Scotland injury setback ahead of England visit
SCOTLAND have suffered a blow ahead of Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with England after Lions wing Sean Maitland was ruled out of the rest of the Six Nations.
Maitland had already been counted out of this weekend’s fixture at Murrayfield and it emerged yesterday that the 25-year-old is likely to be sidelined for two months. The Glasgow Warriors star, who limped off during last week’s 28-6 defeat to Ireland, does not require surgery.
England coach Stuart Lancaster is expected to spring few surprises when he names his team for the trip this morning.
Lancaster has retained the same 23-man squad that mustered an encouraging display while slipping to a narrow defeat to France in last weekend’s tournament opener.
Prop Joe Marler admits England must win if they are to retain any hope of claiming the title.
“We can’t afford to lose any more games now if we want to be in it at the end,” said the Harlequins man. “It’s all well and good playing well, but the idea is to win the game. We want to win stuff, that’s why we’re here. You don’t want people saying, ‘Oh, but you played quite well’. It annoys me when people do that. I ignore them and get on with it.”