History man: Scotland co-captain Rory Darge
Twickenham (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Scotland co-captain Rory Darge says the chance to make history will fuel his side’s “massive ambition” when they bid for a record-breaking fifth win in a row over England in Saturday’s Six Nations clash at Twickenham.
The Scots went 38 years without a Twickenham triumph before their 11-6 Calcutta Cup success in 2021.
They are now eyeing both a fifth successive win over England and an equally unprecedented third straight Twickenham triumph in rugby union’s oldest international fixture.
They go into a 143rd meeting with their cross-border rivals following a disappointing 32-18 second-round loss to Six Nations champions Ireland in Edinburgh that following an opening win over Italy.
“I think it’s an opportunity to be involved in historic wins,” Darge told a pre-match press conference at Twickenham on Friday.
“You go into the tournament with massive ambition to be a Scotland team that does something special. We got beat last time out, but there’s still loads to play for in this tournament.”
- ‘The big one’ -
The 24-year-old Glasgow flanker, playing at Twickenham for the first time, added: “Scotland v England is always a big one. It makes that role of getting the motivation pretty easy – there’s loads there already.
“Historically it’s always been a game that as a fan you watch with more interest than others and now that you’re actually playing in it, sometimes you have to take a moment to reflect on the fact that you’re actually involved in one now.
“But the absolute main driver is obviously the fact it’s a Six Nations game and if we win, we get four or five points.”
Scotland have a talented back-line but were bullied up front by Ireland, with one newspaper report even suggesting they had a “weedy” pack.
“I think it’s not something we use as fuel, certainly I don’t,” said Darge. “It’s something you should be proud of; what you do as a forward pack anyway. It’s always an important factor of the game, isn’t it, the physicality between the two packs?”
Scotland have been boosted by the inclusion of Darge’s co-captain Finn Russell after the playmaking fly-half, who has tormented England in recent encounters, was passed fit following a concussion that forced him off the field against Ireland.
“Finn is really important to us as a team so I’m delighted that he’s fit,” said Darge. “He has so much experience playing for Scotland and his talent speaks for itself.”
England are fresh from a thrilling 26-25 win over France that ended a run of seven straight losses by leading nations, with Steve Borthwick’s decision to select Fin Smith at fly-half and move Marcus Smith to full-back vindicated by the Northampton playmaker’s composed display in his first Test start in the No 10 shirt.
“Both are outstanding players and it might be a case of trying to get them both on the field at the same time and it certainly worked for them against France,” said Darge.