Lewis Moody has claimed that England's confidence will be dented heading into the Rugby World Cup if they fail to win the Six Nations.
Stuart Lancaster's side saw their hopes of clinching a Grand Slam ended last time out with a 19-9 defeat to Ireland.
England return to action on Saturday when they face Scotland at Twickenham Stadium.
While he insists that there would be no shame in failing to lift the Six Nations trophy, Moody believes that finishing in second place for the fourth consecutive year would be damaging to the squad ahead of this summer's World Cup on home turf.
"They harbour big ambitions, and if they finish this campaign in second place again it'll certainly be a dent to their confidence," he told Sports Mole.
"That said, I don't think it'll be the be all and end all in terms of how we'll fare in the World Cup. If England take something special from this Six Nations it'll put them in a really confident position going forward into the World Cup. If not, they'll be slightly behind where they want to be."
England have avoided defeat to Scotland in their last seven meetings against their old rivals.
During this interview Lewis was taking part in the City Index Celebrity Trader Challenge. Find out more at: http://www.cityindex.co.uk/spread-betting/celebrity-trader/?traders=lewis-moody
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