Scotland star Ryan Wilson threatened to break English bones and sparked a tunnel brawl at Murrayfield during the Six Nations in 2018. The flanker successfully attempted mind games on George Ford and prompted fury from Owen Farrell.
England face Scotland in the Six Nations today and there was a particularly fiery encounter in the Calcutta Cup seven years ago. As the players headed back to the changing rooms, Wilson sparred with Ford and prompted a bust-up involving Farrell.
The former Scotland star has since revealed that his jibes included threatening to break bones. The sledging worked as Scotland recorded their first win over England in 10 years, winning 25-13.
Speaking to Rugby Pass in 2020, Wilson said: “With England, they come over expecting to win. Coming down the tunnel, I was more looking for Farrell than anyone. My old mate Owen Farrell. I couldn’t find him as we were coming down the tunnel.
“So it was just a word in George Ford’s ear, just to say – I won’t tell you exactly what I said but it was more, ‘We’re coming for ya, you wanna watch yourself’. I might have spoken about breaking some bones somewhere.”
Wales legend Jamie Roberts asked if Ford swung for him, with Wilson quipping: “He would have floored me, so thankfully not!
“It was Owen Farrell who spotted it, he saw me talking to him (Ford) and obviously knew what I was up to. Owen came steaming down behind and he shoved me in the back, and that was it. I sort of rolled down into the tunnel.
“Then the boys get a bit of a buzz and us as a Scotland team, you get under their skin. A lot of Scotland teams go out against England and think, ‘We’ve not got a massive chance here’. No one goes at them before a game.
“It was ballsy. I’m not talking myself up too much, but if you give a lot of s*** to another team and then you get pumped, you look like a bit of an idiot, don’t you? But that one paid off because we got into the changing rooms afterwards and Greig [Laidlaw] tried to calm us down.
“He was trying to calm us down but then it got to the huddle and it was, ‘Right, nah, f*** that boys let’s get into them’. We went out and played so well. Fin [Russell] stole the show and Huw Jones had a stormer. That was one performance I’ll always remember at Murrayfield against the English.”
Six Nations organisers cleared all those involved, insisting no evidence of violent conduct took place. Players, officials and broadcasters were all asked to provide evidence.
Fans will hope for another fiery encounter today.
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