Rugby: Calcutta Cup

As former Scotland head coach Scott Johnson used to say: "Boys, this week it's either rocks or diamonds." I may be leaving out an expletive or two, but the point stands. Which is it for Scotland against England at Murrafield - rocks or diamonds? There's nearly always a bit of a pantomime around who is favourite to win these Test matches, so let's…

Everything you need to know ahead of the Guinness Six Nations match at Murrayfield The Guinness Six Nations returns this weekend after a short hiatus and the standout match of round three is the Calcutta Cup game at Murrayfield. Scotland v England is the oldest fixture in international rugby union, dating back to 1871 when the sides first met at…

DARCY GRAHAM is stepping up his training routine this week, and, although he will not be involved in Edinburgh's URC match at Zebre on Friday, he is on course to return to the Scotland line-up to face England on Saturday week according to club coach Sean Everitt. The winger has not played since injuring a quad against Gloucester last month, but…

England legend Jason Leonard is this week's Expert Witness as he and Planet Rugby writer James While delve into the Six Nations, including next week's Calcutta Cup clash. Leonard is a true great of rugby. 119 Test caps, three British and Irish Lions tours and a World Cup adds up to a glittering career. He appeared in 14 Calcutta Cup matches, losing…

Jeremy Guscott of England (centre-left) gets to grips with Tony Stanger of Scotland in the infamous match The Grudge, the latest documentary from the award-winning BT Sport Films series, premieres on BT Sport 1 at 10.15pm on Friday 20 January. The Grudge remembers the historic Five Nations rugby clash between Scotland and England in 1990, a match…

Hamish Watson is revelling in Scotland's current Calcutta Cup purple patch after growing up watching England dominate the fixture. he Scots have now lifted the old trophy four times in the last five years after their nail-biting 20-17 victory at BT Murrayfield on Saturday. Prior to 2018, they had defeated England only three times in 27 years and…

It's a huge day in the rugby calendar with the return of the Six Nations. And what better way to kick it all off than with the Calcutta Cup? The stage is set at Murrayfield as Scotland host England to kick off proceedings. Gregor Townsend''s side enjoyed a famous win at Twickenham at 2021 and they'll be primed to add to that on home turf. But…

With Wales wrapping up the Grand Slam in Cardiff earlier on Super Saturday, any hopes the Red Rose had of reclaiming the title had evaporated before the game. But they came out with a point to prove and soon raced into a 31-0 lead, before Scotland pulled one back to give themselves a glimmer of hope at the half-time interval. A further five tries…

Scottish Rugby bosses have adopted a "zero tolerance" approach to ticket touts, involving hunting down and cancelling touted tickets and refunding fans. The radical approach by the SRU - which bans resale of tickets for profit - has already seen some fans who were duped by tout sites being allowed to buy tickets for face value after the original…

Interest in the Hearts- Hibs derby in the women's game took a significant jump last season. The clubs decided to each host a SWPL 1 league game at their home grounds. A domestic Scottish record attendance of 5512 took in the match at Easter Road, while over 3500 watched the return fixture at Tynecastle - Hibs running out 3-0 and 3-1 winners,…

SCOTLAND are set for victory against England in Saturday's Calcutta Cup - according to a 123kg seal. Barrel-bellied seal Jinx from the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, Cornwall, tipped the home side to win the fixture as part of a prediction stunt. Video shows the six-year-old mammal instantly flopping towards Scotland's saltire and…

Several lively debates are raging around English rugby. Some reckon the national team are starting to plateau and, despite a striking win-loss ratio under Eddie Jones, could be vulnerable to a chilly blast of reality at Murrayfield on Saturday. Others argue that is nonsense and insist world domination is imminent. By Saturday evening the truth…