Eddie’s in for a shock, says Vern

VERN COTTER believes Six Nations rookie Eddie Jones is in for a shock-and-awe baptism of fire at BT Murrayfield tomorrow. And he has warned that the new England head coach’s first taste of the Championship will be more demanding than even a World Cup campaign. Scotland head coach Cotter, who suffered a Wooden Spoon whitewash in his first Six Nations last year, aims to make life as uncomfortable as possible for former Australia and Japan boss Jones in the Calcutta Cup opener. The Kiwi, who has been engaged in what he calls ‘friendly banter’ with his Aussie rival building up to this Calcutta Cup clash, said: ‘I think it will surprise him. ‘Definitely from my perspective, it was an eye-opener. It’s a very tough, passionate competition — and experience does help. ‘The intensity of it was above anything I had experienced. ‘I think the Six Nations, if I’m comparing the two, is even harder than the World Cup — because you get such limited time in preparing the team. ‘I did go to Six Nations games

when I was a club coach in France, yeah. I had players playing in the games and I watched them closely as a coach. ‘But certainly, when you are involved, it’s a powerful event. ‘We won’t know until Saturday after the game. But it won’t be something he (Jones) has experienced before. ‘We certainly want to make Murrayfield something he hasn’t experienced.’ Cotter and Jones went head-to-head last September when Scotland defeated Japan 45-10 at Kingsholm in the World Cup pool stages, just days after the Brave Blossoms had caused one of the biggest upsets in history by defeating South Africa. ‘The World Cup was the first time I’ve faced Eddie as head coaches,’ continued Cotter. ‘Is it 1-0 to me? No, we’ve had a bit of friendly banter up until now — we’ll just leave it at that.’ Meanwhile, Duncan Taylor has been named on the Scotland bench after recovering from a back injury — although the Saracens centre remains a doubt for the England clash. Cotter said: ‘Duncan ran for the first time today — that’s why we had him on the bench. ‘He’s still got to be confirmed for tomorrow as well. So there’s still a question mark on him. He’s got to come through today’s training. But we’re very hopeful.’