Scotland have lost only two of the last eight clashes with England but Borthwick’s squad are unscarred by failure

In one of sport’s weirder coincidences, England are about to play must-win games against Scotland in both rugby and cricket on the same day. The forecast 3C temperatures for the Calcutta Cup encounter may be cooler than in Kolkata – appropriately the venue for the T20 World Cup group fixture – but a white-hot contest inside a chilly Murrayfield can be absolutely guaranteed.

Because this particular collision, the 144th since the sides first met at Raeburn Place in 1871, looks set to shape the Six Nations prospects of all involved. To say Scotland are under additional pressure following their defeat by Italy in round one is to state the obvious. And England, too, will take the field knowing the time has come to demonstrate whether or not they are the real deal.

• Scotland slipped up in Six Nations opener in Italy

• Townsend keen to lean into strong Calcutta Cup record

Gregor Townsend has warned England against underestimating his Scotland team and believes the hosts can maintain their fine recent Calcutta Cup record in Edinburgh on Saturday. The visitors have only won two of the last eight fixtures between the two countries and Townsend wants his players to feed off the feelgood memories of previous English losses.

While last weekend’s deeply disappointing loss to Italy in Rome has generated plenty of external criticism, England have won only once at Murrayfield since 2017. Townsend is expecting his players to bounce back from their Italian setback and says they will be inspired by past successes. “I would hope they don’t fade into irrelevance because our players have evidence that they’ve won in this fixture,” stressed the head coach.