We might be in the gutter... but we’re staring at the stars
Captain McInally backs Scots to end Twickenham curse and finish on high
A SIX NATIONS Calcutta Cup curtain-closer in Cheltenham week should be a nip-and-tuck two-horse race. But the bookies have Scotland down as a 10-1 mug’s bet against a championship-chasing England with a Twickenham Auld Enemy dominance going back to 1983. It’s fair to say Gregor Townsend’s side, with one paltry triumph over whipping boys Italy in this campaign, have already been written off. Whether this trip to London will throw up something worth cheering about will be revealed tonight but Dark Blues skipper Stuart McInally was a lone voice of defiance and insists the Scots are long overdue a win at English rugby’s HQ. McInally said: “We are due ourselves and the whole of Scotland a strong performance. “We will be physical and fight for everything and we will see if that’s good enough. I agree we’ve under-performed and we’re desperate to put in a good performance to close this Six Nations. “We’re going to try to win. We’ve no idea what England are going to do. What I do know is you’ll see a group of players doing all they possibly can to win.
“We are aware of the challenge. We believe we can win. That belief is there. We are excited by the challenge. Whatever they bring we’ll be looking to match it and we’ll go from there.”
This Scotland side are constantly reminded of the 36 years of hurt since their fans had something to celebrate in London and McInally admits it’s a statistic that further fuels their desire.
He said: “It does give us that little bit extra but you don’t need any extra motivation to play for Scotland. But to be the first team to win here at Twickenham for a while would be nice.
“The feeling in the camp is really good. We respect how well England have played in the tournament so far but the belief among the players is we are down here to try to win.”
McInally dismissed any suggestion Scotland don’t have enough of a nasty streak to mix it at the most elite level.
He said: “I look at our back row, someone like Hamish Watson. Look at what he did last week, coming off the bench and performing so well.
“I know he’s got that edge about him. He’s back in the team and desperate to do well for himself, do well for the team.
“Magnus Bradbury is another who has a bit of an edge about him. I don’t think we lack that side of the game.”
If Scotland were to pull off a result against the odds then it would provide a welcome positive ahead of the World Cup in Japan later this year.
But McInally added: “We are not competing for the championship and that is disappointing.
“Whenever we play in a Scotland jersey we’re not just playing for each other, not just playing for a championship – you are playing for the whole of Scotland. The pressure is always on when you play for Scotland and we love that.”