England roll over the Severn Bridge this weekend with an outside chance of winning the championship. Beat Wales in Cardiff on Saturday afternoon, and hope Scotland turn over France in Paris in the evening, and the most unlikely Six Nations title will sit in the Twickenham trophy cabinet.
In all honesty, the chances of the auld enemy and a country who sing ‘we only care if we beat the English’ both doing Steve Borthwick’s side an almighty favour is slim, but stranger things have happened. And this year’s championship has indeed been truly unpredictable.
Against Scotland and France, England have somehow won two games at home after being overwhelmed by their opposition.
The French then dismantled Ireland with power and flair in Dublin last weekend. There seems no rhythm to the tournament, each game is a standalone, and form counts for little.
What is predictable is that the Welsh will be up for this weekend. As Jamie George referenced, it is their World Cup final. Sixteen games lost in a row but win this one and you can imagine all will be forgiven.
For England, and other teams, against Italy the sentiment has often been damned if you do damned if you don’t.
To put 50 points on the Azzurri is expected, and noticed by fans and the media with a nonchalant shrug. Knick it over the line and the pencils are well and truly sharpened in the post-match press conferences.
However, in today’s Six Nations, Italy are not the side of old. Yes, they are not an Ireland full of class and threat but they showed glimpses of why many are talking about them having the potential for huge growth in the coming years given they now have a genuine pool of talent.
Whatever your view of the opposition last Sunday, the ease with which England scored against Italy will have pleased the coaches.
It must have done, as even Borthwick in his interviews afterwards was smiling through his talk of development and promise, a rare image for a man who so often appears frustrated over questions about a lack of progress.
England kicked less and carried more. As a direct result they were more threatening and clinical when it came to challenging the opposition.
We did not get long to see the much talked about Borthwick re-jig pre- game, as Ollie Lawrence’s nasty injury forced England into early changes.
The impact of this secondary unintentional re-shuffle – with Marcus Smith coming on to take over from Elliot Daly at full-back – seemed to do little to harm England’s connectivity in attack and, as a whole, they appeared slightly more comfortable in defence.
Yes, the questions being asked on both sides of the ball were not the same as in the previous two weekends but in the spring sunshine at Twickenham there seemed to be a calmer unit on the field.
The result sets up a mouth-watering final international Saturday with three teams vying for the title and coaches under pressure.
If Scotland beat France, then Gregor Townsend’s tournament is a good one.
If Wales beat England, Cardiff won’t be sober for a week. And if Borthwick loses, the vultures start circling again. With form and context seemingly out of the window, buckle up, we could be in for a classic finale.
Feel Good Grapes is a sustainable wine company, which plants a tree for every bottle that is bought
MORE: Is Max Verstappen’s era of dominance over? Five contenders to win F1 title
MORE: Thierry Henry reveals only way Arsenal can beat Real Madrid in Champions League
MORE: Rory McIlroy snatches phone away from heckling fan at The Players Championship
