When England lost to France in Paris five weeks ago, ending their Grand Slam hopes at the first hurdle, Eddie Jones blamed himself, as he often does.
Jones said he had under-prepared his team in the hope that they would peak towards the end of the Championship.
That seemed a bit odd, given the first game, against new-look France, always appeared toughest, and the last, against Italy, always seemed the easiest.
The Italy game is, for now, no longer. So Saturday's meeting with Wales is England’s time to peak.
The signs are good. That this is in essence the end of the campaign gives England the opportunity to expend every ounce of energy in the knowledge that on Sunday, they will return to their clubs.
By the time they play the rearranged Italy match, which could be seven months away, their backroom staff will be different, with Steve Borthwick leaving for Leicester, and the playing group will be, too.
George Kruis is likely to be playing in Japan, others will be unfit, out of form or out of favour.
In the first half against Ireland 12 days ago, England were superb, and have expressed regret at failing to secure a bonus point and only winning by 12 points.
As he did before that game, Jones said their training had hit a new level this week and was “not far underneath where we were at the World Cup”.
That level of training produced unforgettable performances against Australia and especially New Zealand in October. They are yet to reach those heights, but have shown a clear evolution, especially up front.
There, Matt Proudfoot, the forwards coach who duffed them up in the final with the Springboks, has made them consider the scrum a whole pack effort, not just the front row’s area, and as an attacking weapon.
Proudfoot also likes the 6-2 bench that Jones has employed for the third straight game (he did it three times in four years before Proudfoot turned up) and the replacements appear a clear area of superiority for England.
The third thing England now do is load the side with locks. Again, there are five in the 23. This time, there are five lineout jumpers in the starting XV. They are a tough pack to play against, although few containing Mako Vunipola are.
And then there is the fact that last year’s defeat in Cardiff — when they imploded after a strong start to the game to throw away a fine opening to the Six Nations — “irks every player and certainly irks me,” insists Jones.
That game, when they struggled so badly to think on their feet, saw them kicked into shape over the following months. This is a revenge mission.
Hit the heights they are promising and they will be too strong for Wales. A change of coach and two defeats has not made them a bad side and they will trouble England.
But the champions’ selection looks a little rushed; Dan Biggar and George North were a doubt, while Liam Williams and Josh Navidi are straight back in after long spells on the sidelines
England have done the same with Mark Wilson and Anthony Watson, mind. There is abundant class and plenty of experience — England are fielding their most-capped Test side ever, with 776, and still Wales trump them by 63 — but also a slightly undercooked feel.
By picking Navidi, they are out to scavenge and will have been encouraged by Sam Underhill’s absence through injury. Could they be underpowered against England’s pack-centred strategy?
England under Jones speak about controlling the controllable and concentrating on the next game.
And, as they spoke on Thursday before confirmation arrived that the Italy game was off, they were relentlessly on message, with coach and captain Owen Farrell difficult to draw on their aborted Italian Job.
This would have been an easy week to become distracted, with speculation swirling about an issue way beyond their control and a senior player exiled because of an illness he does not have.
But if Jones and his players are as focused as they say they are, perhaps we are about to see that peak he promised in Paris.
