Ranked! The five greatest England vs Scotland clashes of all-time
Six Nations 2023

Ranked! The five greatest England vs Scotland clashes of all-time

8 March 2017
Steven
With England v Scotland just round the corner here will be taking a look at five of the greatest battles for the Calcutta Cup.
There have been 135 matches played between to two sides, so it has been hard to choose just five, but here are the best matches between the two sides for numerous reasons
5) 1972 Five Nations- Murrayfield- Scotland 23-9 England

The win for Scotland helped them seal their longest ever unbeaten run against the English.

It was their fourth win a row and ensured England suffered their worst five nation’s campaign where they lost all four of their games and finished bottom of the group.

Scotland may have only won two of their four, but to knock the English off their perch and strike a row of wins against them was a big occasional in the history of Scottish rugby.

4) 2011 Rugby World Cup- Eden Park New Zealand- England 16-12 Scotland


Anytime these two bitter rivals meet it is a big occasion, but Scotland and England had only met once before on the grandest stage of them all, which we will cover in a moment.

Both teams still had everything to play for, a place in the knockout stages of the World Cup. It was a tight affair but England managed to hold on and finish top of Pool B, above Argentina and third place Scotland.

3) 2001 Six Nations- Twickenham- England 43-3 Scotland

It is the biggest margin of victory ever between the two sides, with England scoring a staggering 40 more points than their opposition.

It was a truly incredible game where Iain Balshaw (2), Lawrence Dallaglio (2), Will Greenwood, Richard Hill all went over for the home side.

All the away side could muster was a Duncan Hodge penalty. It helped seal England’s 24th six nations title and bragging rights over their bitter rivals.

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2) 1990 Five Nations- Murrayfield- Scotland 13-7 England


It was possibly the best tournament the Scots have ever participated in.

They claimed their third, and currently latest grand slam title, winning all four games at the 1990 five nations to claim their 14th title.

The fourth win was sealed at Murrayfield when they beat England 13-7 thanks to a try from Tony Stanger.

1) 1991 Rugby World Cup Semi Final, Murrayfield, Scotland 6-9 England

It may not be the highest scoring game of all time between the two sides but it had everything. Each set of fans was on the edge of their seats, either side could have

Each set of fans was on the edge of their seats, either side could have game away with the win and the right to play in the 1991 World Cup final.

It was tense and had nearly everything. Both defences held firm, not conceding a try between them.

Gavin Hastings scored two penalties for Scotland, with Jonathan Webb grabbing two for England. Hastings could have booked a place in the final for his side, but missed the kick, going down in Scotland history as one of the biggest missed kicks in the history of Scottish rugby.

Either side could have won, but Rob Andrew held his nerve to score a stunning drop goal to take England to the final, which they ended up losing to Australia.

However, for the importance of the fixture, how it could have gone either way, this is the best game between the two sides.

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