Scotland slipped up in Six Nations opener in Italy
Townsend keen to lean into strong Calcutta Cup record
Gregor Townsend has warned England against underestimating his Scotland team and believes the hosts can maintain their fine recent Calcutta Cup record in Edinburgh on Saturday. The visitors have only won two of the last eight fixtures between the two countries and Townsend wants his players to feed off the feelgood memories of previous English losses.
While last weekend’s deeply disappointing loss to Italy in Rome has generated plenty of external criticism, England have won only once at Murrayfield since 2017. Townsend is expecting his players to bounce back from their Italian setback and says they will be inspired by past successes. “I would hope they don’t fade into irrelevance because our players have evidence that they’ve won in this fixture,” stressed the head coach.
“If it adds the extra bit of belief and motivation that we’ve been in this position before and we’ve won then that can only help. It doesn’t always work that that evidence leads to a victory. But we’re going to lean into anything that can help us get a win this weekend.”
