Preview: Scotland V England

23 Feb 2024

The Calcutta Cup clash returns to Scottish Gas Murrayfield as we welcome England on Saturday afternoon. Kick off in the capital is 4.45pm GMT (Live on BBC One).

CARDIFF, WALES - FEBRUARY 03: Scotland's Finn Russell, Jamie RItchie and Pierre Schoeman during the national anthem during a Guinness Six Nations match between Wales and Scotland at the Principality Stadium, on February 03, 2024, in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

What they said

Scotland Head Coach Gregor Townsend said: 

“There’s lots of positive energy in the camp around us playing at home against our biggest rival, but also on the fact that we should’ve won against France. Not just because of the decision at the end which we were frustrated with, but also because of the pressure we created which should’ve put France away. We’ve got to make sure we’re better for that experience and that we deliver a winning performance this weekend.

“It’s important to have back-to-back home games, it makes everything flow much  better. The energy we get in any game at home is tremendous, but for this one it’s something special so we won’t need to build the emotional side up too much. It’s about sticking together, staying calm and riding on the wave of energy that the supporters are going to bring”.

The Teams

 

The stats

  • Scotland have won each of their last three Guinness Men’s Six Nations matches against England, as many victories as they’d managed in their previous 20 such attempts (D2, L15).
  • Scotland have made more kicks in play (82) than any other side in the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations so far, with Finn Russell making 44 of those, 15 more than any other player, for a total kicking metres tally of 1584m, over 600m more than anyone else and just 26m shy of a mile.
  • Finn Russell is the joint top points scorer in the 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations so far, alongside George Ford (both 23 points), Russell has a 100% goalkicking rate having knocked over all nine of his kicks at goal (Ford 8/11, 73%), based on the difficulty of those kicks (xGK) the Scot has scored 2.1 points more than expected, whilst Ford has scored 1.6 points fewer.

RELATED

Scotland vs Fiji: Head-to-Head Statistics Scotland Men Scotland vs Fiji: Head-to-Head Statistics Sat 27 Jun 2026 Playing in Argentina: What Awaits Scotland in Cordoba Scotland Men Playing in Argentina: What Awaits Scotland in Cordoba Fri 26 Jun 2026 Scotland Men vs Argentina: Head-to-Head Rugby Statistics Scotland Men Scotland Men vs Argentina: Head-to-Head Rugby Statistics Wed 24 Jun 2026 Meet the opponents: Scotland’s Nations Championship journey Scotland Men Meet the opponents: Scotland’s Nations Championship journey Tue 23 Jun 2026 First Look at the Nations Championship Trophy Ahead of Tournament Kick-Off Scotland Men First Look at the Nations Championship Trophy Ahead of Tournament Kick-Off Tue 16 Jun 2026 5 Players to watch this Nations Championship Southern Series Scotland Men 5 Players to watch this Nations Championship Southern Series Fri 12 Jun 2026 McGhie and Douglas win Friends of Scottish Rugby gongs Scotland Men McGhie and Douglas win Friends of Scottish Rugby gongs Thu 11 Jun 2026 Hiddleston and Stephen named for Nations Championship Scotland Men Hiddleston and Stephen named for Nations Championship Tue 9 Jun 2026 Nations Championship individual tickets on sale now Scotland Men Nations Championship individual tickets on sale now Fri 5 Jun 2026 Scotland’s oldest cap celebrates his 100th birthday Scotland Men Scotland’s oldest cap celebrates his 100th birthday Tue 2 Jun 2026 Weir and Pyrgos join Under-20s coaching team for World Championships Scotland Men Weir and Pyrgos join Under-20s coaching team for World Championships Mon 1 Jun 2026 Download the Official International Fixtures Calendar 2026–2027 Scotland Men Download the Official International Fixtures Calendar 2026–2027 Wed 27 May 2026 Individual tickets for All Blacks, Wallabies and Japan on sale next week Scotland Men Individual tickets for All Blacks, Wallabies and Japan on sale next week Wed 27 May 2026 Obituary: Scott Hastings Scotland Men Obituary: Scott Hastings Sun 17 May 2026 50 Days to go until the Nations Championship Scotland Men 50 Days to go until the Nations Championship Fri 15 May 2026 Fiji v Scotland: Individual Match Tickets on General Sale Now Scotland Men Fiji v Scotland: Individual Match Tickets on General Sale Now Tue 5 May 2026 Nations Championship 3-Match and 2-Match Packages on General Sale Now Scotland Men Nations Championship 3-Match and 2-Match Packages on General Sale Now Fri 1 May 2026 Fiji v Scotland: Kick-off time confirmed Scotland Men Fiji v Scotland: Kick-off time confirmed Thu 30 Apr 2026 Nations Championship: Choose your series with 3-Match and 2-Match Packages Scotland Men Nations Championship: Choose your series with 3-Match and 2-Match Packages Wed 29 Apr 2026 Now Live: 4-Match Packages for the Nations Championship on General Sale Scotland Men Now Live: 4-Match Packages for the Nations Championship on General Sale Tue 28 Apr 2026