England v Scotland: A look ahead

The two home nations have locked horns on 142 occasions with England winning 76 of these matches (L 47, D 19). When they come together, both England and Scotland contest the Calcutta Cup, a match has been played 131 times, since its inception in 1879.

Calcutta Cup: The Original Championship Rivalry

In recent times, Scotland have dominated recent Calcutta Cup fixtures, securing four consecutive victories over England with their most recent triumph was a decisive win at Murrayfield in last years edition of the 6Nations.

England will be eager to end this pattern and reclaim the prestigious trophy at Twickenham, as they having failed to beat Scotland at home since 2017 - drawing in 2019 and losing in 2021 and 2023.

England go into the match boasting confidence after a thrilling 26-25 victory over France in the previous round, which turned out to be a much-needed boost after the opening-round defeat to Ireland. The return of scrum-half Alex Mitchell has been instrumental in revitalising England's attack, providing stability and creativity.

On the other hand, Scotland have had a rather tumultuous start to their campaign, as they began with a solid 31-19 win against Italy but faltered in a 18-32 home defeat to a clinical Irish side. Head coach Gregor Townsend remains optimistic, emphasising the team’s experience and potential to deliver a standout performance against their oldest rivals.

Ross McCann, Ali Price, and Cameron Redpath have been called up to the Scotland squad ahead of this weekend's match against England, replacing the injured Matt Currie, while Alexander Masibaka has returned to his club. George Horne suffered a facial injury during Glasgow’s win over the Dragons on Sunday afternoon. Matt Currie sustained a concussion in Edinburgh's match against Zebre on Friday night.

Darcy Graham and Finn Russell remain in the squad, both progressing through the World Rugby concussion protocols since the Ireland match, with plans to return to full training later this week.