Mitchell: England intent on ending four years of Scotland hurt
England scrum-half Alex Mitchell has said that England are desperate to end a four-year period of hurt against Scotland ahead of their Six Nations meeting next Saturday.
Each of the last four Calcutta Cups have gone to Scotland, though Mitchell says that motivation is high to stop a fifth consecutive victory for them.
Scotland will face an England team high in confidence following their one-point victory over France last weekend.
"We are hurting for the last four years at not getting a result [against Scotland]," Mitchell told BBC Sport.
"This Six Nations campaign is still up for grabs so it's a massive game for us.
"We know Scotland are a quality opposition with some quality individuals, so we can't take them for granted.
"We know we have to just put a performance out there."
Mitchell's intervention was crucial in England's late recovery against France, having moved the attack from a maul into the midfield.
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That move allowed Elliot Daly through the French defence to score the winning try.
"The France defence was changing the whole time," Mitchell added.
"They had two defenders and then one as [Damian] Penaud was doing a really good job behind the maul covering both sides.
"We noticed a mismatch in the open so we shot that way and scored. You have a split second to try and make the right decision and, luckily, we did."
The 32-year-old Daly had been left out of England's opening Six Nations game, which ended in defeat against Ireland, before coming onto the bench against France.
His appearance against France saw him earn a 70th England cap of his career and, while he insists he still has plenty to offer the team, he acknowledged beginning to feel like one of the more experienced members of the squad.
"I probably do when some of the other lads are in their early 20s," said Daly.
"When you go through your career, things change. I found it at club level with Saracens as well, where I did the whole pre-season. There were more young boys coming through than there were two or three years ago.
"You have to get behind them and understand how they work because they see the game differently to you.
"The ambition for us now is to try and win the Calcutta Cup, and we are not thinking about anything else. We have beaten France, but it won't mean anything if we lose next Saturday."