John Barclay’s been through an earthquake in the last week, so how tough can England be?
At least if the ground shakes at Murrayfield today it’ll be most likely from the stands rocking in support of Barclay’s Scotland – if not from the force of the monster English pack moving in concert – but last week back in Mumbles was something else.
“It was scary,” said the skipper, who was back home in West Wales when last week’s quake hit – just 4.4 on the Richter scale but strong enough to shake the rafters – and one apparently potential culprit quickly disclaimed responsibility.
“The whole house shook for about ten seconds,” he said. “My five-year old came running through and said `Dad, it wasn’t me’!
“You learn a lot about yourself in a very short time. But I came through that so this weekend should be no problem.”
That said, it is a formidable task to win the Calcutta Cup against this English side, who have shown very few signs of vulnerability since Eddie Jones first piloted them in Edinburgh just over two years ago; enough that even away from home, they have to be “clear favourites”, says the Scotland captain.
“Why? Because they have won 23 out of the last 24 games,” he said. “They have to be clear favourites with their record. Their record against Scotland alone makes it pretty clear.
“That said Ireland beat them last year and every team is beatable, there has not been a team in history that have won every game. But they are a quality side. It is a huge task for us to knock them off.”
And the key to that for Scotland is a performance from Finn Russell, and Barclay believes it will come this afternoon.
“Finn is one of the best stand-offs in the world in my opinion, based on how he played in the autumn games and summer tour,” he continued. “He has had some games when he has not played as well as he could but he typically bounces back.
“He maybe has not had his best first two games, but he has done some good things. The scrutiny is always huge on the 10 and the nature of the beast is that the negatives are being pointed out more than the positives just now.
“But Finn thrives on pressure. He loves that element of the game. He has trained really well and relishing this weekend. “
Russell’s apparent carefree attitude hides a steely attitude, believes Barclay.
“He is very relaxed but that should be not be mistaken for not taking the game seriously,” continued the skipper. “He is disappointed as anyone if the team does not play well or if he does not play well.
“He is one of the guys doing analysis the most, he’s the guy driving the team. His personality is not going to change.”
While the welcome to England at Murrayfield will be competitively hostile, Barclay is slightly puzzled by his opposite number Chris Robshaw’s assertion that Edinburgh is a difficult place to come to because of the awkwardness put in visiting teams’ way, like the slow piping of the bus into the stadium and the famous pillar in the centre of the away visiting room that so used to annoy Sir Clive Woodward when he was England coach.
“We get piped in as well, and I don’t think it is as big a deal,” said Barclay. “The piper goes in front of your bus. I suppose if you don’t like the piper you can get out and walk.
“There is that pillar in the away changing room. Supposedly Jim Telfer put that there years ago, I don’t know for sure.
“But the Southern Hemisphere teams love coming to Murrayfield. It is one of the iconic stadiums in world rugby. (All Black captain) Kieran Read told me after the game in November how much they enjoy it.
“The Calcutta Cup captures the imaginations of Scottish fans, the media, everyone. That’s what makes this special.”
