Scotland v England, Six Nations
Scotland eye fresh-faced England
ESPNscrum Staff
January 31, 2012
lanker Tom Croft flattens the defender in the process of scoring, England v Scotland, Six Nations, Twickenham, England, March 13, 2011
Tom Croft crashes over against Scotland at Twickenham last year © Getty Images
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Tournaments/Tours: Six Nations
Teams: England | Scotland

Scotland host England on Saturday as the two sides face up against each other for the Calcutta Cup.

England v Scotland is the oldest fixture on the international calendar. There have been 129 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 are currently ahead by 69 wins to 42. There have been 18 draws - the record for any international fixture - with the latest stalemate coming at Murrayfield in 2010. The most recent meeting of the sides in the Six Nations was in 2011 at Twickenham where England triumphed 22-16. And England backed up this triumph with an unconvincing 16-12 win during the 2011 World Cup. But Murrayfield has been a tough place for England to go in recent times with the red rose side's last win occurring back in 2004.

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 Chris Paterson has played in 12 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 scored 27 when England won at Twickenham in 2007. Paul Grayson is the only other player with a full-house of scoring actions in a match in the series: he collected a try, landed four conversions, dropped a goal and kicked a penalty in England's 34-20 win at Murrayfield in 1998.

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 has scored 114 points for England in ten games between 1999 and 2011. Chris Paterson holds the corresponding record for Scotland. He scored 84 in 12 matches between 2000 and 2011.

Scotland-England Six Nations results:
2000 Scotland 19-13 England (Murrayfield)
2001 England 43-3 Scotland (Twickenham)
2002 Scotland 3-29 England (Murrayfield)
2003 England 40-9 Scotland (Twickenham)
2004 Scotland 13-35 England (Murrayfield)
2005 England 43-22 Scotland (Twickenham)
2006 Scotland 18-12 England (Murrayfield)
2007 England 42-20 Scotland (Twickenham)
2008 Scotland 15-9 England (Murrayfield)
2009 England 26-12 Scotland (Twickenham)
2010 Scotland 15-15 England (Edinburgh)
2011 England 22-16 Scotland (Twickenham)

  • Click here for England's complete Test record in Statsguru

  • Click here for Scotland's complete Test record in Statsguru

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