DADDY OF ALL CLASHES

Itoje and his father will pray that England ignite with just the right spark

- By Adam Hathaway

MARO ITOJE'S father, Efe, will pray for the England captain before he attempts to unleash controlled fury on Scotland at Twickenham today.

England could have done with some divine intervention in recent Calcutta Cup clashes, having lost the past four and not beaten Scotland at HQ for eight years.

Itoje will chat with his dad before the team board a bus from Richmond, where they stay on Fridays before games, to head to the ground.

Once there the skipper will urge his side to bring the emotion to their game, without letting the lid blow off.

Itoje said: "My dad likes to pray for me before a game, so before we leave the hotel I'll often speak to him and he'll say a short prayer for me.

"You don't want blind rage and you don't want blind, beatingyour-chest fury, but you need some of that. You definitely need an element of that, but you also need accuracy.