England coach Stuart Lancaster named an unchanged side on Thursday for the Calcutta Cup Six Nations clash against Scotland in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Lancaster kept faith with the same matchday 23 that suffered a 26-24 loss to France in England’s Six Nations opener in Paris last weekend – a defeat that left the team “seething”, according to captain Chris Robshaw.
Gloucester’s Jonny May was passed fit earlier in the week after breaking his nose at the Stade de France clash and retained his left-wing berth.
Fellow wing Jack Nowell and centre Luther Burrell, a try-scorer against France, kept their positions after they both made Test debuts in Paris.
England have not scored more than 15 points at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield ground since 2004, and Lancaster was in no doubt of the challenge facing his side as they prepared for the latest edition of rugby union’s oldest international fixture.
“It’s good to be able to select the same players and they are all determined to put last week’s result behind us and build on the performance,” he said after naming the same successive matchday squad for the first time in his 23 Tests in charge. “Scotland will be hugely motivated by their defeat in Dublin and, as we found two years ago, Murrayfield is a tough place to play,” said Lancaster as he recalled his first match as England coach, a 13-6 win at Scotland in 2012.
Meanwhile, Robshaw, speaking before the team was announced, said they took little consolation from a “plucky” defeat in Paris where, having trailed 16-3, they led 24-19 only to lose to Gael Fickou’s try three minutes from time.
The Harlequins flanker was adamant that only victory at Murrayfield would satisfy England, the 2015 World Cup hosts.
“There will have to be a massive reaction,” he said. “All the guys have been seething a bit. Our game is not judged on performance, it is judged on results. No one wants to be called plucky losers.”
Scotland dropped captain Kelly Brown for the clash against England at Murrayfield in one of three changes.
The openside flanker’s place has gone to Glasgow’s Chris Fusaro, who will be making his Test debut, with scrum-half Greig Laidlaw taking over the captaincy.
*
*
Hosts Scotland make three changes for England match
*
Scotland dropped captain Kelly Brown for the match against England, replacing the Saracens’ flanker with debutant Chris Fusaro.
Brown had a disappointing performance in Scotland’s hefty 28-6 loss in Ireland in its tournament opener last weekend.
Coach Scott Johnson called it a “difficult” decision. Vice-captain Greig Laidlaw will now lead Scotland out at Murrayfield, while Fusaro wins his first cap. Matt Scott will replace Duncan Taylor and Tommy Seymour comes on for Sean Maitland.
