France v England:It is easy to forget the damage done to England's season by one, solitary charged-down kick against Wales. Phil Vickery's team, theoretically, could be alongside France at the top of the Six Nations table with two wins and awaiting a cosy rendezvous in a stadium that became a second home last autumn.
Rather than chasing a grand slam, however, England now sit at a significant junction. One way is the road to redemption and the other is a cul-de-sac from which certain individuals will find it hard to escape.
From a tournament perspective, too, there is no way back. Defeat will condemn England to also-ran status in the championship for a fifth successive year. There have been mitigating circumstances, but such prolonged mediocrity would be shameful for a country with such huge playing resources.
To make matters worse, France are threatening to run at them from everywhere with a pair of novice halfbacks directing operations.
Humiliation is by no means certain, but it is a possibility.
The French coach, Marc Lièvremont, for one, feels the pressure is all on the English.
"They are playing Mark Regan at 36. Maybe he's the best hooker they've got but . . . pff," he said with a sigh yesterday, adding that he already knows what side he will select to face Italy in a fortnight. Arrogance or astute forward planning?
It is one more reason why tonight's game is as fascinating as any England have played under Brian Ashton's stewardship. For a start England cannot quite believe what they are up against. A French team without a front-line goalkicker promising to move the ball wherever possible? It is radically different from Bernard Laporte's punt-obsessed side who curled up and died in the World Cup semi-final.
On closer examination the French pack, with the exception of the 22-year-old Montpellier number eight Louis Picamoles, also has a more experienced look than people realise if a dogfight ensues. That balance is something to which Ashton's side has long aspired but has failed to achieve.
Maybe it will help if France come steaming out of the blocks and establish a 14-point lead at half-time. Such was the slow disintegration against Wales and Italy that another convincing English interval lead would set everyone's nerves jangling.
The visitors would far prefer a game of multiple set-pieces. It is little use having a formidable scrummage if, as happened in Rome, you end up with only five scrum feeds in an entire match.
"There's a sense that teams playing against England don't want to play any set-piece rugby at all," muttered Ashton yesterday.
From those five attacking scrums against Italy, incidentally, England scored off three. France will be keen to keep Andrew Sheridan and Regan busy elsewhere.
There is also the pressing question of Lesley Vainikolo. Again there is no point importing a huge hunk of Tongan beef only to leave him twiddling his dreadlocks on the wing. France may not want to kick the ball much but they will fancy chipping it behind Vainikolo occasionally and discovering whether he has the incisive pace to match Cédric Heymans, Aurélien Rougerie and Vincent Clerc. "England have a bulldozer on their wing but, in Rougerie, we have one too," warned Clerc yesterday.
In the end, though, England face a collective test of nerve. It is not so much les enfants in front of them as their own mental demons that must be tamed.
There is little doubt Vickery's team will be fired up, having been warned repeatedly of the consequences of another dull-witted second-half display. Even Jonny Wilkinson, who needs one more drop-goal to beat Hugo Porta's all-time Test record, will find his place under fresh threat if François Trinh-Duc outplays him. "You would hope players would see this as a massive opportunity to stand up and be counted," urged Ashton.
If England wish to survive another grim-faced inquest, there is no other option.
