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Ireland To Secure A Narrow Win Over Scotland At Murrayfield

Scotland and Ireland get the 2017 Six Nations started with their opening encounter at Murrayfield on Saturday afternoon and we are backing our pre-tournament tip, Ireland, to secure a narrow victory...

• Scotland have lost the opening match of the Six Nations 16 times in the past 17 years
• Scotland last won their first match of the Six Nations in 2006
• Ireland have won 4 games in a row against Scotland

Saturday 4th February - 2.25pm		Odds	Won/Lost	Bet
	Scotland v Ireland
Tips	Ireland win by 1-10 points    Best Bet	@ 2 / 1

Scotland Stats | Ireland Stats

Improving Scotland

The Irish have won each of the last four Scotland v Ireland fixtures but they will be wary of a trip to an improving Scotland side that has enjoyed steady progress under Head Coach Vern Cotter, who actually leaves his role at the end of this tournament.

Cotter has made the Scots competitive to the point that they are being touted as potential 'dark horses' this year and how they would love to make a mark on home soil this weekend.

Scotland are slight underdogs for the match (2/1 with Betfred) and their only three wins against Ireland since 2000 have all come at Murrayfield but we fancy an impressive Ireland (4/9 with Betfred) will be too strong.
Match Odds:

Fast Starter

Ireland were handed an almighty boost by the news that Joe Schmidt will stay on as Head Coach until 2019 as they have been so impressive with the New Zealander at the helm, winning both the 2014 and 2015 Six Nations titles.

The Irish did fall short in their title defence last year but they have since beaten South Africa, New Zealand and Australia, and they have the strength in depth to cope with the injured Jonny Sexton, who will be replaced by the able Paddy Jackson on Saturday.

Jackson's kicking is likely to be crucial as the threat of rain lingers over Murrayfield and the match could well be decided by the kicking of each side's fly halves.

Conditions might not allow too much free-flowing rugby but Scotland's Tommy Seymour could be worth a look to be first tryscorer (14/1 with Sky Bet) as he has been in fine form for Glasgow Warriors, scoring eight tries in nine Pro 12 matches, and he has notched eight tries in his last fourteen Tests for Scotland.

The Scots do tend to be fast starters in games as they led at half-time three of their five matches in the Six Nations in 2016, while they have covered a +3 point advantage in the half-time handicap market (Evens with Betfred) in nine of their last eleven Tests.

Narrow Away Win

However, the Scots could just fall short against a strong Ireland team and the Irish are a stand-out 2/1 to win by 1-10 points (Coral), with the Irish winning their last two meetings against Scotland by ten points and six points respectively.
Winning Margin Odds:

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