At one point in his eve-of-match media conference, Finn Russell referred to Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with England as “just another game and another chance to get a victory”.
If it was an attempt by Scotland’s fly-half and co-captain to downplay expectations around the intensity of the occasion, he rather undermined the illusion moments later when observing that the hosts needed to put 153 years of history and rivalry to one side. “We just need to get focused on this game,” he said. “It’s different to all of them.” Quite.
A day earlier the head coach, Gregor Townsend, made no bones about the fact the England game is one that occupies Scottish minds more than any other. “That probably shouldn’t be the case, but it is,” he said. “It’s history. It’s emotion.”
Russell suggested Scotland have tried to take emotion out of their preparation this week, but he still made a valid point. After three decades where victory over the auld enemy was cause for wild celebration, times have changed. With four wins and a draw from the past six contests, any inferiority complex the Scots might have held has been cast to the winds. “In the past if we were able to beat England it was a huge result and we used to celebrate it – a lot,” Russell said with a knowing grin. “Don’t get me wrong, we all still celebrate. But it’s in a different way. The team has come on a lot and I think the mentality as a group has come on a lot in the last five, six years. We’re much more professional around this fixture now.”
Remarkably, Scotland could win a fourth successive championship game against England for the first time since 1896. They did muster four straight victories from 1970 to 1972, but one of those was a special centenary match to mark the first meeting of these oldest of rivals.
Townsend, 50, had not been born then. As a player he had to wait until his eighth attempt to enjoy a win over England – the wooden spoon-avoiding, grand slam-denying hatchet job on Clive Woodward’s side in 2000. It proved to be his only one in 10 contests.
As an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012, there were four more defeats and a solitary draw. But as head coach of the national team, Townsend has transformed the narrative of this fixture. He may be yet to savour victory over Ireland – nine attempts and counting – or the All Blacks or Springboks, but some epic wins against their nearest and dearest sit proudly on his CV.
The pulsating 25-13 win of 2018 – Russell’s miracle pass, Huw Jones’s finishing, John Barclay’s breakdown banditry – was the catalyst for the turning of the tide. The attacking mindset continued even when staring into the abyss of a 31-0 deficit at Twickenham the year after, a mind-boggling comeback yielding an astonishing 38-38 draw.
“The comeback in 2019 secured that belief and confidence we had against England,” Russell said. “We’ve had a few good wins after that, it’s something that’s been building. It’s not just one result, it’s taken time to change.”
There was the hoodoo-busting victory of 2021 that ended a 38-year winless run at Twickenham, coming from behind to close out a tight one two years ago, and the Duhan van der Merwe scores – one of individual brilliance, the other a classic team try – a year ago that made Townsend the first Scotland coach to preside over back-to-back victories in London.
The only exception was the 2020 fixture, England sneaking home at a storm-lashed Murrayfield. For Russell, exiled at the time after he fell out with Townsend, it was a good one to miss. Having lost his first three encounters with England, he now boasts a winning record of four wins and a draw from eight meetings.
Not that he is counting his chickens. As one of a handful of players left who experienced a 61-21 humbling at Twickenham in 2017, he has seen both sides of the Calcutta Cup coin.
“You might have some boys in the team that have only ever won against England. They won’t know what it’s like to concede 60 points down at Twickenham. Unfortunately, I do. But it’s good that’s where we’ve got to and how we’ve progressed as a group. In five years it can all change quite quickly.”
One thing that has not changed yet is Scotland’s inability to put five consistent displays together across a Six Nations campaign. Having almost capitulated in Cardiff before belatedly getting a grip, and faltered against France from a commanding position, they desperately need an 80-minute performance of sustained quality to nip the green shoots of a red rose revival in the bud.
The new reality is this is now a must-win fixture for this Scottish side if they are to retain hopes of a top-two finish and head to Dublin on the final day with something tangible to aim for.
