England odds-on for Six Nations glory after perfect Autumn
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England have moved into odds-on favouritism for next spring’s Six Nations, after Eddie Jones led the Red Rose to a perfect 2016 with victory over Australia.
A 37-21 win at Twickenham ensured Jones’ men capped off a stunning year with a 14th straight success.
The run is England’s joint-best, alongside the 14-Test winning streak across 2002 and 2003.
And this latest result marked a notable swing from 12 months ago, when the Wallabies picked up a 33-13 victory in the 2015 World Cup.
England now head into the winter in their best form in more than a decade – especially after defeating Australia four times this year – and coach Jones claimed his side would take on New Zealand tomorrow if they could.
But before England can have a go at taking on the All Blacks, the 2017 Six Nations championship awaits.
It’s 4/5 England defend their crown, with 9/4 saying Jones’ leads his side to a second successive Grand Slam.
Ireland lead the challengers at 5/2, with their priced slashed from 5/1 following their historic 40-29 win over New Zealand – ending the Kiwis’ 18-Test winning stretch.
Wales are next at 9/2, but the four-time champions have plenty of work to do after a bruising autumn.
Warren Gatland’s side were downed 32-8 by Australia, before scraping past both Argentina and Japan by under five points.
A 27-13 success over South Africa will have buoyed Welsh spirits’, but unless they improve, could be in for a difficult spring.
France are 12/1 as they seek a first championship since 2010, while Scotland and Italy round out the betting at 20s and 500s respectively.
Next spring’s edition should see plenty of high-scoring rugby, with new bonus rules brought in in a bid to encourage try-scoring.
But should that tempt sides into greater attacking mentality, that could merely leave England with more opportunities to expose and punish.
And with Jones’ men in the form they’re in, that’s a very worrying prospect for their Six Nations rivals.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
