From the days when the Scots went home empty-handed at Twickenham every two years since 1983, they have now held the Calcutta Cup since 2021, with Scotland winning the last four meetings (a run not seen since Victorian times), and nabbing five wins and a draw in the seven matches since 2018.
A tough result to predict, but here is what England need to do to break the hoodoo:
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Russell has not trained fully since then, but he is available, unlike Graham.
Russell’s Bath teammate Ollie Lawrence in England’s midfield knows all about him, but knowing and stopping are different things.
When Russell missed the 2020 match at Murrayfield on disciplinary grounds, England won 13-6.
Powerful motivation
They play some of the world’s best offloading rugby but tend to fade or fall off contact when faced with the relentless bulk and muscle of the likes of South Africa, Ireland and France.
The England pack is not quite the size of the aforementioned trio, and they have now lost the injured lock George Martin, with Bath flanker Ted Hil called in instead of a specialist second-rower.
England’s last seven meetings against Scotland
2018: Scotland 25-13 England (Murrayfield) 2019: England 38-38 Scotland (Twickenham) 2020: Scotland 6-13 England (Murrayfield) 2021: England 6-11 Scotland (Twickenham) 2022: Scotland 20-17 England (Murrayfield) 2023: England 23-29 Scotland (Twickenham) 2024: Scotland 30-21 England (Murrayfield)“We’ve watched the last two games we’ve played [against Scotland],” England flanker Ben Earl said on Monday.
Earl is also harbouring the personal hurt from Scotland’s win at Twickenham, that taught him he “didn’t know what it takes to become a top-class international rugby player”.
The South African-born wing has been the hammer of the English, with six tries in four matches: one in 2021, none in 2022, two in 2023 and three in 2024.
In 2021, he scored a try on the right from a Russell cross-kick.
— Guinness Men's Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 27, 2024
And this reporter well remembers last year, and the cry of “go on Du!” from the Scotland coaches seated behind the press benches, as Van der Merwe set off on a superb 65-metre run-in as part of a hat-trick.
England need to put Van der Merwe’s turning circle in defence to the test, too.
Breakdown and keeping possession
Ben Earl has learned from Scotland’s last win over England (Photo: Getty)It had started with home flanker Ryan Wilson roughing up George Ford in the tunnel pre-match, and continued on the pitch.
As Earl said this week: “When we attacked we were passive, we played four passes when we could have played one, we passed instead of carried, and we gave them the kind of loose, turnover ball that Finn Russell, Duhan van der Merwe and their strike runners need. It was another lesson where we started the game well and tailed off.”
For Scotland, Jamie Ritchie has swapped in for flanker Matt Fagerson, maybe improving the line-out.
There is no Care now, but Alex Mitchell can do the same.
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With Marcus Smith continuing at full-back, Borthwick is demanding he use his attacking skills to drive the rest of the team to “continue to play bravely and be aggressive”, even if there are mistakes.
“We have now got pace on edges, we have now got distributors and ball-players.”
“But he does have some development areas as a full-back.
Scotland full-back Blair Kinghorn had a tricky time against the Irish, not helped by the injuries in the backline, but the elegant Toulouse No 15 will surely be desperate to re-establish his Lions credentials.
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