England arrive at Murrayfield with the wind at their backs. They are on a 12-game winning run and are starting to build the kind of aura that has been lacking in England sides in recent years.
Tuipulotu drew comparisons between his side’s current predicament and that of England not so long ago.
The big results were not coming and Steve Borthwick’s future as head coach was being questioned – although perhaps not to quite the extent that Townsend is being questioned now.
The hope is another Calcutta Cup victory – which would be a fifth in six years – can be the spark for a similar revival for Scotland but, in the here and now, only a win will prevent their Six Nations challenge being dead in the water after round two.
“We’re playing for our championship on Saturday, there’s no doubt about that,” Tuipulotu said.
“You can’t lose two games in a Six Nations and expect to be in contention at the back end. So, yeah, we’re a desperate team at the moment, and I want to see that desperation in the players.
“Definitely on their run of form, they deserve to come in really confident, but Calcutta Cup matches are often a little bit different and it doesn’t really matter what form any team are coming with.
“It’s kind of like a derby match when you’re playing club ‘footy’. You wonder why those games are so tight if you look at the form coming into them, and it’s because there’s a lot on the line.
“I’m expecting to see an emotional England team and I’m also expecting to see an emotional Scotland team.
“I kind of feel lucky that it is a Calcutta Cup match because we won’t lack any motivation and neither will they. And it makes for a great game.”
