Six Nations: England and Ireland using this weekend as massive World Cup preparation. Scotland versus Ireland today and England against France tomorrow are stadium-fillers in their own right, but also fascinating forerunners of pivotal group games at Japan 2019. The outcomes will not by themselves determine who makes the knockout stages 6,000 miles east in seven months’ time, but there are significant psychological blows to be landed. Imagine, say, if the Scots can edge out an Ireland side still trying to recover from the pummelling they took from England for the second time in three years? That would open up Pool A significantly. Or if England do not simply see off the French at Twickenham but really put Les Bleus to the sword? Jacques Brunel’s side, already the Six Nations’ eccentric uncle in the armchair, would turn up in Yokohama with more hang-ups than Donatella Versace’s wardrobe. On the evidence of the opening weekend, both those scenarios are entirely possible. The joy of the Six Nations though is that it very rarely evolves in a straight line. What if the Irish deliver a backlash after their Dublin bruising and raze Murrayfield to the ground? How then do the Scots view their opening World Cup game with no home advantage to fall back on? Not very positively. Or what if France turn up for 80 minutes rather than 40 this week and take England to the wire? The mental equation shifts again. And this is a weekend of the mind. England versus France has been billed as a physical tear-up in keeping with the traditions of Le Crunch. With Manu Tuilagi running into Mathieu Bastareaud that will certainly be a part of the show. But just as important is the brain game. England’s players have talked in the aftermath of Dublin about how free they felt going to the Aviva Stadium as underdogs. They played on that in the build-up and thrived on it during a ferociously intense contest. At home to a France side which at one moment can look glorious, the next grotesque, the roles are reversed. England are overwhelming favourites and expected to win comfortably. The Top 14 may be swimming in cash but the French national side, who lost to Fiji in the autumn, are drowning in criticism after their home loss to Wales. “I’d expect a big reaction. The French never to want lose at home so for that to happen last week will cut them deep. They will be flying into this weekend with every intention of winning the game,” warned England wing Chris Ashton. “They’ve always been emotional people and players – that can work for and against them – but I’m sure they will be channelling that in the right direction this weekend. They have to. “They are a couple of wins away from where they should be so I’m sure they are doing everything they can to get back on track and winning at Twickenham is a great opportunity for them to do that.” For England, against a side rated 6-1 outsiders in a two-horse race, complacency is the enemy. “It’s always there. It’s human nature so we’re always fighting complacency. Sometimes the shadows get a bit bigger and sometimes they’re smaller, but they’re always there,” acknowledged Eddie Jones. In Edinburgh, Joe Schmidt’s side will be under a different sort of pressure; the pressure to stay in the championship. Another loss and the Grand Slam champions are gone from this year’s race. A good suit does not go out of fashion in the space of a week, but Ireland have important cogs missing at Murrayfield, not least in the second row where the Scots have their tackling machine Jonny Gray back. Inside the Irish heads which thought of nothing but victory after their awesome autumn, there might be the odd tinge of doubt this afternoon. “We were off last week and you do question yourself a heck of a lot,” admitted Ireland