Wales v Scotland: dominant home win on the cards in Six Nations
Published:Wales are clear favourites at 1/8 to follow up their enthralling 23-21 victory over Ireland last week, with Scotland standing in their way of achieving back-to-back Six Nations wins.
Warren Gatland’s side will have to overcome a Scottish outfit who have lost experienced fly-half Dan Parks through retirement this week, and who threw away a half-time lead against England to suffer a 13-6 defeat, failing to score a try in the match.
The visitors are priced at 5/1 in the Six Nations odds to win, and will have to hope that a more creative spark is provided by Greig Laidlaw, who is expected to take the place of Parks, and add a much-needed vibrance to a side that has struggled immensely for tries recently.
It is 25/1 that a tie ensues, but the inexperience and fragility that is likely to be evident in a more experimental travelling side makes the chances of that seem less likely than usual.
Welsh fly-half James Hook has urged his teammates to approach the game cautiously, in the knowledge Scotland could be somewhat of a ‘wounded animal’ in the wake of their defeat to rivals England, but a straightforward Wales victory certainly looks the most likely outcome in this match.
Indeed, the 10/11 odds for Wales to win giving up a 12-point start look attractive, and the 5/4 for a home win with the allowance of a 15-point deficit equally so.
In the previous eight meetings, Wales have won seven, including a 24-6 win at Murrayfield last season, leading to the belief that odds of 5/1 for Gatland’s men to win by between 16 and 20 points are too generous.
Just 2/7 is available for Wales to be leading at both half-time and full-time, but the 6/1 for Scotland to go into the break with the lead and eventually succumb to the home team by full-time looks an interesting proposition, bearing in mind Scotland led England at half-time before their eventual defeat last weekend.
