Robshaw’s ready
England flanker shrugs off Murrayfield ‘dirty tricks’
Murrayfield holds no terrors for England. There was a time when dirty tricks such as slow-moving bagpipers in front of the team coach or a blasting PA system in the changing room would distract, even derail the auld enemy.
David Sole’s slow walk in 1990 presaged a shock Grand Slam, while Sir Clive Woodward convened a crack-of-dawn press conference one Sunday in 2004 to voice his displeasure at what he saw as choreographed gamesmanship, even though England had won the previous day.
Chris Robshaw, the former England captain, has his own memories of these frolics from his first game as skipper here in 2012, but now – both for he and his team-mates – the game is the only thing. In that regard England are battle-hardened and proven performers on the road, be it Brisbane, Cardiff or Edinburgh.
“We have all experienced things, whatever it is, tricks or sideshows, trying to put you off your game,” Robshaw said. “Whatever it is going to be, you just stay there as a group and are now prepared because you have been through them before. It brings you closer.
“It is you against everyone there and you are going into the heart of the fire. We have matured as a group, talked about what-if scenarios so that if they do arise you are ready for them mentally. There will be tension in the air at Murrayfield, the anthems are always passionate and the place tends to erupt at the first whistle. But it won’t have the shock factor as we have been through it all before.”
So much for the swirl of emotions and Braveheart rhetoric in the build-up. If anything, Scotland need to be on their mettle from the kick-off. They have started poorly in their first two games against Wales and France, falling behind on the scoreboard, and even though they recouped a 10-point deficit against France they were feeble and ineffective against Warren Gatland’s side and never recovered. If England get off to a rattling opening then haunting memories of the 61-21 debacle at Twickenham a year ago will surely begin to take shape.
England are strong finishers. They have based their training on delivering under duress in the closing stages. Scotland need to be in the ball game as the final quarter looms. Scotland, of course, are well aware of previous frailties. Their form away from Murrayfield is a concern, but on home soil they are on a record run of five successive Natwest Six Nations wins. Gregor Townsend has backed his men to stand up to the power of England’s game and not be affected by dizzy rushes or drifting focus.
The same XV who rallied so well against France for an accomplished victory in the end have been sent out again, Townsend putting his faith in fly-half Finn Russell, much as he was once supported through wobbly times in his own career. But this is an acid test for the Parisbound Glasgow playmaker. Russell has to provide direction as well as dazzle. He cannot favour one aspect over the other. The putative narrative of the match demands both.
There is no doubt that the forward contest will shape events. In
that regard, England look the stronger at the set-piece while Scotland have potential at the breakdown, where their two flankers, Hamish Watson and John Barclay, are scavengers as well as link men. England know that they have to be clever as well as punishing in their work at the breakdown, accurate when competing for the ball and without mercy on the clear-out.
And so to Nathan Hughes, England’s trump card. The Wasps’ No8 has only had 25 minutes of match action in the past 10 weeks, but England trust in the potency of their conditioning programme. Hughes, with his pickup speed and body mass, is a handful.
“Nathan is a strong defender and adds muscle at the ruck,” said Eddie Jones, the England coach, noting a critical area of improvement in Hughes’s play. “He was one of those who used to play well when the game was going for him. Now he is prepared to grind it out. He has developed mental fortitude.”
As have so many in England’s ranks. England have lost only one championship match in their past 14 games. They have been far from dominant throughout that period, but they have prevailed. To bastardise Gary Player, the South African golfer, the more they win, the luckier they get.
The stats are against Scotland, even if they punch above their weight at home as Australia and pipsqueak victors, New Zealand, would testify. Murrayfield does lift them, although it does not necessarily wither the opposition. They have try-scoring capacity in the likes of centre Huw Jones and wings Tommy Seymour and Sean Maitland, with the prince of possibility, Stuart Hogg, ever alert at the rear. But it will take a fearsome effort from their pack to deliver the necessary ball on which such strike-runners might prosper.
The fixture has been a dirge in recent years. Scotland fans would care little if it were again, just as long as their first win over England in 10 years is recorded.
It will take more than a skirl of the pipes for that to come about. Scotland have the potential but England have the wherewithal across the field to prevail.