Exciting, isn’t it? Being Scottish, you fear it all might go off in our faces, but there’s a thrill in knowing Scotland seem to want to play entertaining rugby again.
A week after saying wins, however gained, were all that mattered, Gregor Townsend said that adding an attacking edge to Scotland’s “base camp” of being harder to beat was the aim for 2021. This needed “fearless players” and he has plenty of them, he said.
There’s plenty of fear to be had at Twickenham, obviously. 38 years’ worth for Scotland, in which time they’ve lost every possible way – unluckily, unjustly, humiliatingly, devastatingly, straightforwardly, mundanely, spectacularly, ludicrously.
The game to end them all was 2019, which Scotland lost, then somehow won, then drew, although ultimately it felt like a loss. The gamut of emotions from A to Z and back again, to be sure.
What’s clear is that Scotland have only really got close in the 25 years I’ve been covering Calcutta Cup games at Twickenham by giving it a lash. 1999 and 2019, basically.
The new midfield firm of Finn Russell and Cam Redpath, both instinctively creative players, seems an uncommonly bold move by Townsend. It’ll need plenty go-forward from the pack, but the Scots have built a unit that largely holds in the setpiece and is pretty competitive at point blank range.
Discipline will be a key. Allowing Owen Farrell to kick the corners as Ireland’s Jonny Sexton did in November is a fast-track to a 20-point beating. But it’s been a key focus of this training camp, we’re told.
Maintaining, the improvement in the scrummage and the defence that as the 2020 base camp will be crucial as well. Given they lost twice to Ireland and at home to England and France suggests work is to be done.
Townsend said that conditions would have a bearing on whether Scotland unleashed the full force of the attack. But he would say that, wouldn’t he? Gregor never cared for that stuff when he was a player.
Hold on, what’s the weather forecast for Twickenham on Saturday? Eight degrees, 14 mph wind, 73% chance of rain at kick-off.
Damn.
