Scotland braced for hostile Calcutta Cup clash as 'weedy Scotland' barb given short shrift

Gregor Townsend’s team are going for a fifth consecutive win in the fixture, something no Scottish side has done.

Darge has never played at Twickenham, or Allianz Stadium as it is now called, and had his first experience of the ground during Friday’s final training session. It is a stadium that has been a graveyard for many Scotland sides over the years but Townsend’s teams have changed the narrative and are unbeaten in three visits to the ground, drawing in 2019 then winning in 2021 and 2023.

Nevertheless, with England coming into the third round of the Six Nations off the back of an impressive if slightly chaotic win over France and Scotland having lost to Ireland, Darge is wary of the threat posed by the home side who will be roared on by an expectant 80,000-plus sellout crowd.

“I think we've got to expect a hostile environment,” said the Scotland co-captain. “England are off the back of a win, they're an outstanding side. They'll feel, and I feel to be fair, that despite not getting the results in the games building up to last week, they've been really, really good and they've been there or thereabouts.”

England scrum coach Tom Harrison has promised they will bring “nastiness” to the occasion as they look to defeat the Scots for the first time since winning at Murrayfield in 2020 and Darge, 25, stressed the need for Scotland to be on it from the first whistle.

“The start of this game is going to be massive,” said the back-rower. “They're at home, they're off the back of a win, and there's going to be a lot of physicality - there always is in Six Nations games. We need to show energy at the start of the game and make sure we're ready to roll into it from the beginning. It is going to be really important, from the very first whistle.”

Scotland started poorly against Ireland and were 17-0 down after 32 minutes, eventually losing 32-18. They were widely criticised in the aftermath, with one veteran commentator describing it as a “weedy performance, especially up front”.

It is a barb Scotland’s assistant coach Pete Horne has used to fire up the forwards during training this week but Darge claimed the “weedy” jibe was water off a duck’s back.

“I'm not sure what that actually means,” he said. “I don't have social media myself, but I have been told about that article. To be honest, in many years' time when people will look back on this fixture, they're not going to look at articles or bits said in the week in the build-up.”

More important to the Glasgow Warriors flanker is reviving Scotland’s Six Nations campaign which suffered a severe dent against the Irish following the opening win over Italy. Townsend’s side are fourth in the standings on five points, one behind France and England but well adrift of Ireland who top the table on the maximum 10 points.

“In terms of how much we've still got to play for, it's a massive motivator for this group,” said Darge. “Last week was a disappointment, but there's three games left. The challenge for us is to play our best or to be near our best for the next three games and see where that takes us.”

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