England will be 'on top of the world' ahead of Calcutta Cup

Steve Borthwick’s team produced the surprise of the championship so far when they beat France thanks to a last-gasp Elliot Daly try, to end Les Bleus Grand Slam dreams for another year.  

England, who have only won the Calcutta Cup once in the last seven attempts, will now hope to get their hands on the historic trophy again. 

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But McDowall – who has never played in the fixture- wants to keep Scotland’s good run going.  

The Glasgow centre said: “They had a massive win [against France], so they're going to be feeling on top of the world. Obviously, we're hurting.  

“I've never played in a Calcutta Cup match before. The boys always talk about it as the biggest game of the tournament for us, especially going down to Twickenham.  

“The fact that we hold the cup at the moment, it's a massive game, and there's probably no better occasion to get back on the horse.” 

McDowall admitted Scotland’s confidence has been dealt a blow by the manner of their 32-18 defeat to Ireland last weekend.  

“It definitely does dent you a little bit,” the 26-year-old said.  

“You're playing against a team that's probably the best team in the world at the moment, if not very close to being. We're going to analyse it like we do, and we'll take the positives and negatives from it and work on them. 

“Obviously, to lose at home is really gutting, and it will hurt the boys. I hope everyone knows that it's not easy for us either, getting rolled over at home. It definitely hurt and we'll have to go and have a look at what we can do better.” 

And while he hasn’t played in the fixture before, McDowall does have fond memories of being part of the occasion.  

He was travelling reserve in 2019 when Scotland produced a stunning comeback, from 31-0 down to take a 38-31 lead with the clock beyond 80 minutes, only for George Ford’s try and conversion to salvage a draw for the home side.  

Stuart McInally's charge-down try sparked a sensational Scotland comeback in the 2019 Calcutta Cup (Image: SNS) It was one of the top comebacks in Test rugby history, with Stuart McInally's 60m sprint at the end of the first half followed by second half scores from Darcy Graham (two), Magnus Bradbury, Finn Russell and Sam Johnson. 

McDowall shared his memories: "That was my first ever involvement in the Six Nations, being 24th man, so I've seen the two sides of it, going 31-0 down and then coming back.  

“That one probably sticks out for me, down at Twickenham, as the most special game.  

“Obviously, growing up, there's been some big games through the years, but that one definitely stands out, so hopefully we don't go 31-0 down! 

“It was a great experience to go down, and obviously at half-time I was thinking, oh no, this isn't going too well.

"The boys battled back well in the second half, so I probably should have won it.

Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup after the epic 2019 draw, having won the fixture for the first time in a decade a year earlier (Image: SNS) "It just shows you what a special game is.”  

“It's a special game, and everyone knows what it means to both countries.

"We're both close on points now in the tournament [England are one ahead], so it's a big game for both teams, in terms of where they finish in the leaderboard.” 

The centre could be handed a recall to the starting XV if Finn Russell is not deemed fit to play after his head injury against Ireland.  

Stafford McDowall could return to Scotland's midfield alongside Huw Jones (Image: SNS)

If Russell misses out, Tom Jordan would likely shift from inside centre to fly-half, paving the way for McDowall to return in the number 12 jersey alongside his Glasgow Warriors colleagues Jordan and Huw Jones.