Six Nations 2024: Ben Earl says England have to 'right some wrongs' against Scotland

England have to “right some wrongs” when they face Scotland at Murrayfield in their next Six Nations clash, says number eight Ben Earl.

England have not beaten Scotland since 2020, having lost the past three confrontations with their oldest rivals.

“We have to look forward to going there,” Earl added ahead of the Calcutta Cup tie on Saturday, February 24.

“Scotland is a proud rugby country, they have some great players, some great individuals.

“We never had an easy game against them and the last time we played at Twickenham, the first game last year, we lost.”

Unbeaten England struggled for attacking momentum but showed great resilience to come from behind to secure opening victories over Italy and Wales.

Scotland, who also beat Wales, saw their chances of winning a Grand Slam end in controversial circumstances at the hands of France at Murrayfield.

Earl was not involved when England surrendered a 31-point lead to draw with Scotland under then-coach Eddie Jones in 2019, but suggests Steve Borthwick's current side are more “collected and cohesive”.

“We feel like we have a good game to come back to when things are tough,” Earl said. “We can close games down and find a way to win. We know we can win from almost any position.”

“When our backs were against the wall against Wales, we came together and said ‘look, it's like we're not getting the green grass here from the referee and/or the context of the game, so we almost need to get into the dugout or come out swinging somehow.

He added: “Other English teams in previous regimes, we might have gone into our shell and gone back to an individual focus, but we were united and consistent in our messages and in our next actions, so we were really happy.”

He added: “The Italy match was a step in the right direction, and the Wales match was another step in the right direction, so who knows where we can go.”

Earl was one of England's standout players on their run to the World Cup semi-finals and continued to excel in the Six Nations thanks to his powerful running and committed defence.

He was named Man of the Match after scoring England's first try with a powerful shot from the base of the crowd in their 16-14 win over Wales at Twickenham last Saturday.

The Saracens striker is likely to keep his place at number eight for the trip to Edinburgh, but former England winger Ugo Moni says Borthwick could make changes elsewhere to provide more 'punch' to the struggling attack.

“England’s intention is to play with the ball more,” Mooney told the BBC.

“George Martin [lock]Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi [both centres] He will be ready to face Scotland.

“Although they are a team that has won two from two for the first time in five years in the Six Nations, I would take a punt on this team at this stage.

“What you get from Martin, Lawrence and Manu is really important.”

Mooney's suggestion of more power to help break the gain line before freeing runners wide was echoed by former England winger Chris Ashton.

“I don't think England is where they want to be at the moment,” Ashton told the BBC.

“With the quality and experience we have, we should have been 15 points better than Wales.

“We had three ball carriers on the bench in Chandler Cunningham South, Ellis Genge and Theo Dunne, and that's why we did better in the last 20 minutes.

“You can't put the ball away unless you have a punch up the middle.”