'Credit to them': Sione Tuipulotu pays England big compliment on eve of Calcutta Cup

Sione Tuipulotu pointed to Calcutta Cup rivals England as an example of how Scotland can emerge from their slump and “change the narrative”.

The Scots go into Saturday’s Murrayfield showdown with the Auld Enemy under a cloud after losing their opening Guinness Six Nations away to Italy last weekend.

That 18-15 reversal in Rome made it seven defeats in a row against sides ranked in the top 10 in the world and brought fresh scrutiny on head coach Gregor Townsend.

Captain Tuipulotu acknowledged his team are under pressure to deliver, but he noted Steve Borthwick’s England were in a similar predicament a year ago as they entered the Six Nations on the back of a run of seven losses in 10 matches.

“I understand that the fixtures have been disappointing, to say the least, over the last three, four…even leading back into the autumn,” Tuipulotu said at his captain’s run press conference on Friday. “But we’re the ones in the changing room and we’ve got to stick together through this time.

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“It’s quite funny, looking back at England’s journey to the last Six Nations, they lost their opening game of the Six Nations (against Ireland), and before that, were on a massive losing streak.

“The media were on top of them, on top of their coach, and they did manage to turn it around. Credit to them. Now they’re on a 12-game win streak. So we’ve got to focus on ourselves and try to change the narrative, but also just get our championship back on the road.”

Tuipulotu insisted the pain of being humbled in Rome will ensure Scotland emerge with renewed determination to salvage their championship.

“It was a tough couple of days,” said the British and Irish Lions centre. “Coming back from Italy, it felt like that flight went forever.

“We’re desperate now, not only in the big scheme of things, but also just for our championship.

“That’s what I’m hoping to see tomorrow, a desperate Scotland team. We’re playing for our championship tomorrow, there’s no doubt about that.

“You can’t lose two games in a Six Nations and expect to be in contention at the back end, so we’re a desperate team at the moment, and I want to see that desperation in the players tomorrow.”

Scotland have won four of the last five meetings with England, including the last two at Murrayfield, but Borthwick’s in-form side have arrived in Edinburgh as hot favourites for this weekend’s clash.

“Definitely on their run of form, they deserve to come in really confident, but Calcutta Cup matches are often a little bit different, and it doesn’t really matter what form any team are coming with,” said Tuipulotu.

“It’s kind of like a derby match when you’re playing club footy. You wonder why those games are so tight if you look at the form coming into them, and it’s because there’s a lot on the line.

“I’m expecting to see an emotional England team, and I’m also expecting to see an emotional Scotland team.”