The Scotland full-back admits he's still aching after the 40-9 Calcutta Cup defeat to England and he claims that he and his team-mates face a serious physical and mental battle before taking on Italy in the final match on Saturday.
The situation is even worse for the Italians, who have to play at Murrayfield just six days after losing to France in Rome. For the first time Six Nations chiefs set a seven-week schedule instead of fortnightly fixtures and they want to squeeze it even more. But Metcalfe insists that would make intolerable demands on players already toiling towards the end of a tough season.
He said: "We want to end our campaign on a high but after Twickenham I am sore. The current time-schedule is just about OK. To compress it even more would be tough.