Scottish Rugby

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, PA Media

Co-captain Rory Darge insists barbs this week from the English media about Scotland's forward pack has not provided any extra motivation for Saturday's Calcutta Cup showdown at Twickenham.

After being physically outmuscled in the defeat to Ireland in round two of the Six Nations, several pundits have predicted England will have the edge in the physical stakes, with former World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward saying in a newspaper column he expected the English pack to "monster" their opponents and "win with a bit to spare".

"It's not something we use as fuel, certainly I don't," Darge said before a game both sides need to win to keep their title hopes alive.

"It's something you should be proud of; what you do as a forward pack. It's always an important factor of the game, isn't it, the physicality between the two packs.

"It's not something we'll shy away from, but it's not necessarily something that we use. I don't think there's any reason for added fuel.

"Historically it's always been a game that as a fan you watch with more interest than others and now that you're actually playing in it, sometimes you have to take any moment you can to reflect on the fact that you're actually involved in one now.

"But the absolute main driver is obviously the fact it's a Six Nations game and if we win, we get four or five points."

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

Image source, Getty Images

On Gregor Townsend's watch, the Calcutta Cup has been a riot of brilliance and tries. In his seven games coaching against England - of which Scotland have lost just one - his team have scored a whopping 19 tries.

To get some perspective on those numbers, consider this. In the 19 Calcutta Cups that went before, Scotland were kept tryless 10 times and scored a total of just 14 tries.

The difference in eras is stark. Scotland haven't just scored buckets of tries in this game - Duhan van der Merwe has six and Huw Jones has five - they've scored buckets of classic tries, so many that I'm going to have a stab at rating them, from 10 to one.

Agree or disagree with the selections or the running order, but we can surely agree on one thing: each one was a total belter.

10 Ben White, Murrayfield 2022: Blink and you'll miss it opportunism. Darcy Graham motors and then turns Joe Marchant inside out before finding White, on his debut. Simple, but delicious. England torn apart.

9 Stuart McInally, Twickenham 2019: Scotland were being blitzed 31-0 at Twickenham. Just before half-time, Stuart McInally charged down Owen Farrell 65m from the England posts and then picked up and ran. The hooker had wing Jonny May in pursuit, but May couldn't live with him. Over went McInally, out came the oxygen mask for the exhausted hero and back Scotland came in one of the great fightbacks.

8 Duhan van der Merwe's first, Murrayfield 2024: Unstoppable Jones accelerates through a gap and England are on the back foot in major bother. Two scrambling Englishmen eventually bring the centre to the ground but in a blur, Jones offloads on the floor to the on-rushing wing.

7 Duhan van der Merwe's second, Murrayfield 2024: England attacking, a loose pass bounces off George Furbank's face and goes to ground. Jones is onto it. From the deck he finds Van der Merwe who has half of Murrayfield to cover and absolute certainty in his eyes that he's going to cover it. Henry Slade reaches out forlornly to stop him like a man about to lose his grip on a cliff edge and away the big fella went.

6 Huw Jones, Murrayfield 2018: A sensational solo score. Jones has been a monumental force in Calcutta Cups. Exploding through a gap between Nathan Hughes and Owen Farrell, Jones darted into the England 22 where Mike Brown and Anthony Watson looked set to clobber him. Jones was having none of it. He just took them with him over the line.

5 Sam Johnson, Twickenham 2019: A gorgeous moment from Finn Russell, whose eyes suggested he was passing deep only to hit Sam Johnson with a flat ball. It's just terrific deception and skill. Johnson flew away, stepped Jack Nowell and held off Elliot Daly to score, From 31-0 down to leading 38-31. Spine-tingling.

4 Duhan van der Merwe, Twickenham 2021: A seismic victory, the first at Twickenham since 1983 and sealed with a razor-sharp score. A Russell bomb is won in the air by Sean Maitland. Matt Fagerson carries like a demon over the gainline. Scotland see space on the other side of the pitch. It comes to Van der Merwe who batters through Elliot Daly, Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola for the decisive and historic score.

3 Duhan van der Merwe's first, Twickenham 2023: England were told not to kick loosely to Scotland, but they did and the wing ran it straight back at them for one of the greatest solo tries the tournament has ever seen.

He beat Joe Marchant and Ollie Chessum, he eluded Freddie Steward and Jack van Poortvliet and then did Alex Dombrandt for good measure. Five defenders beaten in one mesmeric play. Unforgettable.

2 Sean Maitland, Murrayfield 2018: It'll be remembered for Russell's pass to Jones, the moment of sheer audacity and excellence that sparked an incredible breakout. That on its own was a wow moment, but then Scotland went the length of the pitch to score.

It then came down to Russell to float the try-scoring pass to Maitland, which he did with apparent ease. It was anything but easy. It was wondrous, from first second to last.

1 Duhan van der Merwe's second, Twickenham 2023: One of the great team tries. Time was running out and Scotland were in their own half. From there - perfection. The speed of the attacks, the accuracy of the work, backs and forwards eating up yards while playing heads-up rugby. Joyous.

The last act told you everything. Having pulled England this way and that, they struck for glory. Fraser Brown fed Richie Gray who flipped it on to Matt Fagerson, who put Van der Merwe loose. The colossus had to beat Marcus Smith, Owen Farrell and Max Malins. Easy and extraordinary at the same time.

We asked for your views on Scotland's squad selection to face England.

Here's what some of you said:

Henry: Typical flawed selection by Gregor Townsend. No George Horne. Go ask Franco Smith who he would have as his number nine. Matt Fagerson on the bench replaced by flakey Jamie Ritchie who wouldn't get a game for Glasgow. Jonny Gray a lumbering defensive lock with no nasty ball-carrying ability. Sadly Scott Cummings and Max Williamson not fit but Sam Skinner is. Time for Franco Smith.

James: Great move bringing Ritchie in. People forget that at his best, he is one of the best. But something he brings that very few seem to bring is leadership. Where other players match his playing abilities, they do not match his leadership abilities. Fun stat: since losing the captaincy, the only games Scotland have won are the ones where he starts.

Robbie: If Finn Russell is to be our first-choice 10 he has to produce high level performances consistently. He rarely does. One good game in three is not good enough. Sam Prendergast and Jack Crowley performant at a high level consistently.

Anon: Selection much to be expected. But not sure on 6-2 split on the bench. We got caught out against the Irish, we played a scrum half on the wing for 60 minutes.

Duncan: What does Horne have to do to get a start? Ben White is too slow at the breakdown.

Doug: Happy to see Finn is starting, it's a shame for Darcy Graham but hopefully he's back in the starting 15 for the last two games. I would have dropped a forward from the replacements and had Cameron Redpath on the bench though.

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Gregor Townsend was keen to play down Scotland's prospects heading into this weekend's Calcutta Cup showdown, despite boasting an impressive record in the fixture himself.

Of his seven Calcutta Cup matches as head coach, he has won five, drawn one and lost only one, however, the 51-year-old remained diplomatic when asked if that stellar track record has changed the psychology around this fixture from a Scotland point of view.

"No, this is a very tough fixture," he said. "Playing at Twickenham is always one of our hardest games and in recent years we've got on the right side of the result.

"But they've been very close games and we've had to play very, very well to get those wins. So we know that's what we'll have to do on Saturday."

Last year's 30-21 win at Murrayfield made it four straight wins against the Auld Enemy for the first time since 1896, which would suggest the squad could potentially turn up to Twicken unphased by the fear factor the venue used to hold.

Townsend was equally as keen to dismiss any suggestion this would be on the player's minds.

He added: "Well, I'm not sure if there was a fear factor.

"I think it was just a place over history that had been very tough for us because England are always a strong team.

"This group of players have had the experience of winning at Twickenham, which can help as you prepare for the game. But the reality is what happens in the 80 minutes and we know it's going to be a very tough match."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has been speaking to the media ahead of Scotland's Six Nations match against England at Twickenham on Saturday.

Here's the best of what Townsend had to say:

• The defeat to Ireland in round two, rather than any history around the Calcutta Cup, is what has focused the players' minds this week as they want to "improve from our game against Ireland."

• Pleased to have Finn Russell fit and available. Calcutta Cup matches have brought out the best in him. "Finn loves it, the competitive side of it," he says, adding that Russell revels in the close, competitive games as well, saying "he's enjoyed those games that have gone to the wire as well"

• Darcy Graham was symptom-free two days on from his concussion against Ireland but was left out of the squad for England because "we felt it wasn't right to bring him into full contact this week", adding that Saturday's opponents will "be very confident in where the game is".

• England have threats "all over the place", especially the "very dangerous" duo of Fin Smith and Marcus Smith, but knows there are threats all over the field, "but they've got some really good players outside of that as well," he adds.

• Scotland will bring the necessary passion against England, but must also "be calm amongst the chaos" at Twickenham.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Ah, the heady days of pre-Six Nations optimism. The days when true believers thought that at least 12 Scots would be on the plane to Australia as British & Irish Lions.

Round two's match-up was a real audition against Ireland, in front of the watchful eyes of head coach Andy Farrell. Sadly for the Scots, some of them won't be getting a phone call.

Therefore the Calcutta Cup acts as a second chance, an opportunity to show that Ireland was just a blip. Although, you imagine, not one of the players will be thinking about that as they step out onto the pitch.

Gregor Townsend's team selection does not greatly surprise. There are three changes, only one enforced.

Pierre Schoeman is back in the front row to offer his heft from the first whistle. The plan to spring the loosehead from the bench late on against Ireland did not work as, by the time he'd arrived, the damage had been done.

Jamie Ritchie is in for Matt Fagerson, both eying a potential trip to the Southern Hemisphere in the summer. The younger Fagerson is one of Scotland's most under-rated players but the Scots faltered at the breakdown against Ireland and Ritchie has been brought in for his nous in that area.

Finally, Kyle Rowe is in for a second Six Nations start following the head injury to Darcy Graham.

Although the fleet-footed Edinburgh winger has passed all of his head injury assessments and his concussion symptoms have subsided, common sense has prevailed.

"Darcy is progressing well, he's onto the next stage of training but we felt this week was too early to do full contact," Townsend told SRU media. "We're giving him that extra week to recover."

Finn Russell, the other Scot involved in the sickening head clash that ended both of their games against Ireland - and perhaps Scotland's chances - will co-captain.

He passed his HIA on the day, but Townsend and his staff made the call to remove him anyway. A sensible call, but one that highlights the need to scrutinise the current HIA process.

It is simplistic to say Scotland's chances rely solely on Russell firing on all cylinders, but if they are to record a historic fifth consecutive victory over England, he will have to be instrumental.

Finn Russell has been passed fit to start against England after his head knock in the last round of the Six Nations, but mercurial winger Darcy Graham misses out. Kyle Rowe starts in his place.

In the forwards, former captain Jamie Ritchie has replaced Matt Fagerson in the back-row while Pierre Schoeman returns to loosehead prop.

Are you confident that this selection can best England at Twickenham? Would you have made any other changes?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

BBC Scotland's Andy Burke has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Mark asked: With George Horne injured, were you surprised to see Ali Price - off-form at Edinburgh - called up? Is it a backwards step? Same question regarding the exclusion of try scorer extraordinaire Johnny Mathews...

Andy answered: Price was a brilliant scrum-half at his peak, especially when playing himself into the starting nine jersey on the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa.

The problem is, Price has been playing far short of that level for a long time now. He fell down the pecking order at Glasgow, was shipped off to Edinburgh and has hardly set the world alight along the M8.

Price has also found his Scotland opportunities limited with the emergence of Ben White and Jamie Dobie and the form of Horne, but Gregor Townsend has always been willing to give him a chance to rediscover his best stuff.

He picked Price to start against Fiji in November, describing him as "the form Scottish scrum-half", which raised a few eyebrows. The scrum-half was not seen again for the rest of the autumn.

I would be very surprised to see Price feature against England, but with Townsend's team selections you're never quite sure.

As for Johnny Matthews? Unfortunately for him, he's one of those faces that just doesn't fit for the Scotland management.

The coaches are thought to feel Matthews lacks the requisite physicality at Test level, and yet Franco Smith, a man who demands that very attribute from all his players, has no problem starting him at hooker most weeks for the URC champions.

It's a curious situation, especially given how light Scotland look in the hooker department right now...

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Former England winger Chris Ashton believes Scotland's Gregor Townsend has become a victim of his own success as Scotland head coach.

Townsend, 51, took over in 2017 and his impressive win percentage as boss puts him among the top three Scotland coaches of all time.

"For Scotland, there's pressure on Gregor," Ashton told the Scottish Rugby Podcast. "The team that he has have maybe excelled more than what they should have done. It's a really small player pool to pick from.

"Maybe we're looking at it the wrong way. Maybe Gregor has really exceeded with what he's got available in his player pool. Maybe they've been so good that people have come to expect a certain level of performance from the team."

During Townsend's seven Six Nations campaigns, Scotland have finished fourth on four occasions, third twice, and fifth once.

However, with what many believe is the strongest Scotland squad ever, Townsend finds himself under the cosh after a 11th consecutive defeat to Ireland.

"If you take a couple of players out - like against Ireland, when they lost Darcy [Graham], Finn [Russell], no [Sione] Tuipulotu there already - things start to look drastically different, quickly," Ashton continued.

"That isn't necessarily Gregor's fault. You can coach players to where you want, within their limits.

"But whether they've got the strength in depth to finish games off against big teams is a very different question and to put that on Gregor seems quite harsh to me."

You can listen to the full Calcutta Cup preview with Chris Ashton by clicking here.

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Scotland captain Rachel Malcom will leave Lougborough Lightning at the end of the season after eight years at the club.

The 33-year-old was on the pitch for the Lightning's first ever game in 2017, captaining the team, and has gone on to make 67 appearances for the Premiership Women's Rugby side.

The bulk of her 52 Scotland caps have come during her time in Leicestershire, where she has recently taken up a player-coach role.

However, she will depart the club at the end of the season, with the final game on Friday against Trailfinders at Franklin's Gardens.

Malcolm has been named in Bryan Easson's most recent Scotland training squad and is expected to lead her country again at the upcoming Six Nations.

BBC Scotland's Andy Burke has been answering some of your Scottish rugby questions.

Matthew asked: What are your thoughts on Franco Smith's comments in the media the other day? I almost saw it as a 'take it or leave it' message to the SRU in relation to the Scotland job. Also, do you feel Gregor Townsend has taken this team as far as he can?

Andy answered: I was very surprised at Franco Smith's comments. He didn't just leave the door ajar for an approach from Wales, he pretty much got the tools out and took the door straight off its hinges.

The chat we've been hearing for some time is that after his difficult spell with Italy a few years back, Smith preferred the day-to-day coaching that comes with a club job. His comments before and after Glasgow's victory over Dragons blew that notion out the water.

So what's Smith's play here? He could have quietly let it be known to the WRU that he was interested in the Wales job rather than doing so publicly. So was it a power play to force the SRU to give him some assurances the Scotland job is coming his way sooner rather than later? It's hard to know.

Any review and decision around Gregor Townsend's future should, and will, come at the end of the Six Nations. Smith's comments, coming in Calcutta Cup week, is an unwelcome distraction.

It's unclear just how well Smith and performance director David Nucifora have hit it off since the Australian arrived on the scene with seemingly free rein to change up anything he sees fit in Scottish Rugby. What little we do know about Nucifora, it's doubtful he will appreciate being pressured so publicly by one of his own coaches.

Colin asked: Time must surely be up for Sean Everitt at Edinburgh. How about this fanciful notion... Smith to Scotland, and one of the (nearly) available big-hitters goes to Glasgow. Townsend (in dreamland) goes to Edinburgh. He's the only one who has proven he can get those players to perform. Could he do it at club level? Too big a step down for him?

Andy answered: Edinburgh's home defeat to Zebre was desperately poor, but not at all surprising from a group of players who have proved to be less than the some of their parts time and time again.

Clearly the problems run deeper than the head coach, but Sean Everitt has at no point looked convincingly like the man to get this train moving in the right direction.

Gregor Townsend to take over at Edinburgh? I'd say that is highly unlikely.

Townsend got the Scotland job on account of his excellent work with Glasgow, and despite what his critics may argue, he has achieved many notable successes as national head coach.

So none of that suggests he would see joining a failing Edinburgh set-up as anything other than a huge step down.

Big national jobs are few and far between, so if and when Townsend moves on from Scotland, I think a club job in the English Premiership or French Top 14 would be his next port of call.

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George Horne has arrived in Spain to join up the Scotland squad after an eye injury threatened to rule him out of the England game.

The scrum-half starred in Glasgow's 40-25 win over the Dragons at Rodney Parade and suffered a nasty blow to the face, however after being deemed safe to play by club medics, he has joined the squad in Oliva.

Edinburgh's Ali Price also joined up with the group at the weekend, taking the tally of scrum-halves in camp to four, including Ben White and Jamie Dobie.

Horne, who has 35 caps for Scotland, featured as a replacement in the round one win against Italy, but Dobie was preferred on the bench against Ireland.

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Scotland have confirmed their four opponents in the 2025 Autumn Nations Series at Murrayfield, with New Zealand returning for the first time in three years.

The Scots will also host the USA, Argentina and Tonga in November, with the US Eagles first up on 1 November.

Then it will be the turn of the All Blacks, who Scotland are still yet to beat in an international fixture. However, the last two games have provided closer competition, with New Zealand narrowly winning 31-23 in 2022 and 22-17 in 2017.

Gregor Townsend's side will be looking for revenge against Argentina, after Los Pumas beat them 2-1 over the 2022 summer series in South America.

The hosts have also played the US recently, beating them 53-6 during the latest summer tour, while they beat Tonga comfortably during the group stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Scotland's Autumn Nations Series:

Saturday 1 November: Scotland v USA (17:40 GMT)

Saturday 8 November: Scotland v New Zealand (15:10)

Sunday 16 November: Scotland v Argentina (15:10)

Sunday 23 November: Scotland v Tonga, (13:40)

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Jamie Ritchie says he would have regretted not taking the "really difficult" decision to leave boyhood club Edinburgh at the end of this season.

The flanker will join Perpignan in the summer after a decade in the capital, making 124 appearances in his time there.

Ritchie made his debut in October 2014 and went on to make his Scotland debut four years later, going on to earn 56 caps to date.

"It was a massive decision for me, one that my wife and I spent a lot of time mulling over," he said. "Obviously, I've really enjoyed my time at Edinburgh.

"I've loved it. I've spent my whole adult life there. I arrived at Edinburgh when I was 17-years-old, so it was a really difficult decision to leave.

"But if I had decided not to leave now, I never would have. I know that I probably would have regretted it if I'd never challenged myself in a different club, a different league. That was part of the decision."

He will not be alone in France, with Blair Kinghorn already set up in Toulouse and Ben White plying his trade for Toulon, while former Scotland internationals Chris Cusiter, Nathan Hines, and Alastair Strokosch have all pitched up at Stade Aime Giral.

"Part of it was about experience for myself and my family, getting to live abroad and all the things that come along with that, " Ritchie added, "but also making sure that I didn't finish rugby with any regrets.

"Playing in France was always something that I thought that I'd potentially do. Off the back of guys like Blair [Kinghorn] moving last year and him saying that he's really enjoyed it, it gives you a bit more confidence to be able to go and make that leap."

Back to the Calcutta Cup, and the former captain stands a solid chance of returning to the starting XV given Scotland's woes at the breakdown against Ireland.

"We had a meeting earlier on, just talking about how Ireland put a little bit of pressure on our breakdown," he said.

"It wasn't necessarily with a lot of steals, but in terms of the quality of the ball that we were getting. They put us under a little bit of pressure. We have to make sure we up that area because we know that England will pose probably a slightly more traditional breakdown threat with their jackals.

"And also making sure we try and get a bit of a fast start. We were a little bit slow to get going against Ireland, so we're looking to right that one as well."

Grant Young
Glasgow fan columnist

There is something always fascinating about the URC games in the weeks between Six Nations games.

Debuts are given, players are played out of position, and others are released from Scotland camp - all adding to a concoction of attacking rugby.

These fixtures can often be potential banana skins for top teams but, yet again, Glasgow's depth and trust in the full squad shone through.

Seven tries were unloaded on a hapless Dragons side, with George Horne - now seemingly third choice for Scotland - showing his leadership, Ollie Smith coming through another full game at outside centre, and Nathan McBeth returning from injury.

George Horne, who now appears to be third choice for Scotland, showed his leadership skills and his ability to snipe and create from nowhere.

Jack Mann was rightfully awarded player of the match, which made me ponder - have Glasgow missed the trick with Mann leaving for pastures new?

Having missed so much rugby due to injury, his explosion onto the Glasgow scene makes it no surprise that so many teams were snapping at the heels for his signature.

Glasgow do have vast experience who can play at number eight but at 25-years-old, Mann has years ahead of him. You just have to hope the SRU and Glasgow do not let a third breakout star head abroad or south.

Back to Six Nations, and the Warriors continue to be the small shining light for Scotland. A couple of big weeks ahead for the national team and the SRU, and I'll end with a plea.

Please, don't let the Welsh steal Franco!

Sandy Smith
Edinburgh fan columnist

It's not getting any better, is it?

The loss to Zebre was one of the worst I've seen as an Edinburgh fan and the collective feeling at the Hive Stadium seemed to suggest one answer - a change of head coach.

Sean Everitt seems like a nice guy, but that's not enough for Edinburgh right now.

Currently, the team plays like a rabbit caught in the headlights, unsure whether to go left or right - so up the middle we go. Again and again and again, and slowly because well... Ali Price.

We're desperate. Give us something to cheer. A win or two in the knockout stages of the Challenge cup will do. We aren't a greedy support, just look at the scraps we've survived on this far.

Stop giving interviews about the top four or about what you are going to achieve. It's become embarrassing and is frankly misleading. Top four? Top 14 may be beyond us with the current trajectory.

Appoint someone who won't stand for mediocrity, who will back our corner and sounds like he is passionate about getting us winning. Style - optional. Winning - mandatory.

I'm prepared to accept that the URC title is beyond our grasp this season and further to that, I'd accept defeats in that competition - if they came with mass deployment of our youth and development players with a view to them being battle hardened for next year.

It is hurtful to us as a fanbase to see supporters of other clubs revelling in our misfortune.

Sandy Smith can be found at The Burgh Watch, external.

It's Calcutta Cup week, and Gregor Townsend needs to get Scotland's Six Nations back on track after a bruising loss to Ireland two weeks ago.

There's no shortage of quandaries domestically, either. Edinburgh appear to be in a right old mess and Franco Smith didn't put out any fires when asked about the Wales job.

With that in mind, have you got any burning questions to put to our rugby writers Tom English and Andy Burke? Send them in via this link, external and they will be answered on this page later in the week.

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

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Scotland are going to have to show "desperation" to keep their Six Nations hopes alive against England on Saturday, says assistant coach Peter Horne.

The Scots were well beaten by Ireland at Murrayfield earlier this month and sit fourth in the table after two rounds of fixtures.

Horne also laughed off the suggestion, from a correspondent in a Sunday newspaper, external, that Scotland's forwards are "weedy".

"The boys have got experience of going down there and getting results, so I think you need to make sure we're not caught off guard by their physicality," Horne said.

"There's been a lot in the press about them imposing their physicality on our weedy forwards. I think we'll need to make sure we're ready to match that. Our guys are certainly up for the physical challenge, especially off the back of a disappointing result.

"Having won the last four, there'll be a little bit of needle to add to what's always a very big game. It's a good challenge for our boys to get back on the horse and stay in the tournament."

Asked if the description of Scotland's forwards as "weedy" had circulated around the camp, Horne said that it hadn't been discussed, but that he saw the comment on an app on his phone and it made him giggle.

"I've been chucking that at the boys a little bit today just to wind them up," Horne added.

"That's the sort of thing, if I was a player, it would annoy me. I'd be looking forward to getting out on the park and proving everyone wrong."

Scotland's lack of physicality against Ireland was "an area that we were a bit disappointed with," he added. "We've done our review. There's been a lot of honest conversations.

"I know our boys are really keen to get out and right some wrongs. It's a great challenge. If we're serious about staying involved in the tournament and in the hunt for the competition, then we've got to go down and do this this weekend.

"We've got to go out there and perform. There'll be that desperation. That's what we want to see. We want to see that desperation to stay in the tournament."