England v Scotland preview: facts, stats and teams
Ahead of England’s first 2021 Guinness Six Nations match facing Scotland, here is everything you need to know.
Eddie Jones has named captain Owen Farrell at fly half with centre pairing of Ollie Lawrence and Henry Slade outside him.
Mark Wilson returns to the starting XV at blind-side flanker, Will Stuart makes his first Six Nations start at prop and Beno Obano could make his debut if he comes on in the front row as a finisher.
Scotland have named former England age-grade international Cameron Redpath at inside centre as he makes his debut, while Finn Russell returns to fly half after missing the Autumn Nations Cup through injury.
Stuart Hogg captains Scotland from full back and David Cherry is set for his debut from the bench as they go in search of a first win at Twickenham since 1983.
- When? Saturday, 6 February
- Kick-off? 1645 GMT
- Where? Twickenham Stadium, London
- Coverage? Live on ITV 1, BBC Radio 5 Live, match centre on EnglandRugby.com
150th anniversary
Match day at Twickenham Stadium this Saturday will see the Rugby Football Union (RFU) celebrate its 150th anniversary as well as honour the first ever England international which took place against Scotland at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh on 27 March 1871. England will give a commemorative shield to Scotland pre-match to mark this milestone.
England will wear a special heritage kit designed by Umbro which is inspired by the one worn a century-and-a-half ago. The traditional design features England’s heritage rose and a gold embroidered 1871-2021 sign off.
There will also be a special 150th banner along the stadium’s east lower tier and a design painted on the pitch.
Views from the camp
England head coach Eddie Jones: “We’re really looking forward to this game and getting the Guinness Six Nations back underway. It’s even more special to be taking part in a 150th anniversary game, it will be a good occasion.
“It was difficult to pick the 23 players. We’ve had a really good week of training, it’s been very competitive but I’ve gone with what I feel is the strongest 23 for this week.
“The Six Nations is a short tournament, it’s a real sprint so we’ll need to be on the front foot straight away. We know Scotland will be raring to go, but so will we.”
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend: “We learned a lot about ourselves and where the game is going during our Autumn campaign, and we aim to build on this base during the next seven weeks. We are set for a huge challenge against England as we will be facing one of the best teams in the world.
“It’s always a pleasure to welcome a new player into our squad and we are looking forward to Cam Redpath winning his first cap on Saturday. We have been really impressed with Cam’s contributions in the time he has been with us in camp.
"There are a number of experienced players in the backline to help make his transition to Test rugby go as smoothly as possible, and he has the mindset and skillset to thrive at this level.
“The opportunity of competing for the Calcutta Cup against our oldest rivals is something to get Scots around the world excited about.”
Previous meetings
2020: Scotland 6-13 England - Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Six Nations)
2019: England 38–38 Scotland, Twickenham, London (Six Nations)
2018: Scotland 25-13 England - Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Six Nations)
2017: England 61–21 Scotland, Twickenham, London (Six Nations)
2016: Scotland 9-15 England - Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Six Nations)
2015: England 25–13 Scotland, Twickenham, London (Six Nations)
2014: Scotland 0-20 England - Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Six Nations)
2013: England 38-18 Scotland, Twickenham, London (Six Nations)
2012: Scotland 6-13 England - Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Six Nations)
2011: England 22-16 Scotland, Twickenham, London (Six Nations)
Key stats
- The last time England hosted Scotland in the 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 have never beaten England at Twickenham in the Six Nations (D1, L9), their last victory against them there came in 1983 in the Five Nations (22-12).
- Scotland concluded the 2020 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.
- England have lost just one of their last 21 home games in the Six Nations (W19, D1), a 15-24 loss to Ireland in 2018; they have picked up a try scoring bonus point in half of their games at Twickenham (5/10) since the system was introduced to the Championship in 2017.
- England have won 17 of 21 previous Round 1 matches in the Six Nations, the best rate of any nation, Scotland have the joint worst rate with Italy (3/21).
- In 2020 England won their seventh Six Nations title, no other team has won more than five (since 2000); they’ve won three of the five editions since Eddie Jones took charge in 2016, only Bernard Laporte has more Championship wins since 2000 (4 - Gatland, Woodward, Schmidt also 3).
- 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%).
- England made 116 dominant tackles in the 2020 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).
- Scotland’s Stuart Hogg has gained 3,003 metres with ball in hand in his Six Nations career (41 games), only Sergio Parisse (3,088) has gained more.
- England’s Owen Farrell has scored exactly 1000 Test points (incl. Lions), one of just six men to reach that milestone (also D Carter, J Wilkinson, N Jenkins, R O’Gara, D Dominguez); Farrell is just four points away from scoring his 100th against Scotland, they’d be the seventh nation he’s reached a century of Test points against (also Australia, Wales, South Africa, Italy, Ireland, France).
Teams
England
15. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 47 caps)
14. Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby, 46 caps)
13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 34 caps)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester Warriors, 3 caps)
11. Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby, 61 caps)
10. Owen Farrell (C) (Saracens, 88 caps)
9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 104 caps)
1. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 23 caps)
2. Jamie George (Saracens, 54 caps)
3. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 8 caps)
4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 43 caps)
5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 4 caps)
6. Mark Wilson (Newcastle Falcons, 19 caps)
7. Tom Curry (Sale Sharks, 28 caps)
8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 56 caps)
Finishers
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs, 26 caps)
17. Beno Obano (Bath Rugby, uncapped)
18. Harry Williams (Exeter Chiefs, 18 caps)
19. Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints, 85 caps)
20. Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 8 caps)
21. Dan Robson (Wasps, 7 caps)
22. George Ford (Leicester Tigers, 72 caps)
23. Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 3 caps)
Scotland
15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) – 80 caps
14. Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 50 caps
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 23 caps
12. Cameron Redpath (Bath Rugby) – 0 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) – 5 caps
10. Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 51 caps
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 37 caps
1. Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 11 caps
2. George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 34 caps
4. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 17 caps
5. Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) – 61 caps
6. Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 23 caps
7. Hamish Watson (Edinburgh – 36 caps
8. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Substitutes
16. David Cherry (Edinburgh) – 0 caps
17. Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors) – 5 caps
18. WP Nel (Edinburgh) – 40 caps
19. Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 65 caps
20. Gary Graham (Newcastle Falcons) – 2 caps
21. Scott Steele (Harlequins) – 1 cap
22. Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh) – 1 cap
23. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 26 caps
Related topics
- Attack
- T - Tries
- M - Metres carried
- C - Carries
- DB - Defenders beaten
- CB - Clean breaks
- P - Passes
- O - Offloads
- TC - Turnovers conceded
- TA - Try assists
- PTS - Points
- Defence
- Tackles - Tackles
- MT - Missed tackles
- TW - Turnovers won
- Kicking
- K - Kicks in play
- C - Conversions
- PG - Penalty goals
- DG - Drop goals
- Set plays
- TW - Throws won
- LW - Lineouts won
- LS - Lineout steals
- Discipline
- PC - Penalties conceded
- RC - Red cards
- YC - Yellow cards
England beaten by Scotland in Six Nations opener
England were beaten 11-6 by Scotland at Twickenham in their opening game of the 2021 Guinness Six Nations.
Early ill-discipline from England enabled Scotland to claim the first points of the game, with Finn Russell converting the easiest of penalties in front of the hosts’ posts inside the opening five minutes.
Maro Itoje provided glimpses of promise for England, causing havoc in rucks and charging down two Ali Price box-kicks, but Gregor Townsend’s charges continued to dominate possession and territory in the first quarter.
Billy Vunipola landed a high shot on Russell on the 23-minute mark earning him a yellow card, and Scotland capitalised immediately, using their numbers out wide to eventually find Duhan van der Merwe, who powered over the line for a try. Russell was unable to convert.
Captain Owen Farrell cut the deficit to two points after slotting two quick fire penalties, as Vunipola returned to the field and Russell left it, the Scot sent to the sin bin for deliberately tripping Ben Youngs. An underwhelming first 40 for England saw Scotland take a narrow lead into the break. 6-8.
Scotland managed to see out the remainder of Russell’s leave, and his first involvement on returning to the pitch in the second half was to extend his side’s lead with another three-pointer.
Though scrappy with ball in hand, England’s defence was steadfast, as they thwarted multiple Scottish threats to their line. Finishers added zip to England’s attack, but nothing came from their attempts inside Scotland’s 22.
Scotland kept it tight for the final 10 minutes, kicking deep into England’s half at every opportunity, and held on to claim their first victory over England at Twickenham since 1983.
Reaction
Owen Farrell: "Massive credit to Scotland first and foremost, the way they played kept us out of the game, they got a good start and a fair bit of momentum off the back of a few penalties from us. They got the try and they kept us out from there on.
"We didn't get a proper foothold in the game. The whole game is joined up, we can talk about the attack or defence, but it's all joined up so we're going to have to look at the game as a whole - the story of the game - and see how we can get some momentum back quicker than we did today."
TEAMS
ENGLAND
15. Elliot Daly, 14. Anthony Watson, 13. Henry Slade, 12. Ollie Lawrence, 11. Jonny May, 10. Owen Farrell (C), 9. Ben Youngs, 1. Ellis Genge, 2. Jamie George, 3. Will Stuart, 4. Maro Itoje, 5. Jonny Hill, 6. Mark Wilson, 7. Tom Curry, 8. Billy Vunipola.
FINISHERS
16. Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17. Beno Obano, 18. Harry Williams, 19. Courtney Lawes,
20. Ben Earl, 21. Dan Robson, 22. George Ford, 23. Max Malins.
SCOTLAND
15. Stuart Hogg, 14. Sean Maitland, 13. Chris Harris, 12. Cameron Redpath, 11. Duhan van der Merwe, 10. Finn Russell, 9. Ali Price, 1. Rory Sutherland 2. George Turner, 3. Zander Fagerson, 4. Scott Cummings, 5. Jonny Gray, 6. Jamie Ritchie, 7. Hamish Watson,
8. Matt Fagerson.
SUBSTITUTES
16. David Cherry, 17. Oli Kebble, 18. WP Nel, 19. Richie Gray, 20. Gary Graham,
21. Scott Steele, 22. Jaco van der Walt, 23. Huw Jones.
Fixtures & results
6 Feb - England 6-11 Scotland
13 Feb - England v Italy | 2.15pm KO
27 Feb - Wales v England | 4.45pm KO
13 March - England v France | 4.45pm KO
20 March - Ireland v England | 4.45pm KO
