Denton is Scots’ inside man for Calcutta Cup showdown

Denton is quizzed for inside line on England club-mates

We’ve talked and hopefully it will give us an insight into what to expect

HE MAY feel a little uncomfortable being the Scotland spy in t he Bath camp but David Denton’s inside knowledge of England could prove invaluable in the run-up to the vital Six Nations opener.

Sharing the same club dressing r oom at The Rec offers t he back-row forward, who joined the Premiership giants from Edinburgh two months ago, a unique insight into four of Eddie Jones’ star men.

Denton can offer info on winger Anthony Watson, centre Jonathan Joseph and stand-off George Ford, who will all start, as well as likely replacement Ollie Devoto.

Anything the Scotland coaching staff can glean on Ford, in particular, is welcome as the No 10 will be England’s key playmaker at BT Murrayfield.

Tactically, there will be little left to chance as Scotland head coach Vern Cotter and his opposite number Jones prepare for the most-eagerly anticipated Calcutta Cup match of recent years.

And any perceived weaknesses in the opposition will no doubt be exploited.

Denton remained publicly coy about what insight he could offer that would be to Scotland’s advantage but he certainly believes his new team-mates felt frustrated tactically under previous England head coach Stuart Lancaster.

‘I would expect England’s attack to be centred round a l ot of t he Bath players,’ s ai d t he hard-running No 8. ‘If you look at George Ford, Jonathan Joseph, Anthony Watson, Ollie Devoto, they are very good rugby players and I would expect them to want to be part of an attacking England side.

‘They all like running rugby and being on the front foot and although we don’t know what they are being told behind closed doors, they are top-class players.

‘The way England played at the World Cup was affected by pressure, so I’m not sure how that will affect them now. What I do know from speaking to the guys at Bath is that there’s a sense of release after what happened at the World Cup.

‘They feel like they have been locked down for a long time in a playing sense under the last regime, so I would expect them to express themselves a bit more against us and in the coming weeks.

‘We have a definite advantage over them in terms of continuity but we are by no means taking this game lightly, or taking England lightly.

‘They are a very good bunch of players, very skilful, and Eddie Jones is a very good coach.

‘I’m sure he’ll have some tricks up his sleeve for us.’

Scotland have more Anglo-Scots playing alongside England internationals in Premiership sides than ever before — with five in this year’s Six Nations squad compared to just Greig Laidlaw at Gloucester during last year’s tournament.

Duncan Taylor — who plays alongside Owen Farrell, George Kruis, Jamie George, Andy Goode and the Vunipola brothers Billy and Mako at Saracens — has also been asked to provide information on his club colleagues.

The same goes for Exeter Chiefs prop Moray Low, Ruaridh Jackson at Wasps and Harlequins winger Tim Visser, who will miss the match against England.

Scotland assistant head coach Matt Taylor revealed: ‘We have conversations about Bath and Saracens with Dents and Duncan. Dents knows George Ford and knows how he runs things in training and there will be a few Bath guys in the backline at Murrayfield.

‘Dents certainly has talked about how they defend as a club and given some pointers and, hopefully, that will give us an insight into what to expect. We’ve also had a chat with him about things Ford likes and doesn’t like.

‘ You l earn a l ot more about players when you work with them day in, day out like Dents and Duncan do, rather than just turning up and playing against them.

‘There are certainly more players from our Scotland squad playing in the Premiership and Duncan Taylor, like the rest, maybe feels he is caught between a rock and a hard place because he feels he’s giving out all this information on how Saracens and probably now England will be defending against us.

‘Eddie Jones has been talking up the importance of players like George Ford at Bath and Paul Gustard of Saracens i s now working at England as defence coach, so our players at these clubs will maybe have a bit of an input into the plays and combinations they maybe use quite a lot at Saracens and Bath.’

Meanwhile, Taylor believes Denton is one of Scotland’s top players going into the Calcutta Cup clash and has come a long way since he won man of the match in his first start for his country against England back i n the 2012 Six Nations.

‘He’s developed as an all-round player now,’ said Taylor. ‘Maybe in the past he was just seen as a carrier, but he’s a very good defensive player now.

‘In the World Cup, off the top of my head, I think he produced about seven or eight turnovers, so he was one of the leading guys in the back row at creating turnovers, as well as making tackles and contesting.

‘A couple of years ago that might not have been the case with David, so now it’s a really big part of his game.

‘As a player, he’s really matured and is getting better and better, so I think the Scotland back row that takes the field will be a very good one.’

level of the noise, turning the plug sockets off, turning the hot water off, or blocking the toilet so you have only got one working loo between 30, all that serves to unite you a little more. It is part of sport. ‘Martin Johnson, if he noticed something that people were trying to do to rile us, he would focus on it in a teamtalk and say: “This is what they are trying to do to get under our skin — let’s make sure we properly give it to them.”’ Despite Scotland’s relatively modest record in the Six Nations since its inception in 2000, they have managed three scalps in Edinburgh to England’s four in the last 16 years. The Scots remain winless during that time at Twickenham, so there’s little doubt home advantage helps at least even things out a little. ‘Being an away team, it’s not particularly welcoming,’ Moody continued. ‘It’s incredibly hostile when you are inside and it is one of those places that is very tough to go and play. ‘If you meet the locals and it is obvious you are an Englishman there for the rugby, you will get a fairly passionate response. ‘I remember helping an elderly gentleman across the road the night before the game when we were getting ready for a cinema trip. I was thanked by a waving walking stick and told that he hoped we got a good thrashing the next day. ‘For some reason, the Scots can’t travel to Twickenham. We normally thump them. Whereas at Murrayfield they rely on history. They can really get themselves revved up. ‘It shows the level of passion they have for beating the English in particular. ‘Whenever I played Scotland, I was desperate to win. I played some of my better games in Scotland because I knew it was such a difficult place to play. I knew it was a frosty reception and there was that real desire to beat you. ‘It’s funny what that home-field advantage does when FlowerofScotland rings round Murrayfield.