Scotland welcome neighbouring rivals England to Murrayfield in Saturday’s late afternoon Six Nations kick off.
The visitors come into this with two wins from two so far and find themselves sitting in second place behind Ireland. Scotland meanwhile have one win and one loss to their name and need to put their agonising defeat to France two weeks ago behind them here.
There’s more than just points at stake of course, as always when these two meet in the Six Nations, they will also be playing for the Calcutta Cup. Here, we’ll preview this epic match up between the auld enemies in the hopes we can determine the eventual winner.
Recent dominance
A positive for the hosts heading into this game is that they have managed to win each of the last three meetings between these old familiar foes. None of those games have been settled by more than a six points margin, however, so we’re fully expecting another close encounter in Edinburgh on Saturday.
The Red Roses came into the Six Nations following a surprisingly good World Cup campaign in the Autumn which saw them reach the semi-finals. They have yet to reach those levels so far in this competition, so far as performances go, but they’ve still managed to get wins in both of their games. Not playing particularly well and still winning has to be a good sign for Steve Borthwick and his men, though.
Weaknesses
While both nations will be keen to go on and get the points, as well as the Calcutta Cup, they will both also have some concerns. Interestingly, it’s an area that has been a worry for them both and that is their defence. While England have won both of their games, many will argue that they have been way too close for comfort and not being able to shut out opponents will hinder them as the competition progresses.
The manner of the defeat to France last time out will certainly have stung the players and fans, but it showed that there is an issue with defensive concentration in the closing stages. In the previous game, against Wales, Scotland raced to a 20-0 half time lead, only to surrender it in the second half and eventually only win the game by a single point. Perhaps England’s strategy will be to stay in the game as much as possible and try to win it in the closing 10 minutes.
Kicking the key
If England are to win their first Calcutta Cup since February 2020, then George Ford’s kicking game needs to be at its best. It was certainly the deciding factor in the win over Italy in round one and helped get England over the line last time out against Wales. If the visitors can frustrate Scotland and make them concede penalties, it could be the formula for a much needed and long awaited success north of the border.
It’s set to be a fascinating Six Nations clash and we can’t wait.
