This Scots team need not fear the Twickenham test
I’M not sure what to do. We are now into March, Scotland have played three Six Nations matches, won more games than we have lost — and we are still well in the competition!
This is uncharted territory for us — and I like the feeling. Like most Scotland supporters, I have dreaded the trip to Twickenham for many years, fearing that things could go badly wrong.
To be fair, we have avoided an absolute hammering for a number of years — the last really bad one was in 2001 when I was captain and we lost 43-3.
In our defence, England were phenomenal that day, the best international team I have played against, and we did really well just to keep it to a 40-point deficit!
But the times are changing and the fear of heading to Twickenham is now one of excitement.
I am not saying we will definitely win — far from it — but I’m excited to see how this Scotland team copes with playing England on their own patch.
I am excited about seeing if the Scots can bring their attacking flair — which has produced seven tries so far in the Six Nations — to Twickenham and pose real problems for the home team.
I am excited about seeing if Scotland’s defence, which has been outstanding so far in the competition, can hold firm when Eddie Jones’ side get in to their stride today.
When England play well, get on a roll and the crowd at Twickenham get right behind their team, it can be very intimidating for the opposition players. You must remain mentally very strong.
It tests you in ways that you don’t get in other grounds and it can overwhelm some players. I’m looking forward to seeing how our men cope with that today.
I wondered how Scotland would cope without captain Greig Laidlaw. The answer from the Wales game was very well, indeed.
Ali Price played well at nine, Finn Russell kicked seven from seven and John Barclay led the team very well. Job done.
The key at Twickenham today is for all three to replicate those performances to give Scotland a chance.
You need to keep the scoreline ticking over, so Russell’s goal kicking is important. We must play at pace, so Price is key to provide this spark, and strong leadership is required to keep calm when the English throw the kitchen sink at you.
Barclay was ice-cold in his decision-making against Wales but he will be posed questions today that the Welsh were not capable of asking.
At Twickenham, there will be times when the Scots will be under the cosh and fighting to remain in the game. Everyone will have to play at their best to cope with these moments and try to make them as short as possible.
If England get on a roll and create momentum, they are almost impossible to stop. This is when we must match fire with fire. We will have to impose our game on them and play with the adventure that has served Scotland so well so far in this Six Nations.
Will Vern Cotter adopt the same tactics as Italy did two weeks ago? No, not to the same level but you might see it happen once or twice. Italy had agreed as a team they were not going to engage to make a ruck and they all bought in to it.
You might see someone like Barclay, who reads the contact and tackle situation well, choose to do it on the odd occasion just to get in the mind of England scrum-half Ben Youngs.
For years, Scotland fans have made this trip in hope more than expectation. This year, I have expectation.
Expectation that Scotland will play, they will score tries and that their defence will be strong.
These three components mean that, if they do them well, Cotter’s men will be in the game and have a chance of winning.
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I’m excited about seeing us“pose problems for England