RYAN WILSON has dismissed England coach Eddie Jones’ complaints over the way Scotland celebrated last year’s Calcutta Cup triumph at Murrayfield.
Jones, who was abused by Scotland supporters travelling home from the Edinburgh match, insists the English will use that experience as extra motivation for Saturday’s return clash at Twickenham.
The Australian has said ‘we saw how they carried on last year after they beat us’, with the match also preceded by a pre-match scuffle in the tunnel that prompted an investigation by Six Nations organisers.
Wilson was blamed by England for the fracas, which also involved Owen Farrell, but was later cleared and is adamant there was nothing over-the-top about the way the Scotland squad partied in the wake of the 25-13 victory last February.
The back-row forward said: “We celebrated a win we hadn’t had in 10 years, so I think most people would react that way, wouldn’t they? We hadn’t won that trophy for 10 years and we did it in a pretty good style.
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“We had a good celebration. I don’t know what he’s referring to, whether he’s talking about straight after the match or the epic scenes of Greeg [Greig Laidlaw] and Hoggy [Stuart Hogg] having a few too many in a nightclub afterwards.
“Greeg had his shirt unbuttoned, his tie around his head, like the early hours of the morning at a wedding.
“You can’t lose those old things. We always talk about how rugby’s not quite got to where football is, in terms of professionalism, and I worry that will go out of the game.
“I think it’s important to have a few beers after the game, and we certainly did after that one! It was a good celebration that night.”
Wilson is one of a host of first-choice players currently sidelined because of injury after he picked up knee ligament damage against Ireland last month.
His physicality will be missed by Scotland this weekend and his absence will deny England the chance of targeting the 29-year-old for his part in last year’s tunnel melee.
He added to Rugby Union Weekly: “I wasn’t at the epicentre of it, I didn’t start it. It was Faz [Owen Farrell] who came down the tunnel and pushed me in the back. That’s what I saw.
“[People think] I was getting stuck into George Ford but I was wishing him well for the game. I was actually telling him a few spots to go out [in Edinburgh] but I told him ‘you lot won’t be going out after we beat you!’.
“The next thing my old mate Faz comes running down the tunnel and gives me a shove in the back. That’s what I remember.”
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