Gray eyes huge Calcutta Cup contest
5 Feb 2020Staying true to team culture and values amidst the noise that accompanies the build-up to a Calcutta Cup clash is key to your delivering on your performance ambitions.
That’s the view of Scotland second-row Jonny Gray who, with 56 caps to his name six of the historic derbies under his belt, knows too well about the highs and lows of one world rugby’s biggest occasions.
One would imagine the most memorable of which would be the 2018 success and last year’s sensationally mad 38-38 draw, however the experience of the four Tests prior gives good reason for him to measure his enthusiasm for the encounter, tempered further still by Saturday’s loss to Ireland.
He said: “All credit to Ireland, they deserved the win but it’s just so frustrating from our end not to take the opportunities.
“But this weekend, to play at home at BT Murrayfield in front of your home fans will be such a special occasion.
“We spoke about it from day one, when we first came in. The culture of this squad has been here for years. Our job is to build on that and add to it all the time.
“We’re training hard, we work hard, and we’re close as a team. We’re always extremely focused here and always go back to our culture and how hard we work.
“We’re fully focused on England and how tough it’s going to be. We’re looking forward to it but it’s going to be a tough challenge.”
