Shots fired.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has suggested this weekend’s match officials for their crucial Six Nations clash with England, keep a close eye on their opponents, ensuring they remain onside throughout the game.

Townsend has suggested that England generate their line speed as a result of straying offside.

“It will be interesting to see whether they stay onside,” Townsend said.

“We watched the game last year and we’ve watched their games over the last few weeks and to generate that line speed, especially off first phase …

“You’ve got to make sure you stay 10 metres back off lineouts before the ball is delivered and you don’t get beyond the back foot of the ruck in phase play. If they’re able to do that and still generate line speed, then we have to deal with that with the way we structure our attack.”

Asked if he expects England to be offside this weekend, Townsend maintained his diplomatic stance while calling attention to the possibility.

“I can’t say in the future but you’d need to look at their last few games to see whether they do come offside.

“That’s down to the refereeing team this week to see if it does happen. We’ll meet on Friday, so we’ll see what we’re going to talk about over the next few days.”