Fiesty England full-back, Mike Brown, has today warned Scotland that any attempt to wind himself or Dylan Hartley up will be futile.
The Harlequins full-back has earned a reputation for being outspoken off the pitch and tenacious on it.
‘Mr Angry’ and notoriously fractious Hartley will inevitably be obvious targets for opponents both before and during matches.
“If they focus on one guy then there’re 14 other players who will sting them elsewhere,” said Brown.
“If teams want to do that, that’s fine by us, we’ll put our game on the pitch, and just play.”
“I’m pretty positive he’ll be fine. They can try, I suppose. People will say they’ll try to get to me in games. It’s fine – it’s just about controlling yourself and dealing with that.”
“It’s not about being nasty. It’s about being confrontational and aggressive. Playing is about being in their faces and making life uncomfortable for them.
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“We certainly have got it in us to be that way. There are different ways of going about it. Chris Robshaw is a quieter guy but he certainly puts it about. He is physical. You don’t have to be like myself where it’s pretty obvious that I’m revved up. To be successful as an international team, you have to play on the edge, have that edge, be confrontational and never take a step back.”
Brown said there were issues no qualms about following Hartley. “He leads from the front. He’s aggressive, he’s confrontational, he never takes a backward step.
“Dylan is a good appointment. He has shown what he can do at Northampton. I’ve grown up playing alongside him since the U21s. He was a leader back then, and he is now. That’s why he’s been chosen.”
He was quick to say it was no criticism of teammate Chris Robshaw’s style of leadership after his fellow Harlequin was ousted as captain.
“That’s not to say Chris isn’t a leader. Being England captain is hyped up quite a lot. You can’t do that job if you don’t have the leaders around you. I’ve said that if you look at the 2003 England World Cup winning team they had a captain in every position.”
Brown said Scotland should expect an England side with its brakes off.
“He wants us to play quick, never let the opposition defence settle, getting ball to space and going at teams. He wants defences to feel uncomfortable, unable to relax because we keep at them at pace.
“Personally, I love that. It’s the way ‘Quins play – high tempo. We like to make life uncomfortable for teams by never allowing them to settle.”
