2021 Six Nations Championship – England vs Scotland Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is England vs Scotland taking place? Saturday 6th February, 2021 – 16:45
Where is England vs Scotland taking place? Twickenham Stadium, London
Where can I get tickets for England vs Scotland? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is England vs Scotland on? ITV
Where can I stream England vs Scotland? England vs Scotland can be streamed via ITV Player
THE TEAM NEWS
ENGLAND
- England were able to win the 2020 Six Nations title despite a first round shock defeat to France by winning their next four games and making up enough points difference in October in a 34-5 victory in Rome.
- The lifting of the 2020 Six Nations title felt very flat in its delayed conclusion on Halloween last year but Eddie Jones’ side went on to win the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup by a golden point penalty against France to give new cause for celebration.
- Centre Ollie Lawrence and Will Stuart will make their first SIx Nations starts against Scotland with the latter replacing the suspended Kyle Sinckler who was banned for using offensive language towards a referee in the Premiership last week.
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Beno Obano, 18 Harry Williams, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Dan Robson, 22 George Ford, 23 Max Malins
SCOTLAND
- Scotland were offensively exciting but a little fragile in the 2020 Six Nations, beating Wales away from home for the first time since 2002 as well as being the only side in the tournament to defeat an emphatic France.
- Scotland could not emulate their defeat of France in the Six Nations when they faced-off at the Autumn Nations Cup and they went on to lose 31-16 to Ireland in the third-place play-off.
- Head Coach Gregor Townsend will be relieved to welcome back Finn Russell after the talismanic fly-half missed the Autumn Nations Cup and he also hands a debut to an exciting youngster in Cameron Redpath.
Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg (c), 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Matt Fagerson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Jamie Ritchie, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements: 16 David Cherry, 17 Oli Kebble, 18 WP Nel, 19 Richie Gray, 20 Gary Graham, 21 Scott Steele, 22 Jaco van der Walt, 23 Huw Jones
THE PREDICTION
A Calcutta Cup clash on the first day of the Six Nations should be a hugely entertaining spectacle for viewers at home but the lack of fans in Twickenham will be a sad state of affairs we hoped we would not have to see in 2021. However, the show must go on and with two full squads in fresh health here this battle could be quite influential on the rest of the tournament with injuries more likely in these blood feuds. The lack of fans at Twickenham could be a contributing factor to the reigning champions but it is probably less likely to affect them than others and that covid-related trump card could be crucial to Eddie Jones’ side defending their title this season. Scotland will be brave offensively but they should struggle to keep England at bay throughout. They have not won at Twickenham since 1983 and are unlikely to do so this time around, with England capable of covering -15 at home.
