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Win at all costs for England as Ireland travel to Paris

England will not care about their performance in Rome © Getty Images

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Italy v England
England travel to Italy this weekend with one simple word dominating all others: Win. Martin Johnson's men are in something of a no-win situation when they arrive in Rome. Win - by any margin - and it is expected, lose and they may as well cancel the flight home. That is why Johnson, as he so often did as a player, will demand a win over a performance on Sunday.

Italy are a dangerous side. They entered the lion's den that is Croke Park and limited reigning Six Nations champions Ireland to just two tries, whilst crossing the whitewash once themselves through Kaine Robertson. Former South Africa coach Nick Mallett is hugely respected, enough to be considered for the England job in the past, and he has a pack who are as willing to mix things up as anybody. If only key man Sergio Parisse was fit.

England's attacking options are improved from the 30-17 victory over Wales, with Riki Flutey fit to reclaim his place at inside-centre from Toby Flood following injury. Dan Cole also makes his full England debut in one of two changes to Johnson's side, although there may yet be further alterations if the likes of Simon Shaw, Steve Borthwick and Lewis Moody fail to shake off injury or illness.

Wales v Scotland
Never before has a Six Nations match seen so much of the pre-game talk focus on a roof. The Millennium Stadium will be open to the elements on Saturday after Scotland requested that the roof should not be closed, and Wales are far from happy about it. Scotland boss Andy Robinson insists he is trying to quieten the formidable Cardiff atmosphere by keeping the partition, but Wales counterpart Warren Gatland is convinced the Scots merely want the contest to turn into a messy 16-man battle.

Both sides are looking for their first victory after Wales lost to England and Scotland succumbed to France, but Robinson's men may just settle for a try after scoring just two touchdowns in their last six Tests. More likely is that Chris Paterson, winning his 100th Test cap, kicks a few points as Scotland attempt to shackle Wales' creativity in the backline.

The enigmatic Dan Parks comes in for Phil Godman at No. 10 for Scotland, who also have Sean Lamont lining up opposite the threat of James Hook in midfield. Wales have also freshened up their midfield, with Leigh Halfpenny relieving Hook of the kicking duties. In the forwards, the Wales line-out will breathe a huge sigh of relief at Nathan Hines' withdrawal through injury, and Gatland will hope Jonathan Thomas proves anto be improvement on Luke Charteris at lock.

France v Ireland
The game of the weekend, and arguably the match that will decide the destination of this year's Six Nations title. France entertain Ireland at the Stade de France in Paris, in a contest that threatens to take on a stop-motion feel with a host of fascinating individual match-ups across the field.

Saturday should be the day when we find out where Ireland are 12 months on from their Grand Slam triumph, following a forgettable opening display at home to Italy. Jamie Heaslip and Tomas O'Leary found the tryline for Declan Kidney's men, but no Brian O'Driscoll clichés about making sure you don't lose the tournament before you can win it could cover up what was a poor performance.

Nevertheless, Ireland remain unbeaten in 12 matches but they will need talisman O'Driscoll to come out on top of the game's main sub-plot - his head-to-head with 17-stones centre Mathieu Bastareud. The 21-year-old scored two tries against Scotland and it may well be that O'Driscoll will need to earn the plaudits for the defensive side of his game - not his attacking instincts - in Paris.

Elsewhere in the backline, Ronan O'Gara provides a steady head at fly-half for the Irish, who chase their first win in the French capital since 2000. The return of dynamic blindside Stephen Ferris will aid the cause, but Ireland will have to improve ten-fold against a France line-up that is largely unchanged. Vincent Clerc and Alexis Palisson are the only changes as injuries strike down Aurelien Rougerie and Benjamin Fall on the wings, but the game will arguably be won or lost by the performance of half-back Francois Trinh-Duc in the No. 10 jersey.

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