Some games are bigger than others and this year’s Calcutta Cup encounter sits firmly in that category. The World Cup may have been and gone but, for reasons both ancient and modern, the 142nd edition of rugby’s oldest international fixture feels more significant than usual. A defining encounter awaits all concerned, in the short and medium terms.
In differing ways Scotland and England have reached a fork in their developmental paths. Get it satisfyingly right and the high road beckons. Stumble and a whole host of thorny old questions will swiftly resurface, particularly for the visitors to Murrayfield. Narrow wins over Italy and Wales are one thing but the acid test of the latest Red Rose incarnation has arrived.
We have, admittedly, been here before. Not unlike repainting the nearby Forth Bridge, England makeovers sometime resemble one of those projects that never truly end. Certain things, even so, are non-negotiable and a fourth successive Six Nations loss to Scotland would be impossible for anyone at Twickenham to gloss over.
Scotland, for their part, will have had a deeply disappointing championship should they lose both of their home games. If they were unlucky in the closing moments against France, they will also know it was a game they should have won regardless. Favouritism does not always suit them but falter again in front of their own supporters and another year of frustrating underachievement will beckon.
Hence the anticipation in the cool, malt-scented air around Murrayfield, rarely a venue in which England have felt fully at ease. They did win in 2020 but that was their only success in the past six meetings. To back up the insistence of Steve Borthwick and his players that better times are just around the corner, they badly need to halt that sequence.
It will not be easy: Scotland are a settled, skilful and motivated side. They tend to play smart on these occasions, too, rather than simply settling for a slow attritional game that usually suits England just fine. It does not require a crystal ball to predict that the breakdown will again be a pivotal area, with Rory Darge and Jamie Ritchie keen to ruffle English composure, or that Finn Russell’s fingerprints will be all over the contest at some stage.
England have been doing their best to prep themselves by inviting the young Northampton fly-half Finn Smith to try to replicate some of Russell’s little feints and tricks in training. It is not always that straightforward, though, and it was instructive to hear Scotland’s ringmaster discussing the mindset required to outflank the souped-up “blitz” defence England will bring.
In the World Cup, South Africa effectively headed off Scotland at the pass, rushing up to cut down Russell’s options and cramping their opponents’ style. The lessons of that 18-3 defeat, says Russell, have been duly taken on board. “Under pressure we probably went into our shell a little bit. Tomorrow, we just need to have belief in ourselves and trust the work we have put in over the last six months to a year.
“When we do feel under pressure we can’t get tunnel vision. We can’t just focus on their blitz and look straight in front of us. We’ve got to look at the bigger picture.
“A message I was getting across to the boys today was just be decisive: don’t get caught in two minds between carrying and passing. That’s when you’ll get caught on the back foot and the defence will get on top of us.”
If that implies a game of brinkmanship at times, that is almost certainly what lies in store. Wales found some holes on the inside of England’s midfield defenders but did not have the firepower Scotland possess out wide. Given quick ball and a hint of space, Duhan van der Merwe and Kyle Steyn have the ability to cause major problems to a reshuffled rearguard. The return of Blair Kinghorn will not exactly hinder their kicking game either.
From England’s perspective, the onus is on their front five to generate some momentum, ideally with centre Ollie Lawrence replicating his blistering form for Bath before his untimely injury last month. Having trailed at half-time to Italy and Wales, the visitors will have to start faster and maintain as low a penalty count as possible. In that respect it is slightly ominous for them that the referee, Andrew Brace, was in charge of Scotland’s Calcutta Cup wins in 2018 and 2021.
That said, England are as positive-minded and harmonious a group off the pitch as they have been in years, which seems to be helping them navigate a way through tight games that would once have slipped away. In Jamie George they also have a leader setting a truly remarkable example after learning of his mother’s cancer diagnosis on the same day he was invited to be England captain. If his inspirationally warm, heartfelt tribute to his late mum has half the effect on his team as it had on the assembled media on Thursday night they will be desperate to honour Jane George’s memory in the grandest possible manner.
Such things, clearly, make the result of any rugby match wholly relative. As George was eager to stress, though, his mum loved the game and her sense of pride at his appointment was off the scale. In those kind of circumstances playing sport takes on a fresh meaning: it becomes a chance to channel raw emotions elsewhere, to find solace in dressing-room fellowship and to give thanks for small mercies as the first notes of the anthem soar up to heaven.
After that? Sentiment will provide England with only a partial shield as the temperature drops and the Murrayfield maelstrom intensifies. Stand firm and, with games against Ireland and France still to come, they will remain in charge of their own destiny. Get swept away again by opponents who increasingly seem to have their number and the progress they insist is happening will have to be reassessed.
It makes for an enticing prospect and, very possibly, a fluctuating ride for both sets of fans. Scotland had to endure a controversial photo-finish a fortnight ago but this time, chasing a fourth straight win over England for the first time in more than half a century, they may take some stopping.
