Courtney Lawes slams England’s ’embarrassing’ record but ‘can’t see Scotland living with’ Steve Borthwick’s side at Twickenham
England taking on Scotland in the Six Nations and former Test flanker Courtney Lawes.
Courtney Lawes insists that England will beat Scotland if they produce a “seven out of 10 performance” in the Calcutta Cup clash this weekend.
Steve Borthwick’s side go into Saturday’s match with confidence having stunned France 26-25 in the second round of the competition, but their recent record in the upcoming fixture has been dreadful.
Gregor Townsend’s outfit have certainly had the better of the Auld Enemy in the Six Nations over the past few years and have not lost at Twickenham since 2017.
They have a few injury issues, however, and will certainly be without key centre Sione Tuipulotu, leading Lawes to conclude that the Red Rose will be much too strong for the visitors.
Performance required
“Scotland are missing Sione Tuipulotu. And if Russell is ruled out, that changes the whole complexion of their team,” he wrote in his Times column.
“They didn’t play well against Ireland and will be looking to take out their frustration on their favourite people to beat. They are going to be mad for it.
“Even if Russell plays, I can’t see Scotland living with England, provided we produce a performance that is seven or eight out of ten.
“It is about time we showed them that we are the better team, the dominant team.”
England’s victory over France eased the pressure slightly on head coach Borthwick, but Lawes is adamant that they must back it up with another positive result.
“It’s embarrassing that we haven’t won at Twickenham since 2017. Fin Smith was 14 the last time we won the Calcutta Cup at home. Ollie Chessum has played in three Six Nations campaigns and never beaten Scotland,” he wrote.
“England absolutely have to win this game. That’s where you’ve got to draw your passion from.
“England have got to be desperate to win. They have to be. They’ve got no choice. Scotland at home, after the run of games we’ve had previously, and the run of games we’ve had against Scotland, this is a must-win game.
“The main thing for England is that we continue to perform at the same level we did against France — and beyond. We cannot regress now.”
The rivalry
England-Scotland is a huge rivalry but one which those north of the border place much greater importance on, according to Lawes.
The former Test flanker claims that Townsend’s outfit are able to consistently reach a level against the English that they fail to do for other countries.
“Scotland always find an extra gear when they play England. It is a place they struggle to access for any other team. That desire to beat us is obviously historical and cultural. It’s how they are brought up,” he wrote.
“It is in their bones and that is not something we can access. We do not grow up feeling that same way about Scotland.
“They take the rivalry more seriously than we do. You tend to have a dislike of them (on a sporting level) but only because they hate you.
“They want more than anything to beat England and they’ll do whatever they can to achieve that. In the past few years they’ve had the talent to actually pull it off.”