England v Scotland match preview, coverage & key stats

Guinness Men's Six Nations: England v Scotland

Venue: Allianz Stadium Date: Saturday, 22 February Kick-off: 16:45 GMT

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Scotland & BBC Sounds; text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app; watch on ITV1

Overview

The oldest fixture in international rugby could witness a first at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

Never before in the 153-year history of matches between these sides have Scotland strung together five straight wins over the Auld Enemy.

Having gone 38 years without a win over the English at Twickenham, they are undefeated in their last three and have firmly banished the demons that haunted them there for so long.

But it's England that come into this match with the momentum after a morale-boosting win over France that ended a run of seven straight defeats against Six Nations and Rugby Championship sides.

Scotland, on the other hand, are still coming to terms with a crushing defeat by Ireland in which the strength of their pack has come under question in the press.

Defeat would effectively end the championship hopes for either country. A pivotal 80 minutes awaits.

England team news

Head coach Steve Borthwick has made one change to the side that beat France with Ollie Chessum making his first Test start in almost a year as he replaces George Martin in the second row.

Martin was originally named amongst the replacements but has been ruled out because of the knee injury he sustained against France, so 'Superman' Ted Hill comes on to the bench.

Marcus Smith continues at full-back ahead of Freddie Steward and Elliot Daly.

England: 15-M Smith; 14-Freeman, 13-Lawrence, 12-Slade, 11-Sleightholme; 10-F Smith, 9-Mitchell; 1-Genge, 2-Cowan-Dickie, 3-Stuart, 4-Itoje (capt), 5-Chessum, 6-T. Curry, 7-Earl, 8-Willis.

Replacements: 16-George, 17-Baxter, 18-Heyes, 19-Hill, 20-Cunningham-South, 21-B. Curry, 22-Randall, 23-Daly.

Scotland team news

Fly-half Finn Russell has been passed fit to start, but winger Darcy Graham has not fully recovered from their first-half collision against Ireland that saw both players suffer concussions. Graham has been replaced by Glasgow Warriors' Kyle Rowe.

In the pack, loose-head prop Pierre Schoeman and flanker Jamie Ritchie come into the starting XV with Rory Sutherland and Matt Fagerson dropping to the bench.

Scotland: 15-Kinghorn; 14-Rowe, 13-Jones, 12-Jordan, 11-Van der Merwe; 10- Russell (co-capt), 9-White; 1-Schoeman, 2-Cherry, 3-Z. Fagerson, 4-Gray; 5-Gilchrist, 6-Ritchie, 7-Darge (co-capt), 8-Dempsey.

Replacements: 16-Ashman, 17-Sutherland, 18-Hurd, 19-Skinner, 20-Brown, 21-M. Fagerson, 22-Dobie, 23-McDowall.

View from both camps

England head coach Steve Borthwick: "As part of the preparation of any game, I always look back at the most recent matches against the opponent.

"What we also have to acknowledge is this England team is a very different team to the one that played last year.

"In comparison to previous England teams, the strengths of this one are wider than they used to be.

"There are different distribution strengths and there is an athleticism to this team which is different to 12 months ago."

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: "Playing at Twickenham is always one of our hardest games, and in recent years we've got on the right side of the result but they've been very close games and we've had to play very well to get those wins.

"I'm not sure if there was a fear factor, it was just a place that over history has been very tough for us because England are always a strong team.

"This group of players have had the experience of winning at Twickenham which can help as you prepare for the game, but the reality is what happens in 80 minutes."

Commentator's notes

Alastair Eykyn: Another Calcutta Cup of enormous significance. Defeat for either side will rule them out of Championship contention, and each have points to prove.

Having finally got over the line in a big game against France, England simply have to back it up. A fifth straight Six Nations defeat by Scotland would be tough enough to stomach, let alone the damage it would inflict on their progress.

The Scots can call upon Finn Russell, passed fit but quiet so far. It's time to make some noise, perhaps with the help of England's destroyer-in-chief in recent years, Duhan van der Merwe.

Match facts

Head-to-head

• Scotland's four successive wins against England is as many victories as they had managed in their previous 21 Six Nations matches versus the Red Rose (D2, L1). All four victories have been by single figure margins.

• The Scots have won five and drawn one of their past seven Tests with England following a run of seven successive defeats.

• England won each of their first nine Six Nations home matches against Scotland but have not beaten them at the Allianz Stadium since 2017, drawing in 2019 and losing in 2021 and 2023.

England

• England are on a three-game winning streak at home in the Six Nations, their longest run since they achieved 15 victories in a row between 2012 and 2018.

• Sixteen of England's last 18 games have been decided by single-figure margins, with the exception being two comfortable victories against Japan last year.

• They've made the most kicks in play (84) after two rounds, with Scotland making the fewest (46).

• Their nine jackal turnovers is the most of any side with Tom Curry (four) winning twice as many as any other player. Ben Earl and Italy's Lorenzo Cannone have both made two.

Scotland

• Scotland's only losses in their last 10 Tests have been versus the world's top two sides in South Africa and Ireland.

• They have had the most rucks (235), the quickest attacking ruck speed (3.3s average) and more possession (58%) than any country after two rounds.

• The Scots have also made more offloads (23) than any other side and the top three in the individual rankings are all Scottish, with Blair Kinghorn, Jonny Gray and Rory Darge all making five.

• Rory Darge has hit more attacking rucks (65), made more dominant tackles (six) and offloads (joint most with five) than any other player after two rounds.

• Duhan van der Merwe has scored five tries in his last two Tests versus England (two in 2023, three in 2025).

• Huw Jones and Duhan van der Merwe have both scored 15 Six Nations tries and only five players have scored more - Brian O'Driscoll (26), George North (23), Shane Williams (22), Stuart Hogg and Ben Cohen (both 16).