We will be ready for the English onslaught, says coach De Villiers

PIETER de VILLIERS has known almost nothing but Calcutta Cup success since joining the Scotland backroom team more than four years ago.

He expects a resurgent England to challenge that status this weekend, however.

Gregor Townsend appointed the South African-born former France prop as his scrum coach in late 2019 and, although his first match against England a few months later ended in defeat, the subsequent Championships have delivered three victories over the Auld Enemy on the spin.

Against that backdrop, there will be an air of expectation among home fans when the teams take to the Murrayfield pitch on Saturday afternoon. They will certainly be eager to see Scotland atone for the controversial ending in their previous game against France by returning to winning ways.

De Villiers insists the squad have put the disappointment of Sam Skinner’s disallowed late try behind them — and believes this fixture provides the ideal platform from which to bounce back.

He tempered that optimism, though, by warning of the threat coming across the border from an England team who finished third at the World Cup and have won their first two games of the Championship.

‘There’s obviously been frustration and disappointment,’ he said. ‘I thought we’d done enough to win that game but that’s the way rugby goes. It’s the best thing for us to move on and prepare for England.

‘The boys have been positive and working hard, and what better match to have next than the Calcutta Cup in our last game in Edinburgh until November.

‘We respect England a lot. They are currently ranked above us and had a solid World Cup. They’re always tough up front, so we know it will be another physical Calcutta Cup match.

‘They will stay true to their DNA, bring a strong battle set-piece-wise, play a territorial game and wait for us to make some errors.

‘That’s what we’re expecting and we’ll prep for that and make sure that, up front, we’re ready for a big onslaught. They are a team who can suffocate, and we have to be ready for that.’

De Villiers credits the overall improvement in Scotland’s set-piece as one of the reasons they have dominated this fixture in recent years.

‘It’s important to believe you can move packs around and compete or beat them physically and set-piecewise,’ he explained. ‘With all the respect we’ve got for the English pack, we believe we will go head to head and toe to toe with them.

‘We’ve made set-piece an important factor of our psyche and preparation. It’s important to get off to a good start, and that’s set-piece, first phase.

‘The boys have been brilliant lineout-wise, scrum-wise and kick-offwise. That sets a good platform.

‘If you don’t start well with your set-piece against England, you won’t do well.’

De Villiers and Townsend will have a few posers around the pack to resolve, with Jamie Bhatti ready to challenge Alec Hepburn at loosehead and WP Nel expected to back up Zander Fagerson on the other side.

De Villiers added: ‘Jamie scrummed well again on Saturday and there is a lot going on among the looseheads at the moment.

‘We’ve got players like Rory Sutherland who are not even here at the moment and he’s a Test match level player as well. That healthy competition will continue and we’ll see who plays this weekend.’