Tindall urges England to ‘hunt’ vulnerable Scotland

Mike Tindall wants to see England go “hunting” and take advantage of Scotland’s vulnerable defence in the Six Nations clash at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Scotland were hammered 34-7 by Wales in the first game of the tournament and shipped 26 points in a victory over France last time out.

England were effective rather than entertaining in a tense win over Wales after seeing off Italy as they aim to become the first side to win the competition outright three years in a row.

Tindall thinks Scotland’s expansive style could give the holders a chance to show what they are capable of with ball in hand after thrashing their rivals from north of the border 61-21 in the Calcutta Cup showdown last year.

Speaking at the Tournoi des 6 Stations Orangina, the former England centre told Omnisport: “Scotland haven’t had much of a defence for this Six Nations, so they are going to have to work on that.

“It gives England a lot of chances to go out there and try and break them down. They put a lot of points on them last year, but this has been talked of as a potential banana skin for a long time.

“If Scotland can shore up their defence, they are always going to offer something in attack, but that can be good for England, as you want them to throw the ball around and take chances.

“Eddie Jones has talked about hunting and going after teams and at the moment I don’t think he’s really got them to do that, but this Scotland defence could provide that opportunity.

“I thought they targeted Rhys Patchell well in the Wales game, but it would be nice to see them hunting tries.

“I was still impressed with England against Wales, but I think everyone wants to see them throwing the ball around a bit more and produce the sort of performance which they haven’t really had since the Australia tour Down Under.”

– Tindall was among the former internationals competing in the Tournoi des 6 Stations Orangina [The 6 Stations Tournament] on the snow in the French Alps from February 12-18. For more information on the event visit http://tournoides6stations.com/en/

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