As rugby results go, there were few surprises.
As moments for sports betting fans to savour, there were plenty.
The question now is, after a thrilling opening weekend to the 2018 RBS Six Nations Championship, how do you follow that?
Betting odds show holders England are tournament favourites, priced @ 1.80 as outright winners, compared to Ireland @ 2.30 and Wales @ 8.50.
With respect, the other three nations are unlikely to recover from their opening defeats to be able to claim the crown.
Of those, two meet at Murrayfield with Scotland needing to bounce back quickly from their 34-7 defeat to Wales, a game in which their so-called resurgence looked a world away.
Coach Gregor Townsend will certainly be under pressure and will need to make changes as they welcome a meaty France side to town.
Defeated at the death by a stroke of genius from Johnny Sexton, the class of 2018 may not be vintage France. However, they have clear talent as the opening weekend performances of Jefferson Poirot, captain Guilhem Guirado and try scorer Teddy Thomas attest.
Although on another note, there was a certain degree of karma when the French lost after the way they appeared to manipulate the head injury assessment protocols in the closing moments of that game.
Talking of Ireland, it’s already unlikely that Sexton’s drop goal from 45 metres out will be bettered throughout the remainder of the championship.
It gave Ireland and the man with magic in his boots a superb opening weekend victory at a venue where it is never easy to prevail.
They now need to sharpen up their act and add tries to their tackling excellence as Italy arrive in Dublin, hoping to show the same spirit and initiative they did against England until fitness took over in the final 20 minutes.
Unquestionably, the big one this weekend is at Twickenham where England welcome Wales.
It’s a mouth-watering encounter at a ground where the Welsh have won on three of their last six visits, including the 2015 World Cup.
An impressive scrum and pacey attack make the hosts favourites to see off the Welsh, even if there is room for defensive improvement.
Owen Farrell, Anthony Watson, Dan Cole, George Ford, Courtney Lawes and Sam Simmonds, arguably England’s third-choice no.8, were among the stars in Rome and will expect to keep their places in Eddie Jones’ starting line-up.
Then there is Wales, on the 10th anniversary since Warren Gatland took charge, possibly resurgent again after critics spoke of a winter stagnation.
Of course, one performance in which they outplayed Scotland will lead to many of the Welsh public producing unrealistic expectation levels.
However, a repeat of the passion play and intensity from last weekend and this could well be a cracker.
Enjoy week two!
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
