Scotland centre Huw Jones believes the current England team will be the strongest he has ever faced at any point of his career.
But Jones is confident this will be the perfect game for Scotland to bounce back from last week’s abject defeat in Rome.
The Scots were heavily criticised after their campaign began in the worst possible fashion with a lamentable display in the 18-15 defeat to Italy.
Gregor Townsend’s position as head coach has come under fresh scrutiny and he is under major pressure heading into Saturday’s clash with a resurgent England at Murrayfield.
Steve Borthwick’s men dismantled Wales on the opening weekend. On a run of 12 straight victories, they are strongly fancied to go all the way and challenge France to win the Grand Slam.
Jones has been a prominent figure in the Calcutta Cup over the years. The 32-year-old has played in the fixture seven times, winning four, losing three while scoring six tries.
Huw Jones is looking to see a major improvement from Scots against England on Saturday
Jones is shackled by the Italians during a game when the Scotland centre just didn’t get going
Jones is a veteran of the Calcutta Cup clash, playing in it seven times and winning four
He is braced for another stiff test at Murrayfield, but he insists he and his team-mates will be fuelled by ‘anger’ after failing to fire a shot last weekend in Rome.
Asked whether this will be the strongest England side he has faced, Jones said: ‘Yeah, I would imagine so. They’re on a big run of wins at the moment.
‘They’re a really confident squad at the moment. They’re playing good rugby and have developed their game into almost an all-court game.
‘They’ve got their big pack where you’d expect them to be dominant in most games that they’re in.
‘But they’ve also got brilliant athletes and good ball-players. So it’s a tough prospect.
‘I think this is probably the perfect game in opposition for us. You don’t need any more motivation, really. Especially after a loss when everyone’s hurting.
‘We didn’t really get to play last weekend, so I think we all have that pent-up frustration and energy from a really frustrating game.
‘Even if we’d won that, I think I would have come away from that being like: “I didn’t get to do anything”.
Finn Russell, above right, and Huw Jones have a chat ahead of the England showdown
Jones is aware of the fact he was largely anonymous in last weekend’s defeat in Rome
The Scotland centre will be looking to show England a clean pair of heels on Saturday
‘I’m really angry about that and I think this week that adds to the fuel of just wanting to go out and show what we can do.
‘England are obviously a brilliant team, but I think it’s the perfect one for us to come back to.
‘They’re obviously a top side at the moment, winning lots of games, but that doesn’t mean that you then give them too much respect. They are a good team, but we still have to go at them and play.’
Scotland failed to make a single line-break in the defeat to Italy. Normally such a productive partnership in midfield, Jones and Sione Tuipulotu were anonymous.
The conditions were partly to blame, with biblical rain making it extremely difficult to throw the ball around, but Italy still made a far better fist of it than Scotland.
Jones admitted that there was anger and dejection afterwards in the changing room. But he rejected any claims that Scotland have reached the end of the road under Townsend.
There have been growing calls this week for him to be relieved of his duties come the end of the championship.
But Jones insist the players remain fully committed to Townsend’s plan – and is confident they can deliver a result on Saturday to reignite their championship.
Huw Jones talks with Finn Russell and Duhan van der Merwe during Scotland training
Jones admits the Scotland dressing room was a dismal place after losing to Italy in Rome
Jones will now be looking to lead the charge when England come to Murrayfield on Saturday
‘After the game last weekend, it was one of the tougher changing rooms I’ve been in,’ reflected the British and Irish Lions star.
‘We have experienced losses before, but I think everyone was just really dejected after that. The anger and frustration comes later on, maybe on the Sunday.
‘Then we do the review. Those conversations were very honest. I think we got to the bottom of them – and it’s horrible.
‘What’s tough for the public is that you don’t get to be in those conversations. So you’re left seeing the loss and then kind of stewing over it for the whole week and not getting answers because you’re not in our meetings.
‘Whereas for us, a part of being a professional rugby player is you have to get back to work immediately and you have to feel those emotions and park those emotions; use that as fuel but also be very objective and clinical in your review process.
‘We have to look at that first 20 minutes against Italy. That’s where the game was ultimately won and lost.
‘Essentially they got two chances off launches and scored within three phases. We also got down their end and did nothing with that. So that’s essentially where the game was lost for us.
‘It’s frustrating because you want to start well. I think the Six Nations is all about momentum and building those wins. I think our full focus has been on just one game at a time and we didn’t get the first one.
‘But you have to just let that go and forget about it. It doesn’t matter now. You don’t worry about being derailed and where you’re going to be on the table and all that stuff. I think it’s just game by game.
‘I don’t personally feel like things have gone stale or anything like that. I still believe in this group.
‘I think probably consistency is what it comes down to and that hasn’t been good enough for probably a number of years because we haven’t managed to win a Six Nations.
‘We haven’t managed to string enough wins together. That’s probably what it comes down to.’