins during Lancaster's initial interim coaching role, and there is no doubt that 12 months on England are in a stronger position with Chris Robshaw established as captain and the emergence of Owen Farrell at fly-half. 

France are an obvious championship threat considering their impressive form last autumn, although Philippe Saint-Andre's enigmatic side are always capable of throwing in a dreadful performance. Ireland have a decent fixture list but there are doubts about the current strength of the team and they have struggled to progress in the last 18 months. 

The fixtures are pretty favourable for England with the trip to Ireland in the second weekend looking the most awkward alongside a home clash with the French. But Lancaster's side managed to beat both teams last season including a 24-22 victory in Paris. Home advantage over France could prove crucial so take an improving England to win the Six Nations at 3.052/1. 

It may also pay off to back England at 43/1 to win the Triple Crown. Two of those matches are away from home but if they show the form produced against the All Blacks then they should be able to clinch these wins.  

Recommended Bet

Back England to win Six Nations at 3.052/1

Wooden Spoon

Wales have fallen dramatically from the highs of 12 months ago and with Warren Gatland absent due to his British and Irish Lions commitments it may be a very difficult season for them.

Scotland are in transition under interim coach Scott Johnson and they could prove troublesome opposition but will lack consistency, and Italy could cause teams problems at home but are still likely to finish bottom, as they have done in four of the last five years, at 1.538/15. 

Recommended Bet

Back Italy to finish bottom at 1.538/15

Top Try Scorer

Chris Ashton failed to make an impact last season but the England winger finished the previous Six Nations as the top scorer with six tries. This year could see a return to his prolific best form and he looked very sharp scoring twice for new club Saracens in dreadful conditions against Edinburgh last week. 

Ashton also finished joint top scorer at the last World Cup so his pedigree is proven at the highest level. The former Northampton Saints back will have taken a lot of confidence from scoring against New Zealand and I expect a big tournament from him so he's worth backing at 98/1 to finish as the top try scorer. 

If you want to take a slightly bigger priced player to top the try scoring charts, Simon Zebo could be the shrewd option. The Irish winger has burst onto the European stage for Munster in the last year, and at just 22, he grabbed a hat-trick in Munster's Heineken Cup win over Racing Metro earlier this month. Assuming he gets his chance in the Ireland side, Zebo could look overpriced if you can get anything around 2019/1.

Recommended Bets

Back Chris Ashton to be top try scorer at 98/1

Back Simon Zebo to be top try scorer at 2019/1 

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