Maro Itoje urges England to be ‘aggressors’ in Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland

Maro Itoje has challenged England to be the “aggressors” in their Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland as they seek to further their Six Nations title hopes.

England arrive at Murrayfield on a run of 12 consecutive victories but needing to correct a troublesome recent record in this fixture, with Scotland winning three of their last four meetings in Edinburgh.

Itoje lifted the Calcutta Cup for the first time after a narrow victory at Twickenham last year, but knows that the challenge will be greater here.

“I want us to be aggressive, accurate, and play with confidence,” Itoje said. “It is going to be a very physical game. Every time we play them and every time we play them up here it’s always a physical game.

“I just want us to be confident; I want us to be the aggressors and take pride in how we play. Put ourselves on the front foot. Attack the game. We’ve built confidence throughout this last week and previous games and the more we are together it feels like we are pushing in the right direction, and I want us to continue in that spirit.

“When you play away from home, you generally have to be sharper. There are things that happen you just have to roll with. There are things that happen that you just take on the chin and make sure you are bulletproof to the scenarios.”

Itoje has been restored to the English starting side having begun on the bench against Wales in round one following a late arrival into camp.

The 31-year-old lock had travelled to Nigeria for the burial of his mother, who passed away in December.

“It’s been great to be back with England; it’s one of the things my mum loved,” Itoje reflected. “I don’t come from a traditional rugby family but my parents became rugby people through and through, both my mum and dad.

“Being back in this environment, representing England, she always loved the fact that I was a representative of this team. It’s been good for me to be back in here, it’s been good for me to throw myself at this amazing opportunity, this amazing challenge that’s ahead of us. I’m grateful for the opportunity.”