Apologies for the lack of Six Nations articles a fortnight ago for I fell ill, as well as the inconsistencies and mistakes in my previous article when looking at the Western Force.

But I am fighting fit to delve into the six things to watch out for in Round 3 of the Six Nations.

1) England will encounter their real litmus test
England head coach Stuart Lancaster will be looking to improve on their performance against Scotland.

Though they were composed and professional against a turgid Scotland side, Lancaster will know his team should have racked up more points and shown their ruthless streak like the top southern hemisphere countries of South Africa and New Zealand have done in recent years.

But England will be tested in the form of Ireland and Wales in their next two games – both at Twickenham.

However, they will have to continue their Six Nations campaign without the services of Dan Cole, their indomitable tighthead prop.

Losing Cole for the rest of the Six Nations with a neck injury is a huge blow to Lancaster. He was the one player England prayed would not suffer a long term injury.

Firstly, Cole is one of the first names on the team sheet, dependable in the pack (though the new scrum laws has taken a bit of the potency in the scrum), he offers so much more in the breakdown and tackle area.

Lancaster has entrusted Bath’s David Wilson with replacing Dan Cole against Ireland on Saturday. The 28-year-old is experienced for club and country but has only recently just come back from injury.

He played just 46 minutes for Bath in their Premiership victory over Exeter Chiefs on the weekend. Though he has some sort of match fitness it will be tough, as he will face Ireland’s Cian Healy, which is a tough proposition for any prop.

Should Wilson start he will have to get the better of Healy and avoid conceding penalties at the scrum.

Among the backs, Stuart Lancaster has finally added flyhalf George Ford in the squad, meaning he will likely occupy the bench as understudy to incumbent stand-off Owen Farrell.

George Ford is a precious talent whose move to Bath from Leicester Tigers in the summer has revitalised him.

He was excellent against Exeter, having a hand in one of Bath’s tries where a show-and-go dummy bamboozled the Chiefs’ defence.

Ford could get his first cap on Saturday and will give Lancaster real options in attack, adding a potency among the backs not seen for a while.

2) Expectations for Ireland grow rapidly
England versus Ireland has added significance for the Irish and talk of a possible Grand Slam will no doubt grow among the fans if they can beat England in London.

Head coach Joe Schmidt has whipped his side into a formidable outfit, with their forwards a force to be reckoned with from 1 through 8.

The Irish have excelled in the maul and breakdown where their triumvirate of loose forwards have careered into rucks wildly with enthusiasm seeking to either protect the ball from turnover or actively wrestle back possession from the opposition.

Their defence has been resolute in this year’s Six Nations, conceding no tries whatsoever and shipping just nine points in two games – six against the Scots and three against Wales.

Defence is the best form of attack and if Ireland can negate England’s pack, stop the rampaging runs of Billy Vunipola and stifle the growing creativity of Owen Farrell they can win this game.

But it will be close, for Twickenham is an imposing place. But the road to the Grand Slam lies open if England can be overcome.

The game after the match at Twickenham is against Italy in Dublin. Though Italy has improved (beating Ireland in Rome last year) under Jacques Brunel, the Irish will be fancied to defeat the Azzurri.

Should that happen, it leaves Ireland in a potential Grand Slam decider against France at the Stade de France on the 15th March and the final match of the 2014 Six Nations – and what a way to end the competition!

But Schmidt will no doubt be thinking of how to beat England rather than winning the Grand Slam.

However, Ireland is slowly becoming the possible dark horses for the 2015 World Cup.

3) Wales look to dust themselves off from their Dublin mauling
The comments made by Ireland’s flanker Peter O’Mahony after the victory over Wales that his team “wanted it more than they did” bridled Wales, especially Warren Gatland, as they were so easily dismantled in their loss to the Irish.

The talk among the media in the aftermath of the game was criticising Gatland for not having a Plan B.

It can be said that Gatland’s Plan A – to have centre Jamie Roberts crash into the defence from first phase ball, thus sucking in defenders and creating space – had worked a treat for Wales, especially in the Six Nations.

However, against Ireland Plan A did not work, but Gatland rigidly stuck to it.

There was a chance in the first half to change things up when centre Scott Williams was taken off with a shoulder injury, ruling him out of the Six Nations. Instead of putting on utility back James Hook, who can play at centre, Gatland decided to put on Liam Williams.

James Hook would have added much creativity and flair, allowing Wales to change things up as a result of Plan A clearly not working. Instead they played the same old game plan that led to a comprehensive defeat.

Wales’ players were clearly disappointed with their performance and are eager to rectify it with a Friday night clash (yes, Friday night Six Nations rugby is back) against Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

It is a good chance for Gatland and Wales to answer their critics and prove their performance against Ireland was a minor blip.

Gatland has made changes, with George North shifted to centre (where his club Northampton Saints have played them this season) to replace the injured Scott Williams, while Liam Williams fills in George North’s position on the wing.

But the real selection surprise is the dropping of experienced scrum half Mike Phillips who is replaced by Ospreys’ Rhys Webb.

Phillips did not have a good game and Gatland disliked his “confrontational” attitude that served to hinder rather than help Wales.

It is a good opportunity for Webb to show his talents and make an impression.

Friday night will definitely be a good game but one Wales will have to win to show their loss against Ireland was a hiccup. What better setting to do it in.

4) The Top 14 clubs are not on Philippe Saint Andre’s good side
While all the countries participating in the Six Nations are enjoying having their players in training camps, French head coach Philippe Saint Andre (along with certain players from other teams in the Six Nations who play for French clubs) does not have that luxury.

It seemed to start so well – a week prior to their opening game against England, the Top 14 clubs released their players to Saint Andre. After the narrow win against the English, Saint Andre was quick to thank the Top 14 clubs for their co-operation.

But soon afterwards the Top 14 clubs soon voiced their anger, with Toulouse president Jean-Rene Bouscatel labelling the French Rugby Federation (FFR) “buffoons”.

Bouscatel was angry at the recent agreement between the FFR and the Ligue Nationale De Rugby (LNR) that is responsible for the Top 14 and its second tier, known as the Pro D2.

Under the agreement, France’s players are released from their clubs to allow Saint Andre time to prepare for the upcoming games in the Six Nations.

Moreover, the agreement also stipulates the French national coaching staff to request players be rested for Top 14 games during the Six Nations.

Toulouse’s president may be angry seeing the same time France beat Italy his side lost at home to Montpelier. Despite beating Biarritz last weekend, Toulouse lie in seventh place outside the playoffs.

And it was last week during Round 19 of the Top 14 that the clubs decided to flex their muscles.

France’s coaching staff had requested those who started against France and Italy be rested for the round of Top 14 games over the weekend, just seven days before their game against Wales.

The Top 14 clubs decided to play star Montpelier prop Nicolas Mas, marauding Toulouse number 8 Louis Picamoles, Clermont prop Thomas Domingo and Toulon centre Mathieu Bastareaud for 30-40 minutes off the bench.

But Toulouse actually played Jean-Marc Doussain for the full 80 minutes against Biarritz.

Only Stade Francais pair Jules Plisson and Pascal Papé, Toulouse duo Yoann Huget and Yannick Nyanga, Castres fullback Brice Dulin Castres and Clermont centre Wesley Fofana were rested.

No doubt Saint Andre will be displeased, especially as Bastareaud was a doubt for the game against Wales.

Though the LNR-FFR agreement started well it is starting to crack.

However, Saint Andre will be pleased Bastareaud is fit, meaning he will not have to rush the talent that is Gael Fickou to a starting berth.

But Saint Andre would not be happy with what might be perceived as the recklessness of the Top 14 clubs.

5) A chance for Italy to show their progress
When Italy and Scotland face each other, chances are it’s a wooden spoon clash with both teams clinging onto the hope they do not prop up the table in last place.

For the first time in a long while, the Italians are the favourites for Saturday’s clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

In the last two games, Italy has shown flashes of their ability and the great strides they have taken in the last few years.

Against Wales they won plaudits for their enterprise with the second half display a real highlight. Although they lost against France heavily, the Italians were in the game come half-time.

If not for France clicking into gear so to placate the notoriously impatient Parisian crowd, Italy could have got into the game.

But for the Azzurri to win against the Scots they must take their chances.

Though Tommaso Allan is an exciting player, his goal kicking is not the most accurate. Allan missing a kickable penalty against France while Italy was in touching distance was crucial.

Head coach Jacques Brunel has stuck with Allan and in return the Perpignan fly-half should show why he is so highly rated.

6) No choice for Scotland – it’s do or die
Scotland is suffering at the moment, going through a disastrous Six Nations so far.

While Italy lost two out of their first two games in the competition at least they showed some fight and determination – the Scots have shown neither.

Against Ireland they were outplayed, wilting away in the second half when Ireland put on the afterburners.

But it was their last game at home against England – the “Auld Enemy” – where the wheels fell off.

A home game against one of their oldest rivals you’d expect the Scots to front up and give England a real torrid time up front among the forwards, especially as the weather wasn’t the greatest (along with the pitch).

But Scotland were devoid of life, aimless with their kicking and were easily dominated by England.

What didn’t help was current interim head coach Scott Johnson’s decisions, which were more bizarre than seeing a polar bear in the middle of Alice Springs.

He made two that crippled Scotland’s chances against England.

The first was dropping then-captain Kelly Brown from the matchday squad altogether for the game against England. Though Brown did not have his greatest game against Ireland, to drop your captain in a big game against the English is bizarre unless Brown and Johnson have had a major falling out.

It could range that way, seeing Johnson has left out Brown out of the squad for the game against Italy.

The second decision that hurt Scotland was to replace Dave Denton against England, as he was the only player to give England real trouble. The look upon Denton’s face as he trudged off the field said many words – none of them good.

The Number 8 has fared the same way as Brown, as he has been dropped for the game against Italy, but is on the bench.

The only bright spot is the reinstatement of tall lock Richie Gray to the line-up to add much needed quality.

Should Scotland lose against Italy then incoming head coach Vern Cotter (at Top 14 club Clermont) will have his work cut out.

Scottish rugby is a shadow of its former self, where in the past though their backs were limited in quality, they always fronted up and rattled teams. Who can forget their triumphs at Murrayfield in recent years against the Springboks and Wallabies?

Scotland may be in the doldrums but lose against Italy and they will hit rock bottom.

Then again the only way to go after hitting their lowest point is up… so maybe it might be the wake-up call Scotland need.