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England ready to exorcise Murrayfield demons - Andy Goode

By Andy Goode
A disappointed Owen Farrell and George Ford look on after losing to Scotland in 2018 (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

March 16 will have been circled in the calendars of some England’s players since February 2018 and I just can’t see them losing at Twickenham this weekend.

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The Scots haven’t won there for 36 years, but it’s more recent history that means there is no danger of England being complacent. They are ready to exorcise their Murrayfield demons.

England wouldn’t have taken Scotland lightly anyway, but last year’s defeat and the bad blood that definitely exists among certain players on the back of the incident in the tunnel before that game will ensure that minds are fully focused on exacting some revenge.

Much has been spoken about the celebrations in the aftermath of Scotland’s victory and I’m sure the England boys will remember that as well. Eddie Jones will have been reminding them, too, but I don’t think that’s as big an issue.

At the end of the day, I’m sure England would have celebrated in decent style if they had beaten the All Blacks in November and I feel that Calcutta Cup win last year was the equivalent for Scotland. They hadn’t won it for a decade and they had every right to party hard.

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You have got to remember as well that there is way more hatred from the Scots towards the English than there is the other way around and the Calcutta Cup is generally a bigger deal for them than it is for us. This is their Everest, to borrow a phrase from Jim Telfer.

Ryan Wilson was the main instigator of tunnel-gate, so Owen Farrell and co will be disappointed that he isn’t fit to feature in this one. Scotland will be even more disappointed, though, as Wilson and John Barclay were absolutely immense and their work at the breakdown was the main reason they won the game.

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Those two will be missed hugely at Twickenham and when you add to that the fact that the likes of Stuart Hogg, Blair Kinghorn and Tommy Seymour are all missing in the back three, it is really hard to make a case for Scotland having a chance.

Stuart Hogg celebrates Scotland’s spirited 2018 Calcutta Cup victory (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

England, as expected, completely overpowered Italy last weekend and while I don’t think it will be quite the same story this week, the Scottish back line is lacking a fair bit of size and experience when you compare it with its English counterpart.

The England backs have 310 caps between them, whereas Scotland’s have just 126, and Manu Tuilagi will surely feel he can have some joy against the much smaller Nick Grigg and Sam Johnson in the midfield.

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Finn Russell is the most experienced man in this Scotland side in terms of caps and he is obviously the key man for England to look after. He’s a phenomenal player but the one area where he has been found wanting at times is when teams have put him under pressure with line speed. England will be targeting that.

England’s Joe Cokanasiga in action during the Six Nations match against Italy (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

One man who would have made the difference in size and strength between the two teams even more noticeable is Joe Cokanasiga and his omission has caused consternation in some quarters. I didn’t expect him to start because Jack Nowell deserves his recall, but I don’t understand why Jones has dropped him out of the 23-man squad altogether.

George Ford only offers back-up at fly-half, meaning you have to shift Farrell to bring him on, and Ben Te’o only offers cover at centre. I don’t think they offer much flexibility as replacements and I hope we don’t get in injury in the back three early doors.

The balance of the bench is bizarre, but I don’t think England will play it quite the same as they did last week tactically. There will be a bit more of a mixture in terms of their approach and more of a return to the attacking kicking game that served them so well in the opening couple of rounds.

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Watch: Eddie Jones speaks to RugbyPass ahead of England’s final Six Nations game.

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Darcy Graham punches above his weight and has looked good so far, but he is not blessed with height and he will face a stern test in defence, especially in the air with the likes of Jack Nowell and Jonny May bearing down on him.

A huge amount of what happens at Twickenham will depend on what transpires in Cardiff earlier in the day. If the championship title is still on the line for England, it will be a whole different ball game compared to the scenario of Wales having wrapped up the Grand Slam already.

The worst-case scenario for England is if there is no chance of winning the title and the game becomes fast and loose with a bit of a Barbarians feel about it and people throwing the ball around everywhere. That would really play into Scotland’s hands.

Ryan Wilson holds aloft the Calcutta Cup after victory in the 2018 Six Nations match against England (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

I don’t see how Scotland can compete with England physically over the course of 80 minutes, and the boot is completely on the other foot this year. Apart from the fact that it is at Twickenham and Scotland haven’t won there since 1983, England have been fortunate with injuries in this campaign and the Scots have been decimated.

Without wanting to conform too much to the stereotype of the arrogant Englishman, I just can’t see a way that Scotland can come out on top… 36 years is a hell of a long time to go without a win away at their old enemy, but they are going to have to wait at least another couple of years.

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Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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