England v Scotland: Match Preview

The historic Calcutta Cup is on the line this weekend, with Scotland aiming for a fifth consecutive victory over their old rivals, England.

Head-to-Head
England and Scotland have faced each other 142 times in total, with England winning 76 of those matches (L 47, D 19). The Calcutta Cup has been contested 131 times since its creation in 1879.

The Calcutta Cup: The Original Championship Rivalry
Scotland has had the upper hand in recent Calcutta Cup contests, winning the last four matchups. Their most recent victory came in a dominant performance at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in 2024. England, led by head coach Steve Borthwick, will be determined to break this streak and reclaim the prestigious trophy on home turf, having not beaten Scotland at the Allianz Stadium since 2017. They drew in 2019 and lost in 2021 and 2023.

Current Form
England head into the match with a boost of confidence following a dramatic 26-25 win over France in the previous round, which was a much-needed recovery after their opening loss to Ireland. The return of scrum-half Alex Mitchell has played a key role in rejuvenating England's attack, adding stability and creativity.

Scotland's campaign has been more uneven. They started strong with a 31-19 win over Italy but stumbled in an 18-32 loss to a clinical Irish side. Head coach Gregor Townsend remains optimistic, highlighting the team's experience and their potential to produce a standout performance against England.

Team News
Ross McCann, Ali Price, and Cameron Redpath have been called up to the Scotland squad for this weekend's match, replacing the injured Matt Currie, while Alexander Masibaka has returned to his club.

George Horne suffered a facial injury during Glasgow’s victory over the Dragons on Sunday, and Matt Currie is recovering from a concussion sustained in Edinburgh's match against Zebre on Friday. Darcy Graham and Finn Russell are both progressing through the World Rugby concussion protocols after the Ireland match, with plans to return to full training later this week.

The teams
England: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Fin Smith, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Ben Earl, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellie Genge
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Ted Hill, 20 Chandler Cunningham-South, 21 Ben Curry, 22 Harry Randall, 23 Elliot Daly

Scotland: 15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Kyle Rowe, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Tom Jordan, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell (cc), 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge (cc), 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Dave Cherry, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Ewan Ashman, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Will Hurd, 19 Sam Skinner, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Matt Fagerson, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

Date: Saturday, February 22
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Referee: Pierre Brousset (France)
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace (Ireland), Luc Ramos (France)
TMO: Tual Trainini (France)