Finlay Calder, the former Scotland and Lions captain, believes England will struggle to replicate the form that took them to the World Cup final three months ago in the forthcoming Six Nations.
England’s semi-final dismantling of New Zealand was widely regarded as their finest performance of the professional era, but a 32-12 humbling by South Africa brought a chastening conclusion to their global campaign.
Calder, a key figure in the side that beat England in a seismic grand slam decider in 1990, claims the fallout from Saracens’ relegation over salary-cap breaches will also have a negative effect on Eddie Jones’s squad. “I think England will find it tough,” he said.
“That World Cup final knocked the stuffing out of their confidence. They never saw that coming. And with everything going on at Saracens as well, I think that will be a distraction.”
England won a grand slam in Jones’s first year in 2016 and the title again the following year. They finished fifth in 2018 and runners-up last year. After opening their campaign in Paris on Sunday, England next head to Murrayfield, where they lost 25-13 two years ago. It is one of only two home games for Gregor Townsend’s side, with France the other visitors.
“Of the two sides, I think France will be very difficult,” the 62-year-old Calder said. “They have got [the defence coach] Shaun Edwards in and he will sort out their discipline; they will be very hard to score against. I think Wales have peaked, too. The World Cup was a big ask and it took it out of them. If I was putting money on anyone, I would put it on France.”
Calder, who is helping promote a charity event uniting Scotland’s 1984 and 1990 grand slam squads to raise funds for seriously injured players, is candid about Scotland’s prospects.
“When Finn Russell [who misses Saturday’s opener in Ireland for disciplinary reasons] wants to play, he is absolutely sublime,” he said. “But he would have been a nightmare to play with. You wouldn’t know where he was going. The problem is that to win games you need a front five that not only competes but dominates. I don’t see our front five dominating. We have some cracking lads in the back row, but they need the platform. I think it is going to be a tough year. Ireland is a really tough place to start.”
Tickets for the event are available via heartsandballs.org.uk
