Scotland may be smarting from the injustice of their defeat by France but Ben Earl insists England also have a point to prove in their Calcutta Cup clash.
Replays suggested Scotland had scored a legitimate stoppage-time try at Murrayfield on Saturday but as they failed to show clear grounding, protocol dictated it should not stand and Les Bleus escaped with a 20-16 win.
The decision prevented them from entering round three of the Guinness Six Nations with an unbeaten record to match that of Steve Borthwick’s team, who crept past Italy and Wales to stay in Grand Slam contention.
What was previously a comfortable Six Nations fixture for England has since been turned on its head by losing the three most recent meetings – and Earl wants to see that addressed in Edinburgh on February 24.
“Scotland are a very proud rugby nation, they’ve got some great players, some great individuals,” Earl said.
“We’ve never had an easy game against them and last time we played them at Twickenham, the first game of last year, we lost.
“We’ve got to right some wrongs and so we’re really looking forward to going up there.”
England’s underwhelming performances in the opening two rounds have hardly set the tournament alight, but in coming from behind to dispatch Italy and Wales they are continuing to show a knack for digging themselves out of trouble.
After a 31-point lead had been thrown away against Scotland in 2019, Borthwick’s predecessor Eddie Jones compared the team’s response to pressure to “hand grenades in the back of a jeep” that “go off”.
But in the World Cup warm-up game against Wales at Twickenham in August, and at the tournament itself, they have displayed the ability to roll with the punches – and come back firing.
“We feel we’ve got a good game to fall back on when things are tight. We can squeeze games out and find a way to win. We know we can win from almost any position,” Earl said.
“When our backs were against the wall against Wales, we got together and said ‘look, it feels like we’re not getting the rub of the green here from the ref and/or the context of the game, so we need to almost bunker down or come out swinging in a way’.
“Other England teams in previous regimes, we might have gone into our shells and reverted to an individual focus, but we were collected and aligned in our messaging and in our next actions, so we were really pleased.
“The Italy game was a step in the right direction and Wales was another step in the right direction, so who knows where we can take it.”
England’s growing resilience has coincided with Earl’s rise to starting number eight and the marauding Saracen, who broke four tackles to cross against Wales, is revelling in the independence he has been given by attack coach Richard Wigglesworth.
“Richard has been really clear with me in terms of giving me a bit of a free role in terms of where I pop up,” Earl said.
“Against Italy I carried a bit more off nine than I did against Wales. But in terms of where I’m at, I’m loving playing for this team.”
Borthwick taking positives from 'frustrating' Autumn Series
England ensured they ended 2024 on a high note as they claimed a 59-14 victory over Japan, and coach Steve Borthwick is taking the positives from a difficult Autumn Nations Series.
Borthwick's team lost three matches on the spin, going down to New Zealand, Australia and South Africa, earlier this month.
However, they at least rallied to wrap up their year with an emphatic victory on Sunday, ending a five-match losing streak.
Captain Jamie George crossed twice in the first half, with Ben Earl, Sam Underhill and Ollie Sleightholme also going over before the interval, while Marcus Smith was on form with the boot.
Japan, coached by former England boss Eddie Jones, did score through a fantastic try from Naoto Saito, but England kept their foot on the pedal after half-time.
George Furbank rounded off a slick move after latching onto Tommy Freeman's exceptional pass, while Luke Cowan-Dickie went over twice, either side of Tom Roebuck's maiden international try, with Kazuki Himeno grabbing another consolation for the visitors.
While Borthwick knows England have plenty to improve on, he feels they are not too short of where they wish to be.
He said: "Reflecting on it, the obvious overriding feeling will be one of frustration to have come so close to getting results but not actually be able to convert them, I think that will be one aspect.
"The other aspect would be real positivity around some of the aspects we've seen the team play.
"I want them to be brave with the ball, I want them to play fast. I think we've seen growth in that area over the last four weeks."
Reflecting on Sunday's display, he added: "I'm really pleased with the way the players approached the game and the way they kept their discipline to play the way we want to play.
"You can see the identity they're trying to build as a team, one that moves the ball and can score in different ways.
"Some of the tries were exceptional. Over the past four weeks, we've scored some really outstanding tries. With the skill level that's in the group, I'm really pleased they took it onto the grass."
Townsend sure Scotland have more to show after superb win over Australia
Gregor Townsend insists Scotland can still play better despite ending their 2024 calendar on the high of an impressive 27-13 win over Australia at Murrayfield.
Finn Russell surpassed 400 Test points after scoring one of four Scotland tries and kicking seven points in a game where Scotland led by 21 points at one stage.
Head coach Townsend was delighted to send supporters home happy but was not happy with all aspects of his side's performance on Sunday.
"If you catch me in 10 minutes I'll be in a better mood. There was more in us. We weren't as accurate in the first half," he told BBC Sport.
"It shows we can get a win when we're not playing as well. There were moments in the game that I loved. We saw what it meant to our supporters to get a win against a quality team.
"We're better than some of the aspects today, but I'm proud that the players found a way to win.
"I'm inwardly happy, but if there was a game next week it would be a tough review and there would be a lot of things to improve."
Captain Sione Tuipulotu crossed in the first half for Scotland, who led 7-3 at the break after Noah Lolesio's had put Australia in front.
The hosts took command after the break with Duhan van der Merwe, Josh Bayliss and Russell going over in the second half.
Wing wizard Harry Potter scored on his Australia debut to add some credit to the scoreline for the visitors and Scotland showed great defensive resolve after that to ensure no more points were conceded.
Skipper Tuipulotu collected the Hopetoun Cup in front of his grandmother and said: "It was an amazing moment. When she handed over the cup she said 'you got 'em!'
"I'm super happy and it makes the day all worthwhile, when we win like that. We won playing our rugby, we scored some brilliant tries. We know how dangerous our back three is but it was a group effort today and that's what I'm most pleased about."
Robertson makes overseas players plea after New Zealand labour versus Italy
New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson has said he wants to see overseas-based players become eligible for the All Blacks after his side laboured to a 29-11 win over Italy.
The visitors recorded their 18th straight win against Italy to wrap up their autumn series, but Robertson's side were made to work for the victory in Turin in flanker Sam Cane's final Test for the team, ahead of his switch to play club rugby in Japan.
Speaking after the game, Robertson said he would ask New Zealand Rugby to follow in the footsteps of world champions South Africa and allow those playing outside domestic competitions to be eligible for the national team.
"We don't want to be a cycle behind or a couple of years behind," Robertson said.
"Professional rugby is always evolving. Let's keep an open mind and see what's next. I'll definitely be presenting.
"Using South Africa as an example, they get the opportunity to use a lot of experienced players who are looked after and managed well into their 30s so they've got a great balance.
"And they've got big squads, they can have two really quality 15s."
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