England v Scotland, Six Nations 2023: Match Preview pt II – head to heads

Of the 46 players on show this weekend, just 3 have started all of the last 3 Calcutta Cup matches at Twickenham – Owen Farrell and Kyle Sinckler for England and Finn Russell for Scotland. Another 5 have at least been in the 23 for that trio of fixtures – Ellis Genge and Ben Youngs on the English side and Jonny Gray, Chris Harris and WP Nel for the Scots.

Tale of the tape

BACKS
27   Tries  68
90kg   Average weight   98kg
169   Total caps  240
59   6N caps  122
2  6N debuts  0
25.1   Average age   28.2

FORWARDS
911kg   Pack weight  918kg
23   Tries   19
262   Total caps  290
114   6N caps   115
1  6N debuts  1
27.3   Average age   29.8

SUBSTITUTES
369   Total caps   284
175   6N caps   115
1  6N debuts  1
48   Tries   29
28.8   Average age   29.8

7 changes to Scotland starting XV from last Test (v Argentina)

• 14 – Steyn for Graham [-]
• 13 – Jones for Harris [+] attack; [-] defence
• 9 – White for Price [=]
• 2 – Turner for Brown [=]
• 3 – Nel for Fagerson [-]
• 4 – R. Gray for J. Gray [+]
• 6/7/8 – Crosbie for Dempsey with Ritchie to 6 and Fagerson to 8 [+]

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Overall

Backs – advantage Scotland

While current top try scorer Darcy Graham missing out is a blow, Kyle Steyn will be a useful addition for helping to try and defuse the aerial bombardment that is expected to come Scotland’s way. The risk for England is that any loose kicks are likely to be punished by a Scottish backline packed with attacking threat.

The dark blues will still need to pick the right moments to run though. The domination of territory and possession the last time this fixture was played at Twickenham came off the back of the Scots’ own kicking game with Finn Russell and Stuart Hogg to the fore. That duo (and others) will need to be at their very best again in this facet of play if there is to be another upset at the headquarters of English rugby.

Forwards – advantage England

Zander Fagerson started at tighthead prop in 27 of the 30 matches played by Scotland since the last World Cup. His replacement for this game, WP Nel, knows all the tricks and has become something of Six Nations’ specialist, featuring in 12 of the dark blues’ last 16 matches in the tournament while only playing 4 out of 15 other Tests. Simon Berghan is in line for his first cap since March 2021.

How the Scottish pack manage to deal with the elder Fagerson’s absence at the setpiece and, almost certainly more crucially, in terms of work rate around the park (Zander is a big contributor in terms of carries, tackles and rucks hit) will be a significant factor in seeing which side can get the edge up front.

Subs – advantage England

The 8 England players on the bench have more previous Six Nations appearances (175) than their starting XV (173). How vital might that experience be in the dying minutes of the contest?

Miscellany

–  This will be the 96th start for the national side for Stuart Hogg, tying Chris Paterson’s record for the Scotland Men’s team.

– With an average age of 29.3, this is the oldest matchday 23 selected for Scotland during the Townsend era.

– Ali Price played in all 30 of Scotland’s previous games since the last World Cup, starting in 28 of those fixtures.

– With Price and Zander Fagerson both missing, the longest active streak of consecutive appearances belongs to Pierre Schoeman who has featured in all 17 matches since his debut in 2021.

– The Huwipulotu partnership in the centres may have their numbers reversed from the way they have been named for Glasgow but 12. Sione Tuipulotu / 13. Huw Jones better reflects how they more usually line up in defence and attack. Expect some mixing it up though – and maybe even a little bit of Sione at first receiver?

– Until the most recent Autumn Nations Series, the only occasion that Jonny Gray was selected on the bench with big brother Richie Gray in the starting lineup was the younger Gray’s Test debut against South Africa. This will be the 3rd time in the last 4 matches that a reinvigorated Richie has restated his primacy as the elder sibling.

– It’s clearly a good time to be an international rugby player named Benjamin with 4 in line to play at Twickenham. In fact you might say there will be more Bens than a Mercedes’ showroom…

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Missed Part 1? Check it out here with a scouting report on England and Scottish history with the referee, Mr Williams.