England vs Scotland

Scotland look for a third consecutive Calcutta Cup victory as they head to Twickenham: here's the start time, how to watch the match, team line-ups and ...

We have to strive to be at our best level or close to our best level over the next six or seven weeks. Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: “We’ve played England in the opening game for the last couple of seasons. To a man, the players are determined to play with the commitment, fight and desire that is at the very heart of representing England, the sort of passion that our tremendous supporters rightly expect.” For our supporters, it’s the biggest game of the season. For players, it’s hugely important because we play for a trophy, but it’s only one of five Six Nations games. Darcy Graham has been ruled out through injury, with Glasgow captain Kyle Steyn selected on the right wing and Duhan van der Merwe on the left, while Stuart Hogg takes his place at full-back as he earns his 97th cap for his country. Meanwhile, there is no place for Ali Price in Scotland's matchday 23, with Ben White instead picked to start at scrum-half alongside fly-half Finn Russell. Chris Harris, Blair Kinghorn and Jonny Gray are among the replacements. Winger Ollie Hassell-Collins has been handed a debut, with the London Irish star joining Freddie Steward and Max Malins in a new-look back three. Steve Borthwick's first England matchday squad sees Manu Tuilagi dropped entirely as one of eight changes from their defeat to South Africa in November. Harlequins hooker Jack Walker could also make his debut off the bench having been named amongst the replacements. Jack Nowell.

The match at Twickenham on Saturday follows the opening fixture between Wales and Ireland in Cardiff. The final first-round fixture is between Italy and ...

Despite their poor recent record in the fixture, England are odds on favourites and generally available around 1/3. New Zealand referee Paul Williams will take charge of the match at Twickenham. George Horne is on the bench. Ollie Hassell-Collins, the London Irish wing, has been handed his first cap in a rejigged midfield following injuries to Elliot Daly, Henry Slade and Dan Kelly. [ITV](/topic/itv) and STV due to start at 4pm. The final first-round fixture is between [Italy](/topic/italy) and France on Sunday.

Rugby's oldest rivalry returns on this opening weekend of the Six Nations, as England and Scotland face off at Twickenham.

A draw is almost out of the question for all four to predict, with the shortest odds being Sky Bet's 20/1. Despite England being under new leadership in the coaches' box and their poor showings in 2022, the hosts are still heavily backed to re-take the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by the bookmakers. A 12-minute concussion injury to Ali Price in the 2022 fixture saw Stoke-born scrum-half Ben White make his international debut for Scotland, and what an impact he made in that short sliver of action. Richie Gray also starts ahead of his younger brother Jonny, who is joined on the bench by Chris Harris. England host Scotland in the Six Nations at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. Harlequin Jack Walker is another debutant waiting in the wings, and should come on to replace George up front. Marcus Smith and captain Owen Farrell will hope to further develop their 10-12 combination, with Joe Marchant starting outside the latter in the centres. Townsend has been at the helm for nearly six years now, and he'll be disappointed if his side don't come close to being title contenders in this year's competition. Borthwick has brought in a new backroom team, as well as several new or once-forgotten players, meaning this game could well prove to be a baptism of fire for the new coach. England, however, go into this game as a vastly different proposition to the side whom faced Scotland in 2021 or 2022, because their ship is now being steered by a new head coach, Steve Borthwick. The opening weekend of the Six Nations will, for the third year running, pit England and Scotland against each other on matchday one. An historic 11-6 victory at Twickenham in 2021 was followed up on at Murrayfield last time around, with Finn Russell's penalty eight minute from time sealing a 20-17 win.

England have not beaten Scotland at Twickenham since 2017 but an opening victory would give Borthwick the perfect start as he takes over from Eddie Jones.

A long ball over the top allows Kyle Steyn a chance to stretch his legs on the right, with Scotland down into the England 22. And how they deserved it, ever dangerous in attack with Duhan van der Merwe to the fore, and defensively stern enough to retain the Calcutta Cup. England are offside twice in the movement but it matters not as the visitors sweep right and then left with fluent, fabulous rugby. Two Twickenham wins in a row for Scotland, with the Auld Enemy beaten thrice in succession for the first time in 51 years. England will need a seven-pointer of their own to snatch it. No, fine work from Scotland in the tight. A number of positives for England, with the attack showing signs to encourage home supporters and a number of standout individual showings, but Kevin Sinfield’s defensive structures clearly need much, much more bedding in. We spoke about getting our first win of the Six Nations and next week we need to take some confidence from that.” Two Twickenham wins in a row for Gregor Townsend’s team of history-makers. “We came here wanting to start the campaign on a high. As a winger you don’t get a lot of opportunities to score so I needed to take them. England hit back with two for recalled winger Max Malins then edged 13-12 ahead at half-time with a penalty by Owen Farrell.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has picked a backline to attack England during this afternoon's Six Nations opener at Twickenham.

We know that’s going to be a fierce part of the game and WP is a quality scrummager. The reality is that Nel is not the force he once was, either in the tight or around the park. Our set-piece parts have to be a lot better if we’re going to compete at this level and win games at this level.” Attack coach Nick Evans’ mantra is ‘LQB’ – lightning quick ball – and the selection of twin playmakers in Marcus Smith at 10 and Owen Farrell at 12 will test Jones and Tuipulotu’s reading of the game and their ability to think on their feet. Townsend must have been tempted to pick the old warhorse Sean Maitland, who is his best available winger in the air. It happens to everyone and some of mine have been in open field where there is an easy run to the try line.

The Six Nations is back underway - and as England look to start their campaign on Saturday evening, Daily Star Sport looks at some of the WAGs who will be ...

The brunette is a graduate in History and Political Science - and she's very active on social media. Like Van der Merwe, Nika is South African, and the pair recently tied the knot. However, with eyes on the pitch, Daily Star Sport is looking to the stands for the women behind the stars. The blonde bombshell even runs her own website dedicated to her content. Annie, alongside her modelling career, creates vlogs on Youtube - and she's a self-proclaimed bookworm. England have looked to Steve Borthwick to reinstate the dominance they showed in 2020.

The Calcutta Cup referee was on the end of a scathing attack after an unconvincing performance last year.

"Williams has brought shame onto the game of rugby with one of the worst officiating displays in modern rugby. Williams and White bring the game into disrepute. He was kept busy that day, with Dean Budd and Abraham Steyn both sent to the sin-bin, the latter for a dangerous tip-tackle. The South African demanded the referee banned from refereeing elite international matches going forward, accusing him of bringing shame on the sport. He was appointed to the New Zealand High Performance referee squad three years later, and quickly rose up through the domestic ranks before becoming a full-time referee on the Super Rugby panel in 2016. That game saw him send off Les Bleus tighthead Mohamed Haouas for a punch on Scotland's Jamie Ritchie, with his dismissal effectively ending France's title and Grand Slam ambitions.

Minute-by-minute report: New England regime, old enemy as the Calcutta Cup kicks off the campaign for these two. Join Lee Calvert.

[Frank Slade-esque tour of pleasures](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scent_of_a_Woman_(1992_film)) as his time in the job heads to a definite end sometime this coming autumn. It’s another Scotland scrum, this time midway in their own half, and the early signs are they are getting the slight upper hand in the set piece. England’s new hope has been punctured early, and the nature of the score exposed the England defensive system horribly. England have a decent set of phases in the Scotland half, with Hassell-Collins getting a sniff of a gap out left that has the door shut. England come back from the clearing kick, working the ball around the 10m line with pacey rucks and offloads before hands out right – including Genge and Ludlam with some outstandingly timed passes - find Malins to dart in and dab down. From the lineout, England are back in the Scotland 22, once again showing some nifty handling between forwards and backs. Russell creams a huge penalty punt up to the England 22 and clean possession from the lineout allows them to move the ball left and right before a low pass can’t be held by Ritchie. It gets worse for Scotland as they concede a penalty at the scrum, as they are shoved backwards and wheeled. The ball is clean off the top and Dombrandt is brought from deep on the angle to suck in the Scotland defense. The latest is England who look dynamic and busy, before Van Poortvliet takes a kick over the top option but put far too much pasty on it and it goes dead. England are back in the 22, but the ball is a little slow as they reset and go again. They do have an advantage, after Scotland spoil the ball, which they can’t capitalise on so they kick to the corner…

It's all change for England after their worst set of calendar-year results for 14 years in 2022 led to the end of Eddie Jones' long tenure, a sacking that many ...

We spoke about getting our first win of the Six Nations and next week we need to take some confidence from that.” There were blips but it felt like we had good energy and were in the fight all the way through.” Duhan van der Merwe’s late try and a last-ditch defensive stand was enough for Scotland to win the old trophy for the third year in a row for the first time in more than half a century. As a winger you don’t get a lot of opportunities so I needed to take them. “For now, we will give credit to Scotland for sticking at it like they did. There is some stuff we need to get better at but we will look at it,” Farrell said. A very encouraging showing from the Leicester man. “After the first half, we knew we had more in us and came out for the second half with a bang and managed to get the win so we are buzzing,” said Van der Merwe. Van der Merwe also registered an initial stunning solo try in an electric firat half, but twice England hit back through Saracens wing Max Malins. We weren’t at our best today. Still plenty of promise. Follow England vs Scotland reaction live below, featuring expert analysis from Nick Purewal at Twickenham.

Everything you need to know as the Six Nations gets underway.

A long ball over the top allows Kyle Steyn a chance to stretch his legs on the right, with Scotland down into the England 22. And how they deserved it, ever dangerous in attack with Duhan van der Merwe to the fore, and defensively stern enough to retain the Calcutta Cup. England are offside twice in the movement but it matters not as the visitors sweep right and then left with fluent, fabulous rugby. Two Twickenham wins in a row for Scotland, with the Auld Enemy beaten thrice in succession for the first time in 51 years. England will need a seven-pointer of their own to snatch it. No, fine work from Scotland in the tight. A number of positives for England, with the attack showing signs to encourage home supporters and a number of standout individual showings, but Kevin Sinfield’s defensive structures clearly need much, much more bedding in. We spoke about getting our first win of the Six Nations and next week we need to take some confidence from that.” Two Twickenham wins in a row for Gregor Townsend’s team of history-makers. “We came here wanting to start the campaign on a high. As a winger you don’t get a lot of opportunities to score so I needed to take them. England hit back with two for recalled winger Max Malins then edged 13-12 ahead at half-time with a penalty by Owen Farrell.

The teams head out onto the pitch, and following the national anthems, we'll be underway at Twickenham! 0'. Scotland's starting scrum-half Ben White came ...

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Rugby's oldest rivalry returns on this opening weekend of the Six Nations, as England and Scotland face off at Twickenham.

A draw is almost out of the question for all four to predict, with the shortest odds being Sky Bet's 20/1. Despite England being under new leadership in the coaches' box and their poor showings in 2022, the hosts are still heavily backed to re-take the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by the bookmakers. A 12-minute concussion injury to Ali Price in the 2022 fixture saw Stoke-born scrum-half Ben White make his international debut for Scotland, and what an impact he made in that short sliver of action. Richie Gray also starts ahead of his younger brother Jonny, who is joined on the bench by Chris Harris. England host Scotland in the Six Nations at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. Harlequin Jack Walker is another debutant waiting in the wings, and should come on to replace George up front. Marcus Smith and captain Owen Farrell will hope to further develop their 10-12 combination, with Joe Marchant starting outside the latter in the centres. Townsend has been at the helm for nearly six years now, and he'll be disappointed if his side don't come close to being title contenders in this year's competition. Borthwick has brought in a new backroom team, as well as several new or once-forgotten players, meaning this game could well prove to be a baptism of fire for the new coach. England, however, go into this game as a vastly different proposition to the side whom faced Scotland in 2021 or 2022, because their ship is now being steered by a new head coach, Steve Borthwick. The opening weekend of the Six Nations will, for the third year running, pit England and Scotland against each other on matchday one. An historic 11-6 victory at Twickenham in 2021 was followed up on at Murrayfield last time around, with Finn Russell's penalty eight minute from time sealing a 20-17 win.

Rugby's oldest rivalry is renewed at Twickenham on the opening day of the 2023 Six Nations championship, as England and Scotland face off.

Despite England being under new leadership in the coaches' box and their poor showings in 2022, the hosts are still heavily backed to re-take the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by the bookmakers. Jones starts a move by slicing through the middle, and after finding no luck on the left edge, Russell kicks back to the centre, where Jones is waiting to ground the ball in the in-goal! A draw is almost out of the question for all four to predict, with the shortest odds being Sky Bet's 20/1. The second is right in front of the posts, and Farrell notches his first successful kick of the game to edge the hosts in front, right on half-time! They build on several phases in the Scotland 22 before Ludlam breaks down the right, and he has a simple pass for Malins to score in the corner! The hulking Scotland wing drifts inside to latch onto a flat ball, before powering through the line, beating two tackles, and fending off the full-back to score one of the great Calcutta Cup tries! FT: That's it for our coverage of the first day of the Six Nations, and what a game to open the tournament for the Scots! A messy ruck inside England;'s 22 sees the ball spill out, and White snatches onto it to burst through the line, step Steward, and score against England for the second year running! 80 mins: Ritchie gets over the top of Earl in a ruck to win the penalty, and that will do it for Scotland! The winger can't reel in the ball though, and so play comes back for Russell to successfully kick the three points. Farrell's second penalty brought England's lead to 23-19, and Russell soon responded with three points of his own to create a one-point ball game going into the final 10. Finn Russell's missed conversion let England back into it, and after another try in the corner for Malins and an Owen Farrell penalty, the hosts took a slim 13-12 lead into the half-time break.

England 23-29 Scotland LIVE: Visitors record their third-straight victory over the Auld Enemy to retain the Calcutta Cup as Duhan van der Merwe's late try gives ...

From the resulting line-out, the visitors win it and look to build through the England defence but find no luck. Out of nowhere, the visitors open up the England defence to score! The moment of truth has arrived. England have a decent set of phases in the Scotland half but are struggling to make significant progress. Steve Borthwick will be pleased with the opening exchanges in this one. Scotland's defence had been immense in the past five minutes but a brilliant kick from Smith picks out Malins and he does brilliantly to convert. The England coach watched on as Scotland launched a late comeback to turn the game on it's head, as their Six Nations campaign begins with defeat. There's been a good pace to England's play so far. He's run half the pitch to do so. The winger runs through four or five England players to restore Scotland's lead. Great start to the second-half for Bortwick's side. Great play from Max Malins to spark life into England's play.

SCOTLAND competed a stunning comeback to beat England 29-23 in their Six Nations opener at Twickenham.Duhan van der Merwe scored TWO wonder-tries as t.

England 20-19 Scotland England 20-12 Scotland England 23-29 Scotland England 23-19 Scotland England 23-22 Scotland FT: England 23-29 Scotland - England: England 23-29 Scotland

And they do respond. Ben White is the one to put is down, exploiting Curry's missed tackle, dodging a final white shirt a couple of metres out before diving ...

The greater crime was the dog’s dinner England had made of gathering the restart of Genge’s try, which gave Scotland the field position to bring it back to a one-point game. It was one of the finest individual efforts to have graced international rugby’s oldest fixture. George Turner threw over the top to Ritchie who shipped it on to Finn Russell, releasing Jones who was eventually hauled down. More costly still Ollie Hassell-Collins, sensing the crowd’s impatience with a prolonged bout of kick tennis, decided to run the ball back only to forget his support and get turned over. After a ten-year stretch in which England had exclusive possession of the trophy, Scotland have now held it for five of the last six years. England still had the opportunity to wrestle back the lead in the final moments, but after kicking for touch their maul was sacked and the attack failed to generate any momentum.

Scotland win back-to-back matches against England at Twickenham for the first time ever as Borthwick starts new era with defeat.

Did a lot of behind the scenes work and was a lynchpin for the Scottish defence. Was a bit of a gamble at tighthead but put in a big defensive shift when Scotland had their backs to the wall. Solid service from the ruck and managed a flurry of good exits with his box-kicking before dancing through a porous England defence for his try. His crisp passing was instrumental in orchestrating waves of Scottish attack and enjoyed a solid afternoon from the tee. Pierced the gainline beautifully in the build up to Malins’ second try and won a penalty on the 22 after England turned over possession on the cusp of half time. Looked strong in the carry, despite spilling the ball on a few occasions just as England looked ready to pull the trigger. On his first Test cap since November 2021, he looked abrasive in the tackle but was chopped down on a number of occasions just as he started to get going. Produced a number of crunching carries and was a key player in helping patiently build the phases that led to England’s opener. Punctured the gain line and produced a couple of leg-busting drives to put England on the front foot and showed his experience. Didn’t have the cleanest of afternoons to start off with at the lineout and was guilty of overthrowing but was more influential as the game wore on. Gave away a scrum penalty in the first half but otherwise had a productive afternoon with his explosive carrying and hustled well around the breakdown. Solid distribution from the base of the ruck and orchestrated a flurry of good attacking passages.

Duhan van der Merwe, Finn Russell and George Turner are top rated on another red letter day for Scotland at Twickenham.

Dropped a ball badly to let England back in after half time – but more than made up for it with his steal in the last play of the game. and a spilled pass. Kicked the goals he needed to kick – and his restarts were spot on. We hope you are enjoying our unrivalled coverage of Scottish Rugby. Never took a backward step. A Six Nations debut to remember. Box-kicks were not always quite on the money. Richie Gray – 8 Strong under the high ball, but was pulled narrow for both of Max Malins’ tries. Missed Marchant badly early on, but otherwise kept the outside door firmly shut. Blew a clear scoring opportunity with a poor pass on the 60 minute mark after Kyle Steyn had broken up the right touch-line. Solid and workmanlike in defence, and won a great penalty over the tackle early on which set up field position for opening try.

Scotland won one of the best Six Nations matches in recent history to defeat England 29-23 at Twickenham, with Duhan van der Merwe's late score completing a ...

Despite England being under new leadership in the coaches' box and their poor showings in 2022, the hosts are still heavily backed to re-take the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by the bookmakers. Jones starts a move by slicing through the middle, and after finding no luck on the left edge, Russell kicks back to the centre, where Jones is waiting to ground the ball in the in-goal! A draw is almost out of the question for all four to predict, with the shortest odds being Sky Bet's 20/1. The second is right in front of the posts, and Farrell notches his first successful kick of the game to edge the hosts in front, right on half-time! They build on several phases in the Scotland 22 before Ludlam breaks down the right, and he has a simple pass for Malins to score in the corner! The hulking Scotland wing drifts inside to latch onto a flat ball, before powering through the line, beating two tackles, and fending off the full-back to score one of the great Calcutta Cup tries! FT: That's it for our coverage of the first day of the Six Nations, and what a game to open the tournament for the Scots! A messy ruck inside England;'s 22 sees the ball spill out, and White snatches onto it to burst through the line, step Steward, and score against England for the second year running! 80 mins: Ritchie gets over the top of Earl in a ruck to win the penalty, and that will do it for Scotland! The winger can't reel in the ball though, and so play comes back for Russell to successfully kick the three points. Farrell's second penalty brought England's lead to 23-19, and Russell soon responded with three points of his own to create a one-point ball game going into the final 10. Finn Russell's missed conversion let England back into it, and after another try in the corner for Malins and an Owen Farrell penalty, the hosts took a slim 13-12 lead into the half-time break.

Here are the England player ratings after a performance laced with plenty of home scores but no victory in a 23-29 Twickenham defeat.

[Ben Curry](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/ben-curry/) on an important carry for the third. [Jonny Hill](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/jonny-hill/) won’t be in the team anytime soon. [Finn Russell](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/finn-russell/) was a highlight as was his role as stand-in out-half when manipulating the defence for England’s second try. However, [Duhan van der Merwe](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/duhan-van-der-merwe/) stole his scoring thunder and had the decisive say, Malins unable to halt his momentum for the result changing. Arrived in with 24 minutes left and the score at 20-19 for England. Arrived on in the 61st minute and helped win a scrum penalty in his first contribution. [Max Malins](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/max-malins/) tries helped them to a comeback 13-12 interval lead and when [Ellis Genge](https://www.rugbypass.com/players/ellis-genge/) added England’s third for a 20-12 advantage with a half-hour remaining, all the indications were that the Borthwick era would get off to its desired winning start. Rose to the occasion in the second half, scoring with a textbook low carry finish and was his team’s most frequent ball carrier when he exited on 61. Redemmed himself with the sprint that bust the Scottish cover for Malins’ second score, but had it tough in the second half and was whipped off on 76 with his team in arrears. Clocked up his usual big metres on the carry but the Scots asked questions of him defensively with a few tackles missed and an inability to shut the door on the four-try visitors. England fans in the 81,545 home attendance couldn’t argue that their team didn’t play with a spark that was absent during the Autumn Nations Series that spelt the end for Eddie Jones. Instead, the poor chap got the exact opposite – a performance laced with