Lock Simon Shaw has been ruled out of England’s Calcutta Cup match with Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday with a shoulder injury as Martin Johnson’s men look to keep their Six Nations hopes alive (England 20/1 Six Nations Outright).

The 36-year-old Wasps star suffered the injury during the 20-16 Six Nations defeat by Ireland at Twickenham on 27 February and he was replaced in that game by Leicester lock Louis Deacon, who is favourite to start against the struggling Scots (Scotland 4/6 Wooden Spoon) .

Tom Palmer has been called into the squad as an injury replacement for Shaw, while there is also a call-up for Gloucester centre Mike Tindall.

Meanwhile England are still awaiting news on the fitness of full-back Delon Armitage, who has a rib cartilage injury.

“Delon’s rib injury is difficult to call when he will be fit,” said Johnson.

Don’t forget to check out totesport.com for the Six Nations and domestic rugby union markets.

John Higgins believes he is playing as well as he ever has done heading into Sunday’s final of the Welsh Open against defending champion Ali Carter (15/8 to beat Higgins in the match result market).

The world champion had to twice come from behind in his semi-final against Ronnie O’Sullivan, winning the final three frames against the world number one to take the match 6-4.

O’Sullivan (3/1 to win the 2010 World Championship) had led 2-1 and then 4-3 in the evening session at the Newport Centre before his form seemed to desert him and the Shanghai Masters winner went half an hour without potting a ball.

Higgins (66/1 to whitewash Carter in the frame betting) made a tournament-high break of 138 in the fourth before showing his battling qualities to take the subsequent frames after the rocket had taken the lead for the second time.

The Scot will now face Carter in the final, a man he has never lost to, and says he is keen to add the Welsh Open to his trophy cabinet.

“I feel as good as I ever have and feel confident in my game,” said Higgins.

“I’ve lost in a couple of semi-finals so I’m hoping I can win this one. Ali is next door to me in the hotel so I’ll keep the television on all night to try and put him off.”

Carter, who beat Joe Swail in last year’s final, came through a much more straight forward semi-final against Stephen Maguire.

The 30-year-old opened up a 3-0 lead over Maguire and despite a late fight back by the world number two booked his place in Sunday’s final with a 6-3 victory.

Don’t miss out on your chance to check out the match result and frame betting for the Totesport.com Welsh Open final.

The winner of the scoop6 a fortnight ago failed to win the £2.5 million bonus fund last week after selection Big Fella Thanks only finished third in the Racing Post Chase.



The punter who wishes to remain anonymous still donated some of his win fund winnings to the Royal British Legion along with totesport who donated a further £10k to the charity.So with Cheltenham two weeks away, there’s still a chance to play the scoop6 on Saturday and stand a chance to play for this bumber bonus fund next weekend.



Saturday 28th February



totescoop6 races:
Leg1 - Doncaster 1.50
Leg2 - Newbury 2.35
Leg3 - Kempton 2.50
Leg4 - Newbury 3.10
Leg5 - Doncaster 3.25
Leg6 - Newbury 3.45



Win Fund Rollover £201,125



Bonus Fund Rollover £2,842,120



To place your scoop6 bet click here.

Week 11 got underway late on Thursday night in the NFL with a great game that saw the New York Jets beat the New England Patriots 34-31 after overtime, there are a couple of good looking matches this weekend and we’ve taken a detailed look at some of the games with good NFL betting opportunities.

The Tennessee Titans are the surprise package of the season, being the only team to win all their games. They have two good running backs in White and Johnson and they lead the league in rushing touchdowns with sixteen between them. The Titans quarter-back has plenty of experience and manages the game well and if the running game is struggling he can be trusted to move the ball through the air.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have struggled to score this season, and their running game isn’t the best. They’ve only won four of their nine games and we can see them really struggling against a very good Tennessee defense, taking Tennessee (-2.5) on the handicap at 4/5 with totesport is a good bet.

The Arizona Cardinals are another team playing well this year and their offense is ranked best in the league on points scored. Veteran quarterback Kurt Warner is having a great season – he’s ranked 2nd on total passing yards, total touchdowns thrown and has the highest QB rating in the league. Arizona also like to play with 2 running backs who have done well so far, having rushed for 10 touchdowns between them.

The Seattle Seahawks are a little banged up on both offense and defense. Their offense is really struggling and they’re ranked one of the lowest scoring teams in the league. Defensively they are not what they were, the fact that Pro Bowl defensive end Patrick Kerney is also missing doesn’t help. They are allowing 252 passing yards per game, which sees them ranked 31st in the league and I think Kurt Warner will take advantage. Therefore the Cardinals (-2.5) on the handicap looks a decent bet at 8/11 with totesport.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were a little unlucky against the Indianapolis Colts last week and I expect them to bounce back this week against the San Diego Chargers, they’re are available at 10/11 with totesport to overcome a -4.5 handicap. Although their offense isn’t the best, neither is the Chargers’ defense. Pittsburgh’s defense is one of the best in the league - they are only allowing 15 points a game and they are ranked first against the pass and second against the run.

San Diego’s main worry, apart from their inconsistency, is their defence. They’re allowing more than 24 points a game and are currently the worst team against the pass, something ‘Big’ Ben Roethlisberger will look to take advantage of.

Click here for all NFL betting