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Cotter relishing England-Scotland showdown after overcoming Wales

By Peter Hanson
Scotland celebrate against Wales

Vern Cotter is relishing Scotland’s trip to England in a Calcutta Cup clash that now has added spice following his side’s superb win over Wales.

Having lost to France in round two, Scotland needed a big performance at Murrayfield to keep their Six Nations title hopes alive but were trailing 13-9 at the end of a disappointing first half for the hosts.

However, towards the end of the opening 40 minutes there was a momentum shift, and Tommy Seymour and Tim Visser scores in the second half, coupled with Finn Russell enjoying a flawless day with the boot, saw Scotland overturn the deficit.

Scotland now have two wins from three and Cotter is excited by what he considers one of the toughest fixtures in world rugby when they visit Twickenham to play the defending champions in round four.

“Yeah [we are relishing playing England], I think so,” he told BBC Sport.

“The boys will obviously enjoy the evening, it’s been a few years since we have beaten Wales so the players can have a couple of cold beers then it’s back to work.

“England at Twickenham is one of toughest fixtures you can get, but we head there with confidence, we will work on things we do well and hopefully we head there with not too many injuries.”

Cotter felt Scotland made life difficult at times against Wales, but was pleased with the way they fought back in the second half.

“It was nice to be able to turn around a deficit at half-time and work our way to the win,” he added. 

“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves and we complicated the issue, but we showed real guts and desire and can see the boys threw their bodies into it. 

“We were competitive at the break down, which eased the pressure and I’m happy to come away with a win.”

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Bull Shark 1 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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