Eddie Jones has pop at Scotland, questioning whether Hogg and co can handle Calcutta Cup pressure
England boss Eddie Jones has ignited the build-up to Saturday's Guinness Six Nations opener at Twickenham, questioning whether Scotland can handle the pressure involved in trying to secure their first win at the venue since 1983.
The expectations are for a close encounter in London but Jones, who recently saw his team win the 2020 Six Nations and Autumn Nations Cup titles, believes the weight of expectation could prove too hot for Scotland to handle coming down the finishing stretch of the eagerly awaited round one encounter.
"You listen to the Scottish, how much it means to them (playing England)," said Jones. "It's their biggest game of the year, it's their most important game of the year, they are playing for trophies and that is a huge expectation for them and maybe with 15 minutes to go in the game the expectation is going to get pretty heavy for them.
"We know for Scotland this is their most important game of the year. They talk about it all the time, but Scotland don't have a mortgage on pride. Our players get an opportunity to play in this historic game, the 150th time the Calcutta Cup is being played for, and they are going to be ready for it. We know Scotland is going to be up for it but so will we, so it should be a great occasion."
Jones has made four changes to the England XV from their last outing, the Autumn Nations Cup final win over France in December. Ollie Lawrence come in for George Ford in a 10/12 rejig, Will Stuart replaces the suspended Kyle Sinckler, Jonny Hill for the injured Joe Launchbury and Mark Wilson for the unavailable Sam Underhill.
While Scotland have not won at Twickenham for 38 years, they did manage an incredible draw two years ago when they fought back from a 0-31 deficit to go 38-31 ahead before England pulled level with a late converted try from George Ford. It's a lesson Jones believes that England have learned hugely from having since gone on to reach the World Cup final and lift two trophies last year.
"We as a team from that particular game learnt that we allowed ourselves to be seduced by the scoreboard. It seduced us into playing in a way that suited Scotland. It invited them back into the game and since then we have been working very hard to make sure we play each minute of the game."
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I think it was a better rugby destination for him.
He was developed in Melbourne and had a relatively brief stint there. I think he was possibly dropped out of the squad for the return of someone like To'omua (also a Melbourne local) in 2019 ahead of the RWC. But then he wasn't picked up by another Australian team and went to play in Japan when he only really seemed to play a hat full of top level games (maybe injured for long periods??) before he went on to Scotland. But it was only in Scotland that he started to get a lot of consistent game time and selection.
The thing is, no one talked about him being a missed opportunity in Australia before he left - a little like Mac Hansen. But he has been able to forge a top level career since leaving. Both men only had a handful (5 or 6?) games at Super Rugby level before they made a decision to leave (or had it made for them I suppose). Other countries have gone on to develop them and that is great for them and it is probably good for the global game as it means the best players are rising to the top - if not in their birth country than in another. I think there are a lot of issues with poor player development in Australia but I don't know if these two blokes are very good examples of it.
Go to commentsOk I understand. Give them my number please Nick.
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