EDINBURGH — Ben Earl has expressed his understanding of what a “wounded animal” resembles as England gears up to face Scotland in Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash in Edinburgh.
Scotland — particularly head coach Gregor Townsend — is facing considerable pressure ahead of the match after commencing their Six Nations campaign with an 18-15 loss to Italy in Rome last week.
England No. 8 Earl, who participated in his team’s last victory at Murrayfield in 2020, stated they are fully cognizant of the type of reaction their traditional rivals will exhibit.
“I can’t imagine there will be any lack of desire from either side,” Earl remarked.
“We hope it will be an exciting event for everyone, but we recognize that this match carries a unique significance. For us, it’s the Calcutta Cup, and we are the current holders, but it’s also the next step in the journey we’ve been discussing.”
“I can’t speak for them, but I understand what a wounded animal can appear like. Not long ago, we were on the losing end and striving to recover.”
Despite having different outcomes in recent months, Scotland’s performance in the Calcutta Cup, with four victories in the last six encounters, has been a prominent topic leading up to this week.
England regained the cup with a narrow win at Twickenham last year, and while they emerged victorious, Earl acknowledged that Scotland excelled in the tactical battle. However, he noted it also served as a significant indicator of how much the team has advanced over the past year.
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“That was the essence of winning in an unattractive manner,” Earl stated.
“Interestingly, we have reviewed that match a few times in recent weeks for various reasons, assessing our growth as a team and also understanding what it means to be tactically outmaneuvered.”
“I believed Scotland, for the majority, tactically outperformed us for a significant portion of that game last year. The insights we gained from that match have been substantial, and many of the players have indicated they learned a great deal from that encounter and have progressed since.”
“We feel we are in a strong tactical position and are ready for a different style of game that Scotland will present.”
