One of my favourite lines in sport is: ‘Winners perform at their best when the pressure is at its greatest.’ Stuart Lancaster and England are under real pressure now. They may be annoyed at the criticism they received after Dublin but it was not the result, it was the manner of their defeat. England were inferior in every area of the game, and that should hurt a lot. After a great start against Wales, England had the wind taken out of their sails by Ireland. Suddenly the nightmare scenario of England not making it out of a World Cup group which contains Wales and Australia becomes a real threat. Danny Cipriani is among England's fringe players who must get a start in the remaining Six Nations games . Stuart Lancaster's focus must shift to the World Cup with two competitive matches left before it starts . Steffon Armitage may be left out due to his choice to play for Toulon but he's really too good to ignore . Lancaster’s men have just five games before their campaign begins against Fiji on September 18... Six Nations . Saturday, March 14 v Scotland (h) Saturday, March 21 v France (h) World Cup warm-ups . Saturday August 15 v France (h) Saturday August 22 v France (a) Saturday September 5 v Ireland (h) If Wales defeat Ireland at home this weekend, their year is back on track and they go into World Cup camp in great shape. Australia will be battle-hardened and energised by a new coaching team. They know if they can put a scrum together to compete with England then Twickenham holds no fears. With two games to go in the Six Nations, England’s momentum going into the World Cup camp depends on their performances against Scotland and France. They should win those games regardless of the team they select. But Lancaster faces some crucial decisions: either continue along the same path or make changes, and send the message to everyone that there is yet more to come from his side. Since the end of last year’s Six Nations, England have lost six out of eight matches against top-tier teams. My concern is that teams will look at England and like what they see. Nobody doubts the front five is as good as any in the world. The England pack is fearsome, and behind the scrum they have the players - but a response is needed. Now is the time to show that ‘pressure’ sits comfortably on their shoulders. Here’s my seven-point guide that England should follow... England's squad are put through their paces ahead of Saturday's Six Nations clash with Scotland . 1 POOL PRACTICE . 2015 is all about the World Cup, nothing else. England can win the Six Nations title on points difference, but in a World Cup year, once the Grand Slam is gone, the tournament is gone. England only have five games before their World Cup opener in September, and three of those are friendlies, which are not games to judge anybody on. That leaves just two meaningful matches - Scotland and France at home. These are must-win games, but use them as rehearsals for the pool matches against Wales and Australia. England have to do everything they can to replicate the atmosphere they will encounter when they play those World Cup games. 2 THREE AND EASY . There are three men Lancaster still needs to see start - Danny Cipriani, Steffon Armitage and Henry Slade. Lancaster can make it clear he’s not dropping George Ford, but he needs to find out about Cipriani in a significant game once and for all. Armitage is arguably the best player in Europe and must be in the squad. We can deal with the politics of overseas players after the World Cup, but let’s just get the best players on the field. Lancaster needs to find out about Danny Cipriani in a significant game once and for all, so he should start . Slade - alongside Jonathan Joseph - is perhaps the most in-form centre in England and his left foot, at inside centre, would offer more kicking variations. England’s kicking game was poor against Ireland and they have got to find players who can dictate a game. Kicking is now so important and they are off the pace. Perhaps only one of the three will really seize their opportunity, but at least you will know once and for all. Lancaster must be bold and those selections would change the whole atmosphere at Twickenham. Exeter's Henry Slade  is probably the most in-form centre in England at the moment so should be tested . 3 REST ROBSHAW . I’m a big Chris Robshaw fan but he is in a very competitive position and must be in the team on merit, so we need to see his biggest rival play. Also, if he gets injured in the first minute at the World Cup, nobody knows who will replace him as captain. It’s time to see who else has the capacity to lead this team and I would give James Haskell a chance to see how he handles the task, which allows you to bring in Armitage at No 7. Haskell is one of the few players who captains his club, so give the role to him on Saturday. Captain Chris Robshaw, here attempting a drop goal at training, should be rested to try out alternatives . James Haskell captains Wasps so would be an interesting replacement for Robshaw should one be needed . 4 NEED FOR SPEED . The current back row of Robshaw, Haskell and Billy Vunipola is not quick enough at the very top level. It is such a shame Tom Croft is injured - he is one of the quickest forwards in world rugby at No 6 - while Armitage is no slouch. In a World Cup you are playing against the fittest and fastest players, and you need to be able to match that. We have a big powerful front five but we do not need the same in the back row, we need speed. The current back row of Billy Vunipola (pictured), Haskell and Robshaw don't have the speed required . 5 GET YOUR KICKS . Dave Alred is one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with. That’s why I’d bring him back into the England set-up. It wasn’t just Jonny Wilkinson’s kicking that he helped - Alred improved the whole team. England’s kicking and catching was so poor against Ireland and the whole world will have seen that. Dave Alred (right) not only helped Jonny Wilkinson's prodigious kicking but the all-round England game . It would be a challenge persuading him to join because he is very much his own man, but he is the best person for the job by a long way. Many of his methods, based on Aussie rules football, could be introduced over the coming months. Then, by the time England go into camp, the team will understand how he operates and will have one of the game’s great specialist coaches at their disposal. 6 FOCUS ON FITNESS . When I managed England, I made it clear I would only pick players who can play 80 minutes. If you can’t last a full game at full pace, you are not going to survive in a World Cup. Lancaster has faith in his strength and conditioning team, but an independent opinion, from someone who has prepared World Cup teams, could be a shot in the arm. I would bring in someone like Dave Reddin, who was in my set-up, was with Team GB at London 2012 and is now head of performance at the FA. He will pull no punches and get everyone’s mind back on track. Every player picked should be fit enough to play for 80 minutes if they're worthy of the World Cup . 7 SMARTER SUBS . Assuming all your players can last 80 minutes, the first purpose of your bench should be for injury replacements, but England started against Ireland with no specialist second-row substitute. If Dave Attwood had gone off in the first minute, could Nick Easter really play the whole game in the second row? Secondly, the bench is there to make tactical changes. Lancaster’s substitutions against Ireland were his most important because England were chasing the game. But his changes surprised me. Mike Brown . Anthony Watson . Jonathan Joseph . Henry Slade . Jack Nowell . Danny Cipriani . Ben Youngs . Alex Corbisiero . Dylan Hartley . Dan Cole . Courtney Lawes . Dave Attwood . Tom Wood . James Haskell . Steffon Armitage . With 15 minutes to go he needed to bring on Cipriani, not Billy Twelvetrees. Keeping Ford in the game was the right call but he needed help creatively and with the boot. For Lancaster to say Cipriani coming off the bench at 12 is not an option because he hasn’t seen him play there before doesn’t add up. Between Cipriani and Twelvetrees you need to cover six positions so you cannot be inflexible and say Cipriani is only a fly-half. England need to find ways to unsettle the opposition and do the unexpected. If we haven’t seen Cipriani at 12, you can guarantee Ireland haven’t either. It may not have changed the outcome, but I’d love to have seen Ford, Cipriani and Joseph finish that game together.
England have won just six of their last eight against top opposition . They have two proper games and three friendlies before the World Cup . One of them is Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Twickenham . They must treat this and the France Six Nations games  like the World Cup . Danny Cipriani, Steffon Armitage and Henry Slade must play for England . Make James Haskell captain against Scotland and rest Chris Robshaw . Introduce speed to the back row absent in Robshaw, Haskell and Vunipola . Improve  kicking by luring back Jonny Wilkinson's mentor Dave Alred .