Thursday 17 March 2016 8:15 pm

Six Nations 2016 betting: Scoring in England Grand Slam win will be elementary for Anthony Watson

Sports Editor

Not many punters would have confidently backed England’s World Cup flops for a 2016 Six Nations Grand Slam at 6/1 after their dismal display in the tournament.

Now they head to Paris for Saturday's final match no bigger than 2/7 to complete their first clean sweep since 2003.

An away trip to France is never a foregone conclusion, but it will take a massive upset for anything other than an English victory.

France are lacking their certain je ne sais quoi. Normally used to describe an intangible quality, the literal English translation of "I don’t know what", could also sum up the clueless French XV this tournament.

England, on the other hand, have a clear direction under Eddie Jones and, alongside a wiser core from the World Cup, they’re adding a sprinkling of young, star quality.

Red Rose flyer Anthony Watson is one who has fast cemented his place in the side. The 22-year-old enjoys scoring against the French – he’s dotted down more times against them (three) than any other international side.

He’s also already bagged a couple of tries in this year’s Six Nations and I wouldn’t bet against him getting another on Saturday. Betway have the Bath winger at 7/4 to score at any time and I’ll put my money on him.

With minimal value to be had by simply backing the winner – England are as short as 1/4 in some places – I’m more interested in the amount of points they’ll win by.

Last year’s unbelievable final day aside, France versus England tends to be quite tight. In the last 10 confrontations, only two have been won by more than 10 points.

France’s results, while uninspiring, have been pretty close in this year’s championship too. Against Italy, Ireland, Wales and Scotland, the differences have been two, one, nine and 11 points respectively.

With Sporting Index offering 7-10 on England’s supremacy, I’m going to back a close game and sell.