1
England can wrap up a second successive Six Nations title with victory over Scotland on Saturday – a triumph that would also equal a world record for consecutive wins.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ireland’s 22-9 defeat in Wales on Friday opened the door for England to retain their crown with a game to spare.
This weekend’s Calcutta Cup match at Twickenham already had plenty riding on it, with England able to pull level with New Zealand’s marker of 18 wins on the bounce by a tier-one team.
The All Blacks‘ run was halted by Ireland in November and a win for England would tee up the chance to break the record in Dublin next weekend.
Scotland have been a revelation during this year’s tournament, picking up impressive wins against Ireland and Wales and coming away with a bonus point from a narrow defeat in France.
They have not won at Twickenham since 1983, but have the added motivation of being able to clinch a first Triple Crown for 27 years should they overcome their hosts.
HEAD TO HEAD
England: 74
Scotland: 42
Draw: 18
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016?
England visited Murrayfield on the opening weekend of the championship last year, edging a tight contest 15-9 in their first match under Eddie Jones.
ADVERTISEMENT
George Kruis and Jack Nowell touched down for the visitors, while Scotland relied on the boot of captain Greig Laidlaw – injured for this year’s clash – for all of their points.
The result represented England’s eighth successive Calcutta Cup clash without defeat.
KEY PLAYERS
Elliot Daly (England)
Omens may not be for everyone but Elliot Daly – named in England’s starting XV on Saturday – has won all 11 of his games for England. Only two players have played more games for any country and maintained a 100 per cent win rate – New Zealand duo Charles Piutau (17) and Corey Flynn (15). Daly has arguably made his case for Lions selection more than most in this year’s championship and another strong performance will further aid his cause.
Jonny Gray (Scotland)
Stuart Hogg’s attacking exploits have claimed most of the limelight in Scotland’s rejuvenation so far but it would be remiss to ignore the defensive contribution of Jonny Gray, who currently tops the charts for tackles in the tournament (52). Brother Richie, meanwhile, has made the most tackles without missing one (41).
ADVERTISEMENT
THE LINE-UPS
England: Mike Brown, Jack Nowell, Jonathan Joseph, Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Ben Youngs; Joe Marler, Dylan Hartley (captain), Dan Cole, Joe Launchbury, Courtney Lawes, Maro Itoje, James Haskell, Nathan Hughes.
Scotland: Stuart Hogg, Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Alex Dunbar, Tim Visser, Finn Russell, Ali Price; Gordon Reid, Fraser Brown, Zander Fagerson, Richie Gray, Jonny Gray, John Barclay (captain), Hamish Watson, Ryan Wilson.
COACH COMMENTS
Eddie Jones (England): “It’s an 80-minute game and we’ve got to be ahead at the 80-minute mark and that’s what we’re aiming to be against Scotland. It’s like starting a 100 metre race – you can be ahead at the 10m mark but you’ve got to be in front at the 100m mark.”
Vern Cotter (Scotland): “I think they’ll comfortably move through the gears as the game goes on and finish in top speed and we’ve got to stay with them. We know more or less what’s coming and it’s just a matter of withstanding that.”
OPTA STATS
– A win for Scotland in this game would see them win the Triple Crown for the first time since 1990 when Ian McGeechan’s side completed the Grand Slam.
– Scotland have not won at Twickenham since 1983; they have lost 15, including the last 13 in a row, and drawn once away to England since then.
– England have won their last 10 Six Nations games, equalling the tournament record set by them twice before (1882 to 1886 and 1922 to 1925).
– England have won their last 13 home games in the Six Nations, the last time they went on a longer such run was between 1998 and 2003 (14 games).
Comments on RugbyPass
In the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getitng to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
5 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
6 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
5 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
6 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
6 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to comments