Eddie Jones’ mind games ain’t what they used to be, if this latest effort was anything to go by.
The playful English head coach likes a dig – to put it mildly – at the opposition pre-game. Sometimes they stick, often (mostly) they’re completely forgotten post-match as they have no bearing of what happens.
According to Jones, it’s Scotland who are overburdened with expectation coming into the Guinness Six Nations opener at Twickenham. Yeah, the team that has not won at that venue since 1983, when Cameron Redpath’s Dad was only 11 years old.
Such was the burden that Scotland might well crack in the final minutes, said Eddie. Well, a lot of us who’ve seen so many of the 18 winless visits would grab at being in a position where “cracking” in the final few minutes was an actual possibility. So many of those games have been long lost by then.
You can’t detach modern Scotland from the appalling record at Twickenham – it happens too regularly to be a year-to-year accident.
But in turn, you can’t say that England are not overwhelming favourites with all the expectation heaped on them. The mind games to suggest otherwise are for unsound minds only.
Are these Scots made of sterner stuff? I’m sure every captain who has gone into this game has said the same, but Stuart Hogg wasn’t for breaking ranks.
‘A challenge every one of us is excited about’
“100 per cent we can do it,” he said “If we go into the game full of confidence and belief in ourselves as individuals and us as a collective we give ourselves every opportunity to win.
“It will take a complete 80 minute performance, both sides of the ball. That is a challenge every single one of us is excited about.”
The way Scotland closed out the win in Wales in October to end their sorry record there showed the team had the fortitude, said Hogg. But getting even close to squeaky bum time at Twickenham has proved difficult.
“We know that England like to get out the blocks firing and they are a bloody hard team to beat if they get good front ball,” he said.
“If you look at the last couple of times we have been at Twickenham they have had a real clinical edge. They attacked early and we have ended up chasing and our game plan goes out the window.
“If we front up defensively, are clinical in attack, the first twenty minutes we will grow in confidence and I am not looking further ahead than that.”
Discipline ‘more than just penalties’
Crucial to that spell is discipline – not just not conceding a blizzard of silly penalties, as Scotland did in their two defeats to end the autumn.
“It’s also about people going out of the structure, out of the gameplan,” said Hogg. “It is something we feel let us down in the autumn.
“You look at that French game. We were down in that France 22, we give away three penalties and in a minute and a half they have a kick at goal. That was unacceptable.
“A few weeks later against Ireland and we pretty much did the exact same. I understand mistakes will happen and if they happen in two or three consecutive plays that puts pressure on ourselves.
“Discipline is not just giving away penalties, it’s the whole team making sure we are staying onside, staying in the system.”
Finn’s back but not ‘fancy’ stuff
The main difference between 2020 and 2021 for Scotland will – hopefully – be a concerted run of games by Finn Russell. Hogg is thrilled to have his old friend back in harness.
“It means a great deal to have him back,” he continued. “Having someone of that experience and talent is going to drive standards around the place.
“He makes sure everybody is on their toes. He’s brought a lot of simplicity to the way we attack. We don’t want to be too fancy. He’s learned a huge amount from being in France and the big games he’s been involved in.”
Lessons from 2019 – ‘believe in ourselves’
The epic 38-38 game two years ago doesn’t have much of a bearing on now, thinks Hogg. He missed that match through injury, but believes it’s still an example of what’s possible.
“If there was ever a game to keep believing in ourselves, then it was probably that one,” he said. “We were going to be on the end of a big scoreline. But it showed the character and the skill-set that we have within the squad to come back in the second half.
“But in terms of tomorrow, does that give us anything? Probably not, because that was two years ago. We can’t change the result or look at that game too much.
“We just need to keep our focus on the first 20 minutes tomorrow and make sure that we’re fit and ready to go.”
