Hatred of England is a powerful tool, says defence coach Sinfield

LONDON: New defence coach Kevin Sinfield says he has seen up close the hatred Scotland and others have for England but says his players can thrive on it, starting with the Calcutta Cup against their oldest rivals to kick off their Six Nations campaign on Feb 4.

Sinfield built a strong bond with former Scotland lock Doddie Weir, who died in November from Motor Neurone Disease.

He has undergone a series of extreme running challenges, raising over seven million pounds to fund research into the disease on the back of his friendship with former team mate Rob Burrow, who has also been struck down by MND.

Somewhat ironically, considering the worthy work he has been doing and how highly he is regarded by just about everyone who crosses his path, Sinfield has seen the enmity that exists when England are the opposition.

"I spent some time with some Scottish internationals over the last couple of years through some tragic circumstances and it's not lost on me how much there's a dislike for us," he said after the release of England's Six Nations squad at Twickenham.

"I understand that and I understand that that's quite common across the other nations as well," he told reporters.

Asked if he thought that "hatred" could lift England's defence to a new level of intensity, he said: "I don't just think it's powerful defensively, I think it’s powerful right the way across. But if we think that we're going to get a team ready to play because the opposition don't like us ... I think it's much deeper and much more powerful than that.

"We want to win games because we want to represent our country the right way. We want the country to get behind us, we want to see this place full of white shirts.

"All of those little bits are important and it’s got to