6N Preview: Scotland v England

Published: Friday, 3. February, 2012 in category Six Nations

Old hurts and new hopes will all be in the air when Scotland and England start their Six Nations campaign with the latest edition of international rugby union's oldest match in Edinburgh on Saturday.

England could hardly have a more awkward start to life under acting head coach Stuart Lancaster than a trip to Murrayfield, a ground where they have not won on their three most recent visits.

Scotland, not that they've needed it in a fixture dating back to 1871, have an added incentive for beating England after they ended the Scots' record of always qualifying for the knock-out stages of the World Cup with a scrappy 16-12 win in Auckland in October.

Afterwards, the Scotland coach said certain opposition players had been "arrogant" in victory, a charge often brought against England teams.

But this latest accusation came from Andy Robinson, himself a former England flank and coach.

Meanwhile Lancaster, in another example of the ties that bind the old rivals, represented Scotland at Under-19 level, qualifying through his mother.

England's World Cup campaign only lasted one more match after they beat Scotland, a quarterfinal loss to France setting the seal on a tournament where the squad became notorious for several embarrassing off-field incidents.

Lancaster, appointed on a caretaker basis following former England manager Martin Johnson's resignation, has set himself a tricky task.

He wants to restore the tarnished reputation of the team, start rebuilding for the 2015 World Cup in England and win as well.

The former coach of England's reserve Saxons would like to do this while his own future is uncertain, with the defending Six Nations champions - something often forgotten in the midst of their World Cup debacle - set to review their options after the tournament.

Lancaster has selected a vastly inexperienced, if potentially exciting, team for his first game in charge, with the starting XV showing 10 changes to the side that beat Scotland in New Zealand.

New captain Chris Robshaw will be winning only his second cap while behind the scrum Lancaster has given debuts to Saracens centres Brad Barritt and 20-year-old Owen Farrell, son of England assistant coach Andy.

Lancaster has also recalled the Premiership champions' flyhalf Charlie Hodgson to play inside his club-mates following the international retirement of Jonny Wilkinson and the absence through injury of Toby Flood.

"In Charlie and Owen, we've got the ball players we need while Brad brings solidity in defence," Lancaster explained on Thursday.

"If England are going to be successful long term, the quality of the performance has to be a big driver - but yes, this is international rugby, we'd take a 6-3 win."

Scotland's side, with wing Lee Jones the lone debutant, has more than double the number of caps of England, and that could be a factor if, as often happens in Calcutta Cup clashes, the game becomes an attritional forward battle.

But just as England are without their record points scorer in Wilkinson, so too are Scotland following the Test retirement of Chris Paterson.

Try-scoring has been a major problem for Scotland of late and of the 20 teams at the World Cup only Georgia and Romania, with three each, managed fewer than their four tries.

Not that Scotland centre Sean Lamont was overly concerned.

"Yes, it would be nice to be scoring pretty tries. But I'd still take an ugly win with a 3-0 victory without any pretty rugby against a loss," he said.

If that is a cliche Lamont is happy to stand by, he'd dearly love Scotland, who've been battling with Italy to avoid the wooden spoon in recent Six Nations, to rid themselves of their 'plucky losers' tag.

"Myself and all the boys are sick of saying that. Scotland have had a lot of the old gallant runners-up. It doesn't wash any more," added Lamont.

Players to watch:

For Scotland: In the pack fearsome tighthead Euan Murray will take the England front row on at scrum-time while all-action lock Richie Gray is sure to make an impression in open play. In the backline the hard-running Lamont brothers are always good value, expect them to test the England defence and look to create some space for skilful wing Max Evans.

For England: The two Saracens centres making their debut will be interesting to watch, while outside them Chris Ashton and Ben Foden are always exciting when given the opportunity to pin their ears back. Captain Chris Robshaw will be desperate to make an impression in only his second game while New Zealand-born Northampton Saints skipper Dylan Hartley will want to make the hooker jersey his own with a convincing performance.

Head to head: The second-row tussle between the athletic Gray and South African-born Saracens lock Mouritz Botha should be a fiery one, as will the battle for the ball on the gound between flanks Alasdair Strokosch and Tom Croft. Scotland scrumhalf Chris Cusiter will have to be one his toes if he is to keep Ben Youngs quiet while young Owen Farrell will have a tough test squaring up to Sean Lamont at inside centre on his debut.

Recent results:
2011: England won 16-12 in Auckland
2011: England won 22-16 in London
2010: Draw in Edinburgh
2009: England won 26-12 in London
2008: Scotland won 15-9 in Edinburgh
2007: England won 42-20 in London
2006: Scotland won 18-12 in Edinburgh
2005: England won 43-22 in London
2004: England won 35-13 in Edinburgh
2003: England won 40-9 in London
2002: England won 29-3 in Edinburgh

Prediction: There will be plenty of excitement around England as the new combinations seek to justify their selections and they will not be holding anything back. Scotland will be determined to strike a massive blow in front of their home crowd and as they have the more settled team we are tipping them to win this one by less than five points.

The teams:

Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14  Lee Jones, 13 Nick de Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford (captain), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Graeme Morrison.

England: 15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements: 16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.

Date: Saturday, February 4
Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Kick-off: 17.00 (17.00 GMT)
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO: Tony Redmond (Ireland)