Former England fly half Toby Flood believes that England are ‘huge underdogs’, as they head up to Murrayfield for their third round match in the 2024 Six Nations. England take on Scotland this Saturday, with Gregor Townsend’s men looking to retain the Calcutta Cup for a Scottish record-equalising fourth consecutive year.
England last lifted the Calcutta Cup in 2020, and Toby Flood believes that this weekend’s fixture could well see his former side struggle against Scotland. Speaking to InstantCasino.com, Flood expects Scotland to be fired up following their controversial defeat to France, which the former Newcastle Falcon believes should have been a win for Townsend’s side.
“England will be huge underdogs against an irritated and frustrated Scotland side who will feel cheated. They always have a chip on their shoulder but it gets even bigger when England come to town.”
“It was a ridiculous decision (Sam Skinner’s disallowed try against France). I can really sympathise with Scotland. It looked like a try. The ball was down. There was no reason to overturn that decision. It was a real shock. They deserved to beat France. They played really well. They look a serious side. Had they beaten France they would have felt something special was on this season.
“So, they will want to put their season back on track, and that will really pain them. They will come out really flying because of their frustration.”
“Scotland should have beaten France, it was a ridiculous decision”
Flood then discussed how the Anglo-Scottish rivalry possesses a real sense of ‘hatred’. There have been many memorable meetings between the two sides, with the tempers often flaring high when England arrive at Murrayfield. Flood expects England to face a hostile welcome in Edinburgh, in what the halfback called a ‘soulless stadium’.
“There is a real enmity. When any England team plays in Scotland the mood of the country the mood of Edinburgh changes. There is a real level of resentment.
“The hatred for England is there for all to see. Most nations don’t like England, but the Scots in particular with all the talk of independence over the past decade or more, there is always a heightened atmosphere, a frenzy almost.
“If you’re English, Scotland will always turn up against you. You know it is going to be hostile, you know how much they want to beat England, more than any other nation.”
“It is quite a soulless stadium. It is more often than not miserable and wet. The stadium feels weird. Maybe it is the running track around the side. You do feel quite distant from the crowd. I have never really enjoyed playing there because the wind comes in swirls around. It is quite a nuanced stadium.”
“It will be quite tight. England will hang in there for a while, but I think Scotland by ten points. 27-17. It is going to be an uphill battle for England.”
Looking from an analytical perspective, Flood believes that England have been without an out-right ball carrier, as Henry Slade and Fraser Dingwall have been the preferred midfield pairing for the first two rounds of the Six Nations. There is a lot of expectation that Manu Tuilagi and Ollie Lawrence could return to face Scotland, with the two centres back in the training camp this week.
“You can see England are trying to do something different. The problem they have got is that they haven’t had any clout at the gain line.” Flood said.
“Without that you can’t have the players they have selected, Slade, Ford, Freeman who are people who can play the piano and orchestrate attacks.
“But international rugby is often won by winning the gain line which allows those skilful players to impress themselves on the opposition.
“England are without a bit of power. They are running good shapes, and they are trying to keep the ball in hand and attack but there just hasn’t been that cut- throat nature from an international side.”
Flood closed out the discussion, by highlighting how England have become very ‘data driven’ in their approach to test matches. The former fly half compared the modern attitude of analytics and GPS data to that of the 2011 film ‘Moneyball’, and has taken some of the character out of the sport.
“It has become very data driven. It has become very ‘Moneyball’ for want of a better word especially by Steve Borthwick with England.
“There’s little feel now for the game. That is why we have this detached stale game at the moment. Borthwick is so data driven. It is all about the metrics with him. He is not necessarily the most empathetic charismatic human being, so he relies heavily on those data and touch points.”