Scotland know what’s happened after the last two times they’ve beaten England on the opening day of the Guinness Six Nations – and they’re focused on not letting it happen again.
Saturday’s 29-23 win at Twickenham – the first time ever the Scots have won two in a row at English HQ – was also their third win in succession over the Auld Enemy. The last time they did that was 1972, a year before current head coach Gregor Townsend was born.
On the last two years they’ve failed to follow up the opening win and lost to Wales in their second game. The Welsh are reeling after a 34-10 hammering to Ireland in Cardiff, but they were last year as well.
‘Last year, we didn’t play well’
Good morning, Scotland 🏆🏴#AsOne pic.twitter.com/VJ8milRdeF
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) February 5, 2023
“The focus has already switched,” said Townsend. “We know exactly what happened last year, and in 2021.
“We played really well in (the 2021) game and just didn’t handle a red card. Last year, we didn’t play well.”
The team’s celebrations after the game were notably more muted than two years ago, with skipper Jamie Ritchie saying “this is just a start, we have been in this position before and not backed it up.
“That was the first thing we talked about in the (after-match) huddle. There was some things that weren’t good and we have to work on them.
“A strong tournament for us is five strong performances and we are looking for another one next Saturday.”
‘You have to make the most of that’
This Richie Gray pass is a coach's dream.
• 74 minutes in
• big hands out towards the ball
• catches it early to pass it early
• swings through the hips to generate momentum
• doesn't overcomplicate it with a spin
• hands towards the target at point of release#ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/QgdxKXDY3i— EK Rugby Analysis (@ek_rugby) February 5, 2023
Townsend said it was essential to back up the Twickenham triumph this time.
“You go into a Six Nations believing you have a team that can create something special,” he said. “You win your first game, you have to make the most of that.
“We watched the Wales game, they had opportunities. They’ll take much more out of that than the scoreline. On another day they could have easily troubled or beat the No 1 team in the world.”
Townsend won’t hesitate to change a winning tram if he feels it’s necessary, with Zander Fagerson and Hamish Watson among those available to return.
“Zander will (have a chance), of course. We have to look at the film and the opposition. We backed that team to get a result, and you think a lot will start next week.
“But a lot of that will be how they are physically, that was a tough game. There were 230 tackles, a test match, lot of running. We’ll see where we are.”
‘The players now have belief’
Townsend’s record as head coach against England – played six, won four, drawn one and lost one – is in marked contrast to that as a player, but there’s no secret, he said.
“It’s the players and their belief,” he said. “I think the 2018 game (a 25-13 win) was a breakthrough moment.
“In 2019 (the epic 38-all draw) here we were all over the place in the first half but that was (down to) me not getting the emotion right. The comeback, making breaks and scoring tries here, gave the players something.
“It’s this group of players, and it’s not just England, we’ve beaten France home and away. Yes, we’ve not beaten Ireland, but this team is capable of playing the big teams. England are a big team.
“We talk about England more because we had such a bad record here in the past, but the belief is important. The players now have belief.”
Stuart Hogg’s heel issue – that caused him to miss much of the last month – was the reason for him being replaced, but Townsend thought “he could have stayed on fine”. There were no other outstanding injury issues from the game.