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Watson starts in solitary Scotland change for showdown with England
By Christopher Devine
Hamish Watson has been recalled to Scotland's starting line-up as the only change for Saturday's much-anticipated clash with England at Twickenham.
Edinburgh flanker Watson started the first two rounds of the championship, but was demoted to the bench for the victory over Wales last time out.
However, he was called upon early in that match after John Hardie suffered a knee injury and will continue in the absence of his club team-mate this weekend.
Another Edinburgh back-row forward, Cornell du Preez, could make his debut as a replacement after taking Watson's place on the bench.
TEAM | Cotter names one change (Hamish Watson starts) to face England at Twickenham this Saturday in @SixNationsRugby. Full story to follow. pic.twitter.com/bwyFSIsmIS
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) March 9, 2017
Scotland have impressed in this year's Six Nations and a win over reigning champions England, who are seeking a record-equalling 18th victory in succession, would see Vern Cotter's side claim their first Triple Crown since 1990.
"We're confident we can play better as a team," said Cotter. "That's our next challenge, to step that up.
"The challenge is for us to combine the best parts of our performances so far in this campaign in to one excellent performance at Twickenham this Saturday.
"We'll need that to put us in a position to win this game and will enjoy the challenge of doing that against an England team that hasn't lost in a while."
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Tim Visser, Finn Russell, Ali Price; Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, John Barclay (captain), Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson.
Replacements: Ross Ford, Allan Dell, Simon Berghan, Tim Swinson, Cornell du Preez, Henry Pyrgos, Duncan Weir, Mark Bennett.
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Latest Comments
How about a SH type of Champions Cup? I'm not going to repeat the whole response here, but did write what I think would be good. Not only for NZ, but all of the SH. I would however love to hear your thoughts on such a competition
Go to commentsCan’t really complain about those scores. Individually, too many were off their best and went missing in big, match defining moments. Collectively, the team often looked muddled and lacked cool-headed, leadership especially in the final quarter of games. This was further compounded by a quality drop-off from the bench.
Calls for Borthwick’s dismissal have grown increasingly louder with each passing game as he has been shown to be tactically and selectively subpar. His position is now in the balance and I don’t believe he’ll be kept on unless England fix their defensive issues and beat at least one of Ireland, France or Scotland in the 6Ns, which on the latest showing looks increasingly unlikely.
Couple of returning players in Chessum and Mitchell coupled with a stronger bench, might give England fans a few reasons to remain optimistic.
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