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'Hate is for terrorists. Not rugby players'

By Chris Jones
(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Former Scotland captain Peter Brown, elder brother of fellow international Gordon, has tried to defuse what he believes is needless hatred in the build-up to the Calcutta Cup with England at Murrayfield tomorrow insisting “hate is for terrorists”.

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Scottish and English players have raised the temperature of what is always a spikey contest by talking about the hatred that both teams feel for each other which has disappointed Brown who wrote the Times in Scotland to express his concern.

Two years ago England head coach Eddie Jones was verbally abused by Scotland fans in Manchester the day after his team had lost at Murrayfield and Brown, who led Scotland 10 times in his 27 caps, wrote: “As a former captain of the Scotland rugby team I am more than a little disappointed with the talk of hatred that has arisen around the Calcutta Cup.

“I had the privilege to be involved in four consecutive victories over England between 1970 and 1972. I enjoyed them all but I also made lifelong friends with some of my opponents.”

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“Respect your opponent when you win, but show no elation and congratulate him when you lose. Afterwards, eat, drink and sing together. And 40 years later you will meet each other with hugs and genuine glee. Hate is for terrorists. Not rugby players.”

Jones used provocative language before England’s loss to France and started this week by highlighting the antics of some Scottish players before kick off two years ago which saw outside half George Ford singled out for verbal abuse with Owen Farrell reacting as the players moved down the tunnel after their warm up.

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Lewis Ludlam, the England flanker, fanned the flames by stating this week: “”We are emotionally there. They hate us and we hate them. There is no difference. We’re revved up. We want to be brutal. We don’t want to give them an inch to breathe. We’re coming for them.”

Jim Hamilton previews Scotland’s titanic clash with England in this weekend’s Six Nations.

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Bull Shark 3 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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