Match build up: 2018 Calcutta Cup

Ahead of the as-live replay, we look back on the pre-match preparations leading up to the 2018 Scotland v England game at BT Murrayfield that seen Scotland posted their first Calcutta Cup victory in ten years.

Hopeful on facing England: Pete Horne

Sitting down with Pete Horne ahead of England Test to talk about the opposition and their form in the tournament so far. With 30 caps and yet to face England on the pitch, Pete is ready for the fixture.

He said: “I’m looking forward to this weekend and hopefully get a run.”

“It’ll be a massive challenge but one that this group are really looking forward to”

Winning the Calcutta Cup: 10 years on

“I remember standing in the tunnel, ready to go onto the pitch and all I could see was rain lashing down against the backdrop of the floodlights.The weather had been great when we had gone into the changing room after the warm up. I was nervous, but excited, as this was the first time I had captained Scotland at Murrayfield. I was aware of the pressure that we were under after a few poor results in the games preceding this fixture. It wasn’t a particularly glamorous game but we played intelligently in the conditions and defended well. I remember the relief when the final whistle went for the end of the game.”

Former Scotland captain Mike Blair’s memories of the 2008 Six Nations match against England are still vivid, despite a decade passing since he lifted the Calcutta Cup on that blustery March afternoon. The 15-9 victory was Scotland’s first win of that year’s tournament, with Chris Paterson kicking four penalties and Dan Parks adding another, to Jonny Wilkinson’s three penalties for England. It may have been a rather scrappy match, but that fateful Calcutta Cup clash ranks as one of Blair’s most memorable occasions in the Scotland jersey.

“The crowd probably make this fixture so special,” he said. “People often comment on the players looking more ‘up for it’ than other games but the truth is that you feed off the crowd and for some reason the noise and passion that they create for the games against England are on another level to some other games.”

Read the full article with Mike Blair, Assistant Coach on his Calcutta Cup experience here.

Team Run

Ahead of the Calcutta Cup, John Barclay talks about his earliest memories of Scotland v England fixtures, and the challenge that awaits.