England happy as underdogs for Scotland Six Nations clash – George

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Jamie George said England were happy to be the underdogs ahead of Saturday's Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland at Murrayfield, adding that he expects the Six Nations match has “a bit of bite”.

England head to Edinburgh with two wins from two in the Six Nations, while Scotland look to bounce back from their second round defeat to France. Scotland have had bragging rights in this game of late, winning the last three meetings.

– England captain George plays for Mum's memory against Scotland

England are aware of their poor form against the old enemy and are eager to put that right on Saturday at Murrayfield.

“We talked about records, at Twickenham, in the Calcutta Cup, which haven't been good enough in the last two years,” England captain George said. “There's been a lot of talk in the Scottish media about how we don't have a chance and might as well not come. That's perfectly fine in my opinion because we'll go about our business quietly and get on with it. We're very happy with where we've been these past few weeks.

We've made huge progress over the fallow week and we've been building really well. Everyone can use different motivation, whether it's what's going on with me at home, people reading stuff in the media, this match is going to have an edge, this match is going to have some bite and we are very prepared for that.”

Steve Borthwick, England's head coach, also highlighted his side's underdog status going into Saturday's match.

“We are focusing on Scotland, who are clear favorites for this game, given their record,” Borthwick said. “We love being in this championship, playing these big games and we're looking forward to this one against a very good Scottish team. I say it sincerely: what a game to be in.”

England made five changes for Saturday's match with Ellis Genge and Dan Cole starting in the front row, Danny Care getting the nod at scrum-half with Alex Mitchell injured, Ollie Lawrence named at inside center and George Furbank replacing Freddie Steward in back. Of these changes, that at full-back was perhaps the most surprising given that Steward was one of England's most consistent players in their opening wins against Italy and Wales.

“A lot of things are done in selection, dropping people, but Freddie has been absolutely incredible for us over the last few weeks. He's been there as one of our best players, but you look tactically at how Scotland play, you “look at the form he's in. George comes into this Six Nations having captained Northampton to a record number of consecutive wins, that element of leadership is huge for us,” George said.

“But ultimately it's about [Furbank’s] performances and he deserves this opportunity and we're certainly not going to die wondering, we're going to go out there and give absolutely everything and that should always be the case when you put on the England jersey.

If England are to win on Saturday, they will need to find a way to nullify the threat posed by Scotland fly-half Finn Russell. He is considered one of the best No.10s in world rugby thanks to his fundamental skills in Scotland's attacking game. England will look to keep control of their box of tricks with their new blitz defence, which has been implemented by coach Felix Jones who joined the RFU after winning back-to-back World Cup titles with the Springboks .

“I've worked with Finn, I know him well, I have a huge amount of respect for him, he's a great player, he's world class,” George said. “What our defense is trying to do is rob people of time and space. If you're going to do that to anyone in the rugby world, it's probably him.

“As strikers we have a huge role to play in terms of set-pieces, putting their team on the back foot and I think that's very difficult for anyone, even though Finn is a maverick and a genius and everything else, if he wants it backwards and we take away time and space, it will be difficult for anyone to pull a rabbit out of a hat.

“He's one of their best players, but they have a lot of good players in all areas and we know it's going to be a big challenge for us, but we are very clear on our game plan and how which we want to pursue. and some of their other big players and we'll make sure we put that on the field on Saturday.”

George will lead England on Saturday, just 10 days after his mother Jane died of cancer. He spoke Thursday about how rugby helped him through the grieving process and how his teammates rallied around him.

“It’s been a pretty difficult time for him and his family,” Furbank said.

“To experience that and then come back to camp and lead the boys with no real difference is incredibly impressive. It gave the boys extra motivation to rally around him. You want to do it for him and his family, who is going through a tough time in this moment. “