Kyle Sinckler heeds Eddie Jones’s call for England to make fast start

When Eddie Jones repeats something the chances are he wants to send a message, so his persistent pledge that England are “going after” Scotland is telling. These days you can’t have a Calcutta Cup match without the accompanying war of words but as opening moves go, it is pretty tepid. More pertinently, Jones understands the importance of making a fast start and is instructing his players accordingly.

“A lot of it is about the mindset and the way you approach the game,” says Jones. “You’ve got to start the game well, get into the game and go after them. We know every time Scotland play against England it is their biggest game of the tournament. But the big difference this year is we are going up there to get them, we are going after them.”

It is a tired trope to highlight the significance of winning the first Six Nations match, but a cursory glance at England’s fixtures demonstrates just how important Saturday’s match at Murrayfield is, with a trip to Rome followed by back-to-back matches at Twickenham an enticing prospect if they are victorious.

“If you don’t win your first game you’re chasing your tails,” says the tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler. “So all our focus is to go out and perform in that first game and obviously win. Because once you do that, everything else follows, the team camaraderie, the feel of the group, all that off-field stuff takes care of itself.”

The trouble for Jones, though, is that England have lost their opening matches in the past two tournaments. On both occasions Jones has sought to shoulder the blame, for failing to prepare his players well enough, but whereas once fast starts and early tries were the hallmark of his side, another defeat on Saturday would suggest a longer-term problem.

That is,