England coach Jones happy to spark 'red-hot' Scotland

England coach Eddie Jones labelling Scotland "red-hot favourites" for the old rivals' Six Nations opener at Murrayfield on Saturday may be a familiar ploy, but he might have a point.

The 62-year-old Australian is well known for trying to unsettle opponents with some choice words to the media.

But with England beating South Africa, the team that defeated Jones' men in the 2019 World Cup final, last time out, why bother with pre-match mind games?

Injuries, however, have deprived Jones of first-choice captain Owen Farrell and back-up skipper Courtney Lawes, as well as Jonny May, Anthony Watson, Manu Tuilagi, Sam Underhill, Jonny Hill, and the Vunipola brothers for the latest edition of rugby's oldest international fixture.

England are now set to face a rather more settled Scotland, whom Jones thinks are "probably two years ahead of us in terms of their development".

The Scots will also be playing in front of a 67,000 capacity crowd at their Edinburgh headquarters after a 2021 Six Nations staged behind closed doors because of the coronavirus pandemic.

This weekend's forecast wet and windy weather have often helped cause the Edinburgh downfall of many a more mature England side.

"It's the first time I've had the experience of going up there when Scotland have been red-hot favourites," said Jones.

"They're expected to win... they've got to cope with that."

No wonder Scotland counterpart Gregor Townsend, whose improving side beat England last year -- the Scots' first Calcutta Cup triumph at Twickenham since 1983, said: "Every coach does this little song and dance going into a game trying to convince the media they're underdogs".

With Farrell and Lawes ruled out, Jones has appointed Tom Curry as captain with the 23-year-old flanker