The Calcutta Cup has been all Scotland in the last few seasons with the rupee trophy firmly in the grip of those north of the border. On Saturday, Scotland come back to Twickenham looking to turn over their English counterparts for the fifth straight year and leave with the spoils yet again.
Most people, possibly all, would have picked Scotland to make it six on the trot a couple of weeks ago, given recent history and the form Steve Borthwick’s England had been in.
Many will still fancy the visitors who, under Gregor Townsend, have staged a revival of Scottish rugby. It is hard to argue against that case. But there is just enough in the air that allows England and their fans a little hope this weekend.
Beating France last time out coupled with Scotland’s poor performance against Ireland has left a few pundits considering that their stranglehold on the cup may now be loosening.
But Borthwick’s side will need to play better than they did against France, having survived some scares in that game and doing just enough to snatch victory.
It was a similar performance to that against Ireland in last year’s Six Nations; doing enough to frustrate, to ride some luck and clinch it at the death.
However, after that victory, England failed to follow it up, losing two summer tour games, which started the run of ‘near-miss’ losses which characterised a demoralising autumn.
This time they must follow up that win this weekend. For that reason it is one of the most pressurised games of Borthwick’s tenure as coach.
He has often lamented close losses, or misfortune, or saying his team is on a journey and that we, as England supporters, should be patient. Well, now it is time to deliver.
England are suddenly mentioned as potential Six Nations winners and if they beat Scotland, it leaves Wales and Italy to conquer. They have a chance.
They have settled down the selection merry-go-round and have only brought Ollie Chessum in for the injured George Martin in the second row.
Strong continuity of selection too allows the backline Smiths a chance to see if the glimmer of that tantalising performance from Fin at fly-half, with Marcus running cover from full-back, is here to stay.
England will still have many questions swirling around Twickenham as the fans meander from the local bars prior to kick-off. But break the run of Scottish Calcutta dominance and suddenly it may all change.
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