The Six Nations 2010 kicks off on Saturday and it promises to be a close run tournament between the big four teams of England, Ireland, Wales and France.Where should your money be going? BetRepublic's Anthony Jordan reports...

The 2010 Six Nations tournament begins on February 6 as Ireland, reigning champions and holders of the Grand Slam and Triple Crown, take on last year’s Wooden Spoon winners Italy. However, despite Ireland being undefeated in the 2009 Six Nations Championship they are only second favourites with Britain’s biggest bookmaker – William Hill – to retain their title.

Both Ireland and France were in exceptional form in their Autumn International matches. Ireland were undefeated in their three games after drawing with Australia and beating both Fiji and South Africa, while France defeated South Africa and Samoa, but were beaten by New Zealand, who are the number one ranked team in the world.

William Hill’s rugby union trader Gareth Crook told BetRepublic why France are favourites to win the tournament ahead of Ireland.

“Ireland didn’t play the All Blacks in November while France did and I doubt that Ireland would have beaten the All Blacks had they played, so that autumn record is perhaps a little misleading, " he said.

"I feel that the vital factor in France being favourites is that they play Ireland in Paris this season. This could potentially go a long way in deciding who wins this season's championship. France will be favourites for this match, and it is worth noting that Ireland have not won in Paris in nearly 10 years.”

As far as England go Crook believes they are very much a team in transition, while Wales have an established team with a coach who has been with them for a while now.

"Simply put, Wales are a better rugby team than England. They also have the advantage of three home matches this campaign, while England will only have two which is pretty crucial," added Crook.

BetRepublic Analysis:

While Wales and England are decent teams, they, nor Scotland and Italy, will prove that difficult to defeat for either France or Ireland in this year’s competition. With this in mind the pivotal match of the series is going to be France v Ireland at the Stade de France on February 13.

As Gareth Crook mentioned, Ireland are without a win in Paris for 10 years and they will need to take their first win in the French capital since March 2000 when they won 27-25. France will go into the game as favourites, but Ireland will take a tight victory and they will retain their Six Nations crown in 2010.

BetRepublic Betting Recommendation:

2pts back Ireland to win the 2010 Six Nations at 9/4 with William Hill

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