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| Venue: Twickenham Stadium Date: Saturday, 4 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT |
| Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live; follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app. |
Owen Farrell says getting booed at Twickenham after November’s defeat by South Africa hurt, and England will need the crowd’s support against Scotland on Saturday.
Farrell’s side return to their home stadium as the Six Nations begins following a disappointing 2022.
Eddie Jones was sacked as head coach after the 27-13 defeat and Steve Borthwick took over in December.
Asked if the boos hurt, England captain Farrell told BBC Sport: “Definitely.”
He added: “You think there’s no-one more disappointed than us at the time. To have not given the best account of ourselves was disappointing.
“We were disappointed in ourselves. It didn’t feel good.”
The 31-year-old said his team “are going to need” the crowd’s backing in their Six Nations opener against Scotland, who have won the last two meetings between the sides in the tournament.
“Hopefully this crowd on Saturday sees a team that’s willing to fight for each other, to work as hard as they can for 80 minutes to get the result.
“They’ll play a massive part in that.”
‘A lot is made of partnership with Smith’
With Henry Slade ruled out by injury, Farrell is expected to start at inside centre, in partnership with talented 23-year-old Harlequins fly-half Marcus Smith.
The Saracens back said he sees himself as a fly-half, but will play whichever position is best for “the balance of the team”.
Farrell said “a lot is made out of” his partnership with Smith, adding: “It’s the whole picture that we’ve got to get right.
“There’s no point in me and Marcus working on our partnership and trying to get that right when we need to look at the whole picture.”
