Match Preview: England v Scotland

3 Feb 2021

This Saturday, Scotland travel to Twickenham for their Guinness Six Nations opener against England.

Head Coach, Gregor Townsend on their opening fixture:

“It is a tough one for the opener. The team that won last years Guinness Six Nations and the Autumn Nations cup on their own patch but it focusses our minds. We know that we’ll need to be at our best to be in a position to win that game.

“It’s the biggest game every year for us. For our players but especially for our nation. It is game that we have played most regularly, 150 years this year being the first year we played them. We also play for a trophy, so it’s the biggest game whenever it comes in the calendar.

“We’re playing one of the best teams in the world. Why not have it as the first game? We want to take on these challenges that we get and there is no bigger than England away, so it means we will up our edge even more.”

“We want to take on these challenges that we get and there is no bigger than England away, so it means we will up our edge even more.”
Gregor Townsend

Ahead of the game, Captain Stuart Hogg said:

“We’re excited. It’s not often that you get two weeks prep going into an international game, so we are excited about the challenge of going down to Twickenham and playing one of the best teams in the world. We know that if you give them time and space they are going to be dangerous.

“We’ve had a good couple of weeks prep to ensure we are in the best place possible for going down to Twickenham.”

Team Announcement

The Scotland team to play England at Twickenham this Saturday will be named on lunchtime on Thursday. Keep an eye on the Scottish Rugby social channels to get the news first.

Match facts

The last time England hosted Scotland in the Guinness Six Nations they drew 38-38, the visitors clawing back the biggest ever half-time deficit (-24 pts, 7-31) by a side to avoid defeat in the tournament’s history, almost snatching victory before a late George Ford try levelled the match.
Scotland concluded the 2020 Guinness Six Nations by winning their last three
games in a row, their best ever run in Championship history (since 2000); they
conceded the fewest points (59) and tries (5) of any side in the 2020 edition
of the competition.
Scotland enjoyed the most territory
(56%) of any team in the Six Nations in 2020, while England recorded the second
most (54%); only Ireland (13.6%) spent a higher proportion of their time in
possession inside their opponents 22 than England (12.4%).
Scotland’s Stuart Hogg has gained 3,003 metres with ball in hand in his Guinness Six Nations career (41 games), only Sergio Parisse (3,088) has gained more.
England made 116 dominant tackles in the 2020 Guinness Six Nations, the only side
to reach triple figures in this category, Scotland made the third most but
still 40 fewer than England (76, France 98).