England’s moaning is comical
Says Scot star Barclay
EnGLAnd are talking about scottish dirty tricks again ahead of their latest trip to Murrayfield, but John Barclay has dismissed what he considers to be familiar ‘whingeing’.
Two years ago, the Edinburgh flanker delivered a command performance to lead scotland to their first Calcutta Cup triumph for a decade as they beat England 25-13 in Edinburgh.
Barclay wrought havoc at the breakdown as the visitors were ambushed and condemned to a defeat which marked the start of a five-Test losing run.
Every English raid across the northern border is accompanied by claims that sly ploys are used to unsettle them, such as their coach being slowed down by bagpipers, a pillar in their changing-room and congestion in their half of the pitch during the warm-ups.
Eddie Jones returned to the theme yesterday, calling scotland ‘niggly’ and raising Ryan Wilson’s altercation with owen Farrell and George Ford two years ago.
But Barclay told Sportsmail that Jones is a serial complainer. ‘i find that stuff so funny,’ he said. ‘To see the whingeing about it, i find hilarious. We get piped in too. We are involved in that slow procession round the stadium. Murrayfield is an old stadium, so it can’t be done any differently. There are thousands of people walking around, so it has to be done slowly.
‘Then there’s always moaning about the changing room and how there’s a pillar in the middle of it. i’ve changed in that room every day with Edinburgh. it’s not an issue. it is easy to find excuses. if you are beaten fair and square, you are beaten fair and square, and some pipers walking round slowly has nothing to do with it.’
Last week, in the build-up to England’s six nations opener against France in Paris, Jones claimed that his team would inflict brutality on the young home team. He questioned their ability to cope with the English onslaught they would face, but far from just coping, Fabien Galthie’s team eclipsed the visitors physically to lay the platform for a crushing victory.
Barclay, though, dismissed the influence of such mind games on either side. ‘it made me laugh,’ he said. ‘Eddie is trying to have an impact and thinks it is having an impact, but it never had an impact on me. in the middle of a game, i was never thinking, “i’m going to shove this back at Eddie”. it’s not like that in a game. it’s quite funny to have that pantomime villain. There’s a lot of “vanilla” out there, so i’m sure the media love what Eddie says. As a player, it wouldn’t affect me, but i would question, “Why is he saying some of the things he said?”.
‘Gregory Alldritt said the French lads used what he said as a catalyst for their physicality. Maybe it does that. Maybe it can provide a little bit of stimulus for someone.’
The rivalry with scotland was certainly ‘niggly’ in 2018, when pre-match tension boiled over as Farrell and scotland back-rower Wilson clashed in the Murrayfield tunnel moments before kick-off.
Barclay only learned about the episode later, but he recognises the potential value of getting under the skin of the opposition.
‘i didn’t know until later that it had happened, but i think it’s good,’ he said. ‘Let’s have a bit of rivalry. scotland- England is a rivalry, so let’s call it what it is, get out there and play, and see who wins. i think it’s great.
‘something like that is a bit of a sideshow, but maybe you can distract people, especially if you can make people think personally in games. That can definitely give you an edge. if people start getting personal because of who’s in front of them and they start flying out of the line, it can make an impact.’
scotland gained a big edge at the breakdown in that 2018 victory, as Barclay and Hamish Watson won turnovers and penalties time and again. They didn’t just get under England’s skin, they got under their bodies too.
‘England had nathan Hughes, Robshaw and Courtney Lawes in their back row — so they had gone for bulk, power and height over speed on the floor,’ said Barclay. ‘We were in form in that area so i went into the game thinking that we could get some change there.
‘You get into a groove with your own timings. i can’t really explain it. i just felt like i was in the groove that day against England, i was making good decisions and getting rewards.
‘i think we were just getting in there a bit quicker and getting under them. That’s all it takes. There were always people coming in trying to clear us, but maybe just a bit too slow, it seemed.’