Yesterday Stuart Lancaster announced an unchanged 23 for
this weekend’s Calcutta Cup, usually I would wait until the starting XV is announced
before previewing the fixture however as I am very confident that I know what
this will be I am previewing the fixture early;
The Calcutta Cup is certainly not
one of rugby’s most attractive trophies… indeed if you put it next to the Webb
Ellis Cup it looks positively homemade however it is an extremely important
piece of silverware that both teams want to get their hands on. Looking back to 12 months ago Scotland arrived
at Twickenham searching for their first win at HQ in 30 years and whilst Sean
Maitland’s early try gave them hope, the might of the English was too great as
Farrell’s metronomic boot took the game well beyond Scotland’s reach. Going
back to the year before, the last time that these two met at Murrayfield, the
match was an altogether tighter affair. It was Stuart Lancaster’s first match
in charge and England fielded a relatively inexperienced side, one with seven
players making their full international debuts. The match was a tough win,
Scotland pushed Lancaster’s men all the way and I’ve no doubt that he will be
hoping for a slightly more one sided affair on Saturday afternoon.
Turning to focus on to Scotland for
a moment the pertinent question is 'Do they have enough in their
locker to beat England?' Well the answer is quite possibly! During last weekend’s match Scotland showed glimpses
of intent… Sean Maitland shone during his 31
minutes on the pitch and his ankle injury was extremely unfortunate. Stuart Hogg made breaks from deep and Duncan
Weir provided some positivity at 10 but ultimately it was a difficult day at
the office for Scott Johnson’s men. Speaking yesterday Jim Hamilton said that his team were used to "having disappointments and bouncing back" and he is backing his players
to turn up and be counted for on Saturday. Scotland need to focus on the basics at the weekend; reducing their error count, improving their line out and turning possession into points will be critical if they are to take anything from the fixture.
England, England, England, where should I start!? Maybe the phrase "We were robbed” is a suitable place to start…
my confident prediction that we would smash the French was thrown right back in
my face by the luck of ‘Le Bounce’ and the feet of Gaël Fickou. Personally I have
decided not to dwell too much on Saturday night's result because in spite of
the loss there was a huge amount of ‘good stuff’ that went on during
the 46 minutes that the ball was in play. Billy Vunipola looked world class,
Joe Launchbury had another stellar performance hitting 45 rucks in total, Mike
Brown’s finish was stunning and I could watch Danny Care’s cheeky drop goal all
day long. Obviously there is so much more I could discuss; the pack, the
debutants, and the substitutions however we could be here until
Saturday so I will stop there! It won’t be a surprise to you that I remain
optimistic about England and their chances on Saturday at Murrayfield. One clear selection talking point is again the lack
of a specialist fly half on the bench… is this an issue? Well in my opinion
not really, many are saying that it would have been a perfect game for George Ford
to come in for and whilst I can see the logic in it I am firmly in the Stuart
Lancaster camp of giving the same 23 the chance to redeem themselves and exorcise
some demons.
Do enjoy the match if you are
heading up to Murrayfield, don't forget to pack a rain coat or two as I hear that
the weather is set to be a little inclement. Saturday's fixture is a huge one, both teams have points to prove and losing simply isn't an option for either of them so get ready for the sparks to fly in Edinburgh.
