England travel into Murrayfield storm

Can the Scots do it again? 

When the teams jog out onto Murrayfield on Saturday evening, it will be nearly a year to the day since Scotland pulled off one of the most prised victories in their long, proud rugby history: 

In a rivalry as old and layered as this one, that result will still be fresh in the minds of both teams – standing out amongst other recent others; treasured by Gregor Townsend and co. while looked upon with disdain by the English.     

In his team selection, Jones opted for Sam Simmonds at number 8 instead of the dynamic Alex Dombrandt – a possible indication that he anticipates poor conditions at Murrayfield which will render the breakdown vital to the contest. 

“As the first game, this match is hugely important to both sides and we will both want to get off to a winning start,” Jones said. 

 
  
“We have a good, young team but we understand the task ahead and we’ll be ready to go after it from the first kick. 

 
 
“Tom Curry will captain the side for this game and has the respect of the team around him, in Owen and Courtney’s absence.  He also has the support of the vice captains and other leaders in the team such as Maro Itoje and Ben Youngs. 

 
  
“We have prepared really well for this game.  We’ve had a number of obstacles thrown at us, but we’ve overcome them as a more together group and we’re looking forward to getting started.” 

Jones was also quick to attempt to divert pressure off his charges and onto Townsend’s: 

“Scotland are red hot favourites,” Jones said. 

“This is a special game. It’s the first time I have gone to Murrayfield as underdogs.” 

Townsend wasn’t taking the bait, however: 

“Every coach does this little song and dance going into a game trying to convince the media they’re underdogs and saying to players, ‘our backs are against the wall, going to this hostile place and we’re underdogs’,” he said.  

“I don’t know who picks the favourites – the bookies obviously do, and I know we’re not the favourites with the bookies. It’s not really something we talk or worry about.” 

On Jones’ choice of captain, he added:  

“Captaincy isn’t about number of caps. It’s about person who can lead the players on the field and lead by example,” Jones said. “There’s no better person than Tom to do that. 

“He leads by example. (Curry) reminds me of a young Ritchie McCaw in the way he leads by example. 

“He wants to get the team on the front foot – which aligns with how we play the game.” 

Curry will be the youngest England captain since Will Carling in 1988. 

With regard to Scotland, there were few surprises in the squad. Notably, however, fit again second-row workhorse Jonny Gray returns to the side after being out of action since March last year.  

“We’re delighted to be in a situation where we can pick from such a strong base,” Townsend said. 

“It’s a largely settled team, a team that’s played together a number of times – especially last year’s Six Nations and in November. 

I think cohesion is so important at international level when you don’t have a game leading up to such a big game; you don’t have many training sessions, so you’ve got to find those connections between each other, and if the team has played together on a number of occasions, been through some experiences, then it’s easier to get back up to speed and we’ve seen that at training this week – the team has combined and connected really well.” 

It is a mouth-watering prospect with all the ingredients which can make a match to live long in the memory. Scotland have come on in leaps and bounds under Townsend’s guidance while Jones’ England remain a tough unit.  

The encounter is teeming with fantastic individual contests – Smith vs Russell, Watson vs Curry, Gray vs Itoje, Price vs Youngs, Simmonds vs Fagerson, Harris vs Daly.  

All in all, a brilliant rugby prospect.