Meggetland match to give Murrayfield chance to recover
THE FRUSTRATION felt by the Scotland forwards after Sunday’s dispiriting Six Nations defeat to Ireland is shared by the back division but assistant coach Duncan Hodge remains confident that the players have the ability to beat England.
Hodge is remembered most famously for scoring all 19 points when Scotland defied the odds and finished the very first Six Nations tournament in 2000 with victory over England. The Scots had lost all four games up to then, but came good in the Calcutta Cup. They had shipped 44 points in Dublin in that year, and the win over England was the first in a decade, which puts last Sunday’s opening 28-6 loss against a good Ireland side now being touted as potential champions into some context.
England will arrive at Murrayfield as firm favourites, not least because their opening defeat in France ensures that they must win to retain an interest in this year’s title. Hodge has seen it all before and is not fazed. Losing first-up games is common for Scotland – they have won just once in 15 opening Six Nations weekends – and Hodge reiterated the message of forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys the previous day in stating that Scotland could only contemplate victory if they have a stronger mindset and possess sharper skills under pressure than was evident in Dublin.
Hodge said: “There was some the bench, supplanting his elder brother, Richie.
Hooker Ross Ford is another under pressure, as are the second rows after the lineout shambles, but there are concerns that to take Ford’s scrummaging power out of the front row when Euan Murray, the tighthead, is unavailable through injury, would be asking for trouble against England..
As for the back line, Hodge would not be drawn on the coaches’ thinking but, with winger Sean Maitland ruled out through injury, there will be at least one new face. Max Evans and fit-again Tommy Seymour are vying for the jersey, with Edinburgh’s Dougie Fife pushing hard at least for the bench. Matt Scott is also in the frame to return at inside centre but Hodge admitted that there are risks in switching players in such a short week of preparation.
Hodge said: “He [Maitland] was playing well and looking sharp, so it is a blow, especially when Tim Visser is also out, but we have players who can come in and do a job, such as Tommy Seymour and Max Evans.
“Dougie has played consist- ently well and didn’t get as much ball last Friday night in the A game as he would have liked. But he kicks well, and has played at 13 and 15 as well, so he provides good cover. He’ll be close.
“The team is announced tomorrow and, with just six days’ preparation, especially when you’ve played away from home, you’ve got to be careful there because we don’t have the training time to change too much.”
Hodge believes that the Calcutta Cup’s unique atmosphere will help lift the team to a better display. “England are a great side, a top-quality team, but it’s great that this game has come around so quickly,” he added.
“We were disappointed and we know the people who watched in Ireland and at home will have been, too, but this is the championship. Six days to recover and you’re back out there in our first home game of the season. We’re looking for an 80-minute performance. If we make those critical errors again, we won’t win. It’s as simple as that. But we have the players with the ability to win this weekend.” EDINBURGH have moved their next home game to Boroughmuir’s 3,000-capacity Meggetland ground to give the Murrayfield pitch a chance to recover for the final Six Nations match.
Scotland return to Murrayfield on Saturday for the Calcutta Cup match but the damage wrought by nematode worms has not been repaired quickly. Significant rainfall has also interrupted grass growth.
The SRU is to invest around £1 million in a new hybrid grass/ artificial pitch of the kind used by Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool as well at Twickenham and Ireland’s Aviva Stadium. But that will not be ready until August, leaving groundstaff working overtime to prepare the surface for Saturday’s visit of England.
Edinburgh’s next home game is against the Ospreys in the RaboDirect PRO12 on Friday, 28 February, which will now go ahead at Meggetland with a 7.35pm kick-off.
That will give the Murrayfield pitch four weeks to recover from Saturday’s game before France arrive for the penultimate Six Nations fixture on 8 March. Edinburgh took on Newcastle at Hawick’s Mansfield Park in pre-season, but the last time they played a competitive match away from Murrayfield was in May 2004, when they defeated Glasgow 19-17 at Meadowbank.
Due to a shortage of car parking at Meggetland, Edinburgh will run a park-and-ride shuttle scheme from Murrayfield.
Edinburgh managing director David Davies said: “We’ve taken a lot of time and care to select the best venue for this fixture and that limits the inconvenience to our fans.”
The ground’s capacity means that, if all Edinburgh’s season- ticket holders there will be tickets left.
Meanwhile, Edinburgh’s Test winger Lee Jones has moved to Glasgow for the remainder of the season in a loan deal to help the Warriors cope with an injury crisis. The 25-year-old has been on sevens duty with Scotland, but has flown back from New Zealand and goes straight into contention for Sunday’s RaboDirect PRO12 game against Connacht at Scotstoun.
Sean Maitland is the latest winger to be ruled out, the Scotland player suffering a knee injury against Ireland on go to fewer the game, than 500 Sunday. Glasgow coach Gregor Townsend believes that Jones, who won four caps under the then Scotland backs coach, will strengthen the Warriors push back into the league’s top four and play-off contention.
Townsend said: “We have a number of players away with Scotland and a few injuries in our backline, so Lee joining us is very welcome news.
“He will be a quality addition. Lee is in great physical shape and has been in tryscoring form for Scotland 7s. I know him well from my time coaching with Scotland and he will fit in well.”
Scotland 7s head coach Stephen Gemmell added: “Lee has been given an opportunity in the RaboDirect PRO12. We are fortunate enough to call on Darren Gillespie, who has been living in New Zealand and is able to join up with the squad.”