Scots will need more than just brave hearts
SCOTLAND versus England may be the grandfather fixture of international rugby, with today’s game in Murrayfield the 125th edition of the Calcutta Cup, but it is in danger of losing its lustre as a great rivalry. England’s dominance in recent years – not least 12 months ago when they inflicted a 60-point drubbing on the Scots – has stripped away some of the magic. Scotland captain John Barclay may have referenced Braveheart yesterday but the pertinent battle cry north of the border these days is less William Wallace, more Private Frazer: “We’re doomed.” Not a single Scottish player on the pitch today has experienced the feeling of beating England; no English player involved knows what it is like to lose a Calcutta Cup game. Ten years and counting… Testing the temperature inside the respective camps this week has been instructive – nervous anticipation seeping out of Scotland; calm assurance radiating from England’s every pore. One team travels in hope today, the other in expectation. “Scotland are a good side but we’re going there very confident,” said England wing Anthony Watson. “We’re happy with our two wins in this tournament, but we haven’t yet shown fully what we can do in attack and defence. “We have come a massive way since the last time we came to Murrayfield in 2016. I’d say we’re a completely different side. “There’s a belief in us so when the going gets tough we come together very well as a unit. We relish those tough moments, we train for those tough moments.” REPORTS Arrogant England? Well, there is a swagger about them all right, but why not after winning all but one Test in the intervening two years? The Scots can only hope English pride comes before a spectacular fall from grace at Murrayfield as it has in the ever-receding past.
It would need England to take their eye off the ball for that to happen, though, and if the Scots are hoping to be cut a break on that front, England full-back Mike Brown has some bad news. “There is Tommy Seymour Huw Jones Pete Horne Sean Maitland Finn Russell Greig Laidlaw Gordon Reid Stuart McInally Simon Berghan Grant Gilchrist Jonny Gray John Barclay (capt) Hamish Watson Ryan Wilson 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anthony Watson Jonathan Joseph Owen Farrell Jonny May George Ford Danny Care Mako Vunipola Dylan Hartley (capt) Dan Cole Joe Launchbury Maro Itoje Courtney Lawes Chris Robshaw Nathan Hughes
Scotland replacements
S Lawson, J Bhatti, WP Nel, T Swinson, D Denton, A Price, N Grigg, B Kinghorn.
England replacements
J George, J Marler, H Williams, G Kruis, S Underhill, R Wigglesworth, B Te’o, J Nowell.
REFEREE: Nigel Owens (Wales). KICK-OFF: 4.45pm, BBC1.
no complacency here,” he warned. There is a relentlessness about Eddie Jones’s unit, monitored by the bank of cameras he has installed at their training ground and in the gym, which suggests Scotland are going to have to do this the hard way if they are to do it at all.
Murrayfield represents an emotional well from which Gregor Townsend’s side can draw but when a stadium is a side’s main hope, in reality that side has little hope at all.
This England team do not sound in the mood to be fazed by an EH postcode.
“You don’t hear Man City talk about playing away from home. You just hear them talking about playing,” said Jones. “Regardless of whether the pitch is narrow, the pitch is wide, the fans are vocal, the fans are quiet, you get on and play the game. The things that control your performance are the way you prepare and the mental attitude you have in the team.”
The England coach feels he has the personnel and tactical formula to succeed in Edinburgh and in marking Joe Launchbury’s 50th cap he gave away a little of today’s plan.
“He’s great in the middle of mauls and mauling will be important at Murrayfield,” said Jones.
The last thing the Scots want is a wrestling match, and Townsend has attempted to engineer some space for his back line with his pre-match salvo at England’s defensive line, who he feels are straying offside.
Scotland have not scored a Calcutta Cup try at Murrayfield for seven games and they need every spare inch they can wangle, otherwise they will end up another notch on the bedpost.
Barclay said: “The records are there but we appreciate they are there to be broken. No team has ever gone undefeated in the history of sport. There are weaknesses to every team.”
What this contest really needs – painful though it would be for the English – is a shock Scotland win. Sift the evidence whichever way you like; that looks the longest of long shots.