McCormack compares England v Scotland to Origin

Scotland head coach Steve McCormack has emphasized the importance of this week’s match against England, likening it to a State of Origin contest.

The Bravehearts are looking to bounce back after a 54-12 defeat to world champions Australia last weekend at Hull. England and Scotland have never clashed at Test level.

Most of the Scottish side were born in England and ply their trade with English clubs.

A number of the Bravehearts are club teammates of members of the English team, such as Danny Brough and Jermaine McGillvary at Huddersfield, and Lewis Tierney and John Bateman at Wigan.

“I think the Scotland versus England game is mate against mate,” McCormack told Love Rugby League.

“They play against each other every week a lot of these players.

“Last week was fantastic but this week’s game at the Ricoh Arena is massive for us. I think that’s been reflected by the way we have practised.”

No fourth-ranked team has ever won a match since the expansion of the Four Nations back in 2009, but McCormack insisted his men are here to change that.

“We’re not here just to make the numbers up, we’re just aware that we have to play really, really well,” he said.

“We’re in here to do really well and what I do know is we have got an outstanding team and we can play well on our day.”

In the last match, Scotland went behind after just eight minutes immediately after a mistake from captain Danny Brough and McCormack explained how a good start against England is pivotal.

“It is really important that we start the game well,” he said.

“We were 20-0 down in a blink of an eye against Australia and you can’t do that against any team, let alone the three teams that we’re playing.

“When we got a foothold in that game we were good for long periods.”