Calcutta Cup match-ups key to Lions, says Gatland
If Warren Gatland is to be believed, a sizeable proportion of the Scotland team who face England on Saturday are playing not just for the Calcutta Cup but for inclusion in this summer’s British & Irish Lions tour party to New Zealand.
According to the Lions head coach, there are several key matchups that will take his attention when England take on Scotland at Twickenham. “For a lot of players this weekend is really important and the match-ups at Twickenham are reasonably significant,” he said. “I’m interested in how the two 10s [Finn Russell and George Ford] match up against each other. Same with the wingers – I thought Tim Visser played well against Wales and Tommy Seymour has been impressive, while Sean Maitland has been playing well for Saracens. Stuart Hogg has done all right, so there’s a little bit of depth in Scotland’s back three.
“In midfield, they’ve got someone like Matt Scott, who hasn’t even been involved, as well as Alex Dunbar and Huw Jones. So I think there are some nice match-ups between England and Scotland in the backs. Up front, Scotland have a genuine openside in Hamish Watson, and they’ve got strength in the back row – they will fancy themselves against England because I’m still not convinced that [Maro] Itoje is a six and [Billy] Vunipola has not played a lot of rugby. The two Gray boys have also gone well, so there are some really good match-ups in the Calcutta Cup.”
Gatland made it clear that injured players such as Greig Laidlaw, John Hardie, Josh Strauss and WP Nel would be considered if they can prove their fitness, and that Stuart Hogg is not seen as a potential 10.
The Lions coach also stressed the importance of Scotland winning on the road after falling short in Paris. With all Lions matches being away, proving that they can win at grounds other than Murrayfield is a key consideration from this Calcutta Cup. Were Scotland to win at Twickenham for the first time since 1983 “it would create a few headaches for me” Gatland admitted.
“You’ve got to think about the Lions being away from home, against one of the best teams in the world,” he said. “So I’m looking at it from a Scottish point of view and seeing that they’ve got two wins at home. I’m a great believer in the idea that we should want Scotland doing well, because we should want them to be represented in the Lions. This is a big weekend for them.”