Compare this to the Irish team, and you can see why England may well be feeling pretty relieved, with the Irish relegated to fourth favourites by the bookies despite having a weight of expectation piled on their shoulders by the Irish public. Those following the Six Nations rugby betting will be wondering if they can pull of a few upsets.

So, why have the Irish been slated by the bookies? In large part it seems to be to do with the team’s scheduled tricky trips to Paris and Twickenham, fixtures that will surely define their chances of putting up a fight for the coveted Six Nations crown. With the Irish also facing Wales in Dublin in their opening game of the tournament, a game that may turn into something of a grudge match given the fact that they last met in a World Cup game that ended with an Ireland exit, you can see the reasoning behind the bookmakers’ thinking. http://betting.betfair.com/rugby-bet/

If Ireland fail to put on a show without their talisman Brian O’Driscoll, who has in the past been the man to help the Irish cause, then questions will no doubt be asked as to why the Irish have not spent more time ensuring that they invest more money and time on youth development. Whatever the outcome, the fact of the matter is that the Irish are playing for pride this year, and if they achieve more than the wooden spoon, they’ll have done pretty well.

With the Bruins first in goals for and first for goals against, it’s difficult to imagine a side capable of toppling them at the moment. Perhaps, if there were to be a side to grab away the limelight from the bustling Bruins, it would be the Blues in St Louis, an unlikely candidate for stealing the headlines and NHL betting tips, but one deserving of doing just that nevertheless. The Blues are 5-0-1 this calendar year and have that precious commodity running through their ranks that no amount of dollar can buy: confidence and self-belief.

Other movers and shakers in the NHL include the Canucks and the Blackhawks, Chicago making the most of a strong week to prove a point to the likes of Detroit, while there have been significant signs of improvement from the San Jose Sharks.

At the other end of the picture, however, lie the likes of the Flames, who are fresh off the Mike Cammalleri saga and four points off a playoff spot, with top teams keeping them out of contention at the moment.

There is still a whole load of NHL action to come this season, but with the likes of Boston and the Blackhawks starting to prove their class, now is the time for the best of the rest to put forward their case for playoff contention.

With the Wings now having won a total of 14 games on the bounce at home, they have made fixtures in Detroit one of the most terrifying prospects for hockey teams facing the misfortune of heading there to compete, with the majority of teams as well as their fans watching live hockey online from home expecting to slip to a heavy defeat before they even arrive in the city.

However, home dominance aside, the Red Wings need to improve both their form and their road trip percentages if they want to reach the playoffs and prove themselves worthy of the NHL betting tips being flung their way. With playoff games split between home and road games, the simple fact of the matter is that all teams know they have to be half decent in both ties in order to progress far into the playoffs.

Should the Red Wings fail to learn the habit of winning away from the comforts of home, they will know that their chances of beating the likes of the Chicago Blackhawks, in the process becoming the new NHL champions, will be greatly reduced.

The Northampton Saints flanker has been told that he will have to wear a protective boot on his left foot for the next four weeks.

Wood, who was one of the leading candidates to captain the England side in the tournament following Lewis Moody’s decision to retire from the international arena, will still attend the team’s pre-Six Nations training camp in Leeds next week. People looking at the pre-tournament 6 nations betting will be wondering if he can get back into contention.

He said: “There is never a good time to be injured and I’m obviously very disappointed but I’m working closely with the medics, at both Northampton Saints and England, who will be keeping a close eye on it and assessing it day by day.”

An injury in one area is also an opportunity to develop strengths and improve in others. I will still travel to Leeds next week so that I am part of the squad as it gels and begins to establish its own culture and values.”Interim England head coach Stuart Lancaster already has a host of injuries to contend with. Leicester Tigers trio Toby Flood, Manu Tuilagi and Louis Deacon are all sidelined through injury, at least for the Scotland and Italy games, while Northampton lock Courtney Lawes is battling to overcome a knee problem.

In Wood’s absence, Lancaster could hand number eight Ben Morgan his Test debut in the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland, while Harlequins flanker Chris Robshaw has emerged as the favourite to captain his country.

The five-year-old broke his duck over timber at only the second time of asking, barely breaking sweat under a confident ride from Paddy Brennan to justify long odds-on of 1/4 in beating second-favourite Spiekeroog by an eased-down seven-lengths, giving a performance that oozed class and suggested that despite Cheltenham being a very different ball game the son of Dubawi will not be without a chance in the big league contest. Those placing free Cheltenham bets should bear this in mind.

Trained on the Flat by Ralph Beckett, (for whom he won five of his 12 outings and achieved a rating as high as 103), Vulcanite joined Longsdon in mid-December and after less than a week with his new handler made his hurdling bow in a hot contest at Kempton Park on Boxing Day, where despite a couple of early mistakes he still had enough left in the locker to move menacingly upsides the favourite Tetlami at the second last.  A combination of a lack of experience and a nine-week absence from the track caught up with him at that point and he could only keep on at the one pace, but Vulcanite still put in an eye-catching performance to finish an honourable second to a good horse. Fans of Betfair Cheltenham horse tips should remember this.

Longsdon believes that the guaranteed strong gallop of the Supreme Novices Hurdle will almost certain help his horse who will have one more outing before taking his chance in the coveted race, a contest for which he is on offer at 33/1, tempting odds for a horse with more than touch of class about him.

The Jonjo O’Neill runner gave champion jockey Tony McCoy his first success in the race in his 15th attempt two years ago, and ran a respectable third last year behind winner Ballabriggs.

The J.P. McManus-owned horse was subject to a huge gamble on the morning of the race in 2010 as he was backed from 20-1 into 10/1 join favourite along with Big Fella Thanks, before finishing ahead of Black Apalachi by five lengths.

The victory in the race was also the first for O’Neill as a trainer or jockey, and for owner McManus, who together, have dominated the sport in the last two decades but were without a Grand National win to their name before Don’t Push It. Anyone following the best Grand National betting odds should remember this.

O’Neill has admitted that he was tempted to keep the horse in training, but came to the conclusion that the 12-year old had lost his sparkle.

“We thought we had him right again this year after he ran so well over hurdles at Cheltenham, but he’s now telling us that enough is enough,” he said.

“He’s been an unbelievable horse and I’m sure he will be well looked after at JP’s – he will have a great retirement.”

McCoy may choose to ride synchronised this year after teaming up with the horse to win the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown last month for O’Neill and McManus.

The nine-year old does have an entry in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but could bypass the festival for a shot at the feature race of the National meeting in April.

The Diana Whateley-owned gelding bounced back to form at Kempton’s Christmas fixture when running his best race of the season so far in finishing a three-quarters-of-a-length runner-up to Finian’s Rainbow in the Grade 2 Desert Orchid Chase, a performance that came as a great relief to the Minehead-based handler who had reportedly been on the verge of sending the nine-year-old for a breathing operation having seen his charge stop quickly in his previous two outings. Anyone following the best ante-post horse racing betting should bear this in mind.

Made 7/2 favourite for the ultra-competitive twenty-runner Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase at Cheltenham in November, Wishfull Thinking ran well for a long way and led until the third last where he faded quickly to eventually trail in a well beaten sixth behind Great Endeavour. It was much the same story in the Grade 1 Tingle Creek Chase at Sandown a few weeks later where Hobbs’ bold front-runner was clear at halfway but stopped as if shot when headed at the fourth from home, fading rapidly to finish a disappointing 38-length fifth behind the impressive Sizing Europe.

His Kempton effort however has brought the smile back to Hobbs’ face and the trainer reports Saturday’s intended runner as being in great heart ahead of a rematch with Finian’s Rainbow, and more than up for the fight of also tackling the up-and-coming Paul Nicholls-trained Al Ferof and his stable companion the exciting Kauto Stone, as well as smart performers Gauvain and Somersby.

Bookmakers currently rate Wishfull Thinking a general 7/1 chance behind his Kempton conqueror Finian’s Rainbow, a rock solid 2/1 favourite.

Apart from the last minute heroics that Smith somehow pulled off, the 49ers squandered numerous promising return positions, and once again relied heavily upon their defence to give them even a small chance of making it to overtime. Those looking at the American Football Betting should remember this.

Compare this to the performances that the likes of Tom Brady and Eli Manning displayed this weekend and you can start to see why the 49ers fans may feel respect for Alex Smith but in truth desire a far stronger “big game” player to allow a franchise that has had real potential over the last few years actually go on to achieve the hopes and dreams of the players who are now a part of a franchise that has come back from the depths and is set along the right path.

Should the 49ers do what many considered impossible and go all the way to the Super Bowl, perhaps even getting themselves some sparkly new rings in the process, then Smith will no doubt be lauded as a hero. The real heroes of the 49ers’ season, however, have come in the form of the defence and the fans who have stuck with the franchise despite the pain and suffering that they have endured for far too long now. The Super Bowl betting odds at betfair show they could still struggle.

With all this in mind, one can’t help but hope Smith enjoys the rest of the playoffs, before graciously moving on to new pastures, perhaps as a motivator for sportsmen who have thought about giving up.

Jones is still recovering from foot surgery after dislocating his big toe in training in November but, although he will miss the start of the Six Nations, he could feature in the latter stages of the tournament and the up to date Six Nations odds reflect this.

Evans, who started Wales’ last match against Australia in December, limped out of Friday’s game between Ospreys and the Dragons with a hip injury, leading to fears that he could be set for a lengthy lay-off.

However, Ospreys coach Sean Holley has confirmed that Evans only suffered a minor injury and could face Italian side Treviso at the Liberty Stadium on Friday.

Gatland is without Dragons lock Luke Charteris for the whole of the Six Nations, but Cardiff Blues star Bradley Davies looks set to return from a back injury this weekend.

Holley said of Evans: “He had a bump on the hip and couldn’t really play on (against the Dragons). It didn’t seem right for him to carry on considering we had Jonathan Thomas on the bench. But he seems to have come through and that’s a positive sign ahead of Friday.”

He added of the chances of Alun Wyn Jones featuring in the Six Nations: “It’s a long old tournament so I hope there’s a chance for him. I don’t think he’ll start it from what the medics tell me but, if he can carry on the way he’s going and get on the field, then he may have a chance at some point.”

All concerned with the legendary French bred gelding are still coming to terms with his tremendous effort at Kempton Park on Boxing Day when he rolled back the years in defeating the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup and King George VI Chase winner Long Run by a length-and-a-quarter to win the Sunbury feature for a record breaking fifth time in what has been a truly outstanding career. The Stan James betting reflects this.

Even those who saw him make a sparkling seasonal return at Haydock in November in the Betfair Chase where he made just about every yard of the running to defeat Long Run by eight-lengths must have harboured serious doubts as to the ability of the veteran to repeat such an effort, but in the end they need not have worried as Ruby Walsh’s mount jumped once again like a stag and kept on tenaciously after the last when Sam Waley-Cohen’s mount came after him in the last 100 yards. Anyone betting with Victor Chandler needs to remember this.

Nicholls reports Kauto Star to have taken the Kempton race particularly well and is convinced that he now has the horse back to his very best of two or three seasons ago, a statement that will make all those planning to tackle him at Cheltenham in March wonder just what they have to achieve in order to overcome the 16-time Grade 1 winner. Bookmakers still favour Long Run (5/2) to successfully defend his crown over the stiffer track and extra distance of the Gold Cup, but Kauto Star is now a rock solid second favourite at 4/1 to prove himself amongst the very best of all-time.