Scotland v England Preview

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 13: Jamie Ritchie during a Scotland Rugby Captain's Run at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, on February 13, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

What they said

Captain Sione Tuipolotu said: “It’s a game that means a lot to the country and one that everyone leans into. Ever since I arrived in Scotland this has been seen as the biggest game of the year, especially for our supporters.

“There’s a lot of fans that are going to be in those stands cheering us on so its them that we’re really aiming to do it for. Ultimately, we just need to focus on ourselves and try to change that narrative.”

Jamie Ritchie said: “The Calcutta Cup always brings something special, it was my first memory of going to Murrayfield. We’ve built up a strong connection with our supporters and crowd and they always bring it for games like this.

“You could feel it in our prep that its some of the best we’ve put in, the work doesn’t go away so we’re sure that it’ll carry through on the lead up to Saturday.”

The Teams

The stats

• Scotland have won three of their four home games against England under Gregor Townsend, including the last two in a row – they’ve not managed to win more consecutive Calcutta Cup matches against England at Murrayfield since winning four on the bounce between 1970 and 1976.
• Scotland recorded the highest success rate on their own rucks of any team across the opening round of the 2026 Men’s Six Nations (97.8%), also having the quickest average attacking ruck speed (3.12s) and the slowest defensive ruck speed (4.44s) of any side last week.
• This game will mark Gregor Townsend’s 100th match in charge of Scotland, almost nine years since he took over back in 2017, his accrued five wins against England in the Men’s Six Nations is the joint most by any head coach, alongside Warren Gatland.