Haskell, Easter, Wilko Flutey, Tait, Monye, Armitage…they can all be top players on their day. This is nearly half of the team, so if they all play at their best at the same time, we might see some quick ball, some running at pace and some penetration from the backline.

England, I promise to forgive you if you play with width and pace and still lose.

That’s like me saying “I’ve been thinking really hard for ages and I’ve figured out a way to beat Roger Federer – all I need to do is win 3 sets before he does”. All well and good but if you haven’t got the abilityto execute it you may as well shut up about your grand plans.

Just reading that quote has really wound me up now. I think I feel more depressed about English rugby now than I did under Robinson or Ashton.

I say Scotland by 6. I predict a boring game, but I’ve been surprised and impressed by Parks and he looks more capable than JW of controlling the game and helping his team edge a win.

This England defense is very weak, there main defense is to keep the ball for long periods of time but both Wales and Ireland showed that if you get some quick ball this England line is there for the taking, of course both of those countries have more dangerous backs than Scotland.

Scotlands main problem is confidence, they have none, and if England get ahead with a couple of Wilko drop goals it could be all over. However if the strat goes the other way then I fancy the scots.

“Our philosophy defensively is that the opposition don’t come through us. Wherever the ball is, we defend the ball. If the opposition want to go pass, pass, pass, pass and get over on the outside, then sometimes you have to say ‘fair enough’. But they never come through us. And if they come through us, I always have an insurance policy. But we got that wrong as well. It was a massive error because we lost the game from it but there were other errors along the way that we got wrong as well.”

Wow. Schoolboy stuff.

Scotland by 3.