Here is the stark equation for England on Saturday: victory and glory, or victory and regret. They should beat Scotland — they will beat Scotland — but it might all be too late.
The status of this Calcutta Cup showdown is on a knife-edge. By the time it kicks off, it will have an after-the-Lord-Mayor’s-Show feel to it or it will loom as a fitting and dramatic climax to this Guinness Six Nations.
The trophy could already have been claimed by Wales in Cardiff, or it could be back within reach.
The stark equation for England is that it could be victory and glory or victory and regret
These are the fine margins between being the best or having to settle for being best of the rest. The uncomfortable truth for England is that, because of one duff half of rugby in this whole campaign, their destiny is out of their hands.
At 5pm, when the whistle goes and these old foes start smashing into each other, there could be an almighty party going on 150 miles to the west along the M4. A Welsh victory over Ireland would bring Warren Gatland another Grand Slam and deny Eddie Jones and his men a third title in the space of four largely productive years.
Within two hours, the Calcutta Cup is bound to be back in English hands, but that won’t be sufficient. They had sets their sights higher and appeared to be on course for another European conquest until the wheels fell off the thundering chariot at the Principality Stadium three weeks ago.
Jamie George admitted there would be disappointment if England didn't win Six Nations
Jamie George was honest enough on Friday to cut through all the talk about just focusing on this game, saying: ‘We’d be disappointed, especially after the way we started (beating Ireland in Dublin). That was a great start to the tournament, but you can’t afford to perform like we did in those 20 minutes against Wales.’
Of course, all English hope is not lost. Ireland are in menacing mode after taking time to recover from being blasted into submission by Jones’s team in round one.
The win over France suggested they have regained confidence and cohesion. Any England players who choose to watch some of the match in Cardiff will expect to see the visitors make Wales fight tooth and nail for the right to clinch another clean sweep.
In the event that Joe Schmidt’s 2018 champions stop the Slam, England are destined to finish
