How ready will England be, when the first high ball is hung up into the blustering winds above Murrayfield and their Six Nations campaign gets underway? A build-up which has been disrupted by injuries will be met head on by a Scotland side emboldened by victory at Twickenham last year, but who will have to deal with wearing the favourites tag this time around.
The mind games have already kicked off. Scotland are not just favourites, they are “overwhelming, red-hot favourites” according to England head coach Eddie Jones – a line delivered with a twinkle of the eye and a nod towards an opening fixture that could go a long way to defining how the Six Nations pans out.
