IEveryone loves to beat England, this is the unchanging law of the Six Nations.It follows that everyone hates losing to them, Scotland losing to their old enemy a lot of in the past ten years. No one knew it at the time, but England’s victory at Twickenham in 2009 was the culmination of a decade of misery for Scotland. Ugo Moyer, Ricky Flutie and Matthew Tait scored for the hosts, led by Steve Borthwick, while right-back Danny Kyle added an assist The team won 26-12.
Granted, the reunion a year later at Murrayfield ended in a 15-15 defeat, a game in which Scotland’s dynamic back-row performed brilliantly and the home side deserved to win, with Ben Youngs coming off the bench to complete the game His international debut. But after that, whether under Martin Johnson, Stuart Lancaster or Eddie Jones, England seemed to have Scotland’s number.
The most painful moment of the decade-long winless run came in the final game in 2017, a 61-21 victory in south-west London. Jonathan Joseph scored a hat-trick as Jones’ side easily retained their Six Nations title. Michael Irvine reported in The Scotsman: “The blow to Scotland has been long-lasting and severe.” observer. “Finn Russell is an obvious target and England waste no time hitting him.”
Things look grim for the Scots, with a lack of fitness appearing to be the most pressing issue against England’s strong side. However, much to the delight of Scotland and their supporters, things will change in a big way when both teams take to the pitch at Murrayfield next Saturday.
Gregor Townsend’s side have won four of the last six Calcutta Cups and even the 38-38 draw at Twickenham in 2019 felt more like a Scottish victory because it was played in Achieved after falling behind 0-31. Russell, the self-proclaimed Lionel Messi of rugby in recent times, received his fair share of criticism after suffering such a brutal punishment in 2017 after an indifferent start to the 2018 season.
But in the build-up to that year’s Calcutta Cup, his captain John Buckley insisted that all would be well for the fly-half who had effectively trademarked the word “mercurial”. “He usually bounces back,” Barkley predicted. “I see him not having his best game, so next week he’s going to be man of the match.”
The fight started off the course one day in February after the warm-up session, when Scotland back-rower Ryan Wilson spoke to England’s George Ford as he approached the tunnel. He has since revealed his message: “‘We’re coming for you, you have to be careful.'” I might have said break some bones. “
Wilson versus Ford was a mismatch, like Patrick Vieira versus Gary Neville in rugby, and it prompted a strong reaction from England player Owen Farrell. The resulting pregame brawl set the tone. On the pitch, Barclay led by example, with Scotland’s resurgence revving England up when they collapsed. Paul Rees wrote that they “played with a sustained, controlled rage.” “Jonny Gray Squared [England captain Dylan] Hartley and invited Courtney Routh to join. “
Meanwhile, Russell’s vision and brave promptings on the ball kept the Scotland attack going. An expertly judged Gruber kick allowed Huw Jones to sneak under the post: Incredibly, it was Scotland’s first game against England at Murrayfield since 2004. Joseph’s hat-trick left Scotland tortured with a brilliantly difficult pass from Russell over the head of Joseph. The year before – had Jones scorching into the England half, then Russell was on target again, putting Sean Maitland in the corner for his second try.
Newsletter Promotion Post
Jones evaded Anthony Watson and Mike Brown to score the third goal, but a yellow card for substitute Sam Underhill extinguished any England hopes. Watson’s knock sparked some of the more raucous celebrations after Calcutta Cup matches – dating back to 1879.
“It’s a tough thing to do and there’s a lot of physical danger,” Barkley said after England suffered their second defeat in 26 games under Jones. “We We were ready for war. We knew the importance of this game and what we were getting into. We didn’t handle it well enough.”
The next morning Jones was accosted by a group of Scotland fans, who had clearly completed their own celebrations. The Australian vows never to take public transport again: Scottish Rugby Union condemns ‘disgusting behaviour’. Ten years later, Scotland fans are determined to enjoy their moment, some a little too much.
This year, in the first round, Russell almost lost the game lead when Scotland led Wales 27-0. In the second round, the French team suffered a tragic defeat due to TMO. Borthwick’s England under construction heads north with new faces and a new way of playing. Is this Russell’s era again?
