EDINBURGH, Feb 12 : Centre Huw Jones said Scotland are fired up after a false start in the Six Nations and looking to take out their frustration on England on Saturday.
Scotland lost 18-15 to Italy last weekend but that result will be forgotten if they can beat England at Murrayfield as they compete for the Calcutta Cup.
“After a loss when everyone’s hurting and when we didn’t really get to play, we all have that pent-up frustration and energy,” Jones told a press conference.
“Even if we’d won (against Italy) I would have come away knowing I didn’t get to do anything. I’m really angry about that and this week adds to the fuel of just wanting to go out and show what we can do. It’s the perfect one for us to come back to.
“We’ve all experienced losses but everyone was really dejected after that,” he added of the loss in Rome.
It was a first game back in a Scotland jersey for 32-year-old Jones, who played for the British & Irish Lions in Australia last year, after he missed the November internationals through injury.
“No one’s hiding. Part of being a professional rugby player is you have to get back to work immediately and you have to park those emotions – but you use that as fuel.”
Scotland have beaten the ‘Auld Enemy’ five times in their last eight meetings in the Six Nations, including winning the last two clashes at Murrayfield.
But England will start favourites on Saturday after romping past Wales at the weekend.
“They’re on a big run of victories at the moment and they’ve got a great squad,” Jones said.
“They’ve developed almost an all-court game where they’ve got their big pack expecting to be dominant in most games but they’ve also got brilliant athletes and good ball-players as well. It’s a tough prospect.”
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
