England travel to face a wounded Scotland in the 2026 Six Nations this weekend.
The latest Calcutta Cup showdown between old rivals at Murrayfield headlines round two after both teams experienced very contrasting fortunes on opening weekend.
Scotland were stunned 18-15 by resurgent Italy amid a deluge of rain in Rome, ramping up the pressure further on long-time head coach Gregor Townsend, who ahead of the game denied reports that he had agreed to take over at Newcastle after the 2027 World Cup.
There has been speculation since that his future beyond the end of the current tournament could be in doubt without a brisk upturn in fortunes, with Scotland also hosting dominant France and travelling to Ireland after a trip to Wales in round three.
Their hopes of a first-ever Six Nations title are lying in tatters already, with any Grand Slam dreams immediately scuppered, though they will be viewing the visit of England north of the border as a perfect chance to bounce back quickly and in memorable style.
However, Steve Borthwick’s side are surging with confidence at present, having increased their impressive winning streak across all competitions to 12 successive matches with a 48-7 thrashing of woeful and ill-disciplined Wales at Twickenham in which they scored a total of seven tries.
George Ford pulled the strings masterfully and Henry Arundell helped himself to an easy first-half hat-trick on his first Test start since the 2023 World Cup as Steve Tandy’s team were firmly put to the sword once more.
It gave further rise to optimism that England are fully capable of challenging for a first Six Nations crown since 2020 and possibly even a first Grand Slam since 2016 in the build-up to the next World Cup, having bounced back efficiently from a difficult 2024 that brought questions about Borthwick’s future and matched France’s formidable statement against injury-hit Ireland in the curtain-raiser.
Scotland vs England date, kick-off time and venue
Scotland vs England takes place on Saturday February 14, 2026 at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Expect no love lost on Valentine’s Day.
Kick-off is scheduled for 4:40pm GMT.
How to watch Scotland vs England
TV channel: In the UK, Scotland vs England is being shown live and free to air on ITV1 and STV, with coverage beginning at 4:10pm GMT, following the conclusion of Ireland vs Italy in Dublin.
Live stream: Fans can also watch the game live online via the ITVX website and app, which is free with a registration.
Live blog: You can follow the action as it happens with Standard Sport’s dedicated live blog.
Scotland vs England team news
Townsend surprisingly left out the likes of Blair Kinghorn and Duhan van der Merwe completely against Italy, with Darcy Graham only appearing off the bench.
The British and Irish Lions trio will surely come back into the thinking this weekend, with Scotland’s new-look back-three trio of Tom Jordan, Kyle Steyn and Jamie Dobie having struggled in the Rome rain. Van der Merwe in particular will be keen for the chance to continue his fine try-scoring run against England.
The rest of the Scottish backline still rather picks itself regardless of the result against Italy, with captain Sione Tuipulotu partnered by Huw Jones in the centres and the influential Finn Russell at fly-half.
George Horne impressed off the bench and gave Scotland hope with a late try at the Stadio Olimpico and will be pressing Ben White for the starting scrum-half role.
Nathan McBeth could come in at loosehead prop if Pierre Schoeman is not fully fit, while Ewan Ashman could come under pressure from George Turner at hooker after Scotland’s dire lineout performance last weekend.
Max Williamson and Gregor Brown are among the other forwards who will hope to be promoted into the starting pack.
As for England, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso was a late scratch from the team to face Wales with a hamstring injury suffered in training and could now miss the entire Six Nations for the second year running.
Tom Roebuck returned a week earlier than expected from a toe issue sustained against New Zealand in the autumn to replace Feyi-Waboso and scored a try.
Borthwick makes only two changes against Scotland having appeared to come through the Wales game mostly unscathed, with the fit-again Fin Smith picked over namesake Marcus as fly-half cover for Ford, while powerful centre Ollie Lawrence isn’t involved despite his recovery from a knee injury.
Captain Maro Itoje is restored to the lineup, having not started a Six Nations game for the first time in almost seven years on opening weekend having missed part of a pre-tournament training camp in Girona as he attended his mother’s funeral in Nigeria.
Alex Coles makes way for Itoje, who was yellow-carded just seconds after coming on against Wales, at lock, with Ollie Chessum having performed brilliantly in the No5 shirt and the back row now having a familiar look.
Jamie George - who captained the side against Wales with Itoje on the bench - makes way for Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker.
Scotland vs England lineups
Scotland XV: TBC
Replacements: TBC
England XV: Steward; Roebuck, Freeman, Dingwall, Arundell; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes; Itoje (c), Chessum; Pepper, Underhill, Earl
Replacements: George, Rodd, Davison, Coles, T Curry, Pollock, Spencer, F Smith
Scotland vs England head to head (h2h) history and results
Scotland’s hopes for a swift bounce-back this weekend come as a result of their recent track record of success in Calcutta Cup matches on home soil.
England have been defeated in successive outings at Murrayfield in the Six Nations, having not won in Edinburgh since 2020 - when they triumphed narrowly in atrocious weather conditions.
England had lost four in a row against Scotland, who celebrated back-to-back wins at Twickenham for the first time ever, before regaining the Calcutta Cup 16-15 12 months ago thanks to Russell’s last-gasp missed conversion.
Scotland wins: 47
England wins: 77
Draws: 19
Scotland vs England prediction
Cautious England fans believe Scotland losing to Italy may be the worst thing that could have happened from their perspective ahead of this latest Calcutta Cup meeting.
As if the hosts weren’t quite driven enough for another chance to defeat the auld enemy on home soil, now they will have more motivation than ever as they seek to quickly erase memories of the Rome debacle and ease some of the mounting pressure on Townsend.
But this is an England side in a rich vein of form who are soaring with confidence, and for whom a trip to Murrayfield will hold no fear whatsoever despite their poor recent record at the home of Scottish rugby.
England, who continue to showcase their enviable strength in depth, are extremely well-drilled and doing the fundamentals very well now under Borthwick, adding that bit of attacking flair and panache when needed through their glut of pacey wingers and Tommy Freeman, and controlling games impressively through master tactician Ford.
This will undoubtedly be a huge, physical and likely close challenge as always, but one we expect them to edge narrowly for the second year in a row.
England to win, by five points.
Scotland vs England match odds
Scotland to win: 13/5
England to win: 3/10
Draw: 30/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
