A Six Nations title won't mean much to England in a World Cup year, says Stuart Barnes

England should beat Scotland with plenty to spare but it will not address the issues brought up in Ireland, says Stuart Barnes.

In the long term, Twickenham could prove to be something of a `no win’ scenario for England this Saturday.

Scotland’s bubble has blown up in the wake of a woeful performance at home to Italy and they are in desperate need of some sort of 80-minute effort simply to find their way back on track. An away victory appears unlikely, although not that many expected Italy to prevail in Edinburgh.

That last line reads like a pathetic display of prevarication and in the week of Cheltenham a man is going to find himself in trouble should he prevaricate between the bar and the bookmakers; so no, Scotland cannot beat England.

The Scots’ pack lacks the punch, their players the belief. There are undoubtedly improved patterns which reflect well upon the new management but facing a furious England team who were beaten badly in Dublin, they lack the penetration to threaten the home side.

The World Cup is still some way away but if England are to hold any hope of success they have to be capable of beating Scotland with such a significant section of their best 15 starting. And beat Scotland they will.

England could yet win the Six Nations although in the longer term scheme of things that actually won’t mean much in a World Cup year. Is the last England team to win the tournament – the 2011 team – feted? Yes, that’s the group that lost to France in the quarter-finals in New Zealand. All roads in 2015 lead to Twickenham.

Penetration

It would be a shock for England not to rebound from the last loss. They possess the pace and penetration that Scotland lacks. If they get the front foot they have it in them to beat Scotland by the heavy margins that have become fairly usual in recent years. Indeed, against average teams, this could well be an exceptional England side; hence my concern that this could be a no-win scenario for the home team.

The World Cup is still some way away but if England are to hold any hope of success they have to be capable of beating Scotland with such a significant section of their best 15 starting.

Even if England score a hatful of tries it would not address the issues brought up in Ireland. Chief among them is the breakdown where England are lightweight on more than the odd occasion. I see that Dewi raised the subject last week; there’s no more committed Steffon Armitage backer than DM and with good reason.

I too raised the subject in this week's Sunday Times. The Toulon flanker is – many of us believe – paramount to England’s hopes but a headline-grabbing win next Saturday might just enable the management to avoid the issue that has to be addressed if England want to make the move from gallant losers to serious contenders.

Ireland are just that; serious contenders. I can’t stand the official rankings, they are so often misguiding, dependent upon the quality of opposition but Ireland are definitely deserving of their third-placed ranking. If they win in Cardiff they will be pretty close to South Africa (whose defeats in November can partially be put down to exhaustion).

Joe Schmidt is playing a masterly hand and with generals of the quality of Paul O’Connell and Johnny Sexton leading them, it is hard to question their credentials. In an age of conservatism they have a world class kicking game to go with a strong defence and great intelligence. If Ireland were hosting this tournament they would be clear second favourites.

Quality

Should Ireland beat Wales they will be close to claiming a Grand Slam to go with last year’s title at Schmidt’s first attempt. Taking his record with Clermont and Leinster into account, it is impossible to crab the quality of the man. Will he be the New Zealander New Zealand will fear?

Or will that other crafty Kiwi, Warren Gatland, produce a much needed performance from his individually talented Welsh team that will lift the spirits and put Wales into contention to actually win the Six Nations?

After losing to England I did write (somewhere or other) that Wales could still win the title but without an improvement in their game their hopes would remain minimal come the autumn. I’ll stick by that. The game with Ireland will reveal whether Wales have any realistic hopes. In a week when gambling is on my mind, I’ll make Ireland favourites although I’ll stick to the four-legged variety of bets.

Italy and France collide and that, alas, is probably the right word. Neutrals will cheer the Italian team against a Philippe Saint-Andre side that have become as dispiriting an international outfit as I can remember.

If I was a French fan I would support Italy and hope for a seismic reaction from the FFR to a French defeat. But if I was Joe Schmidt I would want a French win, keep them staggering without a clue towards the next World Cup. On the subject of staggering, Cheltenham, here we come.