On the back of such a dismal performance in the defeat to Italy in Rome last weekend, Gregor Townsend is now under major pressure as Scotland’s head coach.
There are already fears that Scotland are in a battle simply to avoid the wooden spoon in this year’s Six Nations championship.
The scrutiny on Townsend’s position has never been greater. With England due at Murrayfield on Saturday, the intensity will only crank up further still.
Despite it being a fixture that Scotland have dominated during Townsend’s reign, a Calcutta Cup clash against a rejuvenated England is probably the last thing he needs right now.
The criticism is now becoming widespread. Writing in his Daily Mail Sport column earlier this week, Sir Clive Woodward gave a damning verdict on Townsend.
Gregor Townsend is under pressure after an opening day defeat away to Italy
Steve Borthwick has voiced his support for rival head coach Gregor Townsend
Namely, the decision for Townsend to pursue a side hustle with Red Bull and the ongoing links to Newcastle which have once again cast a cloud over Scotland’s campaign.
The defeat to Italy saw Scotland drop down to 10th place in the latest world rankings, with fresh calls for him to be relieved of his duties.
Yet, in his opposite number Steve Borthwick, Townsend may have found an unlikely ally. The England head coach has leapt to the defence of the beleaguered Scotland boss – and urged fans to cut him some slack.
‘I think Gregor is a wonderful coach,’ said Borthwick,’ whose side thrashed Wales last weekend and have won 12 games on the bounce.
‘I was told recently he has the best win record of any Scotland coach in the professional era.
‘I have immense respect for him. He’s a phenomenal coach and they (Scotland fans) should spend more time supporting him.’
England have not won at Murrayfield since 2020. Under the guidance of Townsend, it is Scotland who have either won or retained the Calcutta Cup in six of the last eight years.
Gunning to win the championship this time around, Borthwick made three changes to his squad from the win over Wales.
Captain Maro Itoje and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie come into the starting XV, with Fin Smith replacing his namesake Marcus among the replacements.
Insisting his team would relish a hostile atmosphere at Murrayfield, Borthwick added: ‘I sense the players going: “This is brilliant, let’s go and do it, let’s go and test ourselves”.
‘They know the Scotland players really well. They talk really highly of the Scotland players from the Lions and how talented they are.
‘They can’t wait to go and compete against them. It’s going to be interesting how they (Scotland) play.
‘They’ve got such incredible players, especially in the back-line. Clearly, they have developed a very, very good attack.
‘If they come and play like that, they are going to really stretch our defence. Our defence was good against Wales. It’ll need to be perfect this coming Saturday.’
The Scots are licking their wounds after their championship got off to the worst possible start in the 18-15 defeat to Italy in Rome.
But scrum coach Pieter de Villiers is confident that a victory over the Auld Enemy can turn everything around and restore some positive momentum.
‘It’s only the second game of the tournament, any team in the tournament can still win it,’ insisted De Villiers.
Finn Russell and Scotland face a tough task as in-form England head to Murrayfield
‘Italy will go out and surprise other teams as well, they’re a really good outfit and I think it’s going to be tight all around this tournament.
‘It’s important that we get that enthusiasm back to go and deliver a great game.
‘England are a team who have had good results recently, they’ve been consistent.
‘A result against England obviously will turn everything around and put us on the right track to win this tournament.’
De Villiers insisted the magnitude of this weekend’s match against their bitter rivals will ensure there is no lingering deflation in the Scottish camp.
‘On Sunday everyone needs a pick-up because it’s obviously a big disappointment, but I think everyone is squarely back on the horse,’ he added.
‘With such a big game coming up, the passion that is around this game ignites everyone to the top level.
‘The concentration levels are there and the excitement is there. There will always be outside noise going on, that’s the nature of this game.
‘It’s high-stakes, it’s Six Nations, and if you don’t get results, fans out there will be disappointed and people will obviously look into things and maybe want change.
‘But for us nothing changes in terms of what we do on a day-to-day basis.
‘Yes, we would have liked a better result but this weekend is a perfect opportunity to go and do it in a high-stakes game where both teams will be very passionate and driven to deliver a result.’
