England battle Scotland in the Six Nations this weekend, looking to end a dismal recent Calcutta Cup record and build on their new-found momentum. The pressure was mounting on Steve Borthwick ahead of the visit of pre-tournament favourites France to Twickenham after a second-half collapse away to back-to-back defending champions Ireland in round one, with his side having lost six of their last seven Tests and unable to produce a win against a fellow Tier One nation.
![[Alex Dombrandt is pictured during an England training session]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/02/17/18/51/alexdombrandt17022025a-jpg.jpeg?trim=66,0,232,0&quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
However, so much of the frustration built up over the course of a close summer series in New Zealand and narrow autumn defeats by the All Blacks, Australia and South Africa was released in memorable scenes that followed Elliot Daly’s last-gasp try off the bench that secured a thrilling shock 26-25 victory over Les Bleus. While they rode their luck at times as France botched numerous try-scoring chances with uncharacteristic handling errors galore in the wet conditions, it nevertheless felt like a seismic moment for this England side and Borthwick, who will be hoping that it doesn’t prove merely a false dawn as Scotland now head down south of the border looking for a fifth consecutive victory over the auld enemy and third in a row at Twickenham.
It has been a rather underwhelming start to European rugby’s signature championship for Gregor Townsend’s side, who were able to see off a stubborn Italy fightback at Murrayfield in round one before being brushed aside by historic three-peat chasing Ireland in Dublin. England vs Scotland in the Six Nations takes place on Saturday February 22, 2025 at Allianz Stadium Twickenham in south-west London.
Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash is due to begin at 4:45pm GMT in the UK. TV channel: In the UK, England vs Scotland is being broadcast live and free-to-air on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 4pm. Live stream: The game is also available to watch online via the ITVX app and website, which is free with a sign up. Live blog: Follow the action as it happens with Standard Sport’s live blog, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings at Twickenham.
Borthwick named a 36-man wider England squad on Sunday to assemble at their Pennyhill Park training base and prepare for Scotland following the Six Nations’ first fallow week. That included a recall to the international fold for Harlequins No8 Alex Dombrandt, with Alex Coles also back from injury and added to the group along with young Northampton team-mate Henry Pollock. Tom Curry - one of the standout performers of the Six Nations so far - and George Martin were also in the squad after initially training away from the main group due to injuries sustained against France. Saints hooker Curtis Langdon and Saracens’ Alex Lozowski have both dropped out.
Scotland will hope that fly-half star Finn Russell and wing Darcy Graham can be involved against England after a nasty clash of heads suffered in the first half against Ireland that saw both men taken off, the latter on a stretcher while Russell was kept on the sidelines despite passing a head injury assessment (HIA). Both players are progressing through the necessary return-to-play protocols and have taken part in some light skills work at a training camp in Spain.
Bath centre Cam Redpath has been added to the squad along with experienced scrum-half Ali Price and Edinburgh wing Ross McCann, but centre Matt Currie has withdrawn with concussion and George Horne is having a facial injury assessed. Alexander Masibaka has been released back to club side Soyaux-Angouleme in France, meanwhile. Scotland’s lengthy list of injury absentees is headlined by influential captain Sione Tuipulotu, with the likes of lock Scott Cummings also sidelined.
Steve Borthwick tends to name his England team ahead of the usual two-day schedule, so the England matchday squad should be released on Wednesday. Scotland counterpart Gregor Townsend should then name his own team on Thursday. England won nine of 10 matches against Scotland between 2009-17, but have now been victorious just once in the last seven meetings - a 13-6 win in an error-strewn battle played in inclement weather conditions at Murrayfield in 2020.
Scotland have dominated this fixture in recent years, winning four Calcutta Cup contests in a row for the first time since 1896 and reeling off back-to-back victories at Twickenham for the first time ever. Last year, Duhan van der Merwe proved the thorn in England’s side once again with a devastating hat-trick in a 30-21 triumph in Edinburgh. England wins: 76. Scotland wins: 47. Draws: 19. The stakes are as high as ever where these old rivals are concerned. As euphoric as England’s shock last-gasp victory over France was, it will mean preciously little in the grand scheme of things if it’s immediately followed up by a fifth consecutive Calcutta Cup loss and third in a row against Scotland on home soil.
