Eddie Jones absolutely terrorises Gregor Townsend as the mind games begin
It may have taken until only 48 hours before the Six Nations begins for the smack talk and mind games to begin, but Eddie Jones is now laying it on with a trowel ahead of the Calcutta Cup Test on Saturday in Edinburgh.
The Australian has decided to pile huge amounts of pressure on his opponents, not only labelling them as “red-hot favourites” but talking about the amount of expectation there is for the home side to win.
Whether Scotland are red-hot favourites or not is a matter for debate, but one thing that is undeniable is that this Calcutta Cup match is the most evenly poised of Jones’ entire tenure as England coach. England have entered this match as favourites many times before but have been on the wrong side of the scoreline, so on this occasion, Jones is attempting to flip the narrative and put his counterpart Gregor Townsend under all the pressure.
“It is the first time I have been in the experience of going up there with Scotland as red-hot favourites,” the three-time Six Nations winner said.
“They are expected to win. Every time the players look at the crowd at Murrayfield they will field that expectation. They are expected to win, they are red-hot favourites so they have got to cope with that.
“This is a special game, isn’t it? It’s a special game, the Calcutta Cup. I think it has been going for 143 years, it means a lot to both countries and it is the first time I have gone there at Murrayfield as the underdogs.
“Scotland are red-hot favourites. They have got to cope with that expectation, there is 62,000 fans and then they will be thinking about all the fans on BBC television that are watching the game, so they have got to carry that burden. Every game is the same for us is the same, we are expected to win. It’s no different for us.”
