Dylan expects the Scots to be firing
England hooker Dylan Hartley has warned his team-mates to expect a Scotland backlash when the two sides meet in the Six Nations tomorrow.
The Saints star says that Scotland's dismal tournament so far, which has seen them lose all three of their games, will make them a more dangerous proposition.
"Scotland will be desperate to win. They won't want to make it four defeats in a row in the tournament," said Hartley.
"I think they will come out fighting and we can expect a big Scottish backlash.
"But we want to make up for losing to Ireland and keep our chances of winning the tournament alive.
"Both teams will be desperate to win."
In recent times England have had some spectacular defeats at Murrayfield.
Notably in 2000 Saints scrum-half Matt Dawson 'forgot to collect the Six Nations trophy' after losing the Grand Slam in Scotland.
"I've played at Murrayfield once before – a club game against Borders in front of about 50 people," added Hartley.
"I don't know much about the history. It's just another big game."
Hartley came in for some criticism for England losing four successive lineouts against Ireland.
But the Northampton captain defended himself and is adamant that it was not all down to him.
Hartley said: "We went through a bad patch. Ireland had smart players and when it was bucketing down with rain they put the ball out and put the pressure on.
"The previous week against Italy, I was poor and held my hand up. But you can't point the finger solely at me for the Ireland game. It was a collective thing – a mis-lift, a poor call, one throw I did which was too hard in wet conditions.
"As a maturing player, it is kind of hard, when you miss one, miss two, miss three.
"At the fourth one you think: 'Holy cow, what's going on here?' To come back and start hitting them again was a good sign."
Hartley will be up against Saints team-mate Euan Murray and knows the scrum will be a fierce battle.
"He's the ultimate professional and one of the best in the world at what he does," said Hartley. "He's a role model for me, the way he trains and lives his life, and he's always on at me to get better."
Hartley will have Saints team-mates Ben Foden and Courtney Lawes with him in Scotland. Both are on the bench, though for many pundits Foden
should be starting at full-back.
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Weather for Kettering
Monday 13 February 2012
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