When Eddie Jones repeats something the chances are he wants to send a message, so his persistent pledge that England are “going after” Scotland is telling. These days you can’t have a Calcutta Cup match without the accompanying war of words but as opening moves go, it is pretty tepid. More pertinently, Jones understands the importance of making a fast start and is instructing his players accordingly.
“A lot of it is about the mindset and the way you approach the game,” says Jones. “You’ve got to start the game well, get into the game and go after them. We know every time Scotland play against England it is their biggest game of the tournament. But the big difference this year is we are going up there to get them, we are going after them.”
It is a tired trope to highlight the significance of winning the first Six Nations match, but a cursory glance at England’s fixtures demonstrates just how important Saturday’s match at Murrayfield is, with a trip to Rome followed by back-to-back matches at Twickenham an enticing prospect if they are victorious.
“If you don’t win your first game you’re chasing your tails,” says the tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler. “So all our focus is to go out and perform in that first game and obviously win. Because once you do that, everything else follows, the team camaraderie, the feel of the group, all that off-field stuff takes care of itself.”
The trouble for Jones, though, is that England have lost their opening matches in the past two tournaments. On both occasions Jones has sought to shoulder the blame, for failing to prepare his players well enough, but whereas once fast starts and early tries were the hallmark of his side, another defeat on Saturday would suggest a longer-term problem.
That is, in part, why you sense that Jones has welcomed the disruption that England have faced this past week. Not only does the upheaval allow him to stress-test his players, to spread more responsibility through the ranks and empower more players in leadership roles, it might just take a degree of pressure off, too.
To describe England’s injury problems as a “crisis” is pushing it – as their rivals were not afraid to point out – and with a fair wind Jones should be able to pick largely the side that shone against South Africa in the autumn, enhanced by the returning Ellis Genge and Luke Cowan-Dickie. As disappointed as he will be to lose his trusted lieutenant for the entire competition, Jones’s squad can at least get on with their campaign without having the distraction of Owen Farrell’s impending return.
What Jones does have, however, is a smattering of players set to sample a packed-out Murrayfield for the first time, which brings us back to his determination that they hit the ground running against Scotland. Jones says: “We know the first 20 minutes in particular are going to be fast because Scotland like to play fast. We’ve got a set mindset of how we want to play. We want to be aggressive when we’ve got the ball and we want to be aggressive when we haven’t got the ball and we want to take the rhythm and tempo out of their game and put tempo and rhythm into our game.”
When it comes to Calcutta Cup bingo, Murrayfield’s hostility is on most cards but, again, it is a watchword for England this week with supporters set to return to Six Nations matches in their droves. Four years ago Jones was accosted on his train journey back from Scotland, while in 2020 he did not take kindly to things being thrown at players and staff as they arrived at the ground, but he is happy to play the villain again and shield his younger charges.
“It’s going to be hostile but the good thing is they’ve got me there and I’m not very popular so I’m sure I’m going to get plenty of abuse and I’m happy to take that,” he says. “[The new players will] love it. Why wouldn’t they? They get to play in the first game of the greatest championship. It’s for the Calcutta Cup. It means a lot. It’s important that they understand what it will be like and our more experienced players will share their experience with the younger guys.”
Sinckler now counts himself as one of those as he nears his 50th England cap and he was part of the side who scraped to victory in horrific conditions two years ago. “I tend to get a lot of stick from the fans, especially the Welsh ones, but I love it, it is an unbelievable atmosphere,” he says.
“That is what the Six Nations is about, everyone wearing their hearts on their sleeves, representing the country they are from and giving their all to the boys. We have been to Murrayfield a few times and it has been very, very hostile. I remember coming off the bus once or twice and the fans are giving it to you straight away and chucking certain things.
“I love the hostility, it just makes everything a lot better in terms of the experience and definitely a lot better than playing in front of no fans. The more the better.”
