Scotland v England, Six Nations, March 13
England v Scotland is the oldest fixture on the international calendar. There have been 126 matches between the nations since 1871, when Scotland beat England by a goal and a try to a try at Raeburn Place, Edinburgh in the days before scoring by points was introduced.
England have held the lead in the series since 1939 and is now ahead by 67 wins to 42. There have been 17 draws - the record for any international fixture.
Jason Leonard set the record for most appearances in the series. He played in 14 successive matches from 1991 to 2003, including the 1991 Rugby World Cup semi-final at Murrayfield. Scotland's Sandy Carmichael, Scott Hastings and Alastair McHarg played in 11 games.
England set the highest score and best margin for the matches in the 43-3 Twickenham win in 2001. They scored a record seven tries in another high-scoring win (43-22) at Twickenham in 2005.
Scotland's record victory was 33-6 at Murrayfield in 1986. Their best try-return is six at Murrayfield in a 28-19 victory in 1931.
Jonny Wilkinson set the individual record for most points in a match. He went through the card of scoring actions collecting 27 when England won at Twickenham in 2007.
The best individual scoring performance for Scotland is 21 points by Gavin Hastings at Murrayfield in 1986.
There have been three try hat-tricks in the series, each scored by England threequarters. Cyril Lowe's at Inverleith in 1914 helped England lift the Triple Crown while John Carleton's tries at Murrayfield in 1980 carried his side to the Grand Slam. Jamie Noon also scored three at Twickenham in 2005.
The famous Flying Scot, Ian Smith, scored the most tries in the matches. During his eight appearances (1924 to 1933) he crossed for nine tries. Cyril Lowe ran in six tries for England between 1913 and 1923 and Jason Robinson did so in five appearances between 2001 and 2007.
The leading overall scorer in the series is Jonny Wilkinson. He scored 91 points for England in seven games between 1999 and 2008.
Chris Paterson holds the corresponding record for Scotland. He scored 70 in ten matches between 2000 and 2009.
England-Scotland Six Nations results:
2000 Scotland 19-13 (Murrayfield)
2001 England 43-3 (Twickenham)
2002 England 29-3 (Murrayfield)
2003 England 40-9 (Twickenham)
2004 England 35-13 (Murrayfield)
2005 England 43-22 (Twickenham)
2006 Scotland 18-12 (Murrayfield)
2007 England 42-20 (Twickenham)
2008 Scotland 15-9 (Murrayfield)
2009 England 26-12 (Twickenham)
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John Griffiths is a widely respected rugby historian and is the author of several sports books, including The Book of English International Rugby, The Book of International Rugby Records, British Lions, The Five Nations Championship, Rugby's Strangest Matches and Rugby's Greatest Characters. He was a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph for 19 years and is co-author of the IRB International Rugby Yearbook. He has also provided insight for Scrum.com since 1999.
